Light The Way...

I have a good friend, Kathryn who invited me to a Stampin' Up! demonstrator only retreat. Because it wasnt during the school term, basketball wasnt happening and for whatever reason, the planets lined up,  I was actaully able to attend!!

It was so lovely to surprise another great mate, Susan when I got there, I kept it from her that I was able to be there!!

We had from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon together - time to catch up, eat, giggle, eat, do a tiny bit of exercise, eat, make cards, eat and learn new techniques from other SU! demos...

It was pure bliss!!

On the second night, Kathryn had organised these cute little lanterns to be in our rooms when we finished crafting. (That was only about 1 am Sunday morning!!) That little battery operated light worked for a while before I found it!!

 Using vellum, embossing powder, stamps and a couple of punches, Kathryn (and possibly her team) put these together as a lovely gift for us all...
How simple but stunning is this? Who would have thought it was simply a battery operated light in a disposable plastic glass, hey?

Thanks Kathryn, this has pride of place in my stamp room & I may just replicate it for little gifts, soon!!

Happy Birthday Blair!!

It was my nephew's 1st birthday and my sister, has an obsession with all things Disney, especially Mickey Mouse. With this in mind, I knew that Blair's card needed to go with her theme...

I had recently bought the Swirly Bird stamp set & matching dies, (10 % off when you purchase them together) and had seen some cards using the bird nest not as nests...so that got me thinking...

I had a play with the various parts of the dies & finally settled with this:

The Real Red, Basic Black,Whisper White & Pop Of Pink DSP works so well & it didnt take too long to put together!! Gotta love those cards, hey?


I knew that Brooke's party table was going to reflect her love for Mickey and she certainly didnt disappoint!!

Here is her food table...all red, black and white, simply perfect!!

Brooke's talent showed through when she presented the cake, Mickey of course!!

But wait, there's more!! Here is the show stopper!! So clever!!

Needless to say that Blair's birthday was a great day for him and a wonderful opportunity for family to come together!!

Happy birthday Blair, we love you lots!!

I'm Tired...

As a card-maker, I have a collection of cards that I fill as I make various cards. I use this box for markets & of course, when I need a card for a special occasion.

I made a certain card a couple of years ago, for Easter and they are STILL in my collection!!

I am so tired of looking at them - they needed to either be sold immediately or be rebirthed...kinda ironic, hey?

So on the third day, they...no, they didn't, I'm being silly!!

I needed to only change the sentiment, so needed something reasonably similar in size.

When I removed the dimensionals, (the padded adhesive to give the sentiment lift), there was a little bit of gum left over, so I needed to cover those spots with more flowers.

I replaced the sentiment with one from the stamp set called Thoughts & Prayers & I don't think that it is obvious that it has been changed. Do you agree with me?

Just a Small Thanks...

A few weeks ago, I took over 100 slides to my local Harvey Norman store. I wanted the images copied, along with copying original wedding photos of my Mother & Father In Law's Wedding.

I'm sure you can understand, I was slightly nervous handing over such an important part of my husband's life... But when I met Mat, at the photo lab, I knew I could trust him.

Not only did Mat take great care of the slides, but he also had them finished in about 2 hours!!

I barely had time to finish this little box before he called to say they were done!!

I just love when I get things right and all the lines actually line up!!

The aeroplane from       reminded me of the age of some of the slides that had been copied, so I thought it was just perfect for this project! The 'tree' from the      punch made for a wonderful little cloud!!  With a couple of Dimensionals  on the lid, I threw in a few Favourites Chocolates & I was out the door to collect my slides & USB with a small gift for Mat.

Welcome Luke Alexander.

I have a close friend, who recently asked me to make her a Keepsake Box for her baby, Luke.

Luke is a Rainbow Baby, to his sister, Violet, born August 2014. She gained her angel wings not long after birth & will always be in our heart & memory.

All children are miracles, but this was an even more special project. I hope that Luke will have this box for many years, it will hold some very important memories of when he was born.

I began with a standard box & lid that I bought from a "Junky" shop. I then covered the box completely, cut the cardstock for the belly band and stamped the gorgeous Baby Bear & fussy cut him out.

On each side of the box, the Baby Bear is stamped and cut out, where-as on the top, I raised him up with Dimensionals.

When I completed the box, I actually moved the butterfly to the top of the box, rather than the side...

I think it looked better that way.

I'm so happy that this will be a keep-sake for Luke and his parents. He is such a beautiful boy, already giving so much joy to everyone that meets him.

I hope you continue to stay warm, it's quite cold here in Melbourne, Australia. I cannot wait to feel the warm sun on my face... See you at my next post :)

Eid Mubarak to my Muslim friends.

I work with & have many friends who are Muslim.

I love to be welcomed into their life, share in their ups and downs and of course, their celebrations...

During July, Ramadan is celebrated and I am very aware that there are not many cards for those in the Muslim community.
I wanted to change this....

 I am aware that the moon holds great importance within the Muslim religion, so definitely wanted to include this in my card. I just love the richness of the Blackberry Bliss, so it was this cardstock that I reached for first!!

I am very happy with the cleanness of these cards & they were very well received, for that, I am very grateful.

Come back again soon, to see how I decorated a box for a new baby :)

A Friendship That is Always There...

I've heard or read somewhere before: Friendship should not be hard work...

I absolutely agree with this! I have a friend that I met when our children were at primary school together & we cross paths occasionally still, even though our children no longer are at the same school.

Lesley amazes me with her strength, reliance & outlook on life. She has dealt with so much more than I or others have & yet she continues to smile.

She sees beauty in the things that you & I may overlook, is an incredible mum to 2 daughters, a wife, aunty, daughter and a great friend, to me. I may not see her for months, but that doesn't matter when we chat.

Lesley writes a facebook blog about her life - her family, her accomplishments & of course, her challenges.

You can follow her here, on her Facebook page: An Overwhelmingly Beautiful Mess.

Follow her page, enjoy her written words and say hello from me :))

There is a Wedding in the air...

 A friend of mine was traveling to Fiji for her wedding and she asked me to help with the table settings...

I said, "of course!!"

Claudia explained how a deep red & gold colour palette would represent the families coming together, perfectly.
Somehow a butterfly needed to be incorporated, for those who have passed before them, also.

Cue Cherry Cobbler and Gold Embossing Powder!!

 So after a few coffees, quite a few yummy biscuits & lollies, this is what we came up with!!

How stunning is the gold against the Cherry Cobbler?

 We needed to make sure the butterflies were quite secure, as they were being transported in her luggage, so we gave them a long time to dry, before storing them.

Here is Claudia and Rajnesh, during their ceremony. How gorgeous are they all?

Congratulations to my special friends, your wedding was stunning - Thankyou for the opportunity to have a tiny part in your day :)

A Little Thanks.

My youngest boy's eye was injured in a small accident at school yesterday. The nurse was so wonderful when she rang to tell me. I was juggling the need to get home in a mad rush & leave my work's Annual General Meeting, knowing that traffic was awful due an horrific accident on the road etc, etc, etc...

Jocelyn was so great, reassuring both Darcy and I, she really made us feel better about our choices. This is why I made a Chocolate Slider, using the It''s My Party DSP, Pool Party & Melon Mambo cardstock. And a bit of bling, of course!!

I used a peice of acetate to make the top balloon bouncy and then added a couple of Glimmer stars from behind each balloon, so they move when someone is drooling over it :))

The balloons are made 'puffy' by using the end of a scoring tool & rubbing it until it begins to curl up. I then stuck 2 balloons together using a couple of dimensionals and ribbon. Cute, hey?
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Thanks for looking at my latest creation, I will have some new items from our latest catalogue, next time, so check in again soon :)

We Stamp For Lara. (15 Tutrorials for $15!!)

For those of you that are interested in learning about stamping techniques & why I do 'what I do' with Stampin' Up!, here is just one wonderful reason!!

Let's get stampin!!

Please join us in raising funds to help this lovely girl and her needs.

Lara has Cerebral Palsy and also has microcephaly, epilepsy and vision impairment.

Her parents get up every night to physically move her so she does not get bed sores.

Lara's parents have set up a facebook page, where you can follow her progress...

They are in need of a self inflatable mattress. This mattress inflates and deflates so it moves her during the night.

$15 will get you 15 tutorials.

Payment made by direct deposit or paypal

Contact me via email at email, or Facebook, once you have made payment.

(I can direct you to how to purchase items you may need for these projects, etc....)

Once done, I will add you too the fb group where you will be able to access the tutorials.

Thanks again for your help xx

Payment made to the following account

Pauline Bennetts

BSB 641800

Account Number 200756764

Use your name as the reference.

Or paypal

pauline@paulinebennetts.com

Harmony Day 2016

I work in a wonderful place called Glenroy Neighbourhood Learning Centre, (GNLC). It is here that I am the Child Care Co-Ordinator for the child care centre, while many other talented people teach English, Computer & VCAL students, amongs other subjects also.

Many of my children come to our centre because their parents are attending the English classes, through the A.M.E.P. program, (Adult Migrant English Program), where-by newly arrived asylum seekers or refugees learn English, so that they can assimilate into the community.

Every year, we collectively celebrate Harmony Day, so I decided to make something that represents the children from our centre & the countries that their families are from. Most of the children I know enjoy cup-cakes & I am always happy to make these, so then I printed that flags from the countries of the families in our centre.

AND of course, Stampin' Up! has a fantastic colour in Pumpkin Pie, just the perfect orange to represent the universal colour for Harmony Day, so I matted all the flags and wrote the name of each country on the back. I am still learning about other countries, so this was a great opportunity to teach others!!

The list was quite reasonable!!

There is a flag from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Burma, Sri Lanka, America, The Netherlands, Malta, Australia, Japan, China, India, Lebanon, Italy, Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia, Thailand & Napal, if I have them all listed correctly....

We have such a beautiful mix of people that are all working towards a common goal of learning in our centre, so it was a great way to celebrate all that we have to offer!

And what we all have to offer, is fooooooood!! How is this for an amazing selection of food from many cultures!!

In our current world, we need more acceptance and love. Our little neighbourhood house community displayed this love by gathering around food and celebrating all that we are.

I'm hoping that next Harmony Day sees us with less pain & suffering and more acceptance, love and smiles. 

Happy Harmony Day, 2016.

It's a Curvy Keepsake kinda market!!

My children's local primary school had a fun fiesta night & I was lucky enough to have a stall there.

Despite the crazy windy weather, there was a wonderful atmosphere with lots of families around.

I had been busy becoming familiar with the Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits, (Annual Catalogue, page 171),  to make these Angry Birds charactors... To keep other young children happy, I made a Hello Kitty type of Keepsake and.....
I also wanted something a little more feminine, so decided to add some Butterflies thinlits.

I also wanted something a little more feminine, so decided to add some Butterflies thinlits.

I guess you really cant see the Shimmer that is on the wings, but I did spray them... The various sentiments included: Happy Mother's Day, Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon & Friend To Friend.

The end results were a great group of Curvy Keepsakes to sell.

Here is my make-up of how my table was going to be set-up for the market. I like how it wasnt too cluttered and was labelled clearly :)

I'd love the know what else you have made with your Curvy Keepsakes, please feel free to share them with me :)

Bring On The Sweet Stack!!

I have always wanted a centre-peice for my table, for when it is clean... I'm also hoping it would encourage me to keep it that way...?). So I decided to purchase the Sweet Stack Project Kit, (page 152)  This actually the first kit that I have ever bought, crazy hey?

Well, this kit has changed my mind about kits - I loved knowing what to make, following the directions, but also knowing that I could mix it up a little, to make it mine!

 

So from above, you can see that Ive tried to make the Crushed Curry "icing' the same all the way around the edge of the lower level & I used the Bow Builder punch for a different bow than in the kit. (I can use them for another project!!) The trim on the cake is also different to the kit, it needed a little bit more colour, I thought...

Here is the finished product!! I plan to have each cake peice filled with a small gift for anyone who brings a new guest to my class... Could this be you, perhaps?

Thanks for stopping by to see my latest crafty ideas... I hope to see you again soon, Jo.

Beam Me Up BB8......?

Right up until the night before my neice's birthday, I had NO idea who BB8 was...

I was happy not knowing...
Had no need to know...or so I thought...

Until I asked my 12 year old son what I should make for Rillie's birthday card!

He told me "BB8, she loves him!!" Insert Aunty Jo's blank face...

Thank goodness for the internet, cos he came back with this:

And you would think that would have explained everything, right?

Ummmm, nope!!

Kyle explained that this is the newest droid from the latest Star Wars movie and then I vaguely had an idea of which genre he was referring to.

With all that in mind, I finally came up with this card for Rillie.

The shaped inside the circle was cut by hand and the letters were done using the Big Shot and Little Letters Thinlits. The colours are Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie.

Well, beam me up, cos I pulled it off! She recognised who I intended the card to be!!
Go me and happy birthday to Rillie!!

Therapy Time.

There is no surprise that any type of craft has huge therapeutic benefits. These range from enhancing fine motor skills, the opportunity to be social with those of a similar interest & the elation of completing a given task, however simple or involved.

I have a friend who has had a rough time dealing with a brain tumour.
She had "Trevor The Tumour" removed & then began her long road to recovery.

After a while, my friend asked for some kits to be made for her, as she is spending a lot of time simply sitting. She needed something to do with her hands, that could be a challenge to her, but not so much that she couldnt achieve the end product. The other part of her brief was that the card could be used for her to give to those who helped her during her recovery.

What a beautiful gesture, hey?

Enter: Stampin' Up! products!! I muddled over this conundrum for a while, before I came up with a card design that she could use and that I felt reflected her.

This is my card design:

This card has 13 elements to it, between the 3 base layers, the flowers, embellishment and the sentiment. This was no mean feat for a woman who has been through a lot in the last few months! 

But at least she can take her time and choose to send off her cards as she makes them, one by one.

I wrapped all the separate peices and wrote an essay, just in case she was having a bad day or her short-term memory was playing games on her

Not long after I sent her parcel to her, she posted this photo. She is busy getting into her cards, when she has the time, energy and discipline :))

Sharing my therapy with others, makes me feel all warm 'n fuzzy, Im happy to give her a helping hand, considering we live away from each other.

I hope you get some therapy time, whatever your craft is....until next time, Jo xxx

Kids In The Kitchen...errr, the Stamp Room!!

Every now and then, one of my 3 children will want to come in and actually make something in my stamp room. Rachelle, 14 decided she wanted to make a small gift for her teachers, after seeing an item from On-Stage 2015.

So Rachelle made 13 of these beauties, stage by stage and then happily handed them out on one of the last days of Year 8.

As the receiver pulls the tab on the right, the left peice pulls out also.

Of course, they were very well received!! Well done Rachelle, I loved having you in my stamp room, let's not wait until next Christmas before another visit, pleeease????

Spending time with children AND stamping is absolutely a win win for me!!

Christmas Boxes...

Coming up to Christmas, I was asked to make quite a few Card In a Box(es), so it was refreshing to be asked to make something different. I have a friend who had made Ornaments with her children's class & teacher's name in them & needed a special box for them.

When Melissa asked for a red box & a green box, I wasnt so surprised... Then the last box was going to be Mustard... Mustard?, I asked, thats an unusual colour to request, isnt it?

It turns out that they are the favourite colours of the 3 teachers. So off to create I went!!

I began by measuring the ornaments and then making a standard box for them. Due to the dimensions, I needed to make 2 halves, as the A4 cardstock wasnt wide enough. Once I was sure the dimensions were correct, by using Rule #101: Measure twice, cut once, I began to assemble my boxes.

I then worked out if I could have a window in the box, to display the ornament - it was gorgeous and Melissa had worked hard for it to work...

(Gotta love my scrawl on the bottom of the page, dont ya? LOL!!)

So once I was happy with the box and the lid, that needed to slightly larger than the box, I began to grin like a Cheshire Cat!

In the end, they came together really well. 

The final colours were Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant and More Mustard, (retired) and I think they all complimented each other, even though they werent for the same person. And the Glimmer Paper just gives it the Christmas feel!!

When I was done, I knew I wanted to show off the ornament as the lid was removed. So I constructed a little tab that held the ribbon of the ornament. This is how it worked :))

As you can see, the papers with the children's names can be seen through the windows. I love how what Melissa made & my contribution made this work so well!!

Until next time, stay safe and keep crafting!

3D On-Stage 2015

Now you may think that I am beating a dead-horse by posting more photos of On-Stage 2015, but these 3D items are stunning!! From one 3D maker to all of you out there, I would hope that you get just as excited as me :))

From left of screen to right: Glenys Probst (3D Christmas Card), Unknown (A Merry Little Wish), Renee Kroeger (Christmas Pillow), Michaela Vergano (Garden Seeds), Unknown (Orange Party Box), Unknown (Keyring).
I will update links if I can find out more information...

Have  a great day, see you next time :))

I promised...right...

As promised a looooong time ago, I was going to share some of the swaps I received from On-Stage, 2015. (Clearly I dont get much time at the computer, I am hoping to change that this year!!)

So, finally, here are some examples of the amazing work I swapped my ear-rings with...
Anyone that wants to take the time to make swaps & swap with me, is fantastic!!
It doesnt matter if they have been a demo for 4 weeks, 7 years like me, or longer - all cards and 3D items have something to offer that will inspire you to get in your craft room!!

Please note that I swapped with many demos, I apologise if your swap is not here, I am simply show-casing a few of what I have received...

(From lower left of tree & around: Jenny Adams, Rose Desmond,Heather Tiley, Unknown, Ms Amanda Papercraft, Fluer Ilewelyn, Alison Britt)

(From lower left of tree & around: Suzanne Barnard, Belinda Neil, Unknown, Diana Kelvin, Rosie Spezzano, Theresa Brown)

(From lower left of tree & around: Kath Godkin, Jenny Tomisic, Unknown, Gail Kirby, Bernie Austin, Julie, Julie Leeper)

My next post will have some of the 3D items I collected along the way...so be prepared for more gorgeous work!!
Thanks for stopping by :))