A Vintage Feel ...

When I first saw this stamp set, I just knew I had to have it - isn't it just gorgeous?

And when I saw this card on the talented Andrea Lowcock's blog, I knew I had to CASE it.  The design is just so simple and yet so darned pretty.

I changed it a little, opting to make the white card a layer on coloured cardstock (looooove this new Rich Razzleberry colour!) and adding a strip of Old Olive to lift the edges out a little.  And you can't really tell from the photo, but I have also used the Very Vintage wheel along the very bottom of the Razzleberry layer.

Now if you happen to be Gina reading this, and you find an envelope in your mail, pretend to be surprised, okay?  Big hugs and a belated happy birthday to you, my dear friend.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Vintage Vogue, Wonderful Favourites
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive 
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel

A little forest *g*

Trendy Trees is one of those stamp sets that doesn't look like much when you see it. It consists of two little tree trunks, four different tree tops and a couple of phrases. But once you start to put the stamps together (and I highly recommend the use of a Stampamajig here) it's a lot of fun!

This little forest of trees was just me grabbing out a few random ink colours to see what would happen - who would have thought they would work so well?

I also got out the matching Funky Forest wheel to add a bit of interest to the layering.

While on the subject of wheels, can I interest you in a Stampin' Around Wheel Guide? I am a bit, um ... defective when it comes to straight lines, so whenever I am using my Stampin' Around Wheels, I always use the guide as well to ensure I'm not going off the straight and narrow. I find that when using the "standard" wheels, they can tend to wobble a bit - the Wheel Guide helps overcome this problem.


Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Trendy Trees
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Really Rust, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Cardstock: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Really Rust, Whisper White
Other: Funky Forsest Stampin' Around Standard Wheel, Stampamajig, Stampin' Around Wheel Guide

Another Happy Moment Card

The other day I posted a card using the cute little bouquet stamp from the Sale-A-Bration stamp set Happy Moments. Today I am showing you the reason why I like this set so much - look at this sweet little birdcage!

Now, before you get too excited, I must point out that the swirl on this card is actually a stamp from a completely different set ("For Everything" from the Summer Mini Catalogue) - I stamped the cage, masked it and stamped the swirl so it appears to be behind the cage.

I also sponged lightly around the mask while it was in place just to define the cage a little better.

The gray layer is Going Gray Textured cardstock (only available as part of a mixed pack of 12x12 neutral coloured cardstock) - I love this particular colour!

As always, if you like this card and would like to know how to get your hands on the Happy Moments stamp set absolutely FREE, contact me for more information - a single purchase of $100 in Stampin' Up! merchandise is all it takes to own this special little set!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Happy Moments, For Everything
Ink: Stazon Black, Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Apricot Appeal, Going Gray Textured, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Stampin' Write Marker in Pixie Pink, Cutter Kit, Stampin' Dimensionals, Retro Remix Standard Wheel

Another challenge card

We're on a bit of a roll over at Gail Force Stampers ... this time Jo has challenged us to create a card using one of four sketches.

Here I've used the little birdie from the Summer Mini Catalogue set "For Everything", stamped in Chocolate Chip and coloured in with a Pretty In Pink Stampin' Write marker.

I sponged the edges of the Pink Pirouette strip, as well as the edges of the scalloped circle, just to add a little depth to the card.

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: For Everything
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer

Gailforce Stampers Mojo Challenge

What an odd title for a post.

Well, if you know the backstory, perhaps not.

Over the summer months, sometimes it can be hard to find creative juices (or "mojo" - thanks Austin Powers!) with the warmer weather beckoning us outside, school holidays in full force and other distractions.

It's very easy to lose your way creatively during these times, and so I was delighted when Anne-Marie, a member of the Gailforce Stampers team (headed by my upline, the lovely Gail) , recently challenged the rest of us to create a card conforming to very strict parameters.

The card could ONLY use the colours in the Kaleidoscope Designer Series Paper (available in the current Summer Mini Catalogue), plus Whisper White for a neutral. In other words, Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion and Pixie Pink. And if you know your Stampin' Up! colours, you know that whatever we made was going to be BRIGHT!

These are not colours I would normally reach for, let alone put together, so it was tricky. But a challenge is a challenge and needs to be met, and I managed it! Not once, but twice!

The first card can be seen above, and here is the second ... I should have put a sunglasses warning in this post, huh.

Anyway, thanks for the challenge Anne-Marie!

Images © 1990-2010 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Card 1:
Stamp/s: Eastern Blooms, Short & Sweet
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White
Other: Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Card 2:
Stamp/s: Hello Again
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Pixie Pink
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Other: Spiral Punch, Retro Remix Standard Stampin' Around Wheel

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

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.

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

Something simple

I haven't played around with my stamps for a little while now - lots of other stuff going on, not least of which was Paperific (and if you missed that, don't forget the Craft & Quilt fair is being held in July at Jeff's Shed ... uh, I mean the Melbourne Exhibition Centre - yes, I'll be there).

So it was nice to find a few moments to sit down and create this card. I hadn't yet used the Kraft cardstock I got a few weeks ago, and thought it would be pretty dressed up with Pacific Point (such a gorgeous blue! At first I thought it was just too blue, and if you happen to drop a stamp wrong side down in the ink pad it gets everywhere, but now I'm quite liking it).

And it did only take a few minutes to put together once I got all the basic ingredients out.

The detail's not so great so you might not be able to see the words stamped along the bottom of the Kraft cardstock - these are from the Friendly Words wheel, and inked in Baja Breeze.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Inspired by Nature, Friendly Words wheel
Ink: Pacific Point, Baja Breeze
Cardstock: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Very Vanilla
Other: Wide Oval Punch, Jumbo Stampin' Around Handle, Stampin' Dimensionals

Emboss Resist

One of the (many) advantages of attending the annual Stampin' Up! convention is being able to watch top demonstrators and SU staff sit down and create cards before your eyes. We were lucky enough to have Pam Morgan from the States entertain us with her presentation (and, yes, she is very entertaining!).

One of the cards Pam demonstrated really caught my eye, and I got the chance to replicate it (in my own way) the other night.

Now, normally I wouldn't combine pink and red as shown here, but having seen Pam's sample I realised that it can work.

Anyone who's seen the original knows that the main panel is much the same (using the emboss resist technique), and the rest is just me making things up, but I was working with what I had on hand at the time, and I had just taken delivery of the new Eyelet Border Punch (isn't it yummy?) so needed to take it for a maiden voyage.

Thank you Gail for letting me borrow your stamp set and wheel, and I can't wait to get my own *g*.

Images © 1990-2009 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp set/s: Inspired by Nature, Friendly Words wheel
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirhouette, Versamark
Cardstock: Pink Pirhouette, Whisper White
Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Jumbo Stampin' Around Handle

Just messing about ...

... with Priceless yet again. I will have to make myself use other stamps soon. I picked up a couple of little shelving units on the weekend to store my Stampin' Up! sets in, so they are a little more accessible - hopefully this will cure me of using the same stamps over and over.

Then again, this kind of thing has never worked in the past, I can see no reason for it to start now *g*.

I know that this card was inspired by one seen ... somewhere ... whoever you are, I apologise for not attaching credit, but it was a great idea and ended up being a very nice card.

Sadly you probably can't see the sparkly glitter I stuck to some parts of the swirl ... take my word for it, it does look pretty.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Cardstock: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponges

Pretty Priceless

I just love this stamp set. And these colours (you've probably already noticed that). The pale Pretty in Pink contrasts really well with the strong Not Quite Navy and Purely Pomegranate. It's pretty hard to make a dud card with this set, although I have managed it *g*. Not that I will be posting any of my failures, you don't need to see those!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Purely Pomegranate
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel, Stampin' Around Jumbo Handle, Stampin' Dimensionals

Pretty Butterflies

I have to admit ... this one is not an original idea of mine :-( but I wish it was! The layout was so pretty I just had to make one of my own with similar colours, because the soft blue, green and purple combination was too lovely to resist.

You can see the original here - I liked the white on white look but ended up going with Bashful Blue as a base colour instead.

I am so glad I finally got around to buying this stamp set for myself - it's just so pretty and swirly *g*. I can see myself getting a lot of use out of this one!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: Sage Shadow, Bashful Blue, Perfect Plum
Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Wheel, Stampin' Around Jumbo Handle, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Waterfall card

I learnt how to make these a few years back, then promptly forgot how to ... my very first effort is still kicking about somewhere, I think. Anyway, I thought it was time to make another one, as they're fun to play with *g*.

You pull the tab at the bottom and the pictures flip over. Rather than using pictures as shown here, you could use words in to reveal a message as the tab is pulled. A message can also be stamped/written on the tab itself.

How fortunate for me that this set (Priceless) comes with four images just the right size for this kind of treatment *g*. And (warning: shameless plug ahead) if you buy Priceless this month you can get the matching So Swirly wheel absolutely free! Contact me today!

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: Rose Red, So Saffron
Cardstock: Mellow Moss, So Saffron, Rose Red, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel, Jumbo Handle, Cropadile, eyelets

Catching up

With one thing and another, I've not really found time for stamping or writing this week ... just stuff getting in the way, but that's how it is I guess *shrug*.

To make up for the lack of posts lately, here are pictures of the cards we made at a workshop I ran over the weekend (waves to Melita and her friends - thanks for a fun afternoon!).

Firstly a Christmas card ... well, after all it's only 3 and a bit months away, so now is the best time to start! I forgot to include a brad in the workshop sample (oops, sorry guys) but otherwise it's as seen here.

We used my favourite Purely Pomegranate and another of SU's 2007/08 In Colors, Wild Wasabi. The green of Wild Wasabi is a little more vibrant than seen here, and between this and the Pomegranate, they take the traditional red/green Christmas colour combination and give it a bit of oomph *g*!

Do the sponged edges of the green layer show up? We did that to give the card a little more depth.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Season of Joy
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel & Handle, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Sponges

The other card we made was similar to the one posted here, except that I didn't have the butterfly from Priceless (because I didn't get the stamp set for my very own until today - at last, I finally got around to buying it for myself!), so we used the side-on butterfly from Garden Whimsy instead.

I also substituted the Regal Rose cardstock and ink for Cameo Coral (not enough of the original colour cardstock on hand - also now rectified with the order I received today *g*). The colours are similar enough to be interchangable here, but when you have them side by side they are very different (if that makes sense ...?). Perhaps you need to see them to compare.

This card is quick and easy but also has a Wow factor to it. Well, that's what I think, anyway *g*.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Baroque Motifs, Garden Whimsy, Warm Words
Ink: Cameo Coral, Old Olive
Cardstock: Cameo Coral, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker

River Rock

I'm rediscovering this great colour ... by itself it doesn't look like much but once you pair it with different colours it really grows on you!

First up is a card using one of the stamp set/wheel combinations you could buy with this month's promotion - the set is Priceless and the wheel is called So Swirly. Buy Priceless and get So Swirly for free, but only for September! Contact me today! (sorry, just had to get a plug in there *g*).

I loooove this set and this wheel.

I've combined River Rock with Purely Pomegranate just because I love these two together. Sorry the pic is a little dark, I was in a hurry.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Priceless
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White
Other: So Swirly Stampin' Around Jumbo Wheel & Handle, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

The second card was mostly made to see what River Rock looked like with Perfect Plum and Pale Plum - I think it works. I wish you could see this card in person - it is a spinner card and so much fun to play with! You hold the card almost upright then tilt it from side to side and watch the circular element spin down the slot and back again.

Once you get the hang of making spinner cards, they take about 10 minutes to put together, then you get an hour of fun playing with them LOL.

Just a quick note ... if you are going to make one of these, I would suggest using a Word Window punch rather than cutting the slot yourself as shown in the instructions in the link. Much quicker and less frustration for all concerned. Simply push the punch in as far as it will go, punch once about an inch in from one side, then slide along and punch again. Also, use two Dimensionals on top of each other to lift the main layer away from the backing, in order to give the spinner plenty of room at the back to do its thing.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp sets: Always
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, River Rock
Cardstock: River Rock, Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Paper Piercing tool