Lavendar for Mother's Day

OK, just to tide us all over until I can sit down to make a few more cards (the assignment has really taken it out of me.... next one is due in June), here's a card I put together a few weeks ago.

I used reverse masking to create a panel down the middle of the card and used the leaves from Petal Prints. The greeting is gold embossed and from the retired set All Year Cheer II. Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Very Vanilla card was used, as well as Elegant Eggplant ink - stamped off for the bottom part of the lavendar (from Petal Prints too). Gold cord (retired) was used to tie the lavendar together.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and Paul really liked it too. The only thing is lavendar gives Mum a migraine, so maybe Mamma will score this one....

I've Been Tagged

Being new to the world of blogging, I had no idea this existed until I was tagged by two friends - Sharon (http://www.stampin-scrappin.blogspot.com) and Karen (http://www.karenmrobinson.blogspot.com). Thanks girls! You know I'm always up for learning something. In fact, I've just handed up a 23 page assignment, hence my lack of posting lately. Thanks to all of you who have asked how I am. It's nice to know I'm missed!

Anyways, here's the tagging stuff.....

The rules are:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok. 7 facts about Natasha:

- My numerology number is 3 and it suits me down to the ground.
- I came up to Katherine for a 4 month contract (that was over 3 years ago).
- I don't like mangoes. At all.
- I lived in Paraguay in South America as an exchange student after I finished school. We had no hot water, you couldn't flush toilet paper down the toilet and the streets were cobble stones, but it was one of the best experiences of my life.
- I felt more comfortable speaking Spanish than English when I came back. Actually, it took years before I stopped dreaming in Spanish and if I'm really tired or have had a few, don't be surprised if I'm not sure which language I'm speaking!
- I scored a 20 in Year 12 Biological Science, but almost failed Molecular & Cellular Biology in 1st year Science....
- I am studying my fourth University degree (I have more letters after my name than in it).

I don't actually know 7 bloggers personally, and most of them I do have already been tagged so check out their sites and their facts:
Karen http://www.karenmrobinson.blogspot.com/
Sharon http://www.stampin-scrappin.blogspot.com/
Mel http://www.melhanlon.blogspot.com/
Nerine http://www.stampinaddiction.blogspot.com/

Cheers!

Welcome Markus

Very good friends of ours welcomed a beautiful little boy into the world about 2 1/2 weeks ago, and we were finally able to meet him on the weekend! He is just beautiful (almost makes me want to have another....). As this adorable little man has 2 older sisters, it was only fitting that it's 'all about blue' for the moment. So, here's the card I made for him:

Of course, the main colour is Bashful Blue, as well as Certainly Celery and Barely Banana (I love these colours for babies). I also used Petals & Paisleys DSP for the squares the animals are mounted on. The very cute elephant and lion are from Wild About You, the alphabet is Defining Alphabet and the background stamps are from Classic Backgrounds. I first stamped the elephant in Bashful Blue and rock'n'rolled it with Brilliant Blue, and did the same with the lion with Barely Banana and Summer Sun (you can sort of see it in the picture). The ribbon has been discontinued, but I thought it suited the card well.

Welcome to the world little Markus!

Time to be Happy

I finally found some time on the weekend to have a play with my new stamp sets - and I needed to make a couple of cards too (any excuse!). My current favourite set is Garden Whimsy which I had to include on my first order, and playing with it just confirmed it's place as at the top! Here's a card based on the one I made for a friend of mine's birthday:
I decided to branch out a bit here and use Pretty in Pink as the card base (even though Luana wears a lot of light pink - it's not actually a colour I usually like). I also used Perfect Plum, Mellow Moss and Very Vanilla card. The patterned panels are using the background stamp Paisley with Pale Plum (you can't really see it, but the small square is 'thumped' with Mellow Moss Stampin' Write Marker). The background of the other two panels is 'dragged' with Mellow Moss ink. The tulip was coloured with Mellow Moss and Perfect Plum markers, and the phrase was also Perfect Plum. The little butterfly is Pretty in Pink 'thumped' with Mellow Moss and Perfect Plum.

This is something a bit different to what I have done before, so I hope you like it. I haven't given the other card (I used Enchante DSP from the Summer Mini instead of the Paisley panels) to my friend yet, so I don't know what she thinks of it!

Friends...

I made this card for my good friend Kylie based on the cards I made for my team for their fabulous efforts during Sale-a-Bration - I love the colours and how the flowers 'pop'.

Once again, thanks to the colour coach for the combo - Creamy Caramel and Really Rust card, and Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip inks (and Versamark). I used Joseph's Coat technique for the main panel, using Tempting Turquoise underneath (instead of a spectrum pad)

and brayed over top with Chocolate Chip. I used the Sale-a-Bration set Friendship Blooms, and finished it with turquoise grosgrain ribbon. I will try and play with some of the new sets soon and let you know how they work out.

My Little Stamper

I couldn't resist sharing this photo with you:
Not a brilliant shot (Paul had to be quick), but I think you get the drift!! I need to be careful where I leave my supplies (especially my ink pads - she can open them!) and she already knows what to do with a stamp!

2008-09 Idea Book & Catalogue Launch

As predicted, I was rather busy last week and apologise for this belated posting. The good news is the new Idea Book & Catalogue in now in effect (check it out at http://www.stampinup.com/ and go to the Australia site) and I love it. I received my first order from it today and I can't wait to have a play!

To celebrate, I held a launch on the weekend with some lovely ladies. We made 2 projects and had a great time - here they are:

I used the Polka Dots & Paisley stamp set with the coordinating Petals Jumbo wheel and Petals & Paisleys DSP. This card used Old Olive, So Saffron and Whisper White card with Taken with Teal and Old Olive ink (inspired by the DSP). A couple of the ladies who attended made their cards with Taken with Teal as the main card, and Old Olive 'happy' which also looked quite good.

Apologies for the not brilliant photo, but I thought we'd also try our hand at scrapbooking as I know I never have enough time for it. In fact, this is only the second ever page I have completed (yes Helene, Karen and Lyn, I still haven't finished those pages I started last year!), and I'm pretty pleased with it. The colour combo came from the Colour Coach (LOVE IT!!) - Basic Black, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red and a tiny bit of Garden Green. I used the Time Well Spent (Level 3 Hostess Gift) and All in the Family stamp sets from the new catalogue as well as Tidy Alphabet which is now retired. I cut out and layered the flowers from Time Well Spent and also randomly stamped them to create the larger patterned panel instead of using DSP. I used the Stampin' Pastels with the blender pen to colour in my little family, and used the round tab punch for the tab attached to my hidden journalling. Finally, I used the white gel pen for the little bit of journalling you can see. I tried to plan it so the 6x6 page and the A4 page can also be used independently if desired. The ladies liked the project - let me know what you think!!

Have a great day and enjoy looking at the new catalogue! Let me know if you would like to place an order or book a workshop and earn some fabulous hostess sets!

Almost gone....

Sorry about the mutliple postings tonight, but I'm making up for lost time, and I'm not sure how much I'll get done this week as I have a full-on week at work.




Tonight I've been playing around with some pocket notes (Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla) which were in the Summer Mini. I thought it would be hard to come up with something that worked because they are so small (about the size of a credit card) but I've decided they're fantastic (the pocket notes, not necessarily my creations)! I also wanted to use the Love Matters stamp set someone accidentally returned to me instead of my Time Well Spent (but I'm going to swap it back soon because I need my set for my catalogue launch on the weekend).


Here's what I came up with using mostly retiring products...

Sorry about the poor quality photo - flouro lights really aren't that flash for photographing! Clockwise from top left: *Dragonfly from Winged Things, embossed silver, finished with apple green grosgrain ribbon; **inspired by my retiring set swap - Terrific Tulips stamped with Vintage Violet and Sage Shadow ink with greeting from Much Appreciated (continuing stamp set) embossed in silver, I also ran the right hand edge over the Sage Shadow ink pad; ***friends saying from Love Matters stamped in Tempting Turquoise and mounted on Tempting Turquoise card (that had been run over the coordinating ink pad) and Au Chocolate DS paper. The ribbon on the edge is from Seaside ribbon orginals; ****Love Matters provided the stamped images in Rose Red and Regal Rose, I also used a little bit of Regal Rose card. The ribbons are wine organdy and burgandy grosgrain.

I'm happy with how they turned out. Must go now and work on the projects for the new catalogue launch I'm holding on the weekend. Let me know if you're interested (still need to work out hyperlinks, but I preview all comments so I won't publish any personal details) and I'll send you more details.

Retired Stamp Set Swap

As you may have noticed from previous posts, a good friend of mine Mel is the queen of organising swaps, and she organised a retiring swap for us to get a little bit more use out of those sets we're not going to see in the new catalogue.

Those of you who know me well (and maybe some who don't...) know that I love tulips, so I was very sad to see Terrific Tulips on the retired list. Even so, I have only recently aquired this set and hadn't had much opportunity to play with it; this is what I came up with for the swap - the other condition was using at least one colour from the Soft Subtles family:

I masked the tulips, and stamped off the background ones. You can't see it real well, but I also used Itty Bitty Backgrounds and the card stock was Sage Shadow, Cranberry Crisp and Very Vanilla. Inks were Vintage Violet (I'm really going to miss this colour!) and Sage Shadow and it was all finished with some sliver cord (which I also have to say good bye to and am going to miss).

Thanks Mel for organising this swap - my turn next...

Last Workshop for 2007-2008 IB&C

Yesterday I held my last workshop for the current (for only another 2 days) Idea Book and Catalogue. However, the card we ended up making used stamp sets from the Summer Mini - which also finishes 31st March.

We used the Bud Basics stamp set (which I don't have to put into mothballs - yay!!) and Small Sayings. The flowers in the main panel used the masking technique. Colours were inspired by the Celebration Spectrum pad I used for Joseph's Coat in a previous post; card used was Lovely Lilac, Pink Passion, Green Galore and Whisper White, and ink used was Lovely Lilac, Brilliant Blue, Pink Passion and Green Galore. I used the horizontal slot punch to make my 'poor man's hodgepodge' for the saying and threaded sliver organdy ribbon through it. True to my current phase of movable parts - the saying slides along the ribbon to wherever you think it looks best at the time.

The ladies (and young man) at the workshop came up with some great variations - thanks for a great workshop Rebecca!!

Happy Easter

We have just arrived home from Luana's child care Easter party, so I thought it fitting to post the cards we made this year (plus, I got a message from Mum today to say she has received hers in the post!). I just HAD to buy the very cute Bunny Hugs from the Summer Mini, so that's what I used this year (only 11 days to go to order this stamp set if you're already planning for next year!).

The colour wheel provided the card combination of Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst and Blush Blossom. I used versamark and Almost Amethyst ink for the backgrounds, and Chocolate Chip for everything else. Soft Subtles Stampin' Write markers were used to colour the eggs and the bunny ears and nose, and the white gel pen provided the white cotton tail. I finished the card off with hodgepodge hardware (egg shaped of course!) and a bit of white organdy ribbon.

Luana quite liked the bunny too, so I stamped one for her. She proudly coloured it in and I couldn't help making it into something!! I like this colour combo - Tempting Turquoise, Pixie Pink and Gable Green. Isn't she clever!?!

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Easter and in the words of a good friend of mine...

May you gorge on love and chocolate!!

Summer Mini Swap

Today's offering is my contribution to a Summer Mini Catalogue swap that my friend and sister demonstrator (we have the same upline) Mel organised earlier this year (when I figure out how to do it, I'll link her blog to mine). I actually made the original card for my grandmother's birthday, and just changed the greeting for the swap - a bit cheeky, but I really liked what I did for Mamma!

I used all In Colours for this card (I am so going to miss them, but can't wait to find out what the new ones are!); Marigold Morning and Vintage Violet (and Whisper White) card, and Marigold Morning, True Thyme, Cranberry Crisp and Vintage Violet inks. Carte Postale and the coordinating Jumbo wheel Leaves a la Carte met the swap criteria, and I also used Mostly Flowers (thanks Helene) which I couldn't have placed without the Stamp-a-ma-jig.
The end result was quite different to what I usually do and Mamma liked it, which is the most important part!

Joseph's Coat

I had my first get-together with my team of girls on the weekend (except one who is living it up in Ireland at the moment); I have 4 wonderful and talented members of my team and it was great for everyone to meet face to face and I loved seeing all their creations. BTW, thanks Sam for the awesome rocky road!!


We tried our hand at Joseph's Coat this week - I love this technique because when it works it looks awesome, and even when it doesn't it's still pretty impressive! I still need to trouble shoot an issue, but here are the 2 cards we made; both used Bud Basics and Basic Outline Jumbo wheel from the Summer Mini, the retiring Celebration spectrum ink pad and Basic Black ink.

This one used Green Galore and Pink Passion card with Green Galore ink and was finished with lilac grosgrain ribbon. Very simple, yet effective!

This looks so much better IRL - the weather here has been rather dismal lately (except for today) so I haven't been able to photograph outside. Brilliant Blue, Lovely Lilac, Pink Passion and Whisper White card was used, as well as Lovely Lilac (you can just see it) and Green Galore ink. I used apple green grosgrain ribbon across the top, and the (barely visible) greeting is from Small Sayings in the Summer Mini, finished with hodgepodge hardware.

Lastly, I'd thought I'd share this one too - I played lots for this technique (there are 4 more I could have shared with you!). Once again, it looks a lot better IRL. The stamp set this time was Big Blooms from the Summer Mini. Basic Black, Pink Passion and Green Galore card was used, and tangerine grosgrain ribbon. I love it, even though technique-wise it's not great!!

Let me know if you need any of the stamp sets I've used from the Summer Mini, because that finishes at the end of this month, and all the grosgrain ribbon is retiring too; some have already sold out (check out current availability through the link on my previous post). I'm on the countdown to the new Ideas Book and Catalogue!

Happy Birthday Kate

I ran into a friend yesterday who gave me grief for not keeping my blog up to date, so this one's for you!!




A very good friend of mine up and left me last year and moved back home. I made this card for her birthday, and in true Natasha style only posted it a couple of months after the event.

This one uses Lovely Lilac, Green Galore, Pixie Pink and Whisper White card and inks with Bodacious Blooms and the greeting is from Simple Wishes (retired Level 1 Hostess set from 06-07 catalogue). I kissed the middle of the flower with Mostly Flowers and finished it with a Lovely Lilac eyelet.

Hope you had a great birthday Kate!

Thanks Lynne!!!

Our beautiful Luana is moving up to the next room at child care next week, so I thought I'd make a thank you card for Lynne who has been her carer since she started there. Luana is going to miss her, but I'm sure she'll visit the babies room often to say hello!

I used a Sahara Sand long note with the Scribble Jumbo Wheel (both from the Spring Mini last year), Flirty ribbon from the Summer Mini, Tidy Alphabet (which is retiring, so let me know if you need a set) with Taken by Teal ink, and the little girl (Miss Luana!) is stamped using All in the Family which will be in the 08/09 Ideas Book & Catalogue, with Chocolate Chip ink and Soft Subtles Stampin' Write Markers and backed with Taken By Teal card. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and Luana even wrote/scribbled in it herself!

Thanks again Lynne! We really appreciate you taking care of our little girl!!