So long Mr Crabby and more

Well I'm still in shock at the retirement list, but I've been going through my retiring sets this afternoon & seeing one set reminded me that I hadn't shown you a card I made for my gorgeous hubby Damien's 40^th birthday, back in November. Sooooo, here it is:
The whole background is colour washed & stamped on watercolour paper. Crabby etc was colouring with my aquapainter & ink from the ink pad lid & water-colour crayons.

Looking again at this card made me realise that there are so many retiring items on it - 4 stamp sets, 1 wheel, 3 in-colour inks & 1 ribbon by my count. Wow! Leave me a comment (by 12pm Tuesday) to tell me what they ALL are & I'll send the first person to correctly name all of them a little pack of my retiring accessories. Open to everyone – friends, customers, demos, yes you too!

I'll post a supply list after the blog lolly (we are in Australia after all) has been won. Thanks for looking & good luck figuring it out!
Bye for now & happy guessing!
Di J

Going Going....retirement list is up!

It's time to say goodbye to some old favourites while Stampin' Up! makes room in our new catalogue for new stamps and accessories. There are LOTS & LOTS on the list (sob) & some items are discounted between 25 & 50% off (yay!). Retiring items have never been discounted before, so it was quite a surprise when I saw it, not to mention a shock when I saw some of the sets on the list.

There are a huge number of stamp sets on the list (some at 25% off), all our in-colour products (big sob), most, if not all designer paper packs (some 25-50% off), all scrapping kits (some at 25% off), Simply Sent™ kits (all 25% off) & lots more you need to check out yourself!

If you’ve been waiting to purchase stamp sets and accessories on the list, this will be your last chance before they disappear! The retired list promotion goes from 1-31 March 2009, but all stocks will only be available until sold out....which is usually very quickly. So, once you’ve gotten over the shock too, contact me to order your choice of goodies. OK, got to run & get ready for church.

View the list in alphabetical order here

View the list in catalogue page order here

Back laterish
Di

Edited: PS. I just saw a sneak peek that ink pads look to be going to $11.95 in the new catalogue, so you might like to think about ordering the next ones on your wishlist this month.

Stampin' Up! Bushfire Appeal

I'm really proud to tell you that Stampin' Up! are lending their support to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

Purchase any of the 10 sets listed below from now until the end of March & Stampin' Up! will donate 50% of their sale to the appeal. I have also decided to support the appeal by donating my 20% commission earned on these sets. You can also find out more about the appeal here.

Also, if you purchase these sets by the end of February, you can also earn free Sale-A-Bration sets for each $100 of product you order, as well as supporting the appeal.

Just send me an e-mail if you'd like to order any of these sets.

Take care of you & yours

Di

PS: Have I told you lately how much I love this caring & responsive company!

Ginger blossom gift folder & a case

Wow, I'm on a mini roll - three posts in two days. Don't faint anyone. Just wanted to show you this gift card folder (yes, another one) I made for my dear (& only slightly evil) friend Debi's errrr, 21^st birthday - That's right isn't it Deb (wink)? Oh & apologies for the pic quality. I was in a huge rush...to get to the party... & the light wasn't good for pics!

Again, I've used the Embrace Life set, this time with the coordinating Ginger Blossom designer paper. I find that paper like this, with a bold side & more subtle side work best for these folders.

I decorated the front with a single 'Embrace Life' flower stamped in ruby red & cut out, with clear rhinestone brad (from the Pretties kit) in the centre. I mounted it with dimensionals onto guava & ruby red squares & a river rock panel stamped with a greeting from 'Cheer & Wishes', then attached to the panel with dimensionals. The ribbon is vanilla taffeta, attached with another rhinestone brad. The inside greeting & voucher panels are vanilla & ruby red.
and casing myself....

I really liked the front of the folder (which I obviously didn't have any more), so I cased myself & made a card version of it. I used the same paper & design, but exchanged the vanilla ribbon for a strip of river rock double stitched ribbon.
Stop Press
After nominating some lovely ladies for a blog award yesterday, the very kind Kirsty generously nominated me for a Marie Antoinette award. If only I felt as elegant as Marie looks... although at least I still have my head. But I digress. If you didn't go see Kirsty's blog yesterday, go now & especially don't miss checking out her gorgeous Eastern Blooms card set ...& if you didn't check out the blogs of the other talented ladies I nominated, do that too!

Hope you all have a lovely day. I'll try to be back tomorrow with another card. Thanks for visiting.
Di
Supplies:Stamps: Embrace Life, Cheer & Wishes
Card/Paper: Ginger Blossom designer paper, river rock, ruby red & groovy guava & vanilla card
Ink: Ruby red, Always Artichoke
Accessories: clear rhinestone brads (Pretties kit), vanilla taffeta ribbon, river rock double stitched ribbon

Inspired by Real Living Magazine

Today's very simple card was inspired by the colours in this cover picture of Real Living Magazine (Oct 08), which I really liked.

I don't think I would have ever chosen these colours on my own - river rock, vanilla, soft sky & real red (yes, real red - I can hear your evil laugh Kellie!), but I think it works well on the cover. See what you think about on my card though!I've used the large flower & stem images from the very elegant 'Embrace Life' set - from the Summer Mini catalogue. The flowers are stamped in real red & cut out. The stems are stamped in river rock on the base & vanilla piece. The 'for you' greeting is from the extremely versatile 'Occasional Greetings' set. In hindsight, I think a clear rhinestone brad would look good in the flower centres & maybe I'd add a band of ribbon, but I think it still works as a simple & elegant card. Let me know what you think or have a go yourself & send me a link to your version & I'll post it here!
I'll be back with another 'Embrace Life' card tomorrow...ish.
Bye for now & thanks for visiting.
Di :0)
SuppliesStamps: Embrace Life, Occasional Greetings
Card: river rock, very vanilla, soft sky, river rock
Ink: real red, river rock
Tools: large & small oval punches

An award & 1 month to Sale-A-Brate

Well they say slow & steady wins the race, so here I go trying to catching up with posting the cards I've been making.
First of all though, I have to send a huge smiling thank you to the lovely Karen Rogers who has very kindly given me a lovely blog award. Karen is a SU Demo in Auckland & if you haven't found Karen's blog, go now & check it out. Oh & do NOT miss her totally fabulous ginger blossom mini squash album.

I'd also like to pass this award on to some awesome bloggers that I haven't nominated before (I don't think!) but always check out!
Andrea at Stamp My Day
Kirsty at Kirstys Card n Scrap
Jean at Stampin' Cos it's Fun
Robyn at Rainbows by Robyn
Danneil at Danneil Linardi
Now before I go & get Cara (why am I always blogging just before pick-up?), here's another card I've made in the last month, this time with 'Botanical Blooms' – one of the lovely & FREE Sale-A-Bration sets you can earn until the end of February.It's a lovely 2 step set, with very delicate flowers & leaves. I used my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the images. Otherwise, the card is pretty self explanatory – layered Spring Showers designer paper & a greeting from 'Cheer & Wishes'. Just e-mail me if you have any questions.
If you'd like to place a $100 order to earn 'Botanical Blooms' or 1 of the other SAB sets free, just e-mail me & I can have your order shipped anywhere in Australia (that is if you haven't already got your own Demonstrator!)
Still have lots more to show you when I have more time, so in the meantime, keep stamping & thanks for visiting.
Di
PS: Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments on the little handbag card from this post from. I think I've e-mailed templates to all those who requested one, so if you haven't got yours, just drop me an e-mail.
Supplies
Stamps: Botanical Blooms, Cheer & Wishes
Card, kraft, whisper white, so saffron, Spring Showers designer paper
Ink: ruby red, groovy guava, old olive, certainly celery
Accessories: celery grosgrain ribbon
Tools: stamp-a-ma-jig

Handbags by Cara & I

Hi, it's bad blogger here! Sorry about the lack of posts...again! School hols have been really busy & I haven't managed to blog even the very few projects I've made, but I'm trying to start catching up over the next week. Cara started back at school today & I have a half hour to get this post done, so let's get to a card or 2...Cara & I made these during the holidays. She said she wanted to make a handbag card, which is a very old favourite of mine. She also chose the stamps & colours – the heart from Polka Dot Punches (a Sale-a-Bration set) & pink passion (not one you see very often from me!). The template I used was one I modified from a swap made by Michelle Cox for the 2007 SU convention. (I couldn't find a blog or site for Michelle, but if someone knows of one, let me know & I'll add a link). The rose & celery ribbon on mine is a retired SU one. Miss Cara chose some pink & white spotty ribbon (non SU). If you;d like more information or a copy of my template, just drop me an e-mail.
Making these cards brought back very happy memories of my first Stampin' Up! event as a Demonstrator, back in June 2007, as it was the make & take project for my launch. What a chaotic but totally fun day that was & I had no idea that it would be the start of many, many fun classes at home with so many wonderful ladies & now friends.
Just a reminder that during Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration, you can receive the 'Polka Dots Punches' stamp set I used here for free during Jan & Feb when you place a $100 order or host a $600 workshop. Check out the link at the right or contact me for more information.
I'll be back with some more backed up projects....Promise!
Di
PS: Best wishes to all the mums with kids starting or going back to school today. The house feels so quiet here!
SuppliesStamps: Polka Dot Punches
Card: very vanilla, pink passion, certainly celery
Ink: Pink passion
Accessories: ribbon, sticker (non SU)
Tools: horizontal slot punch

A challenge or 2 - KW 37 & Mojo 68

Today is the first day in what seems like ages that I've been able to sit down & make something. So, ready to go, I called & called on my mojo, but it wasn't taking any notice so, I decided to try using a sketch to get me started. Enter, my first try at Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch 68 (or Mojo Friday in my case) Then, I saw Kristina's colour challenge 37 was up, so I decided to have a go at combining the two. Imagine my surprise when I realised that Kristina's colours would work beautifully with some of new 'Bali Breeze' paper & ever so cute felt flowers. Yay! So off I went. Here's the challenges.......& here's what I came up with.I had to substitute bashful blue for baja breeze, as we don't have it yet (although I think the blue in the paper is baja breeze?). I was pretty happy with how it came together. The only thing I'm not as happy with is the greeting, as I couldn't quite find one that suited the shape & style I wanted. But hey, it's complete, so it's all good! Anyway, I hope you like my first of hopefully more challenge cards to come.
Thanks for checking it out & happy stamping!
Di
Supplies
Stamps: It's Your Birthday
Card/Paper: old olive, pumpkin pie, bashful blue, Bali Breeze designer paper
Ink: Chocolate chip
Accessories: styled silver hodgepodge frame & brads (summer mini), choc chip grosgrain ribbon, felt fusion flowers (summer mini)
Tools: designer label punch, large oval punch, paper piercer

Christmas stars & new year wishes

Well, I'm back again with my very last project for Christmas & 2008 too. Wow! Where did the year go? I realised that I started blogging last December, so I guess it's my blog-iversary too (hmmm, maybe a celebration is called for)...but I digress. Back to the project – a star card. Earlier in the month I saw this wonderful star on Shelli Gardner's blog, which was a gift from an Aussie demonstrator, Felicity Gray. I absolutely loved it, so when I found this tutorial on Jackie Topa's blog, I HAD to have a go at making some... & couldn't stop. Here's a 5 pointed version.
I've used Holiday Thyme designer paper for both stars, but they'd look beautiful with so many others too. 6 panels are needed if you want to alternate patterns with 2 different papers, or use the same paper in reverse, but I like how 5 points look too. I also added a greeting panel to one side of the base, so I could add a Christmas message.

After I made some, I thought, hmmm, they would be lovely to use year after year. So, to keep them safe, I made a little pizza box to give & store them in. The box is stamped with the star from 'Fun & Fast Notes' & Merry Christmas from 'Occasional Greetings'. I wish I'd remembered about that star stamp before now though, as it would have been beautiful on Christmas cards! Oh well, there's always next year.So, that's all for 2008 except for a LOT of thanks from me....

To my truly wonderful husband Damien, & beautiful girl, Cara, I feel very blessed to be part of your lives & I love you both so very much . Thanks also to Damo for your endless support of my 'crazy hobby' & messy stamping room (errr, home office - sorry!) ;o)

Love & hugs to all my friends & especially to Ngai, Nette, Wendy & Kellie, for so much love, friendship & encouragement. Love you girls!

To my extended family, thanks so much to everyone for their love, support & a welcome ear through a tough year for us all.

To my Stampin' Up family (up, side & down) Janine, Kellie (again), Leanne, Cathy, Andrea & Lynda. I'm so glad Stampin' Up has brought us together & I'm really looking forward to sharing the journey with you all again next year...& to Sam, you rock girl! - I'm so glad we met & hope to share more fun with you soon.

To all my Stampin' Up! blog buddies (so much talent, so little space...but especially, Karen, Sarah & Chrissie) who inspire me so much, thanks for sharing your ideas & creations. You're all amazing!

Thanks also to everyone who's visited this year & an extra 'mwa' to everyone who's left a comment (or lots....esp Chrissie). I love getting comments & really appreciate your thoughts.

Wow, I didn't think I had so much to say!
So finally, I hope you all have a fun new year celebration & a wonderful year ahead, full of love, happiness & many blessings... and a happy hogmanay to all my Scottish family!

Take care & best wishes & hope to see you here again soon in 2009.
Love Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Occasional Greetings
Card/paper: Holiday Thyme designer paper (retired), cranberry crisp (retired), old olive & very vanilla card.
Ink: old olive & cranberry crisp ink pads
Accessories: organdy ribbon (retired)

I {heart} boxes

As promised (although a bit later than planned), here are the boxes I've made this month. Once I started, it was hard to stop, as they're so easy & the results are so cute. Most were samples I made to show at my Christmas gifts class, some were little gifts. All the boxes use the same basic principles & were custom sized to fit the items inside. Anyway, get comfortable, as this is a looong post.

Wintergreen BoxesI really like the patterns & colours in the Wintergreen paper pack....(I know what you're thinking, anything with celery!). While some are Christmas themed, many can be used all year round. I used my yummy celery grosgrain & artichoke grosgrain too to finish them off.
Mini Card BoxThis is a set of 4 gift cards that fit into a little sliding lid box. The stamps are from Season of Joy & Many Merry Messages.Choccy Boxes
These are filled with Dove choccies sandwiched between punched square scallops (a new punch in the Summer Mini). The enjoy stamp is from 'Be Happy' & the merry greeting is from 'Merry Merry'.
Dashing Boxes

Choccy Explosion BoxThis little explosion box filled with 4 decorated choccies is one of my faves. I followed the pattern of the spotty paper to create the lid & made a celery explosion box base to match.Tiny Pizza Box
I followed the Dashing paper pattern again to work out the dimensions of this tiny pizza box , which is filled with Dove choccies & a Stampin' Up!® magnet from Convention.Season of Joy Pizza BoxThis was a larger pizza box filled with more dove choccies decorated with circle scallops.

Holiday Thyme Boxes
I had lots of Holiday Thyme paper left from last Christmas, which I really liked (ahhh memories of cranberry crisp....& did you know the prints in this pack are the same as Wintergreen?), so I made some boxes with it too...as well as one more project I'll have to show you next time.
Holiday Thyme Pizza Box
Holiday Thyme Ink Pad Box
This is a larger rectangular version of a pizza box, which I made up to perfectly fit a Stampin' Up! ink pad. Phew, that was a lot of pics to add! If you'd like more information on anything here, just drop me an e-mail. I'll be back with one more & probably my favourite find of the season.

Back soon!

Di

Supplies:

Wintergreen boxes:

Stamps: Season of Joy, Many Merry Messages, Merry Merry

Card/Paper: wintergreen designer paper, certainly celery, sage shadow, always artichoke & whisper white card

Ink: blue bayou, sage shadow, always artichoke

Accessories: ¾ in celery grosgrain, ¼ inch grosgrain – artichoke, celery, white, artichoke brads (Rich Regals pack)

Tools: punches – scallop circle, square scallop, 1 3/8 in & 1 ¼ in circles, horizontal slot

Dashing BoxesStamps: Season of Joy, Merry Merry, Priceless, Occasional Greetings
Card/Paper: Dashing designer paper, certainly celery, real red, old olive & very vanilla card
Ink: old olive & real red ink pads & markers, summer sun (marker)
Accessories: ¾ in vanilla grosgrain ¼ inch grosgrain – real red
Tools: punches – scallop circle, 1 3/8 in & 1 ¼ in circles
Holiday Thyme BoxesStamps: Occasional GreetingsCard/Paper: Holiday Thyme designer paper (retired), cranberry card (retired), old olive cardInk: old olive ink padAccessories: organdy ribbon (retired)Tools: punches – large & small tag, horizontal slot