Butterfly Basics with a Watercolour Wash

As you might know, I love playing around with arty backgrounds, and use them whenever I can. This morning I was watching the CEO of Stampin'Up!, Shelli Gardner and she was creating a cute notecard using the emboss resist technique with a watercolour wash background. Which immediately made me want to create my own version.

So I did mine with the very beautiful Butterfly Basics stamp set.  And used the latest Incolor range for my colour choices - Lost Lagoon, Mellow Moss and Blackberry Bliss.  The gold butterfly from the Buttefly framelits finished off the card.

I hope you like my simple little card.  If you'd like to see more of what I've been up to please visit my Facebook Business page and like it too! Click HERE to visit :-)

Something Borrowed from Stampin'Up!

Last week I made this quick card with our new "Something Borrowed" DSP.... I adore this Sahara Sand DSP, and the matching lace!  But as you know, I do have a "thing" for neutrals :-)  Isn't it a sweet card?? It could be a Wedding card, or engagement or anniversary... or a range of other options I think. (You can change the sentiment as necessary)

I am going to be making a very similar card to this one  in next week's Stamp-A-Stack (the main
"flower" is different)... if you'd like to join us click HERE to book your spot!  At a Stamp-A-Stack you'll get to make 6 cards... 3 each of 2 different designs.  All materials and refreshments are provided and the class usually takes around 2 hours or so.  Cost is $20.. which is a bit of a bargain for 6 cards really! My classes are held on the Central Coast (NSW) and we use Stampin'Up products in class.

I'd love you to join us!

Meanwhile in Australia.....

Today is an important day in the Australian Calendar.. its the day we celebrate "Australia Day".  And whilst I know its not really a day that people send cards to each other, I figure that any occasion is excuse enough to make a card right?

Over on my team forum we do lots of challenges to give each other inspiration.. this weekend I proposed a mini-challenge.  I asked the girls to create something that says "Australia" to them.  We've had some great entries - red, white and blue themed (like our flag) or green and gold (our sporting colours) have featured so far. But even though Im not eligible to win a prize (I run the challenge after all) I still like to take part and make something in the spirit of the challenge.

So the card here is my "entry".  Sunshine and the beach are two of my favourite things about Australia, and so I used those things to inspire me. The stencil template I used for the background is out of our "Hooray its your day" kit, and I sponged "Hello Honey" ink over the "Daffodil Delight" background. I used the chalkboard paper to stamp the sentiment on and backed that with a "Bermuda Bay" die from the "Starburst Sayings" framelits. The trim is the new "Bermuda Bay" sequin trim, and the twine is "Coastal Cabana" from our in-color range. This was a super quick card, but i love how it came together.

Here's the supplies used:

Hooray It's Your Day Card Kit

$35.95

Coastal Cabana A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Daffodil Delight A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Bermuda Bay A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Best Day Ever Wood Stamp Set

$0.00

Chalkboard Paper

$13.95

Starburst Framelits Die

$45.95

Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine

$5.95

Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim

$8.95

Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad

$12.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Painted Blooms DSP and a vellum Mini Treat Bag

I am finding sooooo many uses for the new Mini Treat Bag Die we have in our Occasions catalogue this year!  I've been enjoying making them from all kinds of paper and cardstock... but today I decided to give vellum a try! How beautiful is it in vellum?  Well I guess what makes it better is using beautiful DSP underneath.. so that gave me the chance to use the Painted Blooms DSP from Stampin'Up for the first time. And I love it!

If you like this idea, give it a try yourself... it was a very simple project and didn't take a lot of time to put together.

Here's a photo of the insert out of the bag....
Products used are shown below.. or visit the Online store to purchase :-)

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

$67.95

Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper

$18.95

White Vellum A4 Card Stock

$10.95

Rose Red A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

$8.95

Whisper White 5/8" Organza Ribbon

$9.95

Rose Red Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Pink Pirouette A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Small Butterfly Punch

$27.95

7/8" Circle Scallop Punch

$18.95

Scallop Edge Border Punch

$27.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

"Party Time" in Sydney - want to see some photos??

If you've been following my posts you would remember that last Saturday I was attending the "Party Time" event in Sydney.  This was a Stampin'Up supported event, but organised by a demonstrator group.  I was lucky enough to be presenting at this event... and it was an honour to do so. Basically I had the job of running a real-time workshop... so that others could see how I do a party, and hopefully learn something from my example. Of course, there is no such thing as the perfect workshop... but I did something similar to what I might normally do... with the exception being that I was running a workshop for 140 people! Now that's something that I NEVER want to do in real life!

There were lots of other presenters too, gorgeous displays of projects, motivation and inspiration, and hands-on make and take projects. I've added some photos from the day so you can see just a little of what we got up to.....

Here is Aaron Scott and I mid-way through my party presentation.  Aaron is the head of Stampin'Up Australia and he not only hosted the event on Saturday, but I asked him to be my actual party host.  I was able to help him with the Make and Take project... and i think he liked it because he took it home :-)

 Just a small selection of the amazing assortment of projects on display at the event!

And more gorgeousness...

 And yet more product shown off to its best advantage...

Myself, Nerida and Denielle looking happy :-)

 Lorri, Courtenay and myself.. never miss a photo opportunity!

 And here I am with Renae Crosby who attempted to make a new record of 100 selfies on the day... don't think she made it, but she gave it a red-hot go!

Wanda, Nerida and myself

All in all it was a great day... and I would love to thank Teneale Williams for inviting me to have a role in it.  If you have the chance to go to a Stampin'Up event of any kind, my advice is GO!  They are always such inspirational occasions.

See you soon!

Video Tutorial: Four Seasons card set with the Sheltering Tree

I've made a little video to show you how to get a great Four Seasons set of cards from the new Sheltering Tree stamp set.  I'm off to Party Time (our regional Stampin'Up event) tomorrow so won't be around here, so thought a video will be something nice to leave you with!



Here is all of the set together:

Enjoy the video.. and I'll be back soon!

Party Time in Sydney

One of the perks of being a Demonstrator for Stampin'Up is the events we get to attend.  Sometimes these are one-day affairs that cover everything from business tips to techniques and product info. And lots of Stamping of course :-)

The big one each year is Convention... this is usually held in April or May each year, and its 3-4 days of pure joy... not only do we get given so much in the way of information and ideas, its the big chance for demonstrators to catch up with people in real life from all over the country. One thing about Stampin'Up is that most demonstrators are very supportive of each other's business... and getting together is a wonderful experience.

So this week we have a local event on in Sydney... just a one day event, but I am lucky enough to be part of this one.  It should be lots of fun!  In preparation we have the opportunity to make our own name tags, and they also suggested that we make a card each for the display board. I thought you might like to see my card.  Actually I made the name tag first, and then used it as inspiration to make the card. Im not especially a pink girl.. but I like it mixed with neutrals.  And "Blushing Bride" is my favourite of the pinks we have.  Right now I am having a little love affair with Burlap Ribbon and Lace together....

If you'd like to see more of my projects and inspirations, please jump over to my Facebook business page by clicking HERE. Make sure you hit the "like" button so you can stay in touch!

Here is the name tag:

Four Seasons card set with the Sheltering Tree Stamps

There's nothing like some simple stamping for maximum impact.  This new set from our Occasions Catalogue (2015) is great if you just want to stamp! No mucking around.  Its a 2-step set... so if you just want the bare tree (the Wintery one) then that stamps beautifully on its own, but if you wish you can add the leaves... and depending on what colours you use, it can represent the different seasons.   And its easy to use!

Available in Photopolymer this set is great value at only $42.95 AUD for 14 stamps!  I've popped a photo of it below.. or you can visit the Online Store to see it there, and purchase it there too if you wish. I also love the sentiments in this set... love that scrawly font.. it's so pretty.

I plan to do a class with this set next month.. its called Four Seasons Card class... you get the idea. But we'll step it up a little - the cards will be different to these ones. Check out the class schedule above and if you can make it, click HERE to book in.  I use Stampin'Up products in my classes and classes are held on the beautiful Central Coast. Products are available to purchase if you wish.

And stay tuned for a video this week on how to get the effect of these trees quickly and easily.

In the meantime if you'd like to see other things I get up to, click HERE to drop in on my Business Facebook page.  There's always something going on!  Make sure to "like" the page so you get to see lots more ideas and inspiration.

Back with more soon!

Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set

$42.95

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$9.95

Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes

$9.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Circle Scrapbooking Layout with new SAB papers

This week has been a huge week! Both our new Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogues were launched on Tuesday 6th January... so every day this week I've had an event of some sort. This included 2 launches, a workshop and a scrapbooking club. Thank you to everyone who has shared this busy week with me... I love showing you what's new... and getting to play with new products too.

This was this month's stamp club project... a Scrapbooking layout showcasing some of our new SAB and Occasions catalogue products.  The DSP you see here is all from our new Sale-A-Bration catalogue and its called "Best Year Ever"... I love the subtle colours that work so well together.  I also used some of the new Chalkboard paper and chalk inks for the "2015" and also for the words "You make my day".. which is a sentiment from another new SAB set called "Best Day Ever".  Other new items include the Bermuda Bay sequin trim, Bow punch, Butterfly basics bundle, and SAB buttons and ribbon. I used the new "Stacked with Love" Washi tape over the corner which lifted the whole page.

If you would like to see what else we have available in our new catalogues (and there is a LOT!) then click HERE to visit the Online Store.

And stay in touch! Don't forget to "like" my Facebook Business page which is constantly updated.

Have fun and get creative!

Linda x

Video Tutorial: 3 Step Stamping with the Lotus Blossom Stamp set

In order to celebrate our new Sale-A-Bration and Occasions catalogues which launched today, I made a video to show you how to achieve this beautiful layered look with the Lotus Blossom stamp set.



If you love to look like an artist, then you are going to love this stamp set! (And best of all... its FREE with a $90 order!)



Click HERE to visit the Online Store if you'd like to see the new products!



Enjoy the video!

It's HERE! No more waiting....Sale-a-Bration starts today!

And I thought you might like to start out by seeing our lovely new catalogues with all their gorgeous products to play with!  To see what's inside you can choose "Our Catalogues" from the tab at the top of this blog, OR visit the ONLINE STORE.

With so many ways to participate in Sale-A-Bration and get FREE products, you can’t miss out!

Shop: Earn a FREE Sale-A-Bration product for every $90 AUD/$110 NZD you spend between 6 January and 31 March.

Host: Hostess Benefits are great during Sale-A-Bration. Your customers can host Sale-A-Bration parties for a chance to earn discounts and extra host dollars!

Join: It’s a great time to join Stampin’ Up! as a new demonstrator! New demonstrators can choose one of the following limited-time Sale-A-Bration offers when joining between 6 January and 31 March.
• Option #1: Receive a FREE Simply Created Project Kit from the occasions catalogue with your Starter Kit.
• Option #2: Receive 2 FREE Sale-A-Bration items of your choice with your Starter Kit.

Of course SAB is so much more fun when you have a fabulous OCCASIONS CATALOGUE to go with it! Also released today.. its full of beautiful items to inspire you to create!  Isn't the cover just beautiful?? (And yes, those flowers are made out of paper!)

My suggestion is to make yourself a cuppa, and sit down and go through the catalogues at your leisure. Or if you would like a "real" one (i.e. a hard copy) contact me by clicking HERE and I'll send you one. (Sorry only for Australian customers)

To go shopping for anything you see in these catalogues you can visit the ONLINE STORE and see the full product listing!

Let's SALE-A-BRATE together!

Stampin'Up Occasions Catalogue 2015 - Bringing out the Vintage in you!

I've always told people that I don't really "do" Vintage. I mean, I appreciate the Vintage style when I see it, and I think some designers are particularly good at it.  But I've never considered myself one of them.

So it comes as quite a surprise to me that I am suddenly creating quite a few projects that could be described as having a Vintage theme about them.  Not that I was setting out on that path when I sat down to create... but some of these products I have been worked with from the upcoming Occasions Catalogue just naturally lend themselves to that style.  (The new Occasions catalogue will be released on Tuesday 6th January, 2015. )

Take today's card as an example... the background is called "Something Lacy" and I stamped it in Crumb Cake ink on Crumb Cake cardstock for a subtle look. The lace across the bottom is also new.... and definitely has a Vintage feel to it. The main image is actually a new stamp set called "Lotus Blossom"... and here is the good news... its completely FREE when you spend $90 on any products from any of our catalogues! How good is that? You'll find this one in the SAB catalogue, also released on Tuesday 6th January 2015.  The Lotus Blossom is actually a 3-step stamp set!  And the watercoloured look it gives you is quite exquisite! I've done mine in Perfect Plum ink, and I cut the main shape with the Deco Labels framelits.  All up it was a very quick card to make, but I love the result!

Want to see more?  Click HERE to visit my Facebook Business page, and then "like" the page for regular updates. Hope to see you there!

Linda xx

PS.... I still have 3 spots left at my Tuesday night launch, or 2 spots left in my Thursday daytime launch. Details are at the top of this page, in the "Class Schedule" section.  Click HERE to email me if you'd like to join us!