Bright Colours with Artistic Etchings

Today's cards were an experiment to see how Artistic Etchings would look in bright colours.  To me, this set has more of a vintage feel, so being out of my comfort zone, I C.A.S.E.D these designs, switching out the colours and designer series papers, and they sure are bright!

This card uses Choc Chip & Daffodil Delight cardstock with the stamping and ribbon in Basic Black.

I've chosen Floral District DSP here so I pulled the colours from that - Old Olive & Rich Razzleberry.  The flower was dyed using So Saffron (not Daff Delight which is in the paper) because it was already mixed in the spritzer with Isocol and I don't like to waste it....giggle.  I also heat embossed the Eiffel Tower with Irridescent Ice.......had to work quickly because Rich Razzleberry is dye ink but it worked out just fine and you can see a bit of sparkle on the real thing.

Happy Monday
Karen

Core'dinations & Artistic Etchings

There's good news and bad news.  The good news is that Core'dinations sandable cardstock is soon to be available in EVERY Stampin' Up! colour.  Woo hoo!  How's that?!     

Here's a look at a card I c.a.s.e.d. (copy & share everything) from one of our demo-only resources.

This is Primrose Petals with Chocolate Chip.  The Choc Chip is our regular standard textured card stock, but the Primrose Petals is Core'dinations sandable.  See the difference?  Kind of cool huh?  You can sand or tear it (or both) to reveal it's lighter core.  Why bother? Well, distressed projects are on trend right now, and getting texture into your stuff adds interest!  So why not give it a try?

Go ahead, make something!
Cheers
Karen

P.S.  the bad news is that Artistic Etchings Stamp Set is retiring.  Hurry up and order it or you'll be sad forever more.

Home Decor

These cute little bottles are filled with pretty paper and sparkly sequins, stars & buttons.  Add a couple of tea lights and you've got a sweet table centrepiece or a nice eclectic display on the dresser.

I was inspired to make these for my niece after my daughter made some for my birthday.  

 

I've used Designer Series Paper (DSP) in Elegant Eggplant & Whisper White.  Be quick if you want to order these because they retire at the end of the month and these patterns won't be back :(

 

I love this bottle.  It has an elegant shape and is a little bit bumpy on the outside which makes it shine.  The buttons are all shades of purple.  Stars punched from Glimmer Paper & silver sequins add a bit of sparkle. 

 

The Heart to Heart punch was perfect for this tea light jar.  It's punch on both sides and the candle looks lovely at night.

 

This one uses the Full Heart punch, again punched on both sides. 

You can change them to suit any décor (my niece's room is purple. white & silver.....you can see a previous gift I made for her here), and collecting interesting bottles/jars of different shapes and sizes adds to the charm and individuality of the display.

Don't forget to use battery tea lights - you don't want to set fire to the house!

Have a super Monday
Cheers
Karen

Printed Petals

As you know, we have a lot of retiring product this year.  And that's an excuse for a good clean out, but it also encourages me to have a go at using some of the things before we say goodbye ;(

Here's a few ideas I came up with for the retiring set Printed Petals (121562 Wood mount $34.95 or 120444 Clear mount $27.95).

This card was made in our 2011-2013 In Colours.   And I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get perfect placement.  Item #101049 $20.95.  The little greetings are from the Tiny Tags set & punched using the Jewellery Tag punch, again both items are retiring. 

I love this card.  It showcases the colours and stamp set really well.  I've rolled the petals on the Calypso Coral flower around the bone folder so they stand up nicely.

A totally different look, same stamp set. That just illustrates how very versatile these products are.  The Designer Series Paper (DSP) is from Summer Smooches.   And the Bashful Blue card base will be gone shortly as we are retiring that colour altogether :((

If you would like any of the products shown here today, email or call me to place your order.  And you can also pop over to my website or click on the Shop Now button on the side bar of this blog.    But remember, retiring products sell fast and once they're gone, that's all folks!

Cheers
Karen

More Convention 2013

I really had to hit the ground running when I got back from Convention and have sadly neglected my blog and followers.  But I'm back, so hope you're still out there!

Anyway, here's a bit more about our wonderful Convention in Brisbane.......

Just before our first general session began on the Thursday.  That's the stage behind me, and as usual it was all decked out with this year's theme.  When you see the upcoming catty you may recognise this.

This year's theme

 

Shelli opened the first general session with her usual style

and before you knew it, we had our first all-attendee give-away.  It was a brand new stamp set - Tag It from the upcoming catalogue (on sale July 2).  This year, the company announced that they have partnered with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) GLOBALLY.  This charity supports families who have children with serious illness' and $3 from every set purchased will be donated to them - world wide!  Our mission was to make the cards in the make & take pack using the stamp set, and rather than "take" them home, donate them to the charity to be used as they see fit.   We were also offered the opportunity to volunteer to support our local RM House and could sign up right there at convention - with Ronald McDonald himself in attendance! 

 

Here I am at the RM table with Ana from our SU Sydney office.  If you ever call SU demonstrator support, you may have spoken to Ana, and she really a sweetheart and always willing to help out. Thanks honey!

Doing our make and takes in the gathering place.

Sterling, Shelli's sweetheart as she calls him, took this lovely photo of us.  Where's Trace?   Nursing a concussion back at the hotel after banging her head VERY hard on that of another demonstrator - who was not hurt.  Ouch. Trace was fine after a rest and a panadol.

Our hotel in the background.

The view on my morning walk.  Good Morning Brissy!

MDS or My Digital Studio is a brand new product to our market this year and it featured big time at Convention with a training session plus some hands on opportunities in the gathering place.  These are a whole variety of party products made using the digital media.  And I love it!

No Convention is complete without a trip to Memento Mall.  We can buy logo merchandise here and it's a great place to pick up some special gifts for customers and team members.

I was thrilled to be welcomed up to the stage this year for my first ever award - the One Diamond Leadership Award.  This award is for the promotions my team have had during the last 12 months.  Well done guys - I would not have been on the stage if it wasn't for your hard work.

Joey was all smiles on the last day as she got Shelli to autograph her convention booklet.  Aren't they gorgeous?!

A lovely change to our awards night this year was a dessert buffet rather than the traditional sit down dinner.  The main reason being that our market has grown so much making dinner a less viable option.  Instead we had a fabulous party complete with yuumy treats and a band, lot's of dancing and all round a really great social occasion.

Yes, they look quite relaxed here but I can tell you they danced up a storm on the dance floor.  At one point it was completely jammed with crazy dancing and singing, lot's of laughs and all in all a very celebratory and festive occasion.

Ok, that's all the convention buzz.  This year was my fourth, and I think my favourite of all.  Next year it's off to Melbourne and yes I'm planning it already!

Have a super Thursday.......go make something!
Karen