Butterflies galore..

Here's a special for all you lovers of pretty butterflies, just in case you don't all ready own these great stamps and the wonderful matching punch, there is a special just for you going on this month, so be sure to take advantage of it.
http://www3.stampinup.com/au/documents/Flyer_ButterflyBundle_Demo_8.29-9.30.2013_SP.pdf

Dates: 29 August-30 September, 2013 Offer: Get 15 percent off when you buy this bundled butterfly stamp set and punch!

Bundle Item	Page in Catalogue	Description	Retail Price	15% Savings Price	Amount Saved!
135311	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Clear-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$53.90	$45.82	$8.08
135312	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Wood-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Wood-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch Inky hugs from.......	$60.90	$51.77	$9.13

Getting inky...

Hi there lovely people, I hope this finds you all well in blog land. I have decided to alternate my Utah posts with some inkiness in-between, so todays post will have some pictures of cards. I had some gorgeous stamping buddies over for some inky play time a week ago and we decided to do some sponging, so after cutting through a couple of stampin'sponges and making them into just the right shape and size for transferring ink to card we began to have some fun.
 I had seen a couple of pretty cards on the net which I thought were perfect for using this technique, the first one was originally done by a lady called Patricia who had done it in water colours, I had also seen a version done in sponging and liked the effect. So this is what it turned out like:

I just love this new stamp set called 'Wetlands' from Stampin'Up!© , it has several sentiments and another beautiful bird which is on the next card who I like to call Lucy Goosey ;-) it also has a nice stamp of a grass image which could be used for backgrounds on all sorts of cards. you can find the set on page 69 of our main catalogue, let me know if you would like a hard copy sent to you but if you're inpatient you just look it up in the online version in my side bar and order it online through my shop button on the same side .
 I used some masking on the card above to create the look of faux layers, the colours used were Sahara sand, Soft Sky, Island indigo and Wild wasabi for the grass. I stamped the sand pipers on with some Staz on jet black ink, for a nice crisp image.
 This next card was C.S.A.E d from another card I had spotted on Pinterest (something I now spend Waaaay too much time on) Any way I then found the same card on Splitcoast and asked the talented artist who had made it if I could copy it and post it on my blog, well The delightful Julie Gearinger was quick to answer my request and was so gracious with her response, it is so nice when you receive a friendly email or answer from a stamper who is quite happy to share her talent. There are a few out there who I'm afraid are not so friendly or gracious when it comes to sharing, but I must say that the majority are lovely and that is part of the joys of being a paper crafter, its all the lovely friends you make along your stamping journey.
 Any way I digress, here is the card with Lucy Goosey, and here is the link to Julie's original:
http://stampingwithjuliegearinger.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/thinking-of-you-and-lesson-learned-long.html

The colours are not showing up as they should but believe me when I tell you it's very pretty. I hope you like it, why not pop over to Julie's blog and leave some love in her comment box, tell her Charmaine in Australia sent you. Thanks for stopping by, lots of inky hugs from ............

A few from Utah...

I haven't shown many pictures from my recent trip to Utah, so here goes. Salt lake City was a beautiful city, very clean and hospitable with friendly faces to great you where ever you went.
The first night that Ann and I arrived there we dropped our bags at the hotel and took off to explore the city, we found the famous City Creek Shopping centre which was full of beautiful top end shops. The whole mall was in an enclosed area with a roof that could be rolled back when the weather allowed, so we were lucky enough to see it with and without a roof above us.
Of course my main shopping mission was to find and purchase my all American pair of cowgirl boots, any of you who follow me on Pinterest will know I have a board just dedicated to these amazing boots and I had been adding to it regularly before leaving for the States. Well I found a shop "Steve Madden" in the City Creek mall, which was brimming with lovely leather boots of all shapes and sizes, however me being me, even after trying on a pair which I fell in love with couldn't just purchase the first pair I tried on! So I told the shop assistant "Taylor" that I maybe passing back this way in a couple of weeks, so if I hadn't found my dream pair, I would come back for these.
To be continued...........

 a view from the second level of City Creek shopping centre (above)

 this is one of the many huge buildings in the city centre

and if you look between the sky scrapers you can always see picturesque mountains which surround you, just beautiful!
I'll be back with more soon. Lots of inky hugs from....

New mini Seasonal Catalogue

Hi there paper crafters, just in case you didn't notice, there is a new catalogue on the right hand side of this blog and it's just begging to be opened!
 I know you will love the contents of our newly released seasonal catalogue, it's bursting with great holiday ideas and goodies, if you would like to get your inky mitts on a hard copy, there are several ways to do so, firstly contact me via email charmaineblack@y7mail.com or come along to our fabulous fund raiser for Diabetes type 1 in October (details below) where you will get one of these beautiful catalogues in your goody bag, or place an order with me in September and I'll send you out a free copy, you could also just come along to one of my classes and get one there. Don't forget you can place an order through me online now by using my "Shop" button on the right. you can also email me your orders or just ring them through to me by phone.

If you click on the picture of this catalogue in the right hand side bar you can browse through it on line with a cuppa, enjoy!
 lots of inky hugs from ..........

Juvenile diabetes fund raiser

Hi there paper crafters,
I hope this finds you well, I am releasing some very exciting news about an upcoming fund raiser that I am involved in, so I thought I would share it on here too, just in case you might like to come along and share in the inky and yummy fun!
 There will be raffles for various wonderful Stampin' Up! goodies that have been generously donated from head office, so keep posted for details about how you can get your inky hands on some tickets even if you are unable to attend.
 Another way you can have some extra chances of winning some amazing prizes is to book your place as soon as possible, if you book and pay for your  places in the month of September you will receive an extra five raffle tickets.
 The fee for your afternoon of fun is just $35.00 which includes all materials needed to complete your beautiful Christmas cards with matching envelopes and tags. there will be afternoon tea and lots of wonderful door prizes to be enjoyed. See you there!

click on pictures to enlarge.

If you would like any more information, please contact me via email charmaineblack@y7mail.com or by mobile 0402320779. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
There are only fifty places available, so to be sure to book your places soon.
 Lots of inky hugs from .......

Friends and birthdays..

Hello fellow blog surfers and paper craft lovers, it's been a busy couple of weeks for me since my return from the US and I had a few birthday's to catch up on as well as a wedding. So I thought you may like to see the birthday cards I made, the first one was for my sweet God daughter who turned twelve recently. I saw this amazing card displayed on the Stampin' Up! site, the original made by Stampin'Up! artisan team member Connie Collins. I just fell in love with the vibrant and fun colours and thought it would be perfect for my need, so I got to work C.A.S.E ing it and just changed the numbers to the appropriate age for my God daughter, who I might add, absolutely adored her card.

This next card I made for my friend who had her birthday while I was away, so I had to make it a belated one. I had fun rummaging through some old Stampin' Up! products in my hoard of retired stock, I used some old designer papers and embellishments to finish of the image which I coloured in with markers. I am quite pleased with the outcome and hope it brings joy to it's recipient.

Oh well that's your lot for today, thanks for stopping by and don't be shy, please leave some comments to say hi.
 Lots of inky hugs from ..........

Back on Aussie soil....

Well what a month! to be honest I wasn't sure if my trip to Utah was even going to take place due to my being unwell for so long, but it did and boy oh boy did I have a brilliant time!
 The weather was just what the Dr had ordered and stayed in the thirties for pretty much the whole of our trip, so with he sun shinning Ann and I took to walking into the Salt Palace convention centre in the mornings, it was our quite time of the day because there was certainly none of that once those doors opened each day to the crowds of over six thousand demonstrators.

 All the flag poles outside the convention centre and along the roadside were adorned with familiar Stampin'Up! colours to welcome us to the city of Salt Lake, it really brought a smile to our faces and made us all feel special to be a part of the 25th anniversary celebrations.

I had such a wonderful experience and felt so blessed to be able to attend all the amazing events, thanks to my very generous friend Ann (who is also my downline),who worked very hard to achieve the incentive trip and thanks to her hubby not really relishing the idea of being with nearly seven thousand women all screaming about the joys of winning a door prize, or pushing their way into the big halls to watch Shelli doing a workshop wow! because that gave me the opportunity to join Ann on her incentive trip as her guest. I Know! how lucky am I????

 After the incentive trip was over, my hubby joined me and Ann flew to another State to visit with a friend of hers. We joined up with another good friend and her family, who happens to be my upline, so you see there was three generations of our stampin'Up! team in Utah. (Confused much?)

here we are grandma bear, mummy bear and baby bear.

 

Anyhoo we all travelled together to see some of the most beautiful National Parks and actually stayed right in Zion National Park, with buffalo roaming the pastures around us. It was another amazing experience and I will show some photos over the next few posts. Thanks for stopping by, lots of inky hugs from ............

Just before I go....

I know you have just fallen off your chair, so I'll give you time to get back up and clean up your cuppa which you just spilled ;-)
Some of you know that since my return from Convention in Brisbane I have been rather unwell to say the least, I was beginning to think that I would never recover. However through the power of all my friends prayers and good vibes I am very excited to announce that I have been given the all clear to fly, yes that's correct...FLY! I'm off to Salt Lake City with my good friend and downline Ann, who through lots of hard work and determination achieved this year's incentive trip to Utah in the USA, she very generously offered me her husbands tickets when he decided all those screaming women at the American convention were just too much for him to handle.
 I must admit it's even scaring me a little and I'm female and a very big fan of Stampin' Up!
I can't wait to tell you all about my exciting adventures in the States when I get back, I may even post a bit on here from over there if I get to a computer.
 I thought it only polite of me to post a few pictures before I leave to make up for all the time I've neglected my blog, believe me I would of done it sooner if I had been able.
This is a picture of the six inch by six inch scrap page all the lovely ladies made at one of my recent parties, I then showed them how to progressively make it into a twelve by twelve inch page, by first mounting it onto an eight by eight inch piece of card stock, followed by the final twelve by twelve.

 

You can see the blue section is the eight by eight and the pink is the finished twelve inch page

 

this is the gift I made for the hostess, it was some card candy, each embellishment was made so she could use them on a card or on a scrap page. I used the lovely set called Everything Eleanor.

 

 

 

This is the card I made in front of them as a demonstration and another gift for the hostess, using the Mixed Bunch set and matching punch, as well as some lovely calypso coral bakers twine and if you look carefully you'll see a simply pressed clay flower in the centre.

 

 

It was certainly a fun afternoon and everyone enjoyed making their 6''x6'' page to take home.

Keep posted, if I get time in the morning I might show you some of the new pressed clay projects I've made.I won't promise but I'll do my best.

 

Inky hugs from........

 

 

invitation to MDS™

Check out this new video for and invitation to the MDS™ (My Digital Studio) just click the link and enjoy:
http://youtu.be/y6aXKHxe7bo 

Just so you know, the $35.00 fee for this event will include your very own download of MDS, usually $24.99 when purchased through your preferred demonstrator or $27.99 without a preferred demonstrator, so you can put it on your lap top and bring it along to the digital creative day. If you don't own a lap top, don't worry because you can come along and watch all the fun on the big screens as well as take home instructions and advice on using your MDS to its fullest potential.
 Hope to see you there, lots of inky hugs from.........

Back from the sick bed.

Hi there lovely paper crafters,
I'm sorry to have been MIA for the past week, but I can assure you I had a good excuse. My dear generous hubby decided to share his rotten cold/chest infection with me. It was certainly a doozy and knocked me sideways for a while, I'm now feeling much better but still coughing like a seal.
 I have been busy playing with my new white simply pressed clay today and managed to finish a few cards for a meeting at my uplines house, it was to show all the girls who didn't make it to convention what we all got up to, so I showed the demo that I did with the clay and a few of the other attendees showed some wonderful things too.
 I'll show you some of my clay samples in a later post, but for now you might like to see the wedding card I made for some close friends a couple of weeks ago. It's a rendition of one I had made before and the original card was CASEd (Copy And Share Everything) from the very talented Teneale Williams, a fellow demonstrator. I found her card on Pinterest and just fell in love with it. Mine is a bit different to the original and I'm not sure if you can see it very well, but I sprayed the finished card with some Champagne mist which I mixed in a spritzer bottle with some rubbing alcohol, if you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see all the sparkles. I was really pleased with the finished project and the bride and groom loved it too. What do you think........?

 I used the bird punch for the love birds and the leaves, the owl punch for the hearts. I just cut the bells free hand and the "Congratulations" was from the Bitty Banners set. The embossing folder used for the background was the soon to retire Lacey Brocade.

 I used the 'Word Play' set for the 'Happy I Do day' sentiment inside as well as another Stampin' Up! embossing folder. I don't get many opportunities to use my calligraphy pen so thought I'd have a go at writing a little message for the happy couple.

Take care, lots of inky hugs from......

More photos from Convention 2013 Brisbane

I know some of you have been hanging out to see some pictures from convention so here's a few more for you:
 This first one is of a paper cake to celebrate Twenty five years of Stampin'Up!©

 This cute little display of ribbons is such a good idea.

 This printers tray was filled with scrummy little trinkets all made with Stampin'Up! products.

See you tomorrow for a few more. Lots of inky hugs from .......

A couple of convention highlights...

I promised some more photos from convention so here you go..
This one is of me with my upline and very dear friend Ngaire, we also share a room when away on convention and just laugh and laugh ;-)

 This one is of us dancing the night away at the awards after party, the band was amazing and we never left the dance floor.

 Here is a very special one of me with Ann (on left) and Maureen on right, it's so special because this is the first year any on my downline have come along to convention.I don't normally look this red but after dancing my feet of for quite some time, I'm afraid I turned into a tomato head ;-)Go 'The Paper Charmers' !

 This one is of the 'Stamp-a-roos team and side lines, we're a big bunch of friendly girls and this is only some of us!

Hope you enjoyed these pictures, more to come soon. Lots of inky hugs from ......

All the single stamps, all the single stamps....Wo oh oh wo oh oh.

 Did you sing that in the tune of Beyonce's All the single ladies?

Well the fun just doesn't stop....
Stampin' Up!© have given us all the opportunity to purchase a single stamp or two, or three ;-) They're gorgeous and just waiting to be inked up. You can purchase them from me by placing an order on my corporate web site HERE (just click on Stamps on the left hand side bar) or email order or just give me a ring on 040 232 0779.
1. These are only available until August 31st 2013 (unless sold out prior to this)
2. They are only available in clear mount
3. They will be packaged in cello bags not in clear mount cases (if you want clear mount cases, they come 4 to a pack for $9.95 & you can order them here)
4. You will need a clear mount block to use them with – all of them fit nicely onto block size E
5. You can purchase as many of these stamps as you wish – there are no limits.
6. The images in the picture are not shown full size, they are approximately 75% of their size.

 

Inky hugs from .....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best of...25 Years stamp sets

Wow! I can't keep up with all the great deals that Stampin'Up!© are releasing this month, here's one you might like to take a little peak at.

For our 25-year anniversary, we’re bringing back some

of our favourite stamp images from the last quarter century and combining them into 11 sets, which will release—one set per month—through April 2014. Even better, along with some great classic images, each "Best of" set will also include a never-before-seen image!
Some things to remember:

• All Best of stamp sets will include 3-5 images, including a never-before seen image, and will be priced at $25.95.
• While we are releasing just one Best of stamp set per month (with a new theme each month) until October, all of the Best of sets will be available until April 2014.
• All Best of stamp sets are available in Clear-Mount only.
• The stamp images may be sized differently from the original stamp sets.

I know you will recognise a few of these, don't forget they are different in size to the originals and there is a gorgeous never before seen  image in with each set too, you can click on the image to see a bigger picture of these gorgeous stamps. Any image with a coloured line around it shows that it will fit into one of our great punches available from the main catalogue. If you just can't wait to get your inky fingers on these special releases then you can click on the "Shop" button at the top right of this blog or you can call me to place an order on 040 232 0779 or just email me at charmaineblack@y7mail.com  I'm looking forward to hearing from you ;-)
 Stay tuned for more special news and some more photos. Inky hugs from ........
        

It's retirement time....

Well that came around fast! I can't believe it's nearly time for a new catalogue all ready and of course we know what happens when there's a new one....we have to say goodbye to the old one and all our favourites, to make way for all our new favourites! So here's the lists you've been waiting for, be sure to contact me asap with your email or phone orders so you don't miss out on any of those sets or accessories that you still have on your wish lists. Just click  HERE to see the lists on my website where you will also find a shop now button to place your order at any time. 
                        
You can contact me on : 040 232 0779  or charmaineblack@y7mail.com Don't miss out on these last minute deals, once the stock is sold I can't get it back for you.

Inky hugs from ........

Home from Brisbane ....

Hi there lovely paper crafters, well what an amazing week of ink, friends and ideas. I have just returned fro the best yet Stampin'Up!© annual convention which was held in Brisbane, we all had the most amazing time filled with so many great classes, outings, shopping, training, cocktail/dance party and so much more. I am bursting with so many new and exciting ideas I want to share with you all, but some things you will have to wait a little longer to see as they will be released in our upcoming new catalogue.
 I will take the next few days to show you some highlights from my trip and hopefully inspire you to maybe join in the fun with us all next year in Melbourne! This year's theme was " Be the Difference" and we are all certainly able to do this in so many different ways, one way Stampin' Up!©  have chosen to be the difference in the lives of sick children and their families is to join forces with "the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC®)".

Here's Ronald McDonald himself thanking our CEO and co founder Shelli Gardener for joining forces to help all the families of sick and hospitalised children in Australia, Shelli said " it's funny how Ronald always looks the same when he visits, but sometimes has a different accent". Of course all the countries that Stampin' Up! are set up in will be a part of this new and exciting way of "Making a difference" I'm so proud to be a part of such a generous and thoughtful company.
There is a great new stamp set which has been especially designed to go with this venture and proceeds from the sale of this stamp set will be also be given to the charity. You will be able to find the set and all the details on page 45 of your new catalogue.
 I will be posting more pictures every day, including some of me doing my demo in the "Product Showcase" area. So keep visiting, you may see someone you know ;-)
 Lots of inky hugs from...

This and That....Pre-Release special for May.

Hi everyone, I hope this finds you all well, I'm so excited this week as I'm flying out to Brisbane to our annual Stampin' Up! convention tomorrow, hence my absence from my blog...I've been a little busy! I thought I would leave you all this little video which is so smile provoking, be sure to turn up your sound. I love this new product so much that as soon as it arrived I had to order two more straight away for other projects I have in mind for it.
 Take a look and let me know what you think or better still pop over to my online shop and purchase one for your very own ;-)

Your life is: Awesome. Quirky. Exciting. Perfectly messy. And happening really fast. Stampin’ Up! has decided to give us a sneak peek of one of their newest product lines that lets you capture it all on-the-go. This and That debuts in the 2013-2014 annual catalogue on July 1st. The individual items will be available to purchase in the new catalogue, but only for the month of May, you can get a special bundle with all five products for 15 percent off – this is a limited offer so if you love the quirky freedom this type of scrapbooking/journalling presents order it sooner rather than later!

131268	Epic Day This and That Journal	$18.95
130814	Epic Day This and That Designer Series Paper	$18.95
131463	Remember This and That Rotary Stamp	$9.95
131271	Epic Day This and That Designer Stickers	$8.95
131269	Epic Day This and That Designer Washi Tape	$8.95
133905	Epic Day This and That Bundle Includes the five This and That products listed above. Only available in a bundle until 31 May.	$55.88 15% Off Retail Value!

Inky hugs from.....

Boutique boxes

 Hi there paper crafters, I hope this finds you all with ink on your fingers and if not at least on your mind ;-)
 A while ago I did a party for a young lady and her friends, this is the hostess gift I made for her using the gorgeous and very versatile Boutique Boxes kit from our current seasonal mini catalogue. The kit comes with 8 die-cut printed boxes with 16 paper buttons, 8 printed note cards (4 each of 2 designs).
1die cut printed paper embellishment sheet., 16 buttons, 8 each in 2 colours (summer starfruit and very vanilla) 4.6 m of Crumb cake bakers twine and 24 stampin'dimensionals.

I made this necklace using one of the Soda pop tops, also found in the same seasonal mini on page 24, I just flattened the pop top out a bit by putting it through the bigshot, then I cut some of our designer paper with a circle punch and stamped an initial on it, I stuck a few basic rhinestone jewels on for some bling, then just stuck it inside the pop top and covered it with Crystal effects. I made a small hole in the side of the pop top when the crystal effects had all dried and attached a cord to make it into a necklace. I made a little open box to put the pendant in and inserted that into the boutique box for a little surprise and she loved it.

I love the way all the Stampin' Up! products are so easy to coordinate and also how easy they are to work with, fun times ;-) If you would like a surprise gift, why not contact me about holding a little get together for you and your friends to learn a couple of inky techniques and make something gorgeous to take home.
lots of inky hugs from ....

My Digital studio (MDS) Save 25% during the month of May

 

 

 

 

 

Are you one of those lucky people who has taken advantage of the free 30 day trial of MY DIGITAL STUDIO (MDS) ? Well if not...why not take a quick trip to my new online shop HERE or just click on the (Shop) button any time on the right hand bar of this blog. It's really not scary and I know you'll have fun creating something special to scrapbook or maybe create some invitations, perhaps you would like to just jazz up some home labels for things in your cupboards. The full version is just $24.95 and there are so many extras you can download for FREE and starting at a $1.50, you may of spotted some discs in our catalogues which are available as hostess rewards as well. The program works fine on both PC & Mac computers. Check out some of the creative uses for this incredible software in this short video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvLgxxlZPHQ&feature=player_embedded

 

New digital content is released every Tuesday and as an awesome bonus From May 1st-June 15th you can get 25% off selected digital products including ALL ensemble, calendar, photobook and swatchbook digital content.
If that has whet your appetite to learn more then maybe you would like to visit these training videos:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB85C76B5B74DB19A
Ther'e even a brilliant dedicated resource centre and online forum for you to browse :
http://www.mydigitalstudio.net/home
Have fun with all the new information available for your creating pleasure, if you need to know more about anything posted here or learn more about the great benefits of being a part of the Stampin' Up! family, just contact me for further information about the great sign up deal for my birthday month of May. Lots of inky hugs from......

Lucky last water colouring...

 Hello again to all out there in blog land, I hope you have had a good week and managed to get some ink on those fingers. I have just a few more pictures of the water colouring I did a while ago for our team meeting, I have some other projects I am looking forward to sharing with you next week, so keep posted for those.
 This next picture is of a card which I C.A.S.E.d from one I had seen on Pinterest, the original was made by Judy May. I really enjoyed playing about with this Stamp "Pleasant Poppies" as it really lends itself to be watered coloured and you can get such good effects with all the different Stampin' Up! colouring mediums. I used the ink pads and aqua brush for this sample and for the card below.

 

This next card was made using the Stampin'Up! "watercolour wonder crayons" which unfortunately have now been discontinued from our range due to manufacturing problems, which is a real shame as I find them just great to use and I will most definitely miss using them in demonstrations but will keep them in my stash for personal use.

I hope you all have a great weekend, lots of inky hugs from .......

Water colour effects....

Hi there and welcome to another watercolour post, this should be the last for a while but I do hope you have enjoyed having a look at the samples I made for watercolour demonstration that I did for my Upline Ngaire and her team. I also did this demo for my team too.
 I must say the friendships I have formed whilst being a part of the Stampin'Up! family are all very special to me and I am richly blessed with wonderfully talented people around me who inspire me every day. If you would like to join this incredible journey with me and learn endless techniques while making friends and having some inky fun, please feel free to contact me about becoming a part of the Stampin'Up! family. I'd love to answer any questions you may have and tell you all about the fantastic join up special which you can take advantage of til the 30th of May 2013, so don't delay and contact me soon for further obligation free information.

Using the Greeting card kids stamp set, I created this card and did some colouring demonstrations using various Stampin'Up! mediums such as Water colour wonder Crayons, Ink pads and Aqua brush and Stamp and write markers with a blender pen.

 This card was inspired by seeing one by Vicki B of "it's a stamp thing"on Pinterest. I used a different scallop circle to layer mine on but essentially it's a pretty close copy.

 This is a close up of the image I painted with an aqua brush, picking up ink from the lid of my ink pads. the ones below were stamped in Stazon ink, then coloured using different mediums, showing that even if you don't have all the various mediums, you can still get a very similar effect.

I hope you like them, lots of inky hugs from ......

Some more water colouring...

Hi there fellow paper crafters, I've had a busy weekend with a big scrapbooking class at my place and being invited out to eat with friends, I am feeling very blessed indeed.
I promised to upload some more of the cards which I made for the water colouring demo I did at my upline's last meeting, so without further ado here there are.

 

Once again the Pleasant Poppies back ground stamp was used, I stamped and coloured the image twice, once for cutting out and layering on top of the first image using my aqua brush and ink from my stamp pads, the colours I used were Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive and Lucky limeade. I also used some Crumb Cake ink with the French Foliage set to stamp up the back ground of the water colour paper, as well as painting around the outside of the poppies with some very diluted Pool Party to give it more of an authentic water colour look. I did some faux stitching using my mat pack and paper piercer after which I used the Crumb cake marker to draw in the stitches. The Crumb Cake card stock has been dry embossed twice with two different folders and the lacy edging is just some crochet trim which I gathered up and adhered to the card with sticky strip, the ribbon is Cherry Cobbler seam binding. All products used are from Stampin'Up! so if you would like to replicate it please feel free to contact me to order the supplies needed or place the order yourself on my website here: Shop Now

 

I found this card on my Internet surfing travels and it was designed by the very talented Teneale Williams, a fellow Australian Stampin'Up! Demonstrator. I hope I did it justice, I really enjoyed making it and was quite pleased with the finished project.

Inky hugs from......

Water colouring

Hello there oh crafty ones ;-)
I have been busy with lots of interesting new projects and one of them was a water colouring demonstration which my very lovely upline Ngaire had asked me to do for her team. Ngaire had also asked if I could use the Stamp called Pleasant Poppies from Stampin'Up! of course, I accepted the challenge but with very little extra time on my hands I took the easier route of C.A.S.Eing some pretty cards I had seen on my Internet travels.
 So, as I can take credit for making all the cards below, some of them were designed by extremely talented stamping artists. I will place their names beside the appropriate pictures for you.
 I was super nervous about doing the demo for the Stamparoos as they are all very talented and most of them very seasoned stampers, I wasn't sure I would be able to show them anything they didn't already know or had seen before. However they were all very kind and so thankful for me coming along to their meeting and assured me that they all learnt something new about the art of water colouring so that made me feel really happy ;-)
 Because there are quite a few pictures, I will perhaps do this in two parts, so please enjoy the first set of photos and if you have any questions about the techniques and mediums used please feel free to ask. I have been asked by some people to do a video tutorial on water colouring with Stampin' Up! products, which is how I did these, so keep posted! when I have time I will put one up for you.

This one was designed by Heather Klump of Downstairs designs, I didn't have the same ribbons or sentiment stamps as her so used what I had on hand, I stamped the Pleasant Poppies stamp from Stampin'Up! onto Crumb cake card stock using Versa mark ink, which I then heat embossed with white embossing powder, I coloured in the image with our stamp and write markers, using Real Red and Old Olive and a little bit of Cherry Cobbler to deepen the red in some parts for shadows. Because the embossed image resists ink, you can colour straight over the lines and just wipe of the excess ink when your finished which makes this a very quick card to make. I also used a white gel pen to draw in the lines around the image.

As you can see this one is pretty much the same as above but I used a wash of Whisper white craft ink using my aqua brush to coat the area I was colouring in first. This gave the card stock a lighter base to work from as I wanted to watercolour the poppies with ink from my stamp pads using the aqua brush, I used Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizzaz and a little Summer Starfruit for the center of the flowers.

Okay, that's all for today, but if I get time tonight, I'll upload a few more and if not tonight I promise to do more tomorrow. Hope you like them, lots of inky hugs from.....