Merry Christmas!

Remember a little while ago I posted a Christmas card I'd made, saying it was fun to make, but a little too involved to mass produce?

I changed my mind *g*.

When I broke it down, it didn't really take so long at all. Cutting out the tree was a bit of a pain, but easy enough to do in front of the telly of an evening, and the rest was a snap to put together. I only made 20 so it wasn't too deadly.

And it saved me thinking of a new Christmas design when I'd already come up with this one!

I've used up some of my free Certainly Celery twill ribbon from the September promotion, as well - how serendipitous that this matched my colour scheme. Or did I choose the colour scheme to match the ribbon? Sometimes it's hard to tell which came first *g*.

I love how the Whisper White craft ink looks almost luminous when stamped on lighter coloured cardstocks (or even medium tone as shown here).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Season of Joy
Ink: Whisper White, Old Olive, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Other: 5/8" Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon, Cutter Kit

More good news - Inventory Clearance Sale

Wow ... anyone would think it was Christmas around here *g*.

Stampin' Up! have released a list of extra-special specials, available from now until January 24, 2010.

Prices on selected catalogue items have been dropped to 75%, with some prices as low as 50% original price. The list includes such items as Jumbo Outline Alphabet stamp set for only $38.98, marked down from $77.95, and Rose Red or Chocolate Chip 1" double stitched grosgrain ribbon only $14.96 down from $19.95.

There is no minimum purchase requirement, and no limits on the number of items ordered, however the specials are only available while stocks last.

You can find out more, and download the specials list (in PDF format) from the Stampin' Up! website here.

If you want more information, please feel free to contact me.

Good news!

I've got some good news for you (and me!)

While in general, once a Mini Catalogue period is over the products are gone for good (unless they make the grade and are incorporated into the next main catalogue), this time around a few of the products from the recently ended Spring Mini Catalogue are still available for purchase, namely the following:

Item #	Item	Price
112534	Jumbo brads 5/16" Neutrals Assortment	$15.50
112533	Jumbo brads 5/8" Neutrals Assortment	$13.50
114889	Scallop Oval punch	$30.95
106960	StazOn ink pad (White pad and refill)	$22.95
109196	StazOn Cleaner	$9.95

So if you thought you'd missed your chance, it's not too late!

As a demonstrator, I tend to pack away things that have retired (there's not a lot of point promoting a product I can't sell to people, after all) so I'm glad that the Scallop Oval Punch is still available for purchase - this way I still get to use it for myself!

Birthday Butterflies

It was my friend (and downline) Pauline's birthday the other day (she has blogs - many of them - check one out here and another here). As always, I left my cardmaking to the last minute - it's not that I forget, it's more that I just don't remember.

Working quickly with materials I had on hand, I came up with this card for her. See, I stamped the butterflies from Butterfly Prints - now available from the new Summer Mini Catalogue) onto vellum this time, as I meant to do last time. It didn't work out quite like I had expected, but it's still nice.

The word "Create" down the side of the card was a happy accident. I had stamped the Tres Chic background onto a quarter sheet (A6 size) of Baja Breeze, then trimmed a centimetre off the bottom so it could be layered onto the Baja Breeze base - and voila, this word was trimmed to exactly the right height!

You can see I've sponged around the stamped Baja Breeze layer, just to bring it away from the base card a little.

And the butterflies are glued down the middle with the thinnest line of Tombow Multi Glue I could coax out of the little bottle, with the wings popped out to give the impression of a real butterfly landing on the card (if butterflies were made of vellum. And didn't have bodies or legs. Okay, so it's a lousy illusion).

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with this Tombow Multi stuff - the bottle is double ended, with one end being a super-fine nozzle, and the other being a broad tip for applying glue to a large area quickly; and it sticks brilliantly!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Butterfly Prints, Tres Chic
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Vellum Card
Other: Butterfly Punch

Stampin on Candles

I have to admit, the title of this post is something of a misnomer - but it's the easiest way of describing this technique.

You don't literally stamp "on" the candle, rather you stamp onto white tissue paper (the cheap gift wrapping kind), then use your heat gun to fuse it gently into the wax.

The result is effective and yes, you can still burn the candles, although I would recommend removing any paper, ribbon or "bling" that may be attached.

I was inspired by the lovely Simone Bartrum's presentation on "candle stamping" at the recent Melbourne regional Stampin' Up! seminar (as was just about everyone else in the room). She showed us some simply stunning projects using ideas I had never thought of before - check out her blog, she is super-talented.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Always, Priceless, Live Like You Mean It, Season of Joy
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Not Quite Navy
Other: Sweet Always DSP, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker

One Sheet Wonder

Ages ago, I posted this sneak peek of a One Sheet Wonder I made as part of a display for a craft show.

It just occurred to me the other night that I never actually posted the finished result.

So for those patient people who have been checking frantically every day to see if it's up yet (yes, I know you're out there *g*), ta-dah! Here it is!

The photos are a little dark - it was late, I was tired, and these darned low-energy lightbulbs just don't work as well as incandescent ones - but you can get the idea at least.







Here are a couple of closeups (because I've got a nice camera that does brilliant macros *g*).

Hot News! Summer is here!

Not only has summer started (although looking out the window here, you probably wouldn't know. In fact, in Melbourne, you might be forgiven for thinking that we've already used up our entire quota of summer in November *g*), but the new Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue has arrived!

Inside this tempting little booklet you will find such fun things as Butterfly Prints and matching punch (used in a project here), the Sweet Treats cups and matching stamp set Something Sweet (for creating interactive cards and projects incorporating sweets, treats or knick-knacks), Hello Again and the matching wheel Retro Remix (shown here) (note to self, must really finish some projects with the Hello Again set *g*), some cute little crocheted flowers, some new buttons, some gorgeous new ribbons and papers, and the Circle Scissor Plus for all those who love circles in their projects (like me! This item is on my wish list ... now if only there was a gift-giving season coming up ... LOL).

The items in this catalogue are only available until the end of March 2010.

Have a look at the Mini Catalogue online, download a PDF copy from this page, or contact me for your copy.

Oh, and don't forget the Christmas Extravaganza promotion on at the moment, whereby an order totalling $85 from a list of selected products will net you a FREE Square Scallop Punch (or, apparently, a FREE Boho Blossoms Punch, if you prefer).

It's that time of year again!

Yes, Christmas is only just around the corner! Which means that I should have started and finished making my personal Christmas cards by now (as opposed to the ones that I make for my employer) and have them stacked up neatly ready to be mailed out to my friends and family.

Yep, like that's going to happen.

What actually happens is I start thinking about Christmas cards in September, then spend the next two months thinking I have loads of time, until I realise it's late November and I haven't done a damn thing about it. Like about now, f'rinstance.

As I was playing about the other night trying to think of ideas I turned to a fun colour combination which I've been using a bit lately - pink, orange and brown. Or, in Stampin' Up! talk, that would be Pretty in Pink and/or Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. And teamed with my favourite Christmas set, Season of Joy, I've come up with something a little different from the traditional holiday card.

The orange layer gave me the most trouble - it just wasn't working originally until I trimmed it down a little and added the stamped swirls. The edges have been distressed using the little distresser tool from the Cutter Kit, then dragged through the Pumpkin Pie inkpad and sponged until the colour depth around the edges looked "right".

I don't know that I'd mass produce this card - cutting out the tree is awfully fiddly - but it was fun to make!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Season of Joy
Ink: Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Other: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Cutter Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals

What have I been working on ...?

Well, mostly these. Okay, so there's only four cards here, but what you can't see is the other 96 which I made recently (with the help of Sharon - thanks Sharon!).

My day job is for a small company which supplies raw materials to label printers. It has become something of a tradition that we send out handmade cards to our customer base (which all began when I first started there and the boss found out I was a cardmaker). At first it was a pretty easy task, but somehow we gathered more customers over the years and I'm wondering what monster has been created LOL.

Anyway, this year Sharon and I put our heads together and came up with this design (which is supposed to look kind of like a branch of a Christmas tree with baubles - or a pleasing abstract design, whichever you like), and we decided to do four different colourways so as not to drive ourselves insane doing 100 cards in the exact same colour scheme.

I like to think that our customers appreciate the effort - we have had some lovely feedback from them in past years, and when printers are liking your work as a cardmaker, you must be doing something right!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Baroque Motifs, Always, Best Yet (hostess)
Ink: Card 1 - Old Olive, Rose Red; Card 2 - Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant; Card 3 - Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy; Card 4 - Gable Green, Taken with Teal
Cardstock: Card 1 - Old Olive, Rose Red, Whisper White; Card 2 - Pale Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White; Card 3 - Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White; Card 4 - Gable Green, Taken with Teal, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

Sneak Peek - Summer Mini

Isn't this just so cute? The upcoming Summer Mini catalogue (contact me if you'd like a copy) has some gorgeous stuff, not the least of which is this cool butterfly punch and matching stamp set. The punch will also co-ordinate with a stamp set in the main catalogue (Flight of the Butterfly).

In retrospect, when making this card I should have stamped the vellum overlay as well as the pink layer, as you can't actually see what the butterfly stamps look like (doh!). That's my next project *g*.

The bodies of the butterflies are made by wrapping a strand of gold embroidery thread around the middle and knotting it at the top to create antennae.

Do you like the patterned paper down the side? This is from the Patterns Pack, only available as a hostess benefit (ie. with a workshop or order over $300). The pack contains 60 6' square sheets of double-sided patterned paper - 2 sheets of six designs in five different colours (including Regal Rose shown here) not available as regular DSP.

The biggest problem with the gorgeous double-sided patterned paper? Trying to decide which side to use!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Butterfly Prints
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Vellum Card
Other: Patterns Pack II Designer Series Paper, Butterfly Punch

Hurry! Last Days!

If you've had your eye on any of the gorgeous products in the current Spring Mini Catalogue (click here or here for more information, or here to look at the catalogue online), you only have a few more days to act!

Contact me to get your order in before November 30 - in fact, just to be on the safe side and avoid last minute delays, you should probably finalise your order before about the 28th or so.

On My Mind

Upsy Daisy is still one of my favourite stamp sets. I love the simplicity of the silhouetted outlines, which lends itself to a variety of different looks.

This card just sort of evolved, as I was trying to achieve a completely different look. I like the combination of red, gray and black.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Sgtamp/s: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Real Red, Basic Gray
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch

Love this birdie!

The little birdie here is just so cute and plump *g*. His friend from the set Cheep Talk is a little taller and a little more confident, but this little guy just gets to me. Oh, and he fits nicely in the 1-3/8" circle punch which is a bonus.

You can see that I have used to different colours on the pear on this card (not counting the stem, which is a separate stamp) - to do this I inked the pear with More Mustard, then carefully rolled the edges of the inked stamp in the Ruby Red inkpad.

The bird was inked with More Mustard, then the body was coloured with my Ruby Red marker (which is why it looks a little mottled - not actually my intention, but I don't have a More Mustard marker. Yet).

Oh, and have you noticed the crisp, beautifully focused photograph? Yes, I bought a new camera to replace the one I bought only a few months ago - I finally decided that there was no way it was going to take a decent photo and upgraded. My daughter is enjoying her "new" camera *g*, and I no longer dread taking photographs.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Cheep Talk, Sanded
Ink: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Old Olive, More Mustard, Whisper White
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Ruby Red Stampin' Write Marker

Another little box

Subsequent to my post the other day, I was having such fun with the little boxes I had to show you another I made, using new product *g*

Here you can see a glimpse of the Standard Wheel "Retro Remix", which we received as part of our make & take packet at the recent Melbourne Regional seminar.

The wheel coordinates with the set "Hello Again", and you can be sure that I will be making some matching gift cards to keep in this box using that set.

Do you like the flower? This was presented at Regionals by one of our local demonstrators (and if I could remember her name, I would tell you *g*). It's so simple, yet effective - simply punch the scallop circle, snip every second scallop and fold up the petals. When layered with another similar scallop it makes a very pretty flower!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Ink: Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Gable Green, YoYo Yellow
Other: Retro Remix Standard Stampin' Around Wheel, Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 3'4" Circle Punch

Keep checking back as I will be posting more sneak peeks of items from the upcoming Summer Mini Catalogue - available from December 1!

Christmas Extravaganza 2009

My goodness, is it November already? Do you realise that this means that there is now less than 8 weeks till Christmas? Aaaargh!

If you have crafty family and friends, you might find this month's promotion useful - Stampin' Up! have put together a Gift Giving Guide (click the picture to the left to find out more and download the flyer) with gift suggestions for some of the people in your life.

And the bonus? Between November 1 and December 14, 2009, for every $85 you spend on items from the Gift Giving Guide, you receive a FREE Square Scallop Punch valued at $30.95. So if you spent $170, you could have a punch for yourself and one to give to a friend for Christmas *g*.

I don't own the Square Scallop Punch myself - but once I put my order in, I hope to by this time next week.

Now what are you doing sitting here reading this? You only have seven and a bit weeks to get your Christmas cards made and mailed! In fact, what am I doing here writing this? I have cards to make ... as soon as I think up the design ... oh, the pressure.

You know what's funny? It's not like they move Christmas around or anything, but every year it comes as a surprise and I'm caught unprepared.

Last Chance

You may be aware that this month is the last chance to order products from the Spring Mini catalogue. I have a copy of the next mini (official release date December 1) and can confirm that, with one exception, none of the items currently in the Spring Mini are carrying forward. Occasionally we find that an accessory or two (particularly punches) will carry forward to be available in subsequent mini catalogues, but not this time.

So if you've had your eye on any of the gorgeous stuff in the Spring Mini, don't forget to order it before the end of November, before it's gone for good!

(I personally will be sad to see the Scallop Oval Punch go, it has been a favourite of mine these past few months).

Stay tuned for sneak peeks of new products available for purchase from December 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010!

Little boxes

I was blog-hopping recently, and stopped by Jackie Topa's blog (she is amazing). One of her projects seemed so simple yet effective I had to try it straight away, and here is the result (yes, I know the photo is a bit dark - I was sick when I took the photo and didn't have the energy to sort it out).

The box is a little bit smaller than her version, at only 3-1/2 inches square rather than 4. This made it a good fit for the little 3 inch square gift cards I whipped up to put inside. As you can see, I've used my current favourite colour combination of Apricot Appeal and Pixie Pink here (I tried to get some Real Red in, but it just didn't want to happen).

After I took the photos, I decided to bling it up a little by adding glitter to the butterfly's body and the tiny flower on the wing - so cute!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Priceless
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Apricot Appeal 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Here's close ups of each element of this little gift set.

Always

A couple of weeks ago I was in need of a quick, easy and impressive card for a workshop I was doing (waves to Sue). While surfing around the net, I stumbled across this gorgeous card and was immediately inspired.

We were going to be using Stampin' Pastels at the workshop, so I used the heart stamp from Always to demonstrate a technique known as "poppin' pastels", where you stamp in Versamark and then dust over the image with chalks - the chalk sticks to the Versamarked image, but not so much to the cardstock surrounding it, giving a subtle and soft finish.

This is the card we made. And look! I actually cut into my precious stash of Designer Series Paper (this particular piece is from the collection known as "Sweet Always" which coincidentally matches the stamp set Always). We used the colours in the paper scrap to carry over to the chalked heart, that is Regal Rose and Pumpkin Pie.

One of the guests chose to use the other side of the DSP (all SU DSPs are double-sided, and come with two sheets of six designs per packet), which was a gorgeous look as the reverse of this striped piece is pink with a white floral design similar to that on the heart.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Best Yet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Sweet Always Designer Series Paper, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

While I was fluffing about trying to decide on the card the workshop guests would make, I did a few other variations, mostly to show different looks for the same layout using assorted techniques.

The first of this group is pretty much the same card, however rather than stamping with Versamark then chalking over the top, I chose to ink the stamp with the Versamark and then colour directly onto the (now sticky) rubber with the chalks, then stamp.

This gives a soft effect but more crisp than that achieved with the "poppin' pastels" technique.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Short & Sweet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch

The next card uses the same techniqe on the heart, however with this one I also used the matching Always in Bloom wheel in Whisper White ink across the top of the base card to provide some depth.

A tip for seamless coverage when using a wheel - roll it across the cardstock diagonally. This camouflages the joins a little and looks more natural.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Upsy Daisy
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Stampin' Pastels, Eyelet Border Punch, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel, Wide Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch

The last is my favourite - this time I ditched the pastels altogether and went for sparkly! The heart is inked first in Versamark, then directly into Regal Rose before stamping. This means you can utilise the stickyness of Versamark and the colour of the dye ink to create coloured embossing and glittering effects.

I used Heat & Stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds (I wish you could see it in real life) to sparkle up the heart, then before assembly used the Always in Bloom wheel and Whisper White craft ink to create a very subtle pattern on the Pink Pirouette cardstock. The Pink Pirouette is so pale you can barely see the white ink, but it really makes the card pop.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always, Best Yet
Ink: Versamark, Regal Rose, Whisper White
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Designer Label Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch

Eastern Blooms part 3

The last of the cards I made the other night (the others are shown here and here).

This one was quick & easy - the branch is stamped twice in Whisper White craft ink (a thick pigment ink), and the edges of the panel were sponged in the White as well.

I let the card sit for a little to allow the ink to dry - the craft ink, being oil based, takes a lot longer to dry than regular classic (dye-based) ink. This is an advantage if you want to emboss or use Heat & Stick powder, but a bit of a chore if you don't *g*.

Once the ink dried, I put a little dab of Two Way Glue on the centre of each flower and tipped Dazzling Diamonds glitter across the top (being careful not to sneeze before I managed to get the excess back in the container - and it being spring and all, and the hayfever acting up, this was no mean feat!).

It's very pretty in real life, but doesn't really show up so well in a photo.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Whisper White
Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, Two Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Stop Press! I've got a new website!

If you want to have a look, feel free - I have a new Stampin' Up! Business Website. This is provided to allow demonstrators to have a web presence which is linked more comprehensively to the Stampin' Up site than blogs alone can do.

I have been tweaking it a little here and there, and plan to add more projects and personal content to it as time goes by. We have a free trial period until December 15, so I plan to use that to the full before I make my decision as to whether to keep it.

It also comes with a nifty newsletter function, so if you're on my mailing list you will be getting a you-beaut newsletter shortly (and yes, I know I haven't sent out October's yet ... it sounds like a lame excuse, but I've been sick LOL).

While online ordering isn't yet available (it's something that will probably happen in the future, but not for some time), you can still find out more about the products and promotions, and contact me through the Business Website.

Check it out, and don't forget to bookmark it - I will be adding more stuff soon.

(to entice you to take a look, there's information about the November promotion on there *g*!)

The address is: http://chrismclucas.stampinup.net

By the way, this doesn't mean I'll be giving up my blog - StampStuff is a much more personal platform where I can get chatty about my craft. I think the two can work well together (time will tell LOL).

Another Eastern Blooms card

Following on from my post the other day, here's another card I made while I had the Eastern Blooms set sitting out amongst the chaos on my dining room table (ie. the stamping area) (one day I will manage to snaffle a bedroom to turn into a craft room, but one of the kids has to move out first, and that's going to be quite some time).

The branch and flowers on this are coloured with markers ... first I inked the whole stamp up with Summer Sun, then used my Old Olive and Ruby Red markers on the branch and flower petals. I figured this was a little quicker than using all markers to ink the stamp.

Down the side, to give it a little texture, I used the Tres Chic stamp, and added yet more texture on the Summer Sun strip with the Sanded background stamp (inked with Apricot Appeal to show up a little).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms, Tres Chic, Sanded
Ink: Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Apricot Appeal
Cardstock: Ruby Red, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin' Write Markers in Ruby Red and Old Olive

Bright Eastern Blooms

*phew* It's a little dusty here! Yes, I'm still around, however my mojo was taking a break and suddenly it's over halfway through October.

Last weekend, a large number of excited Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around Victoria flooded into the Crown Promenade Hotel in Melbourne to attend a regional training session. We spent six hours listening to inspiring presentations, seeing some "wow" demonstrations and making projects with the stamp set and supplies kit provided to us.

I can't show you the stamp set yet - for that you will have to wait until next month, as it won't be available for purchase until the Summer Mini is released later this year - and I didn't make any swaps so really there's not much to see here LOL. You can take a quick trip over to my dear friend Pauline's blog and see the swap she made - they were very popular, and she ran out by the first break!

However I did come away from Regionals with a new enthusiasm, and last night had a play with an old favourite stamp set, Eastern Blooms. Here's one of the cards I came up with.

I really like this colour combination (which I've used in the past, here). Who would have thought that Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink and Real Red would work so well together?

The flowered branches are stamped a few times in Versamark on Whisper White cardstock, then clear embossed. To apply the colour I used a brayer (a rubber roller), inking the lower part of the card in Apricot Appeal and the upper with Pixie Pink (overlapping in the middle to blend the two colours), finally sponging a little Real Red along the top.

The embossing resists the ink so the Whisper White cardstock shows through on the branches.

I chose to use Whisper White rather than Glossy White (which I would normally use for brayering) because I like the soft look that it gives when it's brayered with colour. A while back a friend and I experimented with different, competing brands of white cardstock, and found that the Stampin' Up! Whisper White (and Very Vanilla) produce the best result, due probably to their ultra-smooth matte finish.

A quick heads up, too ... don't forget that the items in the current Spring Mini are only available for another six or so weeks - and that includes the Scallop Oval Punch shown here! Contact me today and snap it up while you can!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Eastern Blooms, Big Bold Birthday
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Real Red
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Brayer, Clear Embossing Powder, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Wide Oval Punch

Whoa ... what happened there? October Promotions!

Somehow I fell off the planet for a couple of weeks there ... I personally blame school holidays, which isn't much of an excuse really, as we've not really done much. We did get to the Melbourne Museum to see the Pompeii exhibit ... well worth it, despite the crowds.

Sadly I have no new samples for you today ... yes, I know! How slack! But I do have news of this month's promotions (yup, two of them).

Firstly, it's World Card Making Day this Saturday, October 3. This is a day set aside to encourage us all to take time to make a card or two for our friends and family (and for us to buy stuff from the participating companies *g*). Whatever the reasons for setting it up, it's a good reminder that everyone loves to receive mail, and what better mail than a handmade card from a loved one?

Stampin' Up! is having a World Card Making Day celebration for the entire month of October!

To celebrate WCMD 2009, you can purchase either the Flower Power Simply Sent Card Elements kit or the Rock Star Simply Sent Card Elements kit (each of these kits is priced at $30.95) during October, and receive 20% off the price of either of the matching stamp sets, Wow Flowers or Starring You (these sets are normally $24.95, but during the promotional period they will be available for $19.96).

So for each of the Simply Sent Card Elements kits you buy, you are entitled to the 20% off either stamp set - there are no purchase limits to this promotion, and there's no requirement to match the stamp set to the purchased kit.

Note: The promotion only relates to the kits and stamp sets mentioned above.

Secondly, if you're thinking about joining the Stampin' Up! family, now might be a good time for you ... for every person who joins between October 7 and December 31 2009, Stampin' Up! will donate $5 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

PLUS every recruit joining between now and the end of December will receive a FREE pack of Raspberry Tart Designer Paper and a Pretty In Pink Classic Ink Pad to help them get started.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please feel free to contact me with your questions.

Happy Birthday Anne-Marie

(I hope that the card has already arrived and been opened, otherwise this will be a big surprise for you *g*).

It was my friend Anne-Marie's birthday the other day, and so (late as always) I whipped this up the night before to get it in the post on the day so it would arrive only one day late. Rather than my usual effort of several days, if not weeks, late.

The layout was pretty much totally CASEd from this card posted on Splitcoast Stampers.

Four of the seven flowers were stamped separately and attached with dimensionals, as was the body of the bird (and boy, am I wishing I had a Pumpkin Pie marker - that beak was tricky to ink off the pad *g*) and the greeting. My Stamp-A-Ma-Jig came was invaluable for ensuring the flower stalks were evenly placed and the three flowers at the back were positioned correctly.

And the birthday greeting? One of the new "individual" stamps from the Summer Mini Catalogue - a very useful stamp to own, and see how beautifully it fits into the Wide Oval Punch? Love that!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Cheep Talk, Birthday Wish
Ink: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker, Wide Oval, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Tri-Shutter Card

There seems to be a lot of samples lately of a style of card known as the Tri-Shutter (for reasons which become obvious as you play with one of these). I finally got around to making my own version recently, and have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

These cards are really not that hard to make. I used the instructions found here, modified slightly to suit an A4 piece of cardstock. So long as your score lines are evenly spaced, with an interval in the middle twice the size of the outside folds (that makes no sense written down like that, but if you follow the instructions you'll see what I mean), it should work just fine.

And they're fun to decorate. Here I've used the Designer Series Paper "Sweet Always" as the inspiration for the colour scheme and stamp set - Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie is perhaps not a colour combination you would consider in the normal scheme of things, but it really does work as you can see.

I have a little more work to do on the inside of the card, but it looks so darned pretty as it is I don't want to mess it up *g*.

And here's a shot of the card from above, so you can see how it stands and get an idea of how it all folds together to fit in a regular C6 sized envelope.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Whisper White
Other: 1/2" Circle Punch. Sweet Always Designer Series Paper

Peninsula Craft Expo Wrapup

Well, we had a lovely time down in Mornington over the weekend, and would have to recommend this show to anyone who can make it next time - the organisers were lovely, there was Devonshire tea (mmmmm) and the atmosphere was really friendly.






A few snaps to show you a couple of our displays ... (if you look closely at the photo on the left, you'll see a glass bikkie jar, complete with mini chocolate biscuits ... they were intended for display purposes, but were also handy for getting us through the afternoon *g*).






And our group leader, Gail, doing what she does best - keeping people informed about Stampin' Up

A little too pink, even for me!

I have to try this technique again, but in a different colour. I came across the original (shown here - isn't it lovely?) a few weeks ago, and finally got around to making my own interpretation of it recently.

I have stamped the big swirl from Baroque Motifs randomly on a piece of Regal Rose cardstock with Regal Rose ink. Then using the floral stamps, I added contrast using Whisper White Craft ink. Sponging the edges of the layer in Whisper White finished it off nicely, giving the main piece a little contrast from the base card, also Regal Rose.

And because it looked a little bare, I added the strip of punched Whisper White cardstock down the side; I do wish, however, that I'd thought of that before I stuck the card together ... had to do a little encouraging to get it to stay LOL.

(PS I have no idea what is going on with my camera ... the card is not an odd bowed shape at all, the edges are perfectly straight, and yet this picture shows it all skewed. Must've had gthe camera on the wrong setting (again) - I hate my new camera ... *sigh* ... should've bought another Canon instead).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Baroque Motifs, Short & Sweet
Ink: Regal Rose, Whisper White Craft
Cardstock: Regal Rose, Whisper White
Other: Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

Want some FREE stuff?

For the month of September, any order exceeding $100 will receive a ribbon bundle FREE. The bundle consists of a 9.1 metre roll each of Certainly Celery 5/8" Poly-Twill Ribbon and So Saffron 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon. You can also earn one of these exclusive ribbon bundles by hosting a workshop exceeding $600 during the promotion period.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love ribbon, so I can't wait to get my hands on this lot.

Did you know you can stamp on ribbon? It's not restricted to simply tying a bow or knot, you can also add a word or design stamped on ribbon to give a project that finishing touch.

Click on the ribbon above, or contact me today to find out more!

Peninsula Craft Expo - September 5-6 2009

If you're at a bit of a loose end during the first weekend of September, and you live somewhere near the Mornington Peninsula, you could do worse than visit the Peninsula Craft Expo in Mornington and say hi to those of us working on the Stampin' Up! stand there.

The fair is being held on Saturday September 5 and Sunday September 6, from 9am till 4pm each day. Entry is only $5.00, and you will see a variety of craft retailers from the Mornington area.

You can read more about the Expo at their website here.

Bright & Cheerful

Another card made at a recent Girls' Nite, this time a very cheerful and simple card using the little set Tart & Tangy. As well as the orange, apple and cherry images shown here, there is also a strawberry.

This is a rough-&-ready CASE from a card I saw a while back on Splitcoast Stampers, made using the limited supplies I had on hand at the time. I would have preferred to use red ribbon across the front but had to make do with a strip of red card.

My daughter has suggested that next time I make this as a "spinner card" ... stay tuned! That's a great idea!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Tart & Tangy
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Real Red
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Real Red
Other: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch

Attempting Faux Embossing

I have seen stunning examples of this technique (at Felicity's blog, for a start), and would love to say that my attempts were wildly successful, but so far I'm not 100% happy with the results.

However, this card which I made recently came kind of close to the effect I was after.

Faux embossing is a technique whereby you stamp an image in white, then (a Stamp-a-ma-jig is essential for this) stamp again a fraction of a centimetre off to one side in a dark ink. The result is supposed to trick your eye into seeing a slightly raised image, as if it was embossed.

The photo here doesn't really show the effect very well, sadly, and I have seen much better samples, but I like the colours and layout of this card enough to show you how it came out.

Originally I tried the overstamping in Real Red ink to match the cardstock, but for some reason it came out an odd burgundy colour over the top of the Whisper White ink, so I redid it with the Chocolate Chip - much better.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Always
Ink: Whisper White Craft, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Basic Black, Kraft
Other: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Always in Bloom Standard Wheel

Another Monochromatic Card

After I made the card in my last post, I tried another monochromatic card, this time using the Dynamic Duo of Old Olive and Certainly Celery. Again, this is a shameless CASE of someone else's card - one I saw in our display at the Craft & Quilt Show recently ... I have no idea who made the original (which was made in browns), but it was so striking I had to try it.

I love how it came out!

First I stamped the grass image onto Certainly Celery cardstock, then dusted the image with the Embossing Buddy in preparation for embossing. The Embossing Buddy helps to dry any damp ink and stops embossing powder sticking to places it shouldn't.

The flowers were stamped with Whisper White Craft ink (I could have used Versamark but wanted to make sure the resulting image was as white as possible) then embossed with white embossing powder.

My kids said the card was "too green", but I like it. I will definitely be trying this style again with different colour combinations.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Inspired by Nature
Ink: Old Olive, Whisper White Craft
Cardstock: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Other: Wide Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Embossing Buddy, White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Dynamic Duos

Stampin' Up! colours aren't selected randomly ... they are designed specifically to coordinate with each other, and this is most obvious in the colour pairings knows as "Dynamic Duos". This means that two colours are the same, simply a different shade, as shown here with Pumpkin Pie and Apricot Appeal.

It's a handy way of creating a card when you're a bit short on colour inspiration but want to ensure the finished result will please the eye.

I completely CASEd the layout of this card from one at Splitcoast stampers (kudos to the originator, I just wish I knew the link so I could show you), but changed the colours from green to orange.

Sadly the photo doesn't do the card justice ... the colours are more vibrant in real life and the whole thing isn't quite as blurry (poor photography skills showing through there *g*).

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Pocket Silhouettes, Inspired by Nature, Best Yet (hostess set)
Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla
Other: Designer Label Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch

"Deer" Me!

Isn't this just the cutest little stamp? This is part of the "Forest Friends" set from the current Spring Mini Catalogue. Along with the deer and tree shown here, there is also a rabbit and owl, all for under $25!

A word of warning ... this picture might be a little misleading. The finished card is actually made from a quarter sheet of A4, folded in half, so it is half the size of the cards I usually make (ie. the front is what I guess would be called A7, one-eighth of an A4 sheet). I feel I should point this out so you're aware that the images are quite small - the tree image for example is only 4.5cm tall.

This card took ages to make, even though it's so small, with all the design changes it went through. Originally I had stamped the tree in Rose Red on the Rose Red cardstock but it didn't stand out enough, then the greeting I had chosen originally didn't suit the style ... thankfully with advice from my kids we worked it out and this is the result.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Forest Friends, Best Yet (hostess set)
Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red
Cardstock: Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Certainly Celery
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch

An unusual fold

You have to agree that this look is a bit different from your run-of-the-mill greeting card.

I followed instructions on Mae Collins' blog to create these cards which came out pretty much as I had imagined (very unusual occurrence *g*). For the purposes of the test run I grabbed out a stamp set that has been somewhat neglected of late - One of a Kind - because the design of these stamps is perfect for that "all over" floral look I was going for.

Still lovin' this Pacific Point blue! It is so strong but I still don't find it overwhelming.

Here is a small picture of one of the cards laid out flat - as you can see there is room for a greeting behind the front panel without detracting from the look of the card as it stands up.

Now I need to find (or make) an envelope to fit these cards in! Didn't think of that, doh!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: One of a Kind, Always
Ink: Pacific Point
Cardstock: Pacific Point, Whisper White
Other: 1-1/4" Square Punch, 1-3/8" Square Punch

One Sheet variation

My last two posts showed a One Sheet Wonder project which yields 10 cards from 9 sheets of cardstock (plus scraps). Here I have created a much simpler version using a quarter sheet of stamped cardstock per card, and a sheet of A5 cardstock scored and then ripped across the front as the card base. It's quick and simple and quite effective as well.

You don't need any special tools for this style of card, so long as you have a trimmer and perhaps some punches to add a message.





Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Fifth Avenue Floral, Oval All
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Elegant Eggplant, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon