Bon Voyage Hanna

By | April 14, 2015
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Hi there

My almost 19 year old niece left today for her OE to Europe and the UK :(.  She and a friend from school are heading to London first to begin their OE and see the other side of the world.  We will miss her heaps but with Skype, Facebook and email she won’t seem so far away.

We had a family lunch on Sunday and this is the card I made for her.

Punch art is great when you don’t have a stamp for a particular occasion.
Supplies:
Card Stock – Basic Grey, Basic Black, Island Indigo, Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
Punches – Word Window, 1 3/8″ Circle, 1/4″ Circle, Small Oval, Owl Builder Punch
Other – Timeless Type Alphabet Die (retired), Basic Black Brad (retired)

Hanna – have a wonderful time and enjoy every minute of it.  We love you heaps 🙂

Happy 21st Birthday (times two)

By | April 12, 2015
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Hi there

It’s a while since I’ve been to a 21st birthday party – but last night we attended one for our friends twin sons.  They had a theme of American Gangster so Phil and I hired costumes – what do you think?  Love Phil’s shoes.

Now we all know how hard it is to make masculine cards but these two were easy – one is a builders apprentice and the other is studying graphics at Uni.  Two stamps set sprung to mind immediately – Totally Tools (retired) and Work of Art.  So here are my creations:

Supplies:
Stamp – Totally Tools (retired), Hardwood, Four You
Card Stock – Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Ink – Momento Black, Crumb Cake
Other – Black Embossing Powder, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Watercolour Pencils, Mini Brads, Timeless Type Alphabet (retired)

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Work of Art, Four You
Card Stock – Whisper White, Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Basic Black, Crumb Cake
Ink – Tangelo Twist, Mossy Meadow, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Momento Black
Other – Owl Punch, Word Window Punch, Oval Framelits, 1/2″ Circle Punch, Woodgrain Embossing Folder, Timeless Type Alphabet (retired)
Leave me a comment – would love to hear what you think of these cards (and our costume).

Work Birthday Gifts

By | April 11, 2015
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Hi there

Thought I’d get a quick post in before getting ready for an ‘American Gangster’ themed 21st birthday party tonight.  Phil and I have hired our costumes for the evening so you never know there may be some photos to come.

Part one of today’s post should have been blogged last year as these are the birthday gifts I made for work to give the staff – better late than never!

I also made these for my previous company and they go down really well with staff.  It’s just a topless pad (from a stationery shop) which I have covered with some card stock and then decorated.  Here I’ve used the Polka Dot Parade DSP pack – nice bright colours.  I also did them up in Marina Mist, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Daffodil Delight.  As we have an office in the US I was able to get the Pentel RSVP pens again which have a barrel which allows you to add a piece of the DSP.  You can also find similar types of pens at some of the stationery shops here in NZ.
Now on with this year’s gifts.  I like to alternate between some form of stationery item and food so this year the gift is based around food – ‘morning tea is on us’.
I’ve made everyone a little mini treat bag which contains a hot chocolate sachet, a flavoured coffee sachet and a tea bag.  Once a month everybody who has a birthday in that month receives a treat bag and a muffin 🙂

Here’s a close up of the treat bag
It’s a great way to use up retired DSP and all my scraps.
Supplies:
Stamp – Big Day (Sale-A-Bration 2015)
Card Stock – variety of ‘Brights’ colours, Confetti White (retired)
Ink – Momento Ink and Blendabilities
Other – Mini Treat Bag Framelit, Itty Bitty Accents Star Punch
Well I better get a move on and get my ‘party’ clothes on – catch you back here soon

Creative Inkers – Extravaganza Projects – March 2015

By | April 7, 2015
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Hi there

As promised here are the other four projects that the ladies made at our event.

The centre piece of this card uses the Project Life Grid Cards from page 188 of the AC.  The decoration on the top of the box was made using the Bow Builder Punch – doesn’t it look great.
Love this Diorama Card – check out the inside.

The next two cards use the Butterfly Basics set – two very different looks – Emboss Resist and a Watercolour Technique using an Aqua Painter

Our next Extravaganza is being held on Saturday 25th July from 12:30pm so keep this date free – more details nearer the time.

Creative Inkers March Extravaganza

By | April 6, 2015
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Hi there

Last weekend we had our Creative Inkers Extravaganza.  It was a great afternoon with over 100 ladies creating five projects during the afternoon.  Jacque, Kath and I taught a set of four notecards using the Sheltering Tree set from the Occasions Catalogue (I do hope this carries over into the new Annual Catalogue due out in June).

Our Note Cards and Envelopes (page 194 of the AC) are great for creating quick cards.  You get 20 note cards and envelopes for NZ$11.95 and the card bases come already scored.  They are available in Whisper White or Crumb Cake.

Each card depicts a season – here we have Spring and Summer

and then Autumn and Winter

Here’s the finished gift – bundled up with Thick Baker’s Twine and a tag ready to give away.

Supplies:
Stamp – Sheltering Tree
Card Stock – Baked Brown Sugar, Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky
Ink – Soft Suede, Strawberry Slush, Wild Wasabi, Pistachio Pudding, Bermuda Bay, Basic Gray, Crushed Curry, Cherry Cobbler, Baked Brown Sugar, Soft Sky
Other – Note Cards and Envelopes, Baked Brown Sugar Thick Baker’s Twine, 1 3/4″ Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Hearts Border Punch

I’ll be back tomorrow night to show you the rest of the projects.

Bundle and Save Promotion

By | April 1, 2015
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Hi there

It’s the beginning of a new month and already we have a great promotion from Stampin’ Up!

For a limited time (1 – 17 April) save 15% on selected bundles – see flyer below.

Butterfly Basics and Your Perfect Day – Card Class for March

By | March 31, 2015
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Hi there

My card class ladies had two special requests for card designs this month – an Easter card and a wedding card.  I don’t have any ‘Easter’ stamps so I went with the flower image from my newly purchased Butterfly Basics set and teamed it up with the words from Crazy about You.  This set has really been my ‘go to’ sentiment set these last couple of months.

The image is stamped on watercolour paper then coloured in using an aqua painter (or blender pen if you prefer).  My trick with using an aqua painter is to put a bit of foam in the barrel – I’ve found this helps the even flow of water to the tip of the brush and you don’t get a puddle on your paper.

I do hope we get the Irresistibly Yours paper (or similar) in our next catalogue – I love it.

Supplies:
Stamp – Butterfly Basics, Crazy about You
Card Stock – Elegant Eggplant, Garden Green, Naturals White, Watercolour Paper
Ink – Elegant Eggplant, Wisteria Wonder, Garden Green, Pear Pizzazz, Momento Ink
Other – Basic Gray Bakers Twine, Artisan Punch

Now I also didn’t own a wedding set but as my nephew is getting married soon I thought I’d better get one.  After much debate (with myself!) I went with Your Perfect Day.

This is another CASED card – why recreate when somebody else has done a great job!  I saw this card on Pinterest and kept coming back to it – it just caught my eye.  Thank you Sabine for sharing this with us.
Supplies:
Stamp – Your Perfect Day
Card Stock – Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler
Ink – Sahara Sand, Early Espresso
DSP – Something Borrowed
Other – Circle Framelits, 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Accents Heart Punch, Linen Thread
Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Sheltering Tree and Big Day – cards from February card class

By | March 30, 2015
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Hi there

I got a bit busy last week preparing for our Creative Inkers Extravaganza.  I left a few too many things to do in the last week which meant no blogging time!  Before I can show you the project I taught I need to do a catch up on what I’ve taught at my last two card classes.

Here’s what we did at our February class.  The first card uses the set Sheltering Tree from the Occasions Catalogue and the second card uses Big Day from the Sale-A-Bration brochure.

I found this card design on Debbie Henderson’s blog and fell in love with it.

It’s not just a pretty card – it’s a card with a perforated bookmark attached.  I’d purchased the perforating blade when it came out but had never used it.  I think this is such a cool card and I can’t wait to trail some other designs.  I did change the inside image to the one Debbie had used otherwise I kept the colours and general layout of the images.

Supplies:
Stamp – Sheltering Tree, Crazy about You
Card Stock – Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink – Old Olive, Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Early Espresso, Momento Black
Other – Perforating Blade, Early Espresso Bakers Twine

I also CASED the second card from a fellow team member Kathe but made a few tweaks to use the new ColorBox Chalk ink from the Occasions Catalogue.

To get the ‘legs’ of my blackboard I used the Square Framelits so that they were even and cut through both layers at the same time.
Supplies:
Stamp – Big Day, Hardwood
Card Stock – Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette, Naturals White, Chalkboard Paper
Ink – Rose Coral Chalk Ink, Crumb Cake, Black Momento Ink
DSP – Lullaby
Other – Banner Punch, Square Framelits, Early Espresso Baker Twine

Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum Stack – Happy Birthday Mum

By | March 22, 2015
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Hi there

I hope you’ve all had a great weekend – I’m sure the Black Caps have 🙂

It was my Mum’s birthday on Friday and today we had a family lunch to celebrate her special day.  I’ve used the new Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum Stack which is one of the additional Sale-A-Bration items that have been added.  There are 12 different designs and you get two of each.  Each sheet measures 15.2cm x 15.2cm so great for cards.

I’ve kept this pretty simple with just two colours – Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz.  I’ve used my markers and coloured in the image from the back.  Leave it a few minutes before adhering to your card stock to allow the ink to dry so it won’t smudge on the card stock.  Fast Fuse works the best it adhere Vellum to card stock as it doesn’t show through.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Crazy About You, Butterfly Basics
Card Stock – Island Indigo, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White
Ink/Markers – Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Pear Pizzazz
Other – Sheer Perfection Designer Vellum Stack, Designer Label Punch, Bitty Butterfly Punch, Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon (Retired)

Have a great week.

We Stamp for Lara – Colour Spot Challenge

By | March 20, 2015
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Hi there

Wow – two posts in two days 🙂

One of our Aussie demo’s has been fundraising to get a new (to them) car as her daughter is in a wheelchair and they needed to upgrade their current vehicle.  She and a group of other demo’s have put together 31 tutorials – one per day of March – click here to find out more.  It’s not too late to join up.

Along with daily tutorials there have been challenges – layout, colour and using your least used inks and stamps.  Well today’s card is for the later – my least used colours are Blushing Bride and Always Artichoke and a stamp set that hasn’t seen ink in a long time is Mosaic Madness.  Here is the combination of all three.

I’ve teamed it up with the co-ordinating embossing folder – Modern Mosaic.  I was really pleased with this combination and may just have to use it again.  I think it looks really good on the Very Vanilla which doesn’t get as much air time as Whisper White.
To finish off my card I used a scrap of Blushing Bride Satin Ribbon I found in my ribbon box – these little pieces come in handy.
Have a good weekend.

We Stamp For Lara – Colour Challenge

By | March 19, 2015
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Hi there

Yes – I am still alive – life has been rather full on the last couple of weeks with workshops, card classes and relocating our office to a new building.  I have managed to squeeze in some crafting time for myself but just haven’t got round to blogging my creations.  So here are two cards I made recently for a colour challenge.

We were given the following colours to work with – Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party and Basic Gray.

For this card I decided to use a stamp set that hasn’t seen ink for a while – Geometrical.  This was such a quick card to create – especially with the ‘Hello You’ thinlits.  The ‘thanks’ die is easily adjusted to ‘thank’ and goes perfectly with the ‘you’.

This is another versatile set – Kinda Eclectic – and works well with the ‘hello’.  To give the card some depth I restamped the sun image then punched out the centre with the 1″ punch and adhered it with a dimensional.
I will try my best to post more regularly as I have heaps of projects to show you.
Don’t forget Sale-A-Bration finishes on the 31st March so if you want to receive FREE product with an order over $110 (NZ) just send me an email.

Valentines or Wedding Anniversary

By | February 23, 2015
5 Comments

Hi there

Sorry for no posts over the weekend but I was at our Creative Inkers Team Stamp Camp in Rotorua – we had such an amazing time away.  Phil came down with me this year – and no he didn’t do any paper crafting instead he went off to do some photography.  He only appeared when food was being served!  He’s already waiting for next years date so he can plan his days.

On Valentines Day my parents celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary.  Congratulations Mum and Dad – you two are a real inspiration to us all with the love you have for each other.

Each year I make Dad a card to give to Mum and here’s his one for this year.

And here’s a view from the top.  I also made him this little box filled with chocolates to give her 🙂
Dad was really pleased with this and so was Mum 🙂
Supplies:
Stamp Set – Memorable Moments
Card Stock – Real Red, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Pistachio Pudding, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
DSP – Stack with Love
Ink – Real Red
Other – Owl Punch, Bird Builder Punch, 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, Heart Punch, Organza Ribbon, Googly Eyes (Non SU)

Crazy for You

By | February 18, 2015
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Hi there

I think I’ve found ‘another’ favourite stamp set or two in the new Occasions Catalogue!  Crazy for You is so versatile – it has 3 images and 30 words to mix and match with the Hello You Thinlits Die.

Here are three cards I’ve made recently using this set and die.  The first one is one I taught at a recent workshop and was inspired by a card I saw from Dawn Olchefske

Here’s another card in the same layout but with the other ‘flower’ stamp and different words.

I had a scrap of the Irresistibly Yours DSP on my desk so I sponged it but then couldn’t work out what to do with it!  After playing with different designs this is what I finally settled on – clean and simple.  The Thinlits word is actually ‘Thanks’ but you can easily remove the ‘S’ and get two words for one 🙂

I am really loving this new thinlits die and how easy it is to coordinate with the words from Crazy for You – the possibilities are endless.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Crazy for You
DSP – Irresistibly Yours
Other – Hello You Thinlits Die

Card One
Card Stock – Strawberry Slush, Whisper White
Ink – Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizzazz, Elegant Eggplant
Card Two
Card Stock – Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Ink – Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, Elegant Eggplant
Card Three
Card Stock – Calypso Coral, Whisper White
Ink – Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Pool Party

Happy Heart – Happy Wedding Anniversary

By | February 16, 2015
1 Comment

Hi there

I can’t believe it’s almost two weeks since I last did a blog post!  I haven’t been sitting around doing nothing – it’s just I haven’t had enough time to post my creations.  I’ve been busy at work too as we are about to move office in two weeks and we have accumulated a lot more stuff than when we moved in 18 months ago!

Anyway on with the project – at the beginning of the month our bridesmaid and her husband celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary 🙂  Here is the card I made for them:

I played around with a couple of configurations with the nine hearts and finally settled on the above.  The heart is from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and fits perfectly inside the embossed heart from the new Happy Heart Embossing Folder.

I punched another two hearts and adhered them at the top to balance the row of hearts at the bottom.  The new Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die comes with so many accessories including this cute row of hearts which are cut from the Whisper White card insert.  I have then adhered a piece of the Glimmer Paper behind so that the colour shows through.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Memorable Moments
Card Stock – Real Red, Red Glimmer Paper, Whisper White, Brushed Silver
Ink – Real Red
Other – Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Die, Happy Heart Embossing Folder

Altered Notebooks

By | February 3, 2015
1 Comment

Hi there

I love making altered notebooks and pads as gifts.  Here are some I made for my card class ladies.  I had hoped to give them to them for Christmas but I ran out of time to make them so they got them at last months class instead – I nice way to start the year 🙂

I love these Pentel RSVP pens – they are so nice to write with and with a bit of matching DSP in the barrel they look really good with the notebooks.

For the bottom set of notebooks I used some Glimmer Brads and just cut of the split pin part and adhered them with a couple of glue dots

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Embellished Events
Card Stock – Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Primrose Petal, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit (retired)
DSP – Midnight Muse, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple (retired)
Ink – Gumball Green (retired)
Other – Glimmer Brads, Pearls, Blendabilities, Glue Dots, Sequins