Christmas Money Slider Wallets

You know how it can get tricky, trying to think of something to give your teenage (or near enough to) nieces and nephews for Christmas?  I'm afraid I'm a bit of a failure as an aunt, and in previous years have used the old standby, gift cards.  This year, I didn't even get that far, figuring that what teenager wants to be told what store he or she can buy their stuff at?  So I went with cold, hard cash.

But what to put it in?  Just a card, sure, I could have done that, but with the amount of "stuff" I have lying about just waiting to be made into something cool, I knew I could do better than that.

After a bit of a dig around with Google (what did we do before Google?  Especially Google Images?) I found something I liked - quick, simple and effective, my favourite three things in a card :-)

And here is my interpretation ...

 
As you can see, I decided against using ribbon in my version - mostly because I didn't have any ribbon to match the paper I used (well, I thought I didn't - until I'd finished, at which point I remembered I have Gumball Green Stitched Satin ribbon.  Doh!).  I like the little half-circle cutouts, anyway.

I also decided not to decorate the insert, thus giving myself plenty of space to include a Christmas message to my nieces and nephew.

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas!

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®
Supplies used:
Stamps: Perfect Punches Cardstock:  Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green
Accessories:  1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper

Gable Box

While on the hunt recently for a project to make showcasing the Simply Scored Tool, I stumbled across this adorable little box over at Splitcoast Stampers

"I'm game", I thought ... one sheet, not too much in the way of measuring - sounds like my kind of project.

And it was exactly the kind of project I like - sooo easy.  Of course, I had to comprise a little with the base, as I was using A4 cardstock which is only about 8-1/4" wide, but it really made no difference in the long run.  I trimmed it down to 11" long and away I went.

My only comment is that I switched steps 10 and 11, and folded the sides in before sticking down the side tab.  It just seemed to make more sense that way.  You could also trim those side flaps off, but then I don't think the edge would look as good.

The box is stamped in Crumb Cake with stamps from the Everything Eleanor set, which I suspect is going to become my new "go to" favourite set :-)  The giant swirly shape is gorgeous!

The greeting is a combination of three separate stamps from Fabulous Phrases, which I see as the stamp equivalent to fridge magnet poetry - 30 stamps with all sorts of cute and useful words, ready to mix and match to suit your occasion.

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Fabulous Phrases
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Other:Extra Large Oval Punch, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Simply Scored Tool, Corner Rounder Punch, Bitty Banners Framelits

Something a little different

Usually I will show pictures of the papercraft-y things I have made, because that's what I do.  Plus I have LOADS of papercraft supplies to play with most of the time.

 

However, today I am sharing something a bit different from my usual output ... made with Stampin' Up! Designer Fabric.

Designed to coordinate with the exclusive colour families, the Designer Fabric can be used for all sorts of projects, like quilting and other home crafts.  They come in packs of three designs, with an extra large fat quarter of 68.6 x 45.7cm in each design.

The other day, I came across this tutorial for making a little iPhone pouch, and pinned it (oh, how I love Pinterest) for future reference.  Then I realised I have pinned a LOT of stuff lately in the hope that it will make me more likely to craft.  Turns out that's not the case.  There was no reason not to start this project, so that's what I did yesterday.

I'm not as good at corners as the original pattern designer, but I'm still pretty happy with the results.  I've used the Summer Smooches fabric pack here - love the bright happy colours!  And it's easy to find the depths of my handbag!

And here's my trusty iPod Touch peeking out - fits so snugly I should be able to keep the screen a little safer in future.  The poor thing gets a lot of use, and could do with a little TLC :-)

Supplies used: Other: Summer Smooches Designer Fabric
 

Boxes Made Easy

I love me a gadget, I really do.  So when Stampin' Up! released the Simply Scored board, with coordinating Metric Plate, I had to have it.  So far I haven't really explored all the possibilities with this tool, but when I lashed out and also purchased the matching Diagonal Plate I figured I had everything I needed to make all those fancy folds and boxes and envelopes I see everywhere.

Now all I need is time *sigh*.

However, I did manage to whip this little beauty up the other night, when DD13 was due at a birthday party the next day and needed a little presentation box to fill with Skittles (her friend's favourite lolly).  Mum to the rescue!

I scouted around the net until I found a pattern to use as a guide, and made a quick little box.  Oops.  Way too small.  Out with the ruler, piece of paper and a pencil to work out the proper dimensions needed to fit in a large sized pack of Skittles (removed from their original packaging and put into a nice little cellophane bag).

And of course, now the box is in its new home and I didn't make a note of the measurements for future reference.  All I can remember is it was 1-1/2 inches high.

The box is constructed using Sticky Strip (this stuff is awesome for boxes because it really lives up to its name!) - the ribbon was wrapped around the box and stuck down with more Sticky Strip before the top and bottom decorative die cuts were added.

It was well received (as was the card) and I loved the little pink scallop flower I made for the top - too much fun!

Closeup of the scallop punch flower with the Rhinestone Brad centre.

Extreme closeup of the scallop punch flower with the Rhinestone Brad centre (because I really like this photo, and you can see the sparkle from the Shimmer Paint mist I spritzed on the flower).

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used: 
Stamp(s): Memorable Moments (sneak preview from 2012-13 Catalogue), Creative Elements
Ink: Melon Mambo
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Other: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Top Note Die, Rhinestone Brads Square Fire, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Labels Collection Framelits Dies (not currently available), ribbon

Christmas Gift Card holders, #3

The third and final of the Christmas gift card holders I made for my nieces and nephew. You can see the first and second here and here.

This time I got a little more creative than I had expected - what was supposed to be a simple slide-out design ended up taking a little longer than I thought. My first few attempts were cast aside as I toyed with different ideas.

In the end, I think I did well. The front and back are cut from the Top Note die, with the front being put back through using the Square Lattice embossing folder (available now in the Summer Mini Catalogue). Again, I spritzed it with shimmer spray, although it turned out to be a little more heavy-handed than I wanted.

Rather than just stick the two die cut pieces together, with a sliding card inside, I decided that they needed to have a little room between the two layers, so I stuck narrow pieces of cardstock at the top, bottom and left hand side to create a gap for the insert. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of this step, but you can take my word for it that it made the operation of the card holder that little bit easier.

The insert is simply a piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock with a slit cut in the left hand side to accommodate the gift card, with the Round Tab punch attached to the side.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Season of Joy
Ink: Old Olive
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Other: Frost White Shimmer Paint, Top Note Die, Round Tab Punch, Square Lattice Embossing Folder

Christmas Gift Card holders, #2

Here's the second of three gift cards I made just before Christmas (literally just before Christmas ... I think they were put together on December 24th). You can see the first here.

This time I based the holder on one found here, with amendments as suggested at this site.

If you've memorised the contents of your 2010-11 Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue (as I have, of course), you will see that I have used *gasp* a retired punch. Next time I will probably use my old faithful standby, self-adhesive magnet sheets, as I found that pulling this open a few times creased the cardstock a little, and I was worried about tearing the whole thing.

Can you see the shimmer spray? Yes, I know, I'm using this a lot, but it's so pretty!

I also added the extra dimension by putting the front (only) of the holder through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing die (a personal favourite of mine).

And here's the inside ... I added the little die cut butterfly because I somehow managed to get a tiny smudge on the pocket.

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Short & Sweet
Ink: Marina Mist
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White
Other: Frost White Shimmer Paint, Curly Label Punch, 1-3/8" x 5/8" Oval Punch, 1-3/4" x 7/8" Oval Punch, Top Note Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Jumbo Eyelets, Cropadile, Daffodil Delight 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon

Christmas Gift Card holders, #1

Each year, I give my brother's kids gift cards for Christmas ... as they get older it's hard to know what they particularly want, so I figure they're better off choosing their own gifts at their own pace. So every year I have to think up a new way of presenting the cards. Luckily there are a ton of ideas out there on the net to be inspired by!

You can see past years' gift card holders here and here.

Here's the first of the three holders I made last week. This one is based entirely on this one I made earlier this year. Because it was for my nephew, I had to restrain myself and not cover it with flower stamps and "pretty" things - lucky the owl fits nicely into this category! In retrospect, I should have put a little Christmas hat on him; sadly I didn't think of that until much later.

Here's a closeup of the owl (click to get a better look). You can also see that I spritzed the background with my Champagne Mist shimmer spray (lovin' this stuff!) (click here for a little more detail about the product, about halfway through the post). You can also see a little of the texture of the cardstock - this is the textured type, available as part of the 12x12 packs of single colour cardstock.

And here's the inside ... you can use Velcro to hold the gift card holder closed, but I prefer self adhesive magnets (you can buy this stuff by the sheet from craft stores).

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Teeny Tiny SentimentsInk: Early Espresso
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie Textured, Early Espresso, So Saffron, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Top Note Die, Two Step Owl Punch, Two Step Bird Punch, 2" x 1-3/8" Oval Punch, Word Window Punch

Top Note Box

I stumbled across this project recently, and finally got a chance to try it out the other night ... wow, it was so easy, and very effective as well.

I also finally got around to trying out the scallop punch flower properly (as opposed to the practice ones I have made). There are lots of tutorials for these flowers all over the net so I won't even attempt to write one - I used the version where you punch the scallops out, scrunch them well to soften the cardstock fibres and peel the cardstock in half to expose the soft, suede-like insides. I really love how it came out, and it seems to suit the vintage-y look of the box just right.

Here you can see a closeup of the detail on the top of the box - I tore a hole in a piece of scrap paper and used that as a reverse mask to stamp En Francais through (the same technique was used here).

Next time, I might run the top part of the box through an embossing folder in the Big Shot, for the texture (looooove texture *g*).

And here's the box open. I didn't put the little dividers in this one - perhaps next time.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, En Francais
Ink: Soft Suede, Sahara Sand
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla
Other: Scallop Circle Punch, Top Note Die

Top Note Gift Card Holder

I just love my Big Shot die cutting machine, and this Top Note die specially. Sure, it makes a nice layer on a card, but when you look at it in a different light, the possibilities are practically endless!

Do a Google Image search for Top Note Die and see what I'm talking about.

The other day I came across this tutorial for a nifty little gift card holder using this die. I have made similar holders in the past, but none came out quite as classy as this one *g*. Every time I look at it I feel so darned proud of myself LOL.

I put the front of the holder back through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, cut out a spray of leaves with my little Little Leaves Sizzlit die, and stamped up a storm with Cottage Garden - all available in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue (contact me for a copy).

The colour is totally off here ... I have adjusted it somewhat with my photo editting software, but you really can't see the gorgeous Rich Razzleberry properly (I recommend calling me to book a workshop so you can see it in person *g*).

Here's a picture of the inside of the folder - I took the instructions a step further and used the Word Window punch (carefully positioned half on the fold) inside to create a nicely shaped notch for the gift card to sit in. Of course, the punch is only a few centimetres long, so I had to punch, then slide along and punch again to create a slot the right width.

The holder is held together with pieces cut from a little self-adhesive magnet sheet - I find these are easier on cardstock that velcro, which can stick a little too agressively and cause the card to bend and crease as you try to open it.


Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Cottage Garden
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Large Oval Punch, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Top Note Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Word Window Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Fun Flowers!

*gasp* a non Stampin' Up! entry! But it was such fun I have to share.

A few weeks ago, a challenge was issued to members of South Eastern Rubber Stampers (a craft group who meet on the last Saturday of each month in the Mount Street Neighbourhood House in Glen Waverley).

The challenge - create a paper flower to go towards a big surprise "thank you" bouquet for Pauline, who does such a great job running the club for us, and has done for many years now.

These are the flowers I made - I was only going to do one, but found once I started it was impossible to stop, and ended up with four.

The first two flowers are made with a series of heart shapes, curled a little on the edges, the third and fourth are made with circles (the largest was about 4 inches across) fringed along the edges and again curled.

You can see the finished bouquet over on the SERS blog.

Sale-A-Brate Good Times, Come On!

Yeah, I know, that is one of the lamer blog titles of all time LOL, but it's just that every time I hear the word "Sale-A-Bration", that song jumps into my head.

Yes, it's Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration time again. For those of you who haven't experienced this, I'll quickly explain ... from now until March 31, for every $100 you spend on Stampin' Up! merchandise (catalogue price, so that is excluding shipping) you receive a totally FREE Sale-A-Bration stamp set! There are four FREE stamp sets to choose from, they are only available during the Sale-A-Bration period, are not available for sale, and once it's over that's it, you can't get them any more.

To have a look at the stamp sets, click on over to the Stampin' Up! website (direct link to the Sale-A-Bration page here or on my Business Website here).

Being a demonstrator, I am lucky enough to be able to take advantage of things like pre-purchase on some items, including SAB sets. After much umming and ahing - it was a hard decision, I can tell you - I decided to get Good Neighbours (see the sample to the left) - it's so cute! The set consists of 10 stamps (admittedly they're kinda small), comprising three houses, three roofs, three trees and a cloud, so you can mix & match and make your own little town scene (a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig is almost essential here, by the way).

The sample shown here was made at the direction of my daughter, aged 11. I had made her a bookmark a few weeks back, which she didn't like because apparently the colours I chose "don't look good together". Her words. So she was given the job of choosing the colours for her bookmark herself.

While Gable Green and Perfect Plum is not a colour scheme I would have picked, it actually came out quite well in the end.

It was also her choice to have the little house on there (I added the tree without being told *g*), and while I was sceptical at first, the bookmark ended up looking a lot nicer than I had thought.

To give you an idea of the size of the Good Neighbours stamps, the bookmark measures 7cm across and 10.5cm high. And for those of you who want more details, it's actually folded in half along the top (so it's actually a 21x7cm strip), with the Round Tab Punch stapled on for a tab, and magnets stuck inside so the bookmark grips the page and (hopefully) doesn't fall out.

If you want your own copy of the Sale-A-Bration brochure, or wish to place a qualifying order to get your very own FREE stamp set, contact me today!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Good Neighbours (Sale-A-Bration set)
Ink: Perfect Plum, Gable Green
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Gable Green, Whisper White
Other: Round Tab Punch, Scallop Square Punch, 1-1/4" Square Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Retro Remix Standard Wheel

Happy New Year!

Another Christmas has passed, and we can all breathe freely for a little while at least ... while I enjoyed the break, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of pressure attached to Christmas - sorry, just got a little "bah humbug" there *g*.

Anyway, it's now 2010, and so far it's looking like a good year. Then again, it is only the 6th, plenty of time for things to go wrong LOL.

To kick off this year's posts, here is a snap of little gift card holders I whipped up for my nieces and nephew on Christmas Eve (nothing like the last minute for getting things done!). We usually find gift cards or cash are easiest, that way the kids can get whatever they want rather than end up with something lame that Auntie Chris picked up for them.

So each year I try to come up with a smart packaging idea. I was going to make little handbags, but that probably would have annoyed my nephew no end LOL, so after a little research online came up with these little beauties. And do you think I can remember where I got the idea from? Of course not!

Basically, these holders are a strip of cardstock, scored twice, with one side stuck down to create a little pocket. I stuck a piece of white cardstock under the top flap to write my message on.

And look! I've even cut into my precious stash of Designer Series Paper to decorate these - no stamping involved!

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Pixie Pink
Other: Washington Apple DSP, Petal Party Simply Scrappin' Kit, 1/4" White Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/8" So Saffron and Certainly Celery ribbons from September promo (no longer available, sorry), Horizontal Slot Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

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!

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.

Neverending Card

Have you seen a neverending card? They are so easy to make but provide hours (or at least minutes) of fun for the recipient and pretty much anyone else who is about at the time.

Recently, a few of the Gailforce girls visited Felicity, who showed us how to make one of these nifty neverending cards. It was a little tricky working out which panels went where so that they were all up the right way with each turn of the card, but once it's done you get quite a feeling of achievement *g*. And you've got something to play with LOL.

I do still have a little work to do on this card, colouring in and such, but I thought I would share it in it's "unfinished" state.

If you would like to learn how to make one, contact me - I'm sure I could work out some sort of a class to suit you!


Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Party Hearty, Crazy for Cupcakes
Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Old Olive
Other: Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper (retired)

Gift Card holder

I stumbled across Jackie Topa's blog the other day, following a link from somewhere (probably Splitcoast Stampers) to her "faux alligator skin" tutorial. From that I found her "gift card purse" instructions. So simple and effective! So I whipped up one of her sweet little handbag gift card holders to see what it came out like (well, surprise! Just like her picture!).

Anyway, it turned out that DD, who has a birthday party to go to this afternoon, wanted to give her friend a gift card. And was quite happy for me to make a holder to put it in. This is unusual, normally she would rather store-bought packaging and cards, so of course I leapt at the idea.

I tinkered with Jackie's instructions a little, making the handbag a little narrower overall because I only have a 4" circle cutter, making the base narrower as well, and adding an extra fold at the top so I could use a strip of cardstock as the handle (because I don't have wire, or matching ribbon). I love how it came out - I hope DD's friend does as well!

Can you see the sparkly, glittery centre to the flower? Love those Dazzling Diamonds! I stamped the same flower in pink and punched out the middle after using Heat & Stick powder to stick the glitter down.

Oh, and DD said I "cheated" ... the stitching on the green strip of cardstock is actually holes pierced with my paper piercer and Stampin' Up! Mat Pack, with "stitching" drawn on with my white gel pen. She didn't realise until she took a really close look *g*

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Summer Sun, Pink Passion, Versamark
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Other: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Mat Pack, uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds,

Gift Cards

It's that time of year again, when I run out of ideas for what to get for my brother's three kids. So as usual it comes down to gift cards so they can get what they *really* want.

This year we are going to see my brother's family before Christmas so today has been a bit of a rush to get stuff done before tomorrow. Yeah, I've known about it for a few weeks, but the last minute rush is traditional this time of year. If it wasn't for the last minute I'd never get anything done!

The problem with giving gift cards is making them look interesting. After all, they're nothing more than a little piece of plastic, no matter how pretty the pictures are. The solution - make cute little folders to put them in! I used instructions which are found on many websites to create these. Simply cut a strip of cardstock 4-1/2 by 11 inches (I was following US instructions), then score at 3, 5-1/2 and 8 inches. Fold into a W shape and stick the middle bits together at the sides and bottom. Use the Word Window punch to cut a slot out of the centre piece (and punch an extra bit out with a circle punch if you like) and there you have it.

And would you believe I forgot to take a photo of the inside ... if I remember I will sort that out tomorrow and put it up. Duh.

Stamp sets: Season of Joy (no longer available, sorry!)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Old Olive
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Soft Sky, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch Stampin' Dimensionals

Just for comparison, here's two of the holders I made last year, using a nifty little pattern found here ... how clever and cute is that?

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Looks Like Spring
Ink: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Regal Rose, Basic Black
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Other: Corner Rounder, Horizontal Slot Punch

Live Your Dream

As promised, now that the Summer Mini is officially here, I can upload samples for you to see.

First up, some of the stuff we made at the Stampin' Up! Victorian regional seminar which was held on November 8 at the Melbourne Convention Centre. These seminars are awesome! We get to listen to inspirational talks from Stampin' Up! staff and local demonstrators, see new ideas, watch great demos and do our own make & takes with all materials (including the stamp set) provided!

So these are what we made:

First up a tall thin card - something of a change from the usual "A5 folded in half" shape. I like it. We've used a piece of the Afternoon Tea designer paper which coordinates well with the cardstock colours that were used, and the yummy 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon.

Do you see the stitched detail? Ha! Fooled you! We used the paper piercer and piercing template from the Crafter's Toolkit to make a little row of holes, then drew white lines on with a gel marker to simulate the look of stitching. Yes, I could have brought it home and used my sewing machine, but that would have involved getting it out, making sure it had white thread in, plugging it in, actually sewing the card and then packing the darn thing away again. Too much like hard work.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®. Contact me if you wish to order any of the supplies used to make this card.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Confetti White, Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky Textured, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: 5/8" Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, Crafter's Tool Kit, White Uni-ball igno gel pen

Next a little folder which is designed to hold a set of 3 Love Notes and matching envelopes. The little Love Notes cards are only 3 inches square, and are so cute. Unfortunately I *still* haven't quite finished them, but you can admire the little folder in the meantime ...

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, silver brad, White Circle Aluminium Metal Edge tag, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 3/16" Corner Rounder punch

Thirdly, we have a "matchbook fold" card ... this has a little fold at the bottom, and the top flap tucks into it like a matchbook. The result is very effective. You probably can't see it in the photo, but we used the journalling lines stamp on the white tag, so it looks a little like a page taken from an exercise book.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky
Cardstock: Soft Sky Textured, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, White Circle Aluminium Metal Edge tag, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1/16" Circle punch, Linen thread

And finally, a 6x6 scrapbook page. I really must find a nice photo to put into this. We got to play with the square scallop punch on this one - it makes an interesting element and ties the page together at the top.

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Live Your Dream
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Soft Sky
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Groovy Guava, Whisper White, Afternoon Tea Designer Paper
Other: Soft Sky double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, Silver Brad, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Square Punch

Next time I go to a regional seminar or the Stampin' Up! Australian convention (next May in Canberra!), I am going to take my trusty Stampamajig ... it's the only way I'm going to get those sentiments stamped straight *sigh*

Always playing about

I keep finding new reasons to love this stamp set ... this time it's shrink plastic. Yes, I know, not something that Stampin' Up! sell, but it was so much fun I had to share with you!

I found some shrink plastic that I bought a while back and decided to have a play - but the thing with this stuff is that ... well, it shrinks. You need to use an image that is a decent size to start off with as the finished product will be around a third of the original size. And that's where the heart from Always comes in - it measures about 6cm from top to bottom so makes a good sized charm when shrunk.

So how did I do this? I simply stamped the heart onto the shrink plastic with Stazon (carefully so as not to smudge the ink), trimmed it as neatly as possible, punched a hole in at the top (very important to do this *before* you shrink) and blasted the plastic with my heat gun while it curled and contorted and finally shrunk to its finished size.

When the plastic has finished shrinking the piece will be considerably thicker than it was at the start, and sturdy enough to make fun jewellery from. I decided not to colour these earrings, but I could have used coloured Sharpies. And because I have been known to suffer allergic reactions to jewellery findings I just used some jump rings and made a chain to hang the hearts from my (non allergenic) sleepers.

A reminder that this particular set is from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue and as such, is only available until the end of this month ... if you have been thinking about buying it but kept putting it off, I would hate for you to miss out! Contact me to place your order today!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Stazon
Other: Cropadile
The stamped heart uses Purely Pomegrate ink on Whisper White cardstock, and Pretty in Pink ink on Pretty in Pink cardstock.

A rare event

As you may have noticed, there is a distinct lack of scrapbook pages on my blog. This is because I have been a cardmaker since ... well, it seems like forever, but it's certainly been a very long time, and until recently photos were something that got shoved into slip in pockets (if they ever left the chemist's envelope) and looked at every so often, usually by the kids.

Now I am trying to move out of my comfort zone occasionally and to this end I have created a very simple 6x6 page (with no journalling - I haven't got my head around that yet!) using a glamour photo of my mother from before she was married.

Love this colour combination ...! As always, you really have to see it in the flesh so to speak to appreciate just how pretty they are together.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White