Time to Stamp, Scrap and Create with Fiona

Bloomin' Beautiful!

2010-08-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

The Last Chance List of retiring stamp sets and accessories is VERY long. Among my favourites is the stamp set Bloomin' with Beauty. (IBCp.79), I used this set to make my Mum a mother's Day card. She loves to receive hand crafted cards, and I tried really hard to make her one that was extra-special.

I used the single stem stamp from this set, but masked and stamped it a number of times to create this bouquet. The small border vine stamp is from the Vintage Vogue set in the Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue.

The colour combination of Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy is one of my favourites for the year. I have used it over and over with a spectacular result every time!

Can you see the fancy edges on the darker layer of the Happy Mother's Day tag? Leave a comment with your suggestion of how I did this. I will be selecting one correct answer for a special prize!

Don't forget that when retiring stamp sets are only available while stocks last! Contact me to place your order today so you aren't disappointed!

Last Chance List!

2010-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Every year, Stampin' Up! releases a new catalogue. In order to make way for the hundreds of new products, the shelves need to be cleared out! Products that are not being carried over to the new catalogue are listed on the Last Chance List! Some of these products are discounted from 25% to 50%! This will be your last chance to order from the 2009/2010 catalogue.

Click HERE to view the Last Chance List.

August 31 will mark the final day of sales on all items from the Last Chance List, however stocks are limited and when an item has been sold out, it will no longer be available for purchase!!

Items that are BOLD on the list are reduced in price.

As the month of August progresses, stock levels on retiring products will run low. Some items are already unavailable! Each week I will update this list of items which are no longer available.

2009-2010 Products No Longer Available

Taken with Teal A4 cardstock
Close to Cocoa A4 cardstock
Sweet Slumber Designer Series Paper
Totally Tabs stamp set

Christmas in July

2010-07-07T01:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The INKlings’ Team’s Christmas in July Blog Hop. You may have arrived here from Amy Anderson's blog or just be visiting my blog, whichever way once you’ve checked out my creations you can continue the hop through the link at the end of this post to the next team member.

How quickly is this year going! Have you started to think about your Christmas cards and projects yet? The INKlings team has and we thought that this month was the perfect time to host a Christmas in July blog hop. You'll find lots of great ideas provided by 17 team members’ fantastic blogs.

Want to win some Blog Candy? Simply leave a comment on each blog and then email Christie Wallace and let her know you’ve done so and you’ll be in the running for a fantastic prize of 17 handmade cards plus other goodies.

Sorry Blog Candy prize not available to SU! demonstrators but you're more than welcome to leave us a comment!

I have three different Christmas cards to share with you. The first is a fun card I've designed with our Canadian family members in mind. They love all things "Aussie".

I've used the Happy Christmas Mate stamp set coloured with markers. The Big Shot Scallop Circle Die helped me create the unusual shape for the card. I folded a 11 inch by 5 1/2 inch piece of card stock in half then placed the fold so that 5 of the scallops were uncovered. The white circle shape was cut using my Circle Scissors.

My next card again uses traditional colours (Real Red and Glorious Green) with some Brushed Gold and gold embossing for elegance.

Poinsettia flowers always remind me of Christmas. Both images on this card are from the set Christ is Born. I used the a green flower for leaves and embossed the words with gold detail embossing powder.

My third card was an attempt to design a Christmas card using non-Christmas stamps.

I used the floral pattern from Vintage Vogue repeatedly to create the wreath shape. The berries and sentiment are from Bella's Bloom.

Well that’s all from me. Next stop on the INKlings’ Team Blog Hop is Divya Rao . Have fun and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog to win some great Blog Candy.

Deals of the Week - Stampin' Up!

2010-06-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the stamp sets listed below. They will be on sale until Tuesday June 22nd. Each sets is 40-50% reduced!

Page            Description         Regular Price   Sale Price
34              A Happy Heart              $41.95           $20.98
57              Greetings Eight               $49.95           $24.98
78              Bella's Bloom                 $24.95           $14.97
97              Enjoy Every Moment     $53.95           $26.98
105            All Scallops                   $55.95            $27.98

You can browse these stamp sets in your Stampin' Up! catalouge.

Please snd me an email to place your order. Remember - this special is only available until Tuesday 22nd June.

Easter Workshop

2010-03-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I attended my first workshop in a few months. A huge 'Thankyou' to Sandy for a great morning, and the opportunity to share my love of stamping with a great group of guests! It was really fun to introduce a few ladies to stamping who had never made a card. They were delighted with the process and inspired to get stuck into more stamping! I think the stamping bug has bitten them!

At the workshop we made 2 cards - one was a simple design, which was easily changed into a new baby card, Easter card or even birthday card with a few minor ajdustments.

I used the duck from Wagon Load of Fun, coloured using Stampin' Write markers. My sample is Bashful Blue, but the ladies made a Pretty in Pink variation. The Scallop border was stamped onto whisper white cardstock with the image from Eggcoutrements and punched out using the scallop edge punch.

Here is the same card using a selection of different colours - each delightful!

A you can se, the coloured strips are slightly different shapes using just a few of the many punches in the Stampin' Up! catalogue.

Products
Wagon Load of Fun (Summer Mini Catalogue pg 11)
Eggcoutrements (Summer Mini Catalogue pg 10)
Stampin' Write Markers
Cardstock - Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Gable Green
Punches - 11/4 inch circle punch, curly label punch, corner rounder punch, scallop edge punch (IB & C pg 152)
Ribbon- Bashful Blue 1/4"grossgrain

Don't forget some of these items are only available until March 31st!

I {Heart} Hearts

2010-03-27T20:43:00.001-07:00

My first reaction to this set was, "Not another heart set". Then I started playing with it, and discovered there are a lot of stamps to love, and reasons to love this set. created this set of cards for my Wednesday class earlier in the term. They had a lot of fun discovering that really beautiful cards can be quite easy to make!

I used one of my favourite colour combinations - Riding hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose fo this set of cards.

The fabulous thing about this stamp set is the way it matches the Heart to Heart punch and the Full Heart Punch from the IB&C - making these stamped images so easy to cut out!

Stampin' Up! Products
Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (Summer Mini Catalogue Pg 6)
Punches - Eyelet Border Punch, Heart to Heart (IB&C pg 152)
Cardstock - Riding hood Red, Pink Pirouette Pink Pirouette
Patterned Paper - Bella Rose DSP, Candy Lane DSP
Ribbon - Riding Hood Red Taffeta, Pretty in Pink Taffeta

Here is another idea - scrapbooking using the different heart stamps.

And the details

I CASED this from the Summer mini catalogue (pg 7), added a second page, and continued the border of heart shaped embellishments. I used the colours from the Playground and Sherbet buttons to set the colour scheme.

Stampin' Up! Products

Stamps - I {Heart} Hearts (Summer Mini Catalogue Pg 6)

Punches - Scallop Border Punch, Heart to Heart, Round Tab (IB&C pg 152)
Accessories - Circle Scissr Plus, Glass Mat, Playground buttons , Sherbet buttons,On Board lots of Letters, Crystal Effects
Cardstock - Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Tangerine Tango,Whisper White

Cassic Ink - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Gable Green, Tangerine Tango

Bring on the Sunshine

2010-03-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

I have been having a wonderful time playing with the Treat Cups, and imagining so many different uses for them! The next card is inspired by page 9 of the Summer Mini Catalogue.

I used the flower petal and leaf stamps from Something Sweet, to creat a giant sunflower, which I trimmed and added to my circle. I added some cardstock layers, ribbon, twine and brad embellishments and my card was finished!

I filled the treat cup with roasted coffee beans - they are cinnamon flavoured, and smell divine. Usually I use MMs, but had none left, and went searching through the pantry for an alternative! This was a great substitute.

Products
Treat Cups (Summer Mini Catalogue pg 8)
Something Sweet (Summer Mini Catalogue Pg 9)
Cardstock - kraft, Sumer Sun, Old Olive, Confett Cream
Classic Ink - Summer Sun, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Accessories Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Ribbon, Hemp Twine, Vintage Brads

The Summer Mini Catalogue finishes on Wednesday March 31st.

Place your order now to avoid disappointment

Time for some Scrapbooking

2010-03-27T20:28:00.001-07:00

I finally managed to photograph some of the layouts I have been busy making. Here is a double layout using the Tall Tales Designer Paper in the Summer Mini Catalogue. My children had a wonderful time at the zoo, visiting the baby elephant - this patterned paper was an obvious choice!

I stmped the title directly onto th Old Olive cardstock base using the Jumbo Outline Alpabet and my Stamp-a-ma-jig, then coloured with my Stampin' Write markers. The small and large elephants are cut directly from a patterned paper scrap.

Here is a close up

Stampin' Up! Products
Cardstock - Old Olive textured12 x 12, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron
Patterned Paper - Tall Tales Designer Paper (Summer Mini Catalogue pg 20)
Stamps - Jumbo Outline Alpabet
Accessories - Black Staz-On ink, Stampin' Write markers, Vintage brads

Having a Whale of a Time!

2010-03-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

The inspiration for this card is from Beth Stewart's Splash card. I loved the idea of creating a snow globe type of accent on my card, and played around for a while until I worked it out. This was a HIT with my stamping classes and my children love it!

Here is the water, all shaken up - the glitter is hiding a surprise!

When the glitter settles, you can see the goldfish swimming beneath the waves!

Products:

Sweet Treat Cups (Summer Mini Catalogue pg 8)

Something Sweet (Summer Mini Catalogue Pg 9)

Anmal Stories (Summer Mini Catalogue Pg 21,)

Cardstock - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise

Clasic Ink- Bashful Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango, Night of Navy

Accessories - Slit Punch (IB & C pg 152), Fine Supernova Glitter (IB & C pg 145)

Don't forget, the Mini Catalogue products are only available until Wednesday 31st March.

Contact me to place your order.

Summer Mini - only 3 days left to order!

2010-03-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

The end of March marks the end of the sale period for the Stampin' Up! mini catalogue. This means some of my favourite stamp sets will no longer be available for sale!

I will be posting a heap of fun cards and card ideas using products from the Mini catalogue - remember these will soon be unavailable, so call me by Wednesday to place your order!

Sale-a-Bration is almost over!

2010-03-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

The end of March marks the end of Sale-a-Bration with Stampin' Up!

I can hear you asking, "What is Sale-a-Bration?" This is a fabulous promotion where customers can earn a FREE stamp set with every $100 they spend on fabulous Stampin' Up! Products.

Just let me know if I can help you out. You only have 3 days left to place your order to qualify for these free stamp sets.

Click HERE to browse the Sale-a-Bration brochure online.

Sweet Baby Girl

2010-01-09T15:20:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the most precious card - designed for a new Mummy! My boss is pregnant and I'm in a baby card making mood! I will probably give her a different card when her precious bundle arrives in May.

Again I used the Sweet Treat Cups but this time created a baby rattle. This is also a CASE - this time from Felicity Fernandez , a talented SU demonstrator I came across while browsing Split Coast Stampers!

I changed the colour combo slightly, but left most of it exactly the same - why change something so beautiful? This was a great card to use some of those random buttons I have in my craft room!

This will be another card for my February class. The class will focus on the many different uses for the Sweet Treat Cups! Four different cards for $25. I'm taking bookings now!

Class Details:

Date - Tuesday 1st February 10.20am

Saturday 13th February, 7.00pm

Venue - My house in Penrith

Class cost - $25, you will take home 4 cards with matching envelopes and a full pack of Sweet Treat Cups!

Card details

Cardstock - Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink - Regal Rose

Stamp Sets - Something Sweet, Nursery Necessities (for envelope)

Accessories - Sweet Always DSP, Sweet Treat Cups, 1 3/4" circle punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Pink Pirouette 1 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Regal Rose 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon, Mat Pack, Regal Rose marker, Miscellaneous Buttons

Cupcake Anyone?

2010-01-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

Another Birthday card - this one for my Father-In-Law, also in Canada! There are lots of January birthdays in our family! I am determined this year to make and send them all cards!

I combined the chef from Voila with the cupcake from Wagon Full of Fun to make this fun card. Again the stamp-a-ma-jig helped me to position it perfectly! You probably notice a similar colour combination to the card from yesterday - the colours were sitting on my desk after I made the duck card and seemed suited to a male card when I added Chocolate Chip!

Here are the details
Cardstock - Brocade Blue, Barely Banana, Whisper White
Ink - Black Staz-On
Accessories - SU Markers, Designer Buttons, Hemp Twine, Embossing Folder

Wagon Load of Fun

2010-01-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

This is a birthday card for my nephew in Canada! He just turned 1! Happy Birthday Orion.

I LOVE the line drawn images of this set, particularly the duckling! I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig and did some masking to place the cupcake into the wagon. I didn't include the handle on the wagon because it was on the wrong side! So I added a small piece of hemp twine instead!

The images were coloured with my SU markers. I added some Blue Chunky Sprinkles to the cupcake and then Crystal Effects over the top of the duck's bow, feet and beak as well as over the icing on the cupcake. It makes them shine!

Here are the details:

Cardstock - Barely Banana, Brocade Blue, Whisper White
Ink - Staz-On Black
Stamps - Wagon Full of Fun
Accessories - Antique Brass brads, Crystal Effects, Blue Chunky Sprinkles, Hemp Twine, Barely Banana grosgrain ribbon, Blue gingham ribbon (retired), ticket corner punch, embossing folder

Sweet Treats!

2010-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a fabulous card? A shameless CASE from Marelle Taylor! I fell in love with this card when I saw it. I particularly loved the 'slider' that means the lollies can be accessed from the back! It took a while to figure out the layers, and how to make this slider nice and smooth, but now it works like a charm!

This week I finally had time to stop and play with my new Mini catalogue stamps and accessories! And a fun play date it was too! In fast I have posts lined up for the next few days with lots to show you! All the best of good intentions to keep my blog posts regular disappear when there are kids running around the house keeping me busy! BUT I think I have it under control!

Keep an eye out for details of classes in Term 1! They are going to focus on the stamp sets and accessories in the Summer Mini catalogue. The first will be Tuesday February 2nd at 10.30am. Save the date! This year I'll be holding technique classes on the first Tuesday of each month at my house in Penrith.

Here are the details:

Cardstock - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink - Real Red, Basic Black
Stamp Set - Something Sweet (Summer Mini, #117699)
Accessories - Sweet Treat Cups (summer mini #116802), 1 3/4" circle punch, silver brads, silver small grommets, 3/4 Polka-Dot grosgrain ribbon , Designer label punch, large oval punch, photo corner punch

Christmas Wishes

2009-11-04T03:16:00.000-08:00

With Christmas fast approaching, I am always keen to make elegant, fast, easily repeatable cards to send to friends and family!

This year I have been exploring the many different ways to stretch the I Wish Simply Sent kit from Stampin' Up!. You can see just a few of these cards below. So far I have made 20 different cards! I have been using the 12"x12" textured cardstock for the embellishments and layers, as well as the patterned papers and fabulous die cut stickers! I have also used some ribbon, punched shapes, a few buttons, brads, eyelets and glitter. The beauty of Stampin' Up! is how well these things all co-ordinate - takes away so much of the guess work! I just added A4 cardstock card bases in Real Red and Old Olive - and have heaps of the kit left. I think could probably manage to make at least 50 cards! This will definitely make a serious dent in the cards I need to Christmas as well as easing the boredom of repeating the same card design!

Are you interested in making of of these cards with me? I will be running a class teaching you 24 of the card designs. Imagine - 24 different cards from just one class!

Here are the details

When - Sunday 29th November 1pm - 5pm
Tuesday 1st December 10am - 2pm (repeat class)

Where - my house in Penrith

Cost - $50. This includes all materials for 24 cards and envelopes, use of stamps, ink punches and embossing materials and refreshments.

This class will need to be booked and fully paid by Monday 23rd November to ensure I have enough supplies!

What to bring - Please bring your choice of adhesive and dimensionals, a paper trimmer and a good pair of detail cutting scissors.

Raspberry Tart Anyone?

2009-11-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

Wow - after such a long time, I imagine you are wondering if i have fallen off the wagon!

I have not fallen off - just been really, really busy, but I come back to you with a fresh focus and plan to keep trying to update this blog on a more regular basis - AND to start doing some of the sketch/colour challenges that are out there - in a plan to kick start my creativity!

So where have I been you ask - busy teaching dance classes, chasing my 3 kids here there and everywhere, trying desperately to get my house organised (but that is a failed effort!) and preparing for Zachary's 2nd birthday party! We celebrated yesterday with a GREAT day out riding the mini Thomas trains at Vicary's Winery. Zach was very excited and kept tooting "choo-choo" most of the day. It isn't his actual birthday for another week, but with dance competitions and rehearsals, this was the only free day we will have for a while!

Chit-Chat aside - here is my lastest class offering. My next class focusses on the Raspberry Tart patterned papers and the gorgeous colour combination of Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose and Rose Red. Pictured below are just a few of the cards we will be making - you may notice a repeat of some very popular designs from my previous classes, yet they look so very different with this different colour combination.

Here are the class details:

When - Saturday 21st November 7pm
Tuesday 24th November 10am - 1.30pm. (repeat class)

Where - my house in Penrith

Cost - $25 includes materials for 6 different cards, envelopes and refreshments

What to Bring - Please bring your choice of adhesive, a paper trimmer and a good pair of detail cutting scissors.

Each class is limited to 6 participants. Please contact me by phone or email to reserve your place!

Stay tuned for LOTS more card posts and even some scrapbook pages!

Cupcake Commotion!

2009-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have just returned home from a great morning of conversation, cardmaking and great company! I teach cardmaking every Wednesday morning at the Glenbrook Baptist Church. I really enjoy it for the creative aspects, and because my 2 youngest children LOVE the ladies that care for them!

Tomorrow I'll share with you the project from this morning.

In the meantime, take a look at my cupcake creations. I have been having a great time making different cards using a few of the cupcake stamps from Stampin' Up! These cards and matching box will be the focus of my September classes. Please drop me a line if you are keen to add your name to the list of attendees!

Here are the details:

When- Tuesday 8th September 10 am - 1.30pm. This class will repeat on Saturday 19th
September 7pm - 10pm
Where - my house in penrith
Cost - $25 includes materials for 4 different cards, envelopes, a matching gift box and refreshments
What to bring - please bring your choice of adhesive, a paper trimmer and a good pair of details cutting scissors.

Each class is limited to 6 participants. Priority will be given to those that pay first!

Fifth Avenue Floral

2009-08-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm holding a stamping class tomorrow morning for some great ladies I have enjoyed getting to know in the last 12 months! We will be exploring the stamp set Fifth Avenue Floral, and discovering how versatile a stamp set it really is! I have a LOT of stamp sets on my shelves that have never realised their full potential. I am planning to deal with this problem in the coming months! Now that I have the blog up and running, I will be sharing these with you.

I will be repeating this class on Saturday 22nd August in the evening for those of you interested in coming along! I can accommodate up to 6 people.

Here is a sneak preview of two of the cards we will be making tomorrow. I'll share the rest after the class!

This first card is such a simple one - just using the outline images from the stamp set. It would be easy and fast to mass produce!

The second card is more time consuming, but the end result is so pretty!

If you are interested in coming along to this class, here are the details!

When: Tuesday 11th August 10am - 1.30pm
Repeat class - Saturday 22nd August 7pm - 10pm

Where - my house, in Penrith

Cost $20 - includes materials for 5 different cards, envelopes and refreshments

What to bring - please bring your choice of adhesive and a good pair of detail cutting scissors.

You are welcome to bring some lunch with you.

Please call me to book in to this class. My mobile phone number is 0413 688 750 or send me an email to fiona-poirier@optusnet.com.au.

Welcome!

2009-08-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'd like to welcome you to my creative journey! A friend set up this blog for me a few months ago, and until now I have been too afraid to dive in and post anything! I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but I'll give it a go! Thanks for taking the time to read my meanderings about stamping, scrapbooking and anything else I decide to share with you along the way!

Fiona