Another sneak peak at the 2010-2011 Ideas Book & Catalogue products, although by now, some of you will have that catalogue in your hot little hands and will have sticky notes on several pages!

Here's a birthday card I made using Artistic Etchings stamp set and the maps page from Newsprint DSP. I have also used the birthday stamp from the Perfect Punches stamp set and the Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impression Folder.

The strip of green is one of our retiring colours, Mellow Moss, which I have sponged with a little Sahara Sand to age it, and make the texture stand out even more.  The piece of ribbon is white taffeta coloured with Going Grey marker, another retiring colour which will be sadly missed.

Have you stocked up on your favourite retiring colours yet? There are only two days left to do so, so don't miss out - give me a call on 0418 31 931 during the day on Monday or Tuesday to get those last minute orders in.

I'll be back on Wednesday to celebrate the new catalogue!!

See you then,

Kathryn.

Well, I said I'd be back to share the finished structural card with you.  I have really loved playing with the new "Arty" designs from Stampin' Up! The Artistic Etchings stamp set and Newsprint DSP really work well together, and even though I have followed the Vintage style of these items in designing my card, I have also tried to keep it really simple.

I have used a sponge dauber to apply a bit of extra Basic Grey ink around the edges and stamped the images from Artistic Etchings in Basic Black.

I wanted the Eiffel Tower to stand out a little so I have highlighted it by applying Stampin' Pastels with a sponge dauber and mounted it with dimensions over a piece of old cream lace.

I have also used the large stamp from "Fresh Cuts" for the stamped background on the triangles, and on the front of the card I have used one of my favourite embellishments - a build-a-brad in the centre of the flower.  Build-a-brads are great as you can make them co-ordinate with whatever you like. 

Now, some very exciting news!!  The Last Chance List is coming to an end very soon, and yesterday Stampin' Up! announced further price reductions on many retiring items, to make way for the new stock. These price reductions are significant, with up to 50% off some items.  I will add a list to my specials page, but you can also download a list from the customer website.

I'll be back during the week with another "Eiffel Tower" card to show you, and in the mean time I look forward to seeing some of you tomorrow at my new Catalogue Preview afternoon!

Cheers,

Kathryn.

I have been looking at lots of real estate lately, ranging from stunning 70-80 year old Art Deco homes in Maryborough, to 120 year old Federation homes in Castlemaine, to 50 year old homes on big blocks in the suburbs to spacious older apartments closer to town, right through to stunning light filled brand new townhouses in various places, and it struck me that great building and great papercraft projects do have a couple of things in common.

a)  Great Design

b)  Good Structural Bones

And it's true that they certainly don't make buildings like they used to - take a look at these couple of snaps for example.

How stunning were the substantial buildings erected in Central Victoria following the gold rush era? Can you imagine anything like this being built today?  This town hall is in Clunes, between Ballarat and Maryborough.

And the finishing touches are beautiful too, as this lamp-post opposite the town hall shows.  So what has this to do with papercrafting?

Well, a card can be a card, or a card can have structure. It might be in layers, or unusual folds, or maybe even in it's simplicity.  The longest part of making a card is often in the time it takes to come up with a design.  I love this part of card making, especially when it all comes together at the end. It's the same with scrapbook layouts, I pick the photos then spend ages over the card, ink, stamps etc that will compliment them, arranging and re-arranging until I think the design works.

I am working on a structured card at the moment, it's actually quite a simple design, but I want it to look really balanced and not too overdone, even though I am going for a vintage style this time, which traditionally has lots of layers and textures.

Here's a sneak preview - and I'll be back in a day or two with the finished one for you!

2010-2011 Ideas Book & Catalogue Preview Afternoon

It's that terribly exciting time of the year when Christmas not only comes early, but comes in bucket loads! Yes, it's NEW CATALOGUE  time, and it is a time that is very much looked forward to with eager anticipation of what goodies will be available to expand our collections and develop our crafts.

Ordering from the new catalogue commences on Wednesday 1st September, and since I will be away for most of September, I am having a celebratory catalogue preview on Saturday 28th August.

There will be no structure to the afternoon, come along for an hour or three hours, have a cuppa, drool over the catalogue and displays of new products, do a couple of make and takes, chat with your stamping friends, fill out your order form for processing on Wednesday, book a workshop for later in the year, write a wish list a mile long, sign up to become a demonstrator so you can get all of these amazing products at a discount, the sky is the limit!! Hope to see you there, it's going to be such fun!

Cost will be $15.00 per person which includes your copy of the catalogue, make and take materials and afternoon tea.

Saturday 28th August, 2pm-5pm, includes afternoon tea, catalogue and make & takes.

Wyreena Community Arts Centre, Hull Road, Croydon.

Bookings essential, payment required in advance.

Phone : 0418 361 931

Email : [email protected]

This week, over at the Helping Hudson blog, there have been three great new challenges, a colour challenge, a sketch challenge and a 3D item challenge. There have been some fantastic entries inall three challenges, but I particularly wanted to have a go at the 3D one - the other entries have been amazing - check them out by clicking here.

My octagon box is not a bucket, nor a lighthouse, or a birdhouse, nor is it a lovely HB pencil, although I was very inpired by each of those extremely clever and talented projects. My octagon box is an AQUARIUM!

It's also a money-box, because there always has to be two reasons for everything, and don't you just love a functional reason for justifying the existence of something that was just plain FUN to make!!

I used the Sunny Day Simply Scrappin' Kit (again!! Love that kit), and the wide angle, scallop circle and two step bird punches to create these cheerful little critters.

This was very, very simple to make, and a lot of fun! Thanks Jo for the great challenge template. If you'd like to see some other great punched fish ideas, be sure to purchase the extremely good value Punched Art tutorial bundle on the Helping Hudson site, and support a good cause at the same time! 

Well, it's that time again, when we get to jump from creative blog, to creative blog, checking out what clever projects the Art with Heart team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators has come up with, and with father's day looming, our theme for this month is "Men in our Lives".

Men & boys can be hard to choose presents or make cards for, but it doesn't have to be difficult to personalise a small gift that they will know, comes straight from the heart.  I know a few men who would very rarely buy chocolate for themselves, but if someone thought to give them a block, they'd be chuffed. But wouldn't it be even nicer if it came in very special handcrafted packaging?

Creating a gift box like this can be very rewarding, and not difficult.  Have you seen the bundle of "Bags, Boxes & Gifts" tutorials you can purchase on the Helping Hudson; A Wheely Great Cause blog? There is even a similar package to this one in the "Kids Birthday's" tutorials. If you haven't seen them yet, check them out by clicking here. The tutorials are all fantastic and amazing value so make sure you take a look!

Back to the blog hop!! You may have just come from Sue Madex's lovely blog, or you may be starting here. Settle in for a nice journey, as you click on the link at the bottom of each post to take you to the next person's blog.  If you leave a comment on every blog in the circuit - there aren't that many, then email Nikki, you'll be in the running for some great blog candy.

Enjoy the ride, and get inspired for father's day - oh and don't forget to check out those fantastic tutorials.  Your next blog to visit is Judy May's, click here to keep hopping the full circle.

Wow, there is so much going on in August! Our retiring stamp and products list is out - check my specials page for links and details. But also, I have been very busy preparing some tutorials for something very special . . .

There is a HUGE online stamping event taking place, called Helping Hudson -A Wheely Great Cause!  The organisers have been working really hard, securing support, tutorials and donations to get this event underway.  But who is Hudson?  Read on . . .