Getting ready early!

I've been trying to get on to blog this week and there have been difficulties with Blogger... so I apologise if you have been wondering what has happened. I hope they have fixed it for a little while. I know that they deleted all posts that were put up from Wednesday this week... but luckily I hadn't put any up.

Anyhow onto some more interesting things. Today I am going to show you this cute Fathers Day wallet or card.... it certainly looks like a card on the front.


Yet when you open the inside you can see it's a wallet.... not I just have to go and find some gift cards that hubby might like....

This was designed by the lovely Rosa Vazquez for Inkspirations 4U summer session. I chose to use monochromatic colours as we had a colour challenge on ESAD (click here for more details) for Unconvention for those of us who couldn't make it to the real convention. I also participated in the LNS challenge to create something for Fathers Day.

Card: Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Ballet Blue, Pacific Point
Ink: Night of Navy
DSP: Blueberry Crisp
Punches: Scallop Edge Border, Large Star, Small Star (retired)
Stamp Set: Occasional Greetings

Till next time, happy stamping...

Happy Mothers Day to all!

Hi all... Just a quick one today, since I should be spending time with family...lol!

While my sisters were here with their new borns, I took the opportunity to make them their first mothers day cards. I used our Classic Ink Pads, as the ink is water based and didn't hurt their precious skin.

For the front of the card I inked up their feet and attempted to get them to put them on the paper. It was great as these babies were 10 and 13 weeks old and not very co-operative!



On the inside I inked up their little hands and made it appear like they were holding Mum's heart. As you can see by the images, they weren't liking the process much. I will clear up that I don't have a neice with six fingers and a thumb - she just double stamped.

Card: Ballet Blue (retired), Pixie Pink (retired), Whisper White
Ink: Ballet Blue (retired), Pixie Pink (retired)
Punch: Full Heart
Tools: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder
Stamp Set: Occasional Greetings

Till next time, happy stamping...

Just Because

Sometimes there are people who come into your life through the most unexpected channels, yet provide you with so much joy and excitement! Well I have to such blogging buddies, who often email me and leave lovely comments.

I thought it would be nice to make them something special to say thanks! After all isn't that what cardmaking is about? Letting people know that we are thinking of them and that they are special!

Now this is probably not the best photo angle, but the two big boxes in the centre hold family sized Kleenex tissue boxes inside! I got this wonderful tutorial from the very clever Nikki Stalker. Click on this link to go to the tutorial!


I also decided to make co-ordinating notebook as well. I actually removed the original cover and made my own. I used the spiral punch, although I had to double this up as the punch holes were a bit too far apart. I then got a very narrow strip of co-ordinating cardstock and threaded it through the spiral and attached the front cover! Let me tell you, these covers are a vast improvement on the originals, which I think were bright yellow and hot pink!

Now the butterfly and flourish in the pink tissue box are from the new Sale-A-Bration set, Bliss! And the name certainly is so well suited to this set! Remember you can only obtain this set by spending AU$100 or hosting a qualifying party, before 31st March 2010. Contact me to work out the best way to get your FREE rubber!

I'll list the ingredients together... I am sure you can work out which is which!

Card: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Pretty In Pink, Concord Crush
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Basic Gray, Rose Red, Concord Crush, Pretty In Pink
DSP: Urban Garden (retired), Lap of Luxury
Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Circle Die, Circle Scissors Plus
Ribbon: Basic Gray 3/8" Taffeta (retired), Baja Breeze Double Stitched Grosgrain (retired), Pretty In Pink 1/2" Striped Grosgrain (retired)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (non-SU), Pearls (non-SU)
Stamp Sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Just Beleive, Occasional Greetings, Bliss

Till next time, happy stamping...

My contribution to Inkspirations 4U Valetines and Birthday Extravaganza

Well I guess you've been wondering what I designed for Inkspirations 4U online classes this time round.

Well here it it, we made a super cute mini scrapbook from the fabulous Top Note Die. It had ten sweet little pages to be decorated and filled with Love!


We also had a colour challenge very early on! I don't think that you could ever go wrong with pinks and greys... I know very untechnical names.... but I wanted to include all the lines, tones and hues!



I decided to make the very cute choccy box above! It's adorable I say! I got the tutorial from Becky Roberts 12 days of Christmas and just tweaked it a little. I am sure that it doesn't look Christmassy anymore! LOL!

I'll not be putting ingredients up for these items as they are from online tutorials, but you know where to go to get.... Click on the highlighted links above!

Till next time, happy stamping...

Table Decorations.....

Hello my friends,

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas with all the special people in your life! I had a wonderful day!

Below are some little gifts that we had sitting around on our tables to nibble on.

Firstly we had some cinnamon and sugar coated almonds - talk about a cross between sweet and savioury. I had help from my two year old in making these. She added the ingredients and stirred them for me. She also helped to stamp and adhere the tags. Can you pick the one I didn't guide her with?


Then we also had some home made Ferrero Rochers.... they are almost as good as the originals... but I haven't worked out the wafer bit yet! LOL!

These looked great on the table and were a hit! These little bags are on sale with the December Frenzy... but we only have three days left, so get your order in today and be ready for next Christmas.

Also just a little reminder that you also only have three more days to get yourself in the running to win a FREE Inkspirations 4U pass.

Card: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Read Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red
Punches: Large Oval, Scallop Oval
Ribbon: 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain
Other: Small Cellophane Bags
Stamp Sets: Occasional Greetings, Short and Sweet

Till next time, happy stamping...

Last month of Secret Sister for Stampin Up In Oz

This is the last gift package I sent to my Secret Sister from Stampin_Up_In_Oz, Louisa. I finally stuck with her favourite set at the time, Vintage Vogue and colour, Rich Razzleberry. I thoroughly enjoyed making these items, as I rooly, rooly like this combination.

I also made her a little bag as seen below, which I included two pots of embossing powder. We can never have enough of that! LOL!


I filled the round container with a selection of ribbons. I thought the round containter would be difficult to make but it wasn't really. I was quite happy with the finished result.

Okay, this it is going to be easier to list ingredients together.

Card: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Orchid Opulence (retired), Old Olive
Ribbon: Rich Razzleberry polka dot (retired)
Punch: Word Window
Embellishments: Rhinestone brads
Tools: Circle Scissors, Big Shot, Scallop Circle die
Stamp Sets: Vintage Vogue, Occasional Greetings, Occasional Quotes

Till next time, happy stamping...

Secret Sister in Oz - Round 2

Well in case you weren't aware, I have been participating in another round of Secret Sister. This time it was with the Stampin_Up_In_Oz group. These are a group of ladies who love Stampin' Up!® though may not necessarily be demonstrators. It's membership is open to anyone who loves Stampin' Up!®.

This round my sister, Louisa Wilson, told me that she loves butterflies and also found green a difficult colour to work with. So I tried to incorporate these into the items I made for her.


This card is made using the Butterfly Prints stamp set, which was in a mini catalogue, but I am happy to say has been bought back in the main Idea's Book and Catalogue. The Butterfly punch is also back, which makes me super happy.

Card: Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
DSP: Cottage Wall (retired)
Embellishments: Rhinestones (non SU)
Stamp Set: Butterfly Prints, Occasional Greetings

Till next time, happy stamping...

A gift for Daddy!

Hi all. I apologise profusely for not being here. I have been extremely busy! Actually so busy that I only made one card last week. I know, one card! It's disappointing.

Anyway I thought I'd show you this cute wallet I made for my husband for Fathers Day. I got the tutorial for this from Helping Hudson. If you haven't been over there already, you need to - you can only purchase the tutorials till the end of September and they are so worth it!


This wallet was designed by Gayatri Murali. She is a very clever lady!

I did make up little credit card size cards and the kids wrote messages and drew pictures for their daddy! I am sure he'll treasure it.



I don't know if I will be in trouble if the law looks at this photo, as I am not sure if we are allowed to take photo's of 'real' money. It's only a portion anyway, so not exactly copyable.

I can't believe that this only took two stamp sets, two colours of cardstock, one ink pad and a gel pen. Not very much ingredients at all. Unfortunately some of these have now retired, which means there is lots of new product in a NEW Idea Book and Catalogue.

Card: Close to Cocoa (retired), Basic Black
Ink: Close to Cocoa (retired)
Tools: Signo Gel Pen
Stamp sets: Weathered (retired), Occasional Greetings

Till next time, happy stamping...

ESAD Christmas in July Blog Hop

I hope you’re ready for the ESAD Christmas in July Blog Hop!

What is ESAD?

ESAD stands for Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators and it is an online group just for Australian and New Zealand demonstrators for Stampin’ Up!

We so love what we do and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends, and wonderful blog visitors but we share our love for what we do with each other as Demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know how and cyberstamps and we are always there to help and support each other when its needed.

So if you are a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.

My blog may be the first stop in the blog or you could have come from the lovely Vicki's blog! Remember that a blog hop is a bit like a circle, it really has no beginning or end. You can keep going round and round.

The photo above shows the two projects I am going to be sharing with you today.

Firstly we have this cute little box, with the recessed window in the lid. I love how the Designer Series Paper that I have used, Candy Lane, is not a Christmas designed one - but it fits perfectly.

And here is the inside. You could fill it with whatever you wanted. It fits four pots of chunky glitter in it perfectly. I think some Rocky Road or White Christmas would go perfectly in there as well.

This photo is the inside of the card. It actually has a pocket which you put a satchet of cocoa or tea etc in it. It is very cute!

Here is a photo with the top folded down! I just love the Holiday Lineup stamp set. I makes the cutest cards.

And here is the front of the card. Now I wish I could say that I designed this pocket card..... but alas I didn't. This is actually a Madeline Morcelo design for the upcoming Inkspirations 4U class, which starts on 2nd August 2010. Now I am a guest designer for this and if you'd like the opportunity to win a FREE pass, check out this post!

Anyway I hope that I have inspired you today and that you've enjoyed your stop here at my blog.

Your next stop is to the fantastic Sharlene's blog.

Till next time, happy stamping...

Quick and Easy

I know I've been absent for a little while.... but..... I am so busy at the moment. I have a huge night tomorrow night, which I have been busy making items for! I'll share some of these as soon as I've had time to breathe!

Anyway in amongst all this bedlam, I have to take Miss 2 to a birthday party this afternoon. Now I know that I've had two weeks notice, but it's taken me till an hour before the party to get on with making a card.

I think I managed to put this card together in a total of about 6.5 minutes. Unfortunately I wasn't timing myself, so can't be certain.... but it was so simple and quick and aside from the card base the rest was in the scrap box.

Anyway here are the ingredients;

Card: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Summer Sun
Ink: Not Quite Navy
DSP: Ski Slope (retired)
Punches: Large Star, Small Star, Word Window
Stamp sets: Occasional Greetings and Classic Stars wheel

Till next time, happy stamping...

OSW Part 4

I am sure that you've been wondering where I am.... well.... Linda Cravens OSW created 4 pieces of Designer papers measuring 4.5cm x 14.8cm. So I thought rather than showing you 4 cards at a time, I would make up all of them and show you together.

I really like the bottom card in the chocolate chip selection. I used the Manhattan Flower embossing folder and then cut around one rose. I then sponged a bit of chocolate chip on the raised sections. I missed occasionally and got the actual petals, but it worked well.

I just received the Occasional Greetings stamp set as a gift for Stampin' Up!® for my sales during Sale-A-Bration and have used it heaps in these selections.

I think my favourite card in the Old Olive selection is the key ring one. I just punched circles in different sizes out and made rings. I then cut two of these rings to be able to link them all together. I used a metal edge tag for the part you would hold onto. I can't think of it's technical name - do you know it?

I love the star card in the Riding Hood Red selection. It's just so funky - and easy to make!

Ingredients:

Card: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon White, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip
Ribbon: 1 1/4" Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain, Riding Hood Red Taffeta
Punches: Just about all of them!
Embellishments: Metal Edge Tags, Button Bouquet, Pretties Kit
Stamp Sets: Priceless, Occasional Greetings, Life Definitions, Rustic Rooster (hostess set), Pocket Silhouettes, Illuminations, Sweet Little Sentiments, Echoes of Kindness (hostess set), Polka Dot Background, Tiny Tags

Till next time, happy stamping...

OSW - Part 3

Okay well here is Part 3 of my take on Linda Craven's OSW. These cards all started with three 4cm x 6.5cm rectangles. I found it particularly hard to make a portrait card with these cuts.



So this pink card was actually the last card that I made. It was supposed to be the one that was in the portrait pose, but somehow it ended up landscape. It was very bland so I decided to add the blinged up butterfly. These pictures don't do this card any justice at all. It is quite noice!

Now in case you weren't aware you can still get this butterfly punch! Yep, Stampin' Up!® has some excess stock available.

The card below was not what I expected, but I am happy with it. I used Andrea Lowcocks tutorial on pleating ribbon to help me with this one. I was pretty happy with how easy it was to do, once you know how. Thanks Andrea!

I just love the last card. I don't know why! I think it just came together so effortlessly. And doesn't that always makes you like a card? LOL.

So that is three sets done. Which means I have shown you 1/3 of the cards that I am to make using this OSW. Are you bored of these cards as yet? I know I'd like to see a couple of different colours for a few days. LOL. I have decided to have a break with my next post. Yep, I am going off schedule to show you something else! Keep your eyes peeled.

Card: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip

DSP: Bella Rose

Ribbon: Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain, Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain

Punches: Spiral, Butterfly, Designer Label, Scallop Edge, Scallop Oval, Large Oval

Embellishments: Pretties Kit, Chunky Glitter, Flower Fusion Too, Hodgepodge Hardware

Stamp Sets: Priceless, Best Yet, Occasional Greetings, Oval All (retired)

Till next time, happy stamping...

Fathers Day Swaps

A little while ago, I showed you a card that I made for the Fathers Day Swap that a group of ladies were participating in. I have now received my six very nice cards. I couldn't even pick a favourite. I love them all. Now I just need to find six fathers...lol..



Starting from top left and going clockwise the artists are:
Chris Parker-Barnes, Kerri Donsky, Jane Norrish, Narissa Curlis, Tanya Kitto, and last but not least Tina Devlin.

You can click on the highlighted names and go to these wonderful ladies sites to see more of their fantastic work. Unfortunately I don't have the website for the other three.

I feel that I have been very bad lately and not put any of my work up on the site. Unfortunately I have been busy going away on holidays, working, catching up on housework and doing mending and alterations. I have made some more cards, however I can't show you because they are for my Secret Sister.

Till next time, happy stamping...