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...