O is for……

OMG!!!! I cannot believe i have almost made it through a whole month posting each day!! it isn’t as hard as it could be, if you schedule your posts in advance – the hardest part is deciding what order to put things up in :)

I can’t believe I stopped at N…. I’ll have to keep going right through to Z… but I’ll space the rest out a bit more – with REAL posts in between :)

M is for......

well, I have a whole heap of M words!! :)
and I couldn't choose, so am going to use them all!!

My first M is for .....
Markers.
Stampin' Up! Stampin' Write markers come in - you guessed it! - all 48 colours of the colour families, plus some of the neutrals too.
You can buy them individually, in colour families, or as a whole set of "many marvellous markers!"

Stampin' Write markers use the same ink as our ink pads, making them ideal for direct to rubber techniques. They have two ends - one fine, and one brush end. So you can colour or write in any colour to match your projects.

The brush end makes it so easy to get lots of colours on one image. Just colour direct on your rubber, and then "huff" and stamp.
Voila - multi-coloured images.

These markers can also be used as regular markers - stamp an outline image, and use them to colour in. The neutrals (especially sahara sand) are great for adding shadow and 3d effects.

They are tailor made for the spritzer - this gives a blowpen type effect - very cool!

so many possibilities and techniques to be used with the markers.
Such an easy way to get all the colours you want without the bulk of the ink pads.
So versatile.

Call me to enquire about our markers.
06 357 8970

L is for .....

Layouts :)
layouts can apply to cards or scrapbook pages, and can make or break the design.

I SUCK at layouts!! (which is why I CASE everything!! - I will branch out on my own one day, honestly I wil! ;) )
Anyway... if you (think you) suck at layouts too, then there are a HEAP of places to go for inspiration.

Check out the following sites for their sketch challenges or ideas.
splitcoast
mojo monday
makeesha's inkspirations challenge
sweet sunday sketch challenge
clean and simple fall to layouts

that's just for starters! check them out and see what you can come up with :)

K is for....

Ok so i have to cheat again on this one!!
K is for .. Simply Scrappin' Kits. (SSK)

I LOVE these things!! You can do so much with them.
And even though they are called Simply SCRAPPIN' Kits - don't be put off if you are not a scrapbooker.
You can use these kits to make cards, boxes, all sorts - or you can be boring and do what it says in the name ;)
Actually you can probably do all three! In fact, I know you can!
Last year I made a 20 page 6x6 scrapbook, a few boxes and various cards (didn't think to count them all!) with *one* SSK. And I still had bits left over.
The ebauty of these kits is that they come with everything you need to create a stunning project.
They have textured 12 x 12 cardstock, 12 x 12 DSP, and self adhesive sticker embellishments, and - of course - it all co-ordinates with SU's other products!

I will be running a class later this year on the 20 page album - pictures will come when I can convince myself to cut the beautiful paper!! lol ;)

J is for...

ok, I had to cheat for this one!!
J is for the stamp a ma Jig :)

this is the coolest name for one of my most overlooked products.
The stamp a ma jig is a stamp positioner, which enables you (well, ok ME!) to place images and sentiments EXACTLY where you want them to go. They will be centred and straight! (check the rest of my blog to see why it is my most overlooked product! My sentiments are NEVER straight! I should use this EVERY day!!) :)

It is so simple to use.
Check out this tutorial by Heather Summers on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y94RzFk-_WA

I is for....

well it could only be ...

Idea Book and Catalogue.

This amazing item is the Stampin' Up! storefront :)
It is so much more than *just* a catalogue. Yes it has the products in, with their prices, but on each and every page there are heaps of ideas to use in your paper crafting.

There are card and scrapbook page samples, 3d items - boxes and bags and gifts, off the page items, altered items - all sorts.
But it doesn't stop there! Don't have that stamp set? that's ok - use the layout, or the colour combination.
Need a colour combo? Check out the DSP or the Simply Scrappn' Kits, or the Simply Sent card elements. Some of these combos I would NEVER have thought to put together, but they look stunning!
want to know how to do a technique? there are little tutorials throughout the book too.

So, what would you expect to pay for a book with over 150 pages of inspiration and creativity? $30 or $40 right? A magazine will cost you about $12 and they only have about 60 pages.
For only $14.95 you can have all this yummy divine droolworthy goodness!
But wait - there's more! Don't want to pay $14.95? How about getting one for free??
Yes F R E E!! EVERY hostess receives an idea book free just for opening her home to a demonstrator and introducing her friends to Stampin' Up!

This book would be worth $40 or $50 - seriously, it would! At $14.95 it's a bargain - at FREE it's criminal! What are you waiting for?? Grab a copy today!
Drop me a line with a date for your workshop and I can have one in the mail to you tomorrow :)

H is for ......

Hostesses :)
We all need them - Stampin' Up! is built on hostesses holding home workshops/parties.

And Stampin' Up! treats their hostesses really well - see this post all about the free stuff you get!

The hostess sets in this catalogue are so yummy! Especially the level ones. And a level one hostess set is so easy to earn.
My favourite is Best yet, which is a set of 6 sentiments, ranging from merry christmas, to from me to you, and lots in between. So versatile, and fits in our punches and with most stamp sets - there's that co-ordination thing again! ;)

So, if you are in the Manawatu area (or not too far beyond!) and want to host a party, drop me a line - I'd love to get together with you and your friends and help you earn your own free hostess set.
Don't want a party in your own home? Use mine! I'm happy to host your party - you still provide the friends and the nibbles, I will still provide the projects, and YOU get the goodies!
Don't want to meet up with people at ALL?? then host a catalogue party - this is where you take a couple of catalogues -give them to your friends, neighbours, work colleagues, kids friends mums/dads/nannies, grandparents, hairdresser, bank teller, checkout girl.. well ok you get the idea!! Anyone you know who likes to papercraft, get the catalogue to them, collect their order - and if the whole lot together makes the minimum, then you get the goodies!

So Easy!! What are you waiting for??

G is for...

Ok, this one I had to nick from Josee. (there is seriously nothing else - well ok glitter, but I don't have any except dazzling diamonds, so it would have been a very short post!)

G is for Glue.

Stampin' Up! carries TONS of this stuff, and it's all different!

Check out page 154 of the catty for the whole range!

But, in a nut shell, here's my picks:

Sticky Strip - astonishingly expensive (gasp! did I actually say that??) yes I did - but SO worth it! This sucker will stick your kids to the chair if they need it (not that I have tried that, honestly!) but seriously this stuff is STICKY! Ok, seriously, this is like double sided tape on steroids, IMHO. It is fabulous for boxes and 3D items that need extra hold.

Crystal Effects - I actually don't use this as a glue, so have no idea what it's like! lol - sorry! So what do i use it for?? Giving my stuff a rain drop / dew drop type effect!! It looks awesome spotted on flower petals as dew, or on the cherry from tart and tangy to make it look all shiny and yummy. Anything you want to give shine to, just cover it with crystal effects. When I say "cover" I don't mean be too heavy handed. Less is more in terms of applying it :) (Ask me how I know!! lol)

SNAIL - Simple Neat Affordable In-Line adhesive - you either love this or you hate it. I LOVE it! But I HATE people who use it all up! You seriously only need a little bit in the corners. As long as your card/project is well put together, why do you need to cover the whole back of the cardstock?? you DON'T!! (this goes for any tape, not just snail, but especially with snail coz it works out quite expensive to do that!)

Anywhere glue stick - love these! they are square, not round! for that alone they get my vote! You get 2 to a pack - tick! And they go on so smoothly! No lumpy bits or cloggy bits or jumping - just glidy slidy glue! hehe - ok weird out moment, but seriously these rock! Oh, and they stick well too!!

2 way glue pen - as the name suggests this glue works 2 ways - dab it on and stick immediately and it is permanent. dab it on and leave it, and it is repositionable (but not more than once or twice I've found.) The little pen applicator thing is perfect for those small fiddly bits (punch creations come to mind here.)

Dimensionals - pop dots, whatever you wanna call them - these are the BEST! they are not so thick as others I have seen, but they are bigger so you can cut them if you want them smaller, but they aren't too big to be useful! I LOVE these!! Popping up parts of your card really adds a little "something something" ;)

So there you have it. There are others - but these are the ones I reach for time and time again.

F is for .....

FREE STUFF!!!

Everyone loves free stuff, and Stampin' Up! does it better than any company I have had any dealings with.
If you hostess a party, and your sales reach a certain target you qualify for free product - value starts at $35 - and goes all the way to $220+ !! PLUS you get free exclusive hostess stamp sets - you cannot buy those! how amazing is that??
What are you waiting for?? Contact me, and let's get your party booked - let's see how much free stuff we can get you!

F is also for Families - colour families, but I covered those amazingly well in C :)

E is for...

Envelopes.
yummy yummy envelopes.

Stampin' Up! does their own envelopes, and I used to think - huh why bother?? just go to Warehoue Stationery and get the normal office supply ones. Then, I signed up for a secret sister swap on SCS, and got a packet of SU! envelopes in one of my goodie packages. Oh My! They are delicious!! They are so smooth and yummy for stamping on.
And that means you can co-ordinate your envies to match your cards :) (more co-ordination! will it ever end??? NO! and that's why I LOVE SU! :) )
The first picture shows Very Vanilla envelopes, stamped with the butterfly from Great Friend. It also shows how you can use DSP to line your envelopes giving them even more co-ordination :)

And speaking of DSP and envelopes, Lin Mei has the best tutorial on how to make square envelopes from DSP (or any other paper for that matter!)

Here are 2 I made - the smaller one fits a 3x3 card and uses Bella Rose paper. The larger one fits a 4x4 card and uses Good Morning Sunshine paper. (this is one example where Stampin' Up products don't co-ordinate ;) These two sheets of paper do NOT go well together!!)

Obviously when you mail these you will need to use a label rather than just writing on them - but how cute! Not sure if you can mail the smaller envelope - I know NZ Post allows more than US mail, but I'm not sure on this one, but as Lin Mei says - a little note this size is better hand delivered anyway :)

D is for...

D is for .... there are two things, and I couldn't choose, so I'm going with both!

D is for Demonstrators and also for DSP.

First -demonstrators (or demos for short)

Stampin' Up! is a party plan company, and so demonstrators are SO important. Without them, nothing would get sold!

There are many different kinds of demos - and people join Stampin' Up! for all sorts of reasons.

There are discount demos: those who join to "feed their habit" ;) - they love the product, and have no problem spending the quarterly minimums themselves, with maybe a few orders for friends thrown in.

There are hobby demos: same as discount, but do a few workshops or classes to get a few extra sales, but doesn't work too hard at it.

Then there are the career demos: these are the demos that look at this as a viable business with long term career potential. They actively promote their workshops, classes, sales and the business opportunity, and talk Stampin' Up! with anyone and everyone they meet.

So, if you have been thinking about joining Stampin' Up! but didn't think it could offer you what you want or need - stop wondering! Stampin' Up! can give you as much or as little as you want to out into it :)

OK.. second D...... DSP.

What does that stand for? Well, here's a little confession! I don't ACTUALLY know! I call it called Designer Series paper . I have heard it called double sided paper too, but in the catalogue it says Designer Series Paper - so that's why i went with that!

Stampin' Up! DSP is AMAZING! It truly is the most stunning quality paper I have seen. (not that I am a paper connoisseur, but hey!)

As with all SU! products everything co-ordinates. These papers are another way of getting inspiration for a colour combination. The patterns co-ordinate with the stamp sets, and the colours co-ordinate with the theme that set lends itself too.

This catalogue we were lucky enough to get some textured weight DSP - this has been in the US catty for a while, but only since April down here and it is gorgeous!

All DSP measures 12"x12" (or 30.5 x30.5cm for those who convert!) and contains 12 sheets - 2 sheets of each design. At the unbelievable price of $19.95 per pack ($27.95 for textured) this works out to just $1.75 per sheet. Amazing!

And....... I have a product share!

The new mini brought three new DSP's - Parisian Breeze textured, Ski Slope, and Walk in the Park.

This share is for 6x12 sheets.

For just $17.80 incl postage, you will get 18 sheets of 6"x12" paper - that's one 6x12 of each design.

drop me a line jenbob@inspire.net.nz and I will save you a spot.

Again - only available to NZ residents.

C is for......

Colour Families

Stampin' Up has four colour families:

Bold brights Earth Elements

Rich Regals and Soft Subtles.

Each family has 12 colours in it.

Then there are also In-Colours - this is a family of 6 colours which is only available for a year before they get swapped for some more up-to-date in fashion colours! - and neutrals - black, white, vanilla, grey etc.

Everything that Stampin' Up! does is in these colours. So the co-ordination is so easy. You know immediately if the red is the right red (I don't know about you - but I was always trying to work out if the red was an orange red or a blue red, or if it went with that colour and once I have my cardstock, is there a ribbon that matches - 17 samples later, it's almost there but not quite!) Stampin' Up! is not like that! It takes all that stress away! Now I know some people LIKE that stress (cuckoo!! - just kidding! I am jealous! I wish I could do it!) but not me! I am not very colour co-ordinated at the best of times (there is a reason my basic wardrobe is BLACK!! -goes with everything! - and hey - it's true for cards too! but I digress!) so Stampin' Up! colour familes really help. Stick to a single family, and you KNOW every colour combo is going to look fabulous. Bit more adventurous? You can hop around the families and make your own combos.

Here's another C for you - the Colour Coach - this is a great tool for putting colour combinations together. Just turn the dial to the colour you want and it displays co-ordinating and complimetary colours you could use. SO handy!

So there you have it. C is for COLOUR - check back tomorrow for D!

B is for.....

Brads and Buttons!

Stampin' Up! has the most amazing selection of accessories, and the brads and buttons are right up there on my list of "ooh yummy" stuff!

As with all SU product, these little suckers co-ordinate with everything else.

The new mini features some new brads and buttons, and that means......

PRODUCT SHARES!!!

I know I sometimes look at something in the catalogue and think "yeah it looks ok, but I don't know if I really need it and I don't want to spend $X on it just in case - and anyway, do I really need 80 brads??" So product shares are PERFECT!!

Basically, a product share is where you get a group of people together and split the purchase. But - here's where I make it easy! I'll get the group of people! you just tell me what you want to buy!!

So - here's your choices!

1. Jumbo Brads (page 10 in the mini catty): $9.10 will get you a quarter share of these awesome brads. That's 20 brads that are 5/16" and 8 that are 5/8" - in whisper white, chocolate chip, silver and very vanilla. These brads can be stamped on or use your rub-ons to decorate them! Or just use them as is for a very funky look!

2. Corduroy buttons and brads (page 4 in the mini). These very fabulous cuties come in three colours - basic grey, kiwi kiss and baja breeze, in various sizes and styles. $18 will get you six brads/buttons of each colour.

3. Designer brads (page 12 in the mini). These are darling! they come in chocolate chip, pumpkin pie, pretty in pink and so saffron. For just $4.30 you can have a play with 8 of these sweeties - 2 of each colour.

If you wish to take a spot in any of these shares*, drop me an email: jenbobATinspireDOTnetDOTnz (sorry i hate doing that, but it's necessary!) All prices include SU's 5% shipping charge but not the shipping cost to you. If you are local to Palmerston North, I can deliver - if you live elsewhere in New Zealand, we can figure something out!

So, there's a little looky at the newest brads and buttons - check out pages 148, 149 and151 of the main catalogue for the selection available all year.

*only available to New Zealand residents.

EDITED: I have been trying to get that last paragraph into three sections for ten minutes now! I know it's pretty squished and I'm sorry, but I'm giving up! this one will probably join it knowing my luck!

A-Z of Stampin' Up!

I saw this idea on Josee's blog, and thought what an awesome idea! Josee is Canadian, and so they have different stuff than us (some of it!) so my ABC will be different to hers! At least it will be where it can be!

So, to start:

A is for .......

AMAZING! ADORABLE! ARTWORK! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!

that's what Stampin' Up! products are!

but actually, A is for accessories!

Stampin' Up! has a whole heap of these, and they will all (?) be discussed later in the alphabet, but to give you an idea, there are buttons and brads, and tags, and ribbon, and twine, and jumbo eyelets and clips, and pretties and hodgepodge hardware, and punches and chipboard die cuts and ..... well you get the idea!!

Check back tomorrow for B - which looks at the buttons and brads in closer detail - and there's a product share in there too :)