Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to say "Happy New Week" and also, I hope you had time to enjoy our Sale-a-bration Blog Hop over the weekend. 

This week we have our second "One Little Word" blog hop, which goes live at 8am Pacific Standard time on Tuesday - which is apparently 3am Wednesday, here in not so sunny Melbourne.  Personally I won't be out of bed that early, but I will be pre-setting my blog post to send itself at that time so you may start the blog hop here if you like.  If you do happen to be blog surfing in the next few days's, the One Little Word blog hop ladies are incredibly talented, and it is worth taking some time out to have a browse through their fabulous blogs.

Today I have a card made by a special guest artist to share with you.  Rebecca is one very enthusiastic and creative cardmaker, and has used our gorgeous large Owl Punch and the lovely Island Oasis Designer Series Paper from our Summer Mini Catalogue to make this very cheerful and fun card.

How bright and delicious is that?  I adore the orange and turquoise combination, and all those googley eyes!

AND - Rebecca has even put an extra owl inside the card - this one made me laugh, he is so cute!

Thank you so much Rebecca for letting me photograph your card - I have a packet of that DSP which I haven't used yet, and your lovely bright owls have inspired me to get it out and DO something with it!  You are one very talented 12 year old and I am looking forward to the next time you can come to one of my classes!  I have a little gift for you next time we catch up - some more DSP!

Well, have a nice week everyone, and don't forget the One Little Word Blog Hop to have a browse through later in the week when you sit down for a coffee!

I haven't participated in a blog hop for a while with my close group of stamping friends, so it's very nice to be jumping back into a nice small one where we are show casing our favourite Stampin' Up! promotion of the year

Sale-A-Bration!!

You may have come here from Amy Buchanan's blog or if you are starting with me, welcome to the blog hop. There are 11 blogs to hop to, and all the projects are made using the 4 gorgeous limited edition stamp sets you can earn for free during Sale-A-Bration, which runs to the end of March. I have loved playing with these delightful stamp sets, and I hope you'll be inspired by our creations.

Well, jumping right in here, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the Punch Bunch stamp set, and what's more, I was dying to get out my markers and ink up those flowers in multi-colours. It's one of my favourite techniques, and the stamp is so lovely that I decided to do a really simple project with very basic cards so if wouldn't detract from the bright, cheery stamped image.

I started out by selecting my markers : Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi and Old Olive - a lot, I know, but I wanted a warm, bright rainbow and these colours are so divine together!

I punched out the matching colours with the Giant Scallop Circle which is now available again, and stamped some floral images with Versamark ink just to add a bit of interest to this layer.

The stamped images were punched with our regular Scallop Circle punch and layered onto the larger ones.  I am soooo loving these colours already and I haven't even finished the project!

I wanted to make a scallop square box to put the set of cards in, which means they had to be quite small - the scallop square die it 12cm x 12cm so by the time you leave an edge, and create walls, the cards needed to be 7.5cm x 7.5cm - which is good because then they fit the love note envelopes!

I decided that the nicest, simple finish was to mount the stamped images onto the same coloured base card, so to lift it, I layered the scallop circles onto another white scallop circle with dimensions just so they stood out a little more.

Notice the coordinating envelopes? It is the same stamp, but I have just inked the flowers, not the words or scallop border.

The box is 3cm deep, so easily holds 6 cards and envelopes. The Wild Wasabi card and the Whisper White panel are both cut using the same Scallop Square Die - I have fed the white through a second time to trim off two edges and make it smaller.  I didn't want to add lots of embellishments to the lid of the box, but the plain white was calling out for something else, so I added texture with the Polka Dot embossing folder.

And it all tucks away in this nice box! My mum loves poppy's, so I can see this making a lovely gift for her! I really enjoyed making this cheerful project, and it wasn't at all difficult.

Well, that's my entry in the blog hop, be sure to pop back again for some more nice cheery projects during the coming week, including a delightful card by a very special guest artist - it's a secret, you'll have to check back in to find out more!

If you'd like to continue on the blog hop, don't forget to leave a comment for each of the ladies - we LOVE feedback!! And off you go now to be surprised and delighted by the talented Alisha Watson!

Recently I was having a bit of a scroll through the galleries on Splitcoast Stampers  (one of my favourite spots for some inspiration ) and I found a couple of cards which used the "Word Window" punch, in a way I had never seen before, or even imagined.  Unfortunately, I am very bad at recording the names of the people who inspired me so I can't acknowledge their gorgeous work, but if you look up "Aviary" on Spiltcoast, you are sure to find it . . .

Straight away, I was reminded of a photo I took in Paris in September, of a totally gorgeous building which had colour co-ordinated awnings and flower boxes, as ALL adorable Parisian buildings do . . . it took my breath away - ooops, which I am sorry but the photo kind of fails to do that . . .

We had walked down a narrow street towards the Eiffel Tower, and came upon this building where the flowers in the window box completely co-ordinated with the colour of the awning - it was SO cute - in a very Parisian kind of way.

When I saw the sample cards on Splitcoast, it reminded me of this photo, and I HAD to have a go at replicating the scene - with a little artistic license of course!

I would never have thought of using the Word Window Punch for such a cute thing!  The flower stamp is out of "Loads of Love" stamp set and I think it is a great substitute for the pink geraniums that seemed to be on every street of the City of Love!

I adore how it has that kind of Candy Cane / Pet shop look - even if it is the kind of card that you have no idea who to give it to!!  Who cares?? It was such a fun card to make, and I bet there are plenty of girl friends out there who would adore receiving it in the mail!

In the class, we actually concentrated on the Stamp-a-ma-jig, and how to line up our stamps perfectly, This was great with the Aviary set, as we had to line up bird cages and birds.  I also got inspiration for this card from VERY talented ladies on Splitcoast.

Oh how cute is that?? I know this stamp set is just in the Summer Mini Catalogue, but aren't we all just hoping that it will arrive into our main catalogue when the new one comes out in September??

So cute it should be ILLEGAL!! 

Seriously, I have had SO much fun stamping with this set!  The mini catalogue lasts until 31st of March, coinciding with Sale-a-bration, our biggest SALE of the year. Be sure to check out these limited edition stamps, AND the free stamps you can receive, just by placing an order. Click here to find out more.

I look forward to seeing some of you at my Glimmer Class tomorrow, and hope everyone else is finding time to get ink on your fingers!

Hugs, Kathryn

I had planned to post today some photos of the cards I made for last Friday's class, using the totally frivoulous and fun "Aviary" stamp set, and all afternoon I was contemplating what else could I do, in respect of our New Zealand family and the unfathomable catastrophe which has befallen beautiful Christchurch today.  

Some years ago Campbell McGinnus wrote a poem for his beloved princess, Diana of Wales and he used the phrase "Fair cracks a nations heart", as they buried her . . . well today, I think, that phrase isn't out of place in describing what has happened to the jewel of New Zealand's south - a ripping and incomprehensible crack of destruction and pain. Our thoughts and prayers fly out to you, our darling sister country and all who live in the Land of the Long White Cloud, our neighbours, our friends, our family . . .

I have absolutely no doubt about New Zealanders - just like their Aussie neighbours - so strong, so resilient, so ready to help others they perceive are worse off than themselves; - while our heart bleeds for you, we know, like our own Cyclone Yasi and summer flood victims, you will stand up again, you will be strong again. You've taken a terrible blow, and it hurts and is something that no-one should ever have to face, but you are born of the same ANZAC spirit, you are a nation of true warriers, you are our brothers and sisters.  God bless Christchurch, and God defend New Zealand!  Manaakitia mai Aotearoa.

Hi everyone!

I've been having a play with the Sale-a-bration stamp sets the last couple of weeks, all four sets are so cute this year!

There is a lovely set called Punch Bunch, which, you guessed it! It co-ordinates beautifully with the Stampin' Up! punches - including our FAVOURITE owl punch. I adore that owl punch, and I like it even better now it has a matching stamp!

I've co-ordinated it with the Woodgrain background stamp, Little Leaves Die and Scallop Circle punch.

Isn't he the wisest old owl you ever saw?

Our group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators will be holding another blog hop this coming Saturday morning, featuring more of the lovely Sale-a-bration stamp sets that you can get for free when placing an order or hosting a cardmaking or scrapbooking workshop.  Be sure to put some time aside this weekend so you can enjoy a browse through all the gorgeous creations!

Hi Everyone,

Well, it's that day when everyone goes mad over red foil wrapped chocolates, red roses and helium filled heart-shape foil balloons - not to mention romantic dinners, bubble baths and rose petals on the pillow!

We don't quite go to that much trouble in our house, but I did make a card for my lovely husband, and Sophie (16) made a cute card for her young man, Sam too.  Haven't made your card yet?  Maybe this will inspire you, it was nice and quick and easy.

I've used the "I {heart} Hearts" stamp set from Stampin' Up! along with Real Red card stock and ribbon and the craft white ink pad. Then I have also punched out some extra hearts and stuck on with dimensions to add some interest and texture.

Whatever you do today, I hope you have a lovely day, and if you are looking for nice surprises of the Valentine variety, then I hope your wishes come true!

Today we remember 173 members of our community and countless pets and wild life whose precious lives were lost in one of the worst days in the history of our state.

So many left behind are still struggling to rebuild their lives, the landscape is still scarred - in many places irrepairably - and the rest of us will never forget what we were doing or where we were on that awful Saturday afternoon when the sky went black and the news started filtering through of what was happening to our family, friends and community.

Today we remember them . . .

Well, if you're looking for some inspiration or motivation, this is the place to come today.  Members of the on-line class "One Little Word" have gotten together to do a blog hop, based on their first month of self-discovery in the 2011 One Little Word journey.

If you've never been on a blog hop before, all you do is follow the links at the bottom of each post, to take you to the next person. Eventually you will go full circle and get back to where you started.

My One Little Word for 2011 is GROW . . .

2010 was an action packed and kind of stressful year for us, I don't think we could have really crammed in another thing, and there are undoubtedly things we let slip as there was just too much going on. So we decided that 2011 was going to be a more restful year with less things in it.  That is for me, an opportunity to recharge, spread my wings more, share more of what I love with more of the people I love, learn some new things and have time to actually realise that I have learned new things, and to feel gratitude for all the blessings that life brings.

Thinking along these lines, I felt that I would pick either LEARN or SHARE as my word to focus on for 2011, but as time passed, a new word started to GROW on me, a word that encompasses both learning and sharing and many other experiences as well. Of course, that word was GROW!

I have in my mind growth in so many things, not the least of which is our Vegie Patch!! But I'd also like to "grow" my circle of friends, as well as "growing" the relationships I currently have by seeing more of my friends more often and sharing more with them, but also learning from them, as they learn from me.

I hope to "grow" creatively by trying more styles, experimenting with different projects and using some of those delicious products that fill up my craft space and don't get used often enough (like the beautiful retired SU stamp set, "Carte Postale", I have used on these layouts).  I'm working on that already, as you can tell by this pocket full of journalling cards - not ideas I would have tried before!

I am working on developing styles that I love too. I adore Vintage papercraft projects, but haven't done a lot - that is something I am hoping will grow and I think you can see it starting to emerge in some of these cards.

I also want to do more of my favourite styles - like watercolouring - which I love but because it takes longer, I skip it. Well, 2011 is a year to take the time and let it grow.

I also hope to grow in other ways, and Tony and I have started to do some volunteer work together, as well as going to Pilates together, not to mention the hours we have put into getting our new garden up and "growing". My One Little Word has already become an active force in our lives.

I do hope you'll have time to follow the blog hop around and see what the other One Little Word members are aspiring for in 2011, and each one of them would dearly love a comment or some encouragement in their journey, so please don't be shy about leaving a comment.  The very next person in the "hop" is my very good stamping buddy, Nikki S, you can get to her delightful blog by clicking here.

If you happen to lose your way on the blog hop (or one of the links doesn't work), here is the whole list of 34 participants, so you can pick up where you left off. 

Good journeying's to you and I hope to see you back here later in the year to see what I have been up to each month in this new journey of discovery!

1) Margie http://xnomads.typepad.com

2) Jill Conyers http://jillconyers.typepad.com/life_as_i_see_it/

3) Monica http://scraplifters.blogspot.com  

4) Lynn W http://crafty-creativity.blogspot.com

5) Miranda http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com

6) Mandy http://captureandcreate.wordpress.com

7) Kathy http://katswonderings.blogspot.com

8) Lisa http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com

9) Donna http://donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com

10) Abbey http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/

11) Sam http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com/

12) April http://capturethememories.blogspot.com

13) Nicky http://seejanebake.blogspot.com

14) Rebekah http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com/

15) Relly http://rel.ly

16) Nancy http://goshery.blogspot.com

17) Cynthia http://paperpapereverywhere.blogspot.com/

18) Kathryn http://katlodesigns.com

19) Nikki http://www.inkyart.com.au

20) Heather http://scrappyhare.blogspot.com

21) Gayle www.lifeonlilypadlane.blogspot.com

22) Kristina http://ciqis.blogspot.com

23) Debra http://blakleyhomeplace.blogspot.com

24) Becky http://beckyandjames.com

25) Amy http://reflectivesnapshots.com

26) Marlene http://moore-fun-in-the-sun.blogspot.com/

27) Maureen http://cookingmylife.blogspot.com

28) Cheri http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com
29) Monica Scrapmom http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
30) Jan http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com

31) Junelle http://yesandamenblog.blogspot.com

32) Margaret http://www.gutsymom.blogspot.com

33) Sharyn http://www.analteredlife.com

34) Tere http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com/