Challenge me!

I have come to be constantly visiting the blog of a very talented lady from the US. Her name is Gretchen Barron and she is sooooooo clever. Anyway she likes to challenge us and usually I don't have enough time in my days to get to them on time, but the moment I saw this sketch challenge I had to have a go.


I knew that it would go hand in hand with the colour challenge that had been set by the ESAD group. I was very concerned about these colours as I generally shy away from oranges, but I thought that I would try. The winner of this challenge gets to have their item displayed on the 'front' page of the ESAD group blog. How exciting would that be?



I decided to use the Baroque Motifs on the background and cut it up and alternate my colours. I did think that the Riding Hood Red and Old Olive would look great together - but I wanted to get away from 'christmas' colours. So I chose the Riding Hood Red and Pumpkin Pie. I stamped the image onto one sheet of both colours in Riding Hood Red ink and then dissected them into quarters. I did consider joining the alternates up to make the normal stamped image but felt that there was too much blank unstamped cardstock on the corners, so instead turned them around so the image was on the outer corner.


I then mounted these on Old Olive for one set, and because I had enough to make a second card, I mounted them on the opposite colour for the second set of images.

Because I was entering a competition to go onto the ESAD website, I thought that I would try to only use product that is from the current Idea Book and Catalogue. I couldn't quite find the right button embellishment, so decided to make my own. Yep, those are handmade buttons made using cardstock, a paper piercer, a punch and some Crystal Effects.

To make my centrepiece I inked up my Pocket Silhouette stamps using my marker pens. I then randomly stamped them onto my on point square. It started to look a bit overdone at the top and there were gaps where the stems were finishing. So rather than keep stamping and end up with something that looked like my 22 month old had stamped, I decided to use my sponge daubers to burnish the edges and bottom of the square. It filled the gap in nicely, and gave a bit more definition to my 'picture'.

So tell me what do you think?

Card: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Markers: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
Punch: 1/2" Circle
Ribbon: Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain
Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Baroque Motifs

Till next time, happy stamping...

A Hatful of Treats - Take 2

Okay you may have already seen this post, but I was not happy with the editing, so I am redoing it! I guess that's what happens when you have to take three attempts at writing a post. I have had sick kids today so my ability to concentrate has been impaired. I really should be in bed now, catching up on lost sleep, but will get this completed first.

Anyway, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who visited my site during the Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop. Entries for the blog hop candy have now closed and the winners will be announced shortly. For those who haven't been on the blog hop, please click HERE to be taken to my blog hop post and you can start from there and work your way around the blogs to see some fantastic works using the exclusive Sale-A-Bration stamp sets.

During the Sale-A-Bration blog hop I amassed over 500 hits to my site. This took my overall total to over 15000. I can't believe that I have had so many people checking out my work. I received over 50 comments on this post alone and this is the greatest thing about creating a blog. Nothing feels better than being able to show people new things and inspiring them to create. Xanapan was the first person to comment on my blog once it hit the magic 15000 hits. As a special thank you, I'd like to send you a special gift. Can you please email me your details so that I can pop it in the post for you!

Alrighty. I am part of another online group called Late Night Stampers. These ladies get very busy - Late at Night, of course! There are many different challenges and I thought that I'd try and join their challenge this week. The theme was "Vintage" and this is what I have come up with. Do you think it's Vintage? I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.



I recently purchased the Crafters Tool Kit and have found it invaluable. I remember looking at other peoples creations and thinking that they must be so clever to be able to evenly space their pierced holes. Then I found the template in the Crafters Tool Kit, what a great time saver. I tell you what, I am loving this kit and wonder how I managed to make things without it. The time saved is certainly a great bonus!

Anyway I made the 3D hate using the sweet treat cups that are only available in the Summer Mini Catalogue. I have seem them used lots for lollies, and thought that this was a very nice change.

Of course, when using the sweet treat cups, you have to make your gift/card so that the recipient is able tot open the cup without demolishing your creative artwork. I thought I'd decorate the middle of this card up a bit more, than usual.

Card: Pretty In Pink, Baja Breeze, Going Grey
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pretty in Pink
DSP: Pattern Pack II (hostess gift)
Punches: Slit, Designer Label, 1 3/4" Circle, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Scallop Edge, Round Tab
Ribbon: Pretty In Pink 1/2" striped grosgrain
Embellishments: Sweet Treat Cups, Flower Fusion Too, Corduroy Buttons (retired), Fire Circle Rhinestones, Hodgepodge Hardware, Fleurettes II
Stamp Sets: Curvy Verses, Live Like You Mean It (hostess set), Seeing Spots

Till next time, happy stamping...

Final gift to Secret Sister

Well, this is the final installment of the October to December 2009 Secret Sister swap. Well at least this is the final piece that I sent. Actually to be honest it isn't all of it, nor did I send all that is in this picture. How confusing is that?

I sent one of these milk cartons (which are designed by the very talented Becky Roberts) to Andrea. Inside was an assortment of brads and candles. I also sent some Pink Pirrouette DSP and Ice Circle Rhinestones. I hope they bought a smile to my SS's face!


The other set I posted to my extended family! The milk cartons are so cute and have a little trapdoor on the bottom, so they don't need to be ripped open to get to the goodies and can be re-used!

Since this is Becky Roberts design I am not going to list the ingredients on this post. I will be running a class to teach this for Easter. Keep your eye's peeled for more information as it comes to hand.

Till next time, happy stamping...

Helping Haiti...With Love

Well this card I made using the I {heart} Hearts stamp set. This is only available in the summer mini until the 31st March 2010. Stampin' Up! ® has made the committment to send $2 from each sale of this adorable stamp set to Haiti.

I think this is a bit girly, but I couldn't help myself. The self made DSP is done using a stamp that has three images on it. I individually coloured each heart and then stamped them on the cardstock.

Card: Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Rose Red
Marker Pens: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Pretty In Pink
DSP: Sweet Always
Punch: Scallop Edge, Scallop Circle
Ribbon: 1" Rose Red double stitched grosgrain
Embellishments: Flower Fusion,Flower Fusion Too, Clear Rhinestones, Sherbert Buttons

Till next time, happy stamping...

Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop

Okay this is a bit of a strange post, as it includes two things.

Firstly you have probably come to my site via the ESAD Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop. Welcome! Okay so have you come across ESAD before? We are "Extremely Special Australian Demonstrators" Yahoo Group. If you are an Aussie or New Zealand Demonstrator you can join our group. We share ideas and provide support and friendship to other demonstrators. We have challenges, tech talk, swaps etc. Click here for more information on our group.

If you aren't a demonstrator and are worried about missing out, contact me and I'll can fill you in on many more benefits that you'll receive by being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator.

So that gets me onto the second part of this post. For the last three months of last year, we held a Secret Sister swap. Basically those who chose to participate were given details of a participant and each month we had to post them two cards and a 3d gift, using SU product, of course! My Secret Sister was Andrea Buckland and this is the 2nd card I sent her during December.



Yep, that's right as a demostrator I had access to the Sale-A-Bration sets early - just another wonderful benefit of being a demonstrator. And if you join during Sale-A-Bration you can choose a FREE stamp set to the value of $79.95 from the Ideas Book and Catalogue! How cool is that?

Card: Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Soft Subtle Stampin' Write Markers, Chocolate Chip, Versamark
Punches: Word Window, Curly Label, Slit Punch
Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Happy Moments

Okay the next person on the blog hop is Tanya Kitto. Remember to leave a comment as you may be eligible to win some blog candy. Once you have done the loop and left a comment on each post please email Leonie (The Great Organiser) and let her know that you have satisfied your committments to be entered into the blog candy draw.

Till next time, happy stamping...

Teachers gift

Okay, you're probably thinking, why didn't she show me this last year? Well I didn't because I made an indentical card and sent it to Andrea, so didn't want her to find my blog and know that it was me.

Now we all know that at the end of the year it's nice to say thanks to your childs teacher, so I modified a box to hold some Ferrero Rochers and Nescafe lattes.

I thought that the '-a-latte' stamp from Fun and Fast Notes would make an appropriate card, the only problem being that it says "Love you-a-latte" and I am not quite that fond of the teacher. So I stamped the 'Thank' from "Thank Ewe" and 'you' from "Love you-a-latte" on some Baja Breeze cardstock and punch it out using the word window punch, then covered the 'love you' bit. I actually think it added a little more pizzazz than just using the straight stamp.



I also used the Spotlight On Christmas stamp set to make the background paper for the card and as you can see it doesn't look very Christmassy at all. I think that's another reason why I love this set. It can be used for a number of occasions.

Card: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip
DSP: Parisian Breeze (retired)
Ribbon: Baja Breeze 1" double stitched grosgrain
Punches: Large Star, Word Window, 1/2" Circle
Embellishments: Jumbo Brads 5/16"Neutrals

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for the next addition of the ESAD Blog Hop for Sale-A-Bration. If you haven't been on a blog hop before, basically you start at one blog and hop to the next and the next, until you return to the first post. On your hop you'll be treated to many ideas on how to use the FREE sets that you can earn during Sale-A-Bration.

Till next time, happy stamping...

November Gift for Andrea

Well it's nearing the end of November as I type this. Yes I am a little organised. I have found that if I write my blog as I send it, the details about the projects are all fresh.

This is the gift that I have sent to Andrea for November. It's a couple of 'magazine' holders, although they are perfect size for our cards. I whipped up a couple of quick and simple cards using Circle Circus and Think Happy Thoughts. These cards are so easy to make.

I also received an message from Andrea telling me that her arthritis was playing up, so I thought I'd tie a couple of bows for her. I suffered from some sort of illness last year, which they initially thought was rheumatoid arthritis and I will never forget the pain that I was in. I vowed that I would do anything to help someone suffering from this crippling disease. Unfortunately Andrea is on the other side of Australia, so I figured the best thing I could do was make some fiddly bows.

Now you may remember the chest of drawers that I sent to Andrea last month. Okay I really meant in October! Well it was part of this set.

I actually followed a Becky Roberts pattern. I love her projects. The tutorials are great and simple to use.

I am not going to list the ingredients for this gift as it was the same as for the chest of drawers. Please check my earlier post for more information.

Till next time, happy stamping...

A similar layout!

Good morning everyone,

I have tried to use the same layout as in the previous card, but turned it to portrait, rather than landscape. I have also predominately used colours from the Soft Subtle range. This is not something I normally do, as I tend to work from the Earth Elements or Rich Regals range. I was happy with the end result of this card. What do you think?


This card was made for my secret sister Andrea, who indicated that she loves florals. I hope she liked this one. I inked the stamp using my Stampin' Write Markers and then pulled out my chalks to colour them in. It has been so long since I have used the chalks and I really enjoyed it and love the soft effect it gives.

Card: Pale Plum, Sage Shadow, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White
Ink: Lavender Lace, Versamark
Stampin' Write Markers: Always Artichoke, Regal Rose
DSP: Sweet Always
Punches: Corner Rounder, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, Scallop Circle
Ribbon: Very Vanilla 1/4" grosgrain
Stamp Set: Echoes of Kindness

Till next time, happy stamping...

Andrea's first November card

I am really happy to say that I am setting up this post and it's actually still October 2009. Yep, I am organised. This is the first card that I am sending Andrea for November. You may remember from an earlier post that Pocket Silhouettes is another of her favourite sets.

I love the simplicity of this card. Very easy to duplicate.....



I have found that I have been going through my scrap papers a lot of recent times and have managed to pull some good pieces out to be used. That GFC is even having an influence on my card making. It's a good idea to keep your scraps in a handy box and when you have to punch something out, have a look because quite often you will find the piece you require.

Card: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Grey, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red
Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Word Window
Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

Till next time, happy stamping...

My gift to Andrea for October

Okay, here is part one of my gifts to Andrea.

Andrea indicated that her favourite SU colour was Pink Pirrouette and her favourite stamps sets were Fifth Avenue Floral and Pocket Sillhouettes.

I wanted to make something for Andrea using the things that she liked. I decided to make her this awesome little set of drawers. Unfortunately I didn't have enough Pink Pirouette cardstock and had to settle for Pretty In Pink. I then went through my DSP and found that Raspberry Tart would be a perfect match for my available equipment. I used the Build-A-Brads to make matching little drawer knobs.


In the drawers I included a pack of Clear Rhinestones Brads and the six cards pictured. Now these cards may look very similar to the cards on my previous posts and that is because I was using the same layout, stamp set or DSP and wanted to show the variety of options available.

I will list all the ingredients used together as this would become a very long post if I was to do each card and the drawers seperately.

Card: Pretty In Pink, Glossy White, Whisper White, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose, Stazon White (retired), Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black
DSP: Raspberry Tart
Punches: Eyelet Border, Scallop Edge Border, Scallop Oval, Scallop Square, Large Oval, Heart to Heart, Photo Corners
Embellishments: Pretties Kit, Build-A-Brad, White Signo Gel Pen, Sponge Daubers
Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Organic Grace (hostess set), Oval All (retired), Say it with Scallops, Best Yet(hostess set), Simply Said

Now keep an eye out as there is more to go with the drawers and that will come up soon in future posts.

Till next time, happy stamping

Sale-A-Bration sneak peak

Okay we are having a quick break from Secret Sister programming.

I recently joined a new online group called Stampin_Up_In_Oz. This group is available to anyone who loves Stampin' Up! You don't have to be a demonstrator to join. Click on this link for more information.

Anyway they have thrown out a colour challenge, which I just had to try. The colours were so unusual that I had to see what could happen. This is so not a card that I would normally make! But I do like the end result.

The stamp set I have used here is called Happy Moments and it's from the Sale-A-Bration promotion that's coming soon! The stamp sets this year are fabulous and I can't wait to show them to you!

Card: Very Vanilla, Lovely Lilac, Sage Shadow, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Lovely Lilac, Sage Shadow, Summer Sun
Embellishments: Square Metal Edge Tag
Stamp Sets: Happy Moments, Best Yet

We will return to Secret Sister programming shortly.

Till next time, happy stamping...

2nd card to Andrea

Well I recently introduced you to my Secret Sister from round 2 - October to December 2009. This is the second card that I sent her. It was really quite simple to make, which was fortunate because I was really busy when I made it.


I couldn't quite cut out the fern leaf from the Organic Grace stamp set, so I improvised by stamping one of the flowers from Simply Said in Kiwi Kiss and cutting it out and in half and positioning it behind the flower. It worked wonderfully as leaves, so again another stamp that has dual uses.

Card: Pretty In Pink
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose
DSP: Raspberry Tart
Ribbon: Pretty In Pink 1/4" grosgrain
Stamp Sets: Organic Grace (hostess set), Simply Said, Best Yet (hostess set)

Till next time, happy stamping...

I was Andrea Bucklands Secret Sister......

Okay well it is official now. I can tell you that I was Andrea Buckland's Secret Sister.

First things first, when I got given Andrea as my Secret Sister for this round, I looked her up on the internet to see if she had a blog. And she does. I was gobsmacked by all the beautiful work that she had on there and got very nervous about my abilities to make anything half as nice as her work. To check out Andrea's work click here.

This was the first card I sent to Andrea.



To explain the origin of this card, I had just purchased some glossy white paper and hadn't used it before. Leonie Schroder had given us some tips, so I decided to try out the Fifth Avenue Rose and a sponge dauber and ink. My first version I used black ink for the stamp, and made a lovely rose, but I wasn't happy with it. I really didn't know what to do with the work I had done. So I went to bed - the next morning was my wedding anniversary and I hadn't done anything for my husband. I woke the next morning and had the layout for my hubby's card in my head. Within five minutes of waking I had made this card.

Obviously it was a little to lovey dovey for Andrea, but I thought that I could make the same card but in softer pinks. Basically it was the same layout but in different colours and one was portrait and the other landscape. I love both of these cards.

Andreas card ingredients;

Card: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Glossy White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Stazon White (retired)
Punches: Eyelet Border, Large Oval, Scallop Oval (retired)
Ribbon: Pretty In Pink 1/4" grosgrain
Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue, Sweet Little Sentiments

Wedding anniversary card ingredients;

Card: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Glossy White
Ink: Basic Black
Punches: Eyelet Border, Large Oval, Scallop Oval (retired)
Ribbon: Whisper White 3/8" taffeta
Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue, Short and Sweet

Keep your eye out for more posts over the coming days and weeks as I show you more of what I sent to Andrea.

Till next time, happy stamping...

A present card, a box and a calendar!

My husband has finally decided to take the kids away for a couple of hours so I can have some me time. And the best way to spend me time, is creating. And I have had some fun!



Firstly is a box with a sweet gift inside. My girlfriend, whose birthday it is, loves Baja Breeze, so I thought that I would make her set using Baja Breeze and Basic Gray. And what DSP suits this perfectly? Urban Oasis, of course.

Still keeping with the colour scheme, I made this little desktop calendar for her. Nikki Stalker has the best video tutorial on her blog to make these. I used the Wild West Alphabet, which is currently on sale until the 24 January 2010, for $38.98.

And then finally I had to make her a card! Do you think that I'd have been able to find a card to match at the shops? Definitely not. My girlfriend is a little quirky and loves unusual things, so I thought this card would be perfect for her. I got the design from Jenn Picard during the last Ustamp session.

I am going to list all the ingredients together as they overlap a lot.

Card: Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky (retired)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Going Gray
DSP: Urban Oasis, Pink Pirrouette
Punches: Large Oval, Small Oval, Round Tab, Curly Label, Scallop Oval
Ribbon: Basic Gray taffetta
Embellishments: Flower Fusion Too, Pretties Kit, Vintage Brads, Corduray Buttons (retired), 5/16" Jumbo Brads
Tools: Crimper
Stamp Sets: Short and Sweet, Cute and Curly, Wild West Alphabet, Happy Moments,

Till next time, happy stamping...

Love Rays

Well it's getting to that time again. Valentines Day! Love, Love, Love! Let's hope it has found you already, but if it hasn't I hope it does soon!

Michelle Zindorf had made this card and I just loved it. It is using the new I {heart} Hearts stamp set that's only available in the summer mini. And the circle scissors too! Can you see where my circle's are? In my rays, of course. The tutorial calls for a circle to be cut and used to sponge along to create the rays.


Of course with any tutorial there are predetermined colours, but since we don't have the same in-colours as the USA, I decided totally change the colours. Michelle's tutorial is in oranges and black.

Card: Rose Red, Whisper White, Pacific Point
Ink: Rose Red, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Tempting Turquoise, Taken With Teal
Punch: Photo Corners
Embellishments: Earth Elements brads
Stamp Sets: I {heart} Hearts, Baroque Motifs

Till next time, happy stamping...

Welcome to 2010.....

Alright, I know I am a couple of days late, but I have had a problem with my mojo. The gremlins are home and my creative genius has been taken up trying to work out how to keep them amused. We have just had three days rain and all our friends have gone away for Christmas. Let me tell you, it's taxing after day 2. I have even encouraged the kids to go and play in the rain and the mud - but alas they are really two little princesses who couldn't bear the thought of getting dirty. I hope that the weather is nicer where you are!

Today I finally got a chance to create. I decided to make a cute little bag and some co-ordinating love notes. I got the design from Jenn Picard who is a dream team member of Ustamp. Jenn's design incorporated more girly colours and hearts, but I just didn't feel in the mood for that yet!


I used the star from the Spotlight On Christmas stamp set, which just goes to show that you just can't put them away. I implemented the rock'n'roll technique to get the colour around the edge of the star. It's a bit difficult to see but I used the Sweet Little Sentiments set on the front of these cards in Pacific Point. This is an exclusive set that you can only get by having a party with sales over $300.

Card: Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point
DSP: Good Morning Sunshine
Punches: Large Star, 1" Circle, 1 3/8" Circle, Scallop Edge
Ribbon: Pacific Point 5/8" striped grosgrain
Embellishments: Button Bouquet
Stamp Sets: Spotlight On Christmas, Sweet Little Sentiments (hostess set)

I will soon be showing you all the things that I posted to my Secret Sister in the last round, so stay tuned.

Till next time, happy stamping...