While Im away: My Online order deal for you

Many of you would know that I am heading off tomorrow with my kids to the US courtesy of Stampin'Up.  Thanks to many of you guys, my fantastic customers, and my wonderful team of demonstrators, I was able to earn this amazing opportunity. We will be sailing around the Caribbean on the "Allure of the Seas"... here she is:

Also we have a few days in Florida before we leave so myself, Paul and the kids will spend some time in Disneyworld too. The kids are soooooo excited!  Not sure any of us will get any sleep tonight!

But all this means that I am away for 2 weeks, and that means away from my business. We dont know what specials Stampin'Up will have for us in May yet, but I dont want you guys to miss out on anything! So, I will still have limited internet access, and plan on putting up the May specials as soon as I arrive in the US.. sometime on the 1st.  And I will still be available if you email me... just bear in mind that it might take me a couple of days to get back to you. 

So, given that I still need to earn an income whilst travelling, I thought I would offer a little special for the next two weeks. If you place any online orders over $50 between now and the 14th May, you will automatically qualify for a $10 voucher from me, to be spent on Stampin'Up stuff. So if you ordered over $100, you would qualify for $20 and so on. And don't forget that your online orders are processed immediately and sent directly to your door.  I will contact everyone on my return on the 14th and check out what you would like to spend your vouchers on. The alternative is that if you don't wish to spend your vouchers straight away, you could save it for the new catalogue that is heading our way in July. 

To take up this offer, when you place your Online Order, please use the Hostess Code 9ARDSG9Q 

in the box provided on the order.  Don't forget, every $50 you spend triggers another voucher.

I hope you all have a lovely couple of weeks!  I do still plan to blog here, but most of my photos and updates will be on my Business Facebook page. If you make sure you have "liked" my Facebook page, you will see more of what we get up to! There is a link to my page over on the right-hand side of my blog.

See you soon in the US!

Linda xx

oh.. and here's are the 2"x2" swaps I made for my fellow Australian demonstrators. I thought you might like to see what I created for them :-)  When I get back I'll share what we are doing with these!

Retro Fresh Scrapbook Layout

I currently run two bi-monthly Scrapbooking clubs.. and these will both meet in the month of May. So given that the Stampin'Up Grand Vacation is coming up, I have prepared next month's club layout early, so that I wont need to think about it when we get back.

I like this design.. its simple, with just a couple of small techniques in putting it together.  I love the Retro Fresh colour palette, and thought it would be perfect for this sketch.  The flowers are punched from the Embossed Vellum in our current Occasions catalogue. I got this idea from the awesome Angela Sargeant who featured this technique on her blog a couple of weeks ago. Thank you Angela!

I hope you enjoy it too!

(By the way if you are interested in joining the Scrapbooking club.. I have ONE SPOT LEFT in the Tuesday evening group. This club runs only every second month, and your committment over the course of 2014 is to spend $50 on Stampin'Up products with me every second month.  So that's pretty easy... and then you get to make a Scrapbook creation with me every second month too. These clubs are held on the Central Coast of NSW... EMAIL ME if you would like further information.

Here is the full layout for you:

Here's what i used:

Retro Fresh Designer Series Paper

$18.95

Natural 5/8" Chevron Ribbon

$11.95

Gold Fancy Foil Designer Vellum

$18.95

Retro Fresh This And That Designer Washi Tape

$8.95

Daydream Medallions Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$50.95

Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die

$155.95

Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die

$155.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Grand Vacation 2014 Swap progress

So I've been busy :-)  I've just had a lovely few days in Wollongong with the fabulous Vanessa Webb working hard on our swaps for the trip. (We are off to the US and the Caribbean courtesy of Stampin'Up in a matter of days now!)  In case you don't know about swaps... at most larger Stampin'Up events there is usually a chance to swap your creations. You make a pre-determined number of the same project (can be anything you like, unless otherwise advised) and bag them up to take along with you. Then when we all get together we swap... you hand over your own creations, and receive lots of other people's creations in return. Its a great way to get new ideas, and even makes our job easier by giving us projects that we can use for classes and workshops. It's also a great conversation starter, and a fabulous way to meet new people.

But when creating projects for something like Grand Vacation (aka Incentive Trip) there is a bit of extra pressure. There probably shouldn't be... most people would be happy to receive anything that you create.  But the truth is that many of the very top demonstrators in the world will be on this trip!  This year it is our GLOBAL market! So there will be to demos from the US, Canada, Europe and the South Pacific, all in one place sharing together.  So... I wanted to create something really special. I agonised over the design for weeks. But finally I have something that I am really happy with :-)

I can't show you the finished project yet (I want it to be a surprise for those that receive them) but thought you would like to see the work in progress so far.

This is the production line for the card backgrounds.  You don't have to make cards specifically, but I have chosen to on this occasion.

And here is the bling cut and ready to be added! I cant wait to show you the finished item in a couple of weeks... It looks quite fantastic! (Even if I do say so myself)

Hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek! xx

The last "Weekly Deals" for April 2014

Welcome to the very last "weekly deals" offerings for April 2014.  I hope you find something to take advantage of... Visit my ONLINE STORE to order and have the products delivered directly to you anywhere in Australia...

Here they are:

Some great deals there... dont miss out!

Linda xx

Petite Petals Rainbow

I had a bit of fun today playing with this year's In-color range (2013-15). Very very simple.. I used Naturals White cardstock and stamped one of the Petite Petals flower in the various In-color inks. Then added a rhinestone to the centre of each, and a sentiment. Super easy, and took just a few minutes to do.

Im creating with a friend for a couple of days as we work on our swaps for the Upcoming US trip and Convention too :-)  Love the holidays for that!

Have a creative day!

Linda xx

Here are the products I used to create the background:

Petite Petals

$27.95

Petite Petals

$21.95

Naturals White A4 Card Stock

$12.95

Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents

$8.95

Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Pistachio Pudding Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Crisp Cantaloupe Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Apothecary Accents Framelits Dies

$42.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

A work in Progress... my Craft Room chaos!

Instead of showing you a project today, I thought you'd like to see what else I've been up to this Easter. Yesterday I had a lovely friend come over (who has formidable organizational skills - sadly I seem to have missed out on these when they were handing them out) and together we tackled various areas of my Crafting space.

My current craft room is actually what was the garage of this home. We rent here, but before we moved  in the owner had turned the garage into an extra room - the house was actually advertised as "3BR plus rumpus". I remember when i came to look at it the first time my daughter (then 8) came along too, and said "hey look Mum.. its got a craft room!"  So it was no surprise really that this was the house for us. :-)

Over time crafting spaces seem to take on a life of their own... and things that might have been relatively organized at the start just aren't any more.. or they no longer work as well as they did. Thats true of my space. As my business changes shape I seem to need things to work differently. So its been long overdue for a rehaul.

And so yesterday was the day.

First we organized all the ribbons... I now have a big box of retired ribbon that I can use for prizes and promotions. All the A4 cardstock is sorted by colour family order so I know exactly what I have and what I need:

But mid-sorting this is how my crafting table looked!   Aaaaargh!

And I need to do even more of that today!

And also today I am moving on to......

Getting my display bookcase into a state worth displaying! It's an Expedit bookcase from IKEA.  This is the "before" shot, and when I am done I will show you an "After" shot if you are interested??

And if they truth be told... all this is just one way of procrastinating from the REAL TASK!  Which is tackling my 11 year-old's bedroom before she comes home tomorrow morning!  Let's not talk about that.......

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my crazy space. I am excited that some of the more frustrating things (paper and ribbons) are now done, and will hopefully work a lot better for me.

So next time you come along to a class... you should be able to see a difference :-) Im looking forward to it!

Natural Compositions Speciality Paper meets my Brayer

It is Good Friday here in Australia.... so I am taking this moment to wish you all a very Happy Easter.  I hope it is a time to reflect on how blessed we are, and celebrate the real meaning of Easter. :-)

I have a simple card for you today... I used the Chalk Talk framelits to cut a piece of Natural Compositions Speciality paper... how beautiful are these embossed papers? I then brayered over the design with Soft Suede ink on my brayer, and then rubbed it clean with a cloth.  It came up beautifully.  The flowers were also simple. The vellum flower is stamped with the "Flower Shop" stamp set, and then I punched a small circle in Gold Foil paper and attached it with Dimensionals. The smaller flower is from the Petite Petals stamp and matching punch (these are sold as a bundle for only $34.75 for clear mount, or $39.75 for wood mount).  I added an adhesive pearl to the centre of the flower. The "Thank you" sentiment is from the itty Bitty Banners stamp set, and I added a little Gold twine to the top of the framelit shape. The background is embossed with the "Perfect Polka Dots" embossing folder.

All these products are available in my ONLINE STORE! Just click HERE to visit the store to have the items you want delivered to you personally, anywhere in Australia.

I hope you have a great Easter break and look forward to sharing more with you soon :-)

This week's Weekly Deals from Stampin'Up!

Well its Wednesday... and that means another week of April deals from Stampin'Up! Check out what is on offer this week.....

CHAMPAGNE GLIMMER PAPER Price: $8.95 $6.71	FLORAL DISTRICT PHOTOBOOK TEMPLATE - DIGITAL DOWNLOAD Price: $19.50 $11.70	MERRY MINIS PUNCH PACK Price: $29.95 $22.46	NATURALS DESIGNER BUTTONS Price: $8.95 $6.71
SILVER GLASS GLITTER Price: $6.95 $5.21	THIS AND THAT EPIC DAY DESIGNER SERIES PAPER Price: $18.95 $14.21	TIMBER STAMPIN' AROUND STANDARD WHEEL Price: $10.95 $8.21

So what will I be buying this week?  My choices will be the Champagne glimmer paper, and I have an upcoming project that uses those Naturals buttons too.   And the "This and That Epic Day" DSP is a real bargain at that price.

To order visit my ONLINE STORE, or you can EMAIL ME your order.  If you do use the store, items are shipped directly to you, anywhere in Australia for a reasonable postage charge.  Enjoy the deals!

Video Tutorial: Textured Embossing for Masculine Cards

I'm back today with another project and a Video tutorial for you. This is a card I made a little while back, but I thought you would like to see how I did the embossed background.  It's really simple to do, but makes your background a bit more dramatic. 

Dont forget I have my upcoming Mother's Day class if you would like to join us next Saturday! Deals can be found HERE. 

Enjoy the tutorial, and I will be back soon. 

Upcoming Class: Mother's Day Box and Cards

Come along and create a cute gift box and 4 matching cards set as a Mother's Day gift. Or of course you could just keep it for yourself!   And if you are wondering why I'm running this on Easter Saturday... due to school holidays this was the only spare day that I have! And also the only date left for a class before I go off on the Stampin'Up Cruise. So if you are free on Easter Saturday, and would like to join us at 2pm, please email me and book your spot!

Date: Saturday 19th April

Time: 2pm

Cost: $25

All materials and refreshments provided

Stepping up Last week's Card

Last week I posted a simple card... although it was a special celebratory card, made special by adding some pewter embossing to the stamped image (to see the original card, click HERE)  Today I decided to step it up a bit and glamourize it by adding even more embossing, and some vellum.  And this is the end result.... what do you think?

It's still simple though! I wheeled straight onto my background with clear Versamark ink, and embossed it with the pewter Embossing powder. I then stamped my image from the 'Daydream Medallions" stamp set - also with Versamaark - and once again embossed it with Silver. I added some Soft sky cardstock behind the vellum, and some matched Soft Sky seam binding ribbon. And of course a silver sparkly butterfly that I punched out of Silver Glimmer paper.

Yep, its silver overload again, but I really love how it turned out :-)  And i think the Pewter really adds a bit of vintage glamour....

In case you haven't heard the news.......

I think everyone has heard by now (and particularly if you visit my Facebook business page) that last month I made the numbers for the Caribbean cruise with Stampin'Up. Can you believe that we leave in less than 3 weeks!  The kids are so excited, and cant wait to go.  Not sure which bit they are most excited about... visiting Disneyworld in Florida prior to the trip itself, or being on the ship. For me the best part is easy... getting to see my American fiancee who lives over there and will be meeting us when we arrive in Orlando.  

I am sooo grateful to Stampin'Up for arranging these wonderful holidays for us! I love working for them, and I love doing a job that brings both myself and other people so much happiness.  I am thankful for my awesome customers who placed orders, held workshops and cheered me over the finish line. For my fellow demonstrators who applauded my every step. And for my awesome team who share my excitement, and who make this job so much more fun. And some of them achieved goals this past year which not only helped them in their own businesses, but also helped me earn points towards this amazing trip.  Thank you so much to every one of you!  Running a business is never a single effort... and never could be. It takes lots of people working together to make something like this happen.  So I am very very grateful. 

I created a travel card today.. obviously inspired by my upcoming trip. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks. If you would like to see what I and the other demonstrators get up to whilst we am away, you can check back here, but most of the photos and info will be on my Facebook business page.  If you "like" the page, you will get to see the photos and updates as I post them, rather than waiting for me to update my blog. I am not sure how much access I will have to my blog whilst I am away. 

Here's the link to the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/lindastampsnstuff

For my travel card I have used the "On Film" framelits, the Fresh Prints paper pack, the Silver Foil vellum, and "Around the World" stamp set.. which I thought was kind of appropriate. I also stamped the words "Away we Go"onto one of our Wooden elements embellishments.  I hope you enjoy the card.. it was fun to make!

This week's Weekly Deals!

Here is the list of what's on special from TODAY until next Tuesday unless sold out.

DRESS UP FRAMELITS DIES Price: $42.95 $32.21 FLORAL FUSION STAMPIN' UP! SIZZLITS DIE Price: $9.50 $7.13 FLOWER GARDEN TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS EMBOSSING FOLDER DIE Price: $13.95 $10.46 FRAMED TULIPS TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS EMBOSSING FOLDER DIE Price: $13.95 $10.46 NEEDLEPOINT BORDER TEXTURED IMPRESSIONS EMBOSSING FOLDERS Price: $13.95 $10.46 RECIPES BY DESIGN DIGITAL KIT - DIGITAL DOWNLOAD Price: $10.95 $6.57 SECRET GARDEN FRAMELITS DIES Price: $42.95 $32.21

You can EMAIL ME to order.. or you can shop in the ONLINE STORE!

Enjoy the specials!!!