It’s T-minus three and a bit hours until the launch of the happiest time of the stampin’ year, and boy is there some fun stuff in store until March 31!

If you’re familiar with Sale-a-brations past, you will be aware that by simply spending $100 during the promotion period, you get to choose a gorgeous, exclusive and limited edition stamp set for F.R.E.E.

You may also be aware that by spending multiples of $100, you get to choose multiples of freebies and in addition to any of those freebies that you earn as a customer, by simply hosting your own workshop, your freebies can also be added to should your workshop total hit $600 or more (and that’s in addition to all the awesomeness that is the standard hostess plan…)

Perhaps you are also aware that in addition to the freebie fest on offer as a customer or hostess, it is also the single best time to join as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator, due to the fact that on top of the amazing value of your kit, you get an extra free stamp from the Idea Book and Catalogue or current Mini Catalogue, plus all the usual benefits of joining the fun as a demonstrator.

In case that’s not enough to get your stampin’ juices flowing, here are a couple of peeks of the absolutely *stunning* Designer Series Paper that is one of the freebies available for your Sale-a-brating pleasure this year.  It’s called Everyday Enchantment, and it is nothing short of enchanting.  If you’re super eagle-eyed, you might even notice that the brads are not part of the usual catalogue range… *yet another new freebie alert*…

These were the two designs that I made as thank you cards for the Kindy teacher and teacher’s aides in my small girl’s class last year.

Yes, I have had the DSP since December, that’s one of the many perks of being a demonstrator – new product pre-orders an entire month before everybody else   If you’re interested in any of the other perks, be sure to let me know!

Stamps: For Everything
Paper: Everyday Enchantent DSP, First Edition Specialty DSP, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Lucky Limeade & Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Beautiful Butterflies die, Everyday Enchantment brads

There are several stamp sets that really made my stomach drop when I saw them show up on the retiring list, one in particular being Petal Pizzazz.

The beautiful, big, bold flowers lend themselves to beautiful, big, bold projects and I have used them SO very much these past couple of years!

Today I have another pizzazz-y project to share – one that I created recently as a gift for one of the mums from my small girl’s kindy class at school.  She is currently going through chemotherapy treatment and one of the other lovely mums organised a meal roster for the family, so for the past several weeks, the vast majority of the family’s weekday evening meals have been delivered to their doorstep.

I took a turn to take them my Grandma’s meat pie a couple of weeks ago (recipe below for those of you after a fabulously simple but hearty family meal!) and took the opportunity to include an extra little something to hopefully bring a smile to her face in the midst of such a turbulent and scary time for a mum with young children.

I wanted the front to be bright and cheery, so Petal Pizzazz combined with some gorgeous colours and lashings of stripey Old Olive ribbon did the trick perfectly   I also added some embossed Perfect Polka Dots onto the largest flower for some added whimsical texture, and some pearls and a button, well, because I like them

Inside I tucked a beautiful teal coloured scarf that I hoped would add some colour to some less than colourful days, and also a voucher for a massage that I hoped might provide some relaxing time too.

As I promised earlier in the post, here is the recipe for the at-least-three-generations-old recipe for my Grandma’s famous (at least in my family!) meat pie:

Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1 onion
1 potato
1 carrot
1 turnip
salt and pepper to taste
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry (I used to use the ready made frozen stuff, but now I returned to making my own as Grandma would have done – only she didn’t have a Thermomix, bless her )

Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C

2. Line the base of a slice tin with two thirds of your rolled out shortcrust pastry, making sure that it extends beyond the top edges of the tin a bit (it will fold over the top layer at the end)

2. Chop the onion finely and grate the other vegetables. Or if you happen to own a Thermomix, whack all the vegies in and whiz them for three seconds at speed 5

3. Mix in the mince and combine well with the vegetables, adding salt and pepper to taste.

4. Place the mince/vegetable mixture on the pastry layer and spread out to all edges of the tin, pressing with a fork to flatten and smooth.

5. Take the remaining pastry and roll it out so that it covers the mince/vegetable mixture, place it on the top, then fold the underneath layer of pastry up and over the top layer, pressing lightly to seal the pie.

6. Bake for approximately one hour.

7. Serve with lashings of tomato sauce and additional vegies if you like!  It also makes a great picnic food, served cold (but complete with the lashings of sauce!)

If there is anything on the retiring list that has caught your eye, make sure to contact me to order it asap so you don’t miss out!

Oh, and if you make Grandma’s pie, be sure to let me know how it turned out, and if it becomes a staple in your house as it has in mine

REMINDER: My 2011-12 catalogue launch is coming in a couple of short weeks from now, so make sure to book your spot asap by contacting me!  It promises to be a fabulous event, with loads of new product inspiration..!

” Petal Pizzazz Gift Box”
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz
Paper: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Autumn Spice Specialty DSP (retired with Autumn/Winter Mini)
Ink: Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Textured Embossing Folder, Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/4″ and 1″ Circle Punch, Small Star Punch (retired), Icecream Parlor Buttons (July Promotion), Basic Pearls, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Way back when I was in primary school, one of the games that was favoured at the time (although probably very un-PC these days and likely going by a different name) was Chinese Whispers.  The game where one person started by whispering a sentence to the person next to them, who in turn whispered to the next person and so on around the circle until it got back to the beginning, sometimes as a very different sentence to what it started out as.

“I went to the beach last week” could easily have become “I ate a peach with my beak” depending on the size of the circle and the listening skills (or not) of the small folk involved.

A more fun and current version of this game (at least as far as I’m concerned) is the one that transpired last week in my own circle of stampin’ friends and family involving a single card as the first inspiration that through the wonders of the internet and text messaging became a “same but different version” of the card once it has passed through several people a mere few days later.

The starting point was this lovely card…

…that my friend and A Klass Act team member Tracey used as inspiration for this card that she made as a swap for a stamping evening we had at her place last Friday night…

Not having seen the original inspiration card at the time, I used Tracey’s card as my starting point for this one that I set as the make and take in my workshop the following day…

…which I attached to a text message to send to my lovely Aunty Mair, who in turn used it (not having seen the original or Tracey’s card) as inspiration for this delightful creation that she posted to her friend that she had enjoyed lunch with the previous day…

Isn’t this FUN?!

It’s truly one of my favourite things about stamping and creating – the process of being inspired by fellow stampers in a large or small way, and thereby never having to reinvent the stampin’ wheel as it were.

Have you played any games of Stampin’ Chinese Whispers lately…?

“My Stampin’ Chinese Whispers card – Thinking of You”
Stamps: Silhouette Sentiments (L1 hostess)
Paper: Naturals Ivory
Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade & Peach Parfait markers, Basic Pearls, Pear Pizzazz Stitched-Poly Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals

These past few days, I have been giving my Create a Cupcake stamp set and matching Build a Cupcake punch from the brand spankin’ new Autumn/Winter mini a serious workout, and inspired by two different challenges this week, came up with this little card…

It was based on this Clean & Simple Fall-to Layout #134…

…which in and of itself is clean and simple indeed, but by the time I had finished stamping and punching all six cupcakes, white embossing all the “bows” deciding on each of their embellishments, putting them in order, sticking them down and wondering where on earth I was going to fit the sentiment (you will note that I went with a strip of vellum overlaying the bottom row of cupcakes so as not to obscure them too much…), well let’s just say that whoever gets this baby outta feel really loved.

Not that I have anybody in mind at the moment, I’m just sayin…

The colours were inspired by last weeks colourQ combination:

I took a bit of artistic licence with this, as technically the Cherry Cobbler that I used for my flower and cherry decorations and the So Saffron brads as the flower centres were not officially part of the line-up, but I’m pretty sure I can make out some So Saffron sprinkles on the bottom left cake in the above pic, as well as a couple of specks of Cherry Cobbler too.

At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.  Just as well we’re not playing for sheep stations here…

The other little project I have been having fun with involving the cupcakes is the project I’m demonstrating at my workshops this month.  Super cute, it must be said

With several workshop dates already booked and Easter looming, I have limited workshop opportunities left this month, but if you want to see this gorgeous set of products put through its paces (AND keep the cute project for yourself!) contact me asap and we’ll work out a date!

“Challenge Chewsday Cupcakes!”
Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Vellum cardstock
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Cherry Cobbler, Versamark
Accessories: Build a Cupcake punch, Subtles brads, White embossing powder, Colour Spritzer and Crumb Cake Marker, Crystal Effects, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Nothing like leaving things to the last minute but we’re at the final day of the Summer Mini and Sale-a-bration and I just had to pop in and show you this little idea (from last November no less!) that I put together using the Aviary stamp set that is available for only another 10 hours!

Aviary was the stand out stamp set for me as soon as I saw the Summer Mini (Itty Bitty Bits carved its own spot in my heart about five minutes later) and I jumped on the opportunity to grab it during the demonstrator pre-order period in November (just one of the many perks available to you as a Stampin’ Up! demo…)

I put it to work immediately for a project I created for our A Klass Act team Christmas dinner.  About 20 of us got together at a local restaurant, exchanged handmade gifts, chatted endlessly and filled our bellies with festive fare.

For my gift (we each put one in and received one created by another team member) I created a 2011 desk calendar in a CD case, which I also created a matching outer cover for…

The inside looked like this…

The beauty of the Aviary stamp set is that with a selection of four different bird cages and four little birdies, you have an almost endless supply of different variations and ways to use them!

Below are the individual month pages – click on the thumbnails to see them in full size.

I had so much fun putting this little project together, not least because once I had formatted the months and printed the pages, it was all one layer stamping with my chosen colour combination and came together very quickly.

I haven’t been able to decide on my favourite…   I do like the little dude in the Santa hat in December, but the stack of birdies in May is also fun.  Then there’s the cheeky fella in September who’s managed to make an escape, leaving his buddy behind

Which is your favourite?

As much as it was rushed and totally last minute, I hope you’ve enjoyed the last few posts highlighting some of my favourite things about the Summer Mini.  It really has been a favourite of mine.

As a special last minute offer, if you purchase all of the products I’ve highlighted in this and the previous two posts (Aviary, Itty Bitty Bits, Punch Pack, Bitty Buttons and the Square Lattice embossing folder) I will add the following as bonuses:

• a clear CD case – the kind that open right up to stand up on a desk plus information on where you can get more
• a template and tutorial for the calendar, including a formatted 2012 calendar all ready for you to print to give you a head start on some Christmas gifts for this year
• free shipping to your door – a saving of $5.95
• AND you get to choose a Sale-a-bration stamp set of your choice as well!

The wood mount option for the above products comes to $120.75 and the clear mount* option comes to $107.75.

Contact me asap – that is in the next few hours – if you would like to take advantage of this offer and snare yourself these fabulous products while they’re still available!

Already have one or all of the products in the special offer…?  Just because it’s the last day of Sale-a-bration and Summer Mini goodness, place a $100 order of anything from the Idea Book & Catalogue or Mini today and I will send you the template and tutorial as well, PLUS waive your shipping and of course you get to choose your favourite Sale-a-bration set too

Hurry!

* Clear blocks sold separately – if you don’t have any I can hook you up with those as well

“A bunch of birdies – CD case calendar”
Stamps: Aviary
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Regal Rose, Pear Pizzazz, Baja Breeze, Real Red
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Stitched Poly, Basic Rhinestones

I said earlier that I’d be back later with my workshop projects for this month, so being later, here I am!

I’m not long back from coaching at my girls’ gymnastics classes, which follows on from a 6am workout in the park, canteen duty at school, and some work in the afternoon, so if I stop making sense (you know, more so than usual) chances are my head has hit the keyboard, so forgive me.

I had an absolute blast with my workshops this month, all of them centered around the Itty Bitty Bits stamp set and matching Punch Pack and Bitty Buttons.  It’s such a totally cute stamp set and I was really happy with the projects I made with them and gave to my hostesses.

I was determined to work Poppy Parade into this month’s colour scheme and was happy to land on this combination, which actually includes four out of the five In-colours, plus Baja Breeze.  Bright and colourful and perfectly suited to the Itty Bitty range.

Here’s the first one…

This first example shows just the stamping aspect of the set – at least the ones that I demonstrated at the workshops did…  This sample of mine has a stuffed up Poppy Parade flower under the punched out one, but imagine if you will a Poppy Parade flower stamped directly onto the circle of Whisper White just like the other two.

Thanks

For the second sample, I busted out the co-ordinating Punch Pack for this, my favourite of the bunch…

Same colours as before, just in different proportions – something I have been doing in all my recent workshops to show the versatility of a combination of four or five colours

For the third sample, I popped on some of the delightful Bitty Buttons for some added cuteness and dimension…

Same colours again, a bit more of the polka dot theme that I seem to have going on, plus a Sale-a-bration set (last day to get yours tomorrow!!) for good measure

At $55.85* for a stamp set, pack of three co-ordinating punches and 64 buttons, you really can’t go wrong, unless of course you don’t act before tomorrow evening, as these sweet products are set to become unavailable as soon as the Summer Mini finishes its reign.

If you’d like to add this set of lovelies to your order of the Square Lattice embossing folder from earlier, you’ll need to get in touch asap to make sure you can get them!

Alternatively you can wait until tomorrow and order at the last minute, as I’ve got something to show you that might have you adding the Aviary stamp set as well…

* Cost for clear mount stamp set not including shipping.  The total of all the products inclusive of the stamp set in woodmount is $59.85

“Itty Bitty Bits of loveliness”
Stamps: Itty Bitty Bits, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, So Happy for You
Paper: Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Blush Blossom, Whisper White, In-colour DSP stack,
Ink: Baja Breeze, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Blush Blossom, Peach Parfait
Accessories: Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Scallop Edge, 1-1/4″ Square, 1-3/4″ Circle & 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punches; Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Pear Pizzazz Stampin’ Write Marker, Blush Blossom Stitched Poly, Basic Rhinestones, Bitty Buttons

I can’t remember when or where I first saw the inlaid embossing technique, aside from it being some time in the past couple of months and on any one of several blogs and forums that I may have visited during that time.

It seems to be the “it” technique of the moment and it’s no wonder as far as I’m concerned as it doesn’t happen very often that I see a technique that I haven’t seen at any point prior and that literally makes my jaw drop.

I made it the focus of my workshops last month, so that all my February hostesses and workshop guests got to see this fabulous technique in action and the hostesses got to keep the cards that I made.

Want to see what has me in such a spin?!

This…!

See the image panel there with the Little Leaves die and the Itty Bitty Bits flowers that’s also embossed?  That there is the inlaid embossing technique – sticking some punched or die cut shapes onto a background the whacking the whole lot through the Bigshot inside an embossing folder with a nice and closely repeated pattern (the Square Lattice folder from the Summer Mini is perfect).

That is quite literally, all there is to it and of course I was immediately bustling about my craft room, excitedly trying out all combinations of shapes and colours and giving my Square Lattice embossing folder the workout of its life!

Here is my second workshop sample…

I loved this one the most as the number background – easily replaced with alphabet letters from the same Timeless Type Sizzlits set for a fabulous teacher card or in pastels for a baby card or just some gorgeous brights for a school aged birthday party (somebody stop me!!) – is as simple as cutting out a bunch of numbers in your choice of colours and sticking them randomly to make a background.

I started in the bottom left corner and stuck alternating numbers and colours to fill in the space before popping it all through the Bigshot.  Easy peasy!

Here’s the third one…

For this one, I stuck to the same colour scheme as before and this time cut out an assortment of flowers using my Blossom Party Originals Die and some different sized circles using my punches.

I also wanted to play with this technique from a scrapbooking perspective, so I got out every circle punch I own (also known as every circle punch in the catalogue…) and made myself a range of different sized and coloured circles and rings, which I stuck in no particular order onto Whisper White before embossing it and coming up with this…

…which may lead you to ask how I embossed such long pieces of cardstock when the embossing folder is only around the size of a card front, the answer to which is that I embossed one end first, then put the other end of the cardstock in the folder, being careful to line up the pattern on the folder with the previously embossed part and Robert’s your mother’s brother

As you can see, when I get excited about a particular new technique or idea, I do it to the extreme, but you can see how amazingly versatile and impressive but incredibly simple this technique is, and how the sky is the limit as far as what you can do with it.

Pivotal to the whole idea though is the Square Lattice embossing folder – the one that I think gives it the best outcome, and being that this folder is in the Summer Mini catalogue (page 17 for those of you playing along at home) you have only until tomorrow evening to secure yourself this fabulous little tool and have yourself hours of fun coming up with your own combinations of shape and colour!

Although you may want to wait until later to contact me for yours, as I’m going to show you what else I’ve been doing with Itty Bitty Bits and the co-ordinating Punch Pack and Bitty Buttons at this month’s workshops, and you might want to grab them at the same time.

Just a thought…

Inlaid embossing technique”
Stamps: Occasional Greetings, Perfect Punches, A to Z, Itty Bitty Bits
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Brights DSP stack, Play Date DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Square Lattice embossing folder, Scallop Edge, Eyelet and Scallop Trim border punches, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Wide Oval PunchTimeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits, Blossom Party originals die, Top Note die,  Little Leaves Sizzlit, Daffodil Delight 1/4″ grosgrain, Pear Pizzazz Stitched Poly, Brights brads

This week’s challenge over at Just Add Ink seemed like a bit of a no-brainer at first glance….

Just add stamps.  Okay, so that’s what I would have been doing anyway, where’s the challenge in that..?!

Then of course once I took the time to read past the title of the post, I realised that the emphasis was on the just.  As in nothing but stamps.

No DSP, no ribbon, no buttons or brads, no punches or die cuts, no fancy schmancy techniques, just stamps and the cardstock they are placed upon.

Once I got going with my idea (and managed to bust it out in no more than three and a half  minutes) I realised that the JAI gals might be onto something…

While I love nothing more than getting a swag of new products and things to play with (got some just last week from the upcoming Autumn-Winter mini catalogue in fact – ssshhhhhhhh!!) there’s something to be said for heading back to the bare basics of stamps, ink and cardstock.

And the time factor – or lack of time taken – is a definite bonus!  I’m heading off to make some more of this particular design to send out randomly in the next week or so.

Check back over the next couple of days, as I just realised how close we’re coming to the end of March, and therefore the end of Sale-a-bration AND the Summer Mini!  I think this may just have been my favourite ever mini and I have some things to show you that I haven’t managed to get up here yet, so tune in for a last minute flurry of Summer Mini activity in the coming days…

“Just Add Ink #61 – Just Add Stamps!”
Stamps: Growing Green, Apple Blossoms
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories: Stampin’ Sponge (hope that’s allowed!!)

So the gastro fairy visited our house this week.  Without going into a whole bunch of detail (you’re welcome) I have been wary of eating anything much these past few days, so energy reserves have been on the low side to say the least.

On a related but much more positive note, I finished my first book club book in three days.

My challenge card this week is a sketch – one that I came up with based on a card in the current Idea Book & Catalogue.  I think I might do more challenges based on samples from the IB&C as you really don’t need to look much past there for buckets of inspiration.

The card I used as a starting point is this one from page 86…

…which I turned into this sketch…

…and in turn, this card…!

Here I used the very sweet Sweet Summer and So Happy for You Sale-a-bration sets, which are two of the freebie stamp sets on offer with your order of $100 for only a couple more weeks!  This is also my workshop make and take for the month

You can see how the final card is based on the layout of the first one, but with a few tweaks, which is the whole idea behind CASEing*.  Sometimes it’s easier to turn the original idea into a two-dimensional sketch first as I have done, that way you don’t “see” the original card quite so clearly and it can be easier to tweak and put your own spin on it.

I’m off to finalise my swaps for my team stamping night tonight – can’t wait to catch up with my gals!  We’re doing Easter themed swaps this month, so I will have a whole lotta Easter inspiration by tomorrow!

* What’s your definition of CASEing?!  I have heard of two things that the CASE acronym stands for – Copy And Share Everything and Copy And Selectively Edit.  I think either could apply, but which one do you think it stands for, or are there others?  Discuss…

“Sketch Challenge #1 – CASEing page 86″
Stamps: Sweet Summer, So Happy for You
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Regal Rose
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8″ Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch

So I’m a whole day – almost two – late with my Challenge Chewsday entries, and although I had them all stamped and photographed yesterday, falling asleep on the couch at 8pm won out over editing and uploading them.

I’m here now though, albeit after another busy day, but I’m determined to get these up (preferably before the opening bars of Farmer Wants a Wife) so let’s get this show on the road…

This week’s challenge over at Just Add Ink is to case the two gorgeous and talented stampers who started the site a year ago now and have just stepped down (handing the reins to two equally gorgeous and talented stampers, I will add).  The most challenging part of this challenge was deciding which of their amazing creations to case!

But decide I did, and here’s what I came up with.  This card is based on this beauty from Danielle’s blog…

And the next one is based on this little bit of delight from Amanda’s blog…

If you want to play along, you’d better be quick as I’m pretty sure the challenge is only open for another hour or so, and if you live over here in the West, there’s less than half an hour 15 minutes ’til Farmer, so you have even less time

Even if you don’t play along, I’d encourage you to head on over to Danielle and Amanda’s blogs to check out their wonderful talents and to say hi

“CASEing Danielle”
Stamps: Awash with Flowers, Woodgrain, Apple Blossoms
Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Ink: Crumb Cake, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Blushing Bride (Marker), So Saffron (Marker)
Accessories: 5/8″ Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Top Note Die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

“CASEing Amanda”
Stamps: Sweet Summer (Sale-a-bration), Tiny Tags
Paper: Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Watercolour Paper
Ink: StazOn Black, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist
Accessories: Aquapainter, White Gel Pen, Two Step Bird Punch (stem), Stampin’ Dimensionals