Isn't this too cute?

I know you are probably surprised to see me again so soon. Honestly there is a truckload of inspiration over at Inkspirations 4U Fall session.... I can't get enough of it! If your mojo is low, I suggest you head on over there!

Anyway this little beauty was designed by Deanna Tam. I decided to go for a simpler version as Miss 3 has already laid claim to it, before it was even built. She chose the colours and I just created for her.



Card: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Certainly Celery, Lucky Limeade, Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Wisteria Wonder, Island Indigo
Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, 1/2" Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, Scallop Border Punch
Embellishments: Designer In Color Brads, Linen Thread
Tools: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder
Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Precious Butterflies (hostess set)

Till next time, happy stamping...

My favourite swap!

Well I think the title says it all! This is the swap I like the most.... out of the ones that I made! That's not to say that the others aren't any good... this is just my favourite. I am truly addicted to the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set. They have worked EVERY time I have used them. I have always been able to make something beautiful!

Today Convention actually starts and we receive our bag of goodies.... get to do some make and takes and also participate in a general session with EVERYONE else that is going to Convention! Bet you wish you were here! Well there, since I have scheduled this post. LOL!


Card: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirrouette, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
DSP: Cottage Wall
Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" Circle
Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, Cottage Garden

Till next time, happy stamping...

First swap for convention!

Well as I type this I am dreaming of travelling to Sydney for Convention. And although I am dreaming this as I type, I will actually be doing this as you read. So yep, I am on my way! Yippee!!!

This is the first card that I made to swap at convention. I really wanted to try out this half cut technique from Lynn Pratt. It was a wee tad difficult but worked okay!

I have a post set up for each day that I am away, so that you will not be lonely without me!

Card: Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, Rich Razzleberry
Ink: Kraft White, Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa
Punch: Curly Label Punch
Big Shot: Top Note Die
Stamp Sets: Echoes of Kindess, Pocket Silhouettes, Tiny Tags

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...

I'm back and taking up a challenge...

Hello my friends,

Well in case you didn't know, I have actually been away for the past fortnight. I couldn't let you down and not post, so I had all of those that appeared during the last fortnight (except the blog candy winner post) scheduled to just pop up every couple of days.

Anyway what better way to get back into my papercrafts than to take up a challenge? And we all know that I love Gretchens Inspiration In Action weekend sketch challenges. So here is this weekends.


Now I just felt the need to go all soft and gooey, so have made this card in pinks and greys. On this card I stamped the same heart as on the centre piece on a piece of Pink Pirouette cardstock and then punched it out with a medium sized heart, from the Heart to Heart punch.


And then I decided to copy some of Juliana Bibas pocket silhouette vase idea, which of course she claims that she has seen a bit of around the traps.

The saying on this card comes from the Sale-A-Bration set, Whimsical Words. I love this set as it has so many different sayings that will suit a variety of occasions.


I will list all the ingredients together, as aside from the stamps and punches, the ingredients are the same.

Card: Pink Pirouette, Basic Grey, Very Vanilla
Ink: Going Grey, Pink Pirouette
Punches: Small Oval, Boho Blossoms, Heart to Heart
Ribbon: Basic Grey Taffeta
Embellishments: Soft Subtles Brads
Stamp Sets: Pocket Silhouettes, I {heart} Hearts, Whimsical Words, Baroque Motifs

Till next time, happy stamping...

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...

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...

3D book with co-ordinating Love Notes

I know it's been nearly a week since I posted, but I have been busy with classes and secret sister stuff. Hopefully I can start to put some more posts up on here soon.

Anyway the image you can see below is one of the classes that I am running this week. This 3D book can be filled with anything. Sweets, ribbon, brads, or even the love notes that I have made. The perfect packaging for book lovers!


These sweet little love notes were 'case'd from my previous Secret Sister, Dianne Spies. I loved her work, however had to make them a little smaller to fit in the book. To see Dianne's work, click here.

I am really loving the Oval All stamp set and Scallop Oval punch that are available in the Spring Mini catalogue. I know that I'll be using them for years to come! These are only available till 30th November 2009 so I encourage you to buy them, as I am sure that you'll love them as much as I do.

Card: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirrouette, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
DSP: Bella Rose
Ribbon: Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin, Riding Hood Red Taffeta
Punches: Corner Rounder, Scallop Oval, Large Oval
Tools: Spritzer, Stampin' Write Markers

For more information on classes that I am running, please check out my events calendar.

Till next time, happy stamping...

I was spoiled by Dianne Spies

Well I have shown you a couple of things that I made for my Secret Sister in Round 1. Now it is time to see my final parcel contents.

Firstly there was this adorable bag made by Di. I was entranced by the bag, but was thrilled when I opened it to find my very own scallop edge punch. I jumped up and down with glee to receive that.


This bag was made using:

Card: Pacfici Point, Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette
Punch: Scallop Square
Ribbon: Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain
Stamp sets: Seeing Spots, Say It With Scallops

Next was this adorable card, which Dianne 'revealed' herself to me.

Card: Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke, Really Rust
Ink: Perfect Plum, Always Artichoke, Really Rust, White Stazon
Punches: Eyelet Border, Scallop Circle
Ribbon: Elegant Eggplant 1/4" Grosgrain
Embellishments: Button Latte, Linen Thread
Stamp sets: Polka Dot Background, En Francais, Fresh Cuts

Finally there was this adorable little gift bag, filled with these sweet little Love Notes. The concept for the gift bag was delightfully simple, yet stunning.

Card: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon White, Basic Grey, Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze
DSP: Urban Garden
Ribbon: Basic Grey Taffeta, Baja Breeze 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain
Stamp Set: Pocket Silhouettes

I feel that I was spoiled by my Secret Sister, Dianne. The thing I love about the Stampin Up company is that all the demo's are there to share. It's a real friendly group of people, and it certainly does feel like a family, which means that having a Secret Sister doesn't feel strange.

So you think that was enough for me. I was pretty happy with it. But Dianne also spoilt my daughters by sending them their own parcel, with a teddy inside. Now they will not go to bed without their teddy from their Secret Aunty.

Anyway I will be back soon with more from the past three months. I'd love to show you projects I am working on now but they are for my new Secret Sister, so you'll just have to wait.

Till next time, happy stamping...