Beautiful Bodacious Bouquet

Hi

Here is a card I created a while ago using Bodacious Bouquet stamp set. It was made on a day when I knew what stamp set, technique and colours I wanted to use but for the life of me I couldn't think of a design that I was rapt in. So I went to the current (08/09) Ideas Book & Cattie and flicked through the pages for inspiration for a layout - I found it on page 72 using the Wild Rose stamp set.

The technique I used was the rock ' n roll technique using my sponge daubers to add Ruby Red ink to the flowers after stamping them in Apricot Appeal before stamping them onto glossy white and with the leaves stamped them in Certainly Celery before daubing some Old Olive (my two favourite greens in SU's colours).

Here is what the finished card looks like :

Here is what was used :

Stamp sets : Bodacious Bouquet, Bodacious Jumbo Wheel and Curvy Verses

Inks : Ruby Red, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Old Oliver, Chocolate Chip & Versamark.

Card : Kraft, Confetti White, Glossy White and Chocolate Chip.

Accessories / Tools : Sponge Daubers, Sponge, Jumbo Wheel, Wheel Guide, Stampin' Dimensionals and Crystal Effects.

I love the end result and also this layout as I have done other cards using this layout since making this card. Just goes to show what a fantastic resource the Cattie is with all the lovely layouts and color combos you can get from it - and yes even us demostrators get ideas from it!

Talk to you soon - take care.

Lynda xox

Goodbye Beautiful View!

Hi Everyone

During the last week I have been getting ready for a BIG move at work - the boss has decided the rents are too high in the city and has decided to move out to the burbs! So after being in one building/location (just changing floors every now and then) since he started the firm approx 30 years ago, you can just imagine what a nightmare it has been trying to throw things out and pack things - especially as we were moving into a smaller office than what we were in LOL - all the while trying to get some work done!

Anyway, one of the perks of working in the city was getting to have a look out of the boss' window numerous times everyday at our beautiful city. This is a view looking out south and over the Swan River where we have our annual Australia Day fireworks every year and also seeing those amazing pilots during the Red Bull Air Race Sometimes you can even see dolphins in the river! The tall building in the front is the Perth Concert Hall.

This is the view looking out towards west of the Swan River and at Kings Park (which unfortunately was affected by a big bush fire lit by an arsonist two weeks ago and we had a birds eye view of some of it). And yes, that tall white thing in the middle to the right is our new ferris wheel - although it is not as tall as Melbourne's and definitely no where near as tall as the London Eye! Government House (and gardens) are in the front of the photo.

One thing I'm definitely not going to miss from working in the old building in the city though is the protesters, the riots and the few bomb threats that we experienced after 9/11 (although it did sometimes happen to make a slow day eventful!) as we also had the US Consulate in the same building (so you can also imagine the security was also really tightened up after 9/11) - the upside was having all the police and police horses there when it happened (if you know what I mean ;o) !

Anyway, we finished the move on Saturday during this heatwave of ours and it is really nice to be in a brand new (and I mean it literally, the workers are still there finishing off things!) office/building where everything is clean and works! I have been looking forward (& also excited) to this move for the last few months and am glad that it has now arrived - first day in new office was fantastic and am working with a lovely group of people!

Will be back soon with a card to show you!


Lynda xox

Stamp Camp Creations

Hi all

Back in the first weekend of December our Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Group - the Stamparoos - held our very first stamp camp held at Swanleigh in the beautiful Swan Valley here in Perth. I had a fantastic time spending quality stamping time with my fellow demostrators!

I was asked by Ngaire, my upline and friend, if I would like to take a class. I offered to show everyone how to do the polished stone technique as I have done this a few times for swaps at Convention and Regionals and everyone always asks me how to do it! I have also done it at many of my workshops and my lovely customers love it, and it is also another way of utilising your reinkers apart from reinking those good old stamp pads. To get instructions on doing the polished stone technique got to the Resources page on Splitcoast Stampers website for full instructions or leave me a comment and I can email you a typed up sheet of instructions.

So after a late night of brain storming ideas I came up with these two cards using stamp sets from the new Summer Mini:

Stamp Sets : Eastern Blooms & Sincere Salutations

Inks : Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red & Basic Black.

Reinkers : Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red & Encore Gold.

Card : Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red & Glossy White.

Polished Stone Needs : Isocol, Cotton Balls, Hairspray/Acrylic Sealer & Small Container.

Accessories : Daubers, Pumpkin Pie and Choc Chip Ribbon, Slot Punch (under flower for ribbon to slot thru!) and Dimensionals.

Stamp Sets : Ocean Commotion (only available in Australia) & Sincere Salutations.

Inks: Versamark, Basic Black & Not Quite Navy.

Reinkers : Not Quite Navy, Taken with Teal and Encore Silver

Card : Kraft (although it doesn't look like it in the photo), Taken with Teal, Basic Black, Not Quite Navy & Glossy White.

The Polished Stone Needs as noted above.

Accessories : Tempting Turqoise Ribbon & Mat Pack/Crafters Tool Kit.

We also had to do a swap card and it is one I sort of cased from the Embrace Life gallery on splitcoast stampers (sorry can't quite remember who it belongs to but thank you for the inspiration).

Stamp Set: Embrace Life.

Inks : Stazon, Rose Red and Regal Rose.

Card: Basic Black, Rose Red, Regal Rose & Whisper White.

Accessories : Aqua Painters, 3.5 cm and 3.2 cm Circle Punches, Word Window Punch, Slot Punch, Regal Rose Wide Grosgrain Ribbon and Stampin' Dimensionals.

Finally, we also had a card competition. I left making my card until the night before camp although I did a dummy run of it on the weekend before after my embossing pen (not a versamark one LOL!) left a blue tinge to my cherry blossom flowers under the clear EP! I cased my card from Michelle Zindorf's website (see link in side bar) under the "At the Lake" Tutorial. Michelle does absolutely wonderful, fantastic, brilliant etc (the list goes on ...) work - especially with her brayering. If I went back to the States again for a holiday, I would go to Ohio and try and meet her and have a lesson with her.

If you would like to know what I used in it, leave a comment and I'll let you know but it is just about basically the same as Michelle's except where she used non Stampin' Up! products I adapted to Stampin' Up! products.

Well off to bed now, I'll catch you again over our long Australia Day long weekend - after I have had High Tea at the Hyatt in the city tomorrow!

Take care

Lynda

A Belated Happy New Year & New Year's Resolution

Hi Everyone

Got to say Happy New Year - a little late I know but you get that! Hope you all had a fantastic Chrissy / New Year break and are ready for the year ahead!

One of my New Year's resolutions - apart from a lifestyle change ie diet/lose some weight - is to organise my time/schedule and post more regularly here! I know we're three weeks in to the year already and this is only my first post for the year but things are going to get better!

I also know it has been a while since I last posted and well I can only offer these excuses for not posting - being really busy at work, doing Stampin' Up workshops right up to the end of November, our Stamparoo's stamp camp the first weekend of December at which I showed my fellow demostrator friends how to do the polished stone technique (which had me up until 1.30 one night madly designing and making the two cards LOL!!), madly trying to get all my Chrissy cards - 100 all up! - (staying up late at night or doing some during my lunch breaks LOL!) out before Chrissy which I just managed to do except for a couple, and finally sort out what was happening for Chrissy lunch with my family at my place all the while working right up to and including Chrissy eve! My poor Chrissy tree didn't even get put up until Chrissy eve (and is still up - another thing to do this weekend, put it down)!

As a result I basically did bugger all during my week and a bit off from work between Chrissy and New Year! I must admit I did not even feel one little tiny bit guilty about doing nothing either (big smile). I had a few things I was sort of planning to do over the break but needless to say they didn't get done just like those things I had planned to do before Chrissy that didn't get done! I only hit the stamps twice, once to make a Birthday card and a bag for my Mum whose birthday is three days after Chrissy - here they are:

Here is a close up of the card:

I used what is my absolute favourite stamp set out of the Summer Mini - Embrace Life! I had my fingers crossed that this would be in the new Cattie come April so you can imagine happy I was to see it in the Spring Mini - now I just have to hope that it still makes it into the new Cattie! I sort of cased the layout from RagDoll4You on the Splitcoaststampers Gallery for Embrace Life and here is what I used:

Stamp Sets: Embrace Life and Its Your Birthday

Card / Paper : Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Watercolour Paper & Ginger Blossom DS Paper.

Inks : Versamark, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip & Groovy Gauva.

Markers: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip (to colour ribbon) Basic Black & Blender Pens.

Accessories: Clear EP, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals & Stampamajig.

I also made a special card for my Aunty Margaret's 60th Birthday also using the Embrace Life stamp set but cased a layout from the Ideas Book & Cattie. However when I went to take a photo of it before I left to go to her party, wouldn't you know it those darn little camera batteries were flat! I am going to do another one so I can put it in my sample file so as soon as it is done - might get around to it this Australia Day long weekend - I will upload it here for you!

I also had lunch with one of my lovely customers who has also become a friend (Hi Pam - big wave) in between trying to find a new fridge after my virtually died on New Year's Day - not happy jan! I was absolutely buggered after driving around and getting in/out of a warm car all day but I absolutely love my brand spankin' new side by side fridge/freezer.

Must admit it was a bit hard to go back to work after a week of doing nothing but am now back in the swing of things! Also had my Summer Mini/Salebration Open House Sausage Sizzle back on Friday 9 January so I had to madly plan for that the week I went back to work but will fill you all in with that hopefully tomorrow night!

Anyway better go - talk to you soon!

Lynda x

Look What the Dog Dragged In!

Hi I know two posts in one night - especially when I should be hitting the sack so I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for work tomorrow after a long weekend here in Perth! I guess this is what happens when you spend a full day in bed on Sunday with a migraine and recovering from a full day of mulching my garden beds with 3 cubic metres of jungle mulch on Saturday! Let me tell you 3 cubic metres of mulch doesn't look like much when it is dumped on your front lawn but by the time you have finished moving it your whole body is feeling it and knows it was 3 cubic metres - LOL! The upside is my gardens look damn good if I must say so myself and hopefully now they won't suffer as badly as they did during our long HOT summer last year!

Anyway back to the main reason for this post, you know the old saying look what the cat dragged in (ie a dead mouse etc), well the other week Bella (my darling little corgi) dragged something inside :

Can you work it out what it is? Yes, it is an azalea flower from my back garden! What can I say, she is a typical female who loves her flowers!

This is one of two downsides of having a dog with long soft hair - it attracts and picks up anything usually dead azalea leaves (especially when she's been up at Mum's place), otherwise it is bits of dead grass runners and weeds especially when we've gone for walks, and then she brings it all inside - especially after I have just finished vaccuuming the house!

I had a bit of fun trying to take these photos of Bell with her flower - every time I'd try and take a photo she sit down on the flower!

Anyway off to bed - hope to be back soon with some more cards that I've created recently.

Have a good week!

Lynda

Grass Patch Cards

Hi all, it has taken three weeks but here are the cards that we did down at Grass Patch during our big stampin' weekend at last! As there are quite a few, I'm not going to type out the full recipes for them but if you have any questions about any of them, please leave a comment and I'll answer your questions for you! Okay here we go!

This card was cased from Michelle Zindorf's website - I love this card as it is quite moden and there are no stamps involved! Michelle is so talented - what she does with a brayer is beautiful!

The other three cards that we did you can see from my previous post on 10 August - they are the first three cards shown in that post!

Well hope you enjoyed these and got some inspiration from them!

Lynda