South Pacific Stampin' Up!® Convention - More Swaps

Still here on the Gold Coast, enjoying all the fun of a Stampin' Up!® Convention. Last night a large group from Claire Daly's Art With Heart team went out for dinner. So much fun to catch up with demonstrators from the wider team. They came from as far as Perth, taking a whole day to travel to the Gold Coast via Melbourne and they came from around the Gold Coast/Brisbane area too. Well, I guess the fact that we have a team member from the States at the moment makes Karen our most distant member, but she actually has been living in Melbourne.

I made two other card fronts to swap with other demonstrators, and sadly, after the retired list came out last Tuesday 21st, it seems that both my swaps have retired product on them.

This first one uses mainly Polka Dot Pieces, which is retiring, and I believe clear mount has already sold out. I used the small flowers from Something To Say, punched out with Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and it has all been grounded on the Starburst Framelit circle which was punched out of my design crew swap card.

Starburst Framelits are retiring too. The circle was stamped with Hardwood. The sentiments in From The Herd have a really nice font, the 'happy birthday' came from that set.The Bird Builder Punch remains in the catalogue, so perhaps there will be another stamp released to co-ordinate with it.

For my other swap, the only item used which remains current is Gorgeous Grunge. I tried for a less feminine card, using some DSP, although those are soft colours. The stamp set is #Hello and incudes a lovely big @, as well as some of those hashtag slogans like #friendsarethebest. I paired it with Hello, which is decorated with the teeny heart from the Owl Builder Punch. On Film Framelits are also retiring, but I will keep them for my own use. The round 'hello' was stapled into position.

Now is a good time to pop over and do some online shopping, you might even score a bargain. Many of the products were sold out within hours though, so I hope you're not disappointed! The product links below will take you directly to the item you click on.

I had no time to make more swaps with current products so I hope the recipients aren't too disappointed.
Cheers
Rachel                                                                                                                                                                    

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Nuts For Elephants

I had a little fun today with Zoo Babies and Color Throwdown.
Isn't that a tasty looking colour combination?

In addition to Zoo Babies, I also used Nuts About You for the tree and grass, Polka-Dot Pieces for the leaves and Sketched Birthday for the greeting. The first card I made is below, with a giraffe on it, but the zebra came out a little too light. Also, the Bakers Twine bow seems a bit distracting and since I've notched the card to keep it in place, it has to stay.

So, I decided to make another card with the other half of the Nuts About You tree, and my hand was much steadier fussy-cutting those leaves, and I mixed the two greens. Using just the elephant, keeping the picture much simpler, gave a better result.

Lucky Limeade and Poppy Parade are two retired stamp pads I kept, but I was a new demonstrator back then, and didn't order refills for the stamp pads. I have noticed today that Poppy Parade isn't as moist as the Lucky Limeade one. My advice is to buy the refills while they are available to extend the life of your stamp pad. I seem to have almost run out of the Poppy Parade card too, and there isn't a red quite like it yet.

Thanks for dropping by,
Rachel

Sketched Birthday Wood Stamp Set

$42.95

Sketched Birthday Clear Stamp Set

$33.95

Zoo Babies Wood Stamp Set

$48.95

Zoo Babies Clear Stamp Set

$38.95

Polka-Dot Pieces Wood Stamp Set

$35.95

Polka-Dot Pieces Clear Stamp Set

$28.95

Nuts About You Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$24.00

Nuts About You Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$17.00

Folder Arrows Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$13.95

Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$13.95

Bitty Banners Big Shot Die Framelits

$25.95

A Little Birdie

I made a card on Thursday using these colours, and how refreshing they looked. I thought I needed to make another and this is what I came up with. Thanks to The Card Concept for an inspiring colour challenge. Nearly forgot to mention, mine is a "Clean & Layered" example.
Since I ordered Polka -Dot Pieces, I've been mystified as to why I didn't order it sooner. It has the two sizes of flowers, a butterfly as well as the bird, and they all stamp out so crisply. I used the Bird Builder Punch to punch out the pieces after stamping with Lime and Aqua.

I thought it would be quirky to use the greetings from Hello Love, with the 'birdie' theme. It is a bit light, even in Coastal Cabana, but it says.."A Little Birdie Told Me - it's your birthday".  I had stamped out a speech bubble with Happy birthday in it, but it seems too much on the outside, so it can go inside. To tie in with the polka dots on the stamped pieces, I used the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, and a retired In Color brad (with polka-dots, of course) in the centre of the flower.
I'm entering this card for a second challenge too. Clean & Simple Stamping had a lovely sketch and there's another week to go on this challenge. Click on either link and take a look at all the great cards at The Card Concept, and Clean & Simple Stamping, maybe you will enter the challenge too?
 Have a lovely weekend

Rachel

Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana

$11.95

Polka-Dot Pieces Wood Stamp Set

$35.95

Polka-Dot Pieces Clear Stamp Set

$28.95

Hello Love Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$31.00

Hello Love Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$22.00

1-3/4" Circle Scallop Punch

$29.95

Builder Bird Punch

$29.95

Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$13.95

Case-ing The Catty #1 Gift and Packaging - Pretty Pink Gift Box

This is a new challenge to show you what a fabulous resource your Stampin' Up! Catalogue can be. I'm very excited to be a part of the design team - a first for me! I am an avid participant in challenges, it seems to get the creativity flowing. Now, with just a little imagination, and using the stamps and inks you have on hand, you can CASE the catty too! Pop over to the Case-ing the Catty blog to see what the rest of the design team have made.

I have picked a gift box, see page 13 of the Aus/NZ catalogue for the one I cased. Although the catalogue example uses a large gift box, I chose a smaller box. It's a perfect size for some small toiletries, lip gloss or treats.

I used Strawberry Slush, Coastal Cabana and Pink Pirouette for a feminine touch and stamped the dot from Work of Art randomly over the strip of Whisper White and punched the ends just like in the catalogue, using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch. The Spiral Flower was one of the most popular items at my Catalogue Launch. Everyone made one, and every one was an original. I haven't made all that many yet, so mine tend to be a bit of a surprise each time, but I was pleased with this one in Strawberry Slush.



The Bird Builder Punch was already out to punch out some Coastal Cabana leaves so I decided I would decorate a gift tag to go with the gift box. I had received Polka-Dot Pieces in my last order, and it wasn't even mounted, but I soon fixed that. It isn't a new stamp set, but it's a good one, so I stamped the bird onto Pink Pirouette, punched it out and mounted it to the top of the tag. The greeting is a favourite of mine, it comes from Really Good Greetings. I know that I will be able to use this box and tag for a gift very soon.

Why don't you see if you can CASE something from the catalogue too and share with us?
I hope to see you soon
Rachel


If you need any help to make this project, please email me, I'll be glad to assist and for supplies, if you live in Australia, you can buy from my online store.

Originals Flower Spiral Bigz Die

$29.95

Builder Bird Punch

$29.95

Polka-Dot Pieces Wood Stamp Set

$35.95

Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$51.95

Really Good Greetings Wood Stamp Set

$32.95