Thanks!!

This week my daughter competed in an Aerobics Competition with her school, and her team asked me to make some Thank You cards to give to the coaches. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought they looked really pretty. I have used a different background DSP and ribbon on each card, just for a bit of variety...

I have used some retired DSP as my order of new goodies hasn't arrived yet, but you could easily change the paper for a different look. I love these Butterfly Thinlits and they are so versatile. Below are the supplies I have used to make these cards.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

The coaches loved them, when the girls presented them with the cards and a gift at their Breakfast on Tuesday. Hope you like them too!

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

The New Catalogue has arrived!!

Welcome to a cold and chilly day in Melbourne - hope it's better wherever you are - however it's perfect weather here to make yourself a cuppa and settle down to browse the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue.  You can access the catalogue on-line by clicking on the link below the catalogue or the picture of the catalogue to the right of the page. There's plenty of great new product to see and I had to read the catty several times before I could take it all in. As always, let me know if you wish to place an order, have any questions or want to host a party so you can get lots of new goodies for FREE!!

http://su-media.s3.amazonaws.com/media/catalogs/2015-2016%20Annual/20150601_AnnualCatalog_en-AU.pdf

Blog Hop : Farewell favourites

Today I am taking part in my first AWHT  blog hop with some of the awesome ladies in the Art With Heart Stampin' Up! Team - I am super excited!! - it's also my first blog hop ever!!

Today our focus is on our Favourite Retiring Product...

Both the 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue and the 2015 Occasions Catalogue finish on the 2nd June, so there's not long left to place an order for anything you really want before they are gone forever - contact me to place your order.

You have come to my blog from the lovely Kathryn Manglesdorf. Blogs are full circles so you can start hopping right here and keep going until you get back here.

Unfortunately, there are lots of awesome products retiring - Designer Series Paper, cardstock, In Colour inks, stamps and accessories. I always get very sad at this time of year, but then I think about all the fantastic NEW PRODUCTS that will soon be available and I am somewhat mollified.

     

 
      My first card uses the Four Feathers  stamp set and matching Framelits (although I haven't used the framelits on this card). I masked the centre panel and embossed the feathers before using sponge daubers to create the blue panel. I find this set great for male cards and will be very sorry to see it go.

      My second card uses the Painted Petals stamp set from the Jan-June 2015 Occasions Catalogue. I'm not sure I will miss this set as much as the others as I never really warmed to it. I just don't seem to be happy with the finished product, although I have seem some gorgeous samples done by others.

This card uses all the colours in the Subtles Colour Collection which go really well together. I am going to send this card to a close friend who has been a great listening post for me over the last year - hope she likes it.










It's now time to hop on over to the lovely Kathryn Ruddick - click on the image to be taken to her blog

If you get lost along the way, here is a list of everyone participating:

1. Judy May

2. Tina Gillespie

3. Genna Gifford

4. Ros Davidson

5. Claire Daly

6. Nikki Sadler

7. Kathryn Mangelsdorf

8. Kayleen McLean  - that's me and where you are now!

9. Kathryn Ruddick

10. Jenny Van Dijk

11. Kate Morgan

12. Rachel Woollard

13. Barbara Lindsey

Convention 2015 Wrap-Up

Now that I have been home from the Stampin Up! 2015 Convention for more than a week, I can process what I saw, learnt and felt about it all. It is a very exciting time, especially as this year it was the Global release of the 2015-2016 Annual Catalogue. The release was video-taped and streamed later in the day to the whole world!
Part of the excitement is receiving new stamp sets and we weren't disappointed this year. We all got the set "I Think You're Great" and were given the opportunity to make projects with this new set and some other new products.

Here are my finished projects:

This first card is made on Watercolour Paper using the gorgeously scrumptious colour Watermelon Wonder. The banner is Mint Macaron and the leaves on the flower are Cucumber Crush. It was quite a simple card to make, but very effective. The water-colouring should probably be a bit richer in colour, but I didn't want to make it too wet as I had to transport it back to my room and didn't want to make my bag all wet.

On this second card we used markers direct to the stamp and didn't cover the whole stamp. The colours used were Cucumber Crush and Mint Macaron. We also used a piece of the DSP from the Everyday Chic Designer Series Paper to make an accent down the side of the card. Of course, no card is complete without a little bling, so some Rhinestones were added after the sentiment was mounted on dimensionals.

For this third card, we used a technique called "Kissing", which is very effective and one I will be teaching in an upcoming class, so contact me if you would like to know more....

The envelope at the back is made from the gorgeous new In Colour Collection Paper Stack - I can't wait to get my hands on this!





These first 3 cards all use the same stamp set, which shows you how versatile it is. I love it when you can make a whole range of cards from one set, as it makes them great value for money.

This fourth card uses a new Paper Piercing Set called "Updated Essentials" and includes some words - happy, hello and for you and co-ordinates with the flower medallion stamp and punch. We got to try it out in the Product Playground, and I made this card with my sample when I got home.







Of course, there were lots of other exciting things happening at Convention and it was great to catch up with lots of Demonstrators from other States that I have met in previous years, as well as meet and make lots of new friends. Everyone is extremely friendly and welcoming and if you would like to join my team and take part in lots of events like this, then just give me a call.

Thanks for stopping by
Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

I'm a very naughty girl :)

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I have posted on my blog. To be honest, I got a bit disheartened as no-one seemed to be looking at it, so I kind of gave up.

Well I have just come back from the Gold Coast where Stampin' Up held their 2015 Convention, and I am inspired to get my blog back on track.
This years Convention coincided with the global release of the 2015-2016 Annual Catalogue and it was a very exciting time. We were the first Demonstrators in the world to get our hands on the AC, and there was much excitement, I can tell you. If you have ever been in a room with 600 screaming women, that should give you some indication. They also released the 2015-2017 In Colours, which have the delectable names of Watermelon Wonder, Cucumber Crush, Delightful Dijon, Mint Macaron and Tip Top Taupe.

The catalogue will go live on June 2, 2015 and you will find it hard to not want EVERYTHING in it. I have been lucky enough to be able to pre-order some of the new products, so stay tuned for some sneak peek samples.

We also received one of the new stamp sets called "I Think You're Great" and made some awesome samples while at Convention. Stay tuned for pics to follow....

Thanks for stopping by

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

Convention 2014 Continued. . . Projects. . .

Over the course of the three days we made several projects with amazing new products from the 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue (released on the 1st July 2014). Our second Inspire. Create. Share. Project was a really cute gift card holder with three cards and envelopes.

Project Details
Stamps	Amazing Birthday
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake, Gold Glimmer Paper, Tangelo Twist DSP
Ink	Lost Lagoon, Real red, Hello Honey, Tangelo Twist
Accessories	Gift Card Enclosure Pack, Whisper White Baker's Twine
Tools	Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Score Tool, Itty, Bitty Accents Punch (Star), Scissors, Sticky Strip

The third Inspire. Create. Share. Project was a card made using MDS (My Digital Studio) with some added accents. Rather than being a traditional card it was a slightly larger postcard. We added some accents with punches and DSP and a little bling. The cute little clothes peg at the top is from a set of the 2014-2015 In Colours with some patterned and plain pegs, which we also were given.

Stay tuned for more projects to follow
Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

Convention 2014 Continued . . . Day One . . .

Day One of Convention started with the crazy swapping in the Foyer of the Melbourne Convention Centre. There were over 700 women running around very excitedly, catching up with friends they hadn't seen since last year and meeting new people. Some people were also collecting their bags, but I was lucky enough to get mine the night before when I attended a class on the Wednesday night before Convention officially started.

The bags were a little smaller this year, but a fabulous red (Real Red) with a blue lining. The gorgeous bag tag on the right hand side was one of my roomie swaps, made by the very talented Judy May and my room mate for the week at the Best Western Riverside Apartments. It's actually a scissor charm, but since I had no scissors with me I hung it from my bag for the week. We also got a pen with a stylus on the tip for using with a tablet or smart phone. Inside the bag was our program, lanyard, name tag and any pins and awards for sales and recruiting. I didn't qualify for anything this year, but have set some goals for next year - more about that later.
The General Session for Day One was opened by one of the lead singers from the Musical "Wicked", singing "Popular" and she was fantastic. Shelli Gardner - the Founder of Stampin' Up! then welcomed everyone to Convention and got us all inspired for the days ahead.

Our first Inspire. Create. Share. Workshop was very exciting as we received our second free stamp set of the day and made two beautiful cards with it. The "Share" part of the session was to send one of the cards to someone who had made it possible for us to come to Convention, so one of the very special people in my life will be receiving this soon.

This card is made with one of the stamp sets from the 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue which starts on the 1st July 2014. It also shows several of the new IN COLOURS - Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow and Tangelo Twist (the fifth colour is not pictured and is Lost Lagoon). The two cards are slightly different in design - see if you can pick the differences!

Project Details
Stamps	Kinda Eclectic
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Hello Honey, Vellum, Blackberry Bliss DSP
Ink	Crumb Cake, Hello Honey, Mossy Meadow, Tangelo Twist, Staz On Black
Accessories	Linen Thread, Mini Paperclip from Basics Hodgepodge Clips Set, Dimensionals
Tools	Elegant Butterfly Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Punch, Honeycomb Embossing Folder, Scissors

Please contact me if you would like to receive a copy of the new catalogue when it becomes available.

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen