Heading off to Sydney!

This time tomorrow I will be in sunny (?) Sydney, ready to attend the annual Stampin' Up! Convention, where I will meet lots of other demonstrators, learn some new tips & tricks, and generally hang out with friends. This is the one time of the year I go away without the family, and while I love them to bits, it's nice to take a break.

As is customary, I have been working on swaps to exchange with other demonstrators - a good way of gathering samples and ideas which you might not have thought of. I don't make many, because I have a short attention span *g*, so I like to think of these as "limited editions" LOL.

The photo above is a little dark, so here's a closeup of the little bird's wing, which I've popped up on a dimensional. Isn't this bird punch completely gorgeous?

Wish me luck in Sydney, and with any luck I'll come back with some great new ideas to share with you!

Stamps: Simply Said, En Francais
Ink: Sahara Sand, Real Red
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper WhiteOther: Two Step Bird Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Top Note Die

Valentine's Day Cards

I don't think I've ever deliberately set out to make a Valentine's Day card. Even when I made these, that wasn't the original intention - I was just playing around. It wasn't until I was done that I realised *g*.

The idea for the main piece originally came from something that Nicki Tidbold made (I don't think she has those particular cards on her blog, but have a look anyway - she has gorgeous stuff!). She hadmade a beautiful piece of work using reverse masking and made me realise I hadn't done anything like that for ages.

This is the result. I chose to use very neutral colours with the addition of Real Red for a bit of impact, and the hearts seemed to be the right choice in combination with the bird and the script. And that's how they became Valentine's Day cards *g*.

I tried to write a tutorial for masking but it turns out that the Stampin' Up! website has a much better version for you to check out if you're not familiar with this technique. Check it out! And to create a "reverse mask" such as the one I used to stamp the text in the cards above, just cut or tear a hole in scrap paper and stamp through it. Simple!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Always, En Francais, Simply Said
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Basic Gray, Going Gray
Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Cutter Kit, Stamp A Ma Jig