4 weeks till Christmas

With only 4 weeks to go it's time to start decorating the house !!! Sure, you can go out and buy just about any decoration you can think of these days, they light up and play music....... BUT call me old fashioned, I prefer the old traditions of making your own paper chains and baubles. So in the 5 minutes I had tonight, between taking kids to dance classes, cooking tea and getting the washing off the line, I had a play and made a few things as you can see above.

No special tools or creativity required, just have some fun. It's economical too because you can use up all your scraps and leftover bits etc... I'm sure you can get a lot more advanced than these examples here. We're in for a hot weekend here, a good excuse to stay indoors with the kids and get creative.



Happy Stamping,

5 weeks till Christmas

Oh these 12 weeks have just vanished! Is it really only 5 to go???


Tomorrow I am off to Sydney for a day full of stamping fun at our annual regional training day. It is a whole day spent with a wonderful group of fellow Stampin' Up Demonstrators. We get a free stamp set that is as yet unreleased and usually make 3 or 4 projects using it. I always learn something new and have a lovely time catching up with everyone.


An optional feature of the day is swapping cards with each other. You can make as many or few as you want and you come home with lots of great samples from other demonstrators.
Below is the card I have made for this year, I have been busy stamping away and managed to make up 30 of these, so after tomorrow should have 30 different cards in return.







I have used my favourite Christmas paper this year, Ski Slope (only available till Nov 30th) and a strip of real read CS cut using our eyelet border punch. Then I wanted to create something a little different, and use stamps that are not specifically Christmas stamps. The Kiwi Kiss swirly leafy pattern is actually the seaweed image from our Ocean Commotion set. I have stamped this 3 times, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to position it neatly in three different directions. The small red flower is a small flower from the Always set. Then I just finished it off with a greeting from the Best Yet stamp set from our Level 1 hostess gifts. It was quite a quick card to make in a production line (when you have 30 to make!!!).

Till next week,
Happy Stamping,

6 weeks till Christmas

Cute & quick projects!!! That's what we like. Especially this week when I'm flat out with no time to spare. This is just a fun little project that the kids can help do. I bought a big pkt of plastic pegs from a discount shop and then decorated them to use for hanging up your Xmas cards or adding decorations to your tree.

I used a small Christmas set called "Hung up on the holidays" (now retired), but you can use any images you like, and then simply punched the image out with a circle punch, layered this on a scalloped circle and then adhered it to the top of the peg. You could also add a magnet to the back!

I have packaged mine up in lots of 4 to be sold at a school fundraising stall. This was also quick and easy to do using our celophane bags and a little cardstock or DS paper folded and stapled along the top.

Before I go this week a quick update about the "Gift giving guide" promotion. If you do spend the $85, you now have the choice of EITHER a scallop square punch OR the "Boho Blossoms" punch. If you want further details please send me a comment or email.

Happy Stamping,

7 weeks till Christmas!

How fast are these weeks flying by??? Now that November is upon us there's lots to think about.

This is the LAST month for our Spring Mini Catalogue so if you haven't placed your orders already, time is running out.
I'm still hoping to add more members to my team while the "Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign" is on. Remember, not only will Stampin Up make a donation of $5 for every new demonstrator, but you will receive a free pink ink pad and pack of DS paper!!!!
Our new promotion is now on with our "GIFT GIVING GUIDE". Order $85 worth and receive a free scalloped square punch! See below for details.

Now for this week's sample. I have made up a small gift bag, inspired again from the wonderful Makeesha Byl. Some of my local customers will recognise this from workshops earlier in the year. I have adapted the design here for a Christmas theme. Please note the Ski Slope papers and scalloped oval punch used above are only available till the end of the month in the mini catalogue.

Materials used:
Carousel Notes , used 2 in Baja Breeze (page 131)
Real Red CS for box on inside of gift bag (can't see this in photo)
Ski Slope DS paper; Scallop oval punch; Real red grosgrain ribbon; jumbo eyelets; Real red ink pad;
Other: snail adhesive, cropodile to punch holes and set eyelets.

If you would like a link for a tutorial on how to make this project just post a comment or send me an email. Till next week,

Happy Stamping,

November Special

November is here and a new month means a new Stampin' Up Special for you! Some people are hard to buy for but this year Stampin' Up has a "gift giving guide" to help make it easier. The best part is if you purchase $85.00 worth from the guide, you will receive a scalloped square punch worth $30.95 absolutely free!!!!

Click on http://www3.stampinup.com/au/documents/Holiday_Extravaganza_GGG_AU_1009.pdf

to see the flyer in full.

This offer is only available till Dec 14th so get in quick so you don't miss out.

Happy Stamping,

8 Weeks to Christmas

This week I have a very easy project for you all, making gift card holders. These days you can purchase gift cards just about everywhere and they make a very easy present for those "hard to buy for". Below are two holders I made up in hardly any time at all, which are the sort of projects we need at this busy time of year!


The holders open up by untying the ribbon, and inside is a middle flap where the gift card slides into. You also have plenty of room to write on the inside so it becomes a card as well.


You can find a tutorial for this project (and the place I find a lot of my inspiration) over at Makeesha Byl's blog. A link to her blog is on my side bar. Once at her site if you scroll down you will find "Make it Monday" Tutorials and under this is "Gift Card Holders". There are actually 3 different types, the one I used above is the third tutorial. You will notice that I chose to use Designer series paper etc for my decorations, rather than a Stampin Around Wheel. This meant my entire project was actually Stamp and ink free to make it an even quicker project.

The materials list for my designs are:
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red & Whisper White.
DS Paper: Ski Slope (from Spring Mini-only available till end of Nov)
Ribbons: Riding Hood Red Taffeta & Kiwi Kiss Satin.
Other: Self Adhesive diecut embellishments from "I wish" Simply Scrappin Kit; Scallop Circle punch; 1 3/8" circle punch; Sticky Strip & Snail Adhesives; paper cutter.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's Christmas project.
Happy Stamping,

9 weeks till Christmas

Join My Team!!!!!!!!

For this week's count down to Christmas I wanted to highlight the present you can give to yourself- Becoming a Stampin' Up Demonstrator!!!!!

Now is the best time to join my team "The Fine Prints" because not only do you receive all your normal benefits from being a demonstrator, but if you join between 1st October and 31st December, Stampin' Up will donate $5 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation AND you will receive both a free pack of Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper and a Pretty In Pink Classic Stampin' Pad to help you get started.

There are many other reasons why this time of year is a great time to join, please send me an email if you are interested to hear more and I will be happy to send you a free info pack.

Happy Stamping,