Season of Joy

That's the name of the stamp set that these images come from, and while it might seem a little early to be thinking of Christmas, the truth is it's only four months away (*yikes*).

It's always a good idea to get a head start if you're planning on making your own Christmas cards - what seemed like a simple enough task early in the year suddenly becomes a last minute nightmare (well, it does if you're somewhat disorganised like myself *g*). So if you were thinking about making your cards this year, now would be a perfect time to start planning your design. If you would like to purchase this stamp set or any of the other lovely Christmas sets in the Idea Book & Catalogue or Summer Mini Catalogue, please contact me today to place your order!

I love a red & green Christmas card as much as anyone, but I rarely make them in that colour combination - perhaps it's because that's what people "expect" and I'd rather not do what people expect me to do *g*. So with that in mind, I played around with a blue theme for this one - I like it.

I've torn the right hand side of the front so that the wheeled inside edge shows through - this is So Swirly, one of my favourite wheels which happens to match this set perfectly!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Season of Joy
Ink: Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel & Handle, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Stampin' Dimensionals

And just to compare, here's a very "non traditional" version of this layout - just for fun!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Season of Joy
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel & Handle, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Stampin' Dimensionals

The card revealed

It has been pointed out to me that I have been forgetting my promise to upload the Plums/Vanilla/Chocolate card I made the other week, so here is the entire thing at last!

I like how it came out. Thank you Gail for making me use these colours together - they work really well.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Soft Subtles, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Put some sunglasses on before you read this!

Don't say I didn't warn you. I was looking for some inspiration and checked out Splitcoast Stampers Colour Challenge ... this one particular combination just caught my eye for some reason. It's so BRIGHT! The colours are Real Red, Pink Passion and Summer Sun.

I used the same trick as the other day to create the yellow ribbon - a few drops of Summer Sun and a tiny drop or two of water in a little container, then drop in your white grosgrain ribbon and shake vigorously for a few minutes. You have to make sure that the ribbon is blotted dry on paper towel or something and then left to sit until it's completely dry before you use it though, or it'll get everywhere.

And I used a little of the Crystal Effects on the red centre of the flower to give it a bit of punch. It looks very neat in real life. I keep wanting to touch it!

PS: as you see, my camera is back from its holiday safe and sound ... it was used about ten times on Day 1 of camp then not looked at again. Next time I'll buy her a disposable film camera to take I think.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: One of a Kind
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Pink Passion, Summer Sun, Summer Sun Reinker
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Real Red, Summer Sun
Other: 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Corner Rounder, Crystal Effects, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker

One of a Kind

I have just spent a few hours playing with stamps and cardstock, and ended up with this ... I still don't know if I like it, but at the least it has been an interesting experiment.

I wanted to use One of a Kind, which is one of the sets in SU's current Spring Mini (do you want a copy? Email me with your details and I can mail one out). You can buy a punch which matches the small trio of flowers from this set (not shown here), which is a bit of fun and saves a lot of time cutting out!

I tried various methods of working with the large flower from this set, and settled on simply colouring it with my Stampin' Write Markers ... who knew? Sometimes cardmaking is like having a great big colouring book *g*. You will have to believe me when I tell you that this really does look way better in person. As soon as I get my camera back I will try a different picture and see if it's more flattering. For some reason my scanner just refuses to represent Pale or Perfect Plum correctly.

Can you see that I have outlined the flower with my Going Gray marker? I was trying for the illusion of dimension. I still can't tell if it worked.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: One of a Kind
Ink: Basic Black, Perfect Plum
Cardstock: Whisper White, So Saffron, Perfect Plum
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Rich Regals, Soft Subtles and Neutrals, Designer Label Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin' Sponges

Something elegant ...

... well, I think it is, at least. I was browsing through the galleries at Splitcoast Stampers (as you do) and came across this card ... the colours and layout appealed to me and I had to have a go at something similar.

I had also been looking at samples where the swirly flourish had been stamped with Versamark and clear embossed, so I was trying that out as well ... you can't really see it in the scan.

(I would have taken a photo to post here, but I've let my daughter take the camera to camp (what a good mum I am) and of course, the minute it's out of the house I need it. I couldn't even take a photo of the bus as she was leaving this morning *sniff*.

Sorry about that, I got sidetracked *g*. She is probably having a ball right now, but it's her first time at camp and it's just kind of quiet here without her)

Now, you're looking at that scan and thinking "where did that ribbon come from? Chris only uses SU stuff in her blog and they don't carry ribbon in that colour!" Well, you probably weren't (unless you know your SU catalogue inside out) but now that I've mentioned it ... I wanted ribbon to match the cardstock, but didn't have the right shade, so I made my own! I mixed half a dozen drops of River Rock reinker with a tiny bit of water then swooshed a piece of white grosgrain ribbon around in the mixture until it soaked up all the colour. So cool.

Reinkers are a must - I am making it a policy to always buy the matching reinker when I buy a new pad lately. And there's a lot of colour in a little bottle!

I haven't forgotten that I am meant to post the "full version" of my Plum, Chocolate and Vanilla card ... hopefully tomorrow or Friday. Honest.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Versamark, Purely Pomegranate
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, Very Vanilla
Other: Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Embossing Buddy, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, River Rock reinker, Large Oval Punch

Sneak Peek

I just wanted to pop in with a really quick update ... but it's only a "sneak peek" because I don't have the original file with me to show you.

The card is the result of a challenge thrown down by my Fearless Leader, Gail - she challenged her team to create a card using the colours Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla (and after all that plum, chocolate and vanilla I was feeling kinda hungry after I finished *g*). It took me a while and ended up being nothing like the idea I had in my head (which, once I'd nailed it down on paper, turned out to be absolutely hideous).

And thanks to Karen for reminding me on Sunday that the heart from the set Always looks stunning coloured with markers. I had to make myself not use Old Olive on it (mmm, new colour combination coming up).

I will post the full card later ... stay tuned!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Other: Stampin' Write Markers in Soft Subtles, Cutter Kit, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Specially for Pauline

Because Pauline knows about all sorts of stuff, and is kind of a stamping mentor (*waves to Pauline*) and said I was getting too mired down in pink lately, here are a couple of cards in alternate colours.

First up - inspired by this card but swapping blue for the pink (*sigh* pink would have been so much nicer *g*). I was working from memory so it's not nearly as nice as the sample, but it is a simple enough design to pump up and take it from okay to gorgeous. I will be doing this layout again with more oomph next time. And maybe some pink.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron
Other: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Next is a card (inspired by this) which uses red ... does that count as pink? My kids said no, and they're always right (so they keep telling me).

You can't see that the central flower is popped up on a dimensional - trust me, it looks good.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Real Red, Basic Black
Cardstock: Whisper White, Old Olive, Soft Sky
Other: Real Red 1/4" ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

By the way, I took these photos by the light of my new toy ... I got an Ott-Lite! I was letting my subscription to a papercrafting magazine lapse, and was happy with my decision, but they sent one last pleading letter offering me a free Ott-Lite if I resubscribed. How could I resist? It's pretty cool, and so far has come in handy for photographing these cards and finding a splinter in my daughter's finger. Multi-tasking craft tools - what more could you want?

Oh, and guess what colour it is?

Cute baby cards

My babies are all grown up now (well, 10 and 15), and in general most of my friends are past the baby stage but nowhere near the grandparent stage, but it's still nice to make the occasional baby card. Even if it's just to show just how darn cute this particular teddy bear is ...








Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bundle of Joy, Baroque Motifs
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink
Other: Scallop Circle punch, Mat Pack, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain ribbon

Many Thanks

caToday is my daughter's birthday - I can't believe my little girl is now ten years old *sob*. Tomorrow night she is having a skating birthday party, so for a bit of fun (and with her permission - don't want to embarrass her *g*) I made a bunch of little "thank you" cards to put into the lolly bags for her guests. I had much creative input from both kids before we ended up with these. I hope all the girls like them.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bodacious Bouquet, Much Appreciated
Ink: Regal Rose, Basic Black, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: Whisper White, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Certainly Celery
Other: Photo Corners Punch

Just a little something

I was suddenly inspired last night and ended up with this ... the background is stamped with black Stazon then dusted with Real Red and Pretty In Pink Stampin' Pastels. I used the rubber from the Pastels set to remove the colour around the hearts - pretty nifty that the rubber in the set actually does that! Try rubbing out coloured pencils like that!

I also used Stazon to stamp the ribbon - how nifty is that? Lovin' that So Many Sayings hostess set, the phrases fit in the Word Window punch and now I find they fit on the 1/4" ribbon as well!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Time Well Spent, So Many Sayings
Ink: Black Stazon, Purely Pomegranate
Cardstock: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Gray
Other: Pretty in Pink 1/4" grossgrain ribbon, blender pens, Stampin' Write Markers,Stampin' Pastels, Corner Rounder Punch.

One Sheet Wonder - finally!

A while back (a loooong while back *g*) I wrote a post about the mess I made trying out the One Sheet Wonder pattern. At last I have the cards back (after their debut at the Craft & Quilt show last weekend) and have scanned them for your viewing pleasure.

The first scan is of the entire sheet before it is cut up ... as you can see it's not a difficult thing to make at all. The hard part comes later when you're trying to get ten cards using the same colours and stamps to look individual. Which is why I chose to use stamps from other sets to accentuate each card so they are all very different from each other.

Please excuse the colours in the following scans ... despite the visual evidence, they do all use the same colours as noted below.

So, in no particular order, here are the final results:









































Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Always, Much Appreciated, One of a Kind, Warm Words, Heartfelt Thanks, Baroque Motifs, Seeing Spots, Be Happy, Canvas, Happiness and Paisley
Stampin' Around Wheels: Basic Outline (Jumbo), Rough Texture (Jumbo), Baroque Border
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Basic Black ink
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Old Olive and Whisper White
Stampin' Up! Punches: Small Oval, Large Oval, 1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, Tag, 1-1/4" Square
Other: Certainly Celery ribbon

Bodacious!

As you know, last weekend I helped out at a Stampin' Up! stand at the Craft & Quilt Fair in Melbourne. In order to dress the stand up we decided to make posters showcasing stamp sets or themes to hang on the walls. Because I love the set Bodacious Bouquet, I had enough samples to create a display.

Some of my samples you have seen in past posts, but here are some I made specially for the show.

This first one was a double experiment - firstly the colours are definitely out of my comfort zone, but they worked out well. I also played around with drawing little dots around the flowers - took ages but worth it in the end.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Bodacious Bouquet and Canvas stamp sets, Whisper White, Regal Rose and Mellow Moss cardstock, Soft Sky, Regal Rose and Mellow Moss ink, Stampin' Write Markers in Regal Rose and Bordering Blue.







Next an attempt to use only the smaller flower from this set - I find it is too easy to go for the big flower all the time. I'm not sure how the colours on this one happened, it was all a bit of a blur by the time I made this *g*.

Just so's you know, it's not actually crooked - no, really. Blame my scanner. Honest.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Bodacious Bouquet, Paisley and So Many Sayings stamp sets, Whisper White, Bashful Blue and So Saffron cardstock, Bashful Blue and So Saffron ink, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker.





Lastly my personal favourite - I finally ordered the Ruby Red ink the other week and have been loving it - it seems to be a very versatile colour. Goes great with Old Olive as shown here.

If you could see it in real life you would love how smoothly the red ink goes onto that Whisper White cardstock ... mmmmm ...

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Bodacious Bouquet and So Many Sayings stamp sets, Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black and Ruby Red cardstock, Ruby Red and Old Olive ink, Bodacious Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker.

Spring Mini is here!

Yup, at last, we have new stamps to play with!

I know the current Ideas Book & Catalogue has only been out for four months, but it's always nice to have new choices, and for the next four months you have the chance to purchase some special "limited edition" goodies from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini catalogue.

Have a look through the pages here - there's bound to be something that catches your eye! And if you see something you just can't live without, feel free to get in touch with me and we can work out how to get it to you.

Don't forget that these stamps, papers and accessories are only available from August 1 through to November 30.

And remember that stamps from this catalogue are die cut - yes, no boring trimming, just pop 'em out and stick 'em on. How easy is that?

Contact me for your own copy of this Mini Catalogue (sorry, one per customer). Make sure you put "Stampin' Up! Mini" in the subject line so your email doesn't accidentally get junked (my spam filter is a little aggresive at times *g*).

And keep your eyes on this blog for more samples created from some of the gorgeous stamps inside!

Images © 2008 Stampin' Up!®

"Always" on my mind

At last, new samples from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue!

It's taken me a while to get organised with my new stamp sets ... they've been sitting here for a few weeks now but I have been somewhat distracted by the craft show and other things. At last, I have had a chance to play with them a little, and here are the first results ...

This first card was a bit of a challenge. I stamped the heart from "Always" first in Versamark, then used my Stampin' Pastels to apply colour. Using the Pastels this way you get a very soft effect, because the chalk will stick a little to the cardstock as well as the Versamarked area.

It's not quite that "yellowy" in real life, blame my scanner and/or photo editting program. Or me, if you like *g*.

You can't see in the scan, but the Vanilla piece of card has also been stamped with the three small stamps from this set, also in Versamark but not chalked. The watermarked effect is so subtle you really have to get up close to see it!

And lastly the "always" stamp, from the same set, which as you can see fits nicely in the 1-1/4" circle punch.

You know what's missing from this card? Ribbon. Sadly I don't have any of the gorgeous Regal Rose 5/8" ribbon :-(

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Always stamp set, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Regal Rose and Old Olive cardstock, Versamark and Regal Rose ink, Stampin' Pastels, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch.

The second card I have to show you tonight uses the same stamp set, however this time I have stamped the heart in Versamark on the Stampin' Up! white glossy cardstock (and believe me, this stuff is super glossy!). Because the Versamark acts as a resist, I could give it a blast with my heat gun to dry it a bit, then brayered Ruby Red ink over the top to create the negative effect.

Trimming around the heart was a bit of a pain, which doesn't explain why I ended up doing it three times for this card alone *sigh*. It looks good though *g*.

I like how this one came out.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: Always stamp set, Whisper White, Gloss White, Not Quite Navy and Soft Sky cardstock, Versamark, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy and Soft Sky ink, Brayer.

This stamp set also has a gorgeous bird silhouette; I'm working on something featuring that.