Saturday, October 1, 2011

WOW! Stampin' Up! has done it again. . .

Another month and another great promotion from Stampin' Up! I was so excited when I saw the demonstrator website this morning. 

During October hostesses who have orders over $450 will earn the Simply Stockings Stamp Set and co-ordinating punch absolutely FREE.  The bundle is valued at $85 and means that the hostess benefits for the workshop are $150+ with the Hostess Dollars of $70 (for sales of $450) and the promotional bundle.  That is fabulous value.


But wait there is more and I think that this is a very exciting idea.  Stampin' Up! is challenging all of its demonstrators world wide to get 10,000 bookings on 11-12 October to host demonstrations during the first week of November. They are calling the challenge Worldwide Workshop Week and I think it is an amazing idea to generate bookings during what is normally a quiet week. Demonstrators need to register to take part in the challenge and there will be prizes and incentives for the pace setters.

I think it is an amazing effort and the co-ordination will be breathtaking, registations on line, webinars and a counter with forums keeping track of developments.  the other thing that excites me is the chance that demonstrators will exceed the projected goal.  I have set a personal goal of 10 bookings for the week and hope that I can garner support from my customer base for the event.  Let me know if you are interested in helping me out by holding a demonstration or workshop.

Asides from that everything is a bit relaxed in my life at the moment.  I just took five days away with my lovely family and have arrived home relaxed and rested.  Can't wait to get back into my stampin' projects and term 4 of school.

Will be back later this week with some photos of my latest creations. . . at last I hear some of you whisper.  Ha!

Sharing the love
Shanni

Friday, September 23, 2011

Stampin' Retreat 2011 - Totally Neat!

We had the most amazing three days at Tinaroo, stamping, scrapping, folding, gluing and laughing our way through a huge number of projects and hours.  From the minute I got off the Gillies Range I was relaxed and geared for a terrific retreat. . . and I was not disappointed.

The stash bags were well received and people raved over the beautiful Mocca Morning specialty DSP.  I also included some soft suede cardstock to accompany the stunning mocca tones.  The galz also got some Paisley Petals DSP and matching cherry cobbler and marina mist cardstock and some beautiful old olive striped grosgrain and taffeta ribbons.  I wanted to personalise this year's stash bags so I made CD tins (with note pads and pens) in every one's favourite colours using the newly released DSPs - Flirtatious, Beau Chateau, Domestic Goddess and Timeless Portrait - I tried to make every one of them unique.




























































As per usual the attendees got a new stamp set - this year it was the Language of Friendship as I was taken by the sentiment, "the language of Friendship is not words but meanings" - Henry David Thoreau which I think sums up so many of my Stampin' Up! experiences.  I also made two cards to accompany this set so that the girls would have some ideas on how to use the stamps when they get home.



This year I also included a few other items for project ideas - a cylinder shaped tin of wafer biscuits which was great for covering, a coffee mug and name badges.  And of course Jodie contributed her neat catalogue tabs with the different sections printed on co-ordinating cardstock to make the catalogue easy to navigate and her wiggles wipes. . . man we are going to be lost when she runs out of those!

Saturday night awards night was as always a good laugh.  Sandra my out going BFF for 2010 was sad to relinquish her title (I am sure), but I have faith that Paula will endeavour to fill her shoes. . . I loved my Shannean the Queen certificate and gifts. . .


Sunset on Saturday evening

One of the highlights of the Retreat was the fundraising we did for Sharon Cohrs charity Climbing for a Cause - we raised $600 from a raffle - the main prize being the much coveted Greenhouse Gala tote bag which was exclusively available to Stampin' Up! Convention attendees, a beautiful bespoke necklace created by Leah one of our talented stampers and a bundle of new stamp sets and a re-cycleable shopping bag in perfect plum.  In addition to the raffle Lee-Anne from Scraptherapy committed to donating 20% of her sales for the weekend to Sharon as well and amazingly that amount was $250!  A sensational effort and something more towards breast cancer research and cures.

Sunday afternoon saw the girls whizzing around cleaning up and packing me away so that I wouldn't be too exhausted when I got home. . . they are amazing women, whom I feel proud to call my friends.  So it's all over for another year and I think that we have at least 32 girls who are vying for a space in next years Retreat. . . good thing that I have started planning already!

Sharing the love
Shanni

Thursday, September 1, 2011

New 2011-2012 Ideas Book & Catalogue

Wow! At last you are allowed to purchase from the new cattie.  I know that for a lot of you it has felt like I have been teasing - I've given you the 2011-2012 Ideas Book & Catalogue but then said, "oh, by the way, you can't order from this until 1 September." And of course, when you want time to pass swiftly it seems to drag on. . .

Well the new catalogue is launched and it contains a fantastic range of new stamp sets, designer series papers, in colours and other products - it is all very inspiring!

Stampin' Up! always maintain the excitement irrespective of the event and not to be outdone in launching a new catalogue today, the company is also offering a discount starter kit for peopel interested in having their own accounts!  You can become a member of the Stampin' Up! family for only $169 for the month of September (but if you are still feeling greedy, you can have the standard starter kit for $232 - a discount of 20% - that is fantatic value as it is over $600 worth of product for one third of the cost!). 

I am so excited about this promotion because of course I am looking from the side of the fence where I know the advantages of having your own account. If you have been considering taking the leap and getting your own account now is the time to join.  Some of the advantages include: minimum discount of 20% on all purchases, pre-catalogue purchase entitlements and special monthly incentives, support and mentorship for head office, monthly magazines and being able to be a member of a wonderful, supportive and inspirational team or crafting family. Contact me today to hear me rave a little more about the benefits.

Anyway, will be back in a day or two with more to share.  Happy crafting until then,
Shanni x

Monday, August 22, 2011

Regionals a great success

An entire day of stamping, crafting and hearing about or watching carfters. . . my definition of a good time! 55 of us gathered at the Sebel (Cairns International) on Saturday to take sneak peeks at the new catalogue, some terrific products and a heap of different techniques.

Staff from head office showed off their crafting skills: sewing, wheeling and playing with large cutlery were just some of the skills we enjoyed.  The new fabrics about to be released in Australia by Stampin' Up! are beautiful and will prove a versatile product for card makers, scrap bookers and quilters.  I can wait to be able to buy the full selection.

There were plenty of give aways on the day - vanilla smooch, champagne glass glitter and yet to be released stamp sets! Yay! I think that everyone was happy with their stash at the end of the day.  The make and takes were very cute and it was exciting to see the different spin people put on the same card creations.

It was nice to chat with people who only gather together once a year.  A lot of people travelled from afar to attend the event and it shows their love of the product and their joy in sharing it with others who love what they do and share what they love. . .

Watch this space - photos to come tomorrow. . .

Cheers
Shanni xx

Friday, August 19, 2011

Feeling guilty about my lack of blogging. . .

I know that people hear excuses all the time about how busy others are and why they haven't done what they undertook to do. . . so I will not bore you all with details.  Unfortunately for me (and I am sure that this applies to others), I agree to do too many things that I then prioritise before things in my own life. My own life being things like blogging and making sure that my name is in the market place. 

From this month on I am now diarising one day a week (with a goal to increase to two) for blogging about my Stampin' Up! passion.  I am making the promise to my followers that I will prioritise them in my schedule! Feel free to email me if you are at any time disappointed in my commitment or want to hear about or see something different.

June was a blur - I got back from Stampin' Up! Convention in Melbourne and put a heap of what I learned into play and also tried to achieve the monstrous number of demonstrations that I had committed to. 

July saw the Paper Belles exhibit at the Cairns Show and also saw a number of our creative girls placing in the papercrafting displays run by the association - congratulatins to Julie Seeto and Colleen Blakey.  I will upload some photos when I track them down to show you what the stall looked like and you could check out Julie and Colleen's blogs for photos of their beautiful entries.

August is nearly over - this month I have had classes and workshops and was back in Melbourne for the Romance Writers of Australia Conference - it's always a brilliant time. My friend Helene Young won Romance Book of the Year for her novel Wings of Fear (formerly published as Boarder Watch) - that is like the Oscar for Best Picture in the Australian Writing World; if you haven't read or bought a copy of the book or its sequel, rush and do so today. 

I am now home to complete my class timetable and prepare for Regionals which are on Saturday!  Yee-hah!  Very exciting. . . I love the creativity and inspiration that is shared at these events. . . and it is terrific that SU! travel to Cairns to bring this roadshow to us.

The new cattie starts on 1 September and is stunning!  I am so proud of this catalogue, the colours and layout are beautiful and the display of stamps, DSPs and embellishments are awesome. Let me know if you need a copy to drool over.

Also on the not too distant horizon is the annual Stamping Retreat at Tinaroo - let me know if you would like details.  We still have a limited number of spaces left.

Chat soon
Shanni

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Teeny bit tardy. . .

I have had a whirlwind month - Stampin' Up! Convention 2011 was fantastic! A group of 14 of us travelled from the sunny north to the Victorian capital for five days of fun! We swapped, chatted, sang, danced and shopped our way through the event and helped the Victorian economy stay afloat- the energy and excitement this year was phenominal.

There is nothing better than gathering with friends and new acquaintances who speak the same language, love the same things and cherish the memories that are created in the midst of everything else. . . demonstrators from New Zealand, Australia and the USA shared, inspired and enthused each other at the Melbourne Convention Centre for three solid days.

We were wowed by how creative and talented a lot of our demonstrators are. The galz from the home office in Utah and the terrific team from Sydney Demonstrator Support were so excited and helpful - its great to catch up with people whom we only usually talk to on the phone.  Those girls are so energetic - Kate, Clare and Ana smiled, sang and entertained us all - who would have thought that had creative talent in manners other than papercrafting? I still find myself tapping my foot and humming the catchy convention themesong 'Share What You Love & Love What You Do' when I least expect it!

Rich Jutkins, the new President of Stampin' Up! came down under for the event and proved that he is a humble, grassroots kinda guy you could imagine sharing a beer and burger with, whilst discussing rugby league versus grid iron. Shelli as always was wonderful - that lady is able to generate enthusiasm about an out of date corn flake box! Her emphasis this year was on prioritising what is important to us as individuals and making sure that our choices are the right ones for us.  Her stories, suggestions and insights were heartfelt and moving.

It was great to get some sneak peeks at some of the up coming stamp sets, DSPs and colours - just one of the many advantages of being an independent demonstrator.  Momento Mall was great and the swaps were as always motivational.  Look out Canberra 2012 - if you would like to join me just let me know - the more the merrier??!!

So this is the reason for my absence and lack of blogging. . . I arrived home and my energy kind of zeroed out for a week.

I am only back in the saddle this week and am gearing up for the Romance Writers of Australia NQ Roadshow being held at the Cairns Colonial Club Resort this weekend.  It is going to be wonderful to spend some time with my critque partner Amanda, my 5DI'ed buddies Loveski, Cone Queen and Sage, my NQ Romance Writers Group members and the amazing and talented presenters this year Anne Gracie, Kelly Hunter, Barb Hannay and Helene Young.  We are so lucky to have attracted such inspiring mentors for the event.

So visit again soon.  I plan to upload the swaps I made to share at Convention.  Some of my favourite swaps that I received at Convention and also my May creations.  Class timetables will also be added in the next few days. Oh, BTW my friend Michelle who is a wizz at all things photoshop has helped me with my blog button so I will publish that soon too!

Sharing the love
Shanni xx

PS won some great prizes and recognition - I ranked 20th out of the top 25 Australian Demonstrators of the Year and placed second for recruiting but that's a whole other story. . .

Friday, April 29, 2011

Blog Button


I am currently trying to create a blog button with the help of my friend Jill - she is very cluey when it comes to all things blogging.  Check out her blog site at http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/ - she has some amazing tips and is my current "Go to Girl".

The point of the blog button is for other people to place my button on their websites and blog pages so that people can simply click on it to visit Stamping Shanni.  So in staying with my current theme I am trying to make it a miniture of my mast head. . . not having much luck with adjusting the pixels though! 

Visit again soon to see what I eventually come up with. . .
Cheers
Shanni x

I had a good laugh today in fact as I read Jill's advice - she was apologetic for delaying in her response to my button questions - her internet has been playing up. 

After days of trouble She had been on the phone to her internet service provider for over two hours and their technical assistance was to tell her to press a whole heap of buttons (which she had already done before contacting them), unplug cables and cords and plug them back in (again she had already done that) and then to switch it off at the wall, the phone and the computer (you guessed it - she had already done this too)!  At the end of the call, in desperation the technicians decided to unplug at their end and voila it worked!

She now wants a job at their office because they do everything she does and get paid for it!

Sx

Friday, April 15, 2011

What I've been up to this week. . .

So the past week I have nursed three of the four children and did not give them enough sympathy accordingly the flu demon decided that I needed a good dose of the throat and chest virus that has been doing the rounds. . . felt awful for about three days but am coming good now. . .

Some of you may know that as well as stamping I also write romance and crime novels in my spare time and have been sending manuscripts off to publishing houses in the hope of one day being published. Whilst the response has been encouraging no one has emailed me a contract yet so I will continue to keep Australia Post in business by sending kilograms of paper all over the country and overseas until someone takes pity on me *laugh*.  As part of getting to know the craft of writing I have joined a number of organisations including the Romance Writers of Australia and the Queensland Writers' Centre - they are amazingly supportive groups and have offered a variety of courses that have taught me so much already.

In fact in May (after the Stampin' Up! Convention in Melbourne), the NQ Romance Writers will be hosting the inaugural NQ RWA Roadshow at the Cairns Colonial Club Resort.  The Roadshow presenters include Anne Gracie, Kelly Hunter, Barbara Hannay and Helene Young - these talented ladies are multi-published and so generous in their support of aspiring writers I am certain that the Roadshow will be a huge success.  Let me know if you would like further information on registration for the event.

The NQ Romance Writers are currently putting together some thank you gifts befitting north Queensland and I have made a journal for each of the presenters to add a personal touch to the presents.  I thought that I would upload some pictures of them as they are not traditional scrapping or card making but just another example of paper craft and how versatile it really is.

            

 
























     




  
  

  





















 
 

It has been so delightful using the gorgeous designer papers, ribbons and glitter, not to mention the beautiful bling!  A girl cannot get enough bling in her life. . .that's a less than subtle message for our gorgeous partners (especially with Mothers' Day so close by). I have tried to capture the personalities of the presenters and the tones of their novels.  The journals can be used as a place to record story ideas, pictures and other details to prompt the writing muse.

Nothing else too exciting to report except that I'm off to Malanda early in the morning to do a Small Business expo with Colleen one of my down lines at the Showground Market Day - it's going to be a great opportunity to meet some Tablelanders and share the love for Stampin' Up!.

Take care 
Shanni xx

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Swaps for Convention in May

A busy time at the moment - I have finally focused on the fact I have about a month to get my swaps organised for Convention!  I am not panicing - YET! I have picked the colour schemes (neutrals?  surprise-surprise!) and the designs and have even started 2-3 of them but the thing I am challenged by is finding the time to actually stop and stamp. . .

I am heading to Babinda on Saturday to channel some inspiration with Lee-Anne and Danny at Scraptherapy; and I always come away from there with a heap of ideas and a fire in my belly to get creative.

Heaps of club classes this week to keep me on my toes and I am looking forward to the new stamping year with Stampin' Up!  Heaps of beautiful products, wonderful creative opportunities but the ultimate best part is the great friendships that you share.

Shanni xx

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Pens, Watercolour Pencils, Crayons & Pastels - Techniques

Decided I should share some of the samples of cards we made during techniques training on Friday night - we experimented and perfected a number of colouring styles.

Watercolour pencil with Blender Pen, Aqua Painter on glossy cardstock and then on matt cardstock(unfortunately the photography gremlins interfered with my individual gloss shot):


Here is an example of Watercolour Crayons with an Aqua Painter - always stamp with permanent ink when you are colouring in as you do not want to compromise the outline of the stamped image when you come back in with a blender pen or aqua painter to merge the colour.


Pastels with Versamark really make the chalk colours pop with vibrancy.  Stamp the image with Versamark then apply the chalks with a dauber, sponge or ear bud - I hope the close up shows the detail.  This is a fantastic method with Two Step Stampin' (always stamp your outline last).


Finally stamps inked with Stamp 'n Write Markers direct onto the rubber die of the stamp then stamped onto your paper project.  Love doing this with the Vintage Vogue set as it really lends itself to different tones of the one coloured ink.


I hope you find something of assistance in the above.  Experimenting is the key and making the time to experiment is the trick!

Cheers
Shanni xx

Monday, March 28, 2011

April Classes

Fabulous weekend – busy, creative and lots of fun. Saturday’s class was great, the galz who attended were all attentive and enjoyed the vintage technique. Sunday morning saw me at a girlfriend’s doing an in-home demonstration for Mums & Daughters – we made a lovely fancy favour box using the Big Shot and punches. Sunday afternoon was relaxing and productive with a Swaps Swot – getting ready for Melbourne Convention in May – am very excited! Can’t wait.


Anyway the purpose of this post is to upload my April Calendar, so here it is:

Date                                                                       Class Theme or Topic

Friday 1 April 7pm                                  Aviary Cards (repeat class due to popular demand)

Sunday 3 April 1pm                                 Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue Cards

Thursday 14 April 10am                           Fabulous French Foliage

Thursday 28 April 10am                           Sew Cute & Sew Versatile

Thursday 28 April 7pm                             Fabulous French Foliage (repeat)

Saturday 30 April 10am                            Fantastic Flower Cards (Big Shot, Punch & Stamp)

I am starting a number of new clubs in April which run until September. If you are interested in being a member of one of my clubs check out the Clubs Page and contact me today for a timetable. Great benefits – FREE stamp sets and products and FREE classes!

Until next time, happy stamping!
Shanni xx

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Team Techniques Training

Our team gathered tonight for a techniques class. This month we did colouring and made a heap of examples using different colouring mediums such as Classic Stampin' Ink pads, Stamp 'n Write Markers, Watercolour Crayons, Watercolour Pencils and Pastels.

The girls were exhausted by the time I let them put down their blender pens and aqua painters but it was worth the effort - they made three beautiful cards and twelve beutiful sample pieces to put in their technique manuals for easy reference. We have been collating a folder of different methods of using stamps, inks, cards and papers - it's amazing how many different ways there are to do the most creative things.

If you have time one day try this nifty technique: colour in your rubber stamp die with watercolour crayons, spritz it with a fine mist of water, then stamp the image on cardstock - it looks like a marbled version of the image in the colour pallet of your choice. Stamps clean up quickly using a Stampin' Scrub.

Busy weekend ahead, two classes and a demo and I really have to attack my swaps for convention soon.

Happy stampin'
Shanni xx

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Vintage Class Thursday & Saturday

I love doing classes because they force me to get creative or at least try to get creative. Sometimes it is really easy to come up with ideas; a stamp set literally jumps off the shelf and colour combinations come easily and on other occasions I would rather go to the dentist. . .


Fortunately tonight I have had no difficulty in coming up with some ideas for cards, and its ironic but I return again and again to the same stamp sets when I am doing vintage cards (maybe there is a reason for this? hmmm). Vintage Vogue, Artistic Etchings and Notably Ornate are amongst my favourites. So here are a few of the cards that I have come up with:




























I hope that you enjoy the cards and if you would like to receive details of classes for the month of April send your email address to the comments box below.
Happy Thursday,
Shanni xx

Monday, March 21, 2011

Finally uploaded some photos to the Gallery!



An exciting day today. . . I have managed to watermark some photos of some of the cards that I have made over the last few months and uploaded them to the Gallery Page so please take the time to pop over and check them out. . .

I am going to have to improve my photography techniques as most of them are off square and a bit blurry when it comes to showing detail but hopefully for now it is enough to inspire some of you to make a card or start a new project.

If you can't be bothered checking out another page here are a few teasers of what you will find there. . .












Please let me know if you would like to see some cards made with a particular stamp set or colour scheme. If I don't already have some in my boxes I would be happy to create another. . .
Happy crafting
Shanni xx