Softly, Simply.... PP229

No need to re-invent the wheel for this challenge at The Paper Players! Thanks Jaydee for this very practical sketch which allows me to show off my SALE-A-BRATION DSP, along with a piece of the ribbon and a button. I can't believe how lovely this paper is, some of my favourite colours feature here.

The flower is from Crazy About You, the stamp set featuring at my class on 13th February. I haven't decided on the sentiment yet for this card, and it may just be a card for when I write a short note. It was a lot of fun to put this card together today, as I didn't need to fuss with the detail. I would love to make another with a bit more "Fuss & Fancy" if you know what I mean, but I probably won't get it done in time to enter the challenge again.

Looking forward to the weekend here,

Rachel

Crazy About You Class

Just a reminder to check out the class page on the blog.

February has two dates penciled in: - Friday 13th February 7pm
Crazy About You

The cards above are suggestions of what you might make with this stamp set.
With three floral images and 30 separate sentiments plus four Framelits, your choices are endless.

We can certainly include a masculine card or a Valentine among the three cards you make this evening.

Another date penciled in is the following Friday night to make the Card Kit

Hooray! It's Your Birthday.

There are a number of ways you can participate in this class, check on the blog for more details, or leave a message.

Classes are in South Morang, VIC in my home studio. Email rpalmieri5@bigpond.com or text a message to 0417500681 (I work in a classroom and can't take calls at work).

Cheers
Rachel

Happy and Crazy CTS#107

How are you when it comes to using the Stamp-a-ma-jig? Confident or an absolute novice?
 Sometimes it works for me, but other times it's pretty much a disaster. This year I want to master some new skills and practice is the best way to do that, so I have had a little shot today
at repeat stamping of the word 'happy' using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

While not totally happy with the result, I'm glad I gave it a try. I used the sketch at Case This Sketch as an inspiration-starter, along with my new stamp set, Crazy About You. This stamp set provides three floral images and 30 individual words or phrases to pair with thinlets. This combo will allow you to say anything you want, for any occasion or time of the year. This card could just have easily been for a birthday, Easter or anniversary.

These are lovely fresh colours too, from our soon-to-retire 2013-2014 In Color Selection. I am going to be awfully sad to see these soft pastels disappear so I will order some more card during SAL-A-Bration, when for every $90 purchase, even demonstrators earn free stamps, paper or embellishments.

You know what else?
I hadn't immediately read in the small print under Crazy About You that the two flower images in the set can be punched out with punches. The smaller one (not shown here) is with the 1¾ inch Scallop Circle Punch, which you probably already own.

This larger flower matches with the NEW Flower Medallion Punch, which also matches up with Petal Potpourri, which has another four large floral images. Then it was easy enough to hand cut a smaller image to layer up, using the white as a guide.

I'm looking forward now to making some more variations of this for a Crazy About You card-making workshop on Friday 13th February at 7pm.


Don't forget to go to Case This Sketch to see the Design Team creations and all the submissions by other crafters.

Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

You Made My Day CTC#15 SAB Inspiration

CASE-ing The Catty is back!
While it was nice to have a break over the festive season and our summer holidays in Australia, it is very good to be back with fresh inspiration available in the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue and Sale-A-bration supplement. I've been drooling over them for several weeks now and could hardly wait for some time to get inky. You've been able to order since the 6th January, so I wonder if you have some new goodies too.

CASE means to copy and share everything, and our design team CASE Stampin' Up! catalogues, hence the title of our blog - CASE-ing The Catty. Do pop over to check out the gorgeous work of the design team members.


The SALE-A-BRATION supplement is the one I've cased this week and I've used the SAB products I earned in the Demo pre-order period. The SAB free DSP (Patterned paper) is called Best Year Ever and the colours and patterns are GORGEOUS!!! I could add, "As usual," to that statement because they are always great, and FREE with your $90 order.

Best Day Ever is the stamp set I featured and I copied the colouring of the sentiment as featured on page 5 of the supplement, but then I've actually CASE-d the grey card on page 10 of the brochure, & pictured at left.

It's another great stamp set FREE with a $90 order, You Brighten My Day. Cute, isn't it?


One of the border stamps from Dotty Angles inked with white craft ink provided the background stamping - and a bokeh effect too! I don't have a sewing machine handy, so I pierced the patterned paper, after rounding off the corners with the Envelope Punch Board corner rounder. The banner was a strip with the ends cut by hand, and another layer in Coastal Cabana die cut with Starburst Framelits.

For the cute gift packaging I have CASED an idea from a UK demonstrator, Tracey May at Bedlam & Butterflies.You need an Envelope Punch Board to make this, but if you have made the Christmas Bonbon, which was all the rage Christmas 2013, this will be a breeze. It can hold a fairly sizeable gift too with a base measuring 8.5cm or 3 inches in diameter. It is 10cm or 4 inches to the neck area and would take a small jar, a packet of sweets or treats, and actually there is still space with two of the small bottles from The Body Shop. Imagine what you can do with Easter eggs!

Leave a message if you'd be interested in doing this as a class. I'm planning for the next few months and I need your feedback to share the things you'd like to make. If you'd just like to order some products to craft at your leisure, there are links below, and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Happy crafting!

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tickled Pink CTS106

Case This Sketch have put up a challenge with a border to tempt us, and I needed some quick and easy birthday cards, so pulled out Flamingo Lingo this afternoon. It's the first time in ink and I was so keen to use it when I bought it - love flamingos! This stamp set helps support Ronald McDonald House, in whatever country you purchase it in, with $3 of each purchase being donated by Stampin' Up! to RMH.

I had a vision for this border, I'm not certain that I have the exact result I was after! I used a small stamp with three lines from Painted Petals, and tried for a naive cross-hatched border. I used the lines on the grid paper to line it up. Perhaps a three -year-old would have done a better job!

I do have to apologise for the darkness of the photography, my little point and shoot obviously leaves a lot to be desired, but my 'good' camera battery was charging 'cos hubby and I are about to go interstate for a short break.

Very excited to get away, as we have had a fairly tough week working rather long, physical days.

Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Happy Sentiments PP228

I'm feeling like I'm "off my game" lately. Can't really put my finger on why, but my creativity has been holidaying somewhere else. I have all these lovely new 'toys' but the inspiration is missing. The solution is to go check out some challenges, and this one at The Paper Players to 'make the sentiment the feature' tickled my fancy today. Thanks LeAnne for giving me a kickstart!!!



A few weeks ago,  I had a chance to use some of the stamps I haven't purchased when some of our team met up. Since I am mainly a hobby-demonstrator, who runs one or two classes per month, I have to think about the dollars. I'd seen Painted Petals used a lot since the Occasions Catalogue was released, but I hadn't been convinced that I needed another floral stamp - until I played with it! It now sits on my shelf, along with the Happy Heart Textured Embossing Folder that I wasn't going to buy either. I also used, but haven't yet purchased the biggest stamp from Hello Life.

I stamped the Painted Petals over the greeting at the time, but I brought home two card-front sized pieces to think about. For this card I've chosen to cut the sentiment out with the second largest oval Framelit, layered onto the largest Deco Label Framelit in Melon Mambo, which in turn sits on the largest plain oval in Blackberry Bliss. Still have one plain sentiment to use somewhere, before I decide whether Hello Life joins my stash too.

Because my card is 5¼ inches square, the embossed sheet had to be taken through twice. I love how crisp those hearts emboss, just gorgeous! You could do so much with this folder, I now have an idea brewing for my almost-two-year-old grand daughter's birthday card. You have to love it when those ideas start to pop into your head!!!!

Hope you're creativity is alive and well too!

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Happy Birthday Shoes

 I made this card using a retired hostess stamp, Making A Point, which has some great images 'for the ladies', such as shoes, sunglasses, lipstick etc. The paper in the new Occasions Catalogue, Stacked With Love Designer Series Paper Stack seemed to be a perfect starting point and I chose this one with cross-hatched love hearts in various shades of red/pink.

I was super-happy to use the Hello You Thinlets AGAIN and the 'birthday' sentiment from Crazy About You. Starburst Framelits cut the red mat while Circle Collection Framelits have so many sizes in circles, one is bound to be perfect!

What was most fun, was stamping out multiple images of the shoe and layering them to give the slightest hint of dimension. The shoe upper is layer two while the bow is the third layer. I curved slightly with a bone folder.



For a glamourous lady, sparkles are a must so Dazzling Details were added to the platform sole and the bow. A rhinestone was added to the bow after I'd taken the photos.

The inside is finished off with more paper from the paper stack and although each sheet is only six inches by four inches, that is a little more than you need for a full card front, so the little strip left over is better used for a trim than binned.

Stamped in Real Red is the Yippee-Skippee sentiment "you can never have too much happy", which is my absolute go-to when using the large 'happy' from the Hello You Thinlets,

Now, I only hope it has survived the mail!

You know that it's that magic time of the year, for Stampin' Up! enthusiasts? That's because there is a new Occasions Catalogue out. You can click here to connect online or you can go straight through to shop 24/7 with only a very moderate $5.95 charged to deliver your order anywhere in Australia.

BUT that's not all.....

If you need so much that you spend $90, you'll be asked to choose one of the SALE-A-BRATION items to add to your order! Would you really prefer to look through your catalogues on paper, so you can post-it note it all the way through? Then you're a girl after my own heart, and I'd be happy to drop one or post it to you.

AND if you love Stampin' Up! so much that you want it all, or as near to it as storage space allows, I'd love to help you join up.

Thanks for dropping by, you can contact me by phone (0417 500 681) or email if you need a Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue or have any questions about how SALE-A-BRATION works, or anything Stampin' Up! related.

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals beginning January 14th

This weeks Weekly Deals are perfect for those who love ribbon and punches! 

Don't forget, they last just one week. last orders at 11.50pm Tuesday night.

Shop here for these deals.

HAPPY Birthday CTS#105

I'm so HAPPY that Stampin' Up! gave us some more thinlet words! I first tried them out with the Wondrous Wreath set, and now I'm hooked on the Hello You Thinlets. 
The sketch at Case This Sketch is perfect to show off this large word to it's best advantage. I grabbed the Sweet Taffy DSP to try some different colours, and although I've been a big fan of Blackberry Bliss, it was fun to revisit Rich Razzleberry, which used to be a favourite. The big spot is perfect and the striped paper provided the rest of the palette for this birthday card. The new stamp set Celebrate Today provided the 'birthday'.

You can only just glimpse the inside greeting, but it's "you can never have too much happy" from Yippee-Skippee. To my way of thinking, it is absolutely perfect for this big HAPPY greeting, and the font is almost the same.

How do you think you would use this sketch?

Cheers, 
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Cake...And Ice Cream

The blackboard look has been popular in home decor and stamping for a while now and I have new blackboard card to try out. It is very firm and gives a nice crisp image with White Craft Ink.

Fusion Card Challenge are celebrating their first anniversary and used an inspiration picture with a blackboard, banner and birthday greeting so I took my lead from there and used the sketch too. Happy birthday Fusion, and many happy returns!


Do you think the Candy Dots look like the magnets teachers like to have all over the blackboard/whiteboard to hold up worksheets and the like?

There is so much fun to be had mixing and matching stamp sets!! I'm totally besotted with these 'critters' in Cheerful Critters and it has been fun to combine it with one of the free Stampin' Up! SALE-A-BRATION stamp sets, Big Day. It starts to tell a story, almost. It was actually fairly easy to place the second sentiment inside the bear's sign, a very good fit.

Cheers,

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Playdate Creations

A cooler, drizzly day in Melbourne today, so what is better than getting together with ladies who love to stamp for a session of creating. We were all glad to say goodbye to the hot and humid weather we'd been experiencing. Mostly we use my upline's stamps, although she did borrow one of mine that she hadn't ordered. Sue and Judy had both 'Case-d the Catty' to make cards with the cute little Bow punch. Sue stuck pretty much to the original, but Judy had stepped hers up with the new heart embossing folder and Bermuda Bay, so I cased her,(thanks Judy for the inspiration) and just changed up the greeting a bit. Have a look at page 12 of the Occasions catalogue.

I thought I didn't need any more embossing folders, but those hearts are just so cute! I don't know about you, but I love small things, and these bows are just so easy to make, and FUN!

Talking about Case-ing The Catty, watch out for new challenges from 23rd January. That's two weeks from today! We would love to see what you CASE!








The other card I made used Butterfly Basics which I haven't received yet. Its made up of such a varied selection of stamps, perfect who like to collage stamp. Check out the stamps and dies on page 26-27 of the catalogue, you can buy them separately or at a 15% saving in a bundle.

I was fairly restrained with my stamping today, I could easily have added a lot more. I particularly like the 'netting' stamp, it is so very useful for 'grounding' images and that fern leaf is beautiful, it would look great behind any of our lovely flower stamps.

The butterfly is a bit tricky, but looks lovely cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper. I think I was able to capture some of its pretty sparkle.



I've brought home some flowers I stamped and punched and another new die cut gift bag, which I plan to decorate before photographing.I'm feeling very excited by all the new goodies in the Occasions Catalogue.

Have a lovely weekend

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Hey Valentine Birthday! Mojo379

Logan's 5th birthday isn't until Valentine's Day, but while I am on holiday,and have new stamps to play with, it seemed like a good time to start on one of the six grandchildren's birthday cards! This stamp is actually a Valentines stamp, but the minute I saw it, I resolved to  use it for birthdays. All my grandsons love dressing up, and pirate is such an easy dress-up to put together.



I had already coloured the image when I spotted the Mojo Monday sketch, (after a friend of mine used the sketch herself).  I decided it was perfect for this cute image. It was fun to colour too, even though I'm not so good at it. I figure the practice will help me improve! I am looking forward to more relaxing times with Blendabilities when I head to the coast with my husband for a few days. He doesn't like me filling the car with craft stuff, but I can fit my Blendabilities and some stamped images into a plastic container, so easy to transport.


Cheers, Rachel

A BIG Week At Stampin' Up!

It all began yesterday, when the Occasions Catalogue and SALE-A-BRATION supplement went live to the public. Not completely without a hitch, as the computer system had some difficulties coping, but it seems to be sorted today.

A New Catalogue


On the left is the cover of the Occasions Catalogue, and yes, you can make the paper bouquet on the cover! Would you like to make the kit up in a workshop, or go-it-alone at home?

What I love about the kits in this catalogue is the "completeness" of them. Yes, you need ink, and with most of them a stamp set too, but at a workshop those items can be shared by all participants.


Through out this catalogue there are a mix of wood mount, clear mount and photopolymer, with at least one stamp set made in all three.



SALE-A-BRATION! 

On the right is the SALE-A-BRATION supplement and everything in it is FREE! That's right, you can't order them, they don't go on clearance and they are highly sort-after stamp sets, paper, ribbons & buttons. In addition, there is the option to collect packs of current Blendabilities for FREE, usually $20.95.

You earn these bonus products when you place your normal order for Stampin' Up! products. For every $90 spent, you can claim one item. I joined up as a demonstrator four SALE-A-BRATIONS ago because I wanted to have it all! You can purchase from the Annual or Occasions Catalogue, Weekly Deals, Clearance shop and it all counts toward your totals, before shipping.

$90  = 1 SAB item
$180 = 2 SAB items
$270 = 3 SAB items
$300 = 3 SAB items and $50 hostess dollars
$360 = 4 SAB items and $50 hostess dollars
$400 = 4 SAB items and $60 hostess dollars PLUS a bonus $40 hostess dollars!!!!

You can flick through these catalogues online, of course, there are icons on the right if you are reading my Stampin' Pals blog. If you read this on my Stampin' Up! blog, you need to back track to the home page and catalogues are under 'Products'.

Want it posted?

Better than that, is to have a copy in your hand, so you can CASE some cards or packaging, post-it note the things you like, so if you aren't already working with a demonstrator, leave me a message with your name and mailing address via email or txt (0417500681) and I'll get one of each in the post for you.

Here Are The Weekly Deals 

If you are keen to own the Envelope Punch Board, this is the week to take the plunge. Now its not $2 cheaper than a popular retail chain's price, it's $10 cheaper! WOW! And if you are thinking it might be nice to have lovely paper to make envelopes and gift boxes with, Stampin' Up! is doing a great deal on paper this week too! For extra-special cards, I love the Gold Soiree Specialty DSP, so rich and elegant.

If I see you order an Envelope Punch Board through my online shop this week, I will send you some instructions for an upcoming project using the Envelope Punch Board, airing on 23rd January for CASE-ing The Catty, plus a spool of ribbon.

Happy crafting!
Rachel

Happy Birthday Balloons CCMC336

Lovely "hot" colours to play with at Create With Connie & Mary Challenge#336, and the link is here so you can pop on over and get inspired to pull out your paper and ink too! I'm having a wonderful time hiding in my craft space, away from the heat and working my way through a box of yummy new products from Stampin' Up! The temperature is currently 39°C or 102°F!!!

The Balloon Framelits dies were first to go on my list after the  Occasions Catalogue launch, but I haven't really displayed them at their best here. Then there are so many different stamps in Celebrate Today, the stamp set the Balloon Framelits co-ordinate with, that it's quite hard to make a decision. I've added Real Red spots to the Calypso Coral balloon and a patterned banner in black to the red balloon.

The Hello You Thinlets are gorgeous, four words incuded are happy, you, thanks and hello. I've used happy quite a lot this week, and just started using hello, which was a little more difficult to ease out of the die. Now I've been out and bought dryer sheets and used baking paper in the 'sandwich (couldn't find the recommended wax paper). You need a silicone sheet and Two-way glue pen to get these adhered properly. Hello You Thinlets are bundled with Crazy About You, a stamp set available in wood-mount, clear-mount and photopolymer. I used the birthday sentiment from that stamp set, and it is one of thirty sentiments.

Just these two stamp sets and the matching dies are going to keep me creating for ages.
The DSP is from a paper stack in the Occasions Catalogue called Stacked With Love. They're lovely papers in shades of Calypso Coral, Real Red, Crisp Cantaloupe and black on one side, the reverse are all black and white. Those are the colours for the colour challenge so I'm submitting my effort.

Take care, have fun,

Rachel

Hello Baby Boy CMCC#52

So glad to see colour me! back in business for the new year and celebrating their first birthday too! Its a great challenge because we can  choose any colour scheme we like from the last 51. I only went as far as Challenge #8 - Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Sky and Pistachio Pudding. Perfect for a baby card I think, and I can show one of the new stamp sets from the Stampin' Up! Occasions Catalogue. Cheerful Critters is a photopolymer stamp set with three cute, cheerful critters holding up blank signs. There are words to place on those signs but I turned to another new stamp set with matching thinlets.


What do you think of the lovely script for 'Hello'? There are four words in the Hello You Thinlets - happy, you, thanks and hello. The stamp set is Crazy About You and there are 33 stamps in the set, 30 of them are words to start or finish the phrase. The combinations are endless. Oh, and there is a leaf and two flower stamps too.






My neighbour is due to have her first baby at the weekend. We don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet, but there's a very cute bunny in Cheerful Critters which would be perfect for a baby girl.

I have a handy hint to share also. Do you get magnetic calendars from retailers or Real Estate Agents?
I decided to recycle last years calendar by using Fast Fuse on the printed side to glue it into the lid of the stamp set and it is the correct size and perfect for holding these thinlets. I still have the 2015 calendar for my filing cabinet too.

Some of the icons below won't show until the catalogue goes 'live' to the public on 6th January.

Wishing you a wonderful year ahead,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog