{We've Moved!}

Please visit me at www.stamphappy.co.nz.

Site isn't perfect yet, but I think we're good enough I can start directing you there!

{Crazy for Christmas}

This set has been on my wish list for at least four years, and I just got it! Yep, even the demonstrators have wish lists . . .

I love the unusual Christmas colours in this design, which is Cased off of Tracey-Stamper, a demo in the USA. I also thought it was fun to teach the baby-wipe technique, just something fun and different using supplies you probably already have around.

The trees are coloured in using markers, which are on promotion starting November 10th! Previously, we could only buy either the entire set of else packs of twelve. From Nov 10-31, you can buy singles! Yahoo! The demos are thrilled about this option, too! Please check the promotions page for further information.

{Season of Joy}

This gorgous card is a take off of one of the many beautiful swaps I received at the Incentive Trip. I must apologize that I cannot give credit at this moment because my little box that had the swaps in there has disappeared into the black hole of my house.

I love to do Christmas projects in something other than the expected colours, and this set, Season of Joy, is such a winner! It's only available for a few more weeks, so grab it now!

{A special message}

Isn't this beautiful? this is one of the many, many cards I received over the last few weeks (I'll dribble those out to you over time!). I have felt really loved and cherished!

This one is made by my friend and fellow demonstrator Diane who lives in Oamaru. She made this up with a new set (one that might be coming in December?) called Live Your Dream. And she made it with the message that "things are not always black and white".

Thanks, Diane, for taking the time to make me a card!! Lots of love and hugs to you!

{Easy mini Album}

This is a gorgeous little project shown to Stampin' Up! demonstrators by Carey Cudney at our annual training convention this year. What I love about this is not only is it quick and easy, but it also can be made with just one sheet of 12x12 and a few scraps!

I've presented it here as a small album, but it can easily be a very special card as well, with or without photos. Simply put in sentiments, poetry, stamped images, etc in place of the photos.

Here I have made a little momento to Jared and myself. These photos are some of the shots from when my Dad drove down to both meet Jared for the first time and to take photos for our wedding annoucement. The journaling on the various tags are about the day, the proposal, the significant dates of our engagement, and a few memories. We both looked at those pictures and remarked how young we were! Oh, well, twelve years later we are still together, and that deserves a little celebration, too.

I've used the Le Jardin papers for this project along with the coordinating stamp set - Carte Postale. There is just a few days left for the Free Wheelin' promotion - buy the Carte Postale set and get the Leaves a la Carte wheel FREE! Email me to order before September 30!

{What a beautiful spring gift}

I wanted to share these lovely freesia with all of my blog readers and customers because they were particularly significant to me. And aren't they beautiful? These were an unexpected gift given to me from a dear customer, and the timing was well-placed to receive such a self-less gift from a fellow sister. We just never know how we may touch others, and I thank Cynthia for reaching out and touching me yesterday.

{My Incentive Trip Swap}

This is project is one I did last month using a peppermint tea bag. This revision was inspired by my friend, Janine. It's not traditional, but I think with a different sentiment inside, this could be done up for Christmas. You may see this if you are coming to any of my/our Christmas events!

I've used the set called One of a Kind from the Spring Mini Catalogue. Not only is it a great set, but it coordinates with the Boho Blossoms punch, making for quick "cutting out" of those tiny flowers. (many of us used this set for our swaps on the trip, and I think that is why!!)

The colours are inspired by our DSP papers called Berry Bliss. Add a dash of glitter, and I think these can be very Christmas-like.

Now the story on these is: I made up another batch for our Regional Training here in Auckland, which was last Monday. Monday night is traditionally our family night, but because I had the training to do and my husband was leaving that morning for Singapore, we moved our family night to Sunday evening. And mummy realized she still had swaps to finish .. . . so family night became a little Pedersen factory. Hey, my girls are happy to help if I let them use either glitter or snail! So I had to apologize in advance if the ribbon was cut shaggy or pieces a little crooked, as they may have been assembled by Sofie, my six year old! My eight and ten year old daughters are quite exact. Jared also struggle d . . . but I'm not complaining. I am blessed to have a partner who will pitch in and sponge Close to Cocoa on the edges when I need him!

To order yours (project supplies, not husband!), email me today!

{Always Class}

This is a simple design shown to be my the ever-amazing Pauline in Napier. All you need is a couple of square punches!

I love the colours used here - Soft Sky and Old Olive. However, last night I did up a Christmas version of this card which I will post later on. Quick, easy, what else could we want? (if you want to see the christmas verson now, email me.

This is not actually the project we did in class. Our class project was taken straight off of Splitcoast and shamelessly copied, so I thought I'd add something here that was at least somewhat original!

{Palm Cove swaps}

I loved these two swaps I received from the Palm Cove Incentive Trip. The first one is by Kelly Bowen, and I just love the clean look and the effective design. I also think the way she's mixed the ribbon colours is clever.

However, because the first project I did for the Always class was in these colours, I wanted to do something different.

The second swap here is by Cheryl Andrews, and her colour combination is just yummy!! So I combined the two . . . .

{My hybrid Always}

And this is what I came up with! Like it? I love it. I mean, embossed chocolate chip - what could be better than that??

To emboss with your dye ink pads:

Stamp you image in Versamark ink and then into your dye ink. Stamp your image onto Whisper White or Very Vanilla. Cover with embossing powder and heat as normal. I have found that it's best to use our Whisper White or Very Vanilla because they have a very smooth finish, which gives you not only a clear image, but also gives you just one or two more seconds to get that embossing powder on.

Colours here are Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, and Chocolate Chip. The stamp set used is Always and it is $65 for a set of 11 stamps - that's just under $6 per stamp!! Available just until November 31st. You can email me to order your set HERE.

{Palm Cove Group Photo}

I was very privileged and blessed to be able to go on an all-expenses paid trip to Palm Cove, Australia last week with Stampin' Up! Unlike convention, which was packed full of stamping, scrapbooking, and business ideas and helps, this was trip for mostly relaxing and fun. Jared and I really made the most of our time with no children!

Well, this is the only photo I could scab off of the group ones that have been shared on the net. I might have to send some girls in Australia some chocolates to get a copy of their pics as ours are locked on Jared's phone at the moment.

This was a group photo taken after we had our make and take session. What a fun group of ladies this was! One of the wonderful things about this job is all the women I get to meet along the way.

Thank you all so much for helping me get on this trip, all my customers, hostesses, and stamp club members. If you are considering joining my team as a demonstrator yourself, this all-expenses paid trip is just one of the many, many incentives and perks for the job!

{Showered with Gifts}

Every day brought a new surprise gift in our rooms. (And roomS is right - we had a three bedroom 2 bath suite!!). I saved the little cards and tags, of course, to show you. So very simple, yet so very beautiful. Really, ladies, if you use beautiful images and beautiful colours, it's easy to create works of art!

I also fell in love with the RIBBON! do you see that?! It's ultra-wide Old Olive ribbon! I'll be hording that, for sure. I might wear it . . . So I asked Aaron, the Australia/New Zealand manager if that was coming, and he said no, it was just a nice ribbon they found to use. I might share a bit of this with my stamp club ladies in the future, but you might have to send me bribes for it.

{Palm Cove Make & Takes}

I KNOW I must be the very last Aus/NZ demonstrator to publish something about the trip on her blog!! I am about 4 hours at the gym these days in the final weeks before Nationals, so time is limited and precious. And on top of that, neither Jared nor myself can figure out how to get the photos off his phone. Yes, he DOES work for Microsoft . . . . . .

So these are the projects I got to make on the trip with Shelli Gardner, co founder of Stampin' Up!. We were so thrilled to know that we were the first demonstrators to see and use this particular set, Ocean Commotion. Not even the USA has had this one yet. It's nice to know we get a few special privileges here and there, isn't it, New Zealand?

You can look forward to this set and those papers in the next mini catalogue, coming in December.

{Wanted Happy Birthday}

This card is one that Shelli Gardner, the co-founder of Stampin' Up!, presented to SU demonstrators at our annual convention last April. The entire Boho West series in the current catalogue is really fun and rich, and this project is a quick one that features some of that great style. And let's face it - most guys prefer a simple, straightforward look anyway! If you have a husband who notices when you get a haircut, consider yourself lucky!!

This project featured the Wanted set, one that is much more versatile than might initially appear. I just love the large medallion in this set and the way it works perfectly with the scallop punch. I've also used the Outlaw paper series, perfect for those masculine stamping projects.

A neat technique with this card is setting those new jumbo eyelets. If you have not yet tried the crop-o-dile, it's time you did! People are always so surprised at how EASY it is to set an eyelet using this tool. And the feature that sold me is that it will punch through chipboard and thin metal. Altered tins, here we come!

To order your crop-o-dile, please email me at mail@stamphappy.co.nz

{Father's Day Chocolates}

This is another project inspired by Shelli Gardner herself! I changed it up just a little bit to accomodate the supplies that I own, but still basically her idea presented to us at the annual Stampin' Up! convention in April in Brisbane.

The idea of the pull-up pouch has been around for donkey's years, and it's a good little template to tuck away in your repetoire! Simply resize it easily to fit whatever you are wrapping up - easy peasy. I've used the Jersey Shore designer series papers here, which features a fun colour combination. Using designer papers makes the colour choice for your projects really easy!

I've also used a big favourite set - one of my best sellers - called All in the Family. This is a super set for scrapbook pages! I've also used the two coordinating sets, Family Phrases and the Accessory set for the words and the flowers. It's a cutie!!

I've also used the small star punch for the added dimension. All projects need 3D - that's one of the things that makes a huge difference between ho-hum and wow! Mention this post to me with your order of the small star punch and I will include a sheet of 100 dimensionals with your order! mail@stamphappy.co.nz

{True Friend Gift}

New from the Spring Mini - this project features the True Friend stamp set. This is a quick little project that is just enough to make a small gift special. Another great thing about this project is that it smells delicious! (Except to my eldest daughter who helped me put the kits together - she hates mint so much I have to search out special toothpaste for her)

I also wanted to point out what an easy colour combination this is: black, white, + one colour is a winner every time. If ever you are stuck, try it out!

The background here is done with the Boho Backgrounds stamp set and the Signo white gel pen. I know there are cheaper gel pens out there, but I guarantee they are just that - cheaper pens that don't work nearly as well. I love the wow effect it gives here.

The Spring Mini is officially out as of Friday. It can be viewed at http://www.stampinup.com/ or get your FREE copy from me with an order. contact me at mail@stamphappy.co.nz.

{Like it a Latte}

I love this set!! This is a great one for versatility - my "students" had fun coming up with different drink concoctions for their cards. We even had multi-coloured marshmallows on a few!

And I just adore the colour combination in the Berry Bliss designer papers - Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, and Purely Pomegranite. Do you think I could get away with doing Christmas cards in this? {smile}

This card layout was inspired by a layout challenge on Splitcoast; it's perfect for a hot drink or a soup mix. Second, one of my customers asked me to show eyelets, so we did SIX on here!

I joke with my girls that I gave them all diet hot chocolate sachets not as a hint, but because they were the only pink ones! A little chocolate makes any project a winner . . .

{Petals & Paisleys}

This bright notebook was a nice change from my usual style! I picked this up from the $2 shop and just had a play altering the front of it. I've used the Scribble This stamp set and the Petals and Paisleys Designer Series papers here. And then a whole load of ribbon!

If you'd like directions for this notebook, please email me at email@stamphappy.co.nz. The Designer papers used are 13.95 for a pack of 12 double sided and the Scribble This stamp set is 70.95.

{Simply Said}

This project was a quickie I made up as a housewarming card. This is one of my fool-proof favourite combinations - Mellow Moss, Barely Banana, and Real Red. Love it!

I also wanted to point out the cool way to use the white gel pen here. I've added just a bit in the centre of each of the background flowers - just a small touch to bring some visual dimension. Many times a project just needs a little white to "lift it up". The white gel pen, Whisper White Craft Ink, and just a smidge of Whisper White card are great options.

{Baroque Motifs}

Could you ever ask for a more beautiful stamp set than this one? I think I've made it my mission to ensure each and every customer of mine possesses this set! I reach for it time and time again. And it's a real bargain at 46.95!

This is a simplified version of a layout I designed for a magazine. To see the original, email me at mail@stamphappy.co.nz. I just love the "fat" ribbon (as Tui named it) - it's really a solid embellishment for a big page like this. And when you know a few tricks to use as little as possible, it's really an inexpensive embellishment as well!

Oh, dear, I've just realized that it's been a good three weeks since my last post! I really haven't been sitting on my thumbs, but admittedly it's this time of year that my head goes a little crazy as I prepare for athletic competitions.

Lots more to come; to be revealed soon!

{eScape Night}

These are the sweet little cards we did last Wednesday for the eScape event. We had a relaxed night, with little pies and hot chocolate. I set out some samples, the supplies, and the ladies just created with all the goodies.

What a great promotion this is! Offer good through Monday, receive 25% off the products in this bundle! You'll receive the Circle of Friendship set of eight, the 1 1/4 inch circle punch, and a set of 20 love notes in both Very Vanilla and Whisper White with matching envelopes for $69.11! Please see the promotions page for more details. To order your set before this offer ends, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz.

{Priceless Double Pocket Card}

I LOVE this fun way to make a double pocket card. This project uses a single sheet of 12x12 double sided paper, and then just a few bits for stamping and layering.

We made two tags to fit inside this sample, but gift vouchers & chocolate would also fit nicely! The stamp set used here is Priceless and the paper series is FAll Flowers. Stampin Up's papers this year are 13.95 for a pack of 12 double sided 12x12's! That's a fantastic deal! To order your pack of Fall Flowers, please contact me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz.

The jumbo eyelet was set using the cropodile, another wonderful tool. This allows you to set eyelets with virtually no effort and no noise at all. To order yours, please contact me today.

{Bodacious Fun Fold}

Sometimes all it takes to jazz up a relatively simple design is a unique fold. I don't know what the stamping world calls this, but I've named it the Z fold.

This is a simple card that can be done with any stamp set and any colour combination - an easy layout for any ocassion.

This sample uses Bodacious Bouquet, one of my favourite sets!

Please check my July class schedule. Class requests can be submitted at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz

{Took a week off}

I have been having a lovely week's vacation in Rotorua, so no postings this week! I have fought with the hotel cables and my computer, and they won; I cannot get my own computer to hook up to the internet. So, sadly, the stacks of work I brought to do has to wait another week. I am on a hotel computer and therefore cannot even upload a photo with this posting.

Oh, well, it forced me to put my feet up. I've eaten like a pig and watched many movies this week; it's been great! :) My mother and stepfather have been here with me, and I will miss them very much. My girls love them and they both know how to be so utterly helpful. I told my mother she is my little fairy that follows behind and does all the cooking, dishes and laundry. It'd be so easy to get used to that! I think she might wonder what we eat when she's not here.

Got Kjirsti's baptismal dress done. Whew! Just have to put the flowers on it, but I think I am going to go the lazy way and use fabric glue for that. . .

Thanks, Rotorua, for the great week off. How many more weeks until I get to go to Palm Cove now? Am I spoiled or what?!

{A Priceless Thought}

This is a sweet surprise I found in my mailbox one day recently from a team member. Just to say thanks.

Which is so very, very thoughtful.

This month's promotion focuses on sending handmade cards to those we love, which I feel is such a nice message to all of us. We all love to be thought of, to be cherished a little, and to be remembered.

{Mother's Day}

These are the beautiful cards my daughters made for me for Mother's Day. I believe my dear friend Caroline helped with one of these.

These are the things we treasure at the end of our lives. I believe there will always be a place for hand-made cards and hand-written notes of love.

Thanks, girls, for your devotion.

{Ahoy Matey!}

I love this stamp set! I bought it for my daughter's fifth birthday party, which she insisted on having a pirate party (go figure). Anyway, I adore this set and the matching map wheel. This card is inspired by Debbie Olsen.

This features another colouring technique - this one uses the watercolour crayons. And that mat pack is excellent for the stitched look!

The sentiment, the birthday stamp, is on promotion this month. It comes in a product bundle at 25% off. You get the Circle of Friendship stamp set (set of eight), the 1 1/4 inch punch, and a love notes pack for $69.11! Please see the Specials and Promotions page for further details.

Many thanks to Jenny who showed me an even better way to tie the ribbons! It worked really well for this project and my ladies here in Auckland were sold on it! To find out more, send me an email!

{Summer by the Sea Watercolours}

This is a beautiful project inspired by Kelly Lunceford, but quite a bit was changed. The papers are from Spring Silhouettes, and aren't they beautiful? The technique we did in this class was the watercolouring I referred to that we learned at convention - watercolouring with markers. This was such a revelation to me! I did not write down the lady's name who showed us this, but I thank her very much!

I believe it's rather important that you use watercolour paper instead of the normal stamping paper for this technique. What a great way to get more mileage out of your markers and to achieve some different effects with the supplies you may already have. And many, including myself, find this way of watercolouring far easier than traditional methods.

To order the markers or any other supply or for any questions on this technique, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz.

{From a dear lady}

One of my dear team members, Pauline,

made me this darling little scrapbook. The story behind it is it's a wee photo album of the flowers and roses from the Stampin Up convention, which we sadly had to leave behind in Australia. Isn't she so thoughtful to find such a clever way to preserve those award flowers for me? It's things like this that make me so grateful to have a job that allows me to meet people such as Pauline.

And on top of that, isn't the little album great? It's made from a single sheet of 12x12 (excluding embellishments). I will make a note to have a class or a tutorial on this sometime. If you would like me to show you how and make this with me, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz to schedule a time.

{Pick a Dragonfly}

Isn't this a gorgoues project? I can take no credit here; this was done by a lovely demonstrator in Australia and shown during Convention. I just had a fairly blurry photo taken off of the screen to work with, but I think this is a pretty good replication.

But it did take me innumerable amount of tried to get that ribbon wrapped so I was satisfied. Maybe if the original designer reads this, she'll send us some tips.

This dragonfly is made using the Pick a Petal stamp set and the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel. We're doing embossing resist and tone on tone resist in this project.

{A Crayon Resist Project}

For my May Stamp Clubbers, we're doing reisist techniques. I had a number of requests for Crayon Resist - a very easy and cheap technique using white crayons. Many of you did this technique at Extravaganza, but here's another colour combination and layout using the same idea.

Please email me for directions on this technique if you have not yet tried it!

To join my monthly stamp club or to start one in your area, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz. If you are not in the Auckland area, I can put you in touch with a demo near you on my team or we can work together through the mail.

{Blossoms Abound}

I thought this was such an old-fashioned set when I first saw it, but I think I'm in love! this is a relatively simple card, but the effects of the two-step stamping are just stunning. What an easy way to create a beautiful work of art! What clever ladies they are - whomever it is who designs these things.


The first time my busines partner and I used this set, it was on accident (email me if you want the story), and done in green. She still swears these are not flowers, but grapes. But done in purple, I swear they are hydrangeas! But really could be anything with the right colours. Except maybe a bar of chocolate.

Love the photo corner punch! Quick and easy way to add that extra something to an empty corner.

Blossoms Abound is a set of seven for 53.95. The My Friend stamp across the bottom is included in the set. stamphappy@xtra.co.nz to order

{Pretties Page}

This was tremendously fun; I think those scrapbookers out there have drawn me into their fold. No looking back now!

This page is simple, yet full of fine detail. We played with the Pretties Kit, a fun, fun, fun embellishment kit found on page 144 of your Idea Book & Catalogue. 390 pieces to this kit - that's just 17 cents per piece.

We played with the hat pins and the beads, both pearls and the crystal-looking ones. The tafetta ribbon is also a RICH look, a ribbon that looks very much like silk.

But the really fun part of the class was dying those flowers! Can you see how beautifully those hydrangeas match the Almost Amethyst layout? I had one lady, Judy (see her blog listing ont the left) dye her flowers both yellow and pink, and the result was just stunning.

We also learned how to stamp the Lovely Letters straight! Now that's always a challenge for any stamper, but with a few tips, it's nearly foolproof.

Stamp sets used: Lovely Letters Alphabet set of 30 91.95 and Baroque Motifs set of six 46.95. To order these stamps or any other supplies, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz. To set up a scrapbooking or stamping class in your area with either me or a local demonstrator, please email at the same address.

PS That fat, adorable girl in the photo is now SIX . . . & still adorable.

{Ladybug}

This is one of the projects I used during my presentation at the Australia/New Zealand Stampin Up Convention in Brisbane last month.

I've done this with a number of groups, and each one has gotten better and better at the technique. Or someone has gotten better at explaining it . . .anyway, it's a really neat way to use Stampin Up's wonderful range of punches. Learning new techniques with your basic tools gives you better value for money when you do make a purchase. This is one reason why having a Stampin Up demonstrator is beneficial - she should be teaching you new ways to use both new products and the ones you have already purchased from her.

The very adorable ladybug stamp is a tiny one in the Garden Whimsy set. We did a birthday card in Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery with this set (scroll down to see) earlier, and achieved a very different look!

The scallop at the bottom of the Whisper White piece was done using the corner rounder punch. Karen gave us a very helpful tip when doing this technique at my Wednesday's class. Please email to learn how to make the scallop and to find out Karen's tip at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz.

To schedule a class to learn this card and other techniques, or to order any of the products used, please email me at stamphappy@xtra.co.nz.

{Madeleine's Gifts}

These are some fun creations made by my eldest daughter for some of her friends. We scrounged up a few bits and pieces for the girls to make them each up a fun pack.

Madeleine had a good time making these up, and the girls receiving them were SO excited!!

Rubber stamping is a hobby not just for mothers and grandmothers - the younger lot enjoy it immensely.

Please contact me for birthday party workshops (ages 8 and up) or for some fun ideas to do on your own. stamphappy@xtra.co.nz

{Stamp Club Mother's Day}

This was a fun design that gave Mother a bookmark with her card. We also used the new Palette O Prints (see promotions page) with this one. I love Almost Amethyst!

The stamp set is Oh So Lovely, a beautiful one that is available to hostesses. If you'd like to earn this stamp set for free, please contact me about hosting a workshop or class, my home or yours. You may also have a catalogue party if a class or workshop is not suitable.

Now the real question is: will I get this in the mail to my mothers in time? :)

{Mother's Day with Shelli's card}

This is a card that Shelli Gardner showed us during convention; it's gorgeous. I really loved the cool technique she showed us, but most of my ladies were too chicken to spray their paper with water! It was beautiful no matter which way it as done.

Please contact me for details on my stamp club - I have one starting in May and need a few more people.

{Spring Break Page}

Due to personal guilt (motivation) and customer demand, I am now hurdling my fear of scrapbooking! My honest reaction is that I find scrapbooking intensely satisfying and thoroughly enjoying it!! Thanks for the kick in the pants, everyone!

I will hold a scrapbooking page class the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30. Cost is $10; prestamped kits are $10 and don't inlcude the 12x12 sheet as it costs $4 to post. I figured it was cheaper for you to buy a mixed pack of 12x12 yourself than to pay for postage one by one.

When I sat down to do this page, I had all the colours, the layout, and the stamps all set out and a plan in my head of exactly what I would do. I set the timer for 1 hour so I could finish it and then go pick feijoa's with my girls. Well, four hours later . . . . this is what I ended up with. Different colours, different stamps, and a modified layout. I'm sure this happens to all scrappers. . . call it creative process.

This layout uses the Wanted set, one that I love. It's so versatile, with masculine and cute possibilities. I thought it was just the thing for the photo with my three babies in jeans.

Now the next step I need to take is get all of my photos out of boxes and FIND and ORGANIZE! I know I'm not the only one with piles of photos . . .