I hope you enjoy playing around with such a bright and cheery palette. I actually CASEd one of my own cards for this week's DT submission. It was a design that I sent into last year's Convention for the display boards at Canberra and it also made it into Stamper's Showcase on the 6th April this year. I love the simplicity of the design. This time around I have made a few minor alterations.

Here's the original -

Say it with Scallops(Colours used - Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue)

On another note, this is my last Design Team Member submission until July as hubby and I are about to head off on a long awaited holiday to Cairns, Palm Cove and Port Douglas. We're going to celebrate our 'belated' Silver Wedding Anniversary and Brett will also be turning the big .. cough .. cough 'o' in June.

So ... I won't be around to judge or write comments for awhile. Have fun entering the next round of challenges and when I get back I'll take a peep to see what you've all been up to.

If you miss me (hee hee), you can always click here. You'll have plenty of reading material to keep you going!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

This is the very talented, Christine Blain, who enters the Just Add Ink Challenges on a regular basis! It was so lovely to meet her and a big wave to Kim also. I should have got a photo of you as well. Thanks ladies for supporting the challenges each week with your great entries and lovely comments. It is very much appreciated!

Well, Delys managed to find me on the first day and we had to get a shot of us under the 'Vintage Style' Display Board, seeing we're the only JAI Girls in our naughty forties!

Then I managed to spot Sarah in the crowd early the next day. It was great to meet these wonderful ladies on the Design Team.

... and who should be standing right there to say hello to? None other than the very talented Kirsty Brown who is on the Inkspirations' Design Team. Kirsty also loves to enter the JAI Challenges. It was great to finally meet her too!

As you can tell from the last few blog entries, being a part of the SU Family and making friends with people that share a passion for papercraft and stamping is a big part of the reason I love doing what I do!

Monday, May 24, 2010

It was really awesome to get to know some of the other SU Demonstrators from Tassie. Here's Claire and Lynda doing the Make 'n' Takes. Thanks guys for letting me tag along with you! You were fantastic company and can't wait to catch up again at the REGIONALS in Launceston on the 4th September!!!! Yay!

These two lovely ladies were ex-Hobartians and got the best 'table' in the house right up near the stage for day 1. It was great to meet and hang out with Lucia and Esther.

Here's Rochelle, another gorgeous demonstrator from my home town of Launceston, busily stamping away with our new, not released to the general public, stamp sets!! How cool is that?

The lovely Carli was there to lend a hand and help with the stamping as Sharnee was otherwise occupied with gorgeous, little Esther.

Sharnee and Esther

Sharnee wishes she was having a few zzzz's herself but I'll let her tell you that story when she gets back from her family holiday in Nowra.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

One Third of the Just Add Ink Design Team -Delys from NZ, Sarah from W.A. and Myself from Tassie

I've literally just walked in the door from the most amazing time away at the Stampin' Up! Convention in Sydney. I never saw the Harbour Bridge or the Opera House this time around but I got to meet my fellow Design Team Members from Just Add Ink. This was definitely one of the highlights!! It was so .... great to catch up with these inspiring and gorgeous ladies.

I have heaps of photos to post of some wonderful people I got to know over the last two days as well as some fantastic examples of some brilliant and downright artisitic SWAPS. However, seeing I have to walk out the door again very soon, this will have to do for now!

A big thankyou to all the Tassie girls I got to hang out with. Stay tuned for some more photos.Bron XX

Friday, May 21, 2010

It's a sketch challenge at Just Add Ink this week and I've used one of my favourite stamp sets for my DT submission. I hope you can play along.

As this post goes to air I should be fast asleep in my hotel room near Darling Harbour getting some good amount of zzzzzz's before the Stampin' Up! National Convention gets underway in Sydney!!

Today is also my darling daughter's 17th birthday. My 'baby' is one year short of officially reaching adulthood! Where did those years go? If you're reading this, Laura, a big happy birthday and hugs to you! Sorry I'm not there to celebrate it with you today. Hope you like the pressies! Love Mum xxxxx

This week's sketch

I've used one of the new Designer Hardware from the Hooray selection and watercoloured all the little owls with my Aqua Painter and SU Inks.

I have quite a collection of owl stamps and these little ones from the 'Owl Together Now', SU stamp set are certainly my favourites.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

All packed and ready to go ... well ... not my suitcase, just all my Swaps! I'm about to hop in the shower, pack my bag and fly out from Launnie at 3.10 pm. I'm super duper excited to be going to Sydney and hope I get plenty of sleep tonight as I was up to 1:45 AM finishing off these little time 'killers' and up bright and early to glue on all the Project Recipes on the back!!

This is my main Swap and my favourite of the 4 that I mass produced. I had two other designs in my head but literally ran out of time! Maybe I could store those ideas for next year's Convention but with new stamp sets of course!

Friday, May 14, 2010

This week at Just Add Ink we have a challenge with a difference. It takes on the form of a Blog Hop. You will need to visit all the Design Team Member's Blogs and check out all the wonderful tutorials the girls have put together to highlight a certain technique.

Decide on which technique you'd like to try and make a card, scrapbook layout or 3D item etc. and enter it in this week's challenge on the Just Add Ink Blog.

I have put together a very simple tutorial to show you how to make Paper Beads and Faux Silk.

Paper Beads

Step 1 - Using your paper cutter, cut out some long triangular strips of paper the length of your chosen DSP. Mine have been cut about 1.5 centimetres at the widest point. I only needed 3 beads but I cut an extra one in case I 'muffed' up.

Step 2 - Starting at the wide end, roll up the strip of paper applying glue as you roll. At the beginning make sure you leave a big enough hole to thread your Hemp Twine through. Secure firmly at the end with an extra dab of glue. I prefer to use the 2-way glue because of the finer point on the end.

If you have a quilling tool it would make this step nice and easy!

For a really lacquered look, apply Crystal Effects (not used in this example).

The finished beads all ready to thread.

A close up photo showing the beads attached to the finished card.

Yep ... it's that simple! Thanks, Andrea, for teaching me how to do these last September school holidays. I've finally got around to making some more to put on a card!!

Step 2 - Make sure the ink is dry and scrunch up your stamped tissue paper paper a few times.

Step 3 - Unfold and straighten it out a little.

Back View

Step 4 - Apply a good coverage of glue to the FRONT of a piece of neutral cardstock with a glue stick. I have used Confetti White to add some extra 'fleck' to give it the appearance of raw silk. Turn over the edges of the tissue paper and glue them down at the back of the cardstock.

Don't straighten out the tissue paper too much when attaching it to the cardstock as this will take away the lovely Faux Silk look that you are trying to achieve.

A close up of the finished faux silk section which has been double backed using Basic Black and Confetti White cardstock.

Thanks for taking the time to check out these mini tutorials. Your next stop along the way is with the lovely and talented, Chantell. You can hop to her blog by clicking on the picture below.

Have fun!Bron XX

PS: How cool is this! Sarah, Kirsty and I all made it to the Late Night Stampers' Blog Finds of the Day for our tutorials!

Friday, May 7, 2010

I've had the Medallion stamp for nearly 3 weeks and this is the first time I've had a chance to 'play'. I originally ordered it so I could do the Emerging Colour Technique and I've noticed on lots of blogs lately that this has been a very popular way to use this versatile stamp.

I've used the following gorgeous Colour Combination, which is the challenge this week at Just Add Ink. It's number 16 already. Can you believe that? I hope you get time to play along if you're not knee deep in making SWAPS for Convention.

Dragonflies with Dazzling Diamonds on their Wings

Here's What I Did -

1) Stamped the En Francais Background Stamp (Pink Pirouette) onto a Glossy White piece of cardstock which was cut out using the Top Note Die.2) Cut around the white Top Note shape where the 'stitching' was to leave room for a piece of Ruby Red cardstock for backing.3) Brayered over the top using So Saffron Ink.4) Stamped two of the leafy branch images from Autumn Days with Pink Pirouette, Ruby Red and Soft Suede Ink.5) Wiped the Embossing Buddy all over the cardstock before stamping the Medallion stamp with Versa Mark.6) Sprinkled clear embossing powder over the top and heat set it with a Heat Tool.7) Brayered over the top with Soft Suede Ink and buffed off the extra ink on the embossed bit with a tissue.8) Stamped some more leafy branch images from Autumn Days in the top left hand corner.9) Popped on two cut out dragonflies (from Organic Grace - Hostess L1) stamped with Soft Suede on Glossy White, with dimensionals.10) Used the 2-Way Glue Pen on the dragonflies' wings and added Dazzling Diamonds' Glitter.11) Tied a ribbon using 1/4" Pink Pirouette Grosgrain Ribbon.12) The whole image was placed on the Soft Suede Cardstock with dimensionals.13) The sentiment is from the 2010 SAB set, Vintage Labels, stamped in Soft Suede Ink.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

I have been a 'bad' blogger lately (so busy with SWAPS) that I hadn't got around to posting news (now old) about the Colour Renovation that will occur when the new Ideas Book and Catalogue is released in September!

Before I get onto that I just wanted to say a big thank-you to my friend, Janice, who came around last night and helped me with my SWAPS!! It was so ... appreciated as the whole process can be a tad time consuming!!! Thanks for gluing, sponging, stamping tags etc. You are an angel (mmmm... most of the time). I better not go there as the old saying is true, "You'll always be my friend because you know too much".

Anyway, the new colour collections (no longer known as colour families) look absolutely fantastic. I'm excited to see some old in-colours back and 5 new colours that will be added to the mix to make up the new CORE colours.

There will still be 5 in-colours introduced this September that will stay on for 2 years instead of only one. Next September there will be another 5 new in-colours to make up a total of 10! ... and so the cycle will continue.

Although we will have to say a fond farewell to some of my favourite colours, I'm super excited about the renovation (even though I counted 19 stamp pads I have in the retiring range). There will be less to collect and this is a good thing, particularly if you are starting out as an SU Demonstrator. There are quite a few colours at present that I don't use and only one that I can see that doesn't appeal in the new range! Can you guess which one that might be? I'm looking forward to using the Neutrals Collection ... well actually, all of them!

Keeping all this in mind, it would be wise to buy up on any re-inkers, cardstock etc. for colours that we will say goodbye to in September. Contact me if you'd like to know more!