Stampin' and Scrappin'

Surf's Up for Christmas!

2009-09-03T17:32:00.006+09:30

Oh, how good it is to have time to play with my stamp sets! I love having them but it really is a waste of money if they just sit on the shelf - even if they do look pretty.

Last night I had a night to myself so I played with one of the new Christmas sets in the Spring 09 Mini Catalogue - Season's Surfin'. I just had to buy this set - I love the images - they are perfect for watercolouring. The first card is very non-traditional Christmas colours - Real Red and Brilliant Blue. I didn't set out to use these colours, they just came out of my watercolouring. I stamped the image on watercolour paper using Black Staz-On ink. I coloured the images using an Aquapainter and Watercolour Wonder crayons. The line of gold brads along the bottom was inspired by the yellow Christmas lights around the jet-ski.

This palm tree Christmas tree is just so cute! I coloured it very simply with Gorgeous Green leaves and Close to Cocoa trunk (Aquapainter and Watercolour Wonder crayons as above). I decided this one should be more traditional colours so the base is Gorgeous Green and the images are mounted on Real Red. I just had to put the greeting on an angle - it didn't look right straight!

I hope that this inspires you to get a start on your Christmas cards too. It is never too early, you know.

PS Sorry about the fuzzy photos - I couldn't get them any clearer than this.

Technique Class

2009-09-01T19:00:00.001+09:30

I ran a techniques' class last Sunday afternoon. We made the following cards:

This one was requested by one of attendees. She wanted to learn how to fold the Origami Shirt. This is a great male card - whether for a birthday as I have made it or for Father's Day. I took the colour scheme from the DSP (Washington pack) - Bashful Blue, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie - but I substituted Riding Hood Red for Real Red as I love using the In Colours.

This one uses the Sense of Time stamp set from our Spring Mini Catalogue. I love this set as it really works well for male cards (do you see a theme developing here?). We used the Cracked Glass technique on the clock face to give it a fabulous aged look. Again, the colours came from the DSP (Parisian Breeze Specialty) - Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze and Kraft. We stamped the clock face on Confetti Cream to accentuate the aged look and I aged it further by sponging Chocolate Chip ink over the Cracked Glass face.

Our bonus card got us started on making Christmas Cards. It is a tri-fold card with a difference. You can get the instructions here. I just love making these cards - they are so much easier than they look. I have kept this one simple using just 2 colours - Riding Hood Red for the card base and the same DSP paired with Kiwi Kiss for the tree image (which is embossed in gold). I have the cardstock cut for a few more of these all ready to go so I think that is what I'll do tomorrow night (I was going to do it tonight but Blogger has been very slow to load my photos).

Sorry I've been away so long

2009-08-31T19:23:00.003+09:30

I have been frantically busy at work - bringing work home most nights and sometimes over the weekend too - for the last month but I haven't been totally neglecting my stamping. I ran a workshop a couple of weeks ago and, at the host's request, we played with the Shaving Cream technique. This technique is a lot of fun and produces a great result but it is quite messy so be prepared for some clean up if you try it. Below are the 2 cards we made.

These cards use the background created with the Shaving Cream technique (ink colours Baja Breeze and Pacific Point) and the stamp set - Unchartered Territory. As Father's Day in Australia is this coming Sunday I challenged myself to use the Shaving Cream technique on cards for men. The top card adds texture to the edges of the Pacific Point mats using the distressing tool from the SU Cutter Kit. I used Paper Piecing for the lighthouse and cliff on the second card. I was really pleased with these two cards and so were the ladies at the workshop.

Stamp Camp Creations

2009-08-02T19:06:00.004+09:30

I ran a Stamp Camp with a sister SU Demo, Natasha Murray, in June. We each presented 3 projects - a card, a 6"x6" scrapbook page and a 3-d item. Our theme was Paper, Ribbon and Punches. Here are mine (the first 2 are CASE'd from the current SU Idea Book and Catalogue here in Australia):

This card used a technique I had wanted to use for a while - bleaching. The Hippo was black embossed on Kiwi Kiss cardstock and then bleached was applied using a paintbrush. I was thrilled with the effect - the Kiwi Kiss turned to So Saffron. The "balloon" has Dazzlin' Diamonds over the Pumpkin Pie heart for some bling.

On this scrapbook page I managed to use all three of our theme items (DSP, Ribbon and a Punch (Crop-a-dile). The base is Certainly Celery textured cardstock (I love the textured cardstock). I used the Big Bold Birthday set to create the cupcake, using the Stamp-a-ma-jigto make sure everything was correctly aligned. The Crop-a-dile was used to emboss the dots down the right-hand side.

I have been wanting to make one of these Coaster boxes ever since I saw one on the blog of one of my SBS sisters, Karen Rogers. I sourced the coasters through Karen (thanks so much) and used a tutorial from SCS for the instructions. The stamp set is A Rose is A Rose, a 2-step set which I adore. The DSP comes from the Bella Rose pack (another favourite).

For the projects that Natasha contributed go to her blog Natasha's Creations.

I have been playing with the new sets from the Australia/NZ Spring Mini Catalogue so I'll have some more creations to show you soon.

Bye for now.

2 in 1!

2009-07-29T17:16:00.006+09:30

I am having so much fun now I am stamping again!

I decided to play along with Janet's Corrosive Challenge this week. It was an inspiration challenge.

This is the inspiration picture. I just love the colours in the clothes and hair of these dolls. However, I was having trouble with a layout so I decided to use Janet's Corrosive Challenge 21 which was a sketch challenge.

This got my mojo going again! And here is the result.

The colours are Elegant Eggplant for the base card, Ballet Blue, Pixie Pink, Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink. The image and sentiment are from Crazy for Cupcakes. I really love this card! I hope Janet doesn't mind that I moved the sentiment.

Stay tuned for more creations from a Stamp Camp I helped with in July.

Yes, I'm Still Alive!

2009-07-26T20:09:00.004+09:30

Hi everyone!

Yes, I am still alive! No, I didn't catch the swine flu, although we did have 7 days in home quarantine after our return from the USA.

Life has been very hectic since my return, hence I haven't posted until now. In fact, I haven't done much stamping until now.

I have a friend who is having twins in a month or so and I managed to sit down and make her a set of birth announcements last week. However, the batteries in my camera died and I didn't have a spare set so no photo!

I did sit down after dinner tonight and make my own version of the Flower Pot Card that was published in the SCS Weekly Inkling newsletter this week. I'm really happy with it.

The "pot" is Tangerine Tango. The insert is Whisper White on Tangerine Tango. The "flowers" are made using a scallop circle punch with Flower Fusion felt flowers adhered on the top and attached with brads. It really is quite a simple card. This one is on it's way to my sister as a very belated birthday card. I used Curvy Verses for the sentiment inside and Cute & Curly for the tag.

Sorry about being MIA

2009-05-01T15:43:00.001+09:30

Hi everyone,

Please accept my apologies for not posting during April (I can't believe it has been a whole month). I have been very busy with work and getting ready for our US holdiay - which begins tonight! I will definitely be off-line for the next 3 weeks but pleased check back at the end of the month when I return - hopefully full of energy and suffering withdrawals after 3 weeks without stamping!

Bye for now.

Mel's Challenge # 13

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000+09:30

Mel's Challenge this week is to make a Trifold card, like her sample. It is a triangular trifold card. I first made one these the day I met Mel at a Stamp Camp. Mine is pictured below:

I used one of the new sets from the new catalogue with this card too. I used some retiring colours in this project, just for one last look. The base cardstock is Ruby Red. I layered the inside with Groovy Guava and River Rock (2 of the In Colours that finish up today). The DSP is from the Ginger Blossom pack (also retiring today). The image on the outside was stamped on Watercolour Paper and coloured with a Cameo Coral Stampin' Write marker, blended with an Aquapainter. This was layered the same as the inside piece. The ribbon is the double-stitched grosgrain in Groovy Guava (yes, also finishing up today).

A very cute, different card. I hope you like it.

Nerine's Layout Challenge

2009-03-30T18:34:00.000+09:30

I actually had time to make a card for Nerine's Layout Challenge this week. What a great layout!

I have used one of the new sets from the new catalogue. The card base is Mellow Moss. I stamped this image on Watercolour Paper and coloured it using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink pads (Bravo Burgundy and Handsome Hunter). It is layered on a piece of Handsome Hunter which was then torn along one side. The 3 brads are from the Rich Regals pack. The ribbon is Bravo Burgundy wide grosgrain.

This card is now on its way to my Aunt who turns 70 this week. Happy Birthday Aunty Dorothy!

Is it really Christmas already?

2009-03-30T06:17:00.002+09:30

Well, no, it's not but Janet's Corrosive Challenge this week is to make a Christmas card with an animal on it. I don't have many Christmas sets which include animals so this was a real challenge for me. I decided to use Crab and Co (retiring in 2 days!) and this is my card:

The base is Real Red, layered with Whisper White and then Real Red again (original heh?). I stamped the images on Whisper White with Black Staz-On and coloured then using a Blender Pen and Stampin' Pastels. I then cut out all the images and mounted them using Stampin' Dimensionals. A very simple card but effective.

Come back and visit tonight for a sneak peak at one of the sets in the new catalogue.

A Small Gift

2009-03-29T20:07:00.004+09:30

I made this small gift for a friend of mine. On the left is a little box I covered with a sleeve and on the right is the card to go with the gift.

The gift sleeve is made from Rose Red cardstock with a Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon tied around it. The heart is from the Priceless set and is stamped in Rose Red on Blush Blossom textured cardstock. I cut it out and mounted it on Basic Black before using Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere it to the sleeve.

The card is a Whisper White love note. I stamped the swirl from Priceless twice in Rose Red. The heart is as per the gift.

I know my friend really liked this little gift. What do you think?

Corrosive Challenges No 4

2009-03-23T14:32:00.005+09:30

This week's challenge theme at Corrosive Challenges was Under the Sea. Not a very easy one for me. I used Ocean Commotion, stamped the angelfish (?) image in Brilliant Blue on Yoyo Yellow. I then stamped the seaweed image in Glorious Green on Bashful Blue. To get the image of the fish facing the other way I inked the stamp then ran my brayer over it to pick up the image and then ran the brayer over the cardstock - an effective way to reverse an image (as long as it fits around the brayer circumference). The base of the card is Brillian Blue, layered with Rose Red. The ribbons are Whisper White grosgrain I dyed Rose Red using a Stampin' Write marker. I have actually layered a sheet of acetate over the Bashful Blue before I added the ribbons to give a fish tank effect (unfortunately, this is not picked up by the camera).

We attended a Fortieth Birthday Party on Saturday for 2 members of my husband's gold club, one of whom is also a friend of our family. We had a great night. Above are the cards I made for the 2 gentlemen in question. The Back Nine is a retired SU set but it is the only golf related set I have so I had to use it. It do love - it colours so well.

This card was for Hank. I really love how easy it is to colour this image.

I had the design for this card in my head all last week so it went together really easily. I just had to stamp 4 golf bags as the recipient (Stu) was turning forty. I made the inside of each card the same :
My husband appreciated both these cards as much as the recipients.

Corrosive Challenges No 3

2009-03-16T19:43:00.003+09:30

This was my sample for Janet's latest challenge over at Corrosive Challenges - going green! I tried really hard to make an all green card but it just didn't work for me. Instead, I decided to make these gorgeous little handbags - the idea came to me from Karen Robinson on a card I received in a swap. They are made using various SU punches - aren't they just too cute! If you came to my March techniques class you were lucky enough to learn how to make them too.

The main colour in this card is green - Certainly Celery. The accent colours are Apricot Appeal, Lavendar Lace and Blush Blossom - courteousy of the Colour Coach, of course.

I really enjoy making these little handbags - so great for embellishments on cards or scrapbook pages.

I have just placed my Demonstrator pre-order for the new Idea Book and Catalogue and some of the new products! I'm getting very excited as the launch is only 2 weeks away! I can't wait to get that lovely new catalogue in my hands.

If you would like to get a copy of the new IBC as soon as it is released, all you need to do is register for my April Techniqes Class. We will be playing with stamp sets from the new IBC, along with the new In-Colours, using some "Faux" techniques - faux linen, faux stitching and faux silk. These techniques will add a special touch to all your projects so I'm sure you won't want to miss out. The class is on Sunday 5th April at 1.30pm. The cost is only $20 and includes a copy of the new IBC! What a bargain. Registration is essential so just click on the email link on the right to send me an email if you want to use one of the limited places.

That's it for now. See you next time.

A Journey

2009-03-09T06:16:00.002+09:30

Good morning everyone.

I have just 2 quick comments this morning:

1. I have reached my first weightloss goal - to weigh less than 90 kgs. As of this morning my weight is 89.1 kgs. This is the first time I have weighed less than 90 kgs in a lot of years.

2. I am posting early this morning as at 7am I get on a small plane to fly to an Aboriginal Community on the Gulf of Carpentaria. I will be there until Friday afternoon. Please accept my apologies for not posting until next weekend - I know that there is mobile phone covereage and internet access but I can't take a lot of luggage with me on the plane so no stamping equipment can go! :( How will I survive?

When I get home on Friday I know I'll have to stamp so look out for some projects next weekend.

Another box

2009-03-04T17:00:00.003+09:30

I just had to make another little box, this time with a matching Thank you card. This box contained a small hand cream as a Thank you gift for the host of a Mary Kay cosmetics class on Sunday.

The box was made using Groovy Guava, Blush Blossom and Cameo Coral cardstock. The stamp is from the Polka Dot Punches from the soon-to-finish Summer Mini Catalogue. I used a Very Vanilla Love Note for the card.

Thanks for visiting. See you next time.

Corrosive Challenges Design Team

2009-03-02T06:31:00.004+09:30

I'm part of it! I still have to pinch myself a bit to make sure it is true. Janet, from Niagara Falls, Canada, asked me to be part of the Design Team for a new challenge blog she has started, Corrosive Challenges. The first challenge was loaded yesterday. It is a sketch challenge.

My contribution is below.

I'm not sure why I chose to make it a masculine card except I don't make them very often and I love the set from our Summer Mini, For Father. I stamped the toolbox image using Black Stazon on Watercolour paper and coloured it using and Aquapainter and Watercolour Wonder crayons. It was mounted on So Saffron and then Old Olive. The base card is Bordering Blue, stamped with the Lots of Dots Jumbo Wheel. The sentiment is from Congratluations, stamped in Close to Cocoa on a scrap of Watercolour paper. The ribbon is Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla. I made the faux brads to be like nails on either side of the sentiment by punching circles of Close to Cocoa cardstock, adhering them in place with a glue pen and covering them with Crystal Effects.

Why don't you go an visit Corrosive Challenges and check out what the rest of team have done.

Brocade Basics Box

2009-02-26T20:32:00.002+09:30

I have actually been stamping this week but my creations were for a swap (the time isn't over yet so I can't reveal the card) and a new challenge blog (which is a secret until 1st March) so I thought I had better do something I could show you.

The design of this box is by Michelle, an SU demo in NZ who was part of the Design Team for the latest UStamp. Isn't it cute? The stamp is from the Brocade Basics set. I used Wild Wasabi cardstock and ink, Whisper White cardstock and Close to Cocoa DSP. The ribbon is striped grosgrain in Wild Wasabi. This whole project went together in about 20 minutes. Gotta luv that!

Well, I hope I'll be back with another project tomorrow.

"Thank You" Boxed Set

2009-02-19T20:03:00.003+09:30

I attended a wedding last Saturday afternoon. I told the bride that my gift to her and her new husband would be to make her Thank You card. This is what I came up with. The box is based on the one in my previous post - I increased the dimensions so it was large enough for 16 cards and envelopes. The bride and groom are both Sri Lankan by birth and the bride's dress was a stunning red sari. I took my inspiration from that sari. The image and the sentiment are from the Artfully Asian set. I stamped the blossom branch in Basic Black on Real Red cardstock and coloured the blossoms with a Gold gel pen (non-SU). I mounted the image on metallic gold cardstock. The base card is also Real Red that I stamped using the Sanded background stamp for some texture. The sentiment is gold embossed.

I hope that they like this set.

Wild About UStamp

2009-02-12T15:49:00.006+09:30

I have joined UStamp 09 SAB - what fantastic projects they have. This is one of them - 5 cards with a matching box. It uses all product that we have here in Australia. The stamp set is Wild ABout You. The DSP is Bali Breeze - love it!!! This was really easy to make using just basic techniques.

I will be planning a Stamp Camp later in the year (maybe April) and we will be completing projects like this one so if you are in Katherine NT and would like to be kept informed of details, just let me know.

Iris Twist Card

2009-02-06T06:56:00.004+09:30

This card is based on one from the current UStamp. It was designed by the German member of the UStamp team, Irene. I used Old Olive for the base cardstock and Rose Red DSP for the "Twist". The flower is 3 felt flowers held together with a Rhinestone brad. The sentiment comes from the set G'Day Mate. It is white embossed. I nearly made this card using no stamps but I didn't have a rub-on sentiment that I was happy to use.

Just a short post today but it is time to leave for work. See you next time.

Three Challenges

2009-01-31T18:16:00.006+09:30

The SBS Challenge for this week was to use ovals on your card. What a great excuse to get out my CM Custom Cutting System again. (I really do think this is the best cutting system you can get.) When I saw that Nerine's Layout challenge for this week also included an oval I was tempted to make one card to cover both challenges but I got on a roll this afternoon so I have two separate ones. All these cards use watercolouring techniques. I have used Watercolour paper from SU for my watercolouring. I find it is far superior to other watercolour papers I can buy in our limited shopping centre and Whisper White cardstock just doesn't work half as well.

The first card (below) is for the SBS challenge. The stamp is from Big on Spring. I was practicing watercolouring using the Stampin' Write markers. I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of staying within the lines! The main colour is Real Red. I wanted to make a Valentine's Day card but it took ages to choose a background. This DSP is from East Coast Prep. I was worried that it was too bright but my husband assures me that it isn't.

After that card I did stick to Nerine's layout. I only recently purchased Sassy Stems and I am loving it! It is fabulous to watercolour - using Watercolour Wonder crayons or Stampin' Write markers with an Aquapainter. The colours here are Always Artichoke, So Saffron and Regal Rose, all from my favourite SU colour family - Rich Regals. I usually mix up my colour families but today I felt like sticking within the one family. The DSP is from the Le Jardin pack. I roughed up the edges of the ovals using the Cutter Kit.

Now for a third card I made this afternoon. This one used the Friday Sketchers sketch # 37. Again I stuck with colours from one colour family - this time Earth Elements. I used Sassy Stems again! The flowers are coloured using Watercolour Wonder crayons and an Aquapainter with Summer Sun, More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie. I traced the flower stems with Old Olive and then coloured the vase very lightly with Not Quite Navy. The base cardstock is Not Quite Navy. I used Pumpkin Pie DSP from the Bali Breeze pack for the bottom half. Over that is More Mustard textured cardstock. The ribbon is Old Olive 5/8' grosgrain. The image is mounted on Old Olive cardstock with Stampin' Dimensionals. The buttons are from the SU Earth Elements buttons mix. I tied a small piece of Linen thread through them before adhering them with Crystal Effects.

Whew, what a productive afternoon! You know, I might just keep going into the night. I cooked a very good steak for dinner tonight and becuase I cooked I don't have to wash up! Look out for more creations tomorrow!

12 Months of Christmas

2009-01-31T11:16:00.005+09:30

My SBS sister Janet has started a challenge called 12 Months of Christmas. Each month she will give us a simple layout and we are challenged to make multiple copies (as many as we wish) of the layout as a Christmas card. This way, we won't be in a rush to make all our Christmas cards at the end of the year.

This is the sketch from Leslie for January. Below is the card I made.

The base cardstock is Mellow Moss. I used the Christmas trees from "Figures of Speech", coloured direct to rubber with Stampin' Write markers - So Saffron, Mellow Moss and Close to Cocoa. I punched out the image with a 1 inch punch and mounted it on a Square Scallop punch. The sentiment is from Occasional Greetings, gold embossed on So Saffron. This is mounted on Regal Rose and then Close to Cocoa. The ribbon is Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain and Mellow Moss Taffeta.

I was looking for an un-traditional colour combination as I'm really over Red and Green for Christmas all the time.

I hope you like this one.

Debby's Challenge

2009-01-29T17:47:00.005+09:30

There is a challenge in blogland at the moment and I have been tagged!

The challenge is to go to your My Pictures folder, select the 6th folder and then the 6th photo within that folder. You are then to post that photo on your blog and give the story behind it.

This is the photo:

Yes, that is me, belly dancing! Not much of a story really - this was our end of year "dance". I really enjoyed belly dancing but haven't been able to keep it up since we moved as there is no teacher here. By the way, the top I am wearing was hand-beaded by me! Pretty clever aren't I! It took ages and I haven't done any more beadwork like it since.

I am supposed to pass this challenge on to 6 other people:

1. Nerine

2. Mel

3. Karen

4. Natasha

and there I run out of people I know in blogland who haven't already participated so 4 it will have to be.

SBS25 Challenge 10 - Candy

2009-01-28T17:55:00.005+09:30

This is the fabulous candy that my SBS sister Janet sent me for winning our CASE Challenge over Christmas. It arrived yesterday.

There are some great embellishments, 2 oversize clothes pegs just begging to be decorated, a pack of alphabet on chipboard and another of alphabet brads, a scallop rectangle punch and an SU stamp set which I didn't previously have! How lucky am I!?! Thank you Janet so much. You are awesome!

Below is the card that came in the box with the candy. Just beautiful. Once again, thank you Janet for all the hard work you do with our group. I really appreciate it.

Bubble Bath Jan 2007

2009-01-26T14:24:00.003+09:30

I have finally completed a scrapbook page!

Today is a public holiday here in Australia so I had lots of time to play with the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets. If I am lost for inspiration I use our SU catalogues as a starting point. This 12x12 scrapbook page is based on a 6x6 one in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.

I had to use Sahara Sand for the base instead of Kraft. The letter "C" comes from the On Board Simon Lower set. It is covered with Certainly Celery DSP. The stamped heart is from the SAB set Polka Dot Punches. The other hearts come from On Board Accents and they are covered with So Saffron. The blue is Bashful Blue. This is such a peaceful colour combination! I love it.

I used the scallop border punch for the Certainly Celery border along the bottom.

These are some of my favourite photos of my daughter. They were taken at my Mum's house 2 years ago when we discovered that you don't need to use much bubble bath mix when the spa jets are on!

Gable Thanks

2009-01-23T15:38:00.004+09:30

I made this little box using the tutorial from SCS this week in Weekly Inkling. It is a perfect size for a little thank you gift I had to give.

The base cardstock is Pink Passion. I wheeled it in Whisper White with the Bodacious wheel.

The image on the front is the larger flower image from Bodacious Bouquet inked in Pixie Pink and then rolled in Pink Passion. It was stamped on Whisper White, cut our and Dazzlin Diamonds applied in the centre using the Tombow Multi-purpose adhesive.

I then stamped the flower a second time on another piece of Whisper White. This time I added the 3 leaves which were stamped in Green Galore. I adhered the cut out image over this, but offset the petals it make a "fuller" flower. I mounted this on Green Galore for a final, bright touch.

The sentiment is from Short and Sweet and is attached with Silver Cord (retired, sorry). I finished it up with Taffeta ribbon in Whisper White. I love this bright little box.

I hope this little gift is well received.

Sketch and Stash Challenge #2

2009-01-21T20:13:00.002+09:30

I had to make a card for a wedding acceptance this week. I was at a total loss as to what to do. Usually I take the colours from the wedding colours but this bride is not having any bridesmaids! Anyway, I decided to start with the image and work from there. I have only just purchased Sassy Stems after admiring many creations made using it for months. When I chose this image I knew that the flowers had to be red (Rose Red), the vase blue (Brilliant Blue) and the stems green (Garden Green) - of course. The rest just flowed from there.

I used this weeks Sketch and Stash Challenge card layout - I just made a mirror image.

I didn't have an appropriate sentiment for an acceptance but decided that Thanks (this one from Live Your Dreams) was close enough.

I hope that my friends like this card. I'm not really sure. What do you think?

Two Cards, Three Challenges

2009-01-17T13:57:00.005+09:30

I made this card last weekend for the Friday Sketchers #34 sketch challenge. I know, it is a little late. Oh well.

The base cardstock is Soft Sky textured. I used Afternoon Tea DSP (my favourite) mounted on Chocolate Chip for the horizontal panels. The image is stamped on Whisper White textured cardstock and mounted on Chocolate Chip.

I got over excited with setting the eyelets using my Crop-a-dile (what would I do without it?) and set eight when the sketch only called for 4. Oh well. The horizontal panels are connected with Copper thread (retired).

The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White textured cardstock and punched with the large oval punch. I then mounted it on Groovy Guava textured cardstock and handcut around it.

The flowers are punched from Groovy Guava textured cardstock using the Three for You punch. The centres are brads from the Soft Subtles set.

I really like this card. But then, I love anything made with the Afternoon Tea DSP.

The card is for 2 challenges - my SBS group challenge to use an unusual colour combination and a Sale-A-Bration challenge for a swap I am part of.

The colour combination is Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie! Very unusual.

I used the Polka Dot Punches set - one of the free sets you can choose from when you spend $100 or more with me in January or Febraury. I also used Congrats which can only be obtained the same way.

The base cardstock is Bashful Blue. I stamped the heart from Polka Dot Punches in Pumpkin Pie classic ink on Whisper White. For the sponged heart, I used the waste rubber left when I was mounting the stamp set as a stencil and sponged with Wild Wasabi classic ink on Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment is stamped in Pumpkin Pie and Bashbul Blue on Whisper White.

The DSP is, what else, from the Afternoon Tea pack. Everything was adhered with SNAIL except the Pumpkin Pie heart for which I used Stampin' Dimensionals.

I really like this card too. It will probably go to friends whose wedding is on February 14 - yes, Valentine's Day.

Mel's Weekly Challenge #4

2009-01-11T15:42:00.005+09:30

My sister demo Mel sets great challenges every week. This is week it was a triple challenge:

1. Colours - Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Barely Banana and Certainly Celery. She took this colours from a fabulous photo (see it here).

2. Technique - Kissing.

3. Accessory - Stampin' Dimensional or 3D Glue Dots

Mel doesn't do anything the simple way!

Here is my contribution:

The base card is Barely Banana textured cardstock. I used the Kissing technique to make the scallop border - I inked up the Paisley background stamp with Orchid Opulence ink and kissed it with the large scallop border stamp from All Scallops. The tulip is from Garden Whimsy - I used the Direct to Rubber technique with my Stampin' Write Markers (Orchid Opulence and Certainly Celery). The main image is mounted on Certainly Celery DSP. Both the main image and the tag are adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

This Thank You card is going off to my Mary Kay Director. She organised a fantastic retreat and workshop for the unit this weekend.

That's it for now. I hope you have a great week.

Thank you Vanya!

2009-01-08T17:48:00.003+09:30

My fabulous blogging sister Vanja has given me this award. Isn't she sweet! All I have to do is pass it on to 7 other lovely blogs. Well, it wasn't an easy choice but here they are:

These ladies all have fantastic blogs. I love to visit them. Why don't you?

Sketch and Stash Challenge 1

2009-01-05T20:47:00.004+09:30

I found out about this new challenge site from one of my SBS sisters (I'm sorry, I can't remember which one).

The Sketch and Stash Challenge provides you with a sketch and challenges you to use just what you have in your stash (new or old). What a great idea!

I pulled out the I Like it a Latte stamp set. I have had it for a while but haven't used it much. Once I had decided what the image was going to be the rest was easy.

I just had to use warm colours so I chose Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla (for the ribbon) and Confetti Cream. Such warm, yummy colours!

I clear embossed the cup in Close to Cocoa. The steam was stamped in Creamy Caramel on top. The foam/cream on top of the cup was stamped in Creamy Caramel on Whisper White and then cut out and adhered on top of the cup.

The small heart was stamped in Ruby Red (another yummy, warm colour) on Whisper White, cut out and then layered on a Creamy Caramel circle.

I layered the main image on Creamy Caramel and then adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals onto the Close to Cocoa textured base card.

The sentiment was stamped in Close to Cocoa on Confetti Cream and punched out with the Designer Label punch (I wanted to use the tab punch but it was just a little bit small).

This card makes me want to curl up in front of an open fire with my hands warming around a steaming mug of cocoa or coffee. Unfortunately, I don't live in the right climate for that! Oh well, I just have to dream!

ETA: Thanks Debby for asking about Crystal Effects. Yes, I did use it over the cream on the coffee and the red heart. I clean forgot to mention it.

Sketch Saturday 32

2009-01-05T20:31:00.002+09:30

I'm on a challenge kick at the moment. This one is the Sketch Saturday Challenge. This was a great sketch that I just had to give a try.

I used Certainly Celery textured cardstock for the base. the quarter circles are Rose Red cardstock on Rose Red DSP. They were cut as circles with my CM templates then cut into quarters.

The central image is from Pretty Princess set. I stamped it using Staz-On Black on Whisper White cardstock and coloured it using my SU Markers (Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery). This was layered on the Rose Red DSP.

The flowers are from the SU Pretties Kit. They all come white but I coloured these with an SU Marker in Barely Banana. Some bling was needed so I added the pink rhinestone brads.

I think that this card would be perfect for any little Princesses birthday.

Something New

2009-01-05T20:18:00.003+09:30

This week's challenge over at Stamp Something is to stamp something new - use a new product, a new technique, something for a new occasion etc. I decided to make a new 3D something - a mini pizza box. The template I used for this came from Jen Del Muro and was designed for Scor-Pal. It is a perfect size for a few chocolates or some gift cards.

I used Ballet Blue for the box and then decorated it with Sage Shadow (cardstock and DSP), Perfect Plum and Lovely Lilac. I love this colour combination (but then it came straight off the Colour Coach so why wouldn't I?).

I don't make many 3D items because I don't seem to use them very often - I think I'll have to change that.

Christmas Cards Received

2009-01-04T11:13:00.000+09:30

These are some of the lovely handmade cards I received this Christmas. Starting from top left and going clockwise they are from Sharon, Shazza, Tammy, Janet, my Mum, and Mel.

I love receiving handmade cards - partly becuase I know how much work goes into them I guess.

Thanks everyone!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T09:11:00.004+09:30

I hope everyone has had a fantastic New Year celebration.

I have spent the last few days re-creating all the projects in the SU Summer Mini Catalogue so that my customers can see them "for real" and I know how to make them if they ask.

I've also had lots of ideas about workshops, stamp clubs, stamp camps and even maybe a stamping retreat for this year, so watch this space!

In the meantime, I've just discovered that my SBS25 sister, Leslie, has a fantastic blog candy giveaway! Just click here to go to her blog and check it out.

I made a couple of New Year's Resolutions this year - I don't usually do this but 31st December is also my birthday (42 this year) and I've decided that this is the year I make some changes. I want to share one of my resolutions with you all now - so you can hold me accountable!

I RESOLVE TO TAKE MY WEIGHTLOSS JOURNEY SERIOUSLY - THE EVIDENCE OF THIS WILL BE THAT I WILL HAVE LOST 30 KGS BY 31ST DECEMBER 2009!

This does sound like scary but now that I know that have all your support, I know that I can do it. You can check out how I'm going on the right - I've added a weight tracker.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2009!

More CASEs

2008-12-30T07:13:00.003+09:30

I'm nearly there! This card is a CASE of one I saw on my SBS sister Vanja's blog. Her card is here. I used one of my daughter's favourite stamps for this one. - the Princess from Pretty Princess. She was stamped in Basci Black on Blush Blossom cardstock (my friend Tammy insists that Blush Blossom is a neutral - she loves to stamp and colour on it - so I thought it was time I gave it a try too). The image was then sponged with Regal Rose. The rest is self explanatory - colours are Pale Plum cardbase, Old Olive, DSP from Loves Me (ret) and Rose Red. The ribbon is silver organdy (also retired :(). I think this has made a really girly card - perfect for any little princess on her birthday.

This was a much more challenging CASE. It is from an index card made by Pia. I decided to turn it into a card. I also flipped the layout horizontally as it seemed right to have the owl on the right-hand side.

With this card I wanted to use the new set from the Summer Mini - Love Owl-ways. It is so cute and great for colouring. I stamped this cute owl on Blush Blossom cardstock and coloured him using my Aquapainter and Watercolour Wonder crayons. I cut the circle using my CM Custom Cutting System circle templates. The scallop circle was a bit trickier. It is larger than the scallop circle punch the SU sells so I had to come up with another idea. I ended up cutting a larger circle using the CM system and then used the 3/16" corner rounder from SU with the guard removed. What you see on the card is the second attempt - the first one was too big and the scallops didn't meet up properly. The cardstock colours are Not Quite Navy for the base, then Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa DSP. The tab is from Always Artichoke, the same colour as the grosgrain ribbon. I think this would be a great Valentine's Day card for the man in any woman's life - what do you think?

By my count I have one more SBS sister to CASE - but I can't remember which one it is! I guess I'll have to go back through all my recent posts and work it out. A good job for today.

CASEing again

2008-12-28T08:58:00.003+09:30

I'm still CASEing my SBS sisters.

This one CASEs Viv. Her card was a Christmas card with a fabulous Father Christmas face silver-embossed on the front. I don't have any stamps that would look anywhere near as good so I decided to keep the layout and the colours but change everything else. I used one of my Cuttlebug folders to emboss the vellum overlay on the background. I have about 6 of these folders and really don't use them very often at all. Must do something about that. The stamp is from Baroque Motifs and is emblossed in silver on Glossy White cardstock. The base card is also the Glossy White. I wrapped SU Silver and Gold cord (both retired) around the top of the card, or I guesw it could be the side, depending on your perspective. My mum was quite impressed with this card and suggested it would be a great Sympathy card, due to its simplicity and lack of colour. I think she is right.

I had a really hard time choosing just one of Deby's cards to CASE but finally decided on this one. I have to get me the SU set Sassy Stems. I say that to myself everytime I see another great card made using it but I really mean it this time. I only changed 2 things on this card - the stamp (from Oh So Lovely, Hostess Set) and the colour of the bling (Turquoise rhinestone brad). This also turned out really simple and elegant, at least that is what I think.

Well, I haven't finished with this series yet as I think these were CASEs numbered 15 and 16 so that makes 3 more to go. I shall make that my mission today. I don't plan on doing much else today. Yesterday I had the worst case of Hayfever I have every had. That may not sound like much to those of you who are not Hayfever sufferers but constant sneezing and blocked sinuses totally saps your energy. I went to bed at 8pm last night - and still didn't sleep very well. I have sent the rest of the household off to church this morning so I can have some quiet time to myself. Hopefully whatever caused the Hayfever has passed and I can recover today.

Wishing you a relaxing Sunday.

CASEs 11-14

2008-12-27T06:38:00.005+09:30

As I hoped, I had plenty of time to stamp yesterday. That is, after Alan and I took Charis to see a movie - High School Musical 3. Charis saw it with her class in the last week of school but Alan and I are fans too so we just had to go. I know, it is not exactly an adult movie but the music and dancing are great, there is no violence or raging sex scenes - it is good family fun.

When we arrived home I decided it was time to stamp! I had already chosen some more cards from my SBS#25 sisters to CASE so here are the next 4.

This one CASEs Kristen. I chose this card - I did change almost everything except the layout and the layers. This is a new stamp set from SU - available until 31st March 2009 in our Summer Mini - A Happy Heart. I took my colour combination from the Berry Bliss DSP - Purely Pomegranate, Close to Cocoa and Pretty in Pink.

Next to be CASEd was Anne. Her card was lovely and sparkly - I tried to copy that by Spritzing on my card using the SU Spritzer and SU Stampin' Write markers. I don't think the spritzing came out very well in the photo but I do love the effect. I might have finally mastered the Spritzer! I also kept the colours fairly monochromatic like Anne - although I used Not Quite Navy instead of Black. My image (from Lovely as a Tree) was larger than Anne's so I didn't use the ribbon and chose a much smaller sentiment (from A Little Birthday Cheer). Overall, I quite like the subtle effect.

I am very happy with this one. I sutck really closely to the layout on Stephanie's card here. I didn't need any more Christmas cards so I chose to use a stamp that hadn't seen ink yet - the large flower from Embrace Life. It was so much fun to colour (although I'm not sure that the colours are exactly right - oh well). Once again, the DSP (Ginger Blossom) directed what colours to use. The base is River Rock, then we have Ruby Red, Cameo Coral and Groovy Guava. I don't normally use so many layers! I used my CM Custom Cutting System circle template to trim around the flower and to cut the Ruby Red layer behind it. I coloured the flower using Ruby Red, Groovy Guava and Cameo Coral SU Classic Ink Pads and an Aquapainter. I replaced Stephanie's brads with 1/4" circles. The ribbon is Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain.

Lastly, this one CASEs Karen. When you compare my card to her's you can see that I changed the size of the main image and the placement of the cutouts but that is all. Not only has Karen used my favourite colour of all time (Taken with Teal) but also one of my favourite stamp sets of all time (Bud Basics - in this case the Basics wheel). I love it!

That's all for this morning. Hopefully I'll have time to stamp later today.

Merry Christmas to All

2008-12-25T16:48:00.008+09:30

Merry Christmas to my wonderful blogging friends! We have had a great day here - my parents have come to visit so we are just 5 around the table. Lunch was huge - isn't everyone's on Christmas? Currently we are relaxing in that post-Christmas lunch stupor.

Santa came to everyone here (we must have all been nice I guess). The cyclone that was threatening to develop has turned out to be just a tropical low (we still received 122mm (about 5 inches) of rain in the 36 hours to 8am today!). To my readers from drought-stricken areas of this fantastic country - I wish I could send some to you! However, today's weather has been beautiful, even if a bit warm! Can't please all the people all the time!

I have a few cards to show you that I worked on last night.

This is my next entry in the sBS25 Challenge 10 - I CASEd Leslie's card. I don't use the gate-fold often but I really like it when I do - have to use it more often I guess. The stamp set is "Time Well Spent" which is a Level 3 Hostess Set. I waited a long time to get this one but this is the first time I have used it. Shame on me! This set is fantastic for colouring. I used the Rich Regal Watercolour Wonder crayons (Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Regal Rose and So Saffron) with my Aquapainter for my colouring this time. The base card is Metallic Copper (which I absolutely love!). The two sides of the gate have a layer of Taken with Teal DSP from the Bali Breeze pack. I used my CM Custom Cutting System blades with the circle templates to cut the 3 layers behind the large flower. I sponged the Regal Rose layer with Rose Red ink. The sentiment has only 2 layers.

With this card I CASE'd Joan's card. I loved the turquoise and copper colour combo but I don't have any copper embossing powder (SU discontinued it here at end of March 08) so I changed it to turquoise and silver. I used the So Swirly wheel across the top in Turquoise ink. The 2 sentiments are from the Cheery Chat stamp set. I used the vellum overlay on the right hand side to soften the Tempting Turquoise panel.

This card is not for the challenge and is a CASE of noone! My mum is a part-time stamper and asked to be shown some colouring techniques. I had this stamp set (Ocean Commotion from the Summer Mini) sitting unused and I knew that Mum had the Eart Elements Watercolour Wonder crayons. So we practiced a watercolouring technique where you colour on the stamp with the crayons and then spritz the image with water before stamping it. We both needed a couple of practices before we got the amount of water just right. I hadn't planned this card before we began stamping so we just stamped onto Whisper White. Then I had to come up with a layout! I usually just use other people's layouts! Anyway, I decided that the card could be an underwater scene so we used So Saffron cardstock for the sand base and tore a piece of Brocade Blue for the water. Then we spent absolutely ages deciding on where our seaweed, fish, seahourses and shells would go! Before sticking down we had decided that it needed a sentiment to fill in the gap so that was done. However, we weren't happy with it - until my Mum had the idea to use glitter! That was definitely a lightbulb moment! The glitter ripples in the sand made all the difference.

Mum and my daughter are happily working together in the kitchen - Mum peeling some huge prawns and Charis peeling carrots - but I think I had better at least offer to help. Mind you, I can't possibly think about eating anything just at the moment. Thankfully dinner is planned to be a light meal of BBQ prawns, ham (leftover from lunch, of course) and salad. I can't imagine what we would eat in places where Christmas means snow!

I hope that your Christmas day is as happy as mine has been!

CASEs 6, 7 and 8

2008-12-22T20:46:00.003+09:30

Bear with me please. These photos loaded in the opposite order to what I wanted but I'm too tired to try to move them.
This is the 8th CASE of my SBS#25 sisters - Clara is the lucky one this time. I just love this cute bee card but I didn't have any bee stamps. Also, I was on a roll with using the Afternoon Tea DSP so the above is the result. I love the look of placing the brads through a punched out circle. I'll definitely be doing that one again. The other thing that attracted me to this card was that Clara used the SU scallop border punch - loooove that punch. I even managed to punch the rectangle - just don't look too closely at the bottom.

No 7 CASE was Debby. This Halloween card was not really my style but I wanted to try 2 elements of it - the layout and the use of DSP. This is probably the most layers I have ever used on a card - there are 8! The colour combination comes from SU - they provide demonstrators with colour combinations utilising the current In Colours. This one is Groovy Guava (from the Afternoon Tea DSP - just love this DSP pack!), Blue Bayou, Old Olive and So Saffron. The stamp is from the Oh So Lovely Hostess set.

This is the 6th CASE of one of my SBS#25 sisters - this time Michelle. She made this card for Breast Cancer Awareness. I loved the colours and the layout but didn't have the stamps so I just changed the stamps and this was the result. I used another of my favourite sets - Garden Whimsy. I used the Rock'n'Roll technique for the butterfly.

I hope you like this selection of cards. I won't have any to post tomorrow probably as I have been really tired tonight - it has taken all my energy just to load these photos up - so I haven't stamped tonight. However, after tomorrow, I'm on 1 1/2 weeks holiday so I plan to "Stamp up a Storm".

Bye for now.

SBS25 Challenge 10 - CASE 5

2008-12-22T06:21:00.003+09:30

I'm up to CASEing Janet in the SBS Challenge no 10. There were so many great cards on her blog it was really hard to choose but eventually I came up with this one.

YOu can see that I changed just about everything except the layout, which I love. This was a bit out of my normal style with all those layers - at least 7 - but I really like the end result, and so does my Mum.

The colours were taken from the DSP (Afternoon Tea) - Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky and Groovy Guava. This is such an elegant colour combo.

The image is from the Hostess set, Oh So Lovely. I stamped the image 3 times in Chocolate Chip and just coloured the the flowers with a white gel pen.

The brads are pewter.

Well, that's it for now. Have to eat my breakfast and get to work. I made 3 more cards yesterday and will hopefully have time to load them this evening.

Have a great day.

CASE 4

2008-12-20T19:19:00.002+09:30

My mum and dad arrived yesterday for a 2 week stay! I so miss my parents having moved a very long distance from them 3 years ago. We have caught up a few times but I always look forward to the next trip. And not just because my house is always cleaner and tidier when they leave!

The card is a CASE of Cheri. I did change the colours around a little but what inspired me the most were the snowflakes. I remembered that I have some chipboard snowflakes that I hadn't used yet. Let me tell you, covering this one large snowflake with DSP nearly drove me crazy. Firstly, I drew around it onto the back of the DSP (retired from SU). Then I cut it out - insanity inducing in itself. I applied Tombow Multi-adhesvie our the chipboard and then adhered the DSP - guess what? This snowflake is not symmetrical! Or else my cutting was very bad. I had to trim nearly every straight line in this snowflake - sometimes the DSP and other times the chipboard. It took me ages.

Despite the trials and tribulations, I really like this card - the colour combination especially. The sentiment (which is in the top righthand corner in case you can't see it) is a rub-on - something I don't use very often and whenever I do I wonder why not.

Hope you like this card as much as I do.

Gift Boxes

2008-12-18T21:46:00.004+09:30

I made these little gift boxes tonight for some of my work colleagues. The template is one I made from a gift box I received. All I had to do was open it out flat and trace around it.

You can see on the close up that I have silver embossed one of the snow flakes from Snow Burst. I used my Crop-a-dile Big Bite to punch the holes in the top sections to thread the ribbon through. These would be great as tree ornaments as the hanger is built in.

I will be placing a few handmade chocolate truffles I have also made tonight using the recipe from Bootybella. Mine don't look exactly like the ones you will see here, but they sure do taste good!

3rd CASE

2008-12-18T18:14:00.003+09:30

This card is a CASE of Judy . I didn't change much from Judy's original design. She made it using scraps for the SBS Challenge 9. I still had lots of the DSP from last year so I was able to very closely copy that aspect of the card. I did use different ribbon - mine comes from the SU Theatre Ribbon Originals pack. I also used a smaller brad in the centre of the flower and a sentiment from a different set (this one is from Occasional Greetings). Thanks so much Judy!

2nd CASE

2008-12-17T17:50:00.002+09:30

This is my second CASE of an SBS25 sister - this card from Bootybella. I changed a few things on this CASE too. We don't have the exact colours here in Australia (yet!) so I used Wild Wasabi for the base, Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White. I used the square scallop punch for the centre image. I placed the ribbon across the )wider) cardstock strip. The images are from Snow Burst and Short & Sweet. As you can see, I'm still making Christmas Cards. I apologise in advance to those who will receive their cards late.

CASEing Susie

2008-12-16T18:05:00.003+09:30

The current challenge for the members of SBS#25 is to CASE one of our sisters cards. I've decided that I'm going to try to CASE them all! We have 3 weeks to do it in. Let's see how I go.

This is my first CASE. I went looking at Susie's blog and found this card.

When you CASE someone's work it is customary to change at least one thing. About the only thing I didn't change (much) was the layout. I changed the colours (More Mustard, Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy and Elegant Eggplant). I made it a Christmas Card. My image is different (Merry Merry stamp set). I added the sentiment circle. And the list goes on. The is the first time I have made a card with this sort of opening and I really like it. Thanks for the great idea Susie!

Kreative Award

2008-12-16T17:41:00.002+09:30

My gorgeous SBS sister Janet has given me this award. Thanks so much Janet.

I'm supposed to

a. post a link to the person who gave me the award (see above)

b. pass it on to 5 others and post links to their blogs

c. visit and comment on their blogs.

I award the Kreativ Blogger award to:

all my SBS25 sisters! I know that is actually 19 blogs not 5 but I just couldn't narrow it down.

You are all mega-inspiring.

Another Christmas Card

2008-12-15T06:00:00.000+09:30

This card is based on the SCS Sketch Challenge SC01. I made the long tags by cutting strips of Whisper White the correct width and feeding them through the tag punch like this:

This way you can make a tag as long as you like.

The card stock is Garden Green with a Bravo Burgundy stip and Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon. The Christmas Tree is from Greetings Galore. I used the Stampin' Write markers directly onto the rubber to make the multicoloured image.

A very simple card and easy to mass-produce.

Stop by again tomorrow for another Christmas Card.

More Christmas Cards

2008-12-14T06:00:00.000+09:30

This ismy first try at the Spotlighting Technique. This stamp set is perfect for this technique as every tree is different. I did make 4 of these cards but I "spotlighted" a different set of trees on each one. The cardstock used here is Certainly Celery, Pixie Pink textured and Confetti White. The ink is Certainly Celery.

As I promised yesterday, here is my CASE of the card I received from Nerine. I changed the colours a little - I used River Rock for the base card (instead of Neutrals Ivory, I think). The DSP is still from the Holiday Harmony pack. I inked the tree from Lovely as a Tree in Old Olive classic ink and then went over the trunk using a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker. This was stamped onto Neutrals Ivory. I then sponged around the tree with Old Olive ink. The image was mounted onto Old Olive textured cardstock. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet and stamped in Purely Pomegranate. Thanks for the inspiration Nerine.

Christmas Cards Received

2008-12-13T08:45:00.004+09:30

When I arrived home from work on Thursday, this card was waiting for me. It is from my SU upline, Nerine. Isn't it beautiful? Thank you Nerine. (By the way, I just had to CASE this card so look out for my version tomorrow.)

I received this beautiful card yesterday from my SBS#25 sister Janet. Isn't it gorgeous? I believe it is all SU product, but mostly stuff we don't have in Australia.

Thanks so much Janet.

Christmas Cards

2008-12-12T06:50:00.004+09:30

My evenings this week have been spent making Christmas cards, when I wasn't attending Christmas parties of course! I made 4 of the below designs. This way I can build my stash really quickly.

Whisper White cardstock, Rose Red DSP, Scallop Border punch, Star punches (large and small), Short & Sweet stamp set, Rose Red ink.

Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock, Old Olive and Real Read classic ink pads, Old Olive and Real Red Stampin' Write markers, Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon, Peaceful Wishes stamp set.

Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou (textured) and Whisper White cardstock, Chocolate Chip classic ink pad, Summer Sun and Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write markers, Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou ink refills, blender pen, cotton tip, Pewter Hodpodge Hardware, Mellow Moss gingham ribbon, City of David stamp set.

Whisper White and Handsome Hunter cardstock, Rose Red DSP, Versamark ink pad, silver embossing powder, heat gun, Handsome Hunter classic ink pad, Scribble (Doodle) This and Occasional Greetings stamp sets.

The last card was inspired by a card made by Karen Robinson, my SU upline's upline. I added more leaves than Karen had but the basic idea is the same.

I made small alterations re positioning of the elements on some of the cards just to keep myself interested but I found that making in multiples of 4 meant I could make at least 4 if not 8 cards in one evening. It sure speeds up the process!

I hope that you have found something here to inspire you!

Two in One!

2008-12-08T20:54:00.006+09:30

With one card I made this evening, I have completed 2 challenges! And I didn't even realise it until I signed into my blog to post this card.

This card qualifies for Mel's Weekly Challenge #3 and SBS25 Challenge #9. Mel's Challenge was a colour cahllenge (Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Gable Green plus one neutral) and we had to use Dazzling Diamonds or the new SU Chunky Glitter. SBS25 Challenge was to use up some scraps on a card. Here's my card that qualifies for both challenges.

The base cardstock is Elegant Eggplant. I stamped the flower from Season of Joy in Real Red ink on Real Red cardstock (scraps). I then adhered some Red Chunky Glitter in each of the petals using Tombow 2-Way Glue. The flowers were fixed to the base card with Stampin' Dimensionals. The torn Whisper White (a scrap - already torn) was stamped repeatedly with the flourish from Season of Joy in Gable Green. The Yoyo Yellow piece (also a scrap) is stamped with the greeting from Season of Joy in Real Red.

I have spent a lot of time over the weekend making Christmas cards (I sent all the ones I had made to the RAAF Chaplain in the Middle East for distribution to our Aussie troops so they can send cards home for Christmas). I therefore have lots to post over the next few days. So stay tuned.

Blog Candy from Vanja!

2008-12-08T06:37:00.001+09:30

I don't usually do this however Vanja is one of my blogsisters and such a lovely person. She is giving away some great blog candy, including 20 stamped images and embellishments. Check it out here.

Male Swap

2008-12-07T19:38:00.003+09:30

Cards for the men in our lives - is there any card more difficult to make? If there is, I haven't had to make one yet. I even find sympathy cards easier than male-themed cards. That is why I joined a swap with some SU demos - to gain some inspiration for cards for my husband, father, brothers-in-law, etc. This is my contribution to the swap.

The colours are Close to Cocoa (cardstock and DSP), Sage Shadow and Barely Banana. I really like this combination (off the SU Colour Coach of course). I stamped the background with the Sanded background stamp in Chocolate Chip to give some texture and interest. The shirt is made using the Dollar-Bill fold. I found the instructions here . I punched 1/4" circles for the buttons from Barely Banana. The shirt is mounted on Barely Banana using Sticky Strip and then onto Sage Shadow. The sentiment is from the For Father stamp set from the Summer Mini-Catalogue. It is stamped in Chocolate Chip on Sage Shadow.

I am really pleased with how this card turned out. I hope the other ladies in the swap agree.

I'm still here!

2008-12-04T06:11:00.002+09:30

Oh boy, we don't call this the "silly season" for nothing! I have been so busy with work and social committments that I haven't had time to post for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I will be back on deck next week.

Sneak Peak 2

2008-11-17T18:44:00.005+09:30

This is my second sneak peak at the stamps set to be released in our Summer Mini Catalogue available 1st December.

The colours don't show up very well in the photo - the base card is Sage Shadow with Night of Navy textured layered on top. The image is stamped in Handsome Hunter on Blush Blossom. Before cutting it out I sponged the image with Sage Shadow using the leftover rubber (the stamp set is die-cut) as a mask. The flower was then cut out and Dazzling Diamonds adhered with a CM glue pen. This rosette is attached to the Blush Blossom layer with Stampin' Dimensionals. A clear Rhinestone brad was added in each corner of this layer before it was adhered to the Night of Navy using Mini Glue Dots.

The "friend" was stamped in Handsome Hunter on Blush Blossom, punched out with the Lge Oval punch and the edges sponged with Sage Shadow. I then placed a clear Rhinestone brad as the dot on the "i" and adhered the oval with Stampin' Dimensionals.

This card is my entry in the SBS 25 Challenge no 6 - use some bling!

I love this card. The colours are great and the sparkle looks fabulous. I hope you think so too.

Eastern Autumn

2008-11-16T08:39:00.004+09:30

This card is my first sneak peak for you all at the Summer
Mini Catalogue (available 1st December). It uses the set Eastern Blooms and, wait for it, the Hidden Garden Rub-ons. Yes, I have finally begun using Rub-ons. I've decided that they are pretty cool.

The background card is Chocolate Chip stamped with the larger flower from Eastern Blooms in Versamark. The large image is a Rub-on in Chocolate Chip on Creamy Caramel. I layered that on More Mustard textured cardstock. The single flower was stamped in Versamark onto Very Vanilla cardstock and then I used the Poppin' Pastels technique to colour it using our Stampin' Pastels in More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun. This was then layered on a scallop circle cut from the More Mustard textured cardstock and a larger circle in Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is from the same Rub-on set, once again in Chocolate Chip on Creamy Caramel. I used the Corner Rounder to soften it a little.

My aim with this card was to make it masculine whilst still using flowers. I hope I have succeeded.

Stay tuned for another sneak peak at the new Summer Mini products tomorrow.

Soulology Week 3

2008-11-15T16:38:00.003+09:30

I was very late in completing this page. I blame it on being away for work the week it was due and having a very busy week at work this week.

Anyway, this page is now completed. As you can see, the theme was change. We had to explare ways we had or hadn't changed over time. I have been having a battle with my weight for a number of years now. This photo used to live on my refrigerator as a reminder of how I looked and how I would continue to look if I didn't do something about it. It hasn't worked!

The colour combination I used here was taken from the DSP I used on the chipboard letters for the title - Night of Navy, Rose Red, Old Olive and Taken with Teal. The word "change" on the right and the "swirly-flowery" thing above it are rubons. I have only recently purchased the SU rubons and haven't used them much. However, I think that will change from now on. They are so easy to use and so effective.

Now I need to work on this week's page - Then and Now. This is about how my life may or may not be different to what it used to be. I have some ideas floating around in my head - I just have to put them on paper now!

SBS25 Challenge 5

2008-11-12T21:17:00.003+09:30

The SBS25 challenge this week to use 2 different printed papers on your card and to use some sparkle. I hope this card fulfills the challenge.

I made this card for a colleague who is about to go on maternity leave. She does not know the sex of her baby so I steered clear of pink and blue and went for Real Red. The background is rolled with the Nursery Letters wheel in Whisper White.

I then layered a piece of Confetti White on top which has 2 pieces of Summer Picnic DSP in opposite corners and has been wrapped with silver cord (retired - darn!). I adhered the section with Pop Glue Dots. The photo corners were punched from Brushed Silver and the silver stars are from the Nursery Necessities set, stamped in Versamark and embossed with silver EP. The other 2 stars were punched from the opposite DSP.

I quite like this card. It is going to work tomorrow so the other members of our section can sign it. We will be presenting her with this card and a gift (a scrapbook ready to add photos) at a team lunch on Friday. I hope she likes Red!

I'm back!

2008-11-09T19:07:00.004+09:30

I'm back home from my week of training and weekend of partying! By the end of the week, I was glad the training was over. I learned a lot but a week is way long enough! My weekend was spent in Melbourne attending a country picnic race meeting (that's horse race meeting) for my sister's 40th birthday. A fantastic time was had by all!

I have returned home to find that my SBS sister Vanja has given me the following award:

The rules are:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog.
2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3. Nominate 5 blogs.
4. Put links to their blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees.

So, I've done numbers 1 and 2 so I guess I have to nominate 5 other blogs. Well, the nominees are ........

1. Nerine
2. Karen
3. Natasha
4. Melissa
5. Stephanie

I'm off to leave a message for my lovely nominees. Hopefully I'll be back in the next couple of days with some more creations.

Simple Delights

2008-11-04T17:55:00.005+09:30

Firstly, I must apologise for the quality of these photos. I had to take them using my mobile phone in low light at night in my hotel room! Really, I think they turned out pretty good, all things considered.

I made these 10 cards using the Simple Delights Simply Sent Kit for Stampin' Up. The first card (pictured on its own) and the group on the right were pretty much as per the instructions. However, I had to do some playing and so the group on the left are variations on the top card. I kept the same basic layout but changed the stamping and the orientation. On one of them I even stamped on the twill tape!

I really like these cards, very subtle and simple. The colours are Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip and River Rock. An elegant combination.

I'm going to a meeting tonight so I probably won't post until Thursday night before I catch my flight to Melbourne.

For those of you reading this in Australia, I actually drew the winner of the Melbourne Cup in the sweep at work - I won $120! There's a first time for everything!

SBS25 Challenge

2008-11-02T18:02:00.002+09:30

The SBS25 Challenge for this week was to make a birthday card with only 2 embellishments, extra points to be awarded for using Really Rust, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black. This is my contribution.

The base card is Really Rust. I then layered a piece of the Really Rust print from the Apple Cider DSP with some Old Olive wide grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is stamped on Very Vanilla in Basic Black. All the images and sentiment are from the Bold Birthday set.

I stamped the bottom of the cupcake in Really Rust on Very Vanilla and cut it out. The icing was stamped in Versamark on the Very Vanilla and embossed clear. The candle was stamped using Summer Sun and Ruby Red. I then assembled the cake and candle on a piece of Old Olive textured cardstock (love the textured cardstock!). The whole was layered on Elegant Eggplant. I then used some Basic Black brads (my second embellishment) and adhered the image section to the base with Stampin' Dimensionals.

I decided to add some more dimension, so I used Crystal Effects on the candle and flame.

It is my sister's 40th brithday on Friday and I am travelling down to Melbourne to attend her party. This will be her card. I hope she likes it.

I'm not sure how much I will be able to post this coming week as I will be in Darwin attending a training course. I am taking 4 Simply Sent kits with me so I have something to do in the hotel room at night (I couldn't possibly go a whole week without stamping!). Simply Sent kits are fabulous for the truly addicted stamper (me!) when we go away. They are also a great beginners kit as they include everything needed to make 10 or 12 complete cards (except scissors) - stamp set, ink, adhesives, cardstock and envelopes - including instructions! I love them.

Hopefully I'll check in during the week. Have a great week.

Soulology Week 2

2008-11-02T16:53:00.006+09:30

Well, I actually completed this week's assignment in time! We had to write a list of 10 Positive Attributes about ourselves and then incorporate them into a layout. I'm not super happy with this page but I'm not sure how to improve it either.

The background is actually Ruby Red (although it has come out considerably brighter than that in the photo). The photograph was taken at lunch at The Empire Hotel in Brunei. Just a gorgeous place looking out over the sea - which is what I am doing in the photo. Think I must have been a little sunburnt!

The photo is mounted on Soft Sky and Blue Bayou. I cut the tree from Close to Cocoa DSP. The leaves are from Bodacious Bouquet and are stamped in Garden Green on Whisper White. After I had adhered them, I wrote my 10 positive attributes using a Chocolate Chip marker. The page title was made using my Sizzix and the Doodle Box alphabet in Blue Bayou and Soft Sky.

Thanks for visiting!

Soulology Title Page

2008-10-31T17:34:00.002+09:30

I was trying to find a photo for my 10 Positive Attributes page last night when I remembered this one. Whilst Alan was away for 6 months this year. I arranged for Charis and I to have some "glamour" protraits taken. This is one of the ones I chose to be printed and framed. I managed to prise it out of the frame without damaging either, scanned it and saved it to my computer. Then I printed it so I could use it.

Having worked so hard to get the photo to a point I could use it, I decided that it would work better for a title page so I still need to find one for the Positives page!

Nevermind, I'm really pleased with how this page came out. I'm not new to scrapbooking but I'm very new to using stamps on my scrapbook pages (until May this year I was a Creative Memories Consultant). The cardstock base is Brilliant Blue. The stamp sets are Whimisical Alphabet(retired), Jumbo Outline Alphabet and Scribble (Doodle) This. I just used Whisper White ink to stamp the images on the blue base. The letters S O U L are stamped in Brilliant Blue on Whisper White and cut out roughly. I mounted the photo on Whisper White cardstock before adhering it to the page.

Hope you like it.

Soulology Week 1

2008-10-29T21:01:00.006+09:30

This is my layout for Soulology Week 1. Soulology is an online scrapbooking course which helps you to scrapbook about yourself. Every Monday a new task is released. Last Monday we were asked to write a list of 100 things - 50 we liked, 50 we disliked - and then to make a layout with those lists. It was very difficult! I got to about 34 in the list of things I like quite easily and hard a very difficult time coming up with the last 16. Don't ask about the list of things I dislike. It actually took me 8 days to complete the lists and then another 2 to do the layout. I decided on a double page because it just seemed to fit better than incorporating both lists into one page.

Here is a closer look at each page.

The background colour is the first item on list of 50 things I like - Teal (Taken with Teal). I used the Its Beautiful wheel in Whisper White on both sides of the Like page and Night of Navy for the Dislike page. The flowers are from Bodacious Bouquet. I printed my 2 lists on vellum and then tore the edges. The titles are chipboard letters covered with Whisper White and Night of Navy textured cardstock. I attached the letters with mini glue dots and the vellum with brads (Tempting Turquoise and Brilliant Blue).

Quite simple layouts really but they work for me. Do they work for you?

Very Merry!

2008-10-25T07:09:00.003+09:30

This week's challenge on SBS#25 was to make a Christmas card without using red or green! How is this possible? Well, I did it.

The base of this card is Bashful Blue which I stamped randomly using the tiny snowflake from Short and Sweet in Versamark ink.

The main images are from Hung Up on the Holidays stamped on Whisper White. I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line up the hangers and then extended them using a Stampin' Write Marker. The inks colours are Close to Cocoa and Brocade Blue. I had to add some sparkle (it is a Christmas card after all) so I used my 2-way Glue Pen and Dazzling Daimonds on the patterns on the baubles and the gingerbread man's buttons. This panel was mounted on Close to Cocoa and then adhered in the top left-hand corner of the card base.

The sentiment is from Short and Sweet, stamped in Close to Cocoa on Whisper White and punched with the small oval. I was going to mount it on a Close to Cocoa large oval but that didn't look right so I chose to use the oval frame from the Syled Silver Hodgepodge. The ribbon is Bashful Blue striped grosgrain.

I really like this card - the soft colours really appeal to me at the moment.

Christmas Snowflake

2008-10-24T07:08:00.003+09:30

I made this gorgeous Christmas decoration following Monica Gale's video on UStamp 08 Holidays. It is really easy and looks great.

If you want to participate in projects like this, just go to http://www.ustamp.blogspot.com/. It is a fabaulous program with heaps of projects. I participated in the first UStamp and then signed up as soon as the Holiday program was released. UStamp uses all Stampin' Up products and the design team consists of a representative from each country/region where SU products are available.

Enjoy your Christmas projects!

Card by Charis

2008-10-23T19:59:00.003+09:30

My daughter's friend is having her birthday party on Saturday. Charis wanted to make a birthday card for her. They meet at the busstop every morning so yesterday, Charis asked Julianna what were her favourite colours. Julianna pointed to the purple and blue that were painted on Charis' bike.

The closets I could come to those 2 colours was Bashful Blue and Lovely Lilac. We added some Lavendar Lace to give it some depth.

The stamp set Charis chose to use is one of the birthday sets that SU has for 20% off this month - Pretty Princess. She stamped the images in Basic Grey. The DSP is Lovely Lilac.

I'm sure that Julianna will love this card. What 10 year old girl wouldn't?

Torn Peaceful Wishes

2008-10-20T19:12:00.007+09:30

Where have I been for the last 6 days? You may well ask. Well, I am a Girl Guide leader and we took 11 of our 12 girls on their first (for most) overnight camp over the weekend. I spent every night last week preparing for the camp. I had done no stamping all week until last night.

The camp went really well, except for the weather. I was extremely hot!!! I didn't hear a weather report while we were away but I have checked our Bureau of Meterology website and it tells me that we reached a maximum temperature of 38.2 degrees C on Saturday! For those of you more familiar with fahrenheit, I believe that would be 100!!! I don't think I have ever been so hot in all life! The girls coped pretty well, considering. The owners of the property we were using for our campsite had begun digging a fish pond. Greg was super kind to us and put the liner in and filled it from the bore pump so we could cool off mid-afternoon. I think that is the only thing that saved us from going insane.

Sleep was difficult, to say the least. I don't sleep well when not in my own bed, let alone on an air mattress in a tent. We had to call one girl's parents' to come and pick her up as she had a mega-headache and started vomiting a little. She was back bright and early in the morning, ready for our pancake breakfast so there were no lasting ill effects.

All the girls sais they would definitely go again they just didn't want it to be so hot, or have to dig a hole for their toilet! Next year we'll go earlier when the weather is cooler.

I finally had a chance to stamp on Sunday night.

I made this card for a small swap I'm in with 3 other Australian SU consultants. The theme was "Ripped or Folded". When I saw the next challenge for SBS25 was to "try a technique you have never done before" I knew what I was going to do.

The "new" technique was faux tearing. I thought it would fit with both the swap and the challenge. For good measure I threw in some corrugations made with my crimper.

The colours here are Kraft, Very Vanilla and Old Olive cardstock, Chocolate Chip classic ink pad, Old Olive and Real Red Stampin' Write markers and Real Red grosgrain ribbon. I used the brayer to add the Chocolate Chip ink on the background, using 2 halves of a torn piece of scrap paper for the mask.

I really like this card. It is loosely based on a card from our 08-09 IBC but I did change a few things. This is the first time I have made a card the opens at the top and I quite like that idea too.

All in all, I'm pleased with this card. I hope you like it too.

Tag, I'm It!

2008-10-14T19:47:00.002+09:30

I've been tagged by Michelle, one member of the faabulous SBS#25.

Here's how it works...

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Answer the five sets of five (these are easy)
3. Tag 5 people in the last section by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are the 5 sets of five...

Things you love...

1. My husband
2. My daughter
3. Getting together with my sisters and their other halves for some laughs
4. CRAFT
5. My dog, DJ

Things you don't love...

1. People who think they deserve to be treated differently to everyone else
2. No being able to get together with my family as often as I like becuase they live at the other end of the country
3. Paying inflated prices for things because I live in a "remote" area of Australia
4. The fact that there is no craft shop in the town I live in - the closest one is 350kms away
5. The emphasis placed on having the "perfect body" by society today

Songs on your iPod/Playlist

I'll list the artist instead of the songs.
1. Petra - the original Christian rock band
2. Colin Buchanan - Aussie singer (sorta country)
3. High School Musical soundtracks - 1 and 2 - 3 hasn't been released here yet
4. Shania Twain
5. Elvis

Favorite Foods/Drinks
1. Fresh seafood (isn't it the best Michelle?)
2. Champagne
3. Any drink with Vodka in it
4. Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (count me in Michelle)
5. Cheesecake

People you are tagging...

1. Pia
2. Vanya
3. Joan
4. Nerine
5. Karen

Bye for now!

SBS25 Challenge No 1

2008-10-11T17:55:00.004+09:30

The first challenge issued to the members of SBS25 was to make 5 cards using the same image and the same colours. Didn't sound too hard. Then why did I find it so difficult?

I decided to make Christmas cards as I have a Christmas Stamp-a-Stack coming up at the end of August and I needed samples. I just love the Season of Joy stamp set so that choice was easy. Then I had to select the colours. I wanted to use at least 2 of the current (Australia-NZ) In Colours so I went to the '08 In Colour Combo chart that SU has for demostrators. I chose Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Close to Cocoa and So Saffron. I added Brushed Gold to the mix for a bit of sparkle.

Here's the cards I came up with.

I used Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon on two of the cards and the retired Gold Organdy ribbon on a third. I used a different colour base card for each card. I'm not 100% happy with all of them but I think, as a group, I like them.

What do you think?

Baby Gift

2008-10-09T22:22:00.013+09:30

I finished it! My neighbour, Andrea, was booked in for a C-section to have her twin girls yesterday. I offered to make birthday announcements for her as a gift. This is what I came up with.

The folder was designed by Alisa Tilsner for UStamp. I used Blush Blossom for the folder and 2 stamp the images on. The sentiment is from For a Friend (Hostess set) and the flower is from Priceless. The images are layered on Regal Rose and Pretty in Pink. The DSP is from a retired SU pack, Loves Me. The ribbon is Regal Rose wide grosgrain.

Here's the inside.

I made postcards (or card fronts) instead of full cards to save time and cardstock. There are 2 designs with 2 variations and a total of 16 cards.

The base for the cards is Regal Rose. I made the medallions to match the one on the front of the folder. I printed the space for details (x2!) onto vellum - I didn't have a stamp to do the job so I usesd my computer.

For the first design (on the right) I layered the vellum over more of the DSP and used silver eyelets to keep them together. The variation of this one uses silver brads instead of eyelets.

The second design (on the left) I stamped the swirl from Priceless in whisper white craft ink randomly over Pretty in Pink cardstock. The vellum was then layered over this an attached with silver brads. The variation uses silver eyelets.

Next time I'll make the cards before the folder so I can alter the folder to make sure all the cards fit easily (it is a tight fit on this one).

I know there is a lot of pink in this project. That was deliberate - Andrea has 2 older boys so I wanted to celebrate the fact that she was having girls.

That's it for now. I have to go and finish getting ready for work. See you later.

An apology and lots of creations!

2008-10-04T16:09:00.016+09:30

I must apologise for my long absence. I have no excuse and not even a reason. However, I have been busy whilst not posting. So grab a cuppa and get comfortable. This is a long post.

1. This card is my first try at a new technique. I'm not sure what is called. First you brayer over a piece of vellum and then stamp with an uninked stamp to lift off some of the ink, leaving a lifhter image behind. I combined this with two-step stamping. The colours are Old Olive, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla. The stamp set is A Beautiful Thing from our Spring Mini Catalogue.
2. When tidying my stamping cupboard I found three long, skinny tags made from Very Vanilla cardstock. Of course, I had to use them. I chose the hostess set In the Spotlight. The small flower was stamped on the tags using So Saffron ink and then on scrap Very Vanilla cardstock using More mustard. The sentiments are from another hostess set, So Many Sayings, and were inked with an Old Olive marker, stamped onto Very Vanilla and punched using the Word Window. The base card is Very Vanilla. Layered on that is old Olive DSP. The large flowers were More Mustard stamped on So Saffron cardstock. I layered one small flower on each large one with Stampin' Dimensionals and then adhered everything to the card.
3. Christmas cards are moving up my list of priorities. I am absolutely loving the Season of Joy set from the Spring Mini Catalogue. Both these card layouts were CASEd from the SU Demo page. The first one used Real Red, Bashful Blue and Confetti White cardstock with Certainly Celery ribbon.
These 2 are the same layout mirrored. The first time I stamped "joy!" it was not at all straight. So I started again. When I had completed the card I decided to make another, mirrored, so I could cover the crooked word. The colours are Old Olive and Bashful Blue with Confetti White cardstock.
4. A week or so ago we had a Demo get-together here to say goodbye to one of the girls who moves to QLD in a few weeks. These are the two cards Natasha had prepared for us to make. The first one use In the Spotlight with Cameo Coral, Ruby Red and Old Olive. What a fantastic colour combination. I think this one would do for any occasion, including Christmas.

This small, square card only uses stamps for the word. The shirt is folded from Spring Showers DSP. I placed faux buttons down the centre of the shirt, made with the Crop-a-dile.
5. Another card using In the Spotlight. I CASEd this one but I can't remember who from - sorry! The colours are Blue Bayou, Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive and More Mustard. Paper piercing around the inside of the Confetti White rectangle adds another dimension.

6. The next 2 cards resulted from me "playing" with the hostess set Oh So Lovely. I love this colour combination - Purely Pomegranate, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla - which was usggested by Angela Sargeant. I used the stipple background stamp to create the horizontal stripes. The DSP is from Berry Bliss (yummy!). There are 2 ribbons along the bottom - Purely Pomegranate wide satin and Chocolate Chip taffeta.

I also love this colour combination - Bravo Burgundy, Mellow Moss, Handsome Hunter and Apricot Appeal (thank you Colour Coach). I used by CM oval templates to cut the ovals. There is a lot of sponging on the edges of nearly every piece on this card - it gives a much richer look.

7. On the right are 2 brag books I made using the instructions from UStamp. Each of them will hold up to 8 photos. They are just so cute. Perfect for gifts for grandmas, aunts, etc. Below I have pictures of each of them open.

I'm really pleased with how these turned out.

Well, that's it. I hope you are satisfied with my output this week. I don't think next week will be so productive as my husband and daughter have been away this week and they come back tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

Stationery Gift for Mel

2008-09-29T18:38:00.005+09:30

I made this stationery box for my sister Demo, Mel, who is moving in a couple of weeks. I got the pattern and instructions from Jackie Topa. I used Old Olive and Bashful Blue cardstock, Summer Picnic DSP and the hostess stamp set "In the Spotlight".

The box has a pen, an address book, some stamps, 4 small cards, 4 gift tags and 8 "normal" sized cards. I thought it had everything she needs to keep in touch with her friends after she moves.

This was really fun to make!

Just for fun!

2008-09-27T09:18:00.002+09:30

What Sharon Means

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Tag - you're it!

2008-09-27T07:43:00.002+09:30

I've been tagged by one of new SBS sisters, Debby. Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now for 7 facts about myself:

My taste in music can only be described as "eclectic" - anything from hard rock to show tunes.
I have too much "stuff".
I would love to have a clutter free house - but see 2. above.
I am arachnaphobic - don't ask me to be in the same room as anything hairy, with 8 legs. Even dead ones!
My favourite colour is blue.
I respond really well to praise and recognition.
I have a small collection of Cherished Teddies.

Now to tag 7 others.

I'm off now to let these lovely ladies know that they've been tagged. I'll be back later today with some of my recent creations.

Enjoy every moment!

2008-09-24T23:46:00.003+09:30

My daughter's teacher is finishing up this Friday (NT schools have one week holiday next week). She is going home to Queensland to have her baby! I wanted to make a card that was a combination of Thank You (she has been fabulous this year and Charis loves her) and Good Luck. What do you think? Have I done it?

The base cardstock is Blue Bayou. I used the stamp set Enjoy Every Moment. I stamped the dotted circle from this set randomly around the edge of the base card. I stamped the "enjoy" in Blue Bayou on Soft Sky, replacing the "o" with the large flower image (which was inked in Soft Sky and then rolled in Blue Bayou - I did this 3 times until I was happy with the result). The centre of the flower has been punched out using the 3/4" circle punch. I then used the Glitter Window technique to give some sparkle. The main image was then mounted on Groovy Guava (the bottom of which I stamped using the small flower image in Groovy Guava ink) which in turn was mounted on DSP from the Secret Garden Scrappin' Kit. I stamped "every moment" in Blue Bayou on Soft Sky and punched it with the Word Window punch. The edges of all the cardstock were sponged with the matching colour ink and sponge daubers.

I hope that Mrs Read likes this card. I spent ages coming up with the design - or at least translating it from the picture in my head to real life. I'm very happy with the result.

Sisterhood of the Blogging Stampers # 25

2008-09-24T07:13:00.003+09:30

I've joined! SBS is a great group of fellow blogging stampers who give great support to each other, as well as issuing challenges, sending RAK's etc. I'm really excited to be a part of this. If you would like to join too just go to the SBSblog and sign up.

A little bit about myself for my Sisters:

I live near Katherine, in the Northern Territory, Australia
I am an RAAF wife - my husband is an RAAF chaplain
I work full-time as an accountant with in local government
I am a craft-addict - I have tried just about every craft there is (except anything that involves painting - I'm not good at that)
I have been an SU demo for 4 months and am loving it
I have one daughter who is 11 years old (I almost wrote 10!)

I'm really looking forward to this experience.

(I have listed all the current SBS #25 members in the sidebar and will add to it as more people join.)

One Sheet Wonder

2008-09-21T12:36:00.004+09:30

This is my first attemp at the technique known as One Sheet Wonder. It doesn't really take only one sheet of cardstock to make these 8 cards however, all the atmping (except for the sentiments) is done on one sheet of Whisper White which is then cut up and used as the main image or background on the 8 different cards. The colours I used were Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery. The stamp sets were Basics wheel, Bud Basics and Cheery Chat (love this sentiment set!).

If you would like to make 8 cards in one afternoon using this same technique then come along to my One Sheet Wonder workshop - details are as follows:

Date: 28th September 2008

Time: 1.30pm

Place: my house

Bring: own SNAIL or similar adhesive, a trimmer if you have one

Cost: $20 if you bring your own adhesive or $25 is you use mine

How's that? Only $20 to make 8 eights with envelopes. That's only $2.50 per card. And you have an afternoon filled with fun (and chocolate) as well. Cheap at twice the price!

Seriously, places are limited so if you want to come please contact me ASAP to book your place.

VSN Challenge 3

2008-09-13T21:36:00.004+09:30

The last challenge!

This card uses my 2 favourite colours from our current In-Colour range - Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi. I think they work so well together for a Christmas Card. I haven't used the wide Satin ribbon much so I just had to use it for this card - and it comes in Purely Pomegranate!

The stamp set is Season of Joy - just gorgeous. I stamped the swirl twice along the bottom and top, changing the orientation each time. The image was stamped in Wild Wasabi and Purely Pomegranate on Whisper White. I cut out one of the flowers, the inside of the tree and the letters J and Y from the Purely Pomegranate image and glued them onto the Wild Wasabi one to add some interest.

I adhered a Purely Pomegranate mat to the card base. Then I layered the ribbons (Wild Wasabi double-stitched over the Purely Pomegranate satin). Lastly, I layered the image with Wild Wasabi textured cardstock and used Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere them down.

I really love this set for Christmas. I can see me making a lot of cards something like this.

VSN Challenge 2

2008-09-13T21:01:00.002+09:30

Finally! Blogger didn't want to load this photo the first time I tried so I'm a little late but I promise the project was completed before 9pm.

This is a great gift bag made from 2 pieces of 12x12 DSP - what a great size!

I used the Apple Cider DSP and teamed it with Really Rust cardstock and River Rock double stitched grosgrain ribbon. The stamped image is from True Friend and matches with the printed image on the paper. I coloured it to coordinate with Eart Elements SU Markers.

Just one more to go!

Virtual Stamping Night (VSN) Part 1

2008-09-13T19:38:00.004+09:30

Tonight is the SUPER-Stampers first Virtual Stamping Night. We are only a small group but we are spread across Australia so our leader Nerine has organised 3 challenges for us to complete at the same time tonight. For more details you can visit her blog here.

This is my card for the first challenge. The rules were simple - use Elegant Eggplant, Taken with Teal and Old Olive to make a card.

The set "Close as a Memory" was sitting on my desk so I thought "Why not?" I do love the way the bunch of flowers has come out. I coloured on the stamp with Watercolour Wonder Crayons (Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive) and then misted the stamp very lightly with water. It was then stamped onto Naturals Ivory cardstock. The resultant image is very soft and like a watercolour. I then stamped the same image on a Taken with Teal scrap using Versamark ink. The sentiment is stamped in Old Olive on the Ivory again and mounted on Old Olve. This is then adhered to the card over the ribbon (Old Olive wide grosgrain) using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Sympathy cards are not the easiest to make but it always good to have a few on hand. You never know when you need them, and when you do is when you feel least like making them.

Check out Nerine's blog for her card and those made by the other SUPER-Stampers.

Come back in an hour (about 9pm Australian CST) to check out the result of the next challenge.

Father's Day

2008-09-13T08:38:00.002+09:30

This is the card I sent my Dad for Father's Day. I shamelessly CASEd it from someone but I can't remember who! I'll come back and add her name if I remember.

The base of the card is Close to Cocoa. Inside it looks just a wallet and includes a space to place a store gift card.

I used a Jumbo Eyelet to simulate a snap-closure.

I think this is sure-cute and my Mum and Dad both loved it.

I'm participating in a SUPER-Stampers VSN (Virtual Stamping Night) tonight so there should be at least 3 posts from me overnight. I can't wait! This is my first VSN and I'm looking forward to the challenges.

He's Coming Home!

2008-09-10T06:53:00.001+09:30

I'm off to Darwin this afternoon as Alan is coming home!

I'll be back with more stamping at the weekend.

Mel's Fortnightly Challenge

2008-09-07T20:37:00.003+09:30

My "aunt" in SU - Mel - has issued a colour challenge this fortnight - Ballet Blue, Regal Rose and Barely Banana, inspired by a spectacular sunset picture. Here is my contribution:

The base card is Ballet Blue. I stamped the Brocade background onto Whisper White cardstock and cut out the one flourish. The flowers are from the Pretties Kit - coloured with (in order from the biggest to the smallest) Regal Rose marker, Regal Rose Watercolour Wonder crayon and Barely Banana marker. I fastened them together with a Rhinstone brad from the Pretties Kit and adhered them to the card with a Pop-Up Glue Dot. The sentiment is from the Sweet Serendipity set, stamped in Ballet Blue on Barely Banana with a Regal Rose Designer Label punch behind it.

That's it. Simple, hey?

More Father's Day cards

2008-09-06T09:20:00.005+09:30

Just a few Father's Day cards I've made over the week. We have a large market here this weekend and I'm hoping to sell these, and others.

I won't leave any details of these cards but if you would like to know anything just leave a comment or send me an email and I'd be happy to help.

Thanks for visiting.

Workshop Cards

2008-09-06T08:07:00.004+09:30

Finally! I have been trying since Sunday last week to upload these photos to blogger.

These are 2 cards I made with a group of ladies at a workshop last Saturday. I knew they would all be mothers of young children and would always need children's birthday cards.

The Princess card is Perfect Plum, Mellow Moss and Pretty in Pink. We stamped the crown from the Perfect Princess set in Versamark on Whisper White cardstock and heat embossed it in silver. We added Dazzling Diamonds to the jewels for some more bling. The backgound uses the Perfectly Pretty wheel. The ribbon is Mellow Moss taffeta. A card perfect for a little princess.

The card on the right is for the boys. We used the By Land set and inked the car with SU Markers - Brilliant Blue and Basic Black - and stamped it on Whisper White. We then used the Crop-a-dile to add Jumbo eyelets to the wheels for hubcaps. The Beep Beep was stamped on Whisper White and cut into a tag shape. Both images were mounted on More Mustard cardstock. A small eyelet was set in the top of the tag and it was tied through one of the "hubcaps" using Linen Thread. The card background is Garden Green with Brilliant Blue DSP and another small piece of Garden Green. Sure to delight any small boy.

If blogger continues to behave, I'll be back with some Father's Day cards I have been making.

Candy Winner!

2008-08-31T12:32:00.002+09:30

I used the very technical "ask my daughter to pick a number" method and she chose number 2 - so that means Natasha is the winner of the blog candy! Natasha, leave me a comment or call me so I can arrange to meet you and give you your prize.

I'm back!

2008-08-27T05:10:00.003+09:30

I have batteries!

I held a Watercolour Techniques Class on Saturday afternoon. These are the 3 cards we made:

From top left:
1. This card was made using the Misting Markers technique. Stamp Sets are Season of Joy and A Little Birthday Cheer. Colours are Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi and Cameo Coral.
2. We used Watercolour Wonder Crayons and Blender Pens for this card. The images come from the True Friend stamp set. Colours are Elegant Eggplant, Lavendar Lace, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink and Old Olive.
3. Lastly, we used Markers and Aquapainter for this beautiful rose from Bloomin' with Beauty. Colours are Always Artichoke and Rose Red with Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon.

The ladies and I had a great time! Maybe you'll like to join us next time for a Christmas Stamp-a-Stack (stay tuned for details).

BLOG CANDY

I know I promised you some blog candy when I reached 2000 hits. Well, we passed that over the weekend. So, leave a comment on this post before midnight Friday 29th August (Darwin time) and you'll be in the draw to win the above 3 cards! In your comment, tell me your favourite watercolouring technique.

I can't wait to read all your comments.

New Batteries - well almost!

2008-08-22T21:49:00.002+09:30

I had new batteries for my camera - until my daughter needed batteries for a fibre optic she was given for her birthday! Guess I'll be shopping again tomorrow.

I have a Watercolour Techniques class on Sunday afternoon. I am teaching 3 different techniques for achieving a watercolour look - Brushless, Watercolour Wonder Crayons and Marvellous Markers. I hope the ladies who are attending have a great time and enjoy making the 3 cards. I'll post the 3 cards on Sunday night.

No Batteries!

2008-08-20T18:27:00.002+09:30

I'm so sorry for my long absence. The batteries in my camera died and I haven't been able to get to a shop to buy some more. I shall be doing that tomorrow so hopefully I'll be able to post all the cards I've made then. I have new rubber to play with tonight as I received my order from the first level of the Stampin' Start program on Monday - 3 new stamp sets! I can't wait to play but my daughter is bugging me to get her some ice cream so I guess duty calls.

See you tomorrow! Come back because I'm going to be announcing some blog candy for when I reach 2000 hits!

Altered Journal

2008-08-15T22:07:00.002+09:30

Over the last 2 nights I made my first altered anything - an inspiration journal. I will use it to makes notes on colour combinations, layout ideas, techniques I want to try, anything that might inspire me.

I covered the journal with Rose Red DSP. The Colour Coach was my inspiration for the colour combination - Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana and Certainly Celery. It's such a beautiful combination!

The Cameo Coral triangle is a scrap from another project. I layered it underneath a large sqaure of Barely Banana with Certainly Celery textured cardstock layered on top. I stamped the large butterfly from Garden Whimsy randomly over the Certainly Celery square with Rose Red ink.

Both butterfiles were stamped twice on Whisper White cardstock using the Rock n Roll technique with Cameo Coral and Rose Red. I cut out the wings from one of each and glued Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the spots on the wings. The wings were then layered on the whole butterfiles but only adhered along the bodies - to give them some dimension.

The tulips flowers were inked the same way as the butterflies with the stems and leaves inked using the Certainly Celery marker. The tulip flowers were stamped separately also, cut out, glittered and glued to the whole tulips just at the base of the flower.

The letters were stamped in Rose Red ink on Certainly Celery DSP using the Jumbo Outline set. They were cut out, adhered and then covered with Crystal Effects to give them the look of shiny chipboard.

I'm really pleased with the journal. I think my last step will be to make some dividers with tabs to separate the pages into the different categories of inspiration.

I hope you like my first journal. Please leave a comment before you leave so I know who has visited. My counter is clicking over but I haven't had a comment for ages. I love to see who has come to visit.

Mel's Colour Challenge

2008-08-13T21:40:00.004+09:30

I made this card for a colour challenge set by my sister demo, Mel. The colours were Garden Green, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink and Apricot Appeal. I have to admit, I was stumped for a while with this one - 2 Earth Elements and 2 Soft Subtles! So not Mel.

I decided to ink up a set from the Spring Mini, Always, for the first time. I black embossed the flower-filled heart on Whisper White cardstock and watercoloured it with Watercolour Wonder crayons - Pretty in Pink and Apricot Appeal of course. Then I hit a wall. How could I use the green and the chocolate?

I played around with matting the heart on different combinations of the colours but that just wasn't "doing it" for me. I decided that the card base had to be Garden Green and then had a brainwave - what about a circle aperture in the mat! After that it fell together fairly easily.

I stamped the berry branch from the Always set over the Chocolate Chip mat after I had used my CM circle templates to cut the aperture. Then I cut a circle frame from Pretty in Pink textured cardstock (I just love the textured cardstock, I so have to get more!). The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip on Apricot Appeal. The ribbon is Pretty in Pink taffeta. All the edges of the Chocolate Chip and Apricot Appeal cardstock have been distressed with the Cutting Kit.

There you have it! I'm quite pleased with the end result although I spent this much time on a card for ages. Why don't you give this colour combo a go yourself?

Marcia's Challenge

2008-08-13T09:00:00.000+09:30

Marcia from The Stamp Spot set a colour challenge this week - Ballet Blue, Groovy Guava, Mellow Moss and Barely Banana. I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted to use straight away - Bloomin' with Beauty - but the layout took me longer to come up with.

I stamped the single flower image on watercolour paper and coloured using my Aquapainter and ink pads. I then mounted the image on a stip of Mellow Moss. The ribbon is Ballet Blue grosgrain. The sentiment is stamped on Groovy Guava matted with Barely Banana. Most of the layers have had their edges distressed.

When I put it all together it seemed unbalanced as everything was on the righthand side. I decided to add the little bee from the set to help balance everything.

Catch ya later!

PJ Inspiration and Challenge!

2008-08-12T09:00:00.000+09:30

I bought a new pair of PJ's this week. Isn't the fabric wild?! I got inspired by it - I knew it would make a great card. I want to challenge you to be inspired by this fabric too.

The colours I have taken from this piece are:

Whisper White
Soft Sky
Regal Rose
Purely Pomegranate

I challenge you to see what you can come up with using these colours. Be inspired by my PJ's!

If you takeup my challenge before 5pm Sunday 17th August, please leave a comment and a link to your blog or email me a photo/scan of your card. I will have some card candy up for grabs.

Here's my card.

More Babies!

2008-08-11T01:34:00.001+09:30

More baby cards today! The girl baby card was done first this time. The card base is Blush Blossom. I then layered the Almost Amethyst DSP. The image is from Nursery Necessities, stamped in Almost Amethyst and Apricot Appeal and layered with Apricot cardstock. The ribbon is Certainly Celery wide grosgrain. The flowers are from the Pretties kit and have been dyed using Almost Amethyst and Apricot Appeal markers. They are attached with a Rhinstone brad. The sentiment was punched using the Word Window and layered with Regal Rose. Very girly!

The boy card is much simpler with a base of Gable Green. The image is stamped in Not Quite Navy and Barely Banana. The ribbon is Bashful Blue striped grosgrain. The sentiment was punched with oval punch and layered with Perfect Plum.

I'm not sure who these will go to yet. Have to see who has their babies first!

Babies!

2008-08-10T11:51:00.004+09:30

There have been a few babies born around here lately, and more are not far away.

I though that it was about time I made some baby, both to give away and for my stash.

I have had the stamp set Nursery Necesities for a while now but it hadn't seen rubber yet. I thought I'd better christen it before it started feeling like I didn't love it!

I began with the boy card on the left. The moon has been inked with Barely Banana and the long edge was rolled with Summer Sun to add some depth. The DSP is from Spring Showers. I stamped the star background from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Versamark then added Dazzling Diamonds for glimmer. Both "welcome little one" and "it's a boy!" are from Nursery Necessities too. The cardstock colours are Bashful Blue, Bagle Green and Barely Banana. Welcome little one is gold embossed.

I was really pleased with this one so I made a pink one using the same basic layout. Colours are Pretty in Pink, Balush Blossom (instead of DSP), So Saffron (for the moon), Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon and Perfect Plum to mat the sentiment. The other main difference is that the moon was not rolled in another colour as it made it too dark, and I covered the moon with Crystal Effects to give it more dimension.

I'm really pleased with these cards as it is not often that I design my own from scratch (I usually use someone's design and make my unique versions).

A Promotion Gift

2008-08-04T18:59:00.010+09:30

When I promoted to Senior Associate a couple of weeks ago, my lovely upline, Nerine, came to my house to give me a card and a gift. Isn't she great?!

The gift was a stationery box with 12 sheets of notepaper and 6 matching envelopes. She had decorated the set using the Carte Postale stamp set. Isn't it beautiful?

The card is one she posted on her blog a little while ago. The sentiment says - Rubber Stamper 365 days. How appropriate!

Father's Day card

2008-08-04T18:51:00.004+09:30

Charis made this card for Alan for Fathers' Day. We shall mail this to him tomorrow with a small gift. I'll have to attach a label though - Don't open 'til Fathers' Day.

Alisa's Colour Challenge (ACC#5)

2008-08-04T17:28:00.008+09:30

This is the first time I have completed one of Alisa Tilsner's Colour Challenges. You can see her inspiration piece here. I had been planning to make some masculine cards today so this colour combo fit the bill - Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Summer Sun and either Whisper White or Very Vanilla. I went with the vanilla.

I managed to knock out 3 cards with this colour combo - one for my father's birthday at the end of this week, a Father's Day card and a birthday card.

This one will be in the mail tomorrow for my Dad's birthday. I used Very Vanilla textured cardstock for the background strip and roughed up the edges to give it even more texture.

The letters are from On Board Lots of Letters. Of course, there is only one of each letter but you can double up letters by using the negative as well as the positive. I covered the letters with Summer Sun cardstock.

The stripes behind the letters are Ruby Red. I was going to complete this card having used NO stamps but the ruby stripes needed something so I used Itty Bitty Backgrounds stipple stamp. I'm very pleased with the result. I hope my Dad likes it.

This card uses the argyle stamp from Classic backgrounds. I inked using markers (Summer Sun and Ruby Red) and then stamped it repeatedly over Very Vanilla to get a full argyle background. I filled in the dots through the Summer Sun diamonds with the fine tip of the Ruby Red marker.

I stamped the greeting from Occasional Greetings on Very Vanilla using Versamark and Ruby Red and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. I sponged the edges of this piece with Summer Sun and mounted it on Ruby Red. This was then mounted on the argyle background.

I used the Designer Label punch with Ruby Red cardstock, the 1 1/4" circle and 1" circle punches with Summer Sun. The larger circle was mounted behind the label and the smaller one on top with "for you" from Occasional Greetings in Ruby Red.

I'm very happy with the way this one looks too.

This 3rd one uses the argule background left over from the previous card, and a scrap of scalloped Chocolate Chip textured cardstock - I do love using up my scraps.

The image and sentiment are from Celebrate Everyday from the Spring Mini that was released last Friday. I coloured the image using a blender pen and ink pads (Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red and Summer Sun). This was punched using the Tag Punch. I then mounted it on Summer Sun and used my trimmer to cut the tag shape. The edges of theSummer Sun piece were then sponged with Ruby Red so it stood our from the argyle background.

I really like this card too. It must be the colour combination - thanks Alisa!

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