The Scalloped Easel card is going to my lovely Personal Trainer, Sharon, from Jigsaw Fitness.  I think that Sharon has single-handedly kept me sane over the last 12 months.  Being an ex-nurse, and of similar age, she is very aware of my ‘complex nature’ and has been gently firm with me.  I actually enJOY coming home from personal training because I feel so much better after the workout.  [I do confess to not always being excited about going in the first place!]

And, yesterday, it was Lovely Jenny’s birthday.  We are meeting with the ‘craft girls’ to have brunch at our favourite local restaurant.  I made Jenny the gorgeous Double Pocket Purse which holds a coordinating card and a little gift book (all about JOY!) – it’s like Tracey Old designed the Purse to fit the little book!   

I think that Jenn Picard and Tracey Old are two of my favourite-ist UStamp with Dawn designers.  I find myself gravitating to their projects, each UStamp session (there’s a new one from Jenn, just this last couple of days, which I am hanging out to make) and the end result always brings such JOY.

Thanks, Girls!

Happy Birthday, Sharon & Jenny!

Today is the Stampin’ Kids Workshop and our theme is Decorated Containers.  The girls will be bringing jars or bottles or tins to decorate and no doubt we’ll have paper everywhere!  I’ve been collecting coffee jars and milo tins over the last couple of months, in preparation for today, but I confess to being a Bit Inspired and find myself using them for lots of storage items.

I found these little spice jars in our local $2 shop and they are just perfect for buttons, designer hardware and clips.  I added some ribbon and tags using the Cute & Curly Stamp Set with the Curly Label and Oval Punches.  I also used up some more ‘old’ product from my stash … making way for all the new goodies coming out in the new Catalog!  Actually, that’s good decluttering and it allows me to think outside the box, a bit.

A recent project on UStamp got me to thinking and, as is the way of the Universe, when I was out shopping I found this fabulous “Keepsake Pail” which was perfect for the UStamp project by Penny Hanuszak … then I realised that I could use it for the Stampin’ Kids Workshop and decorated it accordingly.  If not for Penny’s fabulous project I wouldn’t have known about these variations on Paint Tins!  Thanks, Penny!  I did buy a smaller one, too, which might end up as the ’spooky luminary’ Penny designed.   The larger one is now the home of all my die cut shapes.

Now, I seem to be in the mindset of seeing a bottle or a jar or a can as a potential “Decorated Wonder” and my stash is ever increasing. LOL.  I have an intimate relationship with the Eucalyptus Oil, too, which is my new best friend for cleaning off that sticky label glue.  I am sure that my day, last week, spent cleaning jars was also GREAT for my Health and Wellbeing!

The second Colour Challenge at UStamp was to use Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Basic Gray ~ fabulously stimulating colour combo!  I do struggle when there is no patterned paper which fits the challenge but found a little bit of Au Chocolat left over (from a couple of years ago) and added that to my Bird Punch card.  I am really happy with the end result.

 Continuing my theme of using very old Designer Series Paper in my stash, I created another version of Jenn Picard’s Scalloped Easel Card ~ this really is a super effective card style and can be made up in so many ways.  This one is for a friend’s birthday, next week.

I LOVE UStamp!

I have had the most busy week of Being Creative!  July is the month for all things creative and a couple of girlfriends and I are just ‘creating’ away and sharing our passion and achievements with each other, via email.  This stunning Sweet Treat Flower project is my most recent creation and is based on a project by Lynn Sichky for the current round of UStamp with Dawn and Friends ~ Early Summer Edition.  It was So Much Fun to create!!  I even took the pieces in the car with me to stick together while I waited for Kels to come out of school.   This was my very first time of using the Sweet Treat Cups – Fun, Fun, Fun!

I have also fallen in love with Tracey Old’s Double Pocket Purse.  Ooh La La!  It was really easy to create (once I got my head around the folding directions – sometimes my brain just doesn’t work like other people’s!!)  I have been using and using the fabulously gorgeous Sunny Day Simply Scrappin’ Kit ~ gosh! It’s gone a long way.  What a fabulous investment!! 

I was So Thrilled with Tracey’s project that I created another one which I gave to Josh’s girlfriend for her birthday, this week.  It was the perfect size to pop in a gift card and the birthday card as well as hide a new crystal bookmark and a little glass ornament, in between the pockets!  I also used an old Simply Scrappin’ Kit from my stash – I LOVE the Bright Colours!  In fact, I was excited when I realised that I could use up a couple of different Designer Series Paper Pack Patterned sheets – it’s So Wonderful that Stampin’ Up! coordinates all their product!  The cute little book is just the right size for the pocket in the purse … guess what I will be making for the next round of birthday gifts?!

I have made up more UStamp projects, this round, than I’ve been able to in the last couple of sessions.  Time has been on my side and my ‘need to be creative’ has been in overdrive!  In fact, I gave myself a little talking to, this morning, and suggested that maybe I could make some cards?  LOL.

Maybe it’s the stimulation of creating the Joy-Fold Card using Tempting Turquoise, Real Red and Old Olive that’s got me thinking about creating more cards.  This Colour Challenge is also from UStamp and I got to use even more of my favourite Sunny Day Scrappin’ Kit goodies.  I challenged myself to go a bit further than the rules of the challenge and not use Whisper White … I am pretty excited with the end result and it pushed me out of my comfort zone.  Yippee!

Ahh, Life Is Good with UStamp!  (Check out the next round, if you’re interested, because it’s all about CARDS!)

However …

Lovely Elaine spent an afternoon with me, stamping, and I decided to recreate the cute On Board 5″x5″ Art Journal project in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalog.  I had a whole afternoon (after a sumptuous lunch at our favourite cafe) to ‘play’ with the So Tweet Chipboard shapes and discovered that it was Heaps of Fun!  My Journal has pride of place on the craft shelf ready to inspire the girls at Stampin’ Kids!

Kirsty Brown’s project for UStamp was the cutest colouring book (if you haven’t joined UStamp you really are missing out on the most fabulous range of projects and gorgeous creative people!) made using the Top Note Die and Big Shot.  As I don’t have appropriately aged children, I decided to change the theme of my booklet and made it into a Note Pad.  Having heaps of Owls to use, I explored the whole Chipboard process even further and created this awesomely cute friend to adorn the cover of my little book.

I thought it might be a lovely little note book for Kels or even my mum to use … Kirsty had a fabulous box of pencils attached to her colouring book so I found a perfectly coordinated pen to match my note book!  Each page has been stamped with a little stem of flowers from the Cottage Garden Stamp Set and I used Crystal Effects on the eyes and nose of the owl to make them stand out.

I LOVE Stamping!

This fabulous Scallop Easel Card is one of my favourit-ist projects from this round of UStamp.  Jenn Picard has, once again, swept me off my feet with inspiration!  I invested in the Scallop Circle Die for the Big Shot and, along with my Top Note Die (currently being used for another Fabulous project, this time by Kirsty Brown), it’s become a Favourite Stampin’ Up! tool. 

Of course, as you may have noticed, I tend to get on a bit of a roll when I am inspired and this card has sparked lots of different creative directions.  My second variation uses the Autumn Traditions DSP with the Autumn Days Stamp Set … I wanted a more masculine tone for this card.  I wasn’t sure I’d ever use that cute ‘pheasant’ (is that what that bird is??) image if I didn’t really try.  And, I am thrilled with the end result.  Once you’ve made one of these designs the process just flows and all things are possible!  YAY!

Happy Food: I thought I should share some other things which make me HAPPY … last night’s dinner was just wonderful ~ Porterhouse Steak which Kels barbecued, with home made salad, steamed asparagus spears with lemon juice, baked potato with sour cream and chives, and Queen of Puddings (made by Josh) for dessert.  YUM!

I really did wonder if I would get a chance to purchase the fabulous Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper and Autumn Days Stamp Set given how much indulging in new product had been going on already!  But, I am Really Glad that I indulged further because these cards are So Cute!!  And, I really liked the opportunity to ‘play’ with Elegant Eggplant cardstock and ribbon! 

The other project I actually achieved, this week, was my Team Swap cards for Ozzimum Margaret’s new team of SU! Demonstrators.  Our challenge was to use Glossy White Cardstock & Poppin’ Pastels and create a card front.  Margaret chose Baja Breeze (which I really do not like) and Soft Suede (which is rather fabulous and comes with coordinating Polka Dot Ribbon ~ Ooh La La!) as the other coordinating colours.  It took some serious thinking but I found a combo which I liked – Pick a Petal & Stem Sayings stamp sets and a few bits of embellishments … I made up my whole card so I could check and see that my card front was ok and I really like the end result!  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend Margaret’s Team Meeting as Kels was attending her first Gymnastics competition of the season but I am really glad I got to ‘play’ and join in the Team Swap!

So, my Challenge Week is now over.  It’s been really successful ~ again ~ as all the girls have been chatting and sharing what they have achieved.  I am much more relaxed than I was at the beginning of the week and ready to ‘take on the world’ again.

Wow!  What a Workshop!!  8 girls, 3 projects, lots of punched paper pieces flying around the room (especially at the end)! 

Joy Is … Being Creative!

This month there are 5 New Friends joining our group!!  I am so excited!  I know that they will all take a little time to integrate with each other (and the regular ‘crew’) and get their heads around the fabulous projects I’ve planned ~ Caramels “Yummy” Box, Tiny Teddies Treat Bag and 3 Button Flower Card ~ but I am sure they will be Master Creators by the time they have some Free Time opportunity.   

I have been Totally Indulgent in Stampin’ Up! punches!  Any excuse to buy product that I can play with, in order to promote interest, enthusiasm and creativity for the Girls.   I have really enJOYed the new Bird Punch and especially like this project from the Autumn/Winter Mini Catalog.  I amended the “Hello” project from being in a Frame, to being on a Card, and used the Elegant Eggplant Cardstock with some More Mustard Designer Series Paper from the Autumn Traditions pack.  Ooh La La!

My most recent card was this one in Black and White which is based on a design by Betsy Veldman.  It was heaps of fun, and a little challenging, to create!  I have really enJOYed the challenge to ‘change it up’ with the punches and colour combos, stimulated by creating projects for the girls in the Stampin’ Kids Class.  I love the opportunity they give me for exploring new ideas, playing with new stamp sets and accessories and, most especially, I Love the FUN they allow me to indulge!

The theme for birthday cards in June has been Flowers so the ‘mums’ got the gorgeous tag flower cards and the ‘daughters &  nieces’ got the funky scalloped flowers.   After the actual creating of the blossom, I think my favourite part of the process has been choosing bold colours to create the card with.  I found some fabulous options in my Very Extensive Stash!

“Purification” Update:  In true Decluttering fashion, I sorted through the extensive Designer Series Paper Stash and cleaned out the unusable pieces then re-filed the leftover bits into one folder.  I now know exactly what I have in that stash and heaps of room for new papers!