Did you know tomorrow is the LAST DAY of SALE-A-BRATION 2011?

Even though that's kind of sad, it's also very exciting as it heralds the start of the totally gorgeous, all new, Autumn / Winter Mini Catalogue which is chock full of stunning things to temp you!  But before it does, here's just one more look at the delightful, cheery Sale-a-bration creations I have been having fun with over the last couple of months.

This no adhesive gift box uses stamps from two of the Sale-a-bration sets : the little star is from :So Happy For You" and the birthday label is from "Punch Bunch".

I love these little boxes as they are so easy to make, and you can get 3 boxes from 1 x A4 sheet of card which makes them very economical too!

This bright cheery card has been copied almost exactly from the Sale-a-bration flyer. I liked it so much I wanted to recreate it.  I like it even better in real life, as it just stands out from the crowd with it's Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight background.

And where would you be without a tiny bit of real "bling" to complete the design?

There is very little time left to earn these stamp sets for free, so check the Summer Mini Catalogue to make sure you haven't missed anything, as it also finishes tomorrow, and email through your order.  All orders of current catalogue product over $100.00 qualify to choose a free Sale-a-bration set.

Email : [email protected]

All the Stampin' Up! Demonstrators I know are very excited about the brand new Autumn / Winter Mini which is out next Friday 1st April, it has such a beautiful range of products with lots of co-ordinating items.  I love it!  So when I was preparing for this months Blog Hop, I just couldn't keep myself from using some of these gorgeous items in a little sneak peak for you!

Our blog hop this week is actually based on a sketch from www.pagemaps.com . Becky has some very inspiring designs to get your creative juices flowing.  The layouts and cards you see on the blog hop will not be identical to the sketch, the idea is that we use if for inspiration, so some will be close in design, and some will be quite different, all will have used different colours, papers and embellishments, so hopefully you will be quite inspired too!

I have chosen to use Nature Walk, a gorgeous new set of 7 stamps in the Autumn Winter mini, along with the co-ordinating designer series paper, Botanical Gazette. The sample in the mini had quite a few similar elements to Becky's sketch, so I have also used that for my inspiration, just changing to colours that match my photo.

The key colours are Perfect Plum, Old Olive and Whisper White.

The other TWO new products I have used are the Bigz Dies - Scallop Square Duo, and the Textures Impressions Embossing Folder : Framed Tulips.  These items are all on pages 14 & 15 of the new mini catalogue, so if you've received your copy in the mail, be sure to check them out - so much FUN!!

I've inked the flower stamp with the Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Perfect Plum and Concord Crush Stampin' Write Markers.  And don't you just adore that bird image??

I really loved working on this layout, and the colours, so I thought I'd try a co-ordinating card as well.

I'm loving having all those scallop squares to work with, and those delicate images to colour with markers. Thank you Stampin' Up! for sending us such beautiful stamps and papers!

Don't forget to leave a comment so I know you've visited, and the next step on the blog hop is Ros Davidson.  Click here to go to her blog.

Due to work committments, I have to move this Friday's Island Oasis Gift Set class to next Friday 1st April.  Please note, this stamp set and paper will not be available to order next Friday as the mini catalogue finishes on Thursday 31st March.  If you were hoping to order (anything from the mini), at the class, please contact me beforehand.  email : [email protected]

Well, there's only one more full week of Sale-a-Bration left, and I have totally loved our free stamp sets.  They are just too cute! This week I have a couple of simple projects for you, using the Sale-a-bration sets, and then at the end of this week we have our monthly blog hop - where I have a very special project to show you - I created it yesterday and I am just so pleased with how it turned out!  But it's a secret, you'll have to come back Saturday to see it!

Using the Punch Bunch set from Sale-a-Bration, I have created this cute baby card.  I made it a girl card, as there has been a couple of new little pink babies arrive in recent times - I had in mind Tanja and baby Ivy at the time - there's a cute bub if I ever saw one!

I have applied ink to the stamp using the Stampin' Write Markers and then used Stampin' Up's co-ordinating punches to do the lovely layers.  The cute bunny background layer is from the Nursery Suite Specialty Designer Series Paper and is just too cute!

I have used the Scallop Trim border punch, and a scrap of white grosgrain ribbon at the top of the tag.  Two of the little details that I love on this card are the faux stitching border and the rough edge on the DSP.  These little details are so easy, quick and such cheap embellishments!

Did you know you can still earn Sale-a-bration sets for free - there are four to choose from, and with every order of $100.00 you can select your favourite for free.  But there is only just over a week left to get them.  Also the beautiful Summer Mini Catalogue will be finishing on the 31st March, so if you haven't placed your order from that, be sure to catch up with me in the next week!

I'll be back in a day or two with a couple more items I made using Sale-a-bration sets, and don't forget our blog hop this Saturday.

Cheers,

Kathryn.

email : [email protected]

We have a load of hay which we will be delivering to the Victorian Brumby Association, to assist with the flood relief effort. 

Please check out all the details on my Hay is For Horses page by clicking here, and if you are in a position to assist by "buying" a bale of hay, please email me for the dd details.   [email protected]

I had a lovely creative time last night out in my craft room with some of my regular class attendees using the Itty Bitty Bits, Bitty Buttons and Punch Pack on page 12 of the Summer Mini Catalogue - what a fun bunch of co-ordinating products!

Very happy to work on some cards with delicious bright Stampin' Up! colours too, in this case, Concord Crush, Tangerine Tango, Peach Parfait, Wild Wasabi and Pear Pizzazz, along with Melon Mambo, Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight!

I love the little overlay look you get with the clear Bitty Buttons - a very nice touch to add depth and texture to an otherwise simple card.

The Whisper White Craft Ink stamps beautifully on the Concord Crush card, and I love how the three punches can be mixed and matched with the tiny stamped images for lots of layers.  Thank you my friend Nikki for showing me that the 1/2" circle is also very useful with this size stamps for the extra layer!

If you'd like to have some fun, stamping with friends and trying new techniques and colour combinations, my next class is during the day, on Friday 25th March.  Please check my class page for details.  That will be the last class during Sale-a-Bration & for the Summer Mini Catalogue.

Hope to see you there - and don't forget to RSVP so I know you're coming :o)

Hi Everyone,

I have some very bright cheerful projects to show you today, using a couple of the free stamp-sets I earned during Sale-a-bration - gotta love this time of year!  These are very simple projects, but nice and bright and cheery to make someone smile or brighten their day!

This particular card I have copied exactly out of the Sale-a-bration flyer - I loved it's simplicity and the delicious colours. I think Daffodil Delight and Melon Mambo would have to be two of my favourite new colours - they are so eyecatching and happy!

And the font on the "So Happy For You" stamps is so fun and funky!

And where would a card be without a little bit of adhesive bling! Love these self sticking rhinestones to just add the finishing touch to the card.  I also created a little gift box in matching colours.  You have probably seen these around, we call it the no adhesive box and I make them all the time as they are so economical to make - you get three boxes from one sheet of A4 card!

This one is stamped with the star from "So Happy for You" and the birthday label from "Punch Bunch", both such cute Sale-a-bration sets.

Don't forget that our beautiful Summer Mini Catalogue products will no longer be available after next Thursday, and if you do place an order between now and then, you can still get FREE sale-a-bration sets.

Hope you are having a great week!  See you on Saturday for our Blog Hop!

Kathryn.

We have now completed month two of our 12 month One Little Word journey.  I found the February task of taking nine photos that cultivate an awareness of the ways in which the word “GROW” exists in my world, quite a challenging task.  How does one bring to life in images, something so intangible as growth, without taking 9 photos of seedlings or ledgers, or someone else’s children?

Having said that, at the end of the month, I really experienced “GROW” in a giant way, because I went back and re-read the February hand out and the transcript for the assignment and I am sure the month could have been a whole lot easier, if I had just taken the time to read these valuable notes several times throughout the month, instead of just on the first day of the month. So I am already “growing” by being more aware of these helpers for the coming months, and by allowing this February assignment to be ongoing for the rest of the year.

So, how about my photos and the word GROW?

I love how my page turned out and the images I have chosen – even though I would do it completely differently now that I have re-read the notes for the month, but I am not going to let that change what I have done . . . this is my February assignment and my journey of growth.  Here’s a very brief line about each photo.

Top L – Prolific growth, but also in a delicate, quiet way, without stomping on someone else’s toes

Top C – Being open to grow in different directions and take unexpected paths

Top R – Don’t be shy of growing in public, and try different things (yes, that’s me!)

Middle L – growth in my business – getting organised

Centre – pretty obvious!

Middle R – Reflection – registering that growth has happened & taking time out to smell the roses

Bottom L – Rising from the ashes, like a wild flower – new start, fresh beginnings

Bottom C – Growth in my creativity – spreading my wings, going back to my beginnings, utilising all the things I have learned in my creative life, not just in the last 2-3 years

Bottom R -  This photo is special because it reminded me of part of our wedding ceremony last year, where my friend Josie read out a portion of the Kahlil Gibran poem including this line, “ . . . And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow."

I guess I could just about write a full page on each of these photos, but I’ll keep that for my album instead of lumbering you with it!

If you’d like to see what lots of my class mates have done, please follow our blog hop over the next few days – the next link in the circle is Heather. Click here to go to her blog, and from there you will be able to continue on by clicking the links at the bottom of each one.  If you get lost or a link is broken you can always come back here to the list below, and find the next one that way. 

Please note, the blog hop goes live at 8am Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday, which is 3am Wed in Melbourne and with day light savings differences, it is likely that not all blog posts will go live at the same time. Please check back later if that's the case.

Thank you very much to Margie who has done all the hard work in co-ordinating all these ladies together for this part of our journey.

1. Margie                   http://xnomads.typepad.com
2. Monica B                http://scraplifters.blogspot.com
3. Jill                        http://jillconyers.typepad.com
4. Miranda                 http://mirandasscrapsite.blogspot.com
5. Donna                    http://www.donnabryantdurand.blogspot.com
6. Lynn                      http://www.crafty-creativity.blogspot.com
7. Stacey                   http://www.TheAcornGarden.com/blog
8. Lisa                       http://backtoallen.com/writers_blog
9. Cassie                    http://craftycassiescorner.blogspot.com
10. Abbey                    http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/
11. Nicky                     http://seejanebake.blogspot.com
12. Holly                      http://lovingrobots.blogspot.com
13. Karen                     http://breathenowsmile.blogspot.com
14. Claudia                   http://creative-moms.com
15. Rebekah                 http://istampscrapcraft.blogspot.com
16. Kimberly                 http://foreverdaisies.blogspot.com
17. Kat                         www.katswonderings.blogspot.com
18. Kristina                   http://ciqis.blogspot.com
19. Jan                         http://mysimplelittlelife.typepad.com
20. Nikki                       http://www.inkyart.com.au/
21. Amanda                   www.scrappnbee.blogspot.com
22. Lisa                         http://luluoz.typepad.com
23. Sam                         http://learncreatedo.wordpress.com
24. Maureen                   http://cookingmylife.blogspot.com
25. Kristi                       http://theprojectofme.wordpress.com
26. Tere                        http://terecontodomicorazon.blogspot.com
27. Karen                       http://womenontractors.blogspot.com
28. Katrina                     http://k84mansramblings.blogspot.com
29. Monica Bergler          http://questtoperfectimperfection.blogspot.com
30. Mandy                      http://captureandcreate.wordpress.com
31. Lisa                          http://makeyourownescape.blogspot.com
32. Chrissy                      http://getcraftywithchrissy.blogspot.com
33. Lee                           http://linarstudio.typepad.com/
34. Jen                           www.byjen.com
35. Sylvia                        http://baxtersmom1.blogspot.com/
36. Christianne                http://christiannemarra.blogspot.com/
37. Cheri                        http://cheriandrews.blogspot.com
38. Joy                           www.undiscoveredjoy.blogspot.com
39. Beth                         http://justbebeth.wordpress.com/
40. Jennifer L                 www.studiojenn.blogspot.com
41. Kathryn                     www.katlodesigns.com
42. Heather                    www.scrappyhare.blogspot.com
43. Cindy                        http://seriousplay.typepad.com