Anita's Azzaworld

How the year gets away from you!

Finally, here is my favourite from this year’s Christmas layouts.  This one uses Fiji – the studio kit that was released in February.  It’s a multi-page layout and took a while to complete because it’s actually 6 pages.  It was fun, though.  The pages used are a double page in Mist plus a single page in Mist.  This isn’t as tricky as it looks and probably better viewed than seen in a flat photo.  The scalloped edge was drawn with the Fiji stencil then cut with tweezer scissors.  I hope you can get the gist of the layout in flat photos.

First viewing – pages closed.

First page opened to the left – inside left page

Right hand page before being folded out.

Inside right page, after right hand side opened out..

Inside centre page

Back page

The frieze is from Ethnics, coloured with yellow and orange ink.  The stamps are the Swedish Christmas stamps – a great favourite of mine.

The new studio kit, Bilboa-Macau, is proving very popular as it has just that right combination of curves and circles.  More on this later.

Please note the new class dates on the right hand side of this blog.  There will be no classes in May and will resume on Tuesday 16th June.  This is after the Brisbane Scrapbooking Convention from 6-8 June.  Also, don’t forget to get your entries in to the scrapbooking section of the Mudgeeraba Show, 27/28 June.

More later ………….

Anita

Hi everyone,

The January sale has been a great success and so quite a few products have already sold out.  You can tell at a glance if that is the case, as the box at the bottom of the product photo says ‘READ MORE’ rather than ‘ADD TO CART’.  We would like to have a more visible indication and will work on this!

Please check the website http://www.azzaworld.com.au any time you need product information or for more layout ideas.

My photos have arrived and I have started making some fun pages!  I will show them to you on 1st February – because I have used the new stencil due to be released on 1st February and I can’t show if before then!  Needless to say the pages are about Christmas with the family, which is what most people are scrapping now.

If you need to get photos printed, I have seen an ad about Harvey Norman having their 9c prints again.  I don’t have shares in Harvey Norman but this is a good deal.  They still use the good quality printing techniques so deserve some recognition.

I hope to see more of you in classes this year – I know some have been meaning to get into their scrapping!  Remember that you can contact me (or any Azza consultant) if you want to acquire products.

Cheers

Anita

Hi everyone – hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year!

No Christmas pages to show you at this stage but I have sent photos to be printed and they should be here this week.

There is a January Sales Flyer floating around at the moment.  I have a hard copy but as yet it isn’t on the website as a document.  If you want to see what is on sale, go to the website, select the Products and you will be able to see the Products in Special.  Apologies for the unprofessional appearance here, but I am slowly learning how to use the website, and I haven’t quite got to that part yet!  There are some fabulous sale items there, so it’s worth a look.  If you would like to purchase any, just email me.  This way, if you want the items mailed to you, it will just cost you the regular postage rather than the $20 flat fee on the website.  That means you can spend more on goodies!

My classes get going again next week.  The first for 2015 is on Tuesday 13th January.  As numbers have started to grow, I will start up a Thursday group this year for those who prefer a Thursday to a Tuesday.  This will start in February, with dates of Tuesday 10th and Thursday 19th February.  As usual, please let me know if you will be attending any class.

In the section on the right of the Posts, I have listed the class dates along with a selection of topics to consider.  As we have some new additions to our merry group, there are some techniques which we need to re-visit or visit for the first time.  As you know, our class is very flexible but there are times when we have a few people who have an interest in a particular technique or theme, and so we should be organised to cater for these.

If the plan for a class is to concentrate on a technique, such as chalking, it may be advisable for participants to have some photos already on a page, awaiting finishing of the page.  That way we can practice the technique, then have pages ready to work on.  This is true of many techniques.  If you are still a little unsure of your layout skills, however, bring your photos and I can offer you some guidance.

Some of you may still be on holidays – just remember to have your photos printed so you are ready to get scrapping again as soon as you have a spare moment.  For the rest of us, it’s back to the grindstone tomorrow, wondering where the festive season went!

I hope to see you soon!

Anita

Hi ladies,

Pages, Southport, was a lovely show.  Thank you to all who dropped by to chat and see what’s new.  Mary came on Saturday to help out (could not have one it without you, Mary!) and Rachel assisted on Sunday.

We have a new Christmas catalogue just released.  You can download this from the website at

http://www.azzaworld.com.au/assets/pdfs/2014‐christmas-catalogue.pdf

We have a new Russian Christmas theme pack but have also included our other Christmas products so you can see the full range.

The big news is that we have a new Album range.  These are post and screw albums but the cover folds back so that the screws are not visible – a very classy album!

The ladies decided on some new class dates for December and January.  The December one is close (11th December, a THURSDAY this time), and we start 2015 on Tuesday 13th January.  New members always welcome.

I will put more pages on as time permits!

Anita

Hi everyone,

The promised pages, using the newest stencil, Porto (from the set Porto-Valparaiso) are show below.  With these pages, I have tried something new with decoration – adding ribbon.  This, of course, is not new, but not something that we do a lot of with our European style of scrapping.  The main focus is the photos, so make sure all embellishments are kept small and in the background, so that they support the photos but are not the first thing that you see on the page.

I really enjoyed playing with the Theme pack AUTUMN for the decorations.  If you have this kit, you will recognise the decoration with chalk, papers and the grapevine stamps.  I love this effect and saw the design as a sample in the book.  Naturally it was modified slightly to fit in with the layout and the photos, but you can see where it came from.

These two pages are facing each other (top photo is on the left).  I chose brown for the background paper because it toned down all that red!  Little Emily is wearing the pink ‘frock’ her proud grandparents bought for her in Paris!  (Every little girl should have her first dress from Paris).  Brother Jack still gets plenty of attention.

CRAFT ALIVE will be having a combined PAGES and STITCHES show at SOUTHPORT on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November – only 2 just over 2 weeks away.  AZZA will have a stand there so make sure you come down and visit me, and check out the latest products.  As a special bonus, if you mention that you read this in my blog, you will receive 10% off your purchases on the day.  In addition, I have 5 ‘two-for-the-price-of-one’ entry vouchers to give away.  Email me (anitas.azzaworld@gmail.com) if you are interested in one.  For the first 5 to contact me, I will leave the voucher with your name at the door for you to collect when you arrive.  The show is 9:30am to 4pm each day, at Southport Community Centre.

To access the AZZA New products flyer for November, use the link http://www.azzaworld.com.au/assets/pdfs/2014-11-New-products.pdf. There is a lot on offer for card-makers getting ready for Christmas.

Enjoy your scrapping.

Anita

Contrary to the impression you would get from the lack of action on my blog (on my part), I am still madly scrapping and loving it.  The business is going from strength to strength and this keeps me more than busy.

We have had quite a few new products since my last blog but I trust you are all getting updates from the Azza website, azzaworld.com.au.  As I contribute to those newsletters, it would be most efficient for me to direct you to those newsletters and use this blog to show you my latest creations.  You can access the link to the newsletter for October at

http:/www.azzaworld.com.au/assets/pdfs/2014-10-New-products.pdf

MALDIVES is a stencil that is set to be a perennial favourite.  Those who were fond of the old SWING, and missed its demise, will find this stencil even better – the shapes are similar but bigger and suit the photos much better.  Check out my page for my third grandson, Will (William).

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The non-photo panels are edged with brushed ink and chalked.  In the top centre frame, I have used chalk to continue the effect of the railing, and used lace figures for the car and ball.  The idea here is to continue the scene from the photo on the left.

Maldives can be used in a multitude of ways to produce pages which look entirely different.

The latest stencil duo, Porto-Valparaiso, is also very interesting and I have completed a double page featuring my first pages of my grand-daughter, Emily.  Those will be posted very shortly (as soon as I scan them), so you will have to wait for that one.

While we have not been present at a Queensland craft show for a while, we will be at the PAGES show at SOUTHPORT on the weekend of 15th and 16th November, 2014.  As soon as they arrive in the mail, I will have a special for all my blog readers – a 2-for-1 entry offer to the show.  Again, more details later!  I am very excited about having a show so close to home, and it promises to be a big one.  There are 40 stands in the Southport Community Centre, featuring a combined PAGES and STITCHES show.

Don’t forget to contact me if you want any information about Azza products or classes.

Happy scrapping!

Anita

Ladies, the new products for April are available, and they are great, as usual!  Just a brief note about them here so you know what you are looking for, but you will find them all on the website azzaworld.com.au.

The new Focus is EMBOSSING.  This is primarily concerned with dry embossing, and includes a stencil with all favourite shapes – fence, hibiscus, snowflake, dragonfly etc.  It is not a background stencil but is designed to give you decorative shapes you can leave plain or colour.

The new Studio/stencil duo is CARIBBEAN, which features circles with grids.  I will have pages to show you using this at my workshop.  The stencil is available separate from the studio, but the studio comes only in the set.

The theme pack is ETHNIC MOTIFS.  This includes a book of ideas and the usual stamps and figures.  Don’t be misled by the title – you will use these designs in many layouts, not just ones of travel to exotic places.  Some of the designs are universal.  Again, the components of the set are available separately, with the exception of the book.

If you are looking for a workshop (now called classes!) try to make it to the one on April 29th, or, if you can’t do a Tuesday, contact me for a Saturday workshop.  I will be going to France towards the end of May to attend the annual consultants’ Congress for Azza, held this year in Montpellier, France.  I am very excited about this but it limits the amount of time I will have for classes in May.  Wait until you see what I have learnt when I come back!

Happy Scrapping!

Anita

Hello everyone,

This is my first post for 2014 so apologies for the delay!  Hope you all had a great Christmas break. I have spent a little time scrapping and have a few new pages to show you, including those using the new Sydney-Madrid stencil duo.  I find it has a lot of variety in how you can use it.  The first pages show 2 of my fabulous boys (of course) and use decorations from the Garden series.  The garden series came out in about July last year, and I find it a perennial favourite.

Exploring Grandma’s garden. Sydney-Madrid with Garden decoration stamps and deco stencil.

Jack in 2013. Sydney-Madrid stencils, Garden stamp, garden frieze, watering can is garden lace. Inks.

In addition, I had 2 pages on the theme Holidays, using the decoration products from the Dream Holidays range, as well as the Madrid-Sydney stencils.

Brunswick Heads – using Sydney Madrid stencils, birds laces and deck chair stamp from Dream Holidays.

Fingal Head and lighthouse, across in NSW. Madrid-Sydney stencil, palm tree and surfboard from the Holidays stamp (surfboard stamped and cut out) and set into sand.

The other thing that has kept me busy of late is the completion of my Embossing Focus, to gain my final accreditation with Azza.  I have really enjoyed playing with the embossing table and stencils.  The pages I created are in a new folder EMBOSSING, so check them out.  I won’t reproduce them all here, but there’s a bit of variety in the stencils used and the other embellishments, so you may find them added in other folders as well.

After having a very restful and relaxing time in Singapore with Warren (he was working part of the time!) I am keen to get back into some workshops (now called ‘classes’!) and have some fun with you all.  I will put new dates on the home page of this blog for your reference.

January sees the release of a new Focus box, Materials.  This consists of a book that shows you how to use sands, velvet (fabulous – applied like sand but with a magic feel – great texture for pages and cards) and hot embossing.  I must admit that I am not yet an expert on hot embossing – I am just learning myself, but I love the effect.  Also in the box you will find a set of 3 of the new velvets and some pre-cut self-adhesive circles and scrolls to make adding the sand and velvet effect very easy.  Remember that the Focus books are in French, Spanish and ENGLISH.

ALI 652 Materials Focus

If you would like to see this Focus kit or have a play with materials, just come and visit or book into a class!

There are some new products that will be released on 1st February that will be real pleasers, but I am gagged until then!  They include another new Focus box and a new Studio/Stencil set.

We are having a sale from 20th January, and this will be available for you to see in full on the website, azzaworld.com.au.  The website has more information on it daily, and should be a valuable resource for us all.  The products on sale will be those about to be discontinued from the range, from 1st March, so we are clearing stocks out before then, with a good saving for you (25%, 40%, 50% and even 70%).

We are waiting eagerly for the editors of Scrap & Moi to make their decisions on which pages will be selected for a special feature in issue #27, due out in April, on Australia!  We sent off a large selection completed at short notice over the Christmas break, so now we have to wait and see what is chosen.  It’s like being at school and waiting for exam results!

Hope you are all ready to get back into scrapping after the christmas festivities – there are lots of photos around, I’m sure.  Speaking of photos, I must let you know about changes made by Big W to their processing.  They have changed both the paper and the process, so I have been told that the photo markers and pencils no longer rub off (as was the problem with some other companies).  Be aware of this and make sure you remember to check the marker or pencil on a waste section of the photo before starting!

Now check out the class dates and get in touch!

Anita

The first thing I need to mention is that you are now able to read the Azza Pacific Newsletter on this Blog.  Just look at the Headers above and you will see an addition, -NEWSLETTER.  Click on this and you will see November Newsletter.  Click again and it will load for you.  I hope it loads quickly, but it has to be better than having to download a big file to your computer.

To encourage you to have a look at the newsletter, I will let you know that there is a COMPETITION on offer, and a great prize!

Much has happened since my last Post, not the least of which is the release of some great new products.  I showed you some pages I did with the last Studio and Stencil duo set, BAHAMAS, and the next in that series, CANARIES, is quickly becoming a favourite.  It has straight lines rather than curves, but you would be amazed at some of the pages you can make.  I will have some to show you in my next post.  In the Newsletter, you will see the new products on offer in November, and some special deals for you.  In brief, they are:

Azza Studio Set MADRID-SYDNEY (Yes, we get a mention at last!)

This studio set has a CUPCAKES silhouette figures sheet and a small ovals stencil.  Cost is $50.00

Azza Focus Kit SURPRISE PAGES.

This is the next step after Double Pages.  The set contains 4 ‘Surprise’ pages to go with the Madrid Stencil and 4 to go with the Sydney Stencil.  The book is full of great ideas to get you started. It comes in a cardboard work box for $70.00

Azza Theme Kit DELICACIES

More Cupcakes, toffee apples, candy canes and all you need to decorate those celebration pages.  Includes decorative stencils, ginger-bread lace figures, stamps and another great ideas book.  Also $70.00

The November specials are:

Studio set Madrid-Sydney + Delicacies Theme kit for $110 (save $10 + 1 Club Card)

All 3 sets (Studio + Focus + Theme) as above, for $175 (save $15 + 2 club cards)

If you are wondering why I don’t have pages to show you using these new products, it’s because, after attending the Townsville and Brisbane Craft Shows in October, I had 2 weeks in China.  I returned home this week, finally had a chance to open the new products, and can’t wait to get started.  I LOVE them.

Workshops will also get back under way again now, so dig out those photos and come out to try the new products.  We start back with our Tuesday workshop next week, 12th November 2013.  Hope to see you there!

Anita

I have had fun lately completing a unit on the use of Stamps to gain additional accreditation with Azza.  As usual, I have no shortage of photos at the moment, with 2 grandsons.  I think this page is destined to be one of my favourites.

Jack in the Park.

The stencil used to create this was Stained Glass.  The fence, flowers and wheelbarrow are stamps from the Garden and Flowers sets, and the Alphabet stencil used is Mia.  The grass is created with chalk pencils and Zig Writers (a few of you know this technique now) and, of course, a bit of chalk.

I used the Hibiscus stamp from the Holidays stamp set for the page below.  I was looking for something to go with Warren’s shirt and found the exact flower I was looking for!

Jack, Christmas 2012

The stencil is the new Stencil/Studio set, Bahamas.  The hibiscus was stamped onto white backing paper, cut out and attached in 3-D.  It is difficult to see clearly in this photo, but the blue backing paper has also been stamped with the hibiscus flower and the flower centres enhanced with chalk pencil.

I will add all the photos used in the Stamping project as a separate page in the gallery, and will later add them to the relevant stencil pages.

Next Tuesday, 13th August, will be the regular Tuesday group and I am pleased the ladies from the Lismore area will be able to make it again.  Come and join us for another great day.  We are always pleased to greet new scrappers, whatever your level, and I will try to personalise the class for each of you.

We have a new Alphabet stencil which is a bit different and goes back to the more cursive handwriting.  It’s called “DONA“.

Alphabet stencil DONA

These stencils come as pairs, one set is A4 and the other is the smaller A5 size.  Remember when using the alphabet stencils that the letters are sometimes incomplete because of the way they are printed (would otherwise fall apart) so you need to complete them.  You will see what I mean with this page.

Cameron, Christmas 2012

The letters of this font connect well.  You can space them out as I have done or bring them closer together.  The stencil used for this page was also the new Bahamas stencil (the second one to the one used above).

As I mentioned to some of you, I have sponsored a section at the Gold Coast Show for European Scrapbooking.  It is difficult to compete against traditional scrapbooking as the styles are very different and so the judging criteria are different.  It will be interesting to see the entires and perhaps this is something that will build in the years to come.

Enjoy your scrapping!

Anita