Today I'm sharing some of the card swaps I received at OnStage Live in Auckland earlier this month.  There is a huge variety of styles, which is so much fun!

You can come see them in person during my April class on Saturday...RSVP by Thursday...scroll down to see all the details.

Mini Easter card by Jo Stewart.

Beautiful You & Petal Palette card by Betty Lee.

Needlepoint Nook Suite card by Kylie Bertucci.

Dragonfly Dreams card by Dianne Duncan.

Tree Rings card by Melissa Gifford.

Very Vintage & Botanical Bliss card by Bronwyn Noy.

Swirly Frames Camera card by Sharon Dalton.

Koala card made for American attendees by Aussie demo Pat Carr.

Love What You Do Bridge Card  by Christien Griffith

Pocketful of Sunshine and Country Floral embossing folder card by Marian Fleming.

Dear Doily card by Helen Mead.  Tried to get the white-embossed doily pattern that's all over the white layer to show up in the pic, but couldn't.

In the next few posts I'm going to share the amazing swaps I received from fellow demonstrators at OnStage Live in Auckland.  I am in awe of the creativity and effort put into these projects, and happy to have them to look at!

Come see them in person during my April Monthly class...scroll down to see all the details!

Today we'll look at the 3-D swaps I received.

Mini album made by Christine Hajjar.

Gingham Gala treats (L-R) candy pouch by unknown; tea bag holder by Sandra Mackie; candy and teabag double pouch by Amanda Shields.

More treat packaging: plastic pillow box with belly band by unknown, self-closing or pop box by unknown; Tim Tam packet by Tania Tobin.

Emergency Sewing Kit by Colleen Campbell.

Window Box Thinlits Music Box by Michelle Cockburn (my roommate!).  How cool!

Scissors Charm by Kieran Budden; Mini Tic Tac box by Kristie Taylor; Necklace by Debbie Blake.

Tombow glue holders: L by unknown; R by Lyn Verity.

Tissue pocket pack cover by Paula Reid.

Bookmark by Angela Allen; emery board holder by Ellen Budden; bookmark by Tricia Metz; bookmark by Christine Higgins.

Giant paperclip bookmark by Virginia Hampson.

Embellishment gift pack by Zena Kennedy.

Self closing pop box by Lyn Fox.

Card tote bag by Helen S.

My brother and his wife have birthdays a week apart...which makes it fun to send them coordinating cards!  I also want to take a moment and give a shout-out for their fantastic website, Pixelicious Planet, where they document the amazing trips they take all around the world.

 This pair were made as part of Kylie Bertucci's Crazy Crafters Facebook Challenge (#CCFC01) which was a colour challenge:

Since the pair have a more contemporary sense of style I got to play around with more abstract designs. 

I punched out a variety of circles and just kept moving the circles around until I had a layout I liked. Then I glued them down and ran the panel through the Big Shot with the Dot to Dot embossing folder.  Instead of centering the layer on the card base, I offset it into the lower right corner.

For this card I used a die from the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits in each of the challenge colours.  Affixing Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to the back of the card stock before cutting the shape made them super-easy to adhere to the Whisper White layer.  The sentiment is from the More Than Words Sale-A-Bration Coordination set.

Here's what I used to make these cards...just click on a pic to go to my Online Store:

Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$30 - all supplies included

RSVP at least 2 days before class so I can be sure to have enough materials prepared.

Tuesday, 23 April RSVP deadline Sunday, 21 April
               &
Saturday, 27 April RSVP deadline Thursday, 25 April

1:00 - 3:30 PM
Nancy's Stamping Studio
1801/151 Berkeley Street, Melbourne 3000
1 block E of Haymarket tram stop (19/59) and Flemington Rd/Peel St (58). Also 3 blocks W of Lincoln Sq./Swanston St - UniMelb tram stop. Contact for parking info.

Each year Stampin' Up! retires part of their range to make way for new products in the Annual Catalogue.  The list of what's leaving was just released...click on the left button to get a printable list and the button on the right to see all the retiring products in my online store. Just make sure to get your favourites while they last!

note: in the online store you will see some stamp sets that aren't retiring per se, but they are being discontinued in wood- or clear-mount and being released as cling stamps in the new catalogue.  Also, products that are currently bundled (stamps and dies or punches) may be carrying over into the next catalogue but won't be offered as a bundle.  Feel free to ask me any questions!

When I made my Daffodil Climbing Roses card I also stamped a coloured a second set of roses, this time in Highland Heather and Pear Pizazz.  I decided to do a different layout with this image:

Nothing very complex, just soft and pretty.  Don't recognise the sentiment?  That's because I dug deep into my Paper Pumpkin stamp stash to pull out this one from December 2014's kit!  I think the script is very much like the current Incredible Like You set (Occasions Catalogue p. 21) I really like it.  I have two hopes for the next SU! Annual Catalogue: 1) more really pretty script sentiments and 2) Paper Pumpkin available in all markets!

Here's what I used on this card...clicking on any item will take you directly to my online store.

Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$30 - all supplies included

RSVP at least 2 days before class so I can be sure to have enough materials prepared.

Tuesday, 23 April RSVP deadline Sunday, 21 April
               &
Saturday, 27 April RSVP deadline Thursday, 25 April

1:00 - 3:30 PM
Nancy's Stamping Studio
1801/151 Berkeley Street, Melbourne 3000
1 block E of Haymarket tram stop (19/59) and Flemington Rd/Peel St (58). Also 3 blocks W of Lincoln Sq./Swanston St - UniMelb tram stop. Contact for parking info.

Here's the other little trinket I slipped into the Onstage Live Survival Kits: a name tag charm for paper snips!

SU! gave us a list of supplies to bring to be able to assemble our make-and-takes, and Paper Snips were on the list.  With everyone likely to have the same SU! snips (because they are awesome!) it's nice to be able easily identify one's own pair.

I made these from Shrinky DInks plastic  - remember those??? I started by cutting out the tag shape from the Rose Trellis Thinlits Dies, which I think is my favourite label right now.  Then I stamped the each name in StazOn Jet Black ink using the script letters in the Make A Difference stamp set.  I also added the little floral image as well.  Hint:  I pre-stamped everything on my Grid Paper, then sticky-taped the tag on top to be sure everything fit and lined up well.  As you can see below, depending on the length of the name I changed where the flowers were placed.

Then I added a ¼" hole at the side.  It's important to remember that the hole will shrink along with the rest of the plastic, so you want it to be on the larger side.    Then I flipped the tag over the coloured the back with a Stampin' Blends marker.  You need to use alcohol or permanent markers on the plastic for it to work, and you can't layer the inks because one will rub the other off.

Then I used my heat tool and silicone mat to shrink the tags.  They curl up while they're shrinking and seem like they're going to be ruined, but the flatten out most of the way near the end, and I just folded the silicone mat over and gave them a press as soon as I turned off the heat tool and they were flat.  It's amazing how much they shrink!  Shrunk vs. original size above...both shrunk below.  You can also see that the colour on the back intensifies as they shrink, too.  I love how the border of holes closes up but remains visible.

I've got a stash of these findings for making cell phone charms that I bought online many years ago which work perfectly for these charms.

I have fun bringing small "survival kits" to my roommate(s) and friends attending OnStage Live with me.   As much fun as we're having, there are still times when having a little stash of things like these can be invaluable.

For this OnStage's version I used our Silver Mini Gable Boxes, and wrapped as strip of Painted Seasons DSP around them.    

I also downloaded an Onstage graphic from the SU! website and printed it out to make personalised bag tags (since everyone gets the same bag at registration!) which also double as a bow and tag on the Mini Gable Box..

So what's inside, you may be wondering?

• Mini bottles of hand sanitiser and hand lotion: spending entire days out-and-about (and sharing tools/supplies at make-and-takes) I always want to be sure my hands are clean, and then need to apply lotion. 
• Mints: inevitably I'll feel the need to have a mint before commenting on what's happening with my seat mates.
• Chocolate: no explanation really needed, but plain ol' M&Ms never tasted so good as at 3:30 in the afternoon halfway through an overview of the financial status of SU!

There's one more little goodie in there, but I'll show that to you tomorrow.  In the meantime, scroll down and reserve your place in my April classes and get to see in personwhat I received at OnStage!

​I'm in Auckland, New Zealand this week!  The first few days I was sightseeing with my husband, but starting today I’m attending Stampin' Up!'s OnStage Live convention.   I posted my sightseeing highlights on my personal Facebook page, and there will be updates from OnStage Live on my Nancy's Nifty Notes Facebook page...hope you'll follow along!

Yesterday members of Kylie Bertucci's Crazy Crafters team had a meetup before the start of OnStage Live.  While we didn't have an official swap scheduled, I knew that many attendees would want to, so I made these just for that purpose:

You might recognise that the layout is quite similar to these cards I made.  I used 2 designs of Nature's Poem Designer Series Paper (DSP) cut into 10 cm squares and then cut on the diagonal.  Then I attached them to a 10 x 14.3 cm rectangle of Crumb Cake (after having stamped the sentiment in Tranquil Tide ink - the Stamparatus makes doing multiples like this super-fast and easy!)  Then I mounted this panel to a Tranquil Tide card base and embellished with stamped and die cut leaves from Rooted In Nature and a Linen Thread bow.

Come to my April Class (details below) and see the swaps I received in exchange!  Also, get a first look at the NEW Annual Catalogue that debuts on June 4.

Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$30 - all supplies included

RSVP at least 2 days before class so I can be sure to have enough materials prepared.

Tuesday, 23 April RSVP deadline Sunday, 21 April
               &
Saturday, 27 April RSVP deadline Thursday, 25 April

1:00 - 3:30 PM
Nancy's Stamping Studio
1801/151 Berkeley Street, Melbourne 3000
1 block E of Haymarket tram stop (19/59) and Flemington Rd/Peel St (58). Also 3 blocks W of Lincoln Sq./Swanston St - UniMelb tram stop. Contact for parking info.

​I'm in Auckland, New Zealand this week!  The first few days I was sightseeing with my husband, but starting today I’m attending Stampin' Up!'s OnStage Live convention.   I posted my sightseeing highlights on my personal Facebook page, and there will be updates from OnStage Live on my Nancy's Nifty Notes Facebook page...hope you'll follow along!

Here's a swap card I made to share with other attendees at OnStage Live...

It features images and a sentiment from Healing Hugs.  I just love the detail in the Distinktive stamps!  The sentiment is stamped on a Whisper White panel and then run through the Big Shot with the Basket Weave embossing folder.  The vibrant DSP is from Tranquil Textures Designer Series Paper.  This is not a pattern (or colours) I would usually think to pair with these images, but I do think it works.  What do you think?

I get bored easily, so I had to change up the layout occasionally:

If you'd like to see all the cards I receive in exchange for my swaps be  sure to sign up for my April class (details below).  I'll have all of them on display, along with the NEW Annual Catalogue for a sneak peek before it goes live in June!

Monthly Card Class
Make 5 projects featuring a variety of techniques and great Stampin' Up! products. Perfect for experienced and novice crafters!
​$30 - all supplies included

RSVP at least 2 days before class so I can be sure to have enough materials prepared.

Tuesday, 23 April RSVP deadline Sunday, 21 April
               &
Saturday, 27 April RSVP deadline Thursday, 25 April

1:00 - 3:30 PM
Nancy's Stamping Studio
1801/151 Berkeley Street, Melbourne 3000
1 block E of Haymarket tram stop (19/59) and Flemington Rd/Peel St (58). Also 3 blocks W of Lincoln Sq./Swanston St - UniMelb tram stop. Contact for parking info.

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand this week!  The first few days I'll be sightseeing with my husband, then later on I'll be attending Stampin' Up!'s OnStage Live convention.   I'll be posting my sightseeing highlights on my personal Facebook page, and updates from OnStage Live on my Nancy's Nifty Notes Facebook page...hope you'll follow along!

While all of my Northern Hemisphere friends are heading into spring, here in the Southern Hemisphere we're starting to get a taste of autumn.  This inspired me to pull out an old technique to try:  Joseph's Coat.  Named for the Biblical figure's coat of amazing colours, this technique combines sponging, stamping and heat embossing, and brayering.

I started by sponging spots of colour all over a layer of Whisper White: Cajun Craze, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight.  A key to this technique is to blend  the colours into each other and don't leave any white patches.

Next I stamped images from Oh So Eclectic over the sponged layer, using Versamark ink.  Then I sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heated it to melt.

Then I used a sponge brayer to add Early Espresso ink to the layer.  It takes many passes to get an opaque covering everywhere that isn't covered by the clear embossing powder.  I wiped excess ink off the embossed images with a paper towel.  Since the images are textured there is a bit of Early Espress embedded in some of them, which I think just adds interest.

A ribbon and sentiment and layers finish off the card.  I think I will try this again using the leaf stamps from Colorful Seasons.  I'll show you the results when I do. 

Today I'm participating in a blog hop with Kylie Bertucci's Demonstrator Training group...you'll find links to blogs from all around the world below.  Feel free to hop through the links and see what great project my fellow demonstrators have made...remember, we all love to receive comments!

My dad's 80th birthday is actually on Saturday, but I sent his card to him nice and early to be sure it would arrive beforehand.  Both AusPost and the USPS were terribly efficient and got it to him well before the end of March, so I know he's seen it already and I'm not giving anything away with today's post.

Dad is a huge fan of American folk music, especially traditional folk and labor/civil rights protest songs.  He is involved with a number of singing groups and festivals, and attends as many concerts as he can.  So I was pleased to use this image from Artfully Aware* to create a group of singers.

I first stamped the Sheet Music background stamp on a piece of Whisper White in Sahara Sand.  Then I stamped the people image twice across the panel, and twice on Post-It notes.  After cutting out the images on the Post-Its I masked both stamped images on the Whisper White layer and stamped one more time above, overlapping onto the masked images.  When I removed the masks it appears that the top image is in front of the bottom.

It's important when you're cutting out your mask to cut just inside the outline of your image...the slight bump of the edge of the mask will cause a small blank area in your stamping, and you want your image to come up to the masked image.

I coloured the singers with my Stampin' Blends and cut them out with a Layering Ovals Framelit.  I also added some Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets to the back of the rest of the same piece of Whisper White (which was stamped with the Sheet Music stamp) and cut out the sentiment with the Well Written Framelits. 

The Crackle Paint background stamp is one of my favourites to add dimension!  The Whisper White mat ties everything together, and the Mossy Meadow card base coordinates perfectly, of course.

*A couple of notes about the Artfully Aware stamp set:  this particular image was sketched from a photo of SU! employees...including Sara Douglass (CEO-2nd from left on top row).  SU! demonstrators who reach the 1 Million sales mark get to work with a concept artist to design a stamp set that has particular meaning for them, and this is Janet Wakeland's set.  Click on this link to see what inspired Janet's design.

​I hope you'll take some time and visit the rest of the blogs participating in today's hop! (note:  if you're reading between 5 and 7 am Tuesday morning you may find the links aren't active yet...go get a cuppa and come back after 7, LOL!)

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand this week!  The first few days I'll be sightseeing with my husband, then later on I'll be attending Stampin' Up!'s OnStage Live convention.   I'll be posting my sightseeing highlights on my personal Facebook page, and updates from OnStage Live on my Nancy's Nifty Notes Facebook page...hope you'll follow along!