"ART WITH HEART" TEAM BLOG HOP - CELEBRATIONS

Hi everyone

It's time again for the blog hop that my team has on the first Saturday of every month.  As my post title suggests, the theme for the blog hop is "Celebrations".  Being such a broad theme, I'm sure you'll get all sorts of inspiration from the girls; I, for one, am looking forward to checking out everyone's creations!

The "Art With Heart" team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators comprises over 90 women, spread across Australia, and is led by Claire Daly (based in Melbourne).  We have a very active online team forum, that is a great source of inspiration, support, and friendship.  If you'd like to join us, there is no better time - Stampin' Up! in Australia has a fantastic special offer on the Starter Kit, until the end of July.  Whether you'd like to join up as a hobby demonstrator (to get discounts every day on every product), or are interested in starting up a low-risk, rewarding home-based business, you can't beat being able to sign up for only $259!  (The retail value of the Starter Kit is $580.)  The fabulous Starter Kit contains lots of stamps, ink pads, cardstock, and business supplies - plenty to 'get you started', and there's lots of continuing support available.  If this sounds like something that suits you 'to a T', please email me; I'd love to have you join our friendly team. 

As with each of our blog hops, we offer blog candy - a little prize for one person who visits all of the participating blogs, leaves a comment, then emails Nikki Sadler to confirm that all blog posts have been commented on.  The offer for the blog candy is valid only for 72 hours from the launch of our blog hop; so, to be in to win, make sure you email Nikki by 6.00am AEST Tuesday 8th June.  Blog candy cannot be won by Stampin' Up! demonstrators, but we would dearly love for you all to visit our blogs and leave comments anyway! 

Today there are 11 of us taking part in the blog hop.  You may have come from Tina Gillespie's blog; however, if you are starting here, that's fine.  When you've finished looking at my blog hop post, just click on the link below to go on to Judy May's blog.  You can start at any of the blogs along the way; you'll do a 'circuit', and cover all 11, as long as you follow the links on each blog.


When I had to make a decision about the project I wanted to share with you, what stood out for me was the celebration, four years ago, of my grandmother's 90th birthday.  What a momentous occasion!  I was so glad I was able to travel to New Zealand with my father, sister and brother, to be part of the special celebration.  My sole surviving grandparent at the time, Granny Lou (my Dad's mother) shared her special day with four other generations - I have a treasured photo of five generations of females!  Granny Lou's brother and sister, also having lived long lives, were there as well. Amazing!  Granny Lou died in August 2008, so it meant a lot to me that I'd spent time with her on her milestone birthday.

I have scrapped a few photos taken on the day of the party.  There was a pink and white theme on the day, so I went with those colours.





Here is a close-up of the Top Note I used to mat the focal photo:




Can you see how I have clear-embossed, on the white cardstock, the rose from the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set?  I love the subtlety of clear embossing on white (note to self: use that more often!).  I also stamped the same rose randomly over the Pink Pirouette textured card, first in Versamark, and again (slightly offset) in Pink Pirouette ink.


Here's a close-up of the journalling (also featuring the rose - can you see it?):




Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Life Definitions

Card: Whisper White textured & smooth, Glossy White, Pink Pirouette textured & smooth, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black textured

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad, Pink Pirouette Stampin' Pad, Pretty in Pink Marker

Other: Trio Flower Punch, So Saffron brads, Clear Embossing Powder, Top Note Die, Timeless Type Alphabet die, sponge dauber, Bella Rose DSP, mini glue dots



I really enjoyed creating this page, and will definitely enjoy looking at these photos more often, now that they are not stashed away.  I hope you've enjoyed this little family snippet of mine, and will now go on to see the absolutely gorgeous (I've had a sneak peek, so I can testify to that!) project made by Judy May. 


Here is a list of the other 10 participants in today's blog, in case you 'lose your way'!


Ros Davidson
http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com/

Tina Gillespie
http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com/

Judy May
http://www.judymay.typepad.com

Sue Madex
http://www.madexcreations.com/

Nikki Sadler
http://www.inkyart.com.au/

Alisha Watson
http://www.ratherbstampin.typepad.com/

Di Dunk
http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com/

Kathryn Mangelsdorf
http://klm55.blogspot.com/

Tanja Westwood
http://tanjawestwood.typepad.com/

Kathryn Lowe
http://www.katlodesigns.com/

Don't forget, if you leave a comment for each of us, then email Nikki to let her know you've done so (before Tuesday 6.00am), you'll go into the draw for some Stampin' Up! blog candy!

Thanks for visiting, and have fun!

ASIAN ARTISTRY .... Cameo Coral and Ruby Red rose, watercoloured

Last week at stamp group (a monthly get-together with stamping friends, mainly to eat chocolate and talk a lot!), I watercoloured a few images from the new Asian Artistry stamp set.  Despite remembering to take chocolate, I didn't remember to actually take any inkpads along, so I scribbled with markers on the plastic stamp case, and watercoloured using my aquapainter.  I'd used the colours Cameo Coral, Ruby Red and Old Olive, so that was the starting point for this card.

I started off making a very simple card for a challenge on my Stampin' Up! team's online forum, but it evolved into something completely different.  I've been known to sponge cards to within an inch of their life ..  couldn't not use sponge daubers on this one!  The end result is waaaay out of my comfort zone; it's not really my 'style' of card, but I decided I'd share it with you anyway.  I'm just enjoying having the time to create, and post on my blog .... hopefully you'll like this card a bit more than I do (and a LOT more than my husband does, LOL).




Stamps: En Francais, Asian Artistry, Life Definitions

Card: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Watercolour paper

Ink: Basic Gray stampin' pad, Old Olive stampin' pad and marker, Cameo Coral stampin' pad and marker, Ruby Red stampin' pad and marker, Versamark inkpad

Other: Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, sponge daubers, dimensionals, Nestabilities (long deckled rectangle)

Pendant Note AND Medallion Stamp... oh my!!

I love the 'flourishy' style of the Pendant Notes (see gushy previous post), and the huge Medallion Stamp in the new Mini catalogue.

After I shared my first couple of Pendant Notes with you, I challenged myself to make a card WITHOUT using Rich Razzleberry.  It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of the new "in colours", to the detriment of the tried-and-true favourites.  So, back to the reliable old red/brown/kraft combo!  This is what I came up with (I love it - don't you??):





Stamps: En Francais, Pocket Silhouettes, Vintage Vogue

Card: Kraft, Very Vanilla

DSP: Candy Lane Designer Series Paper

Ink: Sahara Sand, Chocolate Chip and Riding Hood Red stampin' pads

Other: Word Window Punch, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Very Vanilla 5/16" jumbo brad, sponge daubers



It has now been a few days (in fact, I think I've generously allowed over a week!) since I shared a card made with my favourite Medallion stamp.  Here is the card my lucky husband (LOL) received for our recent wedding anniversary.





Stamps: En Francais, Medallion, Life Definitions

Card: Basic Gray, Going Gray, Confetti White

Ink: Going Gray, Basic Gray and So Saffron stampin' pads, Going Gray marker

Other: Edge distresser, sponge daubers, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, 5/8" Jumbo brad



I'll be back with more after my Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue launch tomorrow!  Really looking forward to sharing a few hours with stamping friends, and getting everyone excited about all the gorgeous new products.

YAY FOR THE BUTTERFLY PUNCH (and JUMBO BRADS)!

With the 'expiry' of the recent Summer Mini catalogue, from Stampin' Up!, I was most concerned that the Butterfly punch would be no longer available.  This long-awaited, versatile, punch has been available in Australia for only a few short months, and has proven very popular - it co-ordinates not only with the Butterfly Prints stamp set from the Summer Mini, but with the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set from the 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue (which is current through until the end of August).  I LOVE it.

Great news, people!  Stampin' Up! has several products, from both the Summer Mini catalogue, and the earlier Spring Mini catalogue, that will carry over into our new catalogue coming out in September.  Even though these products don't appear in a current catalogue, they are still available to purchase.  So, if you haven't yet bought the Scallop Oval punch (that mats beautifully behind the Large Oval punch), or the Butterfly Punch, or Jumbo brads, to name a few, don't despair!

I thought I'd share with you today a few cards on which I've used these products, so you can see what a nice touch they add to a card.  Settle in for a little trip down Memory Lane!


First up, the BUTTERFLY PUNCH:












On this next card I've used both the Butterfly Punch and the SCALLOP OVAL PUNCH:



... and another card (using a retired stamp set), showing how well the Large Oval Punch fits inside the Scallop Oval Punch:




Stampin' Up!'s punches co-ordinate so beautifully with the stamp sets, and make it very easy to achieve a beautiful result with your card-making and scrapbooking.

Being a huge fan of brads (split pins) as an embellishment, I've made a number of cards with both the 'giant' 5/8" size, and the smaller 5/16" brads, both of which come in a Neutrals Assortment (Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Silver).  Unfortunately, I seem to have given away most of the cards, without photographing them first.  Here are a few photos of cards that have the 5/8" JUMBO BRADS on them:










I love how flat these brads are. The smaller size (5/16") is great to add to flower centres.


So, as well as feeling the excitement of all the gorgeous new products just released in Australia, I'm really happy to be able to share this news about some 'not so new' favourites.

If I can help you with a Stampin' Up! order (no need to hold a workshop, if you'd just like to order direct), please email me.  I am happy to answer any questions I can!

"WORLD'S GREATEST SHAVE" LAYOUT

Recently my youngest boy decided, of his own volition, to take part in the World's Greatest Shave - encouraging people to seek sponsorship to dye or shave their hair, to help raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation.  Ethan is such a beautiful soul, with qualities that I really admire.  He was positively EXCITED about the prospect of shaving all his hair off, and fronting up to primary school the next day!  He wasn't the least bit embarrassed, or worried what others would think of him, because he knew that it was all for a good cause, and his hair would grow back soon enough.  How's that for a level head?  Have I mentioned I am proud of him??!!

Well, such a special event calls for a scrapbook page, I think.  Scrapbooking is waaaay outside my comfort zone (I love the smaller 'canvas' of a card, and feel a little intimidated by the large page!), but I wanted to do this layout to document what Ethan chose to do.  So, here is my photo-heavy layout!







A close-up of the accent on the bottom left of the page:





Here's a closer look at the title, cut out using two products NEW to Stampin' Up!, come 1st April:





And, finally, the little bit of journalling I squeezed in amongst all the photos:





Here's a list of all the supplies I used on this layout:

Stamps: Life Definitions, Starring You

Card: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Basic Black

DSP: Baja Breeze and Basic Gray Patterns DSP

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Baja Breeze stampin' pad, Basic Gray marker

Other: Baja Breeze corduroy brads (retired), sponge dauber, Star Punch, Large Star Punch, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, Clips assortment, dimensionals ... and Big Shot, with Timeless Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits (both being released 1st April in Australia



 

I {HEART} HEARTS, AND CIRCLES!

Today I held a card-making class for some of my lovely customers and friends, to show them a few ways to use the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set, in the Summer Mini catalogue.  This stamp set is $42.95; until the end of February, Stampin' Up! will donate $2.00, from every one of these sets sold, to the Red Cross Relief Fund for Haiti.

We had a really nice afternoon, making four cards and talking a lot :)  I'd like to show you a couple of the cards we made, so you can see how beautifully the stamp set co-ordinates with Stampin' Up!'s two heart punches (Full Heart, and Heart to Heart, $30.95 each).

This first card is in Cameo Coral, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla (the colours look somewhat icecreamy, don't you think?!):





Another card we made was inspired by the very talented Ilina Crouse.  This card makes great use of all those little scraps of Designer Series Paper that I, and suspect you may, have!  How cute is this??




We used papers from Stampin' Up!'s Candy Lane pack; nice, 'lovey' colours!  This style of card could be adapted to any number of Stampin' Up!'s punches (I'm thinking Trio Flower, Butterfly, Star punches .. hmm, might have to plan some more classes using this technique, I think!).


Now, even though we are on the verge of Valentine's Day, I don't want to saturate you with images of 'love' cards, so I thought I'd share with you my second card created with six circles on the front, a la this one.  Again, I've used Sahara Sand, Confetti White and Basic Black - but this time have injected a bit of Real Red. 

Here is the card front:



and a little stamped detail, and sponged edges, inside:



Stamps: En Francais, Fifth Avenue Floral, Life Definitions, Organic Grace (hostess set), Sincere Salutations

Card: Sahara Sand and Basic Black textured, Confetti White

Ink: Sahara Sand and Basic Black stampin' pads, Real Red marker

Other: Sponge dauber, 1 3/8" circle punch, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Basic Black 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Real Red brad (from Bold Brights brad selection), Crystal Effects, dimensionals



 

"FLOWERY" CARD FOR A MAN ????

The team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators I belong to has an online forum, that is a great source of inspiration, support and laughter for all of us.  (Get in touch with me if you'd like to sign up as a demonstrator, and join in on the fun - you won't be disappointed!)

One of several challenges set on our forum this month is to make a card for a male, incorporating flowers.  This is one of the cards I came up with:





Stamps: One Of A Kind (sentiment), Boho Backgrounds, Fifth Avenue Floral, Life Definitions, Lovely As A Tree, Weathered

Card: Sahara Sand textured and smooth, Basic Black textured, Confetti White

Ink: Sahara Sand and Basic Black stampin' pads

Other: 1 3/8" circle punch, sponge daubers, dimensionals, paper snips, black brad (from vintage selection), black Jumbo Grommet, linen thread

I love these neutral colours together - what do you think?