I have never really been a card maker. I’m a scrapbooker really. I love all things paper, photos and memory keeping. I have found it quite difficult to make cards which is silly considering card making is just a smaller canvas to work on.

Since joining Stampin’ Up! I have loved the ease of card making. My friend, Jillian, asked me last week  if I was a card maker now. To be honest, I don’t know. It still makes me a little nervous but I’m getting better and it is getting easier. I’ve loved using the Stampin’ Up! supplies to make my cards and pages because everything co-ordinates. Ink, ribbon, cardstock, patterned paper. I’m in heaven. It’s taken a lot of the guess work out of scrapbooking and card making and I love it. I need all the time I can get with my busy family. I just get to create now and not worry if a certain shade of green actually matches. It all works. I love it. Did I say that enough times?

Here are a few of my recent cards.

This is a very simple design using Daffodil Delight cardstock and ink. I stamped the Inspired by Nature stamp in Daffodil Delight on Whisper White cardstock. I then turned the stamp over and used the other side of Inspired by Nature in Pumpkin Pie. I mounted the stamped images on Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I just didn’t realise how easy and effective this card was going to be. I don’t know that I’ll ever get over how easy it is to make the element look good because they coordinate so well when you match the cardstock with the inks.

When I attended my first demonstration as hostess, not the demonstrator, my now upline showed us how to use the blender pens. I remember thinking how cool it looked and how amazing it was that I was able to use the ink pads and the blender pens to colour my images. When I received my kit and actually used the blender pens I was blown away by how effective and easy they were to use. The above image is my first ever attempt at using the blender pens to colour in.

This was a pretty simple card with the Apothecary Art stamp and the matching die cuts. A quick little colour and this is how it turned out. (more…)

Make sure you check out the amazing deals on retired stocks. Contact me to place an order before the end of the sale or you will miss out. Most of the stock is 70% off. Have a wonderful time shopping.

CLEARANCE RACK BLITZ Dates: 14 December, 2012-21 January, 2013 (while supplies last) Details We’re temporarily taking over a hundred products out of retirement with discounts up to 70 percent off retail-only while supplies last! We’ll have four different groups of products on sale during the next month. Here’s what’s on sale and when: View last year’s catalogue to reference information about the products that are on sale: The Fine Print You can order these products on any type of order. Feel free to order both Clearance Rack and non-Clearance Rack items on the same order-we’re flexible like that. There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this special offer-go nuts! Qualifying Clearance Rack orders are eligible for hostess benefits. Bonus! Clearance Rack Blitz items are only available while supplies last for each time period they’re on sale-so don’t wait! Sorry, but there are no refunds or exchanges on Clearance Rack items.