Cute Cupcake

When I made my first order from the current Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue, I somehow managed to overlook this adorable punch. It was on my list, and yet I still managed to leave it off my order.

Luckily I managed to correct that omission, and it arrived earlier this week.

Now, this is a particulary nifty punch, containing all the elements you need to create a whole cake shop of tasty cupcakes. Along with the basic cupcake and candle elements shown here, the punch also includes some little sprinkles and a cherry. And it also has a matching stamp set (which I haven't got ... yet).

It is a little fiddly to put together, I will admit, but I think the results are well worth it! I used my Tombow Multi glue for the little candle and flame - the bottle has applicators at each end, one for covering large areas and the other for very (very!) fine work.

And because I was going a little punch mad, I also used my two different scallop circle punches and the ever-so-swish Scallop Trim Border punch to finish it off.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Build A Cupcake Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle Punch (still available as a carry over item, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Watercolour Rose

As you may know, Stampin' Up! Classic Inks are dye based, which means that they will run when wet. Usually you try to keep your work dry and avoid this, but sometimes it can be exactly what you need for your project.

Here, for example, I have stamped the big rose from Fifth Avenue Floral onto watercolour paper which was sprayed with water beforehand. The Regal Rose ink immediately bled out across the paper. Once the piece was dry, I used my Stamp A Ma Jig to restamp the flower in Regal Rose and create this simple yet effective focal point for my card.

Layer it with a few pieces of coordinating cardstock (in this case, more Regal Rose along with Soft Suede and Very Vanilla) and you have this ... I am very happy with the result!

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Fifth Avenue Floral, Trendy Trees
Ink: Regal Rose, Soft Suede
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Watercolour Paper
Other: Word Window Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Cutter Kit, Stamp A Ma Jig

Too Cute!

Okay, so now we've all seen the Owl Punch - and he really is too cute.

I finally made a card incorporating my little penguin - the icebergs are made with Stampin' Up!'s vellum cardstock, glued over a piece of Baja Breeze card which I tore and sponged to look a little like the sea. He needs a greeting, but that is something I will add when I decide who he's being posted to.

Supplies used:Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Peach Parfait, Baja Breeze, Vellum Cardstock
Other: Two Step Owl Punch

Birthday Owl

I finally got around to using the little owl I made the other day, turning him into a cute birthday greeting. I used the Two Step Bird Punch for the branch, otherwise he would have been floating in mid air. Of course, this means the branch is floating ... now I'm overthinking things LOL. If it was truly realistic, the owl's heart would be on the inside, for a start.

This is a card the guests at a recent workshop made, with personal variations of course.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Perfect Punches
Ink: Early EspressoCardstock: Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Peach Parfait, Poppy ParadeOther: Two Step Owl Punch, Two Step Bird Punch, Top Note Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

Simple and Stunning

This card is directly inspired by a swap I received at our Stampin' Up! Convention in Canberra last year. The original was created by Nikki Stalker, and has been sitting at the back of my mind as something I would like to create for all this time.

This is my version, using some updated colours. I love the combination of Rich Razzleberry and Baja Breeze, with a little Daffodil Delight thrown in.

Looking at it now, I see that I could have used Pear Pizzazz instead of Daffodil Delight and kept with the purple/blue/green theme from the other day *g*.

Fun Colour Combination

Did you know that purple, blue and green could look so good together? Well, they do when you use these particular shades, anyway.

Here I have combined two new In Colors, Concord Crush and Pear Pizzazz with an old faithful, Bashful Blue. It's kind of hard to see the Concord Crush properly - it is a dark blue-purple colour, very rich, and one I hope to use a lot over the next two years.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cottage Garden, Trendy Trees
Ink: Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz
Other: Crimper, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch (formerly known as Large Oval), Word Window Punch

My new favourite colour *happy sigh*

No photograph can do justice to the beauty of this colour. Cherry Cobbler, one of the new core colours, is a deep, rich, velvety red - almost a burgundy - and just blows me away every time I see it. The picture here just doesn't show its true beauty *sigh*.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Medallion, Trendy Trees
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler
Other: Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch (formerly known as Large Oval), Scallop Oval Punch

Simple Card

Here's something a made a while back, but never quite got around to photographing for the blog. It was super quick and easy to make, I have to say.

The flowers are just punched out of Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo cardstock and layerd onto the branches of the little stamp from Pocket Silhouettes. I have also used the same stamp a couple of times at the bottom left of the base card and the pink layer to add some interest there.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Pocket Silhouettes
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla
Other: Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Boho Blossoms Punch, Metallic Brads

More remade samples

I have been stamping up a storm recently (you've probably noticed all the posts *g*) in my quest to restock my samples folder.

Here's a card I remade, using this one as a template. As you can see, I pretty much stuck with the formula, and am very happy with the result.

The stronger colours work particularly well here, I think - Riding Hood Red is one of my new favourites lately!

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Trendy Trees
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Soft Suede
Cardstock: So Saffron, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Other: Funky Forsest Stampin' Around Standard Wheel, Stampamajig, Stampin' Around Wheel Guide

Another catalogue CASE

Not too long to go now before the new 2010-11 Ideas Book & Catalogue goes live ... contact me to arrange your copy.

In the meantime, here's a card I made which was inspired by a sample in the new catalogue (which, by the way, is an awesome source of inspiration - which is why they call it an "Ideas Book" as well as a "Catalogue").

The original was much nicer, mostly because I looked at the catalogue, liked the card, waited a few days and then tried to copy it without bothering to look again. You'll see what I mean when you get your copy LOL.

Anway, it was an interesting experiment, and a chance to play with my new crimper (which I resisted buying for the longest time, and yet now can't imagine how I managed to live without it).

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Soft Suede
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Old Olive
Other: Crimper

As promised...

The other day I showed you a hint of Vintage Wallpaper - a new embossing folder for your Big Shot. The folder will be available for purchase from September 1 from the new 2010-11 Ideas Book & Catalogue.

Here is another card using this folder, which shows a little more detail. Not a great deal, mind, as it's largely hidden behind the front panel, but you can probably get the idea.

The Stampin' Up! folders are sized to cover (most of) a card front. I personally prefer to use them for layering, but that's just me. And they're reasonably priced - so much so that I am probably going to get another one of these to experiment with (wait and see!).

The card itself was just the result of a table full of stuff, the stamp set "Always" sitting nearby, and a desire to try making something that wasn't pink out of this set. I won!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla
Other: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder

New Stamp Set ...

So far I haven't really been showing you much new stuff ... I have to admit this is partly because I didn't buy much from our demonstrator-only pre-order (saving my money for next month when the new catalogue is officially released *g*).

However, I do have access to one or two new goodies. As a f'rinstance, this is a stamp from a new set called "Perfect Punches", which all attendees were given (yes, *given*) at the annual Stampin' Up! Convention in May (no one was expecting it; we were all totally blown away by this).

Each stamp in the set of 6 coordinates with a Stampin' Up! punch, and contains a variety of handy phrases such as the "happy birthday" shown here, "Joy at Christmas", "Thanks", "Congratulations" and "my friend".

The card shown here was inspired by a (poorly remembered) sample from the catalogue - I saw it, liked it and tried to replicate it, but then when I saw the original I was astonished that I'd managed to get it so wrong LOL. The sample is much, much nicer, and I will try it again sometime soon.

The more observant of my readers will no doubt already have noticed the other new element on this card ... yup, a new embossing folder to add to my repertoire. This one is called Vintage Wallpaper, and is just lovely. I will show another card featuring a larger sample in a day or two.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Perfect Punches (new set!), Inspired by Nature, Trendy Trees
Ink: Soft Suede, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Other: Wide Oval Punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Perfect Polka dots embossing folder, Crimper

CASEing a CASE...

A couple of years ago, I borrowed a card style from a Stampin' Up! mini catalogue ... the other night I revisited the layout with updated colours to see what would happen.

I like it *g*.

The colours here were inspired by a Designer Series Paper set from the upcoming 2010-11 Catalogue (contact me to reserve your copy *g*) - the combination of Very Vanilla, Basic Black and Riding Hood Red is very rich and yet very simple.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red
Other: Very Vanilla 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

New Catalogue Sneak Preview

I got a package today ... a very big package *g*. So do you want to see what was inside?

Really?

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A little more ...

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Okay, so I'm not actually allowed to show you what was inside the three smaller boxes that were inside the really big box :-(

Sorry to get your hopes up LOL

However, I am allowed to distribute these new catalogues. They're only $10 each, or FREE if you host a workshop *g*.

Two of these boxes are actually destined for Paperific, being held next weekend (August 27-29) - you can always buy one from us at the Stampin' Up! stand there, or contact me to purchase a copy early.

And because I'm sorry I can't show you the catalogue, here is something made with a BRAND NEW stamp set!!!

The stamp shown here is from a new Level 2 Hostess Set called "Cute By The Inch" ... it is a set of 9 little square stamps which are actually slightly smaller than 1", designed to fit in a NEW Petal Card XL Double Punch (which unfortunately wasn't part of the pre-order, so I have to wait to get my hands on it *sniff*).

I took inspiration for this quick and simple card from this card - love the colour combination and clean lines.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cute by the Inch (Level 2 Hostess Set)
Ink: Basic Black
Cardstock: Kraft (soon to be renamed Crumb Cake), Basic Black, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise
Other: 1-1/4" Square Punch, Scallop Square Punch

Old Tricks, New Cards

In my quest to stock up my sample board, I have been looking at old, retiring samples with a view to remaking them with current product.

This time I'm sharing the new, improved version of this card. With Apricot Appeal leaving us forever *sob*, the sample isn't much use anymore except perhaps as inspiration.

And this is what I came up with. Kind of the same, but different.

If you look carefully you might see the stamping on the Very Vanilla Layer. I used Versamark to stamp En Francais, then sponged Soft Suede ink over the top - the Versamarked areas "resist" the dye Soft Suede ink and the result is super-subtle and gives a hint of texture to the finished product.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cottage Garden, EN Francais
Ink: Soft Suede, Real Red, Versamark
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Kraft, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Other: Top Note Die, Extra-Large Two Step Bird Punch

Keeping it Simple

As a demonstrator, I need to make sure that I have samples using current products to show people what they can achieve with Stampin' Up!

However, with the announcement a few months back that many of the "core colours" were being retired in a major colour reconfiguration, combined with the recent Last Chance List of retiring stamps, I have found that a lot (and I mean a LOT) of my samples will no longer showcase products that the customer can buy.

It was a sad day when I went through my samples folder and display board. This is the result (note that the cards on the table didn't all come from the board shown, but also from my big book). And I keep finding samples I had stashed away and forgotten to add to my book.

But the cloud has a silver lining. I have the perfect excuse to stamp up a heap of new cards, and while it will take a while to replace all the old samples, I've made a start.

Here's a card I whipped up the other night - very quick, very simple. I've just stamped the three flower stamp from Eastern Blooms three times in different colours - Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron. There is a style of stamping called "Clean And Simple", and I believe this card fits nicely into that category.

I took inspiration from this card over at SplitcoastStampers.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red
Other: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Pink Trees

Trendy Trees is such a cute little stamp set. It comprises two trunks, four "leaves" and a couple of phrases, all for only $31.95.

And while the temptation is strong to stamp the trunks in brown and the leaves in green (or shades of orange for autumn cards), sometimes you just have to be a little different.

I'm pretty happy with the way this card came out - it is of the style I have seen called "Clean And Simple" (or CAS for short), which really sums up my own personal style of stamping.

If you look really closely (the picture is a little dark), you might be able to see that I have used another of the tree tops - a dotty sort of spiral - to decorate the Chocolate Chip layer.

During the month of July, selected Two-Step Stampin' sets are 20% off, and while Trendy Trees isn't included (hey, it's already at a bargain price!), Wonderful Favourites shown here is. Normally priced at $39.95, you can buy this 23 piece stamp set during July for only $31.96.

Read more about this great promotion on my Stampin' Up! website.


Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Trendy Trees, Wonderful Favourites
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Melon Mambo, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch

Cheep Talk Variation #2

The other day I posted a picture of a card I'd made with Cheep Talk, one of the stamp sets on special this month (waqs $47.95, now $38.36!). Here's another one I whipped up the other day.

The first card was made at the monthly stamp club I attend (held in Glen Waverley on the last Saturday of the month - if you want more details give me a call, new members are always welcome!), and as always, I didn't have all the things I really wanted to use - after all, you can't drag everythign along (although, believe me, I've tried LOL).

So that night, I made this one, which is much more like I was picturing.

How cool is this? I finally got around to pairing up my Scallop Circle die with my Circle Scissor Plus (which can cut circles up to 6 inches in diameter!) to create the perfect layers.

And see the branch now has a pear sprouting from the bottom? That's the beauty of Two-Step Stampin'! Both the pear and the stalk are two separate stamps, which were carefully positioned using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cheep Talk
Ink: Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Circle Die, Circle Scissor Plus, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

July Specials!

Have you tried Two-Step Stampin'™? This is a process by which you use two or more stamps to build up an image or picture. Throughout July, Stampin' Up! are offering selected Two-Step Stampin' sets at 20% off catalogue price!

The sets on special are:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
116386	39	Loads of Love	$39.95	$31.96
116342	42	Big Bold Birthday**	$53.95	$43.16
115860	78	A Rose is a Rose**	$66.95	$53.56
116332	86	Playful Petals**	$52.95	$42.36
115770	98	Cheep Talk	$47.95	$38.36
115946	115	Wonderful Favourites	$39.95	$31.96
119187	14*	Tiny Tags (wood-mount)	$38.95	$31.16
118592	14*	Tiny Tags (clear-mount)	$28.95	$23.16
119163	31*	Cottage Garden (wood-mount)	$32.95	$26.36
120003	31*	Cottage Garden (clear-mount)	$24.95	$19.96

*From 2010 Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue
**Retiring stamp sets!

And as you can see, just a heads up that if you don't buy Big Bold Birthday, A Rose is a Rose or Playful Petals this month or next month, you will miss out as they are retiring as of August 31. So why not snap them up at a bargain price?

Big Bold Birthday has been a favourite of mine, as shown in these posts. I haven't used it in a while, better drag it out and dust it off *g*.

Cheep Talk is another set which I can highly recommend - with 11 stamps in the set there are so many different ways of using it. There's two cute little birdies, a branch, three phrases and a few different things to stick on or around the branch to create a picture. Here's one variation (keep an eye out - I will post another variation in a couple of days).

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cheep Talk
Ink: Old Olive, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Circle Die

Wonderful Favourites is possibly the best value stamp set you'll ever buy, and at $31.96 during July it is an absolute bargain. The set comprises the words "Wonderful" and "Favourite" in nice big curly writing, then has 21 stamps with words like "mother", "father", "in law", "to my", "and" and so on, so you can build up a personalised greeting for your favourite people.

Lastly, if you are planning on buying a Two-Step Stampin' set, can I recommend purchasing a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig if you don't have one already? These little tools are invaluable for lining up those tricky elements so that you can position them just so on your cardstock.

Vintage Vogue

This stamp set, Vintage Vogue, really is gorgeous. It has a soft, old-world sort of feel which goes so well with muted, vintage colours. Or something a little more out there like I've used here.

You may recognise my new favourite colour combination which I also used here.

This time I took a piece of Whisper White cardstock and randomly stamped it using Vintage Vogue in So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Rich Razzleberry. I had to be careful not to overdo the Razzleberry - it is a very powerful colour *g*. Then I cut the cardstock up into strips and used them to make three different cards as shown here.

This is a great idea for those times when you want to make the maximum number of cards in the minimum amount of time - this strip style is super quick and oh-so-easy.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, Warm Words
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Cardstock: So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Very Vintage Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel