Happy Birthday to Us! (or should it be SU!)

It's Stampin' Up!'s 20th birthday this month so to celebrate we are giving you 20% off selected birthday sets when you spend $20 on normal merchandise!
You can choose from:
Big Bold Birthday, Pretty Princess, Crab & Company, Birthday Best or Short & Sweet.
There is no limit to how many sets you can purchase, as long as you have $20 of normal merchandise first (how easy is that? an ink pad & pack of paper and you'd be there easy and who doesn't need more paper or ink??)

Contact me zjgould@gmail.com for more information or to place your order!

Images © Stampin' Up!

Thinking of You

This card was inspired by the beautiful swap by Larisa Brown that I received at regionals (on left) I loved it so much I just had to make my own version. The colour combination was a really random one, I knew I wanted Purely Pomegranate and when I went digging through my scrap box to find a piece (It is getting ridiculously full I'm trying to take my cardstock from there first to get it down a little) and when I picked up the purely pomegranate I accidently grabbed a piece of Elegant Eggplant as well and I was just about to put the elegant eggplant back when I noticed how nice the colours looked that I decided to use them together for my card!

Stamps: Wild About You, Polka Dot Background, For a Friend
Ink: Purely Pomegranate Elegant Eggplant
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate DS Ribbon, Corner Rounder with guard removed for scalloped edge

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

My baby is now a toddler!!!

My little baby girl is walking! She's not a baby anymore she's now a toddler!!! I was running my Christmas Card Club yesterday and Justin yelled to me that she took a step, we stopped what we were doing to see if she would do it again but she decided to make a liar of Justin (she's good at that). After the class was over 2 of my friends stayed behind to hang out (and maybe to have some margarita's...) and we sat around on the loungeroom floor taking turns calling her and after a few little one or two step 'walks' she practically ran at Karin for a cuddle taking a grand total of 4 steps!!! We were all cheering and clapping her (charlotte that is, not Karin, she was just the bait hehe) and she looked so proud of herself! It was beautiful!

She had another go at walking today but 4 steps is still our record!

We haven't managed to capture any of it on film yet because we have been too excited to think of it, but i'm going to try to get some video tomorrow.

Christmas Card Club

I just thought I'd take a quick break from preparing for my 2nd Christmas Card Club class tomorrow afternoon to share with you what we made last month (I have a customer who is doing the class 'by correspondence' - Hi Faye! - and I wanted to make sure that she had time to complete her projects before I showed them here). These classes are designed to be quick simple cards that can easily be replicated en-masse to make Christmas a breeze. We make 5 cards & 1 3-d item per month so that hopefully a large chunk of everyone's cards have been done come December.

So I thought to start us off, what could be simpler than One Sheet Wonders? I have seen One Sheet wonder tutorials around for 12x12" or the 8.5x11" sizes but none for A4 or A5, so I designed my own loosely based on other ones I have done before and a few I made up from scratch for the "Season of Joy" stamp set in the spring mini catalogue.

We also made a Box in a Bag using my version of the tutorial by the talented Diana Gibbs.

The classes are $15 per class or $5 if you purchase more than $50 worth of SU! products from me and I am more than happy to send out kits to anyone who can't make my classes in person.

If you wish to purchase my 1st class please use the paypal link below* or let me know when you place your $50 or more order ;0)

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

*Please note that although I will include my version of the Box in a Bag Tutorial for free, I am only selling the card tutorial as the Box in a Bag tutorial is © Diana Gibbs

1 Month Old

Here is a layout I made for Charlotte's 1st Year album (I have 2 albums for her, one I am scrapbooking a photo from every month and the other I use for the random layouts). This photo was one that was actually taken on her 1mth birthday, so I had to use it. If I remember correctly, this photo was taken when she fell asleep during 'Tummy Time' and it was a really hot day and there wasn't an air conditioner vent in her bedroom so I didn't have the heart to move her (That and she didn't sleep much during the day those first few weeks so I didn't want to push my luck hehe). This was pretty much when she started sleeping on her tummy, although we didn't put her on her tummy to sleep due to all the SIDS risks, but as soon as she learnt to roll over this was (and still is) her preferred sleeping position.
I have used a sketch from A Scrap Addicts Sketches as my base for this layout, with my newly discovered colour combo of Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant & Lavender Lace, and I have embossed the "It's Beautiful" wheel with Clear EDP down the left hand side, and added some Eastern Elegance rubons & Flowers from the pretties kit (You can't tell from the picture but I have coloured all but the bottom flower with my Aquapainter and Inkpads). I have also used some Styled Silver Hodge Podge to frame the "You make my life a beautiful thing" sentiment in the bottom corner.
I scalloped the Lavender Lace strip using my Corner Rounder Punch with the guard removed (We got to use the soon to be released Scallop Edge Punch at Regionals and can I just say that it has ruined me for using all other methods of getting a scalloped border! It was so easy -and mess free - that it was almost painful to have to do it the 'old fashioned' way)

ETA: I have now added some journalling printed on vellum to the right hand side to tell the little story about why she was asleep like that.

Stamps: A Beautiful Thing, It's Beautiful Wheel, Linen Background, Short Order Alphabet
Ink: Versamark, Old Olive, Lavender Lace & Elegant Eggplant (for colouring the flowers)
Cardstock: Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
Accessories: Pretties Kit, Styled Silver Hodgepodge, Eastern Elegance Rubons, On Board Chipboard, Clear EDP, Old Olive Grosgrain

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Cardinal Stampers Challenge #1

My upline Lisa recently got a 3rd downline so we are now an official team with the name "Cardinal Stampers". We have decided to set ourselves & any one else who wants to play along, little challenges from time to time and the first one was to use our favourite watercolour method on a card. If you want to play along you can check out our challege blog here, just leave us a link to your take on the challenge in the comments so we can check it out.
I have only recently bought the Watercolour Wonder Crayons and I love them! They are heaps of fun to use (especially with the aquapainter) and while I'm sure I'm not using them to their full potential just yet, I found them really easy to use & I am having fun!
I made this card for my Brother-in-law's birthday, we forgot about it until a day or two late so we didn't even wish him a happy birthday let alone get him a card (whoops!!!), so this card is to say we're sorry we FROGot and that we hope he had a HOPPY one!
The Unfrogettable stamp set is a new one for me, for me it was one of those sets that you want the first time you ever see it but for various reasons you put off buying it again and again, so when I ordered my Watercolour Wonders I decided to get it to help me learn (yup that's what we'll call it, education hehe) on since it is such a great watercolouring set.
I stamped the frog first in Stazon being careful not to ink up the little love heart (It's cute, but not really appropriate in this case) and masked him while i stamped the toadstool, I have coloured him in with Old Olive and Whisper White for the Eyes, the Mushroom is a combination of Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa and Sahara Sand with Cameo Coral and Ruby Red on the spots, the sky is a faint wash of Not Quite Navy and the grass is Garden Green just using a darker colour for the shadow and grass blades. I find you can't really go wrong with this method of watercolouring, if it gets too dark or make a mistake you can just add a bit of extra water and then blot it with a paper towel and try again, it won't get rid of all the colour, but enough to try again :)

Stamps: Unfrogettable
Ink: Stazon, Close to Cocoa
Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Old Olive Prints DSP, Old Olive, Watercolour Paper
Accessories: Earth Elements & Neutrals Water Colour Wonders, Hemp Twine, Tag & Small Tag Punches, Crop-a-dile, Basic eyelets, Stampin' Dimensionals

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

SCTL7 - Just Add Leaves

I know Jennifer intended the 'Just Add Leaves' Challenge over at Stamping Links to Love to be a fall challenge, but it's kind of hard to get in a Autumnish mood when we're just starting Spring. Autumn is great because it starts to cool down again after the unbearable heat from Summer, so you're looking forward to cooler weather, but I've had enough of Winter and am looking forward to summer, so I have interpreted the challenge with Spring in mind.
The colours are inspired from this gorgeous card by Kim Gavarra, Elegant Eggplant & Old Olive has been a favourite colour combination of mine for a while now, but the Lavender Lace just looks beautiful with it don't you think?? I also threw in a little Kraft because there was a piece sitting on my desk crying out to be used.
This stamp is from the Blooming with Beauty stamp set, that I don't own but Lisa was kind enough to stamp out on some watercolour paper for me to play with. I have used the 'Watercolouring for Cheaters' technique as shared by Cambria Turnbow as a change from the usual Watercolour Wonder Crayons I have been using lately.
Lisa & I have been on a bit of a Watercolouring kick lately so she has set that as the first Challenge for the Cardinal Stampers, the challenge starts on Sunday morning so why not check it out and play along too! Keep an eye out for my challenge card scheduled to be posted tomorrow morning.

Stamps: Blooming With Beauty, Baroque Motifs (Gotta love the swirl!!)
Ink: Rich Regals, Soft Subtles & Earth Elements SW Markers, Lavender Lace
Cardstock: Lavender Lace, Watercolour Paper, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Kraft
Accessories: Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain, White Gel Pen, Aquapainter

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Arrr Me Heartys!

Today is International Talk Like a pirate day (also my dad's birthday how cool is that?) so to celebrate I thought we could have a piratey weekend!

If you order 'Ahoy Matey' (pictured above) from me I will give you 10% off the RRP(ex P&H) for THIS WEEKEND ONLY, simply order before 10pm Sunday 21 September to take advantage of this deal.

To order this cute set (perfect for kids birthday parties) just email me zjgould@gmail.com or call me on 0418 650 294.

Images © Stampin' Up!

Fathers Day

This is the Card I made my dad for Fathers day, the favourite father is a bit of an in joke, for anyone who doesn't know me I'm an only child and growing up dad would always call me his favourite daughter, so when I realised that I didn't have any actual fathers day stamps i decided this could work.
I have some more fathers day cards to share but as the recipients haven't got them yet I won't share them now.

Stamps: Wonderful Favourites, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Old Olive, Brilliant Blue
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue Prints DSP, Old Olive, Kraft
Accessories: Stamp-a-majig, Earth Elements Brads, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Sesame Street Card

I made this card for Amber, my friends little girl, we weren't able to go to her birthday party and we dropped off a present but as her birthday was the middle of the Show Week I didn't have the chance to make a card until now. It is CASE'd from this card by Heather Summers, a fantastic Stampin' Up! Demo in Canada, and as soon as I saw it 'I thought I had to make one of those!' but by the time I got a chance to sit down and play with my punches I have seen so many pop up around the place, but I will give credit to Heather since that is where I saw it first. However I did get the cookie idea from this card by Karen Thomas.

I deliberately didn't look at either of these cards immediately before making it so that the card my own so some of the mouths look a little off as they used circles an I used ovals, I did add the eyelids on Big Bird.

This card uses too many punches to count, so I won't be giving a list of supplies used like I normally do but all supplies are SU! and I used the Happy Thoughts & Best Friends Numbers stamp sets.

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould