Stamping with Kathryn Lowe

Convention Survival Kits

Well, we are having an absolute ball at SU! Convention 2012 and I wanted to share with you a nifty little gift I made for my room mates and team members.

It's a convention survival kit, and has all manner of terribly useful items in it, like a marble for when you think you're losing yours!

I made 12 of these, all different, but all variations of the same colours and using the gorgeous Timeless Portrait Designer Series Paper Pack.

If you're a regular on my blog you will have seen the original one I made using Mocha Morning DSP. I couldn't wait to make some more and fill them with goodies!

Now, I guess you're wondering about the contents - what could anyone need by way of survival kit at the Stampin' Up! Annual convention?

Well, here's the list that went in my kits :

• Marble: For when you think you’ve lost all yours
• Tissue: For drying tears – yours or someone else’s. 
• Toothpick: To pick out the good in others including yourself
• Dazzling Diamonds: To add some sparkle to your life
• Paper Clip: To hold everything together when it falls apart
• Ribbon: to let you know our Friendship is a special gift, tied with Ribbons of love. 
• Mint: You are "Worth A Mint' to so many 
• Stars: To remind you to "Reach for the stars" 
• Rubber-band: To give you the extra stretch and Flexibility to meet the demands of each day. 
• Flowers: to let you know that if friends were flowers, I'd pick you. 
• Coins: so you are never completely broke
• Band-Aid: To heal hurt feelings, either yours or someone else's
• Pencil: List your blessings every day
• Button: in case you can’t think of anything nice to say
• Smarties: in case it rains, you've got your own rainbow
• Sponge: to soak up all the knowledge 
• Puzzle Piece: the team isn’t complete without you!

I loved putting together the list, and then gathering all the goodies to fill twelve bags.

Oh! and you'll also notice a set of earplugs in there, in case any of the roomies snore, or in case the neighbours are having a rock concert! We definitely need a good night's sleep to keep up with all the Convention activities!

Now in case you're wondering (due to the terrible lighting) the colours are Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo, River Rock, Very Vanilla & Basic Black and I have used three dies for this project - Fancy Favour Box for the gusset, Framelits Labels Collection for the front & back and Fun Flowers Die for the flowers.

I've also used an In-Colour Printed Brad or an Antique Brad for the flower centres.

Well, I hope that's been a bit inspiring for you, and I hope you enjoyed reading the contents of the Survival Kits!

I'll be back soon to share some Convention Highlights! See you then!

Flight of the Butterfly Postage Stamp card

Well, excitement fills the air as dozens of my stamping buddies and I head off to Convention today - think mega girls weekend - five days of fun and inspiration! Thanks Stampin' Up!

But before I go, I promised to show you the other Flight of the Butterfly cards mum and I made last week. Very, very simple cards - you know that "Less is Best" thing? This is it!

This is the very tiny butterfly stamp from the set, matched with Curly Cute greeting stamps, and the Postage Punch. The colours are Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive & Elegant Eggplant.

The same card in a different colour scheme :

This time we have Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink and Crumb Cake.

Then for a bit of variety, changed over the greetings from the Curly Cute set.

Love this neat uncluttered look!

Well, I'll be back soon with a little glimpse for you of the special little Convention Survival Kits which I made for my 7 room mates and 3 interstate team members who are all going to be at convention.

Be sure to check them out!

Flight of the Butterflies

In the last day or two I've had lots of flutterby fun, with the gorgeous stamp set, Flight of the Butterfly. With the co-ordinating punch and some pretty colour combinations I have got three cards to show you today, and more coming during the week.

These cards were inspired by this card by Sassy Stamper, which I discovered on Google images while looking for a bit of inspiration for some butterfly cards for my lovely team member Samantha. Samantha is on the Stampin' Up! stand at Picture to Page tomorrow in Burwood, so if you're up for a bit of a papercraft weekend and are heading to the show, be sure to stop by, say hi to Samantha and check out her lovely butterfly cards!

This colour combination of Wisteria Wonder, Old Olive and Elegant Eggplant came from the Wisteria Wonder card in the awesome Colour Coach.

The next colour combo is based on the original card I saw, less the Wisteria Wonder, and I have oriented the card portrait instead of landscape.

Colours here are Regal Rose, Daffodil Delight (stamped with Pumpkin Pie) and Certainly Celery.

The dotted outline stamp is stamped onto card weight vellum before the butterflies are punched out.

The third card has a favourite colour combination with those lovely blues and greens. Whoever said Blue & Green should never be seen?

Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Island Indigo and Not Quite Navy make up the four colours on this card. Don't you love these simple but very effective cards?  So easy to do different variations of the same theme.

If you want to see these cards in real life over this weekend, I will have them on display at Josie's Biggest Aussie Smoko tomorrow afternoon at Woodbridge Preschool in Eltham. Josie is raising funds for the Australian Cancer Council and always holds an amazing Biggest Morning Tea Event. If you aren't able to attend a Biggest Morning Tea this year, but would still like to support this great cause, please visit Josie's fundraising page and make a donation!

Don't forget to check back later in the week to see my other butterfly cards I have created with the same stamp set and similar lovely colour combos! See you then!

Mocha Morning Gift Bag

"A Thing of Beauty is a Thing of Joy",

It gave me great joy last week to plan and construct a beautiful project as a special gift for my lovely friend Wendy. Wendy started out as one of my customers but very quickly turned into one of my best stamping buddies and most loyal supporters! She has hosted so many Stampin' Up! Workshops I have lost count!

So when I was preparing for her last workshop, I wanted to create something really special for her as a little personal hostess gift from me to Wendy. Stampin' Up! does awesome hostess benefits, but I think it's the little gifts we make and share that make all the difference.

So what did Wendy receive?

A little gift tote, made by cutting a Fancy Favour Box from Basic Black 12x12 card, some flower pieces using the Fun Flowers Bigz L Die, and gorgeous side panels of flocked Mocha Morning Specialty Designer Series Paper cut using the largest Framelits Labels Collection Die.

Don't you just adore those flowers? After cutting them out, I scrunched them up tight then smoothed them out a little - I love how that almost gives them a faux leather look - you expect to feel gorgeous soft leather when you reach out to touch them!

See how the Fancy Favour box forms the gusset of the bag?  And this photo shows that I have also used an extra layer of backing card to reinforce the DSP.

Oh I am so happy with how this turned out - I want to make lots of them! If you're interested in seeing how this is made, you're welcome to ask me to show you this project at a free workshop.

Have a nice weekend!

Big Top Birthday

Such a chilly on again off again rainy Mother's Day here in Melbourne! My hands feel like iceblocks - that's the joy of playing with paper!

Anyway, I wanted to bring you something cheerful and light hearted today, and a little fresh, and that also showcases more of our beautiful Designer Series Paper's that LOTS & LOTS of lovely ladies are going to be getting for free over the next 7 months!

This quick to make, cheerful birthday card uses Under The Big Top stamp set and Big Top DSP.

The watercolour card is punched with the extra large Scallop Circle Punch and I've added a Real Red Eyelet Border Punch to the bottom. The greeting is stamped in Tempting Turquoise Ink.

I've made the colourful rosette with the assistance of the new (awesome) Simply Scored Tool in our Autumn - Winter mini catalogue and done a bit of watercolouring to bring that cute lion to life!

There's a couple of close ups on my FaceBook Page if you want to check out the watercolouring https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katlo-Designs/120441366745#!/photo.php?fbid=10150770447041746&set=a.10150664911116746.382353.120441366745&type=1&theater

Well, I'm off to do some more creating! Hope you've had a fantastic weekend!

Rue de Fleurs Part 2

Hi all,

Well, I said I'd be back with another card made from the lovely umbrella stamp in the totally gorgeous new stamp set Rue de Fleurs. Only this time, the umbrella isn't an umbrella!

Who of us when we were size 8 teenagers wouldn't have loved a dress like this??

The "dress" stamps have been inked up direct with Stampin' Write Markers in Blusing Bride, Calypso Coral & Lucky Limeade. The lovely Broderie Anglaise background was made by inking up the Finial Press embossing folder with Blusing Bride ink using the brayer, before placing a piece of Whisper White card in and feeding through the Big Shot.

Another favourite new product in our mini catalogue is the Baker's Twine. Five different colours to choose from including this lovely Calypso Coral.

And then of course there's the "to die for" Pleated Satin Ribbon. I can't wait to place my next order for the other two colours! I've nearly used a whole roll of Blushing Bride already, love the Pear Pizzazz used here, and can't wait to add Riding Hood Red and Marina Mist to my collection!

I will be available on mobile phone today and over the weekend if anyone would like me to add any of these items to my next order for them. Payment can be made by credit card over the phone, and includes 5% postage.

• Pleated Satin Ribbon (4.6m) $13.95 avail in four colours
• Bakers Twine (22.9m) $4.95 avail in 5 colours
• Finial Press embossing folder $14.95
• Stampin' Write markers $5.75 each
• Rue de Fleurs Stamp set : wood block $53.95, clear mount $42.95

My mobile number is 0418 361 931 or email me kathryn@katlodesigns.com

Talk to you soon!

Rue de Fleurs

Have I told you how much I love the new stamp sets in the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue? NO??? Ha ha ha. I am sure I must have mentioned it once or twice :o)

Before my workshop last Saturday I had a bit more of a play with Rue De Fleurs. What a gorgeous set! Just love all the details for inking up direct with markers. This time I focussed on the umbrella stamp in the set, as I had seem some inspiring ideas from some other Stampin' Up! demonstrators and wanted to have a bit of a play.

For this card, I have also used a stamp from the new set Apothecary Art - see the nice label? And I have teamed these with Early Espresso Bakers Twine and printed papers from Attic Boutique.

I'll be back in a day or two with the second card I made using the umbrella stamp - it's no longer an umbrella on this card, so I hope you are inspired by it!

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ASK ME TODAY HOW YOU CAN RECEIVE FREE

STAMPIN' UP! DOUBLE SIDED PRINTED DESIGNER SERIES 12"X 12" PAPERS

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*Hurry! Offer ends 31st May 2012.

Designer Series Paper Blog Hop

Well, ever since September last year when our current Ideas Book & Catalogue came out, I have been dying to do a coffee inspired layout using the totally gorgeous Mocha Morning Designer Series Paper, it's so obvious! So when Claire Daly suggested a scrapbook layout blog hop focussing on our papers, it was roll out the cutters and adhesives!

Today some members of the Art with Heart Stampin' Up! Team, have pooled their talents to show off our lovely Designer Series Paper Packs on special during May!

We have a great team of papercrafters right throughout Australia who communicate and share online and in person at stamping days. We would love to have new members join our team. From today, it's only $169 to join the Stampin’ Up! family and you can choose any products you like to go in your kit! You can contact me on 0418 361 931 or email kathryn@katlodesigns.com anytime and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Today’s blog hop is only small, so jump right in, it won’t take you all day! You can start right here, and follow the links at the bottom of each post, taking you to each member’s blog, and right back to where you started. You may have even arrived here from the blog of Sue Madex.

In my layout, I used a strip of Poppy Parade Patterns Pack paper for the rosette, which I whipped up quite quickly with our lovely new Simply Scored. Boy, does that make the job quicker! I have embellished that with a felt flower out of my vast collection of left over bits, and an Antique Brad. My title has been cut using the Simple Letters Alphabet Die & the Big Shot.

The next blog in the hop is that of Deborah Raymers or if you can't see that, go to the next one, the blog of Claire Daly. Enjoy the little journey, and if you have any questions at all about the new starter kit or our Designer Series Paper, don't forget to ask!

Talk to you soon,

Kathryn.

Apothecary Art & Attic Boutique

I am absolutely loving the stamp sets and Designer Series Papers in the Autumn Winter Mini Catalogue. The are just too pretty for words! I made a big stack of birthday cards a few weeks ago - remember this one?

My sister held her Stamp Club while I was in Tassie a couple of weekends ago and we decided to do the same card, but we gave the ladies the choice of doing a pink option instead. I adore how the pink one came out - so pretty!

We didn't have any suppliers of pink ribbon handy, so we switched it for an embossed strip of Soft Suede card stock and some punched flowers with half pearl centres. Isn't that cute?

The stamp set used here is new to our range, in the Autumn Winter Mini. It's called Apothecary Art and has these lovely label stamps and some co-ordinating greetings. The gorgeous printed background paper is Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper - love, love, love it!! I didn't think I would ever be brave enough to take a pair of scissors to this paper - but I'm glad I decided to have a play!

Two important things :

• I have two spaces left for my Thursday night stamp club. We can kick it off with just one more person, so if you've been hesitating because you thought the club was full, or that you might not be able to make Thursday nights, please let me know - you don't have to physically attend to be part of the fun!
• Tomorrow there's a special inspirational treat coming your way. Some of my wider stamping and papercraft group are holding a Scrapbook Page blog hop, featuring more of our gorgeous Designer Series Papers to give you lots of inspiring ideas and projects. You can start here at my blog, anytime after 6am.

See you then!!