November 2017 Random Acts of Kindness Cards

These are the cards I've made to send on to people as part of the Random Acts of Kindness card group. Five are going within Australia, one to the UK and one to the USA. I have only pictured six because seven was throwing out my symmetrical photo. I used one of the pigs from the "This Little Piggy" stamp set and coloured that in using the Stampin Blends in Pink Pirouette, Pool Party and a tiny bit of Bermuda Bay. The base of the card is Whisper White (which is blending into the table), the next layer is Early Espresso, the strip of card is from the Coffee Break DSP and then I embossed some plain Garden Green and Pear Pizzazz cardstock and cut them out along with the very joyful pig. I hope this puts a smile on the recipients faces.

Stampin Blends and Colour Me Happy!

I posted about the release of the Stampin Blends and the Colour Me Happy stamp set and kit here

Here are the results. I followed the colour scheme they recommended and was so pleased with how they turned out. Because I used the kit there was no chopping of paper-all you need for the base of the cards are included and the envelopes are really special. Simply stamp up your images and then colour in using the Stampin Blends.

This card the stamping was the 'Oh Hello' sentiment and the birds. The birds are then coloured in using the Stampin Blends in Pink Pirouette and Pool Party-all the embellishments-sequins, gold foil and string come in the kit.

For this card I stamped up the flowers and "so happy for you" and coloured them using Pink Pirouette. The gold strip and sequins came in the kit.

I think this is my favourite. I stamped the lanterns and "celebrate" and coloured them in using Pool Party and Punpkin Pie. The gold strip, string,tassel and one of the pumpkins came in the kit.

 And this one was as simple as it gets-the navy and white cardstock in the background and the gold edged card are part of the kit and I stamped up the "thank you" and coloured using Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party and Night of Navy.

In the kit you get enough of the cards, envelopes and embellishments to make four of each design so you could set yourself up and make up the whole kit fairly quickly to have them on hand.

I cannot emphasise enough how nice the Stampin Blends are to use. They are so smooth and as you can see they look as good as the advertised pictures from all the marketing if I do say so myself ;)

Stamparatus coming soon!

What is a Stamparatus? It is an amazing stamping tool being released soon by Stampin' Up. Whether you are a hard core or occasional card maker, this really is a tool for everyone. Without further ado, I encourage you to watch the video Stampin Up has produced to showcase it.

Stamparatus

The ordering process is slightly different than in the past. The first order period starts this Friday but you won't be charged until the Stamparatus is in stock in early February. I think this is going to go fast so I certainly won't be delaying in placing my order. As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Stampin' Blends-new for November.

Stampin Up have released Stampin Blends-alcohol markers in 12 of the Stampin Up colour range. These can be used with any stamp set but there is a new stamp set and card kit released which work perfectly with them. Each of the 12 colours come with a light and a dark shade and you can buy them individually. They are two sided and have a brush tip and a finer tip. Look at what is available. The top picture shows the bundle when you purchase the Colour Me Happy Project Kit and the Stamp Set together. Then you can add whatever markers you like. You will need Memento Ink for your projects as these are alcohol markers and will run using other inks.

I will be making each of the cards from the card kit and posting when I've finished. I am far from an expert but I have been really happy with the results so far. And like all Stampin Up products they co ordinate beautifully with the existing products.

Love Today Planner update

Earlier this month I was impatiently waiting for my Love Today planner to arrive.

See this post

It's here!

I haven't decorated the outside yet but I did have fun using the Spooky Cat designer series paper and stamp set and the wonderful 'you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands' cat punch. I stamped all the images in Smoky Slate. Halloween isn't big here in Australia but in our suburb we have quite a few kids that Trick or Treat and it seems to grow every year. I love the community feel of Halloween so I have gone from not being impressed about the whole Halloween thing to loving it!

This is the month at a view. You then have each week laid out on one page.

I love the A5 size. There's lots of room to write but it isn't too bulky. The binder is thick but that is because the paper is such lovely quality and when you write you can't see through to the other side which I love. Overall I am thrilled with it and I've only just started to utilise it. I'll give a clearer walk through once I have decorated it more and figured out how best to use it for me.

Designer Series Paper Sale-best sale ever!

My favourite Stampin Up product is the designer series paper. Stampin Up is offering a Buy 3, Get 1 free promotion on selected paper packs, including a couple from the Holiday Catalogue. The below images are just a few of the paper packs you can select.

Below is the full list of papers available through this promotion. The page numbers for the catalogues are included.

There are so many great choices available, it's a hard choice deciding what four to pick!

Delightful Daisy Suite for October Cards, Cuppa and Chat

This month with the weather warming up (and cooling and warming and cooling but let's stick with warming), I wanted to do a spring theme. I had a few sets in mind to create cards but when I started making them I ended up sticking with the Delightful Daisy Suite. I love the effectiveness of that big daisy stamp and punch.

For the top card we stamped and punched out 4 daisies in Berry Burst and 2 daisies in Fresh Fig, We used the Stitched Edge ribbon in Old Olive and stamped the centre of the daisies, the leaves and the sentiment from Hello Gorgeous in Old Olive. Aren't they cheery?

The second card on the bottom left was made using paper from the Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper and stamps from the Daisy Delight Stamp Set. We stamped the flower stems in Old Olive, did the flowers in Smoky Slate and stamped over the larger ones with Daffodil Delight. The sentiment 'For My Friend' is from the Special Celebrations stamp set and I use that one a lot due to the simple font and as it is a nice greeting for all kinds of occasions-I recently used it on a Get Well card. It is stamped in Tranquil Tide to match the paper on Smoky Slate card stock and cut out using Stitched Shapes Framelits. The other side of this paper uses the same colours as we stamped with and the card looks great flipping the paper over too.

The card in the middle uses Delightful Daisy designer series paper, the daisies are stamped out using Tranquil Tide and the centre of the daisy and the sentiment from Special Celebrations are stamped in Smoky Slate.

The card on the bottom right uses an Old Olive card stock base and Delightful Daisy designer series paper. The flowers are on one side of the paper and the stripe is on the reverse. The Thank You sentiment is part of the Daisy Delight stamp set and is stamped with Daffodil Delight and I used a strip of old Daffodil Delight ribbon. We tied it in a bow at class though which added more impact.

These were really straightforward. It took us about an hour to make these with lots of talk in between.

You can buy the Daisy Delight stamp set and Daisy Punch as a bundle for $54.75 saving 10% on buying them individually.

 The Delightful Daisy designer series paper is part of Stampin Up's buy 3, get 1 free October promotion. Click below for information on what is included in this promotion.

https://signaturestamping.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/designer-series-paper-sale-best-sale.html

Welcome to spring!

Birthday Memories Suite

This month sees my Mum turn an undisclosed number and my youngest grand daughter turn one. I used the Birthday Delivery Suite stamp set and Birthday Memories designer series paper to create both cards.

My grand daughter's card:

I love the cheeky fox and he and the banner are cut out using the Birthday Friends Framelit Dies.I stamped the sentiment and the flowers in Berry Burst and added a piece from the Decorative Ribbon Border punch and Enamel Shapes in Pink Pirouette to add a bit more interest.

My Mum's card:

These papers remind me so much of the Little Golden Books of my childhood. When I was little we would go grocery shopping with Mum and we were allowed to choose a Golden Book to take home. I still have them all! For this card I cut out the rabbit from the Birthday Memories paper and layered it using Crumb Cake card stock using the Stitched Shapes Framelits. I used Real Red card stock for the base and a strip of Birthday Memories paper down the side. Then I added some White Perfect Accents. Very simple to pull together and I love it.

Happy Birthday to Mum and baby Evie!

Faithful Life Club

I recently came across a website and facebook group started by The Reset Girl. She has started a community of creative people and planning people and they seem like joyous, supportive communities.

I have ordered the Stampin Up planner and I am not very patiently waiting for it to arrive-see the post below with information and photos of the planner.

https://signaturestamping.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/focus-on-15-day-thirteen.html

My plan is to use it for day to day appointments and events but also journal my Bible reading.

The theme for this month is 'A Grateful Heart'. I will be using the scripture prompts but if you don't read the bible then listing things you are grateful for can help develop gratitude. If you'd like to join the #FaithfulLifeChallenge then click on the link to sign up and you'll receive the prompts.

https://www.theresetgirl.com/

Today I am grateful for sunshine, beautiful public spaces in my community and two kids that will still hang out with me.

It's October!

Daylight saving time started here today and we spent time on the kayaks on the river soaking in that late afternoon sun. Love the warmer weather and the lengthening of days at this time of year.

October also marks the start of the Stampin Up year and World Cardmaking Day is celebrated on October 7th (yes, it's a real thing!). To celebrate, Stampin Up is celebrating with specials on certain designer series papers for the whole of October and discounts on some stamp sets from the 1st to the 10th. Our annual catalogue is running until the end of May next year and our holiday catalogue runs until January 2nd next year.

October also sees my family celebrate several birthdays-my mother, one of my brothers, my daughter turns thirteen and my youngest grand daughter turns one. Add to that a Halloween party and it's going to be a busy month.

I'm looking forward to celebrating with the Daisy Delight set for my regular class (one of the sets that is on special) and the Spooky Cat bundle from the Holiday Catalogue.

Click in the link for more information about current promotions or to see the Holiday Catalogue. Let me know if you'd like anymore information.

http://www3.stampinup.com/home/en-AU/promotions_au

Random Acts of Kindness August 2017

These are four of the beautiful RAK cards I received this month. I love how clearly you can see the diversity of the Stampin Up products, these are all made using current product and are all so different.

Focus on 15-Day Fifteen

Celebration Time Bundle.

I think for most of us the most frequent times we give cards is for birthdays. The Celebration Time set is lots of fun abd perfect for birthday celebrations. There's cake, there's candles. there's presents and the dies are amazing. There are 14 dies in the set. Awesome, fun set.

These are the dies.

And here is the stamp set and some samples from the catalogue. Initially I was only going to get the dies but as it's a bundle you save 10% if you buy both together, So now both are on their way to me and I will be doing a five day series looking at this bundle next month. This is going to be lots of fun to play with!

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. 

I hope you have enjoyed this series and found some ideas for your own creativity. There is so much in the catalogue that I may do another Focus on 15 down the track. One of the things with such a detailed catalogue is that it's easy to overlook things and discover them as you are looking through it for the umpteenth time. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Fourteen

My favourite Stampin Up products have to be the designer series paper (DSP). I love pretty papers. And the Foil Frenzy DSP packs a punch. So shiny and such pretty colours, I really love the Soft Sky in particular.

The photo doesn't do this paper justice. Here are some samples from the catalogue.

Aren't they stunning?

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Thirteen

How do you plan your life? I was always a pen and paper girl and then for a while went fully electronic but this year I went back to writing it down because I find it helps my memory.

Stampin Up have released a refillable planner. I'm pretty excited about this. You can use it as you would use any diary/planner but it's big enough to use for journalling. The paper quality is excellent and it comes with embellishments to decorate it so you can personalise it.

The Washi Tape that I showed on Day Three is great for planning too. The planner is undated so you can start using it at any time of the year and when the year is up you can order the refill kit which comes with everything but the cover. I am trying to hold off to start next year as I do have one that I have been using this year but not sure that I will be able to hold out that long.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Twelve

To add texture to cards you can't go past the embossing folders. They are used with the Big Shot, simply run them through the Big Shot and you will see the impression below.

The embossing folders are on pages 210-211 of the catalogue.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Eleven

Is it spring yet? Not even close I'm afraid. But this set helps bring a bit of spring sunshine into the day.

This has been an incredibly popular set. Consisting of the Daisy Delight stamp set and the Daisy Punch it is amazingly effective. While the star is the big daisy the softer flowers look really simple and beautiful when stamped. And if those two weren't enough then there is the Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper which is so pretty and the ribbon in daffodil delight. Check out pages 126-127 of the catalogue for a glimpse of some of the possibilities with this set.

If you go to Pinterest and search for Daisy Delight you will see heaps of gorgeous products made with this set. 

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Ten

This Little Piggy...is adorable!

I am not much for cutesy stamp sets usually but I love these pigs.They are so joyful and cute. And there are nice sentiments too. My favourite is "She Believed She Could" "So She Did". I know a lot of pretty amazing women I think that applies to. I'm looking forward to getting this set.

It's $49 for the wood mount and $35 for the clear mount.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Nine

Who loves flowers? As someone that is trying to limit buying any more flower stamp sets because I have so many I can put my hand up!

Flower Shop isn't new to this years catalogue but it is well worth looking at. There is lots of detail in the six stamps which means you can make a lot of projects with diversity with just this one set. Stamping straight onto cards would look effective but if you wanted to add more definition you can cut out the shapes with the pansy punch. Punches are a great way to add dimension. The Flower Shop stamp set and the Pansy Punch are $62 for both and you would never be short of inspiration.

Look at the cards below to see a few ideas.

The above images are all from Pinterest.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Eight

Before I write this I need to confess. I don't drink coffee. However even I can see why this set is going to be so popular.

Coffee Break. A great stamp set, framelit dies, matching ribbon and a great combination of colours on the designer series paper.

       

                                       

The stamp set is $37 and the framelits are $50 but if you buy them as a bundle you save 10% so both are $78.25. The designer series paper is $19.25 for a pack of 12 sheets.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Seven

Ribbon. Today is ribbon. I love ribbon.

All Stampin Up ribbons are on pages 198-199 of the annual catalogue. They are all so beautiful but a few honourable mentions are:-

Double stitched ribbon-straight stitching on one side and crisscross on the other. This comes in three colours-Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight.

Copper Trim-this looks amazing in person and if you want to you can stretch it out to give it a different look.

Shimmer Ribbon-in Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party and Powder Pink-so elegant and pretty.

This was a hard post to write. I wanted to select everything!

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Six

Want to make a card with little effort but big impact? This is the stamp set for you!

Floral Statements are two large stamps with Thanks and Hello as the sentiments intertwined with beautiful flowers. These would be great to use with the water colour pencils or with ink on the blender pens. The size of the stamps means that this is all you would need on a card.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Five

Today is the Soft Sayings Card Kit. Using a lot of the In Colors and with a lovely stamp set, this kit comes with everything you  need to made 20 cards. All the card stock, embellishments and details come with the kit and when you have finished the cards you have a stamp set that can be used in the future. And if you want to keep going then you can order the refill and you can start all over again!

While I think this is fantastic for those new to card making, I know a few experienced card makers that love this because they are so simple to put together. It's also really portable so if you were on holidays or in hospital this would be a great way to pass some time productively.

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!

Focus on 15-Day Four

Today's focus is on Ribbon of Courage. Designed in consultation with a Stampin' Up demonstrator who has achieved a million dollars in sales, this stamp set highlights the support ribbons commonly used for cancer but also used for many other medical and social issues. They do come with dies to cut out the shapes but these wouldn't be too complex to cut out by hand. I love the detail on the patterned ribbon and the hearts. And the sentiments are wonderful. Just the simple word courage is special and would be meaningful for anyone facing something difficult. These would also be useful for invitations and thank you cards for fundraisers for a particular event like Australia's Biggest Morning Tea.

Isn't the detail so beautiful?

If you would like to see a catalogue you can see it here online. If you'd like to order then contact me on facebook. Thanks for reading!