It’s Stampin’ Up!’s Clearance Rack Blitz!  Grab a bargain with these specials with some items up to 75% off

Email me to place your order but hurry, sale items run out super fast.

Stampin’ Up! are having a huge sale but it’s only while stocks last.  Some products are up to 70% off!

Email me to place your order.

And the winner of my 6th Birthday Blog Candy is….  Danielle!!!!

Congratulations Danielle!  Please email me and and I’ll get your gifts off to you asap.  Here they are already wrapped

And another peek at the goodies you’re getting

Thank you everyone for taking part in my 6th Birthday Blog Candy Competition.  It was wonderful to read your comments.

Don’t forget, if you’re not on my newsletter list to sign up (the box is at the top right hand side of the page) – there’s a competition in every newsletter and of course papercrafting tips and ideas along with the latest promotions.

A little bit of a clean & simple card today.  There are times when you want something that isn’t going to take an hour to make but is fun to make.

I made this card using Stampin’ Up!’s Trendy Trees stamp set that’s retiring in only a week.  I’ve used this one quite a bit but I don’t think I’ve shared many cards with it on my blog – it’s been a fun set to try out different things with.

This card was done by stamping the tree trunks straight onto the card then stamping the treetops in Old Olive onto white cardstock.  The first treetop was punched out with the 1″ circle punch and layered onto a 1 1/4″ circle punched from Old Olive cardstock.  The middle treetop was cut out with scissors and the last one was punched with the 1 1/4″ circle punch.

Cardmaking style tip:  You can leave the trees plain and they look just fine, but I’ve added a little element of fun on the card by adding a button to the first tree and a rhinestone to the last tree.  It’s those little things that I think make a card stand out a bit

If you have any questions about the card or products I’ve used, or if you wish to purchase any Stampin’ Up! products, please feel free to email me.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Trendy Trees (retiring 31st August 2012)

Cardstock & Paper:
Whisper White cardstock
Old Olive Textured cardstock

Inkpads/Markers/Paint:
Old Olive
Chocolate Chip

Tools:
1″ Circle Punch
1 1/4″ Circle Punch
Modern Label Punch

Accessories:
Brights Designer Buttons
Basic Jewels (rhinestones)
Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (retiring 31st August 2012)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals (foam dots)

Well this is embarrassing… I missed my blog’s birthday!  So happy belated birthday to my blog which turned 6 a few days ago on Friday .  Funny thing is that before I started blogging someone had suggested blogging to me and I said “why on earth would I do that, who would read it?”.  So it turns out that there are people out there who read my blog and it’s always wonderful to get emails from readers who tell me they enjoy my blog – many times I’ll meet people at tradeshows and other events who also tell me they visit.  So now here’s your chance to say ‘hi’ and at the same time go in the running to win some fabulous Stampin’ Up! products.

Would you like to win this fun Stampin’ Up! Accessories Prize Pack?

Prize pack includes:

Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Everyday Enchantment Brads
Brights Designer Buttons
Island Indigo Bakers Twine
Fleurettes II (crocheted flowers)

For your chance to win, just leave a comment at the end of this post telling me about your favourite Stampin’ Up! product.  Make sure you leave a comment by this Saturday the 25th of August 2012 to be in the running to win the prize.  The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Sunday here on my blog.

Please Note: Products can only be shipped within Australia.  Winner needs to email me their name and mailing address within a week to receive the prizes so please check back to see if you’ve won.

And here I was posting daily, all was wonderful until I ended up with a child at home with stomach pains and me with barely any internet.  I’m still trying to figure it out if it was me or the kids that sucked up all the internet but I’ll blame them   So.. blogging was a challenge to say the least.  I think I need to make it up to you all so I’m posting a Sneak Peek today of some products from our upcoming Annual Catalogue (previously known as ‘Idea Book & Catalogue’).

This is still my first go at using this stamp set and matching paper so I’m keen to try out quite a few different things with this one.

In the meantime, products from the current Idea Book & Catalogue are selling out… here’s what’s sold out completely so far:

Stampin’ Scrub Replacement Pads
Peach Parfait ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill
Poppy Parade ink refill
Stack & Store Containers
Circle cutter replacement blades
Christmas Greetings stamp
Confetti White CS A4
Blushing Bride ink refill
Blushing Bride CS
5-petal flower punch
Color Caddy Extender Kit
Stampin’ Around Wheel Storage – Standard size
Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Dies
Concorde Crush CS A4
Well Worn Designer Series Paper
Mini Library Clips

Sold Out Stamps
Just Surfing
D is for Dog
Curvy Verses
Shot & Sweet
Calendar Alphabet & Numbers

Phew, what a crazy couple of weeks it’s been!  I’ve had three children sick with the flu at different stages.  Parent/teacher interviews, a flat car battery (while at school of course), an extra school run to deliver a forgotten item on excursion day.  I’m so thankful I work from home – I have no idea what mothers who work out of home do in these situations and I’m amazed they manage to stay sane.

In all this it’s been excitement plus with Stampin’ Up!, the end of a mini catalogue, the Retirement List being released, and for us Demonstrators – a pre-order for some awesome new products.  My pre-order products and catalogues should be arriving tomorrow and I’ve been trying to make room in my already-bulging craft room to make way for new goodies.  By the way, orders for retiring products have been coming through thick and fast and these are the items that have now sold out completely:

Stampin’ Scrub Replacement Pads
Peach Parfait ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill
Poppy Parade ink refill
Stack & Store Containers
Circle cutter replacement blades
Christmas Greetings stamp
Confetti White CS A4

Before I go, thank you to everyone on my mailing list who have emailed me so far entering my newsletter competition, it’s been great reading your responses.  If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter just fill your details in the box at the top right hand side of my blog and I’ll get a newsletter out to you.

So! Hopefully my Aussie Post guy will turn up tomorrow with a heap of boxes.  Look out on my Facebook page for an update

Even though Fox & Friends stamp set is retiring at the end of the month, this is one stamp set that will stay in my personal collection as I’ll definitely be using it again and again.  If I’m doing a kids birthday card or a baby card then Fox & Friends always comes to the rescue for a fun card.

The little monkey was just stamped in different colours and in different angles.  The “happy birthday to you” is from another stamp set but it’s one that I like to pull out for kids cards because it’s just fun looking.  I just stamped that then punched it out with the oval punch and pierced some holes around the perimeter to add a bit of interest and texture.  The glimmer brads were added for some sparkle.  You might also want to try putting a glimmer brad on the tummy of each monkey for another fun look.

If you have any questions about the card or products I’ve used, or if you wish to purchase any Stampin’ Up! products, please feel free to email me.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Fox and Friends (retiring 31st August 2012)
Up, Up & Away (birthday greeting).

Cardstock & Paper:
Whisper White cardstock
Tempting Turquoise cardstock
Real Red cardstock

Inkpads/Markers/Paint:
Tempting Turquoise inkpad
Real Red inkpad
Tangerine Tango inkpad
Rich Razzleberry inkpad

Tools:
Wide Oval Punch
Paper piercing tool & mat

Accessories:
Brights Glimmer Brads (turquoise)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals (foam dots)

Update of retired products that have now sold out:
Peach Parfait ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill
Poppy Parade ink refill
Stampin’ Scrub Replacement Pads

Here’s another old favourite stamp set that’s on it’s way out at the end of this month – Contempo Christmas.

I’ve gone with non-traditional colours this time using Crumb Cake & Baja Breeze.  The Christmas tree has been stamped in Versamark onto Very Vanilla cardstock and silver embossed.  The rest of the card is straight-forward with cardstock and patterned paper and then some Seam Binding and Rhinestone brads to embellish.

Oh! Quick tip for heat embossing: Make sure you keep your Versamark inkpad nice and juicy.  For some reason we tend to reink our regular inkpads much more often than poor old Versamark.  It makes a big difference in your embossing if your Versamark inkpad is well inked.  While I’m on the subject… I’ve seen quite a bit on the internet over the years about making your own Versamark refill with Glycerine.  My advice is don’t do it – it’s just false economy.  I followed this tip many years ago and I ended up having to throw my inkpad out.  While it looks okay, it doesn’t stamp the same without the proper Versamark refill… I don’t know how to explain it other than you don’t get such a crisp image and so you just won’t get that detail in your embossing.  For example the Christmas tree above has the swirls, and you can even see the swirls in the pot, they just come out fuzzy if you use a homemade refill.  Same with if you’re using your Versamark and chalking over the top with chalks – fuzzy colours.  Anyway, that’s my bit of ‘advice from experience’.

If you have any questions about the card or products I’ve used, or if you wish to purchase any Stampin’ Up! products, please feel free to email me.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Contempo Christmas (retiring 31st August 2012)

Cardstock & Paper:
Very Vanilla cardstock
Crumb Cake Textured cardstock
Stampin’ Up! Simply Scrappin’ Kit – Tickets & Tags (retiring 31st August 2012)
Designer Series Paper Stack – Neutrals

Inkpads/Markers/Paint:
Versamark

Tools:
Heatgun

Accessories:
Silver Embossing Powder
Baja Breeze Seam Binding
Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads (retiring 31st August 2012)

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals (foam dots)

I know… strange title for a blog post, but that’s what’s happening… Upsy Daisy is retiring from the Stampin’ Up! catalogue.  I’ve probably mentioned it before, but this is one stamp set that I’ve always recommended to people when they’ve wanted something ‘versatile & economical’ but weren’t sure what to get.  The reason I always recommend Upsy Daisy is because the daisy image lends itself to so many different techniques so it’s a lot of fun to use.

Anyway, on with the card!

The technique I’ve used here is called ‘Shadow Stamping’.  I’ve stamped the daisies in Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) and then stamped them again over the top but slightly to the right, and a little higher, with Not Quite Navy ink.  To do this I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig (stamp positioner) which makes it super easy because you can see exactly where you’re stamping.

The other technique I’ve used is on the ribbon… I cut off the edges of the ribbon then pulled the fibers to create a fringed edge.  I then tied the bottom of the ribbon with some Hemp Twine.

By the way, the ‘Thank You’ greeting is from a stamp in the same set but the full stamp says “Thank You for your friendship”.  I just inked up the “Thank You” part on it’s own for this card.  You can do this by either using a marker to just ink up part of the stamp – or you can put some masking tape over the part you don’t want ink on, ink the whole stamp, remove the masking tape and stamp onto your card.

By the way, before I go… scroll to the bottom of this post to see which Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products have already sold out.

If you have any questions about the card or products I’ve used, or if you wish to purchase any Stampin’ Up! products, please feel free to email me.

And here’s a list of Stampin’ Up! products that I used to create this card:

Rubber Stamps:
Upsy Daisy (retiring 31st August 2012)

Cardstock & Paper:
Whisper White cardstock
Crumb Cake Textured cardstock
Not Quite Navy cardstock
Mocha Morning designer series paper (retiring 31st August 2012)

Inkpads/Markers/Paint:
Not Quite Navy inkpad
Not Quite Navy marker (optional)
Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) inkpad

Tools:
Modern Label Punch

Accessories:
Not Quite Navy Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (retiring 31st August 2012)
Hemp Twine

Adhesives:
SNAIL
Stampin’ Dimensionals (foam dots)

Update: Stampin’ Up! Retiring Products Already Sold Out

Peach Parfait ink refill
Dotto refill
Concord Crush ink refill
Crimper
More Mustard Marker
3/16″ Gold Brads
Pear Pizzazz ink refill