Birthday Candles – June card class

By | June 16, 2014
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Hi there

As promised here is the second card we made at this months class.  It’s another birthday card that could be used for males of any age.

The Birthday Basics designer paper is perfect for creating these candles.  I chose the party hats, numbers and balloon paper to create my candles.  I cut my paper 4.5cm x 2cm.  I found it easier to pre-roll the candle then unroll it, add the ‘wick’ to the inside on the right-hand side of the paper and re-roll it.  To join it together I just used my Snail.  You can then put the join to the back.
To add a bit to the background cardstock we paper pierced it using the Festive templates.
And here’s the perfect sentiment for the inside
I will be sad to see this set retire at the end of the month.
Supplies:
Stamp Set – Bring on the Cake
Card Stock – Bermuda Bay, Naturals White
Ink – Bermuda Bay
DSP – Birthday Basics
Other – Window Framelits, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, White Bakers Twine

Happy 50th Birthday and June card class

By | June 15, 2014
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Hi there

Yesterday my brother turned 50!! – I can’t believe he’s that old.  He is the best brother and I love him dearly even though he was a real tease when I was little.  Last night we celebrated his birthday with a lovely roast dinner at their house followed by watching a nerve racking game of rugby.  Half time consisted or yummy Lemon Meringue Pie and my Mum’s famous Latticework Pie.

My card class wanted a masculine ‘number’ birthday card this month so with Grant’s big birthday coming up I used it as my card to teach.  I find masculine cards very hard so went with a fun theme.

We used markers to colour in the image and then re-stamped and cut out the balloons.  The two smaller ones were adhered with a dimensional while the larger balloon was just stuck on top of the original image.
I wanted the inside to have a bit of a surprise so taught this ‘pop up’ insert which was one I’d learnt at my first ever Extravaganza about 5 years ago.

It’s very effective and easy to create with the help of the Word Window punch.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Tag It, Memorable Moments
Card Stock – Bermuda Bay, Basic Gray, Very Vanilla
Ink/Markers – Bermuda Bay, Basic Gray, Summer Starfruit, Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple, Baked Brown Sugar
DSP – Birthday Basics
Other – Word Window Punch, Labels Framelits, Summer Starfruit Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

Check back tomorrow for the second card we made at last months card class.

Another Tissue Box Cover

By | June 8, 2014
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Hi there

I’ve had an ‘indoors’ weekend this weekend as I have got my first winter head cold!  It has however meant I’ve had time to clean my craft space in anticipation of the new catalogue arriving.  Not too many more weeks.

This afternoon I managed some craft time as I needed to make a birthday gift for one of the ladies at work.  First off I made her a tissue box cover

then I needed to make a card so I checked out good old Google for some inspiration and came across a card by Kylie Bertucci which I CASED in full – thanks Kylie for the great layout and the measurements
No gift is complete without chocolate – so I made my favourite ‘bag in a box’ by Sam Donald

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Label Something
Card Stock – Island Indigo, Pool Party, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink – Basic Black
DSP – Sweet Sorbet (SAB 2014 – retired)
Other – Oval Framelits, Sizzlits Floral Fusion, Envelope Punch Board, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Large Pearls

Well I’m off to sort out my swaps for team training in a couple of weeks.

Catch you back soon

Birthday Balloons – May Card Class

By | June 3, 2014
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Hi there

I hope you all had a great long weekend – we were busy finishing off our rental before the tenants move in next weekend.  We managed to get the timber railing done on the deck and now we’re all set :).

It’s not long to go until we have our new catalogue – I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.  If you would like to pre-order a catalogue please email me and I can add you to my list.  I’m hoping they’ll be here beginning of next week.

I’m running rather behind on posting cards I’ve made over the last month or so.  This is the second card we made at last month’s card class.

I love these balloons and they’re so easy to make – small oval punch and the feet of the Owl from the Owl Builder punch.  This is a great card for all ages.  It’s a bit hard to see in the photo but we added a rhinestone for the flame of the candle – gotta have a bit of ‘bling’.

Supplies:
Stamp set – Sketched Birthday
Card Stock – Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petal, Summer Starfruit and Naturals White
DSP – Birthday Basics
Ink – Black StazOn, Raspberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Baked Brown Sugar
Other – Oval punch, Owl Builder punch, Bitty Banners Framelits, Circle Collection Framelits, Early Espresso Bakers Twine, Rhinestone

Retiring List is here

By | May 30, 2014
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Hi there

The retiring list of stamps and accessories is now out.  To check out what is retiring visit my website and click on the ‘Retiring List’ at the top.

If you would like the list as a pdf or excel file please email me and I’ll send it to you.  I’ll also try and put a link up here later today.

Also if you are wanting to pre-order a 2014-2015 catalogue please email me so I can get one to you as soon as I receive them.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday Phil (and me)

By | May 26, 2014
7 Comments

Hi there

Well today is “double birthday” in our house – both Phil and I share the same birthday – how cool is that!  We’ve had a lovely day and are going to be catching up with my family tonight for supper.

We have this rule that Phil is not allowed to buy me a card but has to give me a handmade one.  Normally he gets a friend of ours to make him one but this time he has made it himself – with the help of my Mum.  I think he has done really well and check out the back – proof he made it.

And now onto the card I made Phil.  I struggled a bit to get going as it’s been awhile since I did some crafting due to everything that has been happening over the last 6 weeks.  I checked out some challenge sites for inspiration and decided on the Just Add Ink colour challenge of Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green.

I’ve gone with a favourite stamp set ‘Gorgeous Grunge’ – sorry Steph for tempting you but I think you may need to buy this set!!  This is a great one for all occasions.
Here’s a close up of my Linen Thread balloons – see the tails at the bottom of the sentiment strip!

And I remembered to photograph the inside.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Gorgeous Grunge, Bring on the Cake
Card Stock – Baked Brown Sugar, Garden Green, Very Vanilla
Ink – Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green
Other – Linen Thread, Dimensionals

Just a quick update on health issues – Phil had his operation on Thursday and is doing really well.  Hopefully this one will have corrected everything and we can get on with life.  Thank you to all those who have been thinking and praying for us – it is much appreciated.

Happy Birthday Jifong

By | May 19, 2014
1 Comment

Hi there

I’m out babysitting tonight and thought I’d try and get a blog post in – much to the disgust of Bella the cat.  If I’m on the computer it means she can’t get a tickle!

Never mind on with the post.  Here is a card and gift I made last month for a member of our extended family.  I saw this card idea somewhere on the net (can’t remember where or find it now!) so whoever designed it – thanks 🙂

I also made a matching box to go with it – filled with ???  – that’s right Whittakers mini slabs.
Supplies:
Stamp Set – Four You
Card Stock – Pool Party, Naturals White, Pacific Point, Crushed Curry
DSP – Summer Smooches (retired)
Other – Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon, Linen Thread, Gold Glimmer Brad, Envelope Punch Board (to round corners)
I’ve made a few of these Clamshell boxes lately (which you’ll see in the coming posts) – they look great and are fun to make.

Have a great week.

Happy Birthday Jake

By | May 15, 2014
2 Comments

Hi there

I know – two posts in a row!  The last 5 weeks or so have been rather hectic in our house to say the least BUT hopefully things are going to get back to normal soon.  Our rental is almost ready to let and we have finally got a date for Phil’s operation – Thursday 22 May :).

Today’s card is one I made for our neighbours son who turned four on Monday.  He and his little brother are the ones I babysit on a Monday night.  Jake is rather cute and calls us Uncle Phil and Auntie Paula.  He comes up the drive to visit us – you know it’s him as there’s a LOUD banging on the door 🙂  Jake is into lego at the moment so that made it easy for the design of the card – some form of lego blocks.  I’ve made a few lego cards but wanted a different style and found this idea on the net – thanks Tina.

I raised my ‘dots’ with dimensionals – great way to use up the outer edge of your dimensional sheets.  It’s a bit hard to see in the picture but the black mat has been run through the Bigshot with the Decorative Dots embossing folder.
And of course this needed some form of box for chocolates – so I carried the lego theme across

And here’s the whole gift

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Bring on the cake
Card Stock – Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red, Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green
Ink – Pacific Point
Other – 1″ Square Punch, Circle Punch (from Itty Bitty Punch Pack), White Chalk Marker, Dimensionals, Decorative Dots Embossing Folder

Happy Birthday Dominic

By | May 14, 2014
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Hi there

Last month our friends youngest son turned 3.  He loves guitars (along with lawn mowers – last year’s card) so I thought I’d make him a card with a guitar on it.  I’d seen this card ages ago on Rachel Capps blog and had kept the instructions.  It was really easy to make and I was pleased with the finished card.

I had just enough of the music DSP left for the card front – perfect.
Supplies:
Stamp set – Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card Stock – Real Red, Basic Black
Ink – Real Red
Punches – Word Window, Modern Label, 1 3/4 Circle, 1 3/8 Circle, Small Oval, Curly Label, Horizontal Slot and Large Star (retired – thanks Julia for punching one for me)
Other – Brads (retired) and cotton thread

Don’t forget to check out the ‘Deals of the Week’ on my on-line store.

Happy Mothers Day

By | May 11, 2014
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Hi there

We’ve had a lovely day celebrating Mother’s Day.  We all went round to my bother’s place for lunch.  He’s pretty good in the kitchen and had made yummy Chicken soup and a Pea and Ham soup along with fresh home-made bread.  He’s a bit of a dab hand at making bread.  To top it off we had coffee and Banana cake.

Here is the card I made for my Mum (which I also taught at last week’s card class):

I’ve used watercolour paper for the image and we coloured in with an aqua painter.  My colour combo comes from the Colour Coach 🙂
I also made a pink version for Phil’s mum:
Supplies:
Stamp Set – Apothecary Art, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card Stock – Watercolour Paper, Pool Party, Island Indigo, Soft Sky or Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, Pink Pirouette
Ink – Pool Party, Island Indigo, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi or Blushing Bride, Perfect Plum, Pink Pirouette, Pear Pizzazz
Other – Labels Collection Framelits, Pearls

I hope all the Mums and Aunts had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Happy Birthday Dad

By | May 3, 2014
1 Comment

Hi there

I’ve finally managed some time in front of the computer to do this blog – which should have been posted two weeks ago but with all that’s happening in my little space it just hasn’t happened.

Dad celebrated his 81st birthday on Easter Sunday and this is the little gift we gave him – still haven’t figured out what his proper gift will be!!  My Dad is amazing – the amount of practical support he has given us over the last couple of months has been wonderful.  He has been helping us get our rental ready and has been down most days working – he’s like the Energizer Bunny he just keeps going and going.

This project is one of Tanya Bell’s creations.  I bought the tutorial ages ago and finally got round to making it over the Easter break just in time for Dad’s birthday.

Of course inside it had to hold chocolate 🙂
And here it is with the card – see blog post here for more details

Dad really enjoyed his little gift and had fun trying to get the chocolate out.

Will hopefully be back soon with another ‘belated’ birthday post.

Weekly Deals have been extended to 27 May 2014

By | May 2, 2014
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Hi there

The weekly deals have been extended through to the 27th May.  Each Wednesday we’ll be bringing you a new set of deals on a selection of fantastic products.  Check out my Online Store each Wednesday to see what’s on sale – remember these deals are on a ‘while stocks last’ basis so be in quick to take advantage of these great deals before they’re gone.

To visit my Online Store just click on the ‘Yellow Bear’ under the ‘Shop Here’ at the top left of my blog or visit my DBWS

Deals of the Week – 23 to 29 April

By | April 25, 2014
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Hi there

Sorry for the break in blogging – life has been rather hectic for the last couple of weeks.  Phil ended up in hospital on Sunday 13th at 3:30am requiring an emergency procedure so crafting and blogging have had to take a back seat.  On top of that we have been busy getting our rental property redecorated so we can get new tenants in.  Over the Easter/ANZAC break we (along with my Dad, brother and a family friend) have painted the inside – what a big job!  Tomorrow’s task is to sand the internal doors and hopefully get them painted this week.  New carpet is due to go down in the next week or so and then some finishing touches outside.

I have managed a few hours of crafting (to try and relax) so will hopefully get them blogged in the coming weeks.

Here are the deals for this week.

Don’t forget this is the last week to purchase any of the ‘Best of” stamp sets.

Hope to catch you back here soon.

Flower Shop ‘Thank You’

By | April 12, 2014
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Hi there

Well it’s been a full on day today starting with a 45 minute walk at 7:30am!  I know who gets up at that time on a Saturday morning.  We have been busy working in our rental property getting it redecorated so we can re-let it.  I’ve decided I don’t want to be a painter – sanding ceilings is not much fun.

I did manage to get a card made during my ‘lunch break’.  It came together very quickly which was great.

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Flower Shop, Petite Petals, Four You
Card Stock – Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Ink – Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette
DSP – Subtles Paper Stack (retired)
Other – Petite Petals Punch, Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Well I think I’ll be heading to bed soon – my body is feeling a bit weary.  Catch you back soon with another creation.

Last of the work Easter Treats

By | April 11, 2014
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Hi there

Here’s the last of the treats I’m making for work.

It uses a 6 x 6″ piece of DSP which means you can get four boxes out of one sheet of DSP.  It also uses the Envelope Punch Board like yesterdays treat.  You punch and score it at 2″ and 4″ on all sides.  The only difference is how you fold it.

This is yet another wonderful creation I’ve cased from Sam Donald’s blog

Supplies:
Stamp Set – Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card Stock – Very Vanilla, Coastal Cabana
DSP – Retro Fresh
Other – Envelope Punch Board, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso Bakers Twine