Stampin Up Australia: Claire Daly Independent Demonstrator

Elementary Elegance Saleabration set and an update on my Spice Cake Kits ....

Australia Day Eve and hubby is making his legendary potato salad as we are having his workmates over for an Australia Day BBQ tomorrow. I am relatively organised and will do some last minute salad and dessert making in the morning so for now I get to chat on my blog.

Another of my favourite sets from the Saleabration sets is Elementary Elegance. I'm a sucker for birds, crowns and butterflies! This set particularly appeals to me because it coordinates perfectly with the Stampin' Up! Curly Label Punch.

Here's a couple of cards I have recently made with this set. In this first one I have embossed the frame in white onto Wisteria Wonder cardstock and popped the designer label shape up with some Dimensionals. I teamed it with some of the Flirtatious Specialty DSP. I have embellished the card with a greeting and crown (from the same set and embossed in Melon Mambo embossing powder), and some Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight ribbon (waving hi to Madonna :) ) plus some adhesive Rhinestones.

In this second card, I have used the same set, but this time lifted the frame up, not the centre.

I have used the Everyday Enchantment Saleabration paper here, and matching colours of Calypso Coral and Pool Party. I have also used some of the Organdy ribbon which is a party of the Everyday Enchantment embellishment pack (along with the matching brads and Lucky Limeade ribbon).

Also wanted to update you on the Spice Cake bundle, kits and instructions. Here's some peeks of some of the projects:

The order for the first lot of kits and bundles has gone in but I will be regularly putting in more orders throughout January and February at least, so these can definitely still be ordered. You can find all the details over on the Spice Cake tutorials page. I will be doing regular tutorials throughout this year. You can just choose to purchase month by month as I won't be locking you into any contracts. Each months step by step tutorials will include at least 6 projects, with the kits usually around $30-$40. In the kits and bundles you get all the bits needed to make all the projects including die cuts, brads, pearls etc. I have had such great feedback about the value, conciseness is that a word?) of the instructions and how lovely people find the projects. This makes me happy!
 
Something else that made me happy was the week at the beach last week with family and some friends who came down for a few days too. This was also Oscar's (Oscar is our 1 year old White German Shepherd if you are new to my blog) first beach holiday too and he loved it. Here's a couple of pics.

All ready to go on holiday:

Sam taking Oscar for a swim:

 
Oscar taking Sam and Josh for a swim (makes me smile):

and a peaceful walk along the beach at dusk:

On that note I had better get some sleep so I can get up to make those salads and have a fun Australia Day with friends. I am grateful to live in this wonderful country. Happy Australia Day everyone!

 Claire xx

A special Saleabration layout ...

I really loved this photo of my husband Paul and I that Josh took on New Years Eve. We are in a good place right now and I think this photo shows that, so Iwanted to make a special layout using the Everyday Enchantment Saleabration papers. I have also used the Fresh Vintage stamp set (another free Saleabration item you can choose with a $100 order) and you can also see a couple of the matching brads from the Everyday Enchantment ribbon and brad Saleabration pack.

More about this photo and layout. Just reflections really. It takes a lot of giving and taking to make a marriage work and there have been times where the stress of us all trying to adjust and work through lifes challenges (and there were some big ones with IVF, losing my Dad and brother and then working through getting Josh diagnosed and help for his sensory issues) had us both going a little nuts. Right now though it feels like we have learnt so much from those challenges and we are working great as a team and each have a much deeper appreciation of each other and what we need to be happy. Life is good.

I had a couple of single girlfriends come and join us for a few days at the beach when we were away last week (lots of pics and layouts coming!) and they reminded me how lucky I am to have such a lovely husband that does so much for us all. Often it's just the little things like today when I was getting ready for work, he sensed I was running a little late so while I was in the shower he took my car down and filled it with petrol so I wouldn't have to and cooled the car down for me. Made me happy (I did say it's the little things!).

Stay tuned for some more Paul layouts coming up!

New stamp at home kit for 2012. Stampin' Up! Spice Cake DSP and matching Spiced Paisley stamp set

I'm excited to bring you my first stamp at home kit and set of stamping tutorials for 2012. This set features the gorgeous Stampin' Up! Spice Cake Designer Series Paper and matching Spiced Paisley stamp set from the Australian Summer Mini Catalogue. It includes 6 layered and embellished cards with matching envelopes, a gift candle, 10 mini cards and matching envelopes and a gift box to hold the mini cards and envelopes.

 

There are four options to get started with this creative kit for your 2012 stamping. You can:

1. Buy the consumables including the instructions for $35.00. I will be placing my first order for these on Tuesday January 24th, and then again in February, so get your order in asap if you would like to get one of the first kits.
2. Buy just the step by step instructions for $16.00
3. Buy a stamping bundle including the DSP, cardstock, ink pads and stamp set (either wood mount  or clear mount) and get the postage, embellishments and instructions for free. Wood mount bundle is $122.96, and clear mount bundle is $114.95. You will also qualify for a free Saleabration stamp set (or DSP or embellishment pack) with orders between 24th January and 31st March. Orders will be placed on the 24th January, but you can put your order through anytime from now.
4. If you would prefer to order other products, you will still get the FREE instructions with any Saleabration order (i.e. order over $100) placed between January 24th and March 31st.

All the details including how to order and how to pay can be found over on the Spice Cake Stamp at Home kit tutorial page. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or call (0412120498 or 03 9735 2946) though :)

Claire

Saleabration Inspiration from my Petunias .....

I have a lovely basket of petunias just getting started on my back patio. Love the colours in them. In Stampin' Up! colours I would describe them as Melon Mambo, Concord Crush and Almost Amethyst.

I was looking at them the other day and decided they would make lovely colours for a card, and whipped this one up using my Stampin' Write Markers to colour the Stampin Up! Fresh Vintage Saleabration stamp set. Even the name of this stamp set makes my heart sing!

I have used a few other Stampin' up! products in this card too. The greeting is from the stamp set Pretty Postage which I absolutely love as it has that fresh vintage feel about it too. You can also get a matching Postage Stamp punch, which makes a perfect postage stamp mat for the stamps in this set (stamps and matching punches make me happy as it makes it so easy to get a great look!). The DSP is Cheerful Treat, one of the items a hostess can choose for free.

I love how the Stampin' Write markers allow you to produce great quality multicolour images by using them direct to rubber. Would you like to learn some other techniques using your Stampin' Write Markers? I have some step by step tutorials available for sale here. You can also find a whole heap of general tutorials here.

If there are any products you would like to add to your collection from this post, email me  or give me a call on 0412120498 and you can order by phone or email and have them sent straight to you anywhere in Australia.

Hope you have a great creative week,

Claire 

Just 11 more sleeps until Stampin' Up! Saleabration in Australia .... how about a sneak peek?

Hello lovelies. Let's cut to the chase. You are TOTALLY going to LOVE this years Saleabration freebies! For those new to Stampin' Up!, during the time period 24th January to 31st March you get to choose one of 4 exclusive stamp sets and wait for it .... this year a free (and totally yummy) 12 sheet DSP pack, or the matching ribbon and brad pack. WOW, we have never had that in Australia and I am so excited!

Here's a another sneak peeks on my first scrapbook page for 2012. Tonight I plan to play with the sets to make some birthday cards, so stay tuned for those.

This page uses the gorgeous Saleabration DSP Everyday Enchantment. This would have to be my favourite all time Stampin' Up! DSP. It's totally beautiful, fresh but still a little bit vintage. You can't buy this, but you can choose it free with a $100 order during Saleabration. If you look closely (you can click on the page to make it larger), you can see I have used one of the matching brads on the bottom of the 4 rows of photos on the right hand side. For this layout, I have used a sketch I found in Scrapbooks Etc. magazine, Dec 2011.

I have used some other 'go to for scrapbooking' Stampin' Up! supplies on this layout. I have used the On Board Medley Chipboard which I have covered with the DSP, and also the Blossom Party Originals Sizzix Die which is fabulous for making layered flowers on your page. I have popped one of the In Colour Polka Dot Brads in the centre. Love a bit of dimension on my pages.

If you would like me to pop a Saleabration catalogue in the mail to you, just email me at cdaly@bigpond.net.au. If you would like to see more samples, sign up for my newsletter (top of the right hand column). My Saleabration newsletter will be coming out in a week or so.

Chat again soon,

Claire

Hello 2012 and welcome to my new One Little Word .....

I love New Years Day. A clean slate, a year full of possibilities ahead. Welcome 2012!

I am really looking forward to this year.  I am looking forward to sharing some fun times with my family and friends, watching my children grow and learn, and working towards my personal goals and growing my Dietitian business and Stampin' Up! business. There is much to look forward to.  Life is good.

One of the things I loved about 2011, was having my One Little Word   along for the ride with me. Last years word was Nourishand I plan on continuing to hold that close to me as well as my new word. I was surprised how important my word became to me last year and how it shaped a lot of my thinking and popped up in my reflecting. It was a great word. I had originally not planned on doing Ali's online course this year, but in the last few days of reflecting on 2011, I changed my mind. So I am officially OLW'ing again in 2012. How exciting! Who knows, I might even get to join the blog hop this year!

Now my word. A few weeks ago I thought I had it picked and even told some close friends. I had picked Create as in create your own opportunities, create a life you love etc/ I also tossed around Grow and Evolve but that didn't 100% sit right. Also Authentic.

It turned out my heart had other ideas though and a new word has evolved for me over the last few days. It's funny, because I think this years word has actually came about because of last years. I was so much kinder and nurturing to myself in 2011 and I wanted to carry that with me into 2012.

So my word for 2012 is very simple and gentle:

Forward

I just want to continue to move forward in 2012, in a gradual and nurturing way as I did in 2011. I want that journey forward to be peaceful, with lots to see and enjoy along the way. I want to share the journey with my family and dear friends. I want my path to be quite clearly defined, but with flexibility to move around the little obstacles life will inevitably place along the path.

This year I also picked a picture to go with my one little word and this will sit in a frame on  my desk as a constant reminder of what I want for myself in 2012.

This picture really seemed to capture what I wanted my word to represent. A beautiful path winding around things as it needed to to move forward. It seems a peaceful calm picture which is also what I wanted.

Now the journey begins .... If you are also doing OLW - make sure you let me know what your word is, especially if you blog about it as I would love to follow your progress through the year,

Claire

 

 

Did you know 98 is the new 100? ......

As it turned out, I didn't feel like scrapbooking yesterday, so 98 it was. 2  short of my goal but about 70 or so more layouts than the previous year. I'll take that as a major victory for scrapbooking!

Thankyou to everyone who followed my scrapbooking journey. I think 100 is a good number to aim for in 2012 as well. I like it when I scrapbook as frequently as I did this year :) Bring it on!

Layout number 98 .....

I have a digital layout for you tonight, mainly because I am halfway through moving things around in my creating room and I couldn't find a clear space if I tried! I like that about digital - no mess!

This one came about because Madonna challenged a few of us to use song lyrics on a layout. This night in Noosa on the 2009 Incentive Trip immediately came to mind when we had an impromptu Karaoke night which was so much fun! I have used the words "'Cos we all just wanna be big Rockstars" from the song Rockstar by Nickelback as my title.

I am sure you will notice some familiar faces on this layout, Marelle, Vanessa, Sue, Makeesha, Nicki Tidbold and even Aaron and Dave Baugh. Such a fun night and a great memory to record.

Be back soon with layout 99 and 100. Hope to get to post them before we go into the city tomorrow night to see the fireworks from Paul's work building.

Thanks for all the lovely comments to my layouts. I hope I have inspired some of you that have been having a scrapbooking break to get stuck back in recording these precious family memories. It's not just the end product, I think the actual process of scrapbooking and recalling these memories is so good for the soul. So invite time for scrapbooking back into your life in 2012. There's no right or wrong way to scrapbook, just collect the pictures and combine with some words in whatever way makes you happy :)

Claire xx

Layouts 95. 96 and 97 .....

(For those who may have caught my in-between post - I'm having a rethink as I am not sure I have the energy for 2 blogs!. My solution for this dilemma will come to me I'm sure, give me time :) ).

Three more layouts for today, just three to go. I know I will make this goal now (and then take 6 weeks to clean the mess in the house that has developed while I scrapbooked, lol).

Today I have a mix of fun layouts with a heritage style layout. Here's the one of Sam playing Wii with his Grampa. The boys have affectionately called Grampa G'pa since he signed their birthday card with that earlier in the year so I wanted to incorporate that into the title. I have used Stampin' Up!'s Just Add Cake DSP for this layout. It's a great pack of colourful patterns which are perfect for kids pages.

This one is Sam playing with a new Christmas gift - a water slide. My little action man loves this thing and it's a great way to keep them happy on a hot day when we can't get to the beach or pool. For this layout I printed my 4 photos in 2.5 x 6" which was perfect for a series of quick pictures. I have created some bubbles using stamping (Stampin' Up! Circle Circus) and also some epoxy circles.

For this final layout I have created a heritage page using a couple of photos from my Dad's childhood. I have used the Mocha Morning DSP from Stampin' Up! here, plus a few scraps from my stash. When I have scraps of patterned paper which are predominately one colour, I save them in a page protector as they often come in handy for pages like this. I have also used the First Edition DSP from Stampin' Up!. Love that stuff as a neutral on pages!

Only 3 more to go! There might be a digital page or two in that lot as I need to find the top of my desk again! I am going to be having a mega change around in my creating room to organise myself and make more room for a creative year ahead :)

Whichever way they go I will be back tomorrow with the last 3 layouts :) Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Claire xx

 

Three more layouts!

Getting there! I have photographed up to 94 now, nearly finished 95 and have printed photos for 96 and 97 (plus I have a ZILLION pics already printed!). Today was a slower scrapbooking day while I had some fun out and about. I took the boys to see Happy Feet 2 (great movie and loved Pink's voice in it!) and then we had lunch in a cafe together. Then Paul's Dad came over for tea and to stay the night to spend some time with us which is always lovely. I got a fantastic photo of Grampa and Sam playing the Wii which will be next scrapped for sure!

Here is layout 94, again using the gorgeous new DSP from Saleabration. I just love the colours and patterns in this one and can't get enough of it! The layout is of when my nephew Phil came to visit last August. Sam doesn't see him a lot and couldn't stop hugging him!

I liked how I was able to get so many photos onto this layout. I have been printing my own photos for these layouts (I usually get my pics printed but sometimes print my own if I want strange sizes or aren't when the scrapbooking bug takes me by surprise!). I print using a Canon Pixma MP980 printer and use Canon Photo Paper Plus Semi Gloss. I believe you get the best results from a photo printer when you use the same brand photo paper.

Here's what I do to actually create the page to print:

• I plan what size I want the photos to be.
• Crop them to that size in Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements) using a resolution of 300 dpi.
• To maximise the use of my photo paper, I then create a new A4 size document at 300dpi and then drop the photos onto that, rotating where I need to to get as many photos as I can on a page.

Sometimes, like in the layout below; I plan the pictures to fit into a grid like shape. This looks best when you allow the same width between and around the photos. Again I think how I want the grid to look and work the photo cropping around that. In this page, the top photo is 5" x 8". I am glad I was able to get a full shot of the house decorated for Christmas.

Another trick I have used here is printing your title onto your photo before you print it. I sometimes print journalling on empty space in photos too (as on the next layout). I just do this in Photoshop when I am editing the photo.

This last layout is of a photo I caight of Josh watching the Oxley College light and sound show. He was mesmerised by how these lights coordinated with the carols.

I'll be back tomorrow with more layouts to share for sure. I plan to be scrapbooking for a while yet tonight. I find with the boys home all day I appreciate that silence when the whole house is asleep more than ever!

I hope you are doing just what you love doing as well. Thank you for sharing these fun few days of scrapbooking with me, I promise I will make a card one day again soon!

Claire xx