Aye Aye!

I've been aye-ayeing this stamp set for a while now, but I've so far resisted (just too many things on my wish list). My son Matthew is now 7 and is more into bikes and soccer these days, but I really REALLY wanted to have a play with it.

Some of my lovely customers decided to aid-and-abet my stamping addiction by stamping out images for me to use... Don't we all need friends like that?

This set is called Ahoy Matey and is on page 62 of the Idea Book.

I used some of the Fall Flowers designer series paper, colored the stamped images with Really Rust ink and blender pen then went over it with the chalk pastels. Colour also added with my new neutral markers, which are fantastic. The base cardstock is Really Rust, with the matting in Basic Gray. A few little pieces from the Hodgepodge Hardware finish it off.

The neutral markers are great value. Four markers come in the pack, in Stampin' Up!'s colours of Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Going Gray and Basic Gray. They can be used for colouring, as I've done here, or you can use them in place of a stamp pad by coloring in the rubber and then stamping. The best thing is, when using this method of inking up the rubber you can omit any part of the image that you don't want. AND you can use different coloured markers to create a muli-coloured image. See on the right for an example of this using my Soft Subtles markers.

Spiral Punch

A while back I received a swap from Janine (the talented stamper who first introduced me to Stampin' Up!) that used the spiral punch to create the effect of a film strip. I thought it was so clever because it really gives another use for this punch.

When I scrap I tend to use a lot of photos and I want to capture all the expressions as they change across someones face. Especially little kids when they break out into a huge grin! How can just one photo capture all that?

I felt that way about the photos featured in this scrapbook page. Rachel was having such a blast in this tub on our last camping trip - her smiles and grins were just priceless. This filmstrip technique was great because I printed half a dozen photos in a 'thumbnail' or 'contact sheet' layout and used the whole lot of them :)

images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Stampin' Up! colours used: Handstome Hunter, River Rock

Other: On Board Accents chipboard

Stamp sets: Warm Words, Simply Said

Stationery Set

Had a bit of fun this morning making the latest hostess gifts for upcoming Stampin' Up! workshops. This is a little portfolio/ card-keeper and I've popped a few envelopes in it.



This is what it looks like inside....







Stamps: Bodacious Bouquet, So Swirly wheel
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa
Ink: Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa, Rose Red
Other: Jumbo eyelets (love those things!!), vanilla wide grosgrain ribbon

Diagonal Double Fold Pocket Card

Or the DDFPC for short! Ha! There's nothing short about this little baby. Although, I must admit that after you've done a few it doesn't take TOOOO long to whip these up.

This is what I was talking about in yesterday's post. In the first pocket I wrote the invitation, and the second pocket has the event details, such as date, time, venue etc.

Or, you could put the invitation in the front, and the RSVP slip in the back. Or maybe gift register details in the back pocket. So much fun. Look here for instructions.

Princess Card

A good stamping buddy of mine (hi Jen!) is putting on her SuperMum cape today and hosting a Princess party for her daughter... with 25 kids coming along to celebrate! WOW, she's a brave woman.

I couldn't help but jump on the bandwagon, and made my own little princess card.

It's a tilt card, based on a tutorial that was on SplitCoastStampers a couple of weeks ago. We made these and a couple of other animated images in Stamp Club this month.

If you haven't already signed up for the SplitCoastStampers weekly newsletter, then 'do yourself a favour' and sign up! This week's featured tutorial is the Diagonal Double Pocket Card.... and I've made 6 of them already! Stayed tuned for tomorrow's blog update and I'll share them :)

Simply Scrappin'

Isn't she gorgeous? This is my beautiful girl who isn't feeling well today so is home sick from kinder.
We accidentally left the back door open this morning and one of the chooks came in for a surprise visit. Zoe and I were carefully trying to catch her, being very gentle and trying not to frighten her too much... until the cheeky thing went into the spare room (which just happens to be my stamping room at the moment!). Well - in 2 seconds flat I had that chook and she was out the back door!!!! It's one thing that she came in to the house, but everyone knows that the stamp room is OUT OF BOUNDS!
It cheered Zoe up no end. She was laughing for ages after our little adventure together.

Products used to make this page:
Simply Scrappin' Crew Kids Girl (p138)
On Board Simon Lower chipboard (p140), covered in textured Wild Wasabi cardstock

June Specials with Stampin' Up!®

Haven't posted for a week - that's not like me! It's not because I haven't been crafting, that's for sure :)

Here's a little tote that I made using some of the beautiful paper from the Secret Garden Simply Scrappin' kit, just to prove it. I love making these bags, so quick and easy. If you'd like to make one at a workshop just send me an email and we can make a date :)

And now is the perfect time to hold a workshop. Stampin' Up!® just announced a fantastic offer for hostesses whose workshops are held from now until July 15. An EXTRA $50 in free products are available for workshops that reach $700 in sales. WOW. That's on top of the normal exclusive free hostess stamp sets and other benefits that hostesses enjoy.

I only had a couple of dates free during that time, but have opened up a few extra times to make it easier if you would like to book a workshop. Email me for more details.

Customers aren't forgotten during June either. Stampin' Up! is offering the eScape Bundle of products for up to 25% off. The bundle includes a pack of loves notes (I call them gift cards, they are cute little 3"x3" cards with envelopes), the Circle of Friendship stamp set and the matching 1 1/4" circle punch. Click here for more details.

images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®