Blooms and Wishes for Mother's Day Card

Last Wednesday, I made a Mother's Day card for my mother-in-law in the last minute and mailed it out on Thursday (hope she's already got it by now!)

And then it poped in my head - why don't I ask if anyone in the office would like a Mother's Day card for their mums?  So I did, and two of my co-workers actually ordered from me. Yay!

So I made additional two cards using the same idea and layout.  They took me more than one hour to finish, which is not cost-efficient by any stretch.  But it's just nice to be able to utilise these stamps and dies, and my colleagues get to bring specially made cards for their mums.  Plus, I got some coffee money out of them. :-)

Watercolor Wings and Butterfly Basics - Ally's and My First Stamp Set Challenge!

Last week after the Stampin' Up Onstage2016 in Brisbane, I came back to Melbourne with a realisation.

The realisation is simple - find a balance in life.

Every day, I spend 7.5 hours on sleeping, 8.5 hours on work (too much) and the rest 8 hours on family and myself.  And that 8 hours of family and me time, although not enough, should be used to the fullest.

Then my thoughts went to some of the stamps I spent good money on but never got to use (much).  Next, I messaged my good friend Ally halfway across the globe.  Ally and I met in Dubai and she is a natural crafter.  She bought some Stampin' Up products through me, but she has similar problems - she can't find time to really sit down and craft.

We started talking about Stampin' Up products, my trip to Brisbane etc.  Then we decided to set up a challenge: to make 2 cards out of the same stamp & die set we bought.

And we did.  Here are the cards she made:

Ally's Card #1

Ally's Card #2

(I added Made by Ally Lee because these are her creations)

Those butterflies are just incredible, aren't they?  I love how she combines the different stamp sets to create her own styles.  And the cards really jump out of the existing Stampin' Up box.  Ally is so modest in saying that I taught her the techniques.  But I don't think I can stamp the butterflies the way she does them.

My cards are different from hers in that I use mostly Stampin' Up products (because I have a mission - to sell the products! ) for the make.  I spent good 2 hours trying to come up with the best looks for the cards.

My Card #1

Sorry for the extra large logo. It's 10:30 PM about bed time so I don't really bother shrinking it now.

And this one I forgot to make it brighter/sellable. But you get the idea. 

The ink pad and card stock are both Sweet Sugarplum.

My Card #2

 My first time using those ruched ribbons.  They are nice on bags and packaging but not really the most complimentary ribbons on a card if you know what I mean.  But then again I'm just a newbie. An experienced demonstrator would simply call that rubbish (as in what I just said, not the ribbon) 

And I should have white embossed the sentiments too. (That's called bad planning, Kim)

So here they are, all nice and pretty.  And you'll also noticed one thing - ah yes, that I've almost given up on photography.

The butterfly stamp set is so classic and yet versatile, and the Blooms and Bliss DSP (designer series paper) is definitely one of my favourite.



Next I'm listing the products used for our projects. Anyone?  ( Bet the ruched ribbons are gonna be popular! )

Happy Birthday Card: Lettuce Celebrate!

News of the week:

The Annual 2016/2017 Stampin' Up catalogue is finally online on June 1st!

This is all very exciting to me as well as my friends who are into the awesome SU products.    Anyone can directly order online (domestic shipping only)  or contact their demonstrators for further details of the purchase.  And I just can't wait for my order to arrive at the doorstep.


Now there's another way of looking at this news.  Reality tells us that not everyone can splurge 500 dollars on these crafty things straight away.  In fact, many people have to think twice even before spending 50 dollars on something crafty, which is quite understandable when it comes to priorities in life.  Does milk and bread come before the hobby?  Of course yes.  This is why some people choose to be customers, rather than joining Stampin' Up whereas once becoming a demonstrator, you'll have to maintain a seasonal purchase quota to remain the title.  As a customer you will buy it when you have money to spend on your hobby and not bound by the SU policies.  This makes total sense
 

In this regard, I recon there is still a way to get some of the things you want without having to spend money on every single item in the catalogue.  Product-sharing.  It means that you and your friends can place one order together, and share some of the items such as twines, embellishments, papers and so on.  In fact I think you can share all but the stamps, dies and other tools.  This is how my friends  (who are new demonstrators as well) and I make it work.  We share card stocks, papers, and other accessories while we order our own stamps, dies etc.  This way we all get what we want without spending a lot on the same things.

I don't want my friends or customers to be stressful about having to spend lots of money.  So I highly recommend product sharing. And as a crappy salesperson I would say the best way to save money while still being able to craft with SU products, is just go to craft classes.  See how the demonstrators use the supplies to make gorgeous cards and gift bags.


Alright now back to the card.  I made this card from this retiring stamp set called "Market Fresh" and I am just glad that I decided to get it before end of May.  It's simple and unique, and I couldn't be happier.  This stamp set will be in my hobby stash and will never retire.

 I haven't worked out the best green colour for the lettuce so it looks a bit funny.  But you can't notice it from a distance hehe.

I still have problems with the lightness of the photo, which I have been working on.  But at least the background issue has been solved.  (My background used to be my window and and backyard plants, and they were not complimenting the card at all!) 


I use the folliwing products:

Hello Love - Greeting Card Using Nice Cuppa Stamp set

So for the past week or two I have been working on many ways of utilising the stamp set: Nice Cuppa.

Reason behind it is that one of my good friend, Renee Tan, an avid crafter who is based in Singapore, got this stamp and die set from me a little while ago.  Little did we both know that this set was going to retire.  It is such a great stamp set that I feel it's a shame to retire it.  It hasn't been around in the SU catalogue for long either.

Needless to say, Renee was a bit frustrated when I told her the stamp set was going to retire.  She likes new stuff lol.   However, Stampin' Up has been known for standing at the tip of the trend with the products, and I am sure this set will still look great in 3 years of time.  I have hence come up with two sketches with this stamp and die set.

#1, There's Always Time for Tea (and Spending Time with You)

I got the inspiration from a very creative crafting duo Bruno Bertucci and Kylie .  Bruno made his card so soft and beautiful, and I just can't help CASEing it.  I came up with a quite similar creation as below

The differences, besides the teabag tag and the "and Spending Time with You" sentiment, is missing of ribbon (I use washi tape instead) and that I torn and distressed the card.



I also made another card, which was purely of my own design, as below.

Besides the Nice Cuppa stamp set, I also use Lots of Labels framelits for the backing, and other materials from Stampin' Up.  I am quite happy now with all these cards and projects that are all SU supplies and I'm satisfied with.  

This project makes me realise the importance of using the same stamp set on different projects.  Every time I end up with different results, and I feel that the money is really well spent on the stamp set.

Welcome to Your new Home Sweet Home - Happy Notes

Have you ever had this situation where you're trying to to use up your stash of paper scraps but just ending up cutting more new paper?  Yes.

And in the end you somehow accumulated about 5 boxes of scraps stacked up in the corner? Yes.

And at this moment, you're thinking how to use all those boxes of scrap paper?  Yes!

And today, what's showcased here is, that there is no way you can use up those scraps.  Never.  HA!

But I'm just showing you how HAPPY I am after I made yet another card using some of the scraps!   Just one card!

And I am sure you have had the situation whereas you're just like me, in a messy craft room.  But you're left with HAPPINESS.

Yep, that's what it's all about, my friend.  Life isn't about tidiness; It is about being happy.

And I've placed another order for more stuff.  Yep I bet you've just done that too earlier this week.

The Gold Soiree DSP (designer series paper) is featured in this card. The gold accents add a touch of fineness together with the gold sequins.

For this card I use the following Stampin' Up products