I have a card featured on the front cover of the current Cardmaking, Stamping and Papercraft magazine (Vol 15 no 2 for those of you playing along at home)

Lookie….  The one at the top right is mine!

It’s part of a set of four that are featured within those very pages!

See….?!

This has been the cause of much excitement for me as I have long been planning to submit to magazines and finally got around to it earlier this year.

Imagine my delight when I received an email less than a day after sending my submission off saying that they’d love to feature my cards!

Imagine my agony when, magazines requiring the drawn out putting together and editing process that they do, it would be 6 months until I saw my name in print for the very first time!

But here it is, and on the cover too!  I had no idea that was happening until my friend and fellow demonstrator Vanessa left me a message on Facebook to congratulate me for it!

Here are the cards a bit closer up…

So that’s why I’m a teeny bit excited at the moment, and also encouraged to have another go at submitting soon!

The ‘daggy’ reference in my post title is…. well, it’s a direct result of my excitement really, and I don’t even have to even tell you I suppose.  I could keep it to myself and pretend that this publishing lark happens to me all the time, and being on the cover..?  Pfffft – ALL the time.

But in the words of my favourite blogger Pioneer Woman, that wouldn’t be keepin’ it real, so my friends I will admit to you that I have – on more than….several occasions – gone into whichever newsagent I happen past, even Borders in the city once when I found myself close by, to peer at my card on the cover.

Just this morning my big girl Hannah and I were at our local shopping centre and as we walked past one of the newsagents there, we popped in quickly.  Just to look, nothing more.  I think Hannah understands my excitement, bless her little heart!

So there you have it, my first foray into the world of published stampin’ and a brief peek into the extreme dagginess that is me

“Embrace Life Published Card Set”
Stamps: Embrace Life, Linen (retired)
Paper: Ruby Red, River Rock (retired), Groovy Guava (retired), Ginger Blossom (retired)
Ink: StazOn Black, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Summer Sun, Always Artichoke, River Rock (retired), Groovy Guava (retired)
Accessories: Black Stampin’ Write Marker, Earth Elements brads, White Gel Pen, River Rock double stitched ribbon (retired), Groovy Guava double stitched ribbon (retired), Stampin’ Dimensionals

…perhaps you’ve noticed.

So there I was, all scheduled up and sorted and thinking that I was onto something with the scheduling of posts.  And I was!  It was very satisfying to sit and sort out a fortnight worth of blog posts in one session and know that they would dutifully show up at the exact moment I had arranged them to.

The plan was to do the same thing every week or fortnight and I was very excited about the prospect of being organised about something for once!

Then some nameless, faceless and conscious-less nasty bugger somewhere out there in cyber space hacked into my blog files, planted some unwanted code into several of them, thereby breaking my blog and freaking me out in the process.

I managed to fix the blog itself, but my team forum and gallery appear unable to be resurrected, so I have spent a goodly chunk of the past couple of weeks sorting out a new online team area and diligently watching my blog files for signs of unauthorised entry!

So anyway, the reason for this post is two-fold:

• to let you know (if you haven’t all given up on me entirely by now!) that I hope to resume regular stampin’ programming and scheduled blog posts again very soon – I have a few exciting things to share!
• and also to say that if you have a Wordpress.org blog, be super vigilant for any changes in your blog files and make sure that your security is nice and tight!  I have installed a plug-in called File Monitor that emails me if there are any changes in my files and so far, so good.  You can find it in the plug-in database at wordpress.org if you’re interested

Thanks for your ongoing patience

I have been having a mammoth clear out of my stampin’ space and have decided that I am ready to let go of some of my retired stamp sets and accessories, which means this is YOUR chance to grab some hard to come by stampin’ stuff!

I have joined forces with some of the girls in my team, so there will be a great amount of stuff to choose from!

When: THIS SUNDAY June 28th 2009

Where: Shenton Storage – 39 Lemnos Street Shenton Park

Time: 11am to 2.30pm

It will be a cash and carry affair – no credit card facilities will be available on the day and unfortunately we won’t be able to accept cheques.

In addition to the great stuff on sale, there will also be gifts with purchase, but these will be limited in number so get there early to avoid disappointment!

Looking forward to seeing you there!

You may have seen, as I have, various incarnations of an adorable flower pot card making its way around the internet in recent times.

The first such one I saw was an amazing swap card at one of our team days a few months ago from my lovely friend and team member Tracey, using Flower Fusion felt flowers.

Since then I have seen all sorts of varieties.  Some stamped, some more with Flower Fusion, some Die Cut Blooms here and there, the possibilities are endless!

So being the bandwagon jumper-on-erer that I am, I decided that the 6th birthday of one of my big girl’s sweet little mates was the perfect time to get on board!

I am loving Petal Pizzazz to BITS, and it was the perfect set for a bright and cheery flower pot for the bright and cheery birthday girl in question

So tell me….what’s your current favourite stampin’ bandwagon?

“6th Birthday Flower Pot!”
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Sanded
Paper: Whisper White, Really Rust, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Really Rust, Summer Sun, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Buttons (retired), Bold Brights brads, Kiwi Kiss striped ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So I promised a story about the What Not to Wear chicks, Trinny and Susannah and here it is, with a cameo role…in fact a LEADING PERFORMANCE by none other than my very own stylin’ mum, aka Nanny.

You might want to grab a cuppa, this is likely to be a long one, but  I promise there is stamping in here too.

Somewhere.

So it starts with the news that Trinny and Susannah are doing a bit of a tour of Westfield shopping centres, and being rather long time fans, Mum and I decide that we simply MUST go along to one of their appearances.

We arrive at Whitfords shopping centre with not much time to spare and hardly any space either, since apparently there are a BUNCH of long time fans in Perth and evidently none of them have jobs, allowing them to be hanging out at a shopping centre at 10am on a Wednesday morning.

So right on time, cue those gorgeous women all their apparently flawed but well-camouflaged glory, and more than a single utterance of the word ‘tits’.

After a bit of a natter, they head out into the audience on the hunt for stage-fodder of the variety that have not a single clue of how to dress themselves appropriately.  Susannah was over on the other side of the audience and Trinny was on our side, but being well back in the crowd we figured they’d grab their victims in the first few steps and that would be that.

Wrong!

I was so busy taking random pictures above my head in case I managed to get Trinny in the corner of one of them, that I didn’t realise that it was no longer necessary as I could take this one instead…..

She was suddenly right in front of us and looking right at mum!

Next thing I knew, I was an extra handbag heavier and this was happening…

Mum was disappearing through the crowd with my style idol en-route to the stage!

Which, considering that these girls are in the business of telling people that they a bereft of any clue about fashion and personal styling, SHOULD have been a concern, but I was too excited that I had stood face to face with Trinny and mum was HOLDING her HAND!

Soon it was mum’s turn to be centre stage….

All worries about public humiliation of the style variety were laid to rest when they announced that mum was a fabulous example of how a 60-something woman should look!  Her hair is the perfect cut and colour, her glasses the perfect shape and her t-shirt just the right shade of ‘mink’

GO NANNY!

The only shame about the whole event was that the clueless lot that were given a bit of a makeover were also given a shopping voucher and a new Nikon camera!

Westfield shopping voucher….. $250

New Nikon camera….$300

Walking around Whitfords shopping centre to the stares and whispers of those who wished that THEY had as much style as you….  PRICELESS!

Now I did promise that there would be some stamping in amongst all of this fashion and frivolity, so here it is…

This is the 12×12 layout that  I set for everyone at our team stamping day, and I made mine up with the pictures of mum’s close encounter with Trinny.

At the end of the show there were elbows and sharpie pens flying as the entire crowd descended upon the girls for autographs and photo’s.  I managed to grab Trinny on her way past and asked if she would mind having a photo taken with ‘the one who got it right’, to which she promptly and graciously agreed!

So now it’s your turn!  Do you have any close encounter stories of the celebrity kind?  Let me know all about it, or better yet, scrapbook it and leave a link in the comments!  I’d love to check them out!

Now if only I’d had my camera handy when I was chatting with Keanu Reeves 13 years ago….

“Mum meets Trinny 12×12 layout”
Stamps: Fifth Avenue floral
Paper: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Kraft, Urban Oasis DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Baja Breeze Double Stitched Grosgrain, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Photo Corner Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Those of you who receive my newsletter will feel a slight sense of deja-vu when you read this post, as you would (hopefully!) have read this exact same thing in your inbox last week…

If you have been receiving my newsletter for a while, chances are you are familiar with the ‘non-workshops’ that I have run from time to time. Perhaps you have been a participant!

Well with the extra hostess benefits up for grabs this month and next, I’ve decided that it’s the PERFECT time to run another one!

Who wants in…?!

Here’s the nitty gritty……

1. In order to run the ‘non-workshop’, I need 6 people.

2. Those 6 people each need to place a minimum order of $100*

3. Those 6 people will then share in the associated hostess benefits as follows**:

• 1 person will receive a Level 1 or 2 hostess set of their choice

• * 5 people will receive $20 to spend towards their choice of catalogue merchandise

• * The person placing the largest order over $100 will receive an additional $10 to spend towards their choice of catalogue merchandise

Considering that to get a look in at hostess rewards ordinarily requires a minimum spend of $300, I think you’ll agree that this is a great opportunity!

* Not including shipping costs. A 5% charge will be added to each order as standard shipping and handling. If you are not local to Perth and therefore unable to collect your order from me, the actual cost of sending your order on to you will also need to be added to your order

** Hostess rewards may increase or decrease depending on the level of participation

I have just TWO places left in my non-workshop, so if you like the idea of some hostess benefits but don’t have a workshop on your near horizon, contact me asap to grab yourself one of the spots!

Those of you who didn’t receive this information in your inbox last week in the form of my newsletter might want to consider signing up to receive it, thereby ensuring that you’re always among the first to know about any future awesome deals!

Head on over to the sidebar there —–> and enter your email address in the newsletter box towards the top of the far right column…..

At the end of May, the quarterly team stamping day for my team A Klass Act was held and was the usual wonderful mix of friends, food and a little bit of stampin’!

What I love most about the team is that aside from the very few of us that knew each other prior, we have all been brought together due to each of us having become Stampin’ Up! demonstrators and we always have SUCH a fabulous time together!

As usual, there was swapping, business discussions, a ‘workshop wow’ demonstration, this time by Narelle, and 3 stamping projects for everybody to complete.

There was also home-baked scones (thanks Janny!), a 40th birthday celebration (hip hip hooray Chantell and thanks for the yummy cake Sue!) and enough chocolate to sink the Titanic!

Here are the projects we completed on the day….

This card project was provided by Jaz and was a wonderful example of the chalkboard technique.

This Explosion Box project was courtesy of Chantell, who has a never ending supply of 3D project ideas to keep us all busily entertained!

Here it is all neat and closed….

This is what happens when you take off the lid…

… and then this is what it looks like post-explosion…

Pretty cool huh?!

Everybody also completed a 12×12 scrapbooking layout of my design, but I have saved that for a post of its own as I have already included photo’s on mine, along with which goes a bit of a fun story, so I thought I’d make a bit of a feature of it…

You might recall my Trinny and Susannah reference of a couple of days ago…?

Stay tuned for the story!

If you like the sound of team day and have ever considered the opportunity to become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator yourself, I encourage you to check 0ut the Join my Team information right here on my blog, and contact me if you’d like further information.

I’m always ready to welcome new members into my team -perhaps the next one will be YOU!

My big girl was invited to the birthday party of one of her sweet little classmates recently, which of course called for a sweet birthday card!

It doesn’t get much sweeter than strawberry scratch ‘n’ sniff my friends….!

The Big Bold Birthday set is perfect for this technique as it’s a nice solid stamp set, and cupcakes that smell like strawberry….?  Perfect!

To get this technique happening, simply make a half and half mixture of clear embossing powder and sugar free jelly crystals.  The sugar free part is important as you will be heating it in the same way you would normally when you emboss, and the combination of sugar and heat gun makes for a burnt, brown, not so attractive cupcake, although if you’re anything like me in the kitchen, it would be fairly true to life.

But enough about my baking misadventures….

So you stamp the image you want to make into scratch ‘n’ sniff with Versamark, then pour over your embossing powder/jelly crystals mixture.  Heat with the heat gun and that’s pretty much that!

Scratch, sniff and enjoy!

“Caitlin’s 6th Birthday Strawberry Cupcake Card!”
Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa Prints DSP (retired)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Versamark
Accessories: Clear embossing powder/sugar-free strawberry jelly crystals, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Mother’s Day came and went a good month ago now and I have yet to share the cards I made for my delightful mum and mum-in-law, so here they are!

My mum has always loved all things owl-related, looong before they became the next big thing in stamping and scrapbooking!  She is a setter of the trends rather than a follower, as you will read all about in an upcoming post about her brush with fame, Trinny and Susannah style, but that’s a WHOLE other story!

Back to the owl….

This guy is from the Level 3 hostess bundle Hand Drawn, more specifically he is one of the Loop to Loop rub-ons.  Isn’t he adorable?!

In order to incorporate the two different styles of Designer Series Paper, I carefully cut the wings away from the rest of the owl before I rubbed on the rub-on.

Then I applied the body portion to the pale pink spotty paper from the Candy Lane series of DSP, and the wings to a darker spotty piece from Raspberry Tart and popped the wings up on Stampin’ Dimensionals for some, well, dimension

“Nanny’s Happy Mother’s Day Card”
Stamps: None!
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures, Candy Lane & Raspberry Tart DSP, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP
Ink: None!
Accessories: Loop to Loop rub-ons (Level 3 Hostess Bundle), Double-Stitched Rose Red Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This next one was for for my dear MIL, beloved ‘Mama’ to my girls and amazing crafter too!  She is the most incredible quilter and has recently applied her crafty hand to papery pursuits, with large amounts of success I will add!

This one was inspired by the card on the back cover of the current Idea Book & Catalogue.  I am loving this colour combination and the Sweet Stems set is the sweetest!

“Mama’s Happy Mother’s Day Card”
Stamps: Sweet Stems, Occasional Greetings
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Watercolour Paper, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Wide Oval Punch, Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain, Aquapainter, White Gel Pen

The catalogue is such a wonderful place for inspiration, be it for a layout idea, or a colour combination as I have used it for here.  Make sure you make use of the wonderful resource that it is and save yourself the trouble of re-inventing the wheel every time you sit down to stamp!

It’s been a very long time since I participated in one of Kristina’s colour inspiration challenges!  In fact I just did a bit of digging and determined that my last effort was a whopping 26 challenges ago!

So a few days ago, having cleared and tidied my craft desk (and my floor – yep it was that bad!) I had no more excuses not to sit and stamp, so I decided that I would have a crack at the next colour inspiration.

Then yesterday, up went the colours….

Holy cow, those there are some bright colours!  I almost re-thought my determination to take part, but then I started formulating a plan…

The plan involved playing around with one of my current absolute FAVE stamp sets – Circle Circus - and instead of stamping it randomly as I have done previously, I decided on a more ordered approach.

This is what resulted:

What I love about Circle Circus is that it looks great all random and everywhere, but equally fun all lined up and regular.  This sure gave the ol’ Stamp-a-ma-jig a good working out I have to tell you!

For the colours, I used a tiny bit of Tempting Turquoise as the Sky Blue that was called for in the challenge.  Over my way, the sky is quite often turquoise, so I used a bit of artistic licence there, and aside from that I’m all out of Soft Sky since it’s been retired and I couldn’t let that pesky detail get in the way of my resolve to have a play with this challenge!

Here’s a bit of a close up of the detail….

At this angle you can see the crimping of the Green Galore flaggy thing a bit better and also the ‘thread’ that I have used in the button.  I mentioned this idea in a post a few months back where you cut tiny thin strips of cardstock and pop it through your button holes for perfectly co-ordinated ‘thread’!

There are still a couple of days to have a play with the colour inspiration, so go on, challenge yourself!  It’s a great way to have a go at something you would probably not usually choose for yourself, so a handy method to extend your stamping skills and step outside of your comfort zone a little

“Kristina’s Colour Inspiration #54″
Stamps: Circle Circus, Upsy Daisy (greeting)
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Taken with Teal, Green Galore
Accessories: Crimper, Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain, Button Latte, Stampin’ Dimensionals