Colour INKspiration – CI02

By | February 12, 2017
0 Comment

Hi there

I’m back :).  I’ve had a few ‘technical’ issues over the last couple of weeks but hopefully we’re all sorted.

Colour INKspiration is a new fortnightly challenge site which I plan to participate in.  How it works is that each fortnight they give us some colours which we need to use to create a card or 3D project.  CI02’s colours were Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky, Mint Macaron, Whisper White and Garden Green.  This is not a combo I’ve used before but once I got started I ended up creating four projects 🙂

February seems to be the month for weddings anniversaries – I know of at least 10 couples celebrating this month and one wedding!  So my first two cards are anniversary ones.

This is the card I made for my parents who will be celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary on Valentines Day.  Back then it wasn’t as commercial as it is today.  I made a mask with the Sweet & Sassy Heart Framelits and sponged the background heart in Mint Macaron then stamped the heart image from Bloomin’ Love and cut it out with the framelits – adding a few pearls to finish it off.  The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and is stamped in Garden Green.  I’ve popped it up with dimensionals for some height.

Next up is a card I made for friends who celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary last week – what a milestone that is.  Congratulations Bob & Steph.

I chose Number of Years for this card and stamped the main part in Garden Green then added the flowers in Wisteria Wonder, Soft Sky and Mint Macaron.  The sentiment is the same as the above card.  On the inside I added ’40’ cut with the Large Numbers Framelits in Wisteria Wonder.

I was so enjoying this colour combo that I decided to make another two cards – birthday this time with one of my favourite techniques – inlaid embossing.  This is such a cool technique and you get a different look depending on which embossing folder you use.

The first card uses the new Hexagons Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder from the Occasions Catalogue and the second card uses my favourite Petal Burst Embossing Folder.  The sentiment is from Window Shopping which is another new set from the Occasions Catalogue.  The circles are cut out with various sized circle punches.

Well now that the ‘technical glitches’ are sorted I’ll be back tomorrow to share some more projects.

Happy Anniversary – 15 Years

By | January 19, 2017
1 Comment

Hi there

Today is a very special day – Phil and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary :).  We are enjoying some time in the South Island at beautiful Te Anau.  Tomorrow we hope to go to Milford Sound and do the boat cruise.

Here is the card that I made for Phil.  I’ve gone with a Red and Silver theme this year.

The image and sentiment are from the Bloomin Love set.  I’ve heat embossed the heart image in Silver Embossing Powder then adhered the Real Red flowers which were ‘cut’ out using the coordinating Bloomin Hearts Thinlits dies.  The outline and image on the banner were heat embossed in clear powder after I stamped the image in Real Red.  I then stamped the words and heat embossed them in silver.  The banner is cut out with the coordinating die from Large Numbers Framelits and adhered with dimensionals.  As I was trying to decide what to use for the background I found some retired Silver Vellum – it went perfectly with my design.  Vellum is hard to adhere without showing the adhesive but with this card you can’t see where my adhesive is.  That’s because I used Glue Dots folded in half to fit under the silver embossed hearts on the vellum 🙂  I have a few other ways of adhering vellum which I’ll share with you on another post.

The sentiment used on the inside is from Suite Saying.  It actually has another word on the stamp but I only wanted the ‘Forever’.  To achieve just the one word I used my Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker and inked up just the area I wanted.

Well we are off for a drive today to Lumsden and Invercargill.  The weather today isn’t that great and we woke to some snow on the mountains :).

I’ll try and do some more posts in the next couple of days but the WiFi isn’t that great.

Beautiful You – Paper Piecing Technique

By | January 10, 2017
2 Comments

Hi there

Well I’m not sure what’s happened to summer but it’s great weather for crafting :).  I’ve been busy creating with some of the new products from the Occasions Catalogue.

My favourite stamp at the moment is the ‘Beautiful You’ set.  This outline stamp lends itself to a number of different ways to colour – ink, colouring in with the new watercolour pencils or the paper piecing technique.  I’d never done this technique before but it’s very cool and effective.

First off I stamped the image on a piece of Sweet Sugarplum Envelope Paper.  I used both sides of the paper – the patterned side for the dress and then the plain side for her hat – and then cut around the outline.

beautiful-you-paper-piecing-dancing-dress

Next up I stamped the image on the card front and then adhered the DSP cut out over the stamped image.

beautiful-you-paper-piecing-card-front-karenina

I used Pool Party ink for the ‘puddle’.

I also bagged up some Note Cards and Envelopes I’d created from my One Sheet Wonder project – a nice gift to give away.

beautiful-you-paper-piecing-card-and-gift-karenina

Check back later this week to see some watercoloured cards using this stamp set.

Yellow Bear Signature

Beautiful You

By | January 5, 2017
0 Comment

Hi there

I had hoped to post this earlier this evening but we decided last minute to go and see ‘Rouge One’ – the latest Star Wars movie – it was great.

One of my favourite stamp sets in the new Occasions Catalogue is a set called ‘Beautiful You’.  It’s an outline stamp that you can either colour with ink, watercolour pencils (another favourite new item) or even DSP.  My first sample is one that I inked for a friend who had a ‘special’ birthday just after Christmas.

beautiful-you-front-bernie

The background of the card uses the Irresistibly Yours Specialty Designer Paper which I inked up using the Sponge Brayer.  The white-on-white embossed design shows through when the paper is inked.  Once you’ve inked the paper just wipe with a tissue to remove any excess ink.

The stamped image is cut out using the Oval Stitched Framelit and then matted with the Oval Layering Framelit.

beautiful-you-inside-bernie

The sentiments in this set were perfect for the birthday girl – I’m sure she did celebrate in style.

Now as I mentioned yesterday it’s Sale-A-Bration time.  Check out below how you can earn FREE product between now and 31 March 2017.

shop!

Here’s the deal – for every $110 NZD you spend (before shipping) between 4 January 2017 and 31 March 2017 you get a FREE Sale-A-Bration product.  That means it’s the perfect time to purchase those products you’ve had your eye on while earning more products for free.  Check out my ‘Catalogues’ page to see what the Sale-A-Bration FREE products are.

host!

Need another excuse to get together with friends?  Just host a qualifying party with at least $450 NZD in sales during Sale-A-Bration and you’ll earn and extra $45 NZD in Stampin’ Rewards!

join!

It’s the best time of the year to join Stampin’ Up!  During Sale-A-Bration you can become a demonstrator for just $189 NZD and choose TWO additional stamp sets for your Starter Kit – any stamp set, any price! (Excludes project kits, bundles and Sale-A-Bration sets) plus your kit ships for FREE!  I would love to have you join and be part of my team.  If you are interested in joining Stampin’ Up! please contact me – I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll be back soon with more projects from the Occasions and Sale-A-Bration catalogues.

Please contact me if you wish to place an order.

Yellow Bear Signature

Colour INKspiration pre challenge

By | January 4, 2017
0 Comment

Hi there and Happy New Year

The weather here in Auckland hasn’t exactly been ‘summer’ weather – especially yesterday – but it was a good crafting day.  I have a number of birthday cards to make this month so a colour challenge was just what I needed to make a dent.

There’s a new challenge site on Facebook called Colour INKspiration.  The challenges don’t officially start till next week but they’re having a ‘pre-challenge’ so I thought I’d join in.  The colour combo is Bermuda Bay, Daffodil Delight and Mint Macaron.

I decided I’d use a set that hadn’t been off the shelf for awhile – Balloon Celebration.  Once I’d stamped the front I couldn’t decide which colour card base to use so re-stamped the front and created two cards!

colour-inkspiration-jan-4-bermuda-balloon colour-inkspiration-jan-4-daffodil-balloon

The background is created by applying ink (Mint Macaron) directly to a clear block – in this case an ‘E’ block then ‘stamping’ the block onto your card front.  It gives a nice texture and pattern.  The balloons are stamped in Pool Party then Bermuda Bay and Daffodil Delight then Crushed Curry.  I added a touch of Clear Wink of Stella to the balloons.  A couple of the smaller balloons are adhered with dimensionals otherwise they’re adhered directly to the card base.

Now I didn’t stop there – I was on a roll with this colour combo 🙂

Next up I tried the colours with the Baby Wipe Technique.

colour-inkspiration-jan-4-bermuda-butterfly

First off the block was Watercolour Wings.  I think this technique has worked really well with this image.  I stamped the butterfly directly onto the card base then adhered the Basic Black Butterflies Thinlit over the stamped image using the Fine-Tip Glue Pen.  The ‘splashes’ are from Timeless Textures and inked in Mint Macaron.  Have you noticed the new ‘Happy Birthday’ sentiment?  It’s from the new set Window Shopping which is available as of today from the new Occasions Catalogue – check out my ‘Catalogues’ page to see the pdf versions of the Occasions Catalogue and the Sale-A-Bration brochure.

colour-inkspiration-jan-4-daffodil-butterfly

Next up was Flower Shop.  It’s amazing how many images you can stamp from your Baby Wipe before the colours blend together too much.

colour-inkspiration-jan-4-bermuda-flowershop

For this set I decided to go with a portrait and a landscape option which allowed a bit more creativity.  The final touch – some bling – and we’re all done.  I’ve used the same sentiment – top one stamped in Bermuda Bay and bottom one in Mint Macaron.

colour-inkspiration-jan-4-daffodil-flowershop

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my creations.  Don’t forget to check out the new catalogue.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some samples from the Occasions Catalogue and to give you an update on Sale-A-Bration – the best time of the Stampin’ Up! calendar.

Yellow Bear Signature

Sweet Cupcake and Shirt Card – Double Birthdays

By | December 30, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

Friends of ours have the same birthday so here are the cards I made for them.  I made another card using the Sweet Cupcake stamp set except this time in a different colour combo.

sweet-cupcake-raewyn-birthday

I’ve gone with Flirty Flamingo, Blushing Bride and Watermelon Wonder for the ‘topping’ and the ‘base’ is Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Tip Top Taupe.  I really like the ‘bubbles’ image from Playful Background.

We all find it hard creating masculine cards – this card is my ‘go to’ when stuck.  The shirt is made out of a 4 x 6″ piece of DSP – this time I used some retired envelope paper in Watermelon Wonder.  My buttons are some retired mini brads – they work perfectly for this card.  I may have to look at other ‘button’ options as my supply of mini brads is going down.  The Metallic Enamel Dots may do the trick.

shirt-card-neil-birthday

Pick your favourite embossing folder and you’re done.  The sentiment is from the Sweet Cupcake set and fits perfectly inside the Classic Label Punch.

I hope you are all having a relaxing Christmas break – here’s hoping the weather improves and we can head to the beach.  Have a great day.

Yellow Bear Signature

Marquee Messages and Sweet Cupcakes

By | December 29, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

A friends son and daughter have both had birthdays in the last month.  Each birthday I make them a personalised card and little 3D gift box which contains chocolate.  It’s about making somebody feel special on their special day and not the size of the gift.  The kids all look forward to seeing what their card is.

The first one uses Marquee Messages – I love this stamp set.  This is a great one for guys or girls – just change the colour of the cardstock to feminine colours and away you go.

marquee-messages-theo-birthday-card

I’ve stamped the image three times on different coloured cardstock (Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Tempting Turquoise) using Memento Black then cut each  full image into the three parts.  Mix and match and you get three cards made in a jiffy.

marquee-messages-theo-birthday-card-and-box

My ‘lights’ on the arrow are done using Dazzling Details Silver Sparkle – you could also use Rhinestones or the coloured Enamel Shapes.  The ‘It’s Your’ and ‘Birthday’ sections are adhered directly onto the cardstock and then the arrow is adhered with dimensionals.

The box is made with the Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlit.  Before I put it together I stamped it in Pacific Point using the Playful Backgrounds stamp set.

The next project uses Sweet Cupcakes and Playful Backgrounds (this set hadn’t seen much ink so I thought I’d use it on a few projects).

sweet-cupcake-elise-birthday-card

The Sweet Cupcakes set is a three step stamp – I’ve gone with Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride and Melon Mambo for my topping and Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake and Tip Top Taupe for the base.  I’ve used the same ‘bubbles’ image from Playful Backgrounds stamping it in Blushing Bride.

sweet-cupcake-elise-birthday-card-and-box

I’ve also carried the ‘bubbles’ theme over to the Bakers Box gift box.  I didn’t want to tie the box up with ribbon so went with a mini clothes peg which I covered using the Pop of Pink Designer Washi Tape.  The top of the cupcake needed a bit of sparkle so I used the Clear Wink of Stella brush on the middle cupcake which is also adhered with dimensionals.  The other two are adhered directly to the card base.

Check back tomorrow for another ‘cupcake’ card using a different colour combo.

Yellow Bear Signature

Window Gift Box – December Card Class

By | December 27, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

I hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas – ours was very relaxed spending the day with family.  Yesterday we put together my gift from Santa 🙂 – new cafe style outdoor furniture.  It was so nice to eat lunch and dinner outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.  Today we caught the train into town to see the BIG cruise ship in the harbour.

Tomorrow my plan is to find my craft desk and do some creating for me.  One of the benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is that we get to preorder product from the new catalogue a month before it goes live.  That means we can have samples to show you so I’m going to be busy creating so I have some projects to show you and inspire you.

Here is the last project I taught with my card ladies.  I’ve cased this box from a fellow Aussie demo – Stamping T.  I did make a few measurement changes so that I could get the box out of one sheet of A4 rather than using a 12×12 sheet.

window-box-front window-box-side

This box could be used for all sorts of things – a candle, chocolate, hand cream – you name it.  It could also be just a plain box – without the window – if you wanted.  To create the window we traced inside of framelit (without the window bars) then used a craft knife or scissors to cut the hole.  You want to cut on the outside of the pencil line so that the hole is big enough and cardstock won’t show through.  Then adhere a piece of window sheet then place the coloured card stock window framelit on top.  My flowers are from the Jars of Love stamp set and cut out with the coordinating framelits.

This was a fun project to make and I know some of the ladies have recreated it for Christmas gifts.  I will try and make up a tutorial with my measurements over the holiday period for you (and so I don’t forget them myself!)

Here are the supplies I used for this project:

Stamp – Jar of Love; Cardstock – Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink – Emerald Envy, Mint Macaron, Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry; DSP – Presents and Pinecones DSP; Other – Hearth and Home Thinlits, Everyday Jars Framelits, Window Sheets, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Emerald Envy 3/8″ Silky Taffeta Ribbon

Have a very relaxing rest of 2016.

Yellow Bear Signature

6 x 6 One Sheet Wonder templates for Note Cards

By | December 5, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

Yesterday I posted some note cards I’d created using the One Sheet Wonder technique.  Most One Sheet Wonder templates are designed for 12 x 12″ sheets of DSP but I’ve created four templates that each use a 6 x 6″ piece and can be used to make 5 note cards.

Here are the last two styles which I’ve made as birthday cards.  I held off buying the single Stylized Birthday stamp as I wasn’t 100% sure if I liked it or not but I’m glad I bought it – it came in very handy for these cards.

Fruit Stand DSP

6x6-osw-3-card-2 6x6-osw-3-card-3 6x6-osw-3-card-4 6x6-osw-3-card-5 6x6-osw-3-card-1

The sentiments are stamped in different colours from the paper – Tangerine Tango, Watermelon Wonder, Peekaboo Peach, Daffodil Delight and Flirty Flamingo.  The mat is Cucumber Crush.

Blooms & Bliss DSP

6x6-osw-4-card-3 6x6-osw-4-card-1 6x6-osw-4-card-2 6x6-osw-4-card-4 6x6-osw-4-card-5

The inks for these sentiments are – Mint Macaron, Sweet Sugarplum, Island Indigo, Blushing Bride and Rich Razzleberry.  The mats are Island Indigo and Rich Razzleberry.

If you would like to learn how to create these and similar One Sheet Wonder cards let me know and I can run a special class.

Yellow Bear Signature

6×6 One Sheet Wonder using Notecards

By | December 4, 2016
3 Comments

Hi there

I enjoy creating cards using the One Sheet Wonder technique.  A couple of months ago I created 4 different templates that use a 6 x 6″ piece of DSP to create 5 note cards.  Here are two of the templates using Christmas papers from the current Holiday catalogue.  These templates can be used for whatever occasion you need.  Just pick some DSP and start cutting.  Change your sentiment and away you go.  Oh and if you make a mistake while cutting – you just adjust your cutting and create a new template 🙂

Presents and Pinecones DSP

6x6-osw-1-card-1 6x6-osw-1-card-2 6x6-osw-1-card-3 6x6-osw-1-card-4 6x6-osw-1-card-5

Candy Cane Lane DSP

6x6-osw-2-card-1 6x6-osw-2-card-5 6x6-osw-2-card-3

6x6-osw-2-card-4  6x6-osw-2-card-2

Check back tomorrow for another two layouts with a birthday theme.

 

Yellow Bear Signature

Mask within a Mask – November Card Class

By | November 26, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

It’s a bit scary when you realise that in a months time Christmas will be over!  Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  I have an idea of what I’m going to create for my family gifts this year but that is as far as I’ve got – I must get cracking as time is running out.  If you need ideas for Christmas gifts – or want to give your loved ones ideas for you – have you thought of a Stampin’ Up! gift voucher.  I can create a personalise voucher for whatever value you want.  Drop me an email if you would like one.

This month one of my classes wanted to create a wedding card so here’s what I came up with.

november-card-class-wedding-wishes

To get my ‘dots’ I created a square mask out of card stock and then placed it on top of the Seasonal Mask template.  Using a sponge I then applied Soft Sky ink to create a square of dots.  There are three other masks in the pack of Seasonal Masks which was great as two of my ladies were going to the same wedding and we were able to use different masks to create unique cards.  We also made one card portrait and the other landscape – some simple ways to create different cards but in the same style.

Our second card was a voucher card – always handy to have at Christmas time.  I was taught this card by a fellow demo Kristine McNickle a couple of years ago.

november-card-class-gift-card-holder-front

november-card-class-gift-card-holder-inside

And then with a voucher

november-card-class-gift-card-holder-card

Don’t forget we have the Online Extravaganza happening this week.  There are some really good specials on especially the Magnetic Platform which can only be purchased at the reduced price on Monday so let me know by  Sunday night if you would like to purchase this as I will be placing an order Monday morning.

onlineex_flash-shareable_nov2816_sp

Yellow Bear Signature

Online Extravaganza

By | November 20, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

onlineex_shareable-1_nov2116_sp

Online Extravaganza only happens once a year so be sure to make the most of it. For one week only, 21-28 November, you can save up to 40% on select products. To sweeten the deals, we will be having 24-hour sales on the first and last day of the promotion, featuring special products available for that day only. You can even get a sneak peek AND save on products that will be on the future holiday catalogue retiring list. You won’t want anyone to miss out on this great opportunity to stock up and save!

onlineex_flash-shareable_nov2116_sp

onlineex_flash-shareable_nov2816_sp

online-extravagana-product-list-sp-page-001

online-extravagana-product-list-sp-page-002

online-extravagana-product-list-sp-page-003

online-extravagana-product-list-sp-page-004

I’ll be placing an order tomorrow at midday so if you’re interested in any of these specials please contact me before midday.

 

 

Auckland Extravaganza Projects

By | November 20, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

I’ve finally managed to take photos of the projects we taught at last weekends Creative Inkers Christmas Extravaganza.  We had a fun day teaching five projects to the ladies.

Angela, Kylie and Kathryn taught this cool Corner Pop Up card

nov-extravaganza-angela-front nov-extravaganza-angela-inside

Barbz, Sarajane, Justine, Lynne and Dyan taught this Piano gift box.  The chocolate sponge cake that was inside didn’t last long.

nov-extravaganza-barbz-front nov-extravaganza-barbz-inside

Rachael, Gail and Christine taught this interactive Peek-A-Boo card

nov-extravaganza-rachael-front nov-extravaganza-rachael-inside

Heather, Sally and Michelle taught this detailed Santa Box.  Inside is a battery operated tea light.  This will look great decorating the Christmas table.

nov-extravaganza-heather

Jacque, Kath and I taught this Pop Up card.  This was a fun project to teach and I think the ladies enjoyed seeing it wasn’t as hard as it looked to make.

nov-extravaganza-paula-front  nov-extravaganza-paula-inside

Our next Extravaganza is booked for Saturday 11th March 2017 so keep this date free to come and join in the fun.

Check back later tonight for information about a special promotion starting tomorrow 🙂

Yellow Bear Signature

 

Cookie Cutter Swing Card

By | November 3, 2016
0 Comment

Hi there

Our ‘make n take’ at last month’s training was a Swing Card.  This style of card has been around for a long time but it’s the first time I’ve made it!

swing-card-moose-front

We’ve used a number of new products from the Holiday Catalogue on this card.  Have a guess and leave me a comment listing all the new products – you never know what might turn up in your letterbox 🙂

swing-card-moose-inside

Here’s a view from the inside

swing-card-moose-top

And one from the top

It was great making this card as I don’t have this stamp set or punch.

Don’t forget to check out my post from yesterday which has a number of stamp sets that are discounted this month and a new Framelit set that is being released this month (these dies will be included in the 2017/2018 Annual Catalogue).

Yellow Bear Signature

Stitched Shapes Framelits and 25% of selected stamp sets

By | November 2, 2016
0 Comment

stitchedfromtheheart-flyer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhpovAbU6qE&feature=youtu.be

shareableimage_4_spuk

145372 Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies—Set Of 12 Dies Which Includes Four Circles, Ovals, And Squares $60.00 NZD No Discount
142069 (HC P. 11) Greetings From Santa Wood-Mount Stamp Set $57.00 NZD $42.75 NZD
143269 (HC P. 11) Greetings From Santa Clear-Mount Stamp Set $40.00 NZD $30.00 NZD
142114 (HC P. 15) Hang Your Stocking Photopolymer Stamp Set $44.00 NZD $33.00 NZD
142049 (HC P. 19) Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set $73.50 NZD $55.13 NZD
142142 (HC P. 23) Merry Mice Wood-Mount Stamp Set $48.00 NZD $36.00 NZD
142145 (HC P. 23) Merry Mice Clear-Mount Stamp Set $36.00 NZD $27.00 NZD
142180 (HC P. 33) Tin Of Tags Photopolymer Stamp Set $44.00 NZD $33.00 NZD
142206 (HC P. 43) Suite Season Wood-Mount Stamp Set $59.00 NZD $44.25 NZD
142209 (HC P. 43) Suite Season Clear-Mount Stamp Set $42.00 NZD $31.50 NZD
140386 (AC P. 31) Oh, What Fun Photopolymer Stamp Set $44.00 NZD $33.00 NZD
141859 (AC P. 61) Baby Bear Photopolymer Stamp Set $55.00 NZD $41.25 NZD
141784 (AC P. 139) Blooms & Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set $44.00 NZD $33.00 NZD

AC refers to the annual catalogue; HC refers to the holiday catalogue.
Yellow Bear Signature