{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!