On Stage 2015 was amazing!!

Last weekend was incredible!! As a current SU! demonstrator I get to attend these exclusive events. This year it was a world wide occasion called On Stage 2015, so we were seeing over-seas demonstrators present from Belgium, in little ole' Melbourne, Australia!! Crazy, hey!!

The advantage of these occasions is the sharing of ideas, the personal and real connections that we get to make over the years and of course, the drooling of new products!!

Here are a couple of photos there were taken throughout the day, it was such an energetic day for everyone!

This is Mel, my upline, (the SU! demonstrator that I signed under, many years ago). She is my go to person anytime I am unsure of my colour co-ordinations for a card sketch, relevant business choices or even what I should cook for my family tonight!! She is a wonderful friend!

This is our table display, a special diary & notebook, a workplace to stamp on during the day & a new drink bottle - how did they know that Im back to running and needed it?

This smile says: I just won Prize Patrol!! Because of the colour of my badge on my lanyard, I one a 'not yet released' stamp set....therefore I cant even show you what it is!! You will have to come back early January to see the stunning images of the stamp set!!

With all Stampin' Up! events, we are encouraged to make a card or 3D item to share, known as Swaps. When I swap with another demonstrator, I receive something back that will give me new ideas of how to use a stamp set or particular product! And I now have so many ideas!!

These ear-rings is what I made to swap with my fellow demos - they use the Glimmer Paper and Organza Riboon, presented on Cherry Cobbler cardstock & Gold Embossing Powder. I made 90 pairs of these ear-rings and I was simply chuffed with the response as I was swapping with others.

Over the next few posts, I will share some of the swaps that I received back, they are all so gorgeous!

See you soon, Jo.

Love Is In The Air...

As promised, not so long ago, I am now sharing my latest Card In a Box.

Some of your may know that when I was younger, I was in Foster Care. During this time I was placed with a family that to this day, are very special to me. They became my honory Aunt & Uncle & Cousins. I went to family gatherings with them, celebrated Christmas and birthdays with them & learnt lots of life lessons, just as families do when they spend so much time together. 

I recently received an invitation to celebrate an impending marriage for their eldest boy, so was super excited to  make something so unique for them. Scott and Adriana will be married soon, in Columbia, so we had a great gathering. I got to catch up with so many people from my past, that I remember growing up with... It truly was special!

So here is the Card In a Box that I made for the gorgeous couple that are jet setting soon, to be married in Adriana's hometown, over-seas. 

Using lots of hearts, Real Red, Whisper White & Glimmer Paper mounted on acetate, I came up with this... It clearly goes outside the boundaries of the C6 envelope, so I used the next size up, to keep those hearts safe. 

I wish them so much happiness for their married life & I cant wait to hear about their Wedding and travels.

Thanks for stopping by...

Card In a Box have taken over my life!!

Have you heard of the little boxes that are taking over the world, let alone my stamp table?
They are, simply put, a rectangle box that stands either landscape or portrait and have a great display of flowers, butterflies, cupcakes etc, to represent the theme of the card...

On the front is the decoration and the sentiment, while there is a  blank peice of cardstock on the back, for the message...

And as they say: Here is some I have prepared earlier... :P

Ive made this Daffoldil Delight a couple of times now, as a birthday box, Get Well Soon box & a Sympathy box. The set-up lends itself to so many occasions!!

Lots of people like a bit a of sparkle, right? They were the finishing touch to these butterflies, after they were embossed in various folders and squeezed through the big Shot....

One of the best bits of making these, in abundance, is the fact that these little bits n peices use scraps!! And my scraps were building up.... How does that not put a smile on your dial, hey?

I just love how the Glimmer Paper is so shiny in this photo!! I hope it puts a smile on the person receiving it too!!

Now you can see how these Card In a Box have taken over my stamp table, right?

I have left a very special one for my next post, which certainly wont leave you hanging for too much longer, I promise!! The next one I have to show you, is very much made with love!!

See you then...

Holiday Catalogue Blog Hop

How exciting is it, to be seeing all these creative peices of work!! This is my first blog hop & Im loving everyone's interpretation of the wonderful Stampin' Up! product!

And it doesn't matter where you started, you will eventually see everyone's work!! I do love what Emma made with her products, I haven't seen her work before, but I will certainly be stalking, I mean following her blog!!

Many of you may know that I am, proudly, a Stampin' Up! demonstrator & have been for 6 years now. Of course, because of that, we get to share ideas, sneak peaks & tutorials about the SU! products, but the added bonus is the friendships & support I have received from all over Australasia. This un-expected family of Stampin' Sisters & Brothers, (yes males can join also!!),  make this company a fantastic one to work for!!

So.....(drum roll, please...), with all the official 'paperwork' done, here are my items to share with you...

While the Holiday Catalogue has lots of lovely Christmas stamps & embellishments, I decided to use one of them for a couple of completely different projects.... 

We had Father's Day here last week & my dad loves all things fishing & camping. 

I always like to live life 'outside the box', so when I saw a different way to use the Bird Builder , I immediately had to use it, differently!!

While I wanted the sun to be a feature, I didn't want it to take over the whole card, so stamping it at the back worked for me. I then cut the rolling hills freehand, & used the Perfect Pines Framelits to make a forest & the Bird Builder & Word Window punch for the fire. I sponged the sunset, hills, trees & fire before sticking it all down with either Dimensionals or Tear & Tape. 

I am a bit happy that it seemed just perfect for the occasion & for my Dad!!

To continue to show you how the Stampin' Up! products are so versatile, I have used the beautiful bird from another Christmas Set, Joyful Season. I have a very close friend whose mum passed away 2 years ago & blue birds remind her of her gorgeous mum.

As soon as I saw this set, I began to work out how I would use this bird for her Mother's anniversary. Using the 2 step stamp set with Marina Mist ink, I placed the bird on our thick padded tape, Dimensionals to help her stand out...
I also used the Marina Mist marker to ink only the "Thinking of you", when the full sentiment actually says, "Thinking of you at Christmas". This is a great technique for isolating a certain part of a stamp. This stamp is from the Embellished Ornaments set :)
I believe this card would lend itself to being a great Male Birthday card or even a Sympathy card?

Ok, onto Christmas, hey? You know there is only 105 sleeps until Christmas, right - time to get moving on some ideas!!

Here I have wrapped a present using the brown packing paper that our orders come in. , I just love up-cycling & this is a very cheap but effective way to wrap the special gifts for loved ones. 

I stamped the tiny holly image with Old Olive onto Whisper White, matting it with Old Olive cardstock. 

One thing you can be sure of is that the ink, cardstock, ribbon & embellishment match so well through Stampin' Up! products, it makes colour matching so easy for brain dead people like me!!

    

In this close-up of the Embellished Ornament , you can see the Crystal Effects shining & the sparkliness of the Glimmer Paper, just gorgeous!! I've stamped the sentiment on Whisper White & stuck that on the back, so it is also now a tag for my present! 

Can you hear me smiling from my stamp room?

                                                   

One of many things that Stampin' Up! has taught me, is how glorious it is to have matching items - therefore I used the 'template' of my present to then make a matching card... I discovered along the way that the 1 3/4 circle punch is an exact fit for the smaller of the ornaments, so this helped my card to come together so quick!! Again, I used Crystal Effects to give the glass effect.

It may be hard to see, but I have cut each peice of cardstock so that the complete card is only 1 layer thick, rather than many layers. It gives a cleaner finish, dont you think?

 Here are both the present & card together, a match made in Christmas Heaven, lol...
All in all, Im very happy with how they compliment each other so well :))

Thanks for looking at my work, Id love you to leave a comment to tell me which ones you liked or to ask any questions about how I've made something you have seen...

I hope that Ive inspired you to get Stampin' too!!  Feel free to come back to see what else I've been working on at other times, also..

From my blog here, you can continue to drool at:

Rebecca

Andrea

Rochelle

Kathryn

Monique

Bernie

Liv

Sally

Ria

Delys

Jessica

Lou

Barbara

Kelly

Jenny

Libby

Paula

Keryn

Carly

Rachel

Narelle

Emily

Emma

Thanks again :))

Basketball Presentation Day

Two of my children play basketball & this winter season has come to an end. They play for The Salvo Saints, Under 16 Girls & Under 12 Boys, 2015.
On the same day that the whole team has their presentation, each team give their Manager & Couch a gift, as recognition to their commitment theoughout the months..

I was asked to make their gifts, 'look pretty', so I took on that challenge, quite happily!!

Here I have used Bermuda Bay, Basic Black & our gorgeous Glimmer Paper to reproduce a 'Tiffany' type gift box. I just love how the bow is so sparkly!!




After I made the box, I needed a card to match, right?
You may recognise this from an earlier card I made using Daffodil Delight for the bow, but the Glimmer Paper is so different, from that, right???

Needless to say, these gifts from each team, was received with squeals of excitement & that in turn makes me all warm and fuzzy!!

The perfect end to our day was seeing my two children beaming with pride, as they both recived the Most Improved Player in their reapectove teams!! They have both challenged themselves within their team training & during their games, so it was lovely to see their hard work being acknowledged...
Congratulations Rachlle and Darcy!!
I was a proud Mamma!!

I'm Baaaaack.....

Wow, I really have dropped the ball since July, havent I? Only one other post and that didn't offer very much, did it?
Ive had so many things on, here there and everywhere, that I decided to take a little pressure off me, by not trying to post regularly...It simply puts unreal expectations on me, that I cant meet & I feel like a failure!!

With that in mind, I have these cards to share with you.

Sadly, the loss of a baby is something that occurs to many families. This may be through a pregnancy gone wrong, a still born or a child gaining its wings soon after death. While this isnt a card that I wish to make, it absolutely is something that needs to be acknowledged, however hard.
I have spoken to many women, through my work, that say that simply having their baby acknowledged & their name spoken, means so much to them.

I stamped this with White Kraft ink first, let that dry and then stamped with the blue, slightly off the white. Somehow I have never used this technique for any other card...

Using Blushing Bride and Whisper White, I came up with this simple & quick Get Well Card. While I dont usually do or like pink cards, I do like the cleanliness of this one!! The butterfly is cut using the Sizzix Butterlfly die in the Big Shot & a couple of pearls, to add to the softness.

It's quite rare for me to make a card with no sentiment, but I felt that Swallowtail, (the name of this large butterfly stamp), needed nothing else to make it work.

You will see though, there is a slight 'red' tinge to the edges of the wings. I used the 'Rock 'n "Roll' technique, one that is quite easy to get a great result. 

By inking your lighter colour first, you then 'roll' the very edges of the stamp, on the darker colour, only picking up a little bit of the stronger colour. 

When you have stamped on your card, be sure to completely clean your stamp before you place it on any other ink pad or your could ruin it!!

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a message of your thoughts on my 3 very different cards.

I hope to not let you hold your breathe so long again, in the future... Especially as I have some gorgeous Card In Boxes to share with you next!!

They are certainly worth waiting for!!

Sale, Sale, Sale!!!

With so many of my retired stamps sitting on my shelf, gathering dust, I have decided to sell them off.

There is a new Holiday Catalogue and I just love lots of the new items I see there. So I need to make room for some new ideas and stamp sets!

Here is the link to some of the sets that I am selling, through a facebook page. 

Retired Items For Sale.

Please note, though, that this facebook page is only for Australian residents - but I am sure there are many sites where you can pick up a bargain too!!

Happy buying!!

Rest In Peace Janine, We Will Remember You...

Later this week, family & friends of Janine, a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator, will be laid to rest.

Our friendship will not be forgotten.

Janine's gentle nature will not be forgotten.

Our late night conversations will not be forgotten.

Janine's talent & attention to detail, in her cards will not be forgotten.

Janine's generosity, especially to Combat Cards, Victoria, will not be forgotten.

Her incredible fight with the insideous disease of breast cancer will not be forgotten.

                           

It is for this reason that I made this wreath for her. Made from 400 rosettes, I have up-cycled old books from the Op-Shop.

It seemed fitting for a fellow paper-crafter...

Sleep well, my friend x

When Darcy was away on camp!!

Our youngest, Darcy went to camp a couple of weeks ago, on the day of his 11th birthday!! He loved the idea of it, but the rest of us at home felt a bit strange not celebrating with him, that night.
We had had a family birthday the weekend before, but it just wasnt the same....

So from the  minute I dropped him off to school, Darcy's brother, Kyle, his sister Rachelle, Brett and I worked erratically to re-vamp his bedroom from a young boy theme, (light blue walls) of spaceships & rockets to an 11 year olds' basketball room!!
I decided that his colours would be Pumpkin Pie & Night of Navy, two 'wow' colours for his room!!

Can you already tell this is going to be a longer post????

Rachelle was desperate to help with painting, so she was quite active on the roller. She was also happy to help with cutting in, so we were all a great team together!

Kyle was equally excited to paint, but I think he found the navy blue quite different to the appearance of the orange, in relation to the way it covered the light blue, so he wasnt so excited at first...

When Darcy was born, he had a condition called Bi-Lateral Telepes, (known as Club Foot) & therefore had quite a few operations, a long time in a wheelchair & subsequent therapy, so the fact that Darcy has played basketball for over 4 years,  is a great show of his determination & character!! 

He has never really had somewhere to proudly show off his trophies, so that was something  I really wanted in his new room... 

Thanks to Pinterest, I found an idea that I worked with until we came up with these shelves - simply by cutting into a real basketball!! The quarters were then glue-gunned to the under side of the shelves I had chenut & painted & then drilled into the wall, simple but effective!!

                                        I was a bit chuffed with how they turned out!!

While I had been working on the shelves, Brett was putting up the basketball ring and fixing the curtain rail. Rachelle & Kyle snuck away & didnt let us know what they were doing, until much later. They were working on an Inspiration Board for Darcy and his passion for basketball, how cute, right!!

                               

So finally after 2 1/2 days of craziness with stripping, painting & redecorating his room, school & work for us, Darcy was home from camp!

At first he was a bit confused as to why we werent our usual selves, we were jumping around with excitement, but then the words 'awesome,', 'cool' and 'sick' came out of his mouth as he wondered around his revamped room!!

                               

 He particularly liked his desk in his built in robe, Rachelle's idea, the trophy shelves, the curtains, the basketball and and and...

 The basketball outline on the wall was a great feature, sharing the length of his room with the tall boy, (out of photo) and some items from his younger child hood.

I think it was all a little over-whelming for him!! 

A few days later, friends of ours were getting rid of some furniture from their house and offered it to Darcy, knowing it would fit his theme perfectly...of course he loved it immediately!!

What a great finish to his room!!

Thanks for putting up with such a long post, I loved sharing our mini make-over with you, let me know what you think :)

Finding My Mo-Jo...

Sometimes when I need time to simply make something, but have no mo-jo, I just play around with ideas... Sometimes a card doesnt work and I throw it all out AND sometimes I get better results!!

This time just happened to work for me!!

I was wanting to make thankyou cards & I came up with these 3 designs.

This card already in the cello bags, oops, is using the Tulip Flower Two Step Stamp Set. I used Pumpkin Pie & Old Olive ink and the Thankful thinlit from the Expression collection, (it's getting a workout lately!!).

Using Delightful Daffodil, Old Olive & Rich Razzleberry ink, this card was just as quick & easy, (queasy, us Demos say!!), as the first card. Flower Patch Two Stamp Set, with the matching framelits & a feminine touch with a Pearl makes the card simple, but effective!

This card took a little longer to put together, probably because I introduced a non Stampin' Up! item, *gasp*... and it was harder to make things match with an outsider!!

I hope you can see that the "Thankful" is glossy? A close friend gave me sheets of shiny leather type paper & of course, I had to immediately play with it!!
The Big Shot had another workout with the Lucky Stars Embossing Folder, giving more texture to this card.
I then dusted off  Thoughts & Prayers, (an oldie, but a goodie) & used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the extra part of the stamp below the matt, in Riding Hood Red.

Come back soon to see what else Ive been creating :))

Saying Thankyou To Our Neighbours :)

While we were away in Queensland, enjoying the sunshine and fun, (all those cold weeks ago!!), our neighbour Kelly and Lee were watching our home. It was such a great peace of mind, knowing someone was looking after our house!!


It is for that reason that I decorated this Stampin' Up! pre-made & scored box, (now retired...) for them. I actually loved coming home and using the products from such a great company, knowing those Designer Papers, ribbons, embellishments & inks always co-ordinate so well, it certainly helps!!

Of course, when I had finished making the box, I needed a matching card, so I set too work on one. This time I used the Expreslsions Thinlits with the Big Shot in the Soft Suede cardstock, a couple of rhinestones and I was done!!

I put a note book, a pen and a bottle of bubble mix inside, (which 5 year doesnt like bubbles, right?) and put it altogether for a photo, of course!!

After the problems we had a couple of years ago with a person we trusted taking valuable personal documents & using them for crime, I am incredibly grateful to have people around me that I can rely on. I am very 'thankful' to have Kelly, Lee & Kirah living next door to us!!

Here's hoping it won't be so long before the next post, this time :))

New Products Are Coming!!

The main benefit of attending Convention is to see, use & learn about the new products that will be released with the new catalogue from June 2 this year. And this year certainly didn't disappoint!!
Here are a couple of exciting items....

Here you can see The Banner Triple Punch, that cuts a banner end on 2.5, 3.8 or 5.1 cm width peices of cardstock. Of course, in time, there will be more uses for this standard punch, that's the beauty of Stampin' Up! products!!

How can I not share this with you all? It is simply stunning!!
It doesnt matter if you are Australian, a New Zealander or are from India, remembering our Soldiers that fought & died for our own country, ignites emotions.
Thankyou to Jacqui for sharing this at Convention with us!!

Using the Little Letters Thinlits, "Lest We Forget" stands alone, perfectly working with the framed photo of the Soldier. 

And those Poppies!! This is a great example of how versatile the cardstock is - use a punch to cut out the shape and burnish over and over with the bone folder, to give it the aged look...

It gives life to these flowers, don't you agree?

Over the years, Stampin' Up! has donated millions of dollars to various charities around the world and this year, 'Sprinkles Of Life" is a gorgeous happy set to help spread the love!

As a mum of 3, a Child Care Co-Ordinator & a friend to many with children in their lives, I am acutely aware of the health & well-being of our little people. 

By buying & using this stamp set, you will help to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. And having families stay close to their children when in hospital means that the children & parents cope better during this traumatic time, obviously...

"Sprinkles Of Life" is a photopolymer that consists of 22 stamps, therefore it is great value for money, ($37.00 AUD), The cloud that is shown here, also works as a tree top & a scoop of ice-cream!! I hope you are as intrigued as I was when I saw it!!

I will be sharing more images of this set (and lots of the other new products), as I have more play dates with it!! I will also be organsiing classes using this set, I hope you can make it to them!

Happy Stampin'!!

Post Inspire.Create.Share 2015

The amazing time that I spent at this year's Inspire. Create. Share. Convention for Stampin' Up! is over for another year, but I am still pumped!!

During the 3 days there, there were so many people that I finally re-connected with, since last year or meet for the first time - it truly is humbling. The noise of 700 women laughing in excitement, hugging and sometimes crying is a beautiful thing!

There were so many inspiring women at our Convention, these beautiful women are only a few of them - if you arent in these photos, I apologise, some weren't clear enough to share and I also have so many to sort through!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

        

 In order of my photos, I am with Susan, Tina, Madonna, Wendy, Shona/ Karen/ Tina and Julie, some of the most amazing women. Not only are they incredible with our Stampin' Up! product & produce stunning work, they give to so many around them, simply to make the world a better place.

I am honored to call them friends & I value all that I learn from them, creatively & emotionally. 

Admittedly, we were all at Convention to get our crafty hands on some of the newest products that will be realeased with the 2015-2016 Annual Stampin' Up! Catalogue!! It was wonderful!!

And the catalogue is so glossy with gorgeous photos of new stamps, cardstocks, inks & embellishments!!

This shiny publication is available to you now!!

If you dont have a copy of your own to drool over, contact me and I can organise to have one sent to you!!

Stay tuned for more posts about Convention :)