Happy Bohemian Birthday!

SUO Challenges have set a challenge this week that is perfect to show off some Stampin' Up!® Designer Series Paper. I decided not to over-think this, even after receiving a shipment yesterday with some more brand new DSP included - EXCITING!
At the South Pacific Stampin' Up!® Convention in May, all attendees were given a pack of Bohemian DSP, and I couldn't have been happier, because it was top of my wish list.


I tried one of the bold patterns first of all, but my Deco Label covered too much of that pattern. It was easy enough to turn the sheets of paper over and use the 'quieter' patterns, allowing the rich colours to show to greater effect. I've also used the second smallest Banner Framelit to make pennants from more paper in the Bohemian DSP, still the smaller patterned ones. I just altered the length of each banner to be able to show them off to best advantage.



I was planning to adorn the inside with more DSP, but then I had an 'oopsie' and smudged some Rich Razzleberry ink onto the Very Vanilla insert. Instead of ditching that piece and starting over, I followed the rules of card making, "When you smudge your work - embellish!" Because I am aiming more for a masculine card today, it wasn't suitable to add a tiny flower, the mark was a bit big for a candy dot, and so I broke out Stake Your Claim for the first time. What do you think of the linen thread tied around the base? Just a bit like tying plants to a stake with twine perhaps?

Trying to include more colours from the patterned paper when I stamped the Umpteenth Birthday from Oh My Goodies, I checked the back of the paper pack.It's so handy that the colours are listed on the back. I was uncertain which yellow it was - Delightful Dijon is the answer.


I was determined to use Oh My Goodies, because it uses the deco Label Framelits which are on special on the Weekly Deals in Australia this week, for $30.75. If you're in the market for Framelits, the other great deal this week are the Banners Framelits, 6 sizes at $33.75. It doesn't show the 'special' price in the product list that follows but rest assured that it does show in my Online shop. They have 200 of each available and it is 'while stocks last".

I'm on holiday from my regular daytime job and I'm loving a chance to relax (and not get up at 6.30am!). It seems to allow a bit more crafting time too.

Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

CASE-ing The Catty #7 Home Decor

Here it is, Friday again and this week we are CASE-ing the Catty pages 94-101. This was the week I was fearing the most (I don't do home decor, apart from making quilts), but I ended up enjoying making both my projects, and probably would try something like this again.For this first canvas piece, I didn't choose any one particular item to CASE, but in general, looking at page 95, I decided that it would be fun to use the Decorative Masks. I decided sponging a cushion cover looked a bit too tricky, so I bought a stretched canvas from an art & craft store. The piece of card the photo is mounted on has been spritzed with the large dots mask, using a Stampin' Spritzer with Lost Lagoon re-inker to colour. It looks very faint in that particular photo.

While that was drying I took a sponge and using Hello Honey, sponged straight from the ink pad. The mask was placed side-ways on the canvas, and needed to be moved a couple of times to cover the area. I liked the way the stars were quite dense on the left and scattered thinly on the right.

This was the first time I'd used Little Letters Thinlets. They needed to be placed in a straight line so I could use the negative of  'FAMILY' at the base of the card, and I used the perspex Big Shot sheet over grid paper to help get everything lined up, and a little bit of washi tape held them in place. The peg and butterfly pennant are actually recycled from a Make & Take from the Stampin' Up!® South Pacific Convention. I've used glue dots to attach everything, and if the photo and card backing become dated/tired, it will be easy to replace them.

For my second project, I had admired the Letter on page 96, which has been covered with DSP. I wanted to stamp mine with I love Lace using Blackberry Bliss. Originally, this was to be my main project, because I'd imagined how beautifully it would turn out. Then, I had trouble getting the white paint work even. Apparently I'm not very good at painting!!!! I'd used what I could find in the shed, which seems to be a gloss or semi-gloss. The letter was too large to stamp just once, and there was a slight overlapping in the stamped image. Finally, I left it to dry for 5 hours, and it still was as wet as ever, so I took a baby wipe to remove the ink and start again.

That's when it became apparent that the ink had taken, and the result was a lovely, lacy shade of pink. I decided at that point to leave well-enough alone and stamped and punched some small flowers for the finishing touch.

My hints for this project:

I'd suggest a flat paint would work better.

Even better, purchase a painted letter, not raw.

I wonder if the ink would have dried with heat applied.

And if you have ever tried doing this, I'd welcome your tips too!!!!

Now, do you know that we'd love for you to join us for this challenge? 

• Take inspiration for Home Decor from those pages of your countries Stampin' Up! catalogue. In Australia/New Zealand it is pages 94-101.
• Mention CTC in your blog and link back to the challenge blog
• Share which project you cased, the page number and catalogue country.
• Stampin' Up!® products only, current or retired.

Hope to have you join us at Case-ing The Catty,

Rachel

Australian residents, you can shop in my online store 24/7, delivery by Australia Post.

Dots & Stripes Decorative Masks

$4.95

Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks

$4.95

Little Letters Thinlits Die

$48.95

Big Shot

$149.95

Stampin' Spritzer

$4.95

Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

$4.95

Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

2014-2016 In Color Printed Clothespins

$9.95

Stamping Sponges

$5.95

I Love Lace Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$30.95

I Love Lace Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$24.95

Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Amazing Birthday Colour Me Playful PP201

I loved having some time to create this morning. I need to build my stash of masculine cards, with three sons celebrating birthdays between now and beginning of October. The colours at the challenge this week for colour me..! look to be perfectly playful for my card using Amazing Birthday stamp set. You'll find it in the new Stampin' Up Catalogue, and it was a Make & Take stamp set for us at Stampin' Up! South Pacific Convention.

The sketch at the Paper Players looks like you should use patterned paer for the centre strip and I bet it looks just great that way too, but I was sure this would also team beautifully with this pennant style greeting stamp. I could have used one of the circular greetings which come in Amazing Birthday, but decided on Love Ya from Just Sayin' . Maybe I will add Sam's name to this too. My pennants at the top are from Tape It, I used that stamp set for Aaron's card too. It's not a new set, but I'm seeing it with fresh eyes at the moment.

I've been hanging out for the end of the week (my working week anyway) because I am so exhausted from moving offices at work. We do begin our school holidays in Victoria this Friday too, but at some stage over the holidays, our team will need to go in to work to finish off - after the moving men have tackled the heavy cupboards and filing cabinets. Us 'girls' handled the moving of four desks on a trolley, assisted by my dear hubby.Plus there was a myriad of smaller items to lug across the whole school, so it was probably more exercise for me than I'm used to!!!

Thanks for visiting my blog, if I can help you in any way, you can leave a comment, or see some more details below...
Rachel




I'll be showing off the new stamp sets, In Colors, Blendabilities and Framelits at my Catalogue Launch on July 4th. You're most welcome to come if you are near to South Morang, Victoria (north of Melbourne). Its FREE! Email me or phone 0417 500 681 for details.

Australian readers - You can shop for supplies in my online shop, there's only 4 days till the mini Occasions catalogue and main catalogue finish. Lots of retiring bargains and weekly specials too.

Hostess code C2KVNKJJ

Classes for watercolouring available if you are near to South Morang (Melbourne) VIC

Thursday 17th July 7.00pm - 10.00pm

Friday 25th July 7.00pm - 10.00pm

Saturday 2nd August 2.00pm - 5.00pm (daytime)

Stampin' Up! South Pacific Convention - Melbourne - 2014 Part Two

Continuing on with part two of this tale, Stampin' Up! is very much like a family, especially here in the South Pacific (Australia & New Zealand) where the numbers attending Convention are more manageable (<700), unlike the US where Convention is HUGE! Demonstrators help and support each other through online forums, team meetings and we love a chance to meet up face to face once a year. Thursday afternoon was a very full one with six experienced demonstrators sharing business tips. We were also able to participate in three mini Make & Take sessions, two of them using the Kinda Eclectic stamp set we had been given in the morning. You can see two cards in my previous post. The project above resulted in another lovely stamp set to bring home, and you can see a couple of the new In Colors here too. I think they will be a nice addition to the range, although they are fairly subdued, except for the orange.

In our down time, not that there's much of it, we can admire gorgeous displays of new products (the fans are made from a new Designer Series Paper) and all the cards and projects made on stage, are displayed. Demonstrators usually hang one of their swap cards on the display board too and there is always a crowd around these boards snapping away madly.

On Friday, Shelli Gardener showed the NEW photopolymer stamps which must be stored away from light. They are a bit cheaper than the red rubber stamps but not quite as durable. However, the see-through aspect of these stamps is great for placement, and one of our Prize Patrols was a set of letter and number stamps in photopolymer from the upcoming catalogue. Shelli stamped some cards for us, her daughter Sara Douglass shared her Project Life albums and some hints on putting photos into them and getting the journalling done while the memories are still fresh!
I can imagine how useful this system will be for my travel photos too, I'm still working on the trip I took to the UK & Paris last August!

I know that I can order a limited number of items next Friday, and customers can start ordering from that range too on 10th June, before the catalogue goes live on 1st July, when the whole range is available to us all. Its even available on MDS if that's your 'thing' and you'd like to print original cards for the pockets.
Hop on over to my online shop after 10th June to check out Project Life.

Another point Sara brought up, it's a great activity to do with your children of any age. She said that she was having her five children pick out their favourite baby photos even, and getting them into albums so she can catch up with the back log.

Another new and rather exciting product we had a chance to try at Convention was Blendabilities. Like the Stampin' Write Markers, they are a dual tip, color coordinated to the Stampin' Up color range & acid free, but they are also alcohol-based (like a rather well-known alternative brand). This means they don't soak the paper and break up the fibres, they don't 'bleed' and they're permanent. Available in packs of three tones of the same shade they have simplified the process of choosing toning colours. We tried it out on a very small floral stamp, but in a later Prize Patrol we received Blended Bloom and a set of three Calypso Coral Blendabilities. I can't really try it out until I can buy a Memento stamp pad, although if I have time to experiment, I think heat embossing might work just as well.
In case you're wondering, Prize Patrols are one of the perks of going to Convention. That is when they announce that they are going to hand out free product to everyone, to give us a chance to try it before we offer it to you. It really is a terrific bonus, because every stamp set I received this Convention, was one I would have ordered anyway. I love that it saves me dollars.

There will be at least one more part to the Convention Tales so stay tuned...
Rachel

Stampin' Up! South Pacific Convention - Melbourne - 2014 Part One

I have just arrived home from four days and three nights, staying in Melbourne for the Stampin' Up South Pacific Convention. Almost 700 Australian and New Zealander demonstrators gathered for fun and informative classes (and don't forget all the new product previews and give-aways!) Although it would have been possible to travel into the city each day, it would have meant an early commute on an overcrowded train, so I stayed on Flinders Street on the 10th floor, with a bit of a view, especially at night.
.

It was clean, comfortable and quiet, and that is all I ask of a hotel really. On a couple of mornings, I had breakfast out with my upline, Sue. For those who don't know, 'upline' is the title of the demonstrater who recruited you, so I am Sue's downline. Usually, we dine out at night in quite large groups, because everyone is so friendly, and we definitely have things in common, like stamping! {wink} These are friends who we talk to online and only see face-to-face once a year, so you have to make the most of it. Luckily, we are spoilt for choice in places to eat around Southbank.

Looking from the Melbourne Convention Centre along the Yarra River

Melbourne turned on the very best of weather, with temperatures between 18- 23°C (64-73°F) and it's only days away from the beginning of winter! On Wednesday I visited the National Gallery for a special exhibition visiting Melbourne until August sometime. The Italian Masterpieces from Museo del Prado (Spain) was full of fine examples of the Italian masters, which were greatly admired by Spanish Royalty and often given to the King as a gift. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed in the exhibition, so I purchased just one postcard. Afterwards, I had a rather long walk from the Art Gallery, back to the Convention Centre, to collect my gorgeous red bag, for an early start next morning. The managers had already had an afternoon of learning, and had been taken to a wonderful three course dinner at the Myer Mural Hall, with Shelli Gardener, the co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!

 ThinkInk team members Sue, Toby & Judy, checking the new catalogue

Our days are filled with entertainment, information and new products, and there certainly are a few of those for us to learn about. Two of the most exciting are Project Life and Blendabilities. A limited release of Project Life will be available to demonstrators next week, and for our customers from the 10th June. Fantastic way to store your photos, so quick and easy, and they can be 'dressed up' quite simply too. I think I will need to start doing this to keep up with all the photos I take, mainly of my gorgeous grandchildren!!!! I expect to have some products to show you soon,so don't forget to visit my online shop after the 10th.

At the end of the introductory session, we had our first Make and Take. We receive the products we need, including the stamp set, which we keep. The first stamp set was called Kinda Eclectic, and we have used it to make three projects. The first was a pair of cards, very similar but one design was 'stepped up'. That means it had more embellishments and was fancier than the first. It's great fun to be the student, getting instructions on how to achieve a great card!

After that bit of crafty fun, it was time for lunch, and then we had the surprise we'd all been waiting for!! The staff came out carrying boxes of catalogues and we could hardly wait to get our hands on them. Now to check out all those new stamp sets, dies, framelits punches and In Colors. It is strictly one catalogue per attendee, but I will be placing my order as soon as the item numbers go 'live' and it will probably be another 10 days until I receive them. I am having a Catalogue Launch Party on Friday 4th July, but if you want one sooner than that, you can txt or email me, and I will let you know when they arrive.
Phone 0417 500 681 email  rpalmieri5@bigpond.com

After lunch on Thursday, there was plenty more to do with some 'Make & Takes' and other demonstrators sharing their knowledge in another theatre. I think it might be best to save those pics for another day, since I need an early night to prepare for my other work tomorrow.

Cheers...
Rachel

Never too Happy - Melbourne Convention 2014

I'm so happy! I've headed into Melbourne for the annual Stampin' Up! South Pacific Convention.
Even though Melbourne is my home town and I could easily catch the train into the city each day, I look forward to staying in town for three nights. The  mornings get off to an early start and after the day is done, we get to eat out together. Everyone is very friendly and it is so nice to talk face to face with girls we've met in online team forums and so on. The days are filled learning about new products, how to use them, and generally having a lot of fun, with like-minded Stampin' Up!demonstrators. Who knows what delights await us, as the company loves to change things about to keep it fresh and exciting. They not only spoil us with an exclusive Convention Bag, but we also come away with lots of new products. Hopefully, I might even get my hands on a new catalogue.
If you would like to participate in all this fun next year, AND get 20% off all your hobby purchases, perhaps you might like to join my team? There's a link over to the right to take you there.

I thought I'd share this card I made a while back, using SALE-A-BRATION  Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper, and the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch to make the fancy closure. I coloured the stamp from Yippee-Skippee with Stampin' Write Markers so that it would have two shades of blue. It was fun to stamp the Petite Petals flowers down the side of the inside layer. On the banner, one flower is stamped, while two others have been stamped and punched out with the matching Petite Petals Punch. The Happy Birthday is from the retired Hostess stamp set Happiest Birthday Wishes and it seems to nearly match the script of the main greeting. I find it very hard to let go of my retired greeting stamps, but it is beginning to get quite hard to keep track of them all!!!
After I return home at the weekend, I expect to have more to share,
Rachel

Happy Birthday Mambo Curry! RS#115

I've been too busy to make any cards for a little while, but after work last night I made an effort to put together a card for RetroSketches. It's such a cute sketch, but I found deciding colours a bit tricky today.                                                                      
 I wonder what you think of Crushed Curry and Melon Mambo?

I used Peaceful Petals stamp set for the flower, Happy Watercolor for the splodges and spots and Petite Pairs for the 'happy birthday wishes'. Peaceful Petals and Happy Watercolor are in the Occasions Catalogue and it finishes in Australia at the end of June, so if you need these stamp sets, you'll need to order them soon. Petite Pairs is one of the staple greeting stamp sets: something for every occasion and you can use just one part, or two, of the pair.
I used non-Stampin' Up! rhinestones this time, but when we receive the Blendabilities, we will be able to color rhinestones, pearls etc. to match our projects. I wonder if we will see them at Convention this week?

I leave for the South Pacific Stampin' Up! Convention today, Shelli and Sterling have arrived, Bonnie has been here since Monday, I think. There are demonstrators from all over Australia and New Zealand streaming into town and we are all set to have a ball in beautiful Melbourne. It's the end of Autumn and we have had 10 days in a row over 20° (that's 68°F)and the sun is shining brightly on our city today!

I'm not sure that I will be able to update posts while I am away at Convention, but I have a couple of posts scheduled to be released while I'm away, so feel free to pop back in the next couple of days.
Have a great week

Rachel

Welcome Baby PP151

It's always such a happy occasion when a new baby arrives safely, don't you think?

In some ways that makes New Arrival cards the easiest cards to make.

I decided to base my card on the sketch by Nance at The Paper Players. My card is made using Soft Sky card, a colour that is NEW to me and returning to the subtles range, and I can understand why.

I used a greeting from Lovely Labels stamped in Marina Mist and chose the sweet little kitten from Storybook Friends which I water-colored using the Aquapainter. I bought this stamp set after receiving the cutest swap made with it at the South Pacific Stampin' Up! Convention in May, I love all those sweet little animals, so cute!

29th June 2013

The {Welcome Baby, sweetness unlimited} is a retired single stamp from a few years ago that I retain in my stash, just because.... and it is stamped onto a half doily, the largest one to be cut from Perfect Pennant Bigz L. I usually have a "cutting session" from time to time with my Big Shot so I can keep some on hand.

The strip of  Storybook Friends DSP helps tie the colours together, and I added a strip of Marina Mist Taffeta ribbon too. Now I'm all ready for the next baby boy that arrives!

I'm travelling to spend time with and babysit two grandsons and their little sister on Saturday - lovely
You have a lovely weekend too,
Rachel

Storybook Friends $33.95 (clear mount)