Vanessa Webb - Independent Stampin’Up! Demonstrator

Do you have trouble choosing cards for men?

Want to learn some new techniques to  create the perfect “masculine card”?

Then come along to one of my card classes on one of the following dates, create 6 cards (2 each of the ones pictured above) and be prepared this year for every occasion where a more masculine card is required.

Masculine card class dates : Tuesday 27th Jan or Thursday 5th February (same class repeated)

Times: 7.30pm

Place : Mine (address details will be sent when you book)
Cost : $20 - Includes all materials, tuition and and a light supper (with a 50% rebate when you place an order of $100 or more at the class……plus you get a free Sale-A-Bration set during Jan/Feb!)

Bookings are essential as spaces are limited.

Upcoming class dates:

Kids Cards
Saturday 28th February 10.30am

or
Tuesday 24th March 7.30pm

Book in early to reserve your spot!

These custom-coloured felt flowers are great for adding dimension to your projects plus there are over 130 individual pieces in three different colours : Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red and Old Olive. Use them individually, or layer them and use together with other embellishments such as the 1/2 pearls from the Pretties Kit.

The picture frame below literally took only minutes to put together on Christmas Eve…….just in time to give it to my sister for Christmas! To create the frame, I simply bought a shadow box frame and layered the felt flowers on top of each other with Mini Glue Dots (these are super strong and great for using with more textured material like felt…….plus, no drying time required……just what was needed at 12.30 am on Christmas morning lol.) The half pearls were stuck on the same way and finished the embellishments off nicely.

Here’s a close up of one of the flowers :

Let me know what you think of my Flower Fusion frame and if you leave a comment on this post before next Tuesday 14th January, I’ll send you a sample from my Flower Fusion tin to play with at home.

Offer open to Australian residents and non-demonstrators only……but please feel free to leave a comment anyway if you wish

While it is tidy lol., I thought I would share a few pictures of my creative space with you. I don’t have a craft “room” as such, just a space in our living room which is mine so I can create and be with the kids at the same time. My wonderfully supportive hubby, built me these shelves for my ever growing punch collection and also to house my ribbons. The chest is made of Western Red Ceder, found by the side of the road and lovingly restored by Simon’s Dad (waving “hi” to Dad Webb who is in Liverpool Hospital recovering from his heart surgery…… sending you love a prayers for a speedy recovery). I particularly love the size of the drawers…….they are big enough to store my 12×12 cardstock. The middle drawer at the top was apparently designed to house a gentleman’s top hat, so it is well over a century old. In the larger drawers there is plenty of room for my stamping supplies as well as the projects I’m currently working on. The chest tucks away neatly in an alcove and looks as if it were custom built for that exact spot even though it wasn’t!

A couple of feet away from the chest is my work table, on which sit my Colour Caddy, Stack and Store Caddy, Stampin’ Scrubs, Colour Coach, adhesives, Paper Cutter etc. all within easy reach. The table was gifted to me by the parents of my best friend of  more than 30 years and holds some special memories for me as I used to sit at it and hide my peas on the rails underneath whenever I went to dinner at Liz’s (Shhhhh lol). This is a great table to use for classes too, as it has an extension and I can fit 6 guests around it if needed  or join it to our dining table and seat up to 15 at a pinch.

As I think about the history of these pieces, and reflect on the relationships that form and deepen as we, chat, eat, stamp and create together, I realise how much I’m looking forward to making lots more memories around this table with my regular Stamp-a-Stacks and classes this year.

Check back here regularly for more information on the projects we will be creating each month!

Thanks for stopping by…………please feel free to leave a comment, share a thought or send a photo of your creative space, I’d love to hear from you!

Just popping in to toot my own horn lol. and to let you all know I’ve been published in the latest issue of Cardmaking, Stamping and Papercraft. This is my second time published and I was thrilled to be included as a contributer for this months issue (on the shelves at all good newsagencies now!).

I’ve made it one of my resolutions to get my act together this year and submit more regularly *blush* ……that, along with getting more exercise, getting to bed earlier (why do all those creative juices decide to start flowing in the wee hours???), sending more “just because” cards,  and not reading more than one book at a time! (currently have 5 on the go at the moment lol. )

Last night I spent the perfect evening watching the NYE fireworks on TV, singing to all the ABBA songs (much to my kids’ embarrassment lol)…………….. and played with my new stamps!!
The stampset I’ve used in the card above is called “Yummy” and you can get it for free during Sale-A-Bration over the next two months.

I went with an opulent, vintage feel as this stamp set suits that style so well.  I had my heat gun out so I decided to add some embossed swirls and gold emboss the frames too. This card just evolved from the Floral background stamp as the base (a big thankyou to my Stampin’Up! team Secret Santa for this year who sent me this gorgeous, long awaited stamp to add to my collection!!)

Here’s a run-down of what I used to make this card :

Stamps : Floral back ground, Frames With a Flourish, Yummy

Ink : Creamy Caramel, Versa Mark, Close to Cocoa and Rose Red Stampin’ Write Markers

Paper : Kraft, Purely Pomegranate, Ivory Naturals cardstock

Accessories : Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon from Theatre Ribbon Originals, Hat pin and Pearl and Crystal beads from Pretties Kit, Rose Red felt flower from Flower Fusion, Gold Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Embossing Buddy, Powder Pals.

All of these can be ordered through me along with the wider range of products from the current Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue.

During January and February there’s even greater incentive to order some of those things on your wishlist………………………………………..for every $100 you spend, you will also received one of the 4 free stampsets in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue……..there’s no limit to how many you can earn!!

Great news, too, for you if you’ve been thinking of purchasing the Starter Kit and taking advantage of the benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator. During Sale-A-Bration, you will receive an extra stampset (up to 79.95 value) from the Idea Book and Catalogue for free.

Why not start the new year with a new business and start earning some extra income sharing what you love about card making and scrapbooking with others?

Click here to find out more about the Stampin’ Up! business opportunity or contact me for more information and to request a free information pack.

Mac……..short for “Macchiato” (the latte version of my favourite coffee………milk with a dash of strong espresso!!) arrived just in time for Christmas. He has settled in very well……although he has developed a bad habit of chewing on scraps of paper and cardstock!! Hmmmmmm………just as well he’s cute!!!!

Warmest wishes to you all for a happy and safe Christmas and a fabulous 2009!!!

Now here’s a stamp set I haven’t inked up in a while!  I received Loads of Love in my Starter Kit box of goodies when I first joined Stampin’ Up and used it mainly with the water-colouring technique. I think the card I made recently (above) gives this line-art stamp set a totally new look. I’ve used a technique called Paper Piecing (not to be confused with paper- piercing). First stamping the truck image onto some of the lovely stripe patterned paper from the new Afternoon Tea DSP. I then cut out the body of the truck and the inside of the wheels, stamped the truck again on a piece of Whisper White cardstock, water-coloured the tyres in Basic Grey then stuck the patterned paper piece over the top. I stamped the truck a third time and cut out the window to stick over the top of the striped paper and shaded that in too.

I’m so used to using this set with Bold Bright colours, it took a while to work out the colour scheme……..but I’m pretty happy with the way this combination  turned out!

Stamps : Loads of Love stamp set
Ink :  Chocolate Chip, Basic Grey, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava Classic Ink Pads

Paper : Soft Sky textured cardstock, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea Designer Series Paper

Accessories : Soft Sky Double Stitched Grosgrain, Chocolate Chip Wide Grosgrain, Cutter Kit, Hodgepodge Hardware (Aged Copper), Stampin Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots, Crafters Tool Kit.

The school year ended for us on Friday- Yay! I love the school holidays with sleep-ins, jammie days, reading books all day in the cubby with the kids. Even though I’m well and truly ready for them to return to school again at the end of the 6 weeks……..I look forward to this longer break every year.

Here’s what we made for the kids’ teachers this year to thank them for all their hard work (I know they well and truly deserve this holiday too!)

The pattern for this is called “Bag-In-A-Box” and you can find it in a video tutorial here. I love using Stampin’ Up!’s double -sided papers for these because you can still see the inside of the boxes when you fasten them at the top……the contrasting patterns look great!

We filled these with treats for our wonderful teachers and the kids are enjoying delivering them this week and next as our activities wind down for the year.

Here’s what I’ve used for the boxes above:

Stamps : Say it With Scallops

Ink : Real Red

Paper : Designer series Double sided Paper - Dashing, Real Red card stock

Accessories : Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Border Punch, Round Tab Punch, Cropadile, Sticky Strip, Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Old Olive Wide Grosgrain Ribbon.

Here are some cards I made for our recent team swap. One of the best things about being a demonstrator is that I get to share and swap ideas with some very talented card makers and scrappers that I’ve come to know since joining Stampin’ Up! I often think it’s a  bit like being part of a “papercraft renaissance” lol.

For these cards I’ve used the gorgeous Live your Dream (p. 3 of the new Summer Mini Catalogue) set that we each received at our last Stampin’ Up! regional Training day in Sydney. I’ve had lots of time now to play with this set……..and I think it has become a favourite because of all the different things you can do with it. It’s great for either scrapbooking or card making and would make a great gift for a beginner crafter too (*hint hint* for those of us who still have a bit of Christmas shopping to do……..I’m putting in my last order to be delivered before Christmas on the 15th DEC!)

Anywayyyy……..the technique I’ve used here is called Ghosting or Vitalised Vellum.

The image is created by inking up a piece of vellum cardstock in Purely Pomegranate ink with a Brayer and then using a clean dry stamp to remove some of the ink before it dries. I had a lot of fun with this technique and I’ll be posting some more Vitalised Vellum cards soon.

Here’s what I used if you want to recreate these cards at home (all supplies available from Stampin’ Up! through me:

Stamps : Live your Dream stampset

Ink : Purely pomegranate, Pumpkin Pie.

Paper : Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie, Confetti White, Purely Pomegranate, White Vellum cardstock.

Accessories :  Brayer, Silver Brad, Pumpkin Pie Grossgrain Ribbon, Sponge Daubers, Anywhere Gluestick, Paper Piercer and foam mat (from Crafters Tool Kit)

Here’s a close up of one of the cards:

Enjoy!