Expressions of "OMG, this is gorgeous paper!!"

Sometimes a product catches your breathe by surprise & you just run with it. This was me today, the Expressions of Ink Specialty DSP is stunning!!

And what makes this even more amazing is that some of the sheets have pink throughout it, so figure, hey? (Ha!)

So while I havent made a card using pink this time, I am using a Designer Paper that have pinks in it!!!

This designer paper has a beautiful array of colours in it - Evening Evergreen, Just Jade, Magenta Madness, Mint Macaron, Pale Papaya, Pear Pizzazz, Polished Pink with Gold Foiling through 6 of the 12 designs.

Im loving the flecks of Gold Foiling throughout one of sheets, dont you?  the It looks so good with the sheet that has all the greens on it, (Evening Evergreen, , Just Jade, Mint Macaron & Pear Pizzazz),  

Cutting the base to a measurement of 17.5 x 14.5 cm & scoring it at 10.5 cm, I placed a piece of White inside leaving the front as the shorter part of the card.

I gave my Cut & Emboss Machine a work-out with then card front & leaves in various cardstock colours & Gold Foil, but it sooooo worth it! 

Using the sentiment from Dragonfly Garden , I used the Versamark & Gold Embossing Powder, cut it out & raised it up.

Then I simply mounted the leaves on the edge of the cardstock, being sure that none of the adhesive was exposed at the back of them, so it didnt go on the DSP when the card was closed.

I then used this same process on a container that I had. I wanted to dress it up as a gift for a friend, she had given me a home grown pumpkin & I have dried out the seeds for her. So now she has more pumpkin seeds for next year!!

And the brown paper inside the container helps to keep the seeds dry, apparently?

I kinda like how a couple of the smaller leaves fit in the lid of the container, also, dont you?

If you are still unsure of how I put these items together, you can watch my Live video here. Let me know what you think of my video or what Ive made :)

Thanks for stopping by, its been a while, I know,

Happy stamping... Jo x

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Today is the beginning of the 10th year of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!! A-MAZ-NG!!

I would never have realised how many experiences, interactions, friends and projects I would have made when I was signing that paperwork, with Mel as my Up-Line.

Here we are in 2014, with Shelli, the CEO of Stampin' Up!, (in the middle). Mel has always been the person I could turn to when unsure of a market I wanted to do, a card layout or a business idea. Her honesty has helped me get through to 10 years!!

But above that, we have become firm friends!! We have weathered the storms of family illnesses, life's challenges, deaths & things that we could only get through BECAUSE of each other... I am forever grateful for her friendship...

As a thankyou to just some of the people that have supported, listened & guided my throughout my 10 years, I decided to make 40 cards of 2 designs, to send out.

This took some time to work out who I would like to send a card to, hunt around for their address, make the cards and then write in them before placing them into the letterbox...but I loved it!!

And  I also wanted the smile of receiving a card, to carry along the way through the post buildings, postmen or women, so I made 40 envelopes from various DSP sheets and labelled them.

I will share the cards that I made to send out, later in the week, as I'd like the recipients to enjoy the experience of opening their envelope without having seen the design here - so come back, please ")

I'm still growing in every way: business, personally, tutorial wise, presentation of my projects, everything...and Im okay with that, but the tribe that has carried my along the way have been incredible!! They certainly deserved recognition!!

I am so grateful for every interaction, late night conversation, swapping of card fronts, stamping idea or business pointers that anyone has offered me - I only hope that I gave some of it back.

Thanks for celebrating with me, I cant wait to see what the next year brings for me...

Keep smiling & stamping, Jo

Getting Together...

Last Friday I was lucky enough to travel out to Ballan, a beautiful part of Victoria, to share the day with Alison. We've known each other for a while, but haven't managed to get to each other's home for a stamp...?

Her home was in the middle of this gorgeous little town & the rain that fell during the day only added to the atmosphere of being all snuggly & warm while sharing ideas about SU! products and the new catalogue!!

Most of Australia has been in a draught for a long time, so the rain is absolutely welcome - I just didn't like the aquaplaning that occurred a couple of times as I drove the 35 minutes to Alison's home...eeek!!

Throughout the day we shared thoughts of the retiring stamp sets that are leaving us and of course, the new crisp catalogue that is just gorgeous!!

We eventually began to work with the new stamp sets, the new In-Colours & embellishments that we are able to purchase BEFORE the catalogue goes live, just one of the perks of being a SU! demonstrator!! 

To show off the new In-Colours of Rococo Rose, Terracotta Tile, Pretty Peacock, Seaside Spray & Purple Posy cardstock, it was Alison's idea to make a bookmark to hand out.

How good do they look :)

This helped us to settle in, to work with the Magnolia Lane & Woven Threads DSP & a few of the stamp sets. We used Good Morning Magnolia, Above The Clouds & the new Story Label punch.

You are just going to love them, there is such a range of themes & occasions throughout the catalogue - there is so much to drool over!!

I truly loved spending time with Alison, her husband, Tod and Poppy, their mini Schnauzer. 

Thanks for opening your house for me, Alison, I promise I will be back xxx