Summer Days

I trust you all had a lovely Christmas with special time spent with your loved ones. I can't believe we are already 4 weeks into the new year and am excited about spending a lot more time in the creativity department. My craft room has had a much needed tidy up and I can't wait to spend every spare minute I have in there.

I had the pleasure of my first Scrapbooking Party the week before Christmas. I was asked to do a beach layout with blue as the preferred colour scheme. The party was for a 13th Birthday, with 5 teenage girls in attendance. I was quite nervous about the whole thing and my mind was in over-drive with layout ideas. Hence the craft room looked like a cyclone had been through it by the time I had pulled out every Stampin' Up! item I owned in an attempt to come up with something that would please my target audience, knowing that some of them had not stamped or scrapped before. As I am mother to 2 boys, I also wanted a layout that was not gender biased.

I had a wonderful time at the party and the girls were really pleased with the layout. They chatted and created 5 gorgeous pages, each with totally different beach themed photos that all went beautifully with the layout they had to work with.

These photos were taken of Cooper when he was 14 months old. It was his first time at the beach and despite the inclement weather that closed in, he still enjoyed exploring the seashore.

Card stock: Pacific Point 12x12 textured card stock, Bashful Blue, Old Olive,  Crumb Cake, Whisper White.

Stamps: Build a Blossom, Circle Circus, Season of Joy.

Ink Pads: Pacific Point, Old Olive, Whisper White Craft pad.

Punches: 5-petal flower, Blossom Petals builder punch, Itty-bitty shapes punch pack, 3/4 " and 1" Circle

Other: Bigshot, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, SNAIL, 2-way Glue pen, Dimensionals.

I have challenged myself to turn this into a double layout with journaling, wish me luck!

Until next time, thank you for visiting,

Sylvia.

It's a Big Deal!

I can't live without my Big Shot and this month only Stampin' Up! have some terrrific Big Shot specials you won't want to miss. The Big Shot is a must for embossing and die cutting paper, cardstock, cork, aluminium sheets, vellum, the list goes on! Not only that, as a patchworker I just love the Big Shot for cutting fabric, yes fabric. This certainly makes applique a breeze! The possibilities are endless.

For those of you yet to own  very own Big Shot there is a Big Shot Bundle deal for you during November. And with Christmas nearing, why not tell your loved ones what you really want to unwrap on Christmas morning. You also receive a free lesson from me when you purchase a Big Shot.The Bundle deal is as follows:

Page	Description	Retail Value	10% Off Price
155	Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine	$186.85	$168.16
156	Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die
157	Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing  Folder

If you are lucky enough to have already purchased a Big Shot, Stampin' Up! haven't forgotten you! There is a selection of folders and dies on special during November only. They are 10% off the retail price, so again, why not tell your loved ones what you really want for Christmas.

156	Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
156	Flower Burst Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
157	Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
158	Buttons #5 Sizzlits® Die	$9.95	$8.95
159	Pillow Box BigzT Die	$36.95	$33.25
159	Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
159	Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
160	Mover & Shapers Punch Windows	$54.95	$49.45
160	Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die	$69.95	$62.95
160	Petal Cone Bigz L Die	$59.95	$53.95

These specials are only available for the month of November so to take advantage, please phone or email me with your order. 

Baby Shower

The lady who takes wonderful care of my 2 boys when I am at work is expecting her first child in October. She was very keen to involve her friends in the making of her Baby Shower invitations and to my delight wanted to use Stampin' Up! products. So after choosing her colours and stamp set I was given some guidelines and asked to come up with a simple design for the invitations.

Because no one had stamped before we wanted to keep it fun. So we came up with the layout and got everyone involved from the cutting, embossing, stamping, SNAILing and writing. A production line was formed and the girls had a ball once they realised how easy it was to put everything together. There were even some challenges amongst themselves to see who could come up with the most creative stamping. In the end there were 55 invitations and not one the same!

Card stock: Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Bay Bundle

Ink Pads: Brights Collection Classic Stampin' Pads

Folders: Perfect Polka Dots

Other: Big Shot, Crimper, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Stamping Sponges

Christmas in July

There was a lot of fun with friends at my recent Christmas in July card classes. As some people had never stamped before we started off with a very simple card using DSP and basic stamping techniques. Those who said they were not creative were the ones who varied the layout slightly to suit themselves. This is something I always encourage people to do and I was extremely proud of my beginner students!

Card stock: Whisper White, Real Red, Very Vanilla

DSP: Jolly Holiday

Stamps: Season of Joy

Ink Pads: Real Red, Old Olive

Other: Dimensionals

We then progressed on to what I called my Rustic Reindeer card. Because we stamped the Reindeer onto Naturals Ivory card stock he/she appeared to have a textured finished. We used a border punch and added some bling to the antlers to up the anti a little.

Card stock: Naturals Ivory, Baja Breeze

DSP: Elegant Soiree

Stamps: Dasher, Season of Joy

Ink Pads: Soft Suede

Other: Basic Rhinestones, Scallop edge punch, Hole punch, Dimensionals

We finished off with a card using several techniques. By now the so called beginners were very comfortable and completed this last card with ease.



Card stock: Real Red, Garden Green, Very Vanilla

DSP: Jolly Holiday

Stamps: Season of Joy 

Ink Pads: Real Red, Old Olive

Embossing Folders: Petals a Plenty

Other: Big Shot, Scallop Edge Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Dimensionals

I simply adore the reindeer faces that can be created using our Stampin' Up! punches and had to create something "reindeer" for everyone to take home. So after seeing what so many other demonstrators have been doing, I decided to wrap some chocolates in  DSP and belly band them using the reindeer face to finish off. So simple yet so effective!

Card stock: Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Whisper White

DSP: Brights Pattern Stack

Punches: 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Extra Large, 1/3/8" Circle Large, 1/2" Circle Small, Two Step Owl Extra Large, Two Step Bird Extra Large

Other: White Gel Pen, Dimensionals

Retiring list is here!



It is retirement list time. Here's the page where you'll find the link to the list of the items from our main catalogue that will NOT be available in the 2011/2012 catalogue that starts the 1st September.

You can find the link here:    Retirement List

These items are available while stocks last this month.  Phone or email me your order and I'll get them in 

straight away.





A dress for all occasions

In a recent conversation with my 'Sister' it was revealed she didn't have a dress to wear to her daughters Debutante Ball. So for her birthday I just had to make a card that ensured she would always have a dress in the wardrobe ready to go! There a numerous styles that have been done and this is what I came up with. Happy Birthday Bec!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black

Punches: 1-3/4" Scallop circle extra-large

Embossing Folders: Vintage Wallpaper, Venus (non SU)

Other: Big Shot, Basic rhinestones, Dimensionals

Free gift with purchase during July!

During July spend $100 and receive this button and ribbon bundle valued at $31.95 for FREE! You might even like to get together with friends to place an order and you can all share in the fun together.

Orders over $100 will not be entitled to multiple bundles.

Contact me anytime to place your order.