A quick toot of my own horn:  I got Honorable Mention for my CAS(e) This Sketch! #298 entry which you can see here!

I'm up to my eyeballs this week finishing unpacking our U.S. shipment that arrived a week ago, and preparing for my Open House on Saturday.  

I almost have my craft room set up...I still need to pick up the shelves for my stamp sets this afternoon, and get a few more things squared away, but the big furniture is in place and I've even had a few minutes to give it a test.

This craft room doubles as our guest room, so I've got a sleep sofa in here...just waiting for visitors!  Our son will be giving it a good test run when he arrives next week.  He'll be here until New Year's Day, so we're pretty excited for that.

So far I really like my stand-up cutting/Big Shot/embossing centre.  I'm also pretty proud of my Ikea shelf hack...it's a DVD/CD shelf unit turned on its side.

Where the creative magic happens...with the computer magic right alongside.

That's all for today...I'll be back as time allows this week.  If you're in the Melbourne area on Saturday I hope you'll pop in to say hello and make a few cards in the afternoon!

Here's the final card in my series of posts showcasing these fun figures.  See my previous posts for the other cards.

This card was very quick and easy to make.  I stamped the skating snowman onto Whisper White with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured him in with Stampin' Write Markers and Clear Wink of Stella.  Added the sentiment and Tranquil Tide mat, then popped it up on a Tranquil Tide card base matted with some Tranquil Textures Designer Series Paper.

Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Let's Get This Started Open House
8 December 2018
1:00 - 5:00 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.

This kickoff event is a FREE open house to introduce everyone to what I offer. There will be make-and-take projects, snacks and displays. Come when you can, leave when you must. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVPs by 1 December appreciated so I can have enough materials prepared.

I'm sharing a few cards I've made with the Spirited Snowmen stamp set.  See my previous post for the first in the series.

This little guy is certainly cheerful!  I set him frolicking in a snowy pine grove, thanks to the Winter Woods stamp set and In The Woods Framelits Dies bundle.  I inked the pine tree in Tranquil Tide and stamped it twice without re-inking to get the two intensities of color.  Then I cleaned the stamp and repeated with Shaded Spruce.

The snowman is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, coloured with Stampin' Blend markers and Clear Wink of Stella (I so wish that would show up in photos!) and  "fussy cut" by hand with our fabulous Paper Snips. 

Everything is layered up on a Whisper White panel embossed with the Softly Falling embossing folder and a Whisper White Thick card base.  Oh, what fun!

​Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Let's Get This Started Open House
8 December 2018
1:00 - 5:00 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.

This kickoff event is a FREE open house to introduce everyone to what I offer. There will be make-and-take projects, snacks and displays. Come when you can, leave when you must. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVPs by 1 December appreciated so I can have enough materials prepared.

For the next few posts I'm going to share some cards I've made with the Spirited Snowmen stamp set.  I'm a total sucker for cute snowmen, even though it's been 8 years since I lived anywhere that gets snow.  

This snow couple was stamped onto Watercolour Paper in StazOn Jet Black ink.  I used an AquaPainter and ink from ink pads to colour it in, including a wash of colour for the sky.  What you can't see in the picture is the lovely shimmer on the snow from my clear Wink of Stella pen.

I think that this image would work great for Valentine's day if I played up the heard and downplayed the holly on her hat...how about you?

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​Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Let's Get This Started Open House
8 December 2018
1:00 - 5:00 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.

This kickoff event is a FREE open house to introduce everyone to what I offer. There will be make-and-take projects, snacks and displays. Come when you can, leave when you must. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVPs by 1 December appreciated so I can have enough materials prepared.

To my American friends:  hope this day is full of good times, whether you like to feast, watch the parade(s) or football, hang out with family, or enjoy some peace and quiet (perhaps some stamping?).

To my new Australian friends:  well, it's been a Thursday, hasn't it?

My transplanted family is celebrating on Friday in Oz, which is when Glenn can come home early from work and we can feast.  We're telling ourselves it's technically Thanksgiving then, since it will be in the U.S.  Despite not getting our shipment of household goods until next Monday, Nicole and I have managed to make our traditional pies (pumpkin and apple), and look forward to roast turkey and all the trimmings tomorrow.

Back with more stamping projects after I digest!

Today I'm playing along with the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge #298.  Here's the inspiration sketch:

And here's my take on it:

As you can see, I simply flipped the sketch onto it's side.  In fact, I did this as I was assembling the card, playing with the orientation a few times before settling on this.

The CTS #298 is a 2-week challenge since this is Thanksgiving week...plenty of time for you to play along!  Let me see what you've got!!!

Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Welcome to my entry for the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge 196 - Heidi's "All About Occasions" Challenge.

Two friends of mine each had a new grand baby arrive recently, so I made them each a card.  I know it's playing up to stereotypes, but one had a girl, and one had a boy, so I made one pink and one blue card.

These cards feature the Twinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper (DSP) and the Animal Outing stamp set with the coordinating Animal Friends Thinlits dies.

The top patterns are the the back sides of the constellation papers...but swapped (the stars are the back of the pink constellation paper, and the polka dots have the blue on the other side.)  I hid the seam where they meet with the 3/16" Braided Linen Trim.  

I coloured the animals with Stampin' Blends Markers.  If you've never thought you could colour you should give these a try...they come with a light and dark shade of the colors that help you shade and highlight like a true artist.  The coordinating dies make it very easy to cut them out, too.

We all have occasions coming up on our calendars...why don't you make a card and link it to the challenge, too?

Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

This card features the Hand Delivered stamp set, which is only available to purchase with Stampin' Rewards (more on that below).  I made it for my friend and (former) downline, Nickie, who has taken over doing my classes in Scottsdale.  All reports are that she's doing a great job, and I wanted to acknowledge her success.

This set is so easy to use!  The pretty line art drawings are on photopolymer stamps, so that they are easy to see through on the clear blocks.  The skirt and legs are on one stamp, and the sign and hands are on another, with a variety of sentiments on still more.  

I stamped the legs/skirt first on Whisper White, then lined up the sign/hands and stamped it, adding my sentiment. I coloured in the legs shoes, and hands with Stampin' Blends Markers.

Then I stamped the skirt again on a piece of Twinkle Twinkle Designer Series Paper (DSP) and hand cut it with my Paper Snips.  These snips are so sharp and easy to cut with!  Then I glued the DSP skirt over the stamped image on the Whisper White panel.  This technique is called "Paper Piecing" and is great for adding patterns to images. A great tip is to cut your DSP image directly on or just to the inside of the stamped line...the stamped image on the bottom panel will peek out and make a sleek line.

I mounted the stamped panel and an additional piece of Twinkle Twinkle DSP onto Night of Navy mats, popping some up on Stampin' Dimensionals.  Everything is layered on a Thick Whisper White card base, with a few Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins added for a touch of bling.

Stampin' Rewards:  This "money" is earned when one places an order or hosts a party with orders totalling a minimum of AU$250.  These rewards can be applied to anything SU! offers in its catalogues, but are the ONLY way to receive the exclusive host sets featured on pp. 226-229 of the Annual Catalogue or pp. 54-55 of the Holiday Catalogue.  Want to learn more about how you can earn FREE products?  Contact me today and we'll discuss!

Here are the products I used to make this card. Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Let's Get This Started Open House
8 December 2018
1:00 - 5:00 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.

This kickoff event is a FREE open house to introduce everyone to what I offer. There will be make-and-take projects, snacks and displays. Come when you can, leave when you must. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVPs by 1 December appreciated so I can have enough materials prepared.

I'm playing along with the Watercooler Wednesday Challenge 195 today:

As you may have seen, our SU! catalogues are labeled as both a "catalogue" and an "idea book".  Chock-full of pictures of projects made with our products, they can be a great source of inspiration!  Today's card was inspired by a picture on page 142 of the Annual Catalogue.  I've always heard that CASE stands for "Copy and Share/Steal Everything," but I recently heard my upline, Kylie Bertucci, say that it is for "Copy and Selectively Edit" which I like better!

In the catalogue they show a long, skinny card set on top of an envelope made from the Nature's Poem Designer Series Paper.  I liked how the Petal Pink and Blackberry Bliss looked layered together, so I decided to make a standard-sized card using these elements.

I kept the three leaves from the Rooted in Nature set stamped in Petal Pink, Blackberry Bliss and Mint Macaron inks on the Whisper White panel spattered with ink droplets. I also added a few rhinestones for a bit of sparkle. You may notice that in the end I changed which side of the Petal Pink panel I attached it to...I just liked the balance and flow better with it to the left side.

 used the triple leaves stamp with Petal Pink ink on the Petal Pink cardstock.  And I switched out the sentiment and it's colour and placement. I like that this card is very feminine in its colours, with the strong, affirming words to go with it.  What do you think?

There's still time for you to play along with this week's challenge...send me your pics if you don't want to upload them on the WWC website!

Here are the products I used to make this card.  Click on any image below to go to my Online Store and order.

Let's Get This Started Open House
8 December 2018
1:00 - 5:00 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.

This kickoff event is a FREE open house to introduce everyone to what I offer. There will be make-and-take projects, snacks and displays. Come when you can, leave when you must. Feel free to bring a friend. RSVPs by 1 December appreciated so I can have enough materials prepared.

As promised in my last post, here's the tutorial for the Hershey's Nugget Gift Bag I made.  Let me know if you have any questions!