I was SO sorry to see Bugs & Kisses on the Retiring List! It has been one of my favourite stamp sets, I have done so much with it!

Here's a reminder of the journey that Bugs & Kisses and I have been on together!

There are quite a few more close up photos in my "Art Gallery". You can see them by clicking here.

I am really going to miss this fun and funky stamp set. It is only available for one more day - if you truly love it, don't miss out! There's only Wednesday left to order it!

I'll be back on Thursday evening with the next episode of One Little Word in our monthly blog hop, and then I am really looking forward to seeing a good handful of you on Saturday at my New Catalogue Party.

See you then!

Kathryn.

Welcome to our monthly blog hop. A small group of us today - hope you enjoy the little journey - and remember, the Retiring List is nearly retired, so if you see something today that is on your wish list, make sure you contact your demonstrator as soon as possible, as things have been selling out, and in a couple of days they will be gone forever.

My contribution to our blog hop includes a very green birthday card which I made for my darling husband who had a special day yesterday.

Of course, the Motorcycle in this card is not retiring. It HAS retired!  What is retiring this coming week is the gorgeous Designer Series Paper - Woodland Walk, the beautiful Styled Silver Hodgepodge (which is a bargain at 40% off), and the greeting stamp happy birthday from the set - Occasional Greetings.

How gorgeous is that striped paper and the hodgepodge?  There are plenty of other items on the Retiring List, to make way for our exciting new catalogue on Thursday, so if you haven't had a chance to check what is going, make sure you dedicate some time to it this weekend - perhaps you'll be inspired by the work in our blog hop.

If you' like to continue the journey, hop off now to our next artist, my friend Di Dunk by clicking here.

The rest of the ladies in the hop, in case you get lost or want to start at the start, are : 

Ros Davidson http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com

Nikki Sadler http://www.inkyart.com.au

Kathryn Ruddick http://www.katlodesigns.com  . . . < ME!

Di Dunk http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com

Judy May http://www.judymay.typepad.com

Alisha Watson http://www.ratherbstampin.typepad.com

Christine Blain http://www.christineblain.blogspot.com

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to leave comments for all the bloggers to share some blog love!

I just wanted to say a huge "THANK YOU"  to all my stamping friends and to my friend Josie for her tireless work too, in collecting so many bras for UpliftBras.org.  These unloved, illfitting, but still perfectly good bras are now on their way with very grateful thanks, to the Red Cross Vanuatu, where they will be distributed to needy women in the islands.

We collected well over two hundred bras, and a whole box of nappies and rompers which will make a huge difference to those less fortunate than ourselves.  Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to make this happen!

I have been playing around lately with the Two-Step Bird punch, trying different ways to use it, and loved some of the ideas I have seen to make flowers with it.

This simple but very effective card is made using the wing and the leaf stem, punched out several times.

Card stock colours are Perfect Plum, Rich Razzleberry and Elegant Eggplant, along with Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla.

A small piece of Rich Razzleberry Taffeta Ribbon finishes the bouquet, and the Word Window and Modern Label Punches finish the card.

I'll be back later in the week to show you what else I have made with the Two Step Bird Punch.

Have you had one last look at the retiring list?  Quite a few of our favourite stamp sets have sold out already, but there are still some great ones left - make sure you double check it with your wish list this week, because after the 31st of August, they will no longer be available.

Hi Everyone,

I mentioned the other day to come back and have a look at a more masculine version of a Sweet Treats Cup card, which we made in class last Saturday.

A Little Treat is a very cute stamp set that was designed to use with the Sweet Treat Cups, you stamp the image, punch out a circle where the balloon will go, insert the Sweet Treats Cup, then fill it with your favourite treats - in this case, lovely bright M & M's.

I have seen lots of versions of this card on-line but specifically have to thank my stamping friend Genna Gifford for her idea of using the scallop circle punched out piece as a mask for sponging the clouds.

Just like the Blossom Card from earlier in the week ( click here to see that again ) this card has a tab which pulls out to allow access to the M&M's so you don't have to wreck the card to get to the goodies! Got to love that idea!

These are really fun cards - fun to make, fun to give, and fun for the person who receives them, who will think you are amazingly clever for making such a great card!

To make these cards you will need :

• A Little Treat Stamp Set $21.95 woodblock or $15.95 clearmount
• Sweet Treat Cups box of 12 $6.50
• 1-3/4" Extra-Large Circle Punch $33.95
• Postage $5.95

Total $68.35 (with woodmount set) or $62.35 (with clearmount set)

Email your order to me now if you want to get started on these fun cards, and I will even throw in a free bag of M & M's!

Email [email protected]

Last Saturday I enjoyed a Sweet Treat Cups class with some of my stamping friends and this is similar to one of the cards we made in class.

There are TWO important things to note here . . .

First - the Jelly Beans are the HEALTHY VARIETY (LOL)

Secondly - you don't have to wreck the card to get to them! 

That's right! The So Saffron Card with the pink tab forms a gate, which when pulled out, opens to let out all that sugary goodness! Don't you love that idea?  Now the question is, how to get the card to the recipient with the sweeties ALL still inside!

We have used "A Little Treat" Stamp Set which is designed to go with these really fun to use Sweet Treat Cups.  If you'd like to see what else we made, bookmark this page to come back to on Thursday, when I will put up the more masculine card we made.

Have a nice week!

Have you been hanging out for the new Stampin' Up! 2011-2012 Ideas Book & Catalogue?

See the important date change information on my event page by clicking here, and don't forget to RSVP so I can have a catalogue there with your name on it.

Products that are now sold out include :

But there are still plenty of retiring items left, and did you notice that some of them are discounted either 25% or even 40%?

There are definitely some bargains to be had, so check your wishlists against the retiring list, and be sure to email me as soon as possible to place your order for you. I have been placing orders everyday, but items have also been disappearing off the availability list everyday too, so act now to not miss out.

Click here to see the latest update of the Retired List.

Click here to email your order to me : [email protected]

Every so often I have the privilege of attending a workshop where the guests are predominantly scrapbookers rather than card-makers.  Thank you ladies for inviting me along to share with you the gorgeous Stampin' Up! products and tools and how you can incorporate them into your layouts.

This weekend, I had one such workshop, and I also had some little snippets of information about the hostess which assisted me in choosing the colours for the layout I was going to demonstrate to them.

I had already chosen a photo some time ago that I wanted to use on a layout, and I have been loving creating a 6"x 6", then upsizing it to 8"x 8", then upsizing it again to 12"x 12".   See what you think :

6" x 6" layout - notice the photo becomes a pocket and the grid paper for journalling is tucked in neatly behind it.

There is a fine flower stamp in Real Red ink along the bottom of the layout, just to break up the background colour a little.  This is a very simple layout, and I was looking forward to converting it to an 8"x 8" layout, to add a couple more steps.

The second layer was Whisper White, with a border of Real Red ink using the Very Vintage Stampin' Round Wheel, which I also used to create the extra butterfly in the top right, and I added a vellum card embossed butterfly to the bottom left. Again, a very simple upsize.

The layout doesn't have a title at this stage, so for the 12"x 12" upsize I wanted to step it up, to let everyone know what the special occasion was that we were clinking our glasses for.  Out came the Big Shot Die Cutter and the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits Dies to cut some letters.

As the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival features Roses for each special day of the season, I also chose the stunning rose image from Elements of Style stamp set in white ink to help soften the black background.

I haven't completed the journalling yet, but you can be sure that it is going to tell a little bit about how Tania, Shirley, Mary and I managed to obtain 4 tickets to the amazing corporate box in the Winning Post Enclosure on a gorgeous Spring day, and it's also going to mention the fabulous enamel butterfly that I had suspended on invisible thread in the centre of the large key-hole in the back of my dress.

Now, what was it about my workshop hostess that made me choose these colours?  If you can guess, leave a comment below, and I will draw a name out to receive a couple of metres of ribbon in these colours to add to your own layouts.

A dear friend had a birthday recently, and since we spent a good couple of days back at the start of this year making her wedding invitations, I thought I would stick with the colours and stamps to make her a special co-ordinating birthday card.  I wanted to try another tri-shutter card too, since I had a little more time to spend, and love the effect of them.

This is what it looked like flat - can you see the stamped cupcake images hidden in there?

The Baroque Motifs flourish and Birthday Wishes stamps are embossed in black embossing powder and heat set, the other stamped images are stamped with Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink.

One little embellishment I have been loving recently and using on so many cards in various colours are the tiny punched flowers with an adhesive half pearl in the centre.  Such a sweet little touch to finish a card.

Of course, I am in trouble now, because everyone who ever gets a birthday card from me in future will be expecting one of these beauties, and I'll never be able to do a normal card again!! 

Have you had a chance to look at the "Retiring List" yet?  So many old favourites are disappearing, be sure to check it out, as you don't want to miss out on that set you've been admiring.  Once the catalogue ends on 31st August, that is it, the retired sets will no longer be available. Click here to see the list.

If there is an item you NEED to add to your collection, be sure to email me soon.

[email protected]