Come For a Tour of My Stamp Room...

I've had a couple of customers to ask to see my stamp room.

And given that it isn't absolutely clean very often, I decided do what Nike tells us all: Just Do It!!

So this is my very casual tour of my stamp room, messy desk & all!!

This was the first time I had turned the camera around to show my face, rather than the things I am making and/or my hands actually creating, so I took a minute or two to breathe...

I'd love to hear what you think of my creative space.


Be sure to come back and see what my next post will be about, thanks for stopping by,

Jo.

ESAD So Long Old Favourites Blog Hop

Old friends are always hard to say goodbye to, arent they? And by old, I mean longtime friends, like one of our Mother's Group mums who lives in Hobart, Tasmania.
 It's always hard to say goodbye to her.. *sigh*

Thankfully, being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator means that while we are saying goodbye to some much loved products, we know that new ones are coming!! Just one of the many perks of being a demo!!

Another perk is being a member of the inspiring group we lovingly call ESAD. The details are below & you really cant put into words the warm n fuzzy feeling you get from being with such a wonderful group of like minded people!!

With the house-keeping stuff out of the way, let's get onto the reason we are here: what we have created to share with you... & you would have come from Siobhan's  blog. I must say that I've spent a bit of time looking at her work & it's stunning!!

I'm so glad you took part in the blog hop Siobhan, I love what you do :) Now, onto my work...

I loved this Bubble Over stamp set when I saw it & yet, I havent used it much at all?? And then this blog hop comes along & I drag it out & dust it off AND I"M LOVING IT AGAIN, go figure?

The fun of this set makes me smile. And weddings are meant to be fun, right, so this card had to be also...

Ive used Bubble Over, as mentioned, the Bottle & Bubbles dies, the Polka Dot Basics embossing folder with Lemon Lime Twist & Berry Burst cardstock.

Both of the main colours haven't grabbed me for 2 years & now I'm loving them too! Crazy, hey?

The only current items are the Whisper White & Basic Black cardstock, StazOn ink & Vellum, so I was pretty happy with how this worked out.

My next project came about because I participated in my first challenge over the weekend. The challenge presented was to make a card using Basic Black, Whisper White & a pop of colour.

It had me thinking, but after making the previous card, I had it worked out.

Here I teamed up Swirly Bird stamp set with the matching dies, Swirly Scribbles & Follow Your Dreams. I believe this technique is called "Inset", where you make a puzzle essentially with the various pieces...


My last creation I'm sharing is using the So Santa stamp set teamed with Botanical Butterfly DSP. I so want it to be summer again, as we begin to approach winter, I just yearn for the sun on my face, but maybe not as much as poor Santa, he could do with a hat for protection!!

And learning how to do the Reflective technique was simple & fun too - I'll share that this week, in another post, so be sure to come back :)

Of course, us demos wouldn't usually show off the light bouncing off the embossing powder, but I just had to show you how it looks like water, right!!

I've used more current items on this card: Balmy Blue ink & cardstock, Watercolor Pencils with the Aqua Paint Brush, StazOn Ink, Balmy Blue, Whisper White & Basic Black cardstock.

I do always enjoy using DSP differently to how it was intended, ie: butterflies on a card or scrap page...

The other thing I loved about this whole process was that I needed my 16 year old son to take the photos for me, as the camera on my Iphone is broken. So Kyle organised the way the light should be, how the card should be standing etc & took the photos for me - he did okay, didn't he!!
Thanks mate.

I hope you have enjoyed my items, I absolutely enjoyed the challenge of making them for you, be sure to come back for more inspiration sometime.

Click on the green sign here, to go to Peta's blog, tell her I said 'hi'...

Blog hop participant list, from here onward:

14. Jo Weedon - https://joweedon.blogspot.com/…/esad-so-long-old-favourites…
15. Peta Stephen - https://www.stampincat.com.au/esad-so-long-old-favourites-…/
16. Lisa Whitehead - https://stampwithlisa.co/esad-so-long-old-favourites-blog-…/
17. Rochelle Laird-Smith - https://stampingflair.com/esad-so-long-old-favourites-blog-…
18. Rebecca Scurr - https://thepaperandstampaddict.com.au/…/so-long-old-friends/
19. Mandy Depiazzi - https://mypapertrailblog.wordpress.com/…/esad-so-long-old-f…
20. Denise Buetler - http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/denisebuetler/blog…
21. Monique Fielder - https://stamping-with-moni-q.blogspot.com/…/esad-so-long-ol…
22. Kelly Kent - http://mypapercraftjourney.com/…/esad-blog-hop-so-long-old…/
23. Sharon Dalton - https://studioshabazcreativeme68.blogspot.com/…/esad-so-lon…
24. Rebekah Crisp - https://bcreativewithberyl.wordpress.com/…/so-long-old-favo…
25. Maree McIntosh - https://stampwithmareescards.blogspot.com/…/esad-april-2019…
1. Bronwyn Eastley - http://addinktivedesigns.com/…/esad-so-long-favourites-blo…/
2. Libby Dyson - http://libbystampz.com/so-long-old-favourites-blog-hop/
3. Katrina Duffell - https://inkpapergirl.com/?p=13579
4. Lou Kitzelman - https://withabowontopbylou.blogspot.com/…/esad-april-2019-s…
5. Shannon Kissane - http://shannonkissane.com/?p=3064
6. Nicole Wilson - https://nicolejuliewilson.blogspot.com/…/so-long-old-favour…
7. Delys Cram - https://delyscram.com/…/esad-so-long-old-favourites-blog-h…/
8. Lauren Meiklejohn - https://laurenmeiklejohn.wordpress.com/?p=5792
9. Cathy Pinchbeck - https://wp.me/p3zFY4-rV
10. Sandra Mastello - https://www.violetvspurplepapercrafts.com/?p=25912
11. Richelle Fletcher - https://stampingwithrichelle.blogspot.com/…/esad-so-long-ol…
12. Rose Packer - https://wp.me/p6g0iC-1k9
13. Siobhan Fitzsimmons - https://hightreeshouseofcards.com/…/so-long-to-old-favourit…

Kelly's Stamping Friends - Birthday Blog Hop.

Welcome to Kelly's Blog Hop - a celebration of her birthday, friendship & creativity!!

You have just come from seeing the wonderful Rachael's creations, weren't they great!! Im always in awe of people's interpretaion of the theme for a Blog Hop & this one doesnt disappoint!!

So onto my projects!! I have always loved creating something different to what I ususally see products being used for... I gain a lot of inspiration from those who make cards & even produce scrap pages to document their life, but I seem to see less of 3D or Off The Page items...

And so this brings me to my project... Ive had this 'Notice-Board/ Stationary Holder' for well over a few years and simply havent wanted to decorate it. Until the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper came along!! My youngest teen son started the job & I helped him to finish it...we make a great pair, dont we!!

 By keeping the sheets in similar tones, as they ran along the length of the project, it allowed the joins of the paper to not be so obvious. And also, when it is full of the odd peice of Lego, pens, school notes & bills, they wont be so easy to see either, hey?

 And the white paint for the edges, matches with the 'white wash' of the internal dividers also..win, win!!

So before the family realise that they can write on the "Over-head Projector' sheet that is on the 'window' part of the board, I will enjoy the clean lines & organised appearance of my, our, little weekend project... *sigh*

When I finished the Notice Board, I realised that I had another item gathering dust - it needed to be used!!

As you may know, I am friend's with many Stampin' UP! demonstrators & am often encouraged & inspired by them. This time is no different - I recently saw an "Off The Page' project using SU! products, so I hunted around & decided that I would use this frame to show off the gorgeous Statement of The Heart from Stampin' Up! 

Our Statement of The Heart is the core belief that we all hold & it encompases everything that all demos hold true. It is now in a stamp that can be shared & loved by everyone who passes by in my stamp room!!

"To love what we do and

Share what we love

As we help others enjoy creativity and

Worthwhile accomplishments.

In this we make a difference"

Firstly, I painted the wood with white paint, as I often do &I sat very impatiently, waiting for it to dry...

 I then paired the now retired Urban Garden Designer Series Paper, (DSP), with Not Quite Navy ink & Whisper White cardstock. These flowers were apart of a 12 x 12 sheet of DSP & they were screaming to be cut out & slightly re-arranged.

This flower was made by fussy cutting out the image about 6 times, from a sheet of DSP, popped up on Dimensionals & burnished to give the petals shape.

And of course, there needed to be some bling, my Up-line had taught me well!! With just a couple of peals carefully placed, it balances the piece nicely, I believe :)

Thanks for stopping by and seeing my creations for Kelly. I hope she has an amazing year ahead travelling around our incredible earth again - she certainly inspires me to keep doing what we love doing - using Stampin' Up! products, of course!!

And once again: Happy birthday Kelly!!

If you have lost your way, follow these names to find your way again :)

1.   Kelly Kent

2. Angela Meiritz-Reid

3. Sue Vine

4. Sharon Dalton

5. Rebecca Scurr

6. Julia Quinn

7. Danielle Bennenk

8. Cathy Pinchebeck

9. Richelle Fletcher

10.Sara Levin

11. Sandra Roberts

12. Catherin Creer

13. Cheryl Taylor

14. Rochelle Blok

15. Ine van den Eijnden

16. Rachael Lewsley

17. Jo Weedon You are here....

18. Courtney Heuston

19. Mandy Depiazzi

20. Marian Fleming

2018 Retirement List Blog Hop

Here we go with another amazing Blog Hop!! You have possibly come from Nicole's incredible page & designs. How gorgeous is her work? Thanks for playing along also, Nicole :)

When names were requested for this Blog Hop, I jumped at the chance!! I love to see people's ideas & interpretation of the theme of each hop... This theme, of course, is to use items from the Retiring List...

I decided to pull out all the retiring colours, the stamp sets, embossing folders & punches to see what sparked my interest. This is what I came up with...

 A close friend & co-worker had a baby a year ago, so Yusuf is now turning 1!! Our excitement for him almost matches how super cute he is!! So of course, he needs a special 1st birthday card...

Ive used the Myths & Magic Special DSP, Large Numbers Die & already retired Elegant Label Punch, on a base of Dapper Denim & Whisper White cardstock.

And can you see that Ive sponged the Silver Glimmer Paper for the #1? How super cool, errr, magical is that!!

It's another first for me that I use 2 designs of the DSP on one card, the wizards AND the brave knight fighting his dragon!! The Number of Years stamp set is wonderful that it includes the 'ST' so that our cards can be grammatically correct, isn't it?

 I always love to do projects that aren't only a card, so I went hunting in my stash of 'things that I've bought & will get back to one day', dont you have a pile like that too?

I found this card box & also remembered that my work have been asking for a supply of cards of mine. This is so that the staff members can flick through when they need a cards & it is immediately there for them... How perfect will this box be?

Whenever I choose an item like this, I always paint the edges, I just dont like the wooden finish. And I almost always paint them white... Then the many layers of Tear 'n Tape ensures the DSP will last on the project for a long time & shoul withstand a little bit of wear & tear, better than only using the tape around the edges, for example.


















Using the tape makes this projet so quick to complete, as you can use a craft knife to cut around the edges precisely for a smart finish & it is almost done.
(Ps, dont look at how I still need to paint over the exposed wooden edges, ok....)

 Now with the dividers also completed, the various cards can go in & lots of people will be happy to purchase & send or give a card to a loved one.

And now for my final item to show you...

Im a bit sad that the Magical Day stamp set is retiring, so Im not quite sure that I will be willing to part with it...& I've also used the Birthday Wit Set AND Sunshine & Rainbows on the one card!!!!

This card has a base of Whisper White with a mat of Sweet Sugarplum.

My rainbow is Elegant Eggplant, Dapper Denim, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, Peekaboo Peach, Tangerine Tango & Rose Red - my (retiring) interpretation of the V.I.B.G.Y.O.R. rainbow acronym :)

Ive made this card for another close friend & co-worker who is celebrating her birthday with 'our' baby that is turning 1, yes, on the same day!!

Melissa is such an incredibly driven woman, always is aware of her food intake, cooks incredible food, achieves greatness in her fitness & just loves unicorns - what a balance, hey?
 You never can tell how a card will come together, do you? 3 sets on the one card - Im still smiling about that one...

Thanks for dropping to see what Ive prepared for you all. Id love to hear what you thought of my projects...

So get up, put the kettle on, on your way to the loo, come back with a fresh cuppa & be prepared for Libby's stunning work.

Her creations will mirror the gorgeous woman she is, bright, colourful with a touch of sparkle!!





And if you get lost in all this craftiness, here is the list of everyone participating:

Blog Hop Participant List

Blog Hop Participant List

1. Lou Kitzelman

2. Kelly Kent

3. Bronwyn Eastley

4. Jackie Aitken

5. Jo Stubbings

6. Peta Stephen

7. Sharon Dalton

8. Lauren Meiklejohn

9. Courtenay Heuston

10. Nicole Wilson

11. Jo Weeden  You are here, Jo Weedon :)

12. Libby Dyson

13. Cheryl Algie

14. Megan Lenske

15. Beryl Crisp

16. Fi Cobbin

17. Rose Packer

18. Cathy Pinchbeck

19. Carolina Evans

20. Renee Lynch  

21. Sandra Mastello

22. Katrina Duffell

23. Rachael Lewsley

24. Leonie Schroder

25. Emily Campbell

26. Monique Fielder

27. Michelle Strazds

28. Jessie Holton

Thanks again x

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 :))

My Easter Gift

Wowzers, it's been a while since my last post... Work deadlines, migraines and school holidays have caused all that, sadly...anyway, back to why we are here, right :)

Our  family does small gifts at Easter, so I decided to use one of my many, many Maccona jars for one of them.  My gorgeous neice Rillie loves all things a bit freaky, so this fitted the bill, totally!!

I decorated the jar using retired Designer Paper and the Bow Tie punch, amongst others, coming up with this funky bunny to match the belly band around the jar.

And in all the yumminess of chocolate, I buried these hair ties. a bit cute, hey?
I hope Rillie doesn't think that we are only giving her a jar of chocolate, 'cos these will look great in her stunning hair!!