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2019 … AN EXCITING NEW YEAR

Well, after 35 years, I have finished teaching and we have just put our home on the market. Rob and I will be moving from Bargara to Kangaroo Point in Brisbane.

After a challenging 2018, exciting trip to On Stage in Orlando and getting the house ready to sell, I now have time to get back into my wonderful world of creating with Stampin’ Up! ® .

Now I can focus fully on mmm…Stampin’ Time – classes, workshops, videos, projects by post and lots of other adventures that I have planning to do.

I hope to stay connected with all the lovely ladies in Bundaberg who have come along to classes over the past five years, as well as meet new stampers when I move to Brisbane.

FIRST CARD FOR 2019

I saw a video by Jennifer McGuire where she used stamped and die cut images to creat a floating frame card. I used the new Forever Lovely stamp set and fussy cut it for this card.


The trick is to use Glas Press’n Seal wrap, which you can’t find on any supermarket shelves in Australia [that I know of] but you can order it here from USAFoods – this is where I also source my rolls of waxed paper.

I hope that everyone has an amazing and creative 2019,

Michele

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COUNCIL MEMBER

We all go through times in our lives when things don’t quite go as planned. I had plans for my business this year that could not come to fruition but am proud that I was able to ensure these last four months of my mother’s life were comfortable and dignified. She passed away last Wednesday and my family will come together this Friday to celebrate her remarkable life.

I know that the plans I have for my business will come into effect over the next 12 months.

When the opportunity arose to apply to be a founding Council member, I applied – as Sarah challenged us to do – move beyond your comfort zone. Because I am soon to retire from a 35 year teaching career, and have plans to build my business, I felt this was an amazing opportunity for me to contribute to the Stampin’ Up! community.

I completed my application and learned how to use Zoom to be interviewed by Em Jane Wilson for the QLD/NZ Demonstrator Council.

I am incredibly proud and excited to have been selected to join the QLD/NZ Council and look forward to achieving the goals outlined below.

FROM THE WEEKLY UPDATES 2018 OCTOBER 30

These 2018–2019 Demonstrator Council members will partner with the Demonstrator Development Managers (DDMs) as ambassadors for and champions of Stampin’ Up! to motivate and inspire demonstrators. They will serve in this role for at least a year.

The councils will work with their DDM to focus on issues such as:

  • Finding ways to keep demonstrators connected and engaged with Stampin’ Up!
  • Helping demonstrators get new customers.
  • Helping demonstrators increase their sales.
  • Finding ways to make recruiting easier.

You may see them leading projects or giving challenges which could mean you see them posting related information on social media, for example. Since this is a new programme, the roles of Demonstrator Council members may change over time. Congratulations to our first-ever Demonstrator Council members!

I hope to connect with as many Demonstrators as I can during my time on this Council.

Michele

 

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EXPERIMENTS WITH BRUSHO

One of my lovely ladies wasn’t sure if she would get enough use out of Brusho and asked if we could use it in a class … of course, we could!

At our last class we experimented with Brusho … we used 10 different techniques to apply Brusho, creating truly unique results and a collection of samplers to use for future reference.

Then we went on to make a couple of cards using my favourite technique – DIRECT TO STAMP.

For this technique, you simply sprinkle the Brusho crystals directly onto a stamp and spritz with water and then stamp the image onto Shimmery White cardstock or watercolour paper [we used the Shimmery White].

Every image is unique and you can also stamp off to create less intense colour.

Here are some of the cards I made as display cards for the class … we used the Bubble Over photopolymer stamp set and the Rooted in Nature stamp set. [A word of warning – the Brusho crystals will discolour the stamp but does not effect its future use from my experience.]

I really liked the way the Bubble Over card turned out – a great masculine card.

At the end of the class, the lady I mentioned at the beginning ordered the Brusho. I look forward to seeing what she creates.

I have also just started experimenting with the Bokeh and Dandelion Wishes stamp sets, Brusho and Black Embossing Powder. This has some potential.

My first project using Brusho was for On Stage Local in Sydney this year. I teamed it up with the Sea of Textures stamp set to produce a decor item. I had been experimenting and produced a number of samples that looked to me like waves … please excuse the terrible reflection in the photograph.

If haven’t already started experimenting and using Brusho in your stamping and paper craft adventures, it is well worth trying it.