Thank you Secret Stampin' Santa!!

Back again - as promised, to share with you the wonderful treats I received from my ESAD Secret Stampin' Santa. This swap was amongst a group of Aussie Stampin' Up! demos who all belong to the ESAD forum. We committed to secretly sending a parcel of goodies to our sister demo, it was to contain handmade goodies and a gift to a set value. We then had to guess who our Secret Santa was - a very tricky proposition!

I was thoroughly spoilt by my Secret Santa - it was so exciting opening the wonderful box of goodies she sent me! Here are some pics of my gifts.

My goodies as they arrived - all co-ordinated beautifully using the Pink Flamingo DSP - so stunningly bright and breezy.

Inside the large parcel was a Pretties Kit! This has been on my wish list for sooo long, but never quite made it to the top. I am absolutely thrilled to have one and can't wait to make some gorgeous projects with it! I think the first one will be a thank you card to my Secret Santa!

Inside the box was a container of Yummy Chocolate - I have had to hide this one from hubby and Number 1 son!

A close up of the lunch pail - inside there are recipe cards, my Secret Santa even took the time and trouble to write a few of her own for me! It is beautifully decorated with some of the Styled Silver Hodge Podge (also on my wish list!) and the gorgeous red polka dot ribbon from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

Thanks again Secret Santa - I had a ball opening my goodies and will enjoy using them in the months to come.

Cheers

Claire

Merry and Bright

Hello and Merry Christmas and best wishes for a wonderful New Year! It has actually been Merry and Bright here in Tassie for once, the best Christmas Day weather we have had for years, and it continues to improve! New Year's Eve promises to be quite hot, which will be a real treat. I thought I would stop in and share with you some of the fabulous Happy Mail I have received in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

One of the great things that has happened since I became a Stampin' Up! Demo is that the number of hand made cards I receive at Christmas has increased hugely. Here are the wonderful creations that I have been grateful to recieve. Thank you so much to the people who took the time to create them.

From Barbara and from Christine

From Kirsty and from Lisa K

From Lou and from My Mum!



From Sarah

I hope you like them as much as I do, why not leave a comment and let these lovely ladies know that you appreciate their inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back soon to share the wonderful Christmas gift I received from my Secret Stampin' Santa. A busy few days coming up though with Number 1 son's 11th birthday and a big New Year's bash to attend, so I will get back when I can!

Cheers

Claire

A new obsession!

Hi all! I am here today to share a guilty secret with you - I have a new crafting obsession! No, don't panic, I have not abandoned my Stampin' Up! - I have just discovered a new way to use the supplies I already own. You gotta love that!

My new obsession began out of a Splitcoast Stampers Technique Lovers Challenge, which involved creating buttons out of cardstock and Designer Series Papers. If you would like to know how this is done, visit this thread here It is a fab way to use up your scraps of cardstock and DSP. As a result I have been feverishly punching, layering and Crystal Effecting (I know that's not a real word!!) every spare moment. I now have a great stash of gorgeous buttons - all different shapes and sizes to use on cards and scrapbook pages. For me this is the real beauty of this technique - you can ALWAYS have a button that matches your page!

Here are a couple of cards I have made with my new buttons.

First a Christmas Card

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Ski Slope DSP (retired)

Inks: Old Olive

Stamps: Warm Words

Technique: Faux Buttons

Accessories: Heat and Stick Powder, Green Supernova Glitter. Red Cord (from my stash, for tying on buttons)

All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated

The second card, is a birthday card, again using a star shaped button, the rockets were coloured using an AquaPainter and markers.

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour Paper, Washington Apple DSP

Inks: Stazon Black

Stamps: Pun Fun

Technique: Faux Buttons, Watercolouring

Accessories: White Gel Pen, Earth Elements Brads

All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated

I hope you like my Faux Button cards - why not give them a try yourself, they are so easy and great fun to use on your projects. If you do, leave me a comment with a link to your card - I would love to see what you have created! If not leave a comment anyway - it's always fab to know who has stopped by.

Cheers

Claire

Happy Mail!

Hi all!

Since I joined ESAD (mentioned in my previous post), I have had the chance to join some really cool activities. One of them is a Secret Stampin' Sister Swap. I have been given a fellow Aussie demo to spoil - now I can't show you what I have sent her yet, we have not revealed who we are to our secret sisters. But I can show you the gorgeous happy mail I received in my letter box the other day.

My very clever Secret Sister made this beautiful Advent calendar for me, in my fave colours (choc chip and red). How gorgeous is this?! There is so much work and detail here, I am so spoiled. Inside the drawers (I have opened a few now), there are some sweet treats and fab Stampin' Up! goodies. So far I have found some Styled Silver Hodgepodge (from my wishlist), build-a-brads and other brads. It is very exciting looking to see what is in there each day!

She also made me this beautiful card.

I can't wait to find out who she is, so that I can thank her properly and get the instructions for this fab Advent Calendar. Soon I will go back and share the other lovely goodies I have received.

Thanks for dropping by. Leave me a comment and let me know how jealous you are that I have such a fab secret sister!!

Claire

ESAD-SU Blog Hop!

Hello Hoppers! For those who are visiting my blog for the first time WELCOME! I hope you like the fun projects that I have to share. To those loyal blog surfers who check back regularly to see if I am here THANKS! I'm back and hope to be a reformed blogger from now on ...

Welcome to the ESAD-SU Summer Mini Blog hop. ESAD-SU is a great forum for Aussie Stampin' Up! Demos and of course our lovely Kiwi cousins. It is a wonderful place to go for advice and inspiration, there are regular challenges and lots of sharing of ideas. If you are a Stampin' Up! Demo in Australia or New Zealand and would like to join this awesome group click here.

The purpose of this Blog Hop is to share the creations we have made with the incredibly yummy range of goodies in Stampin' Up's new Summer Mini catalogue. If you would like me to send you a copy of the new mini catalogue contact me and I will send you one.

So, enough chit chat here is the main event! The projects I am sharing were made with the gorgeous Animal Stories stamp set and the Tall Tales Designer Series Papers.

This project is a double scrapbook layout featuring the adorable new baby elephant at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney - Luk Chai. On the day we were visiting we watched the elephants come out for play time, whilst the older elephants were showing off their skills, Luk Chai stole the show, and the hearts of the crowd, by nicking the soccer ball from the bigger elephants, dribbling it out from under their feet with his head. Here is my layout "Luk Chai steals the show!"

Project Recipe:

• Stamps: Play Ball (Retired) Calendar Alphabet and Numbers




• Cardstock: Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip




• Inks: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, White Craft Ink




• Accessories: Tall Tales DSP (Summer Mini catalogue) Jumbo Grommets (Summer Mini) On Board Timeless Type Chipboard Letters, Chololate Chip Double Stitched Ribbon, Signo White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Marker




• All Stamped Images are copyright Stampin' Up!

The next project is this adorable box with matching 3x3" gift cards and DSP envelopes.

Project Recipe:

• Stamps: Animal Stories (Summer Mini Catalogue), Really Retro (Ideas Book and Catalogue)
  




• Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White, So Saffron, Brilliant Blue, Old Olive
  




• Inks: Old Olive, Rose Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip
  




• Accessories: Tall Tales DSP (Summer Mini Catalogue) White Gel Pen, So Saffron Marker, Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool, Build-a-brad, Flower Designer Brad, Playground Designer Buttons, Brilliant Blue brads, Stampin' Dimensionals.




• All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up!

As an extra special treat - there is blog candy to be won! Anyone who visits every blog in the ESAD-SU Summer Mini blog hop and comments on each one (there are 30!) will have their name put in the draw to win some delicious Stampin' Up! blog candy. You have until midnight on Wednesday AEDST to comment and then email leonie@stamp-a-latte.com to get in the draw. So get that comment love happening and get your name in the draw!!

Now to move on to the next delectable offering in this feast of Stampin' Up! Summer Mini treats, click on the link to head over to the exceptionally talented and incredibly creative Corinna Buchan at her blog pinkflowersandbling

Thanks for dropping by, enjoy the rest of the hop.

Cheers

Claire

Happy Easter!

Hi everyone, I hope you haven't all abandoned me during my long absence - things have been a bit hectic lately... If this is your first time here then "Hello and Welcome!"

Easter is here and I have finally had a little time to pull out my stamps and play. I have been creating over the last couple of weeks, but finding time to sit at the computer to share with you has been more difficult - I will catch you up with what I have been doing soon!

For now I would like to show you some of my "new rubber" YAY!! from the new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! Ideas Book and Catalogue. It arrived on Thursday, but I did not get home in time to collect it from the post office :( so had to wait until Saturday. Thank goodness our local postoffice doubles as a Newsagent, or I would have been waiting until Wednesday!!

The colours in this card are this week's Kristina Werener Colour Inspiration - a little out of my comfort zone, but fun and funky in feel - I just had to give it a try. You can check out the other entries here.

Here is my card:

When I saw the flowers on the fabric swatch, I just knew I wanted to use my new Circle Circus Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! However, once I had embossed them onto the black cardstock, they looked a bit formal for the kind of card I was going for, so I used my white gel pen to add the doodled frames around the embossed images. (Aren't you proud of me Sarah?) That made them more casual and fun, I like the effect. I hope you do too, please leave a comment and let me know what you think, it is always great to hear from visitors to my blog.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Circle Circus, Really Retro

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Black

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss Hand Drawn Designer Series Paper (Hostess level 3), Rose Red

Accessories: White EP, White Gel Pen, Ribbon, Flower Designer Brad

Cheers!

Claire.

Out with the old ... In with the NEW

Hello! Good news everyone! (Futurama fans will recognise that one). My mojo has returned with a vengance with the arrival of my pre-order and my new catalogues. A couple of bits and pieces to share with you today, incuding a sneak peek from the new Ideas Book and Catalogue. Can't wait for this one to go "live" there are some really great new stamp sets that I am dying to get my hands on! Not to mention the new brads, buttons, in colours ....

The first card I would like to share is a farewell tribute to my beloved Paisley background stamp. One of my first SU purchases ever - before I became a demo even, it has seen good service and been embossed, kissed with, "Josephed" and generally stamped extremely well. So here is it's last "official" outing before it disappears into my private stash forever. Not really sure about this one, it's a bit "fussy" for me - what do you think?

The Paisley was embossed in Basic Grey and then elements coloured with Regal Rose and Rose Red Markers. The inspiration for the colour scheme came from a shirt that I tried on the other day (I didn't buy it - it did nothing for me! But I loved the design). The sketch is Keesh's sketch challenge #6. You can check out the other fab entries here.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Paisley Background (retiring)

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Grey

Accessories: Ribbon, Markers, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Eastern Elegance Rubons (retired)

Technique: Coloured Embossing

The next card I would like to share with you is a blend of old and new. I made it for a friend's 40th birthday. I wanted it to reflect her personality, bright, bubbly and fun. I used the retiring Bali Breeze DSP together with the new Cheers to You stamp set (available from the 1st April), thanks Lynda for the loan!

The cocktails are coloured directly with the markers for a more vibrant feel, then covered with Crystal Effects to enhance the "glassy" effect, then I added some Dazzling Diamonds whilst the Crystal Effects was still wet, to give it some shimmer and bling. I think you can just see a little of the sparkle in the photo.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Cheers to You (new)

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Bali Breeze DSP (retiring)

Inks: Stazon Black

Accessories: Crystal Effects, Markers, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Scallop Punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, White Gel Pen.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Would love to hear your thoughts on my creations, it is always great to know who has been here.

Claire

Mojo-a-gogo!

Goodness, I have just realised it has been 3 weeks since my last post! How terribly slack of me, my apologies to those of you that check in on me regularly to see what I have been up to. The answer to that question is of course - not much! Well not much crafting to be more precise. I have come to the conclusion that since becoming a Stampin' Up! Demo, I hate the month of March! There is so much hype around the retiring list and the new Ideas Book and Catalogue arriving, that my crafting mojo goes into hiding. I have sat down at my desk a few times in the last week or so, but with images of stamp sets yet to come looming large in my head, suddenly the old ones don't seem so inspiring.

Anyway, rather than disappear of the face of the earth entirely, I thought I would share with you some swap cards that I made. These swaps were made to send to a sister demo in Canada. The idea was to make 3 complete cards (preferably from sets that they don't have in their catalogue) and post them to your swap partner. I received three gorgeous cards from Cathy Jonstone a very talented SU demo in Canada, you can check out her blog, here. I will post them later in another post, it is too dark and gloomy today to get good pics.

Here are the three I made to send to Cathy (thanks to Lynda for the loan of the All Aboriginal and Happy Christmas Mate stamp sets!). I can post them here now, as Cathy has received them.

Card Recipe:

Stamps; Ocean Commotion, Baroque Motifs

Cardstock; Ballet Blue, Gable Green, Ruby Red, So Saffron

Inks; Whisper White, Gable Green, So Saffron

Acessories; Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware, Crystal Effects, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card Recipe:

Stamps; Happy Christmas Mate

Cardstock; River Rock, Real Red, Dashing DSP, Watercolour paper

Inks; Stazon Black, Old Olive

Techniques; Markers direct to watercolour paper

Accessories; Markers, Aquapainter, Corner Rounder punch, Double Slot punch, non SU circle cutter, Ribbon

Card Recipe:

Stamps; All Aboriginal

Cardstock; Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Spring Break DSP

Inks; Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue

Techniques; Emboss Resist

Sketch: Makeesha's Sketch Challenge No. 5

Accessories; Markers, Clear EP, White Gel Pen

Hope you like them. Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by. It's alway nice to know who has visited. My preorder of goodies from the new catalogue has finally arrived, so I will have some new creations to share with you soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Claire

A Challenge combo

Hello, me again. Just recovering from the *shock* of the enormity of the Stampin' Up! retired list this year. My stamp collection is officially decimated! I will be particularly sad to say goodbye to my Paisley background stamp, I think I will have to keep that one for "personal use" lol! Looking forward to the new catalogue though, I can't wait to see what wonderful goodies they have replaced my old favourites with.

Now, to the real reason for this post. A challenge combo. For this card I have used Makeesha's Inkspirations sketch challenge no. 5 (to check out the other fab entries go here), along with Kristina's colour inspiration for this week. (Play along with Kristina's challenge here).

Kristina's colour challenge reminded me of some photos my Mum took on a trip through central Australia last year, lots of earthy desert colours combined with the green of the sparse vegetation and the blue of the sky. That inspired me to make this card with a set I borrowed from a friend to make some swaps. (Thanks Lynda!)

Not the greatest pic (it's late) but you get the idea! I used some of the masking and sponging techniques I learned doing Michelle Zindorf's chef tutorial (see this post) and have to say I am really pleased with the way this one turned out!

Card recipe:

Stamps: All Aboriginal, Polka Dots and Petals, Live your Dream

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue, Old Olive, Spring Break DSP

Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark, Ruby Red, Old Olive

Accessories: Markers, White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Techniques: Emboss resist, Masking

Hope you like it. Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Quick n' cute!

Hello, me again! Two posts in one week, I must be having a sudden rush of blood to the head. Just a quick post to share a mega cute card with you. I have been playing around trying to devise a card suitable for both boys and girls for our upcoming Inkydivas Stamp-a-stacK. (You can find the details here if you are interested). Anyway I was inspired by the incredibly talented Heather (Stamp with Heather) to have a go at this too cute little monkey she created with punches. You can see Heather's video tutorial here.

I had to adapt a little as we don't have the three hearts punch here in Oz yet, so I used the 3 flower punch and trimmed one for the hands and feet instead. What do you think? Is it too fiddly for a Stamp-a-stacK group? Would love to hear your thoughts, please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by.

Claire

Two for you ...

Hey there everybody. Too busy for Kristina's colour challenge this week. We had our first Christmas Club on Friday night. It was a great success, really fun and casual, everyone went home with four cards they were very pleased with. We still have a couple of spots remaining, so if you live in southern Tassie, and you would like to come along each 3rd Friday of the month to hang out with a great bunch of ladies and make some gorgeous projects - email me. candpharrison@activ8.net.au

The first thing I have to share today is the first scrapping layout I have done in a *very* long time. I just seem to be caught up in making cards all the time these days, since I became an SU demo. So, in a bid to revive my scrapping mojo I have embarked on an online journalling course. Awesome, amazing and incredibly inspirational would be the words I would use to describe it, four weeks in. The course is called Journalling 101, if you would like to check it out, go here.

Here is my layout for the week 1 assignment, a bit late, but - better late than never! We were challenged to create a layout that told the story of a regular event, the ordinary story. I chose to scrap my little guy's 10th birthday, which happened recently.

Project recipe:

Stamps: Non SU Foam Alphabet Stamps, Short and Sweet

Inks: Real Red

Cardstock: Brilliant Blue 12x12 textured, East Coast Prep DSP, Real Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi and More Mustard

Accessories: On Board Lots of Letters, Sponges, Stamp & Write Journaller. Markers, Star Punches, 1/4 " circle punch, Eastern Blooms rub-ons (retired) other rubons.

The second project I have to share was inspired by a tutorial by Michelle Zindorf - you can try the tutorial yourself here . I love my Voila stamp set, but it hasn't seen ink for a while. I went back to Michelle's tutorials to refresh myself on another technique and saw her card. I just *had* to make one! Here's my version;

Project recipe:

Stamps: Voila and Voila a la carte

Inks: Basic Black, So Saffron, Old Olive, Always Artichoke

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumkin Pie

Accessories: sponges, brayer, markers, ribbon, brads

Techniques: Masking

Thanks so much for dropping by. Please leave a comment, it is so nice to know who has visited.

Claire

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

So many people have been affected by the tragic bushfires that hit Victoria (Australia) last week. Living in a country where the climate can be so harsh, bushfires are a constant danger, but no-one could have anticipated the horror of the weekend before last. With such a small national population, most of us know someone who has been directly affected by the disaster. Everyone wants to help, and the fundraising to date has been both awe inspiring and incredibly humbling. But there is still more work to be done.

As a company with heart, Stampin' Up! is doing it's part in the fundraising effort. We, the stamping, scrapping and papercrafting community can do something to help, by supporting SU's fundraising campaign. SU is helping the Australian Red Cross in their efforts to support those affected as they pick up the pieces and begin again.

Here's how you can contribute:

From now until 31 March 2009, Stampin' Up! will donate 50% of the retail value of all sales from a select group of 10 stamp sets to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal. I will also add my 20% commission to the donation.

This means that 70% of the purchase price (not just the profit) of the stamp sets listed below, will go directly to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

Here is a list of the bushfire appeal stamp sets.

Stamp Set, Item Number, Pg in Catalogue, Price

Priceless, 112312, 105, $48.95

Seeing Spots, 112380, 89, $39.95

Baroque Motifs, 112380, 98, $39.95

Live Your Dream, 114261, 3, $55.95

(summer mini catalogue)

Looks Like Spring* , 108864, 76, $58.95

The Snowflake Spot*, 108934, 27, $39.95

Bodacious Boquet*, 108756, 80, $58.95

Polka Dots and Paisley*, 110247, 46, $35.95

G'day Mate,* 111937, 115, $35.95

Be Happy*, 108744, 51, $39.95

*The sets in blue will appear on the upcoming list of retiring products, so they will only be available for a the Bushfire Appeal, while supplies last. These are expected to be very popular.

If you would like to support this worthy appeal, please email me at candpharrison@activ8.net.au

Unfortunately I am not able to sell stamp sets to the international visitors to my blog, if you have seen the footage on TV. If these people's plights have touched your hearts, please click on the link here, to donate directly, on line to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

For those of you who would still like to do more, please visit Rainbows by Robin, for links to card appeals, and thank you cards for the CFA (community fire fighters).

Thank you for your support.

Claire

Always Valentines

Hello! A couple of new projects to share with you. Both use Kristina Werner's colour inspiration for this week, though the first was a fluke! (I had to substitute Real Red for Riding Hood Red as we don't have it here in Oz – yet!)

I recently caught up with an old friend. (We have known each other since pre-school. He's more like a brother than a friend, we seem to spend a lot of time just stirring each other up!) He has just returned from a stint living in Scotland with his Scottish partner (whom he met in Sydney). Anyway, whilst they were away, they decided to get married at beautiful Loch Ness (who wouldn't if the opportunity presented itself?!) Unfortunately Nessie has not made an appearance in any of the wedding photos L. To cut a long story short, the beautiful bride was admiring the wine glass charms I made for my Mum a few years ago. So I decided to make her some as a little, and belated, wedding gift. Here is the box,

and on the inside,

By fluke they used this week's Kristina Werner colour inspiration! Having made this little project, I decided that I loved the colour combo, and the way the hearts from the Always stamp set look when they are embossed in black. So I made a Valentine/Anniversary card for my hubby. (Yes our wedding anniversary is on Valentine's Day – how romantic!) Here it is.

Project Recipes:

Stamps: Always, Paisley Background, So Many Sayings (hostess)

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Black, Real Red Marker

Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons, Word Window punch, Embossing Powders – white, black and clear, White Gel pen, non SU wine charm wires, beads and charms

Techniques: Embossing, Out of the box (on the card)

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment, I would love to hear what you think.
Claire

Puppy Love

Another Kristina Werner colour inspiration to share with you, using these colours.



It's been a couple of weeks since I have been able to play along, and once again my card took on a life of its own! I sat down with my stamps thinking that these colours might work well for the generic child card I need to design for our upcoming Stamp-a-stacK. (You can find the details here). However, thanks to the inspiration provided by Stamphappy1650 on Splitcoast Stampers, the card evolved into something far too elaborate for a Stamp-a-stacK! I really like the principle though and may modify it for the Christmas Club group. I used paper piecing on the ute, I haven't done this much but I think I will experiment with it some more!

Card Recipe: (All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise mentioned)

Stamps: Loads of Love, Greetings Galore, So Many Sayings (Level 1 Hostess set)

Cardstock: More Mustard, Spring Showers DSP, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP, Bali Breeze DSP

Accessories: Markers, Blender Pen, Stamp-a-majig, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 ¼ circle punch, Jumbo Eyelet, Old Olive Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by. Would love to hear what you think!

Claire

Inkydivas Class Schedule 2009

Inkydivas 2009

Hello, we're back for 2009.

I bet you were wondering when we were going to get our act together. Well with school heading back soon, and quality family time under our belts, we are feeling rested and relaxed and ready to STAMP! We hope you are too.

Our class formats are undergoing a few changes this year, after some constructive feedback from some wonderful stampers last year.

Christmas Club

So you thought you would be ready for Christmas last year? Cards all stamped and ready to send by the end of November – NOT!!! Well, this year we are here for you, this year we will help you have all your Christmas craft projects prepared well ahead of time. Join our Christmas Club and create 2 projects each month, from February to November – now that's organized!!

When: Every third Friday of the month, commencing Friday 20^th February

Where: Lynda's house in Tolmans Hill (details provided on registration). Refreshments provided, please bring a plate of supper to share.

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

What: 2 Christmas projects. This month we will be making four Christmas cards, 2 each of 2 designs.

Cost: $15 per session payable one month in advance. A full refund will be given for cancellations with 2 weeks notice. After this time, cancelled places will receive project packs to complete at home.

To join our Christmas Club please contact Lynda or Claire, by February 10^th 2009. Samples of our projects for February will be posted on http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/ Places are strictly limited so get your name down FAST!

Technique Junkies Club

Love learning new techniques? Like to extend the versatility of your stamps? Technique Junkies is for you. Join this club and learn two new techniques every month. You will create a Techniques booklet, with detailed instructions for each technique with a sample, and also create a project using that technique. By the end of the year you will have built up a wonderful resource to keep and use over and over again.

Membership of this club will cost $10 to cover the cost of creating your Techniques booklet.

When: Every first Friday of the month, commencing March 6^th

Where: Lynda's home in Tolmans Hill (details provided upon registration). Refreshments provided, please bring a plate of supper to share.

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

What: Learn two new techniques, with detailed instructions and a sample for your book. Cement your learning by creating a project using each of your new techniques.

Cost: $10 membership fee (once only). $15 per Techniques Junkies class, payable one month in advance. A full refund will be given with 2 weeks notice. After this date, project packs will be provided to complete at home.

Spaces are strictly limited, so contact Claire or Lynda, by 20^th February 2009 to book your spot! Check our blog for samples of some of the techniques we will be teaching, http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/

But wait! There's more ...

Every six weeks, or so, we are hoping to offer a full day Stamp Camp course. These stamp camps will sometimes cover techniques, 3d projects and other items of interest. On these days there will (usually) be four projects to create and take home, with detailed instructions.

The first Stamp Camp for 2009 will take place on 7^th or 8^th of March 2009 (to be confirmed) and will take the form of a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION STAMP-A-STACK. Start the New Year as you mean to continue it, with a gorgeous batch of hand stamped cards to wow your friends and family, and show them how much you care. You will create 12 cards, 3 each of 4 different designs, such as Male, Child, Female etc

When: 7^th or 8^th March 2009 (to be confirmed)

Where: Lynda's house in Tolmans Hill (details provided on registration). Refreshments and morning or afternoon tea provided.

What: New Year's Resolution Stamp-a-StacK. 12 cards, 3 each of 4 different designs

Time: We anticipate the projects will take up to 2 ½ hours to complete. There will be two start times available 9.30am and 2pm.

Cost: $25 payable on registration. Registrations close on 20^th February. Cancellations after this date will receive project kits to complete at home.

Don't forget to check out our blog http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/ for more information and samples of the projects on offer.

To book a place in one of our Clubs or for the Stamp-a-StacK, please contact your demonstrator:

Claire Harrison: candpharrison@activ8.net.au

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

XX

PS The Inkydivas gratefully acknowledge the work of other stampers who share their work on the web. We hope that you will see it as a compliment if we CASE your work for our classes. Thanks!

A CASE card

Hello again,

Back at work last week, so not much time to create. However, as my collaboration with Lynda Moss (StampInkins) is about to kick off for 2009, I have spent a bit of time combing the web looking for ideas for class cards. Keep an eye out here, or on our Inkydivas blog for class details, if you are living in Southern Tasmania.

One of the classes we will be running regularly throughout the year is a Christmas Club, so that our club members can build up their supply of handmade cards and gifts gradually, instead of in a big rush in November, December. You can contact us via links from our Inkydivas blog, if you are interested in joining up.

Whilst looking for ideas for this class, I came across this card, and I just had to CASE it.

Here is my version.

I am sooo hoping that the Season of Joy set is in the new catty in April! The next couple of months are going to be very busy I think, with Inkydivas up and running again, the retired list coming out in March, and of course a brand new catalogue to drool over in April! Lots to look forward to… lots to share!

Card recipe: (All products used are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise stated)

Stamps: Season of Joy (Spring Mini)

Cardstock: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Vellum

Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi

Acessories: Jumbo eyelets, Ice Rhinestone brads

Thanks for dropping by. I love to hear your comments.

Claire

More Good News (and some pics)

Hello again,

Happy Australia Day!

I am just back from a good ole Aussie BBQ with friends to celebrate Australia's nationhood. The stereotypic way to spend a beautiful day here in Tassie.

Actually I have spent most of the day doing the washing after our week long jaunt to Bruny Island - there was masses of it!! Thank you so much to my poor long suffering Mum who let me use her washing machine as mine has decided to give up the ghost after 10 years of hard service.

Whilst waiting for the machine to run its course I decided to make a card (of course! What else do you do when the washing is washing??) A dear friend of mine had a baby boy whilst we were on Bruny, soooo having been craft deprived for a whole week GASP, I made a new baby card for them. Here it is:

The sketch is Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge 212, I also tried a new technique Faux Mosaic, which was the Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast this week. (The Faux Mosaic is the thin panel that the lion is popped up on, you can find a tutorial here). Give it a go, it's fiddly but fun!

Card Recipe: (all products are Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Wild About You, Warm Words

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Spring Break DSP

Inks: Versa Mark, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: White EP (embossing powder), Clear EP, Sticky Strip, Lg & Sml Oval Punches, Scallop Punch, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Thanks to Tracey Old (A Stampers Touch) for the idea of layering up the segments of the Lion for a 3d effect. (I embossed him with clear EP to give him a bit of shine and to make him stronger to cut out - his tail is a bit fiddly)

Anyway, as promised here are a few pics from our week on Bruny. For those of you who aren't Tasmanians, a little geography... Hobart, Tassie's capital city is on the River Derwent. Bruny Island is in the mouth of the River Derwent, and can only be reached by Ferry. It is a wonderful place to be because, even though you are only 50 mins away from the city centre (Ferry permitting!) you feel like you are light years away from anything!

This year for the first time my little guy took a friend to Bruny for the first few days. They had a ball, here they are fishing in my Dad's boat. (My little guy is the one on the left, he looks so grown up and moody in this pic lol!).

Here is some of their catch! A beautiful Flathead and a really nice Cod. Thanks for catching dinner fellas!

And here toasting Marshmellows on the rocky beach in front of the shack.

As you can see we had a ball!

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment I love to hear your thoughts. Back to work tomorrow :(

Claire