Happy B'day Dianne!

Hi Everyone,

We have another family b'day on Friday - Dianne's and I thought I'd show you the gift I have been busy making over the last week (as well as preparing for my first Stamp 'n' Stack held yesterday but I'll tell you more about that later on).

So, I have been dabbling in decorating photo frames of late, and thought it would be a perfect present for Dianne. Here's some pics of what I've made:

This is the group shot:

Just the frames:

Just the card:

A closer pic of 2 of the frames (as you can see from the group shot, there are 2 frames the same):

And a close up of the Crystal Effect and Dazzling Diamond detail on the frames:

Sorry the red pic is a little blurry... Note to self: next time use the co-ordinating colour card stock and not whisper white to stamp letters... But in real life, you can't really see it... lol :)


Materials used:

• Cardstock - Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
• Designer Series Paper - Washington Apple (I love this paper, ever since I received a card from Lee-Anne)
• Crystal Effects
• Dazzling Diamonds
• Big Deal Alphabet Stamp Set
• Photo frames are from Ikea
• Glued and glossed with mod-podge - a multi-use product avail at lots of craft stores and even hardwares and I wonder why I didn't buy some years ago...

All the photos may be a give away, but I was pretty proud of myself for making something 3D and also for starting (and finishing) a project before the day I needed it and doing! Ok, it was only finished Thursday but still, that's good for me! I've been known to dry Crystal Effects or similar with my hairdryer as I don't have a heat gun as yet - its on the wishlist.

Thanks for looking,

ESAD Wk 2 Challenge

Hi Everyone,

Here's my entry for the ESAD Week 2 Challenge. We had to case the card from page 13 of the Summer Mini Catty which looks like this:

Sorry the pic is a little blurry... You can view the Summer mini catty online by clicking on the link in the right hand column.

And this is my card:

The card uses the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set, the eyelet border & butterfly punches. The butterfly image was stamped using the "thumping technique", which I did by inking my stamp with the 'pretty in pink' inkpad and then thumping the side of my 'lavendar lace' marker (the fat end) over my stamp. Then I misted the stamp with water and stamped onto my 'whisper white' cardstock. The black outine is then stamped over the top and the butterfly is punched out. I've layered the butterfly on a 'pretty in pink' butterfly and raised it on a dimensional before sticking onto my card.

This card is super easy to make! So I encourage everyone to have a go! :)

You can see my Wk 1 entry here and read all about ESAD (its a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator's chat group).



Thanks for looking,

JAI's 3rd Challenge

Hi Everyone,

This is my entry for Just Add Ink's 3rd challenge. Its the first layout challenge and I really like it, plus you should see some of the cards that have been made - just gorgeous! You can have a look or join in by clicking on my link.

This is the layout:

And this is my card:

Now, I've been sitting with this card for a couple of days as I just couldn't decide how to finish it off.. I've ended up adding a little white grosgrain ribbon and the sentiment is from the One of a Kind stamp set (which luckily justs fits inside my word window punch - phew!).


The butterflies are from Flight of the Butterfly stamp set and have a piece of thread adhered to the back with some sticky strip and have been mounted via a dimensional. And then they have just a little tiny piece of sticky strip on the bottom wing to hold them in place. The dimensional still has its backing paper on it so the butterflies don't stick down but appear to be flying off the card because the thread allows a little movement. Oh, and the butterflies have been glittered via some crystal effects and the dazzling diamonds - I love my glitter!

The 'grass' was really easy - its a 1inch piece of kiwi kiss card that I've rubbed/tapped with the ink pad directly (but gently) and its created a speckly, mottled pattern. Then I've taken a pair of scissors and randomly snipped little lines about half the width of my card and then angled my scissors and snipped the tops off. You'll end up with a bit of paper confetti on your lap but I think the final effect is worth it.

I hope to have a play with this layout again, there's quite a few ideas running through my mind. So we have until midnight (AEST) this Wednesday to enter. Good luck!

 


Thanks for looking,

Organic Grace Sympathy Card

Hi Everyone,

The aim of this card was to make an understated sympathy card for one of my hubby's mates... I didn't want to overdo the card so I chose Mellow Moss, Lavender Lace, Blush Blossom and Whisper White as my colours (and they aren't colours I use very often so that meets with my new years resolution of using different colours).

The flowers are from the Organic Grace Hostess Set and the sentiment is from the Friends 24-7 set.

The sentiment has been raised with dimensionals. and the white stripe is some of the white 6mm grosgrain ribbon.

Now if you look carefully across the top of my card, you'll see I didn't use my bone folder or scoring blade and that's why there's not a very crisp fold line.... That'll teach me for doing cards at 10.30pm again!

Thanks for looking,

Happy B'day Dad!

Hi All,

This card is for my Dad's b'day (do I tell you how old he is today? ok, I will, he's 49).

I pulled out my Seeing Spots stamp set as I've hardly used it and I've come up with the following card...

The colours are Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun and Whisper White. I really like this colour combo so hopefully I can get back to my crafting desk to do more with it soon!

If you are interested in learning how to make some men's cards, why not come along to my next class on 13th Feb. It's all about making mens cards! You'll be able to make 9 cards for $20 (3 cards of 3 different designs) and this card will be one of them. Email me for more info if you are interested in joining in.

Thanks for looking,

Haitian Disaster Relief

Hi Everyone,

On 12 January, 2010 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, leaving in its wake devastation so overwhelming that the Haitian people and their leaders can only look for help from the outside to cope. In the past, when terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, when a tsunami struck Indonesia, when a hurricane destroyed New Orleans, and when wildfires ravaged Australia, Stampin' Up! demonstrators stepped forward and showed their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. This time is no different.



From now until 28 February, 2010, you can partner with Stampin' Up! to make a difference in the lives of those who continue to suffer from the effects of this devastating earthquake.


Stampin' Up! will set aside $2 from the sale of every I {Heart} Hearts stamp set and donate that money to the American Red Cross' Haiti Relief and Development Fund. The Red Cross is already well-established in Haiti, and this money will be used to provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need.




View this stamp set online I {Heart} Hearts Item # 117715 $42.95 AUD


Thanks for looking,

Valentine's Day Cards

Hi Everyone,

I thought I'd share 2 cards I've made for Valentine's Day...

This is the card I think we will be making tomorrow night at my Sale-a-bration Open House. If anyone is interested in coming, please email me and I'll give you all the details.

Then in keeping with my newly founded tradition of taking part in challenges, I re-did the card in the ESAD Colour challenge colours, which were:

So this is my creation:

The hearts have been punched out with the Heart to Heart punch and filled with Crystal effects with some dazzling diamonds mixed in. The word "Heartfelt" is from the Heartfelt Thanks that I first obtained when I joined S/Up. The background hearts have been stamped with the hearts from the Sprinkles stamp set and I must confess they have been stamped in Tangerine Tango as I don't have the Pumpkin Pie stamp pad. (its not a fav colour of mine so this was a good colour challenge for me!)

Oh and I'd better explain what ESAD is... It stands for Extremely Special Aussie & NZ Demonstrators... And its a group that I only joined  late last year but have learnt soo much from the other demonstrators! Its fantastic! I hope I can share lots that I have learnt and its a major part of my daily internet time! lol  

Ok, I'm off to tend to my farmville on facebook and then its off to bed for me! Bye!!  

Thanks for looking,

Edit 30/1 - Here's the ESAD link for any interested demonstrators: http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/ESAD-SU/

Edit 3/2/10 - I had planned to make a new card for Just Add Ink's 2nd challenge but my card mojo just isn't in working order tonight and I can't pull a nice card together..... So I'm being super cheeky and linking my post from a couple of days ago with my Valentine's cards from my Stamp class on Friday night. We made the pink and chocolate card which went went down a treat as they were very easy to make and a simple layout and so this is my entry to the JAI challenge! Next time I promise to have something new to show you!!! Now off to bed for me to recharge my card mojo and hopefully I'll be back with a new post tomorrow!

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #17

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I've made a card for Makeeha's colour challenge - the 1st one for the New Year so I'm hoping I will be able to take part in each challenge this year (fingers crossed).

So the challenge Makeesha has set is to use these colours:

And I have to agree, Cameo Coral is not a colour favourite of mine either! So that's why I decided to make my card base and feature cameo coral - just to challenge myself that little bit extra lol  

So, here's my card:

 

What do you think? Bit different for me but I'm happy with the end result. I used Baroque Motifs stamp set for the image. And the entire Whisper White piece as well as the flower have been lifted up with some dimensionals.

Thanks for looking,

ps: I should mention that the buttons aren't actually from Stampin' Up but were too good a buy at a 30% off sale I went to on Monday - In fact, I ended up with 2 packs of assorted buttons for $1.50 and they are in cute little plastic boxes... You can however get chocolate chip buttons from Stampin' Up in the Button Latte assorted pack for $15.50.

Sale-a-bration is NOW ON!

Hi Everyone,

This is a long post to tell you all the details about Sale-a-bration, so go quickly raid the cupboard and the fridge and I'll see you soon....
 















Ok, you're back and ready to go?


Firstly, I have to give you the link to the Sale-a-bration Catty! With 4 free stamp sets to choose from, it could be hard to pick just 1!! You can receive a free Sale-A-Bration product for every $100 purchase (with no limit!).

Right, if you are a regular to my blog, I did post some hints here about reaching your Sale-a-bration goals for the customer and hostess rewards. But Sale-a-bration is also a great time to join Stampin' Up and be a part of my team as you can earn a free stamp set valued up to $79.95.

So to start your own business and earn extra money as a demonstrator, you can purchase the Starter Kit. For just $324, you will receive the Starter kit pictured below, the retail value of products and business supplies is over $560. If you are a keen scrapbooker, purchase the Add-on kit for an extra $75 and receive over $137 worth of product.

If you would like more info, please contact me and/or have a look at the Be a demonstrator section on the Stampin' Up site.

And I'll let you in on a secret, I joined Stampin' Up during the 2007 Sale-a-bration, so I will be offering a special bonus to anyone who joins my team during Sale-a-bration 2010!

Thanks for looking,

29/1/10 - I've edited the Sale-a-bration link and it will now go directly to the SAB catty

Woohoo! 1000 visitors!

Hi All,

I've just reached a milestone for my blog - 1000 visitors!! And to celebrate, I'm offering free postage until the end of the month for your Stampin' Up Order!

Don't forget, I can post your order directly to you anywhere in Australia!!

 

So combine that with Sale-a-bration starting tomorrow and you can get free stamps too!
Ahh I love freebies....


Thanks for looking,

Just Add Ink Challenge Launch

Hi Everyone,

There's a new challenge blog just starting up... Just Add Ink... Its a great new site with Stampin' Up Demo's running it here in Australia! Yay!!

The challenge was to use these colours:

So in my continuing trend of actually attempting some of my New Year's resolutions (trying lots of new colours from my cardstock stash), here's my entry to the inaugral Just Add Ink Challenge... My only problem is there's now another resolution = join in the JAI challenges as much as possible!! Hope you like my card! And fingers crossed for the Launch Prize of $50 to spend with Stampin' Up! Who wouldn't love that!!!!... If you'd like to join in, simply click here to go to Just Add Ink for all the details.

I've dug out my pastels & blender pens to colour the flower and stem from the Scribble This stamp set... A little versamark for the background stamp from the Sprinkles stamp set.... And simply run each of the torn edges along my ink pad - no fancy tools needed, simply wipe/dab your ink straight from the ink pad onto your cardstock - easy peasy

  

What was fiddly is the pleated ribbon across the bottom... In theory its easy, apply your sticky strip or snail adhesive across the back of your ribbon, fold into individual pleats and stick down as you go... However, I found it a little fiddly making my pleats so small. Hopefully with some more practice, my pleats will improve,it is only the 2nd time I've tried it! lol.


Thanks for looking,

Little Cards

Hi All,

Yesterday I had a great catchup with a friend and amongst all our chatting, I managed to do some stamping... These are 2 of the cards I made and are 1/2 the normal size... So easy and cute and a great way to use some scraps of card (now to make co-ordinating envelopes I suppose)

The fresh colours in this blog are Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue & Whisper White. The stamp set is For Everything from the Summer Mini catty. And the words were stamped with Brilliant Blue and coloured with my Bashful Blue marker. Tonight, I've added the filigree brad over the stamped flower with the help of my Crop-a-dile. The background has come out brilliantly in this photo and was just a single flower repeatedly stamped with my versamark.

This mini card is also using the For Everything stamp set. The colours are perfect plum, pale plum and whisper white and there is a touch of pretty in pink for the ribbon on the main image. Now can you tell that I coloured my ribbon to match? This is a benefit of the whisper white grosgrain ribbon and the Stampin' Write Markers - I coloured the ribbon to match my perfect plum card and its come out beautifully!

If you haven't received your copy of the Summer Mini Catalogue yet, you can view it online here or let me know and I can post one to you anywhere in Aust!

Don't forget, my Sale-a-bration Launch is next Friday nite! Please come along if you are in the Perth metro area, just email me for more information. RSVP is essential as you will have the opportunity to make a Valentine's Day card for that someone special in your life.

Thanks for looking,

My 2nd attempt at a Half Sheet Wonder

Hi again,

Wow! 2 posts in a nite! Can you tell I've been in my craft room the last few nights! First clearing some space and then creating cards and making a mess all over again lol! Such is life!!


Anyway, these cards are my 2nd batch of Half Sheet Wonder Cards. And I used the same colour combo too - Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Summer Sun and Kiwi Kiss.

Card #1

For this card, I've used the Retro Remix wheel on the Riding Hood Red and my scallop punch for the Kiwi Kiss edges. Both the butterfly and flower are from the Hello Again stamp set.

Card #2

Thisis probably my favourite out of the 6 cards, its just makes me happy to look at it - must be all that  Summer Sun card (although I am surprised the sun can make me feel like that after the 40degrees+ weather we've been having.

Card #3

This layout probably took me the longest, but I'm happy with the results!

Well, off to bed for me, no stamping tonight (I spent too much time on facebook earlier tonight!).

Thanks for looking,

Half sheet wonder cards

Hi Everyone,

More browsing on Claire Daly's site has shown me the Half sheet wonder. Such a simple and yet effective way to get those creative juices flowing!! And to keep it even easier, I used the same colours for each card - Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Summer Sun and Whisper White - I think this could well become a fav colour combo. However, I did challenge myself by only using the butterfly from the Hello Again stamp set and adding only words/phrases.




So here's my take on a half sheet wonder with my 3 cards:

Card #1

This first card is based on a Mojo Monday sketch sheet that I printed out back in August - its amazing what you can find whilst cleaning up a desk! lol!! However, if I'm honest, I think something is missing or maybe I should have used bigger circles... mmmm

Card #2

I've added some chic' and classy b&w gingham here and really like how its smartened up my card.

Card #3

Well, 2 out of 3 cards I stuck to only the butterfly... This one I added some detail to the kiwi kiss card frames with the cute little asterisk from the Hello Again set. And instead of ribbon, I used some Stampin' Up Black brads.

Thanks for looking,