Eastern Palace – Part Four

By | May 18, 2017
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Hi there

I thought I’d take a break from making my swaps for team training on Saturday and bring you the fourth card in my Eastern Palace series.

The main die used on this project is another one that doesn’t fully cut out but with a few snips of your scissors can – just cut the small piece between the petals where the Lemon Lime Twist stamp finishes.  I can see I’ll have to make another card showing this :).

Another good feature of these dies is you can ‘nest’ them inside each other and run it through the Big Shot once and get all three dies cut at the one time.  I really love the lattice effect with these dies and how it lends to adding a variety of colours behind.  The Layering Circle dies are a good investment as they coordinate perfectly with the Eastern Medallion Thinlits.

This colour combo is Fresh Fig, Powder Pink and Lemon Lime Twist.

It’s a bit hard to see in the photo but the strip of Fresh Fig at the side it the new Finely Woven Ribbon – this comes in all the new In Colours.  The sentiment is from Vertical Greetings which is a great set and covers all the sentiments you need.

Well I’d better get back to making my swaps which I’ll show you next week once I’ve finished showing my Eastern Palace creations.  Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for part five.

Eastern Palace – Part Three

By | May 17, 2017
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Hi there

Here’s the third instalment in my series showcasing the new Eastern Palace Suite.  I was a bit slow off the mark getting my stamps inked but I am loving this suite.

Today’s card colour combo comes from Colour Inkspiration – it uses Dapper Denim, Pool Party and Cherry Cobbler.

This card uses three dies from the new Eastern Medallion thinlits.  To show off the lattice pattern of two of the dies I’ve added colour (Pool Party and Dapper Denim) behind the layers and then adhered each group with dimensionals.

I just had to use this sentiment as its been a favourite of mine – I will be sad to see it go come 31 May but I can assure you there are some nice new sentiments just around the corner.

It’s hard to tell from the photo but I added some Clear Wink of Stella to the images across the bottom of the card.  A few bits of ‘bling’ and my card is finished.

Check back tomorrow for part four.

Eastern Palace – Part Two

By | May 16, 2017
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Hi there

Back again with two cute cards using some more dies from the Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies.  On Saturday I attended a training day with my upline and this was our Make and Take.  I then came home and made another one using the same design.

This card uses two of the new In Colours – Tranquil Tide and Lemon Lime Twist.  My Whisper White is 8.5cm x 17cm scored at 8.5cm.  This is matted onto a piece of Tranquil Tide that measures 9cm x 9cm.  I used the big medallion die with one of the small lattice circle dies to create the front.  Once this was cut out I stamped the images from the Eastern Beauty stamp set in Tranquil Tide, Lemon Lime Twist and Pool Party.  As this set is Photopolymer I like to have a Stampin Pierce Mat under my card stock when I stamp as I find it gives a better impression.  The envelope is made with some new DSP – Fresh Florals DSP and the Envelope Punch Board.

I then decided to recreate the card but in a different colour scheme – this one used Berry Burst.  I also changed the centre of the medallion with another small lattice die from the set.  This card is slightly bigger – the Whisper White is 9cm x 18cm and the card base is 9.5cm x9.5cm.  I followed the same process as mentioned above to create this card.  The images are stamped in Berry Burst, Tranquil Tide and Pool Party.

The coloured card stock that is behind the medallion measures 8.5cm x 8.5cm.  For the first card I just adhered it straight onto the Whisper White but for the second card I adhered it with dimensionals.

The envelope used the Berry Burst paper from the same paper stack as the first card.

Check back again tomorrow night for another card in the Eastern Palace series.

Eastern Palace – Part One

By | May 15, 2017
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Hi there

Over the past couple of weeks my crafting ‘mojo’ has been off on holiday somewhere – but I’m pleased to say it returned over the weekend and I was busy making cards using the new Eastern Palace suite.  Over this coming week I hope to tempt you with this wonderful suite that will be in the new 2017-2018 Annual Catalogue.  Stampin’ Up! have a special promotion on till the 31st of May that includes two different bundles of products from the Eastern Palace Suite – check out the promotion on my website here for the Starter Bundle or the Premier Bundle

Now on with my first card.  The Eastern Palace Suite contains a stamp set, thinlits, designer series paper, vinyl stickers and mini tassels.  For this card I’ve used the stamp set and thinlits along with two of the new In Colours for 2017-2019.

These thinlits are so versatile.  There are 14 dies in the set but the combinations well and truly exceed this.  I have yet to add up all the combinations.  To make this card I cut a square out of Whisper White (I think I used the biggest Square die) then out of this cut one two sizes smaller and then out of that cut out the six pointed star (best description I could think of) and then out of that the die with the six petals.  Hope you got all of that :).  The last piece that got cut out then needs a bit of snipping to create the centre piece. Stamp the centre, layer up the different colours with the top one being adhered with dimensionals and your card front is sorted.  One of my favourite embossing folders is Petal Burst – I’ve gone with the indented side face up.

I’ve also used some Tranquil Tide ribbon – it’s lovely and soft.  I really like the combination of Tranquil Tide and Lemon Lime Twist – I’m sure these colours are going to be winners come 1 June.

If you’d like to recreate this card make sure you’re signed up to my receive my monthly newsletter to receive the instructions.

Check back tomorrow for another card using Eastern Palace products.

Happy Mother’s Day

By | May 14, 2017
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Hi there

Today is Mother’s Day in New Zealand.  Happy Mother’s Day to all the ladies that play a ‘mothering’ role to children.  This past year I’ve become a ‘Great Aunt’ and am looking forward to playing a part in his life – he’s so cute and I had plenty of cuddles with him last weekend while they were over from Australia.

In preparation for Mother’s Day I taught these cards at last months card class – both use the lovely Falling in Love Designer Series Paper.  The first card is for my Mum and the second one for Phil’s Mum.

Even though I’m not a pink girl I love the colour combo of this card – Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand and Very Vanilla.  The Lace Doilies from the Occasions Catalogue are great – one side is white and the other is vanilla.  This card is another take on a ‘Z’ fold card.

The stamp sets used for this card are Crazy about You for the sentiment and Touches of Texture for the inside – both stamped in Sahara Sand.  The sentiment is stamped onto a piece of Very Vanilla then cut out with one of the shapes from the Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits.  I then cut the same shape again from a piece of Blushing Bride which I then cut in half and adhered top and bottom.  This was then adhered with a dimensional.

The second card is another variation on a ‘Z’ fold which I CASED from Patty Bennett a US demonstrator.

I’ve used the same DSP as the first card but gone with the blue tones of Soft Sky.

I’ve used the same stamp sets but just a different image for the inside.  The stem and outline were stamped in Memento Black and the overlay is Soft Sky.  This is a quick card to make but looks very effective.  The squares that the doilies are adhered to are cut with the Layering Square Framelits.

Thank you Mum for being such an amazing role model.  You have taught us how to love unconditional, care and respect others.  These qualities are now being passed onto the next generation.  Thank you for being my Mum xx.

Pillow Gifts – Family Weekend Away

By | May 9, 2017
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Hi there

This past weekend we have had the final 80th birthday celebration for my Mum (her birthday started back in March).  We all went down to Rotorua for a family weekend.  It was so much fun being together – my sister and her family were over from Australia.

I decided it would be nice to make little ‘pillow’ gifts for everyone so I enlisted the help of my niece and this is what we made.

Everyone received a covered notebook and pen, a tissue box and a packet of mini Tic Tacs.

The notebooks are the standard ones kids use at school cut in half and covered.  We used the soon to be retiring Moroccan DSP to cover the notebook and then added the sentiment ‘A Special Note’ which comes from the Floral Phrases stamp set.  The actual stamp has some other words but we just inked up the first three words – markers are great for this.  I found some retired Candy Dots and matched those to the colours in the paper.  The sentiment was punched out using the Classic Label punch then we punched a background piece in Delightful Dijon, cut it in half and added it to the ends.

The tissue box uses the pocket tissues – great for your bag.  I love the bright colours of the Festive Birthday DSP – the guys got the design on the left and girls the one on the right.  I went through my ribbon stash and managed to find coordinating ribbon – a great way to use up retiring ribbons.  The little Tic Tac boxes also use the Festive Birthday DSP.

One of the activities we did while in Rotorua was the Rotorua Canopy Tour.  I’m not one for heights so wasn’t that keen to do this but when your parents (aged 80 and 84) say they’re keen what’s a girl meant to do.  Once I got over the fear of stepping off perfectly good steps and leaping into ‘nothingness’ it was heaps of fun.  Here’s a photo to prove I did do it – this was 15m off the ground.

Have a great week everyone.

Colour Inkspiration – CI07

By | April 30, 2017
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Hi there

I’ve had a great afternoon crafting.  Phil has been out all day and I’ve had the house to myself – which means the dining room and kitchen bench have become a crafting space :).  I’ve prepped over 50 cards for a friend of mine, made two wedding anniversary cards and one graduation card and finished the prep for my card class for May.  It’s ages since I had an afternoon like that and it feels good.

Today’s card is one I made for the Colour Inkspiration challenge.  The colour combo was Tip Top Taupe, Mint Macaron, Blushing Bride and Daffodil Delight.

My image is from Awesomely Artistic and is stamped in Memento Black.  I forget about using my markers for colouring so out they came for this project.

Did you notice something ‘new’ on this project?  Yes you say and you’d be right.  Here’s a sneak peak at a new die that will be available come 1 June with the release of the new annual catalogue.  I’ve ‘cut’ it out using Tip Top Taupe card stock.  It was adhered with a new product which will make life so much easier when using these types of dies.

Well I’d better sign off and return the dining room and kitchen bench back to how they were this morning before Phil gets home 🙂

Have a great week everyone.

Fancy Fold Tri-fold Birthday Card

By | April 29, 2017
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Hi there

Last week a friend had a very special birthday.  She received lots of birthday cards to mark this special day.  Unfortunately my card is taking a tiki tour to her letterbox – hopefully it will turn up soon.  So Shannon here is what your card looks like 🙂

My card is based on a creation by Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek.  I did a few modifications to her design to fit what I wanted.

A number of the products on this card are from the current Occasions Catalogue.  The strips of DSP are from the Falling In Love DSP pack, the ribbon used to close the pop out is Very Vanilla 1/4″ Satin ribbon and the flower is from Special Reason stamp set – I will be sad to see that set go.

The sentiments are from Vertical Greetings and Butterfly Basics.  The colours are all from the Falling in Love paper – Blushing Bride, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla and Sahara Sand.  I dry embossed the card front with the Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder.

Well I hope my card makes it to its final destination soon.

My Special Super Hero

By | April 20, 2017
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Hi there

Following yesterday’s post here is my second Everyday Hero card I created over the weekend.  This card is for an extra special super hero – my Dad :).  Today is his 84th birthday and he still remains my hero.  Hope you’ve had a great day Dad – looking forward to dessert tomorrow night with the family.

Now on with the card:

The measurements and colours used for this card are on yesterday’s post.  I changed the positioning of the pieces for this card so that the sentiments point towards my super hero.  This is a really cool stamp set and I’m sorry I haven’t used it more.

Everyday Hero for a 6 Year Old

By | April 19, 2017
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Hi there

On Saturday a friends youngest son turned 6.  I don’t have many ‘kids’ stamps but when I saw the Everyday Hero in the Occasions Catalogue I knew that would be a good one for kids of all ages.

This card is a combination of the layout in the catalogue and one I saw online by Mikaela Titheridge.

I love the bright colours of Real Red, Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight and when they’re teamed with Basic Black they really stand out.  To create this card I stamped Daffodil Delight onto Daffodil Delight cardstock measuring 6cm x 5cm, Memento Black stamped onto Sahara Sand cardstock measuring 9.5cm x 3.7cm – the ‘windows’ are coloured in using the Daffodil Delight Marker, Memento Black stamped onto Soft Sky cardstock measuring 6.7cm x 4.7cm and the ‘WOW’ is coloured in using the Pacific Point Marker.

My Super Hero was stamped in Memento Black on a scrap of Shimmery White and coloured in using Real Red, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight and Chocolate Chip Markers and then ‘fussy cut’ out.

The Basic Black base is 10cm x 14.3cm.

I used the retiring Bakers Box for my chocolate holder and then stamped the ‘city’ image onto a strip of Whisper White and coloured the buildings in with various shades of Markers from the Neutral set.  I added a bit of colour on the ‘sign’ carrying over the Real Red, Pacific Point and Daffodil Delight.

When I went to drop the gift off they were out so I left it by the front door.  His mother messaged me later to say that when they got home and he found the card he exclaimed “Yay! The card lady’s been here!!” – how cute is that.  I love creating cards and gifts and a response like this makes it so worthwhile 🙂

Check back tomorrow for another card using this set for somebody very special who is just a little bit older than 6!

Retiring Products list is here

By | April 11, 2017
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Hi there

The Retiring List of stamps and products has been released.  Check out the “Retired Products” tab to download the list.  All items are on a “while stocks last” which sometimes isn’t that long so if there is something you really want then don’t hesitate in purchasing it.  Some items sell out really fast and once they’re gone – they’re gone for good.

There are two ways to place an order – online via my website or by emailing/calling me with your order.

Don’t be sad that items are retiring as there are a whole lot of new items coming our way as of 1 June.

I hope to send out the new catalogues towards the end of May.  Let me know if you would like a copy sent to you.

Birthday Blast

By | April 7, 2017
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Hi there

I’m not enjoying the change over from Summer to Winter.  After getting over my sore throat my body decided it would be good to have a dose of sinus added into the mix!  Thankfully I’m now feeling better and able to breathe.

Back in November I received this beautiful card from Stampin’ Up! for being in the Top 5 for recruiting in New Zealand – it was a big surprise and a wonderful honour.

Inside the box is a little charm – which I will show you soon – which was accompanied by a handwritten card from Shelli and Sara.

I loved the design of this card  so I created some birthday cards using the design as a base and a few touches of my own.

First up we have Peekaboo Peach

Sweet Sugarplum

Flirty Flamingo

and finally Watermelon Wonder.

I’ve used the Envelop Paper for the DSP mat behind the stamped sentiment.  Envelope paper is great to use on your projects (not just for making envelopes) as one side is patterned and the other side is plain.  Both stamped images are from the Birthday Blast stamp set.  The background image is stamped in the coordinating colour of the card stock and the sentiment is stamped in Memento Black.  When I cut the lengths of Silver Sequin trim some of the sequins fell off so I adhered them to the card as my ‘bling’.

I have a very exciting weekend ahead – tomorrow I will be catching up with my fellow demonstrators from around New Zealand (and some Aussie ones too) for our OnStage Local event.  This is a highlight for any demonstrator as we get a sneak peak at new products that will be coming out come 1 June 2017 in the new catalogue.

Have a great weekend.

 

Floral Thinlits – Inlaid Colour

By | April 2, 2017
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Hi there

Sorry that it’s been a bit quiet here – I ended up coming down with a sore throat that developed into a throat infection and I haven’t been feeling like getting out the computer.  Thankfully now the antibiotics have kicked in and I’m feeling heaps better 🙂

This card was made for a friend back in December and then I forgot to blog it

This card does require a bit of patience – it took some time to place all the pieces in the correct hole but the finished card is well worth the time.  To create this card I used three colours – Whisper White, Blushing Bride and Pool Party.  You cut the same design out three times using the Detailed Floral Thinlits Dies.  Discard the the Whisper White cut outs but keep the Blushing Bride and Pool Party cut outs.  Adhere the Whisper White card front to the Pool Party base then create your ‘jigsaw’ with the cut outs.  Some of the pieces are very similar so you have to have make sure you place it in the right space.

To give a bit of dimension for this card I added some ‘bling’ in the form of Rhinestones.

The sentiment is from Butterfly Basics.

Well – I’m going to head to bed and read my book.  An early night for me to make sure I get rid of this sore throat.

Beautiful You – Emboss Resist

By | March 29, 2017
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Hi there

As mentioned in my last post I did a bit of a clean up of my computer and found photos of projects that I hadn’t shared with you!  Today’s card was made at the beginning of the year for a very special lady – our very own Stampin’ Up! Country Manager.  Emma works so hard for us – encouraging us, providing training, running events for demos and community groups where we as Stampin’ Up! demos can make a difference –  we all love her.  Thank you Emma for all that you do.

Now onto the card – the background paper for this card is the Irresistibly Floral Specialty DSP.  It comes in six different designs  and when you add colour the design stays in white.  This creates the Emboss Resist technique.  You can do this manually yourself by stamping your image in VersaMark then adding Clear Embossing Power.  Once you’ve heated the embossing powder add your colour and you’ll be left with your design in white.  It’s such a fun technque to use.  With this paper the design is already done for you – all you have to do is add the colour.

I’ve gone with Real Red for this card and toned it with Basic Black – it just gives it a nice finish.

The image and sentiment are stamped in Memento Black ink then the ‘dress’ is stamped in Real Red.  I love how the Stitched Framelits nest nicely inside the Layering Ovals Framelits – two of my most used framelit sets.

Check back tomorrow for another project I found in my clean-up.

Swirly Bird – Ship Ahoy

By | March 27, 2017
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Hi there

I did a bit of a clean up of my computer files over the weekend and found a few cards that I hadn’t shown you.  First up is a birthday card I made for a friend back in December last year!  This friend is in the Navy and so the Swirly Bird Bundle just had to come out.  I’ve CASEd this card from Sue Vine – an Aussie demo.  When I saw it I knew I had to make it.

The colour combo is Pacific Point, Calypso Coral and Whisper White.  The ‘waves’ are die cut with the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits die and adhered using the Fine Tip Glue Pen.  This glue is great for the finer dies.  Before sticking the waves down I stamped the ‘hull’ in Calypso Coral then fussy cut it out and adhered it behind the waves.  For the sail I inked the first stamp in Pacific Point then stamped it off before stamping onto the card front.  The second stamp is inked in Pacific Point but stamped in full strength.

To create my ‘lifesaver’ I cut a couple of circles from Thick Whisper White and glued them together.

I wrapped a length of Calypso Coral Thick Bakers Twine around then added a shorter piece that I’d made a loop in.  I adhered this loop to the circle with a glue dot.  The final step was to add another length of twine through the loops.  As I’d used thick bakers twine a added a couple of layers of dimensionals to the ‘lifesaver’ and then adhered that to the card base.

I decided that the sentiment would go better on the inside as there was already enough happening on the front.  The boat is stamped in the same order as the front.  The sentiment is from Cottage Greetings – one of my favourite sets for words.

Check back soon to see another card I found 🙂