Hi everyone,

It's time for another Art With Heart team blog hop, and since Sale-a-bration and the Summer Mini catalogue finish today, we thought we'd give you a fabulous preview of the all new, very exciting Autumn-Winter mini catalogue which starts tomorrow.

These cards are made using a gorgeous new In-Colour, Rich Razzleberry, and co-ordinating Designer Series Paper, "Cottage Wall" which has Old Olive and Orchid Opulence tones to compliment the delicious new In-Colour.

Who is Art with Heart & What is a Blog Hop?

The Art with Heart team consists of over 80 Stampin’ Up! demonstrators across Australia. We have a great team forum and heaps of support from like minded demonstrators. If you’d like to become part of this great team just email me for more details.

The blog hop will be a monthly event happening on the last day of every month. There are 15 stops along the way, and you may have just come from Tina Gillespie's blog or you might be starting here.  At the end of each post there will be a link to take you to the next stop on the tour. It would be fantastic if you could leave a comment on each blog!

If you leave a comment on each and every blog and then email Nikki at [email protected], your name will be put into the hat to win some beautiful blog candy. There is a deadline of 72 hours to leave your comments and only non SU! demos are eligible to win the candy - although we'd love all visitors to leave some comments please.

 I have also used a new stamp set called "Cottage Garden" which is a set of 7 stamps and is available in Clear-mount or Wood-mount sets. How exciting is this new mini going to be?

Yummm! How nice is that Rich Razzleberry polka dot ribbon!  Well I better let you go and take a look at the other delicious creations which the team has made using all new products from the exciting new mini.

The next stop along the way is the very talented Sue Madex.

Have a nice journey, and don’t forget to leave comments for everyone!

Oh yes! This is as much fun as it sounds!  But probably not what you are thinking!

When you're a mad stamper, the kissing technique is something totally different to what you may imagine.  I have been digging around in some old cards, and found this fun pop-up that I made earlier last year.  The pop-up structure is very simple, but the effectiveness lies in the stamping.

Take whisper white card, and a solid image stamp - in this case I used a flower image.  Ink up the stamp in a light colour - like So Saffron by Stampin' Up!, then before stamping, take another detailed line image stamp, ink that in a darker colour and stamp onto the inked solid stamp - this is "kissing" the solid stamp with the line image stamp. This gives you two lots of ink and a pattern on the solid image.  Now stamp onto the whisper white card and repeat until you have enough flowers to cut out for your card or scrapbook page.

For an alternative, ink up the solid image in the contrasting darker colour, this time I've used Tempting Turquoise, and I have "kissed" it with the detail stamp un-inked, allowing the second stamp to kiss off some of the turquoise, leaving white detail.

You can learn this technique and many more in my technique classes which will be starting up again in term 2 of this year.  Be sure to let me know if you'd like me to reserve a place for you.

Don't forget, the Stampin' Up! year finishes on 31st March, and the Summer Mini Catalogue and Sale-a-bration also end then. Don't miss out if you've got a favourite stamp set ear-marked in the summer mini which you haven't ordered yet. Order it today as they won't be available after next Wednesday.

The Art with Heart team recently held an ATC swap using the Split Negative technique. This is a really effective stamping / cardmaking technique where you ink an image twice in contrasting colours, cut in half, join two different coloured halves together, then mount it onto a background which may also have the colours split.  Traditionally the background split is a straight line down the middle, but being the creative little thing that I am (or is that rebellious??), I decided I wanted a nice wavy line splitting my background.

I have used the totally gorgeous "Butterfly Prints" stamp set and coordinating Butterfly punch from the Stampin' Up! 2009-2010 Summer Mini Catalogue. I love these butterflies and have so much fun with them now that I have the punch to save me cutting them all out with scissors!

Anyone who has previously purchased "Flight of the Butterfly" from the main Ideas Book and Catalogue, will see that these stamps and the punch also coordinate perfectly with that set.

If you haven't purchased the punch and "Butterfly Prints" stamp set yet, please be aware that the Summer Mini Catalogue finishes in just one and a half weeks time on Wednesday 31 March.

• Butterfly Prints (set of 5 stamps) $25.95
• Butterfly Punch (regular large punch) $30.95
• Pink Passion & Rose Red Classic Ink Pads $11.95 each
• Stampin' Dimensions (to mount the butterflies off the page) $7.50 for a pack of 300

 And if your order is over $100.00 you still have the chance to select a free Sale-a-bration stamp set!

Don't leave it to last minute, if you'd like to order from the Summer Mini, give me a call on 0418 361 931.

Talk to you soon, Kathryn.

When you complete a gorgeous card, do you ever feel that it's a shame to write in it with a normal blue biro?  I cringe at the thought every time, and so I keep a stack of different coloured metallic gel pens for the handwriting part - sometimes they'll sneak onto the front of the card too, but we'll just keep that as a little secret between me and you LOL!

For my wedding invitations, I felt I had to go one better even, than the gel pens, and very spoiled rotten me, had just the thing, which I received last year from a very dear relative who had just been to Venice for a bit of a look around.

The inscription reads Fabris Giuliana 1925 Venezia - isn't it just exquisite!!  To save breaking the wax seals on the included ink bottles, I chose to go with my Perfect Plum ink refill from Stampin' Up! Did you know the little dropper top pops out of the bottle and you can insert a quill to pick up ink?

This suited me beautifully as I was determined to have co-ordinating colours.  Thanks to darling Tony for being the studio photographer . . .  

It's so lovely, I feel it should be in a glass display cabinet somewhere, but having said that, I am so pleased that I have actually used it, and enjoyed it . . . too many times we keep something "for special occasions" and never get around to using it - thanks Tony for reminding me that handwriting on my wedding invitations is a "special occasion" and this lovely quill has provided just the perfect finishing touch!   

Last week you saw the funky Kaleidoscope Love Notes Folder I had fun making for a workshop.  I love these little folders and it reminded me that I had another one I made around Christmas time, inspired by the colours and layout of some Christmas cards in Stamping & Papercraft magazine, vol 15 no 6 by the talented Carol Dunstan. I didn't have the same stamps used in that article, but I was able to create a miniature version using love notes and a smaller but similar stamp.

The berries from the adorable Stampin' Up! set "Le Jardin Botanique" are inked up using Stampin' Write Markers in Rose Red, Real Red, Old Olive and Always Artichoke.  I added some greetings from the very versatile greeting set, "Many Merry Messages", similarly inspired by Carol's cards, and again inked with markers so I can just stamp part of the message, not the whole greeting. These punch out beautifully with the Word Window Punch.

These are sweet little cards, and in the Love Note Holder make a gorgeous gift for a teacher or work-mate. And because they are so small, they are really quick to make, and great for using up scraps.

I promised myself I would do a scrapbook layout per month this year, as I am really more of a card-maker. For March, I have got something a bit different to show you.  It's a whole album!

Started in February 2007 for a friend who was moving interstate, the album never got finished, but Shirley came back for a visit last week, so I finally got myself into gear and completed the last 15-16 pages of her album.

I have uploaded the whole album here as there are a couple of EastLink people I know would love to see it, and as far as scrapbooking goes, it was a bit of a mini miracle that I did soooo many pages.

Thanks for your friendship Shirley, and for motivating me to complete one more unfinished project, and getting it out of my craft room!!

The Summer Mini is so full of gorgeous products, I feel as though I am only just discovering some of them, even though the catalogue is almost at an end.  Have you seen the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper (DSP)?  It is so yummy, very fresh and funky.

Many of you have seen the Love Notes Card Holder I made using my favourite Urban Garden DSP. Now I have revisited the project with totally different gelati colours to play with and it has been such fun! I love the cute girly cards, and if there's someone in your life who doesn't do chocolate for Easter, this would be an awesome alternative gift - lovely Easter colours, and it won't melt in these bizarre weather patterns we've been having!

I have matched this paper with one of my favourite sets from the Summer Mini - "I {heart} Hearts", an 8 piece stamp set for $42.95 which is full of heart stamps. I have never lashed out on a heart set before, but all the samples I have seen using this set have been lovely and so much fun.

For greetings I have used "Whimsical Words" stamp set which you can receive for free with any qualifying Sale-a-bration order. To find out how, click here.

Love notes are gorgeous little 7cm x 7.5cm cards - perfect for leaving on someone's desk or pillow, and I love how cute the little envelopes are - I always slip a small off-cut of DSP into the envelope as well, so they have that luxurious "lined" look.

This is another project I am going to have to hide from my goreous nieces or they'll drive me mad until they have each made one of their own.  Good thing the love notes card and envelope packs are only $13.50 for 20 cards and envelopes.

Too cute, don't you think?

My lovely fellow demonstrator Christine Blain has also been having fun with the Kaleidoscope DSP, and she sent me this glorious birthday card - please note, she has HAND cut out that butterfly - what a talented person you are Christine, it's such a bright, cheery card! Thank you so much!

And this card has just the right amount of bling too - notice that lovely yellow rhinestone and the tiny dabs of dazzling diamonds on the wings and body - beautiful Christine!!

Well, that's it for me for now - hope you're feeling all bright and inspired going into the long weekend - for those having one, and I hope whatever your plans for the weekend, you have a good one.

Cheers, Kathryn. 
  
 
  
 

The advantage of buying easter eggs to use in photos of easter cards to go on blogs, (unless you're particularly frugal or disciplined - neither of which would describe me), is that once you've got the photos in the bag, you get to EAT the props!! Woo hoo - looks like I might be making Easter projects for the whole of March! LOL

Actually, I have been dying to try out the "Sweet Treat Cups" from the Summer Mini catalogue - there are soooo many things you can put in them.  Since I had a workshop lined up for last Sunday afternoon with some very dear, regular customers of mine, I was determined to make at least one project with the "Sweet Treat Cups" (STC), just so that I had something new to show them.

So, on Saturday, I flicked through the Ideas Book & Catalogue to see which stamp set jumped out at me (they have a habit of jumping out - especially if they have been gathering dust on the shelf for a long time), and I had a sudden moment of inspiration - I wonder if the rub-ons will go onto the STCs? So I dug out "Planter Box" rub-ons, found an image that would fit in the centre of the STC, applied it, played around with colours for a bit, matched the rub-on with "Enjoy Every Moment" stamp set and hey presto!

I can see I am going to have to order a whole heap more STC's before the Summer Mini expires on the 31st of March, because as soon as all my nieces see this, they will want to make them for all their friends!

I just love it how Stampin' Up! products all co-ordinate so easily - even that gorgeous flower brad from the silver Hodgepodge Hardware set - it's too cute, and it adds just the right touch to "finish" the card.

Ooops!  Looks like a little mouse nibbled the corner of one of those eggs! Shhh! don't tell anyone :o)

But DO tell everyone, there are hundreds of items you can put in the Sweet Treat Cups to make unique and individual cards and there are only 4 weeks left of the Summer Mini Catalogue and Sale-a-bration, so if you'd like to try them out, or make some of these cards for Easter, email me today.

Products Used:

• Sweet Treat Cups - pg 8 Summer Mini $6.50 for box of 12
• 1 3/4" Circle Punch - pg 8 Summer Mini $30.95
• Enjoy Every Moment set of 11 stamps - pg 97 IB&C $53.95
• Planter Box Rub-ons pg 139 IB&C - $19.95
• Silver Hodgepodge Hardware - pg 149 IB&C $57.95
• or you could try Flower or Filigree Designer Brads - pg 148 IB&C $11.25

Back later this week with some more lovely BRIGHT things from the Summer Mini.

Kathryn  (e: [email protected])