We wish you a Merry Christmas

If I have been good and organised, anyone who was going to receive a Christmas card from me has theirs by now, so now I can post my 2012 family Christmas card.

I was feeling a little lazy this year, so went with a very quick but (I like to think) effective design, relying on two different layers of embossed cardstock and the Apothecary Accents framelits for visual appeal.

And it wouldn't be Christmas if I didn't spritz it up with a little Shimmer Paint :-)  Love, love, love that stuff!  You can barely see it in this photo - the Raspberry Ripple layer has been given a light coat of sparkle just for fun.

Have I mentioned just how much I love my embossing folders?  And my framelits?  And pretty much every accessory ever made for the Big Shot?


Merry Christmas to everyone, and a happy 2013!

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamps: Heart of Christmas 
Cardstock:  Raspberry Ripple, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Raspberry Ripple
 Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits, Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder, Holiday Frame Embossing Folder, 3/16" Metallic Brads

A simple Christmas card

As promised the other day, here is the card I made to send out to the customers of my "day job" - it was a pretty simple design, relying on the Apothecary Accents framelits and the Holiday Frame embossing folder for the "wow" factor.  Not shown here is the Champagne Frost shimmer paint applied to the Crumb Cake layer (as I had to make this one up quickly after sealing up and mailing all the work ones, I forgot that step!), which, trust me, looked very effective :-)

This year I made 111 of these little beauties - I really need to talk to the sales guys, and ask them to tone down their efforts to find new business, or this is going to be the end of me!

Just a quick word - if you like this stamp, called "Heart of Christmas" and want it for your own, it's only available until the end of the Holiday Catgalogue period, January 31, 2013.  It is one of the "a la carte" range, meaning it is a single stamp, not part of a set, so is very affordable :-)


Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamps: Heart of Christmas 
Cardstock:  Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Accessories:  Apothecary Accents Framelits, Holiday Frame Embossing Folder

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

My new obsession

... and it's not stamping!  Well, it is stamping related, kind of ...

A friend told me about Pinterest, I took a look and now I can't stop browsing!  It's a site where you can store pictures of things that you love - like a giant pinboard.  In the past, I have bookmarked pictures of things to look back on later, but trawling through all those bookmarks is hard work *phew* - so much easier to have all the pictures right in front of you!  Less clicking = more time to look!

So why is this relevant?  Well, I have been pinning pictures of cards I liked, whether it was a colour scheme, a layout, an interesting way of using something, and was inspired to make this the other night:

 

Here's the original  - isn't it gorgeous?  And such an effective use of the Lace Ribbon Border Punch.

I've made the cute scrunched flowers before, but this one was made by spritzing the punched scallops of cardstock with water, as per the very entertaining tutorial here (I have to admit I laughed a little while reading this one!).

Here's a closeup of the strip of cardstock and the flower - I really like how this came out, and was surprised at how "solid" the flower became once it was dry!  You can also see the flecks of Shimmer Paint (in Champagne Mist) I used to spritz the base and flower for a little sparkle.

And just because I love the flower, here's another closeup.

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:
Cardstock: River Rock, Very Vanilla
Other: Lace Ribbon Border Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, Basic Pearls, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint

I love butterflies :-)

I don't know what it is ... butterfly stamps and die cuts are just so pretty.  Here's a card I made recently which just makes me smile because a) it has butterflies and b) it was so, so easy to put together.

It's actually quite similar to cards I've made previously (see here and here, or just have a look at everything on this blog that I've made using this die), but if it ain't broke, why fix it?

Unfortunately the colours on this look a little duller than they are in real life - the weather wasn't cooperating and I just couldn't get the lighting I wanted.  The large butterfly is cut from Melon Mambo, a bright dark pink which has come out more of a red colour here.

As for the circle on the right, it kind of looks like it's supposed to be the sun, but it's really just because that corner needed something and this is what looked right.

I just realised what's missing.  Sparkles.  I might add some tomorrow - a rhinestone, perhaps, or a spritz of Shimmer Paint. I can't believe I forgot to add sparkles!

Images © 1990-2012 Stampin' Up!®


Supplies used:Cardstock: Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Other: Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch

Countdown to Christmas

With only a few days to go, I thought I had better share my Christmas cards for 2011 ... those of you who saw my previous post will recognise this instantly LOL.  Yes, I CASEd myself again this year - it was hard enough coming up with one design I could mass produce, why would I want to try to think of another?

Actually, I did have another idea, but that never really took off - I decided I was trying too hard, and the finished results didn't look ... well, finished.  I might revisit the idea through the year, however - we'll see how keen I get.

As with the cards I made for my employers, I trimmed each edge with the Scallop Border Punch, and embossed them using the Finial Press Embossing Folder.  This time I used my time-saving tip of putting two through the folder at a time from the start ... you may be able to tell from this closeup that the embossed design doesn't look quite as crisp as you would normally expect - this card uses the bottom of the two embossed sheets.

To dress up the cards a little, I spritzed the front flap with a little of my home made shimmer spray (ie. a few drops of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint in a little spray bottle with some rubbing alcohol) - it looks pretty and smells nice too!

Images © 1990-2011 Stampin' Up!®

Supplies used:

Stamp/s: Season of Joy
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White
Other: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Finial Press Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones, Champagne Frost Shimmer Paint

Cutout Butterflies

A couple of months ago, I attended Stampin' Up's annual convention here in Melbourne. One of the highlights of convention is seeing fellow demonstrators present a Workshop Wow on stage - they are all so clever, and we always come away with some nifty little trick to share with out customers.

Kirsty Brown showed us a stunning way to use our Beautiful Butterflies Sizzix die. I would try to explain it, but a picture would do the job way better. Here's my take on her nifty technique:


And a closeup:

I'm not sure if it shows up in the photo, but I spritzed the Bashful Blue butterfly with a Frost White Shimmer Paint spray after embossing it.

Once you have the positioning correct, these double cut butterflies are a snap to make - just ask the ladies I taught it to the other week!

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Baroque Motifs, Vintage Vogue
Ink: Pear Pizazz, Concord Crush
Cardstock: Conford Crush, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Other: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Finial Press Em3/16" Corner Rounder, Basic Rhinestones

Concord Flowers

I loved this card the minute I saw it. I can't decide if it's the colour scheme (how well does River Rock go with Melon Mambo and Elegant Eggplant?) or the layout. In an attempt to find out, I made my own version - and yes, I know, it's pretty much a straight copy. I was low on mojo the other night when I did this, and couldn't find my own creativity :-(

Anyway, aside from using Concord Crush instead of Elegant Eggplant (just a personal preference), changing out the stamp on the panel and using my embossing folder to dress up the Melon Mambo layer, it's pretty much the same card.

I might have to try this colour combo for other projects - it's certainly eye catching!

And here's a close up of the little butterfly - spritzed with a shimmer mist made from Frost White Shimmer Paint ... so cute.

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Inspired by Nature
Ink: Concord Crush
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, River Rock, Concord Crush
Other: Finial Press Embossing Folder, Top Note Sizzix Die, Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Vintage Style

It's been quite a while since I tried my hand at a "vintage" style card, and I was surprised just how hard it was to capture the vision I had in my head of how this was supposed to work out.

To be honest, I never did work that out. This card really didn't come out the way I wanted it to :-(

I started with a random page out of an old dictionary, scrunched, sponged, inked and spritzed with water then dried with my heat tool. I've used More Mustard, to try and capture that old book colour.

The flower is made using a couple more dictionary pages (it's okay, it was old and falling apart anyway), the Scallop Circle punches (now available in two different sizes), with more scrunching and sponging, then spritzed with a Shimmer Paint spray (which I've used a few times before) using Champagne Mist.

I've also spritzed the Very Vanilla layer with Champagne Mist, just because I thought it looked pretty :-) You might be able to see it in this closeup.

The whole thing needs a greeting or something, but I might leave that until I decide who to give it to :-)

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): French Filigree, Vintage Vogue
Ink: More Mustard, Versamark
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Other: 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Border, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint

Butterfly Easel Cards

These are just so cute!

I was blog surfing the other night, looking for more ideas using my Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, and came across this by the talented Bronwyn Eastley. I was intrigued and investigated further - turns out she has a tutorial on her blog on making a slightly smaller version (there is a link at the end of the Faux Fabric Butterfly post).

So easy! So effective!

So naturally I made two *g*


Here's a close up of the Baja Breeze butterfly, which I made following Bronwyn's instructions.

The edges and embossed design are lightly sponged with matching Baja Breeze ink just to emphasise the texture a bit.

I think it probably needs some shimmer spritz ... might have to disassemble it and rectify that.

Do you like the centre? I bought a packet of the Designer Brads ages ago, but never found the right project to put them on until now. The Filigree brads (as shown here) are actually two parts - a small silver brad and a decorative hardware piece to put behind it (in two sizes - the small is shown here).

Supplies used:
Ink: Baja Breeze
Cardstock: Baja Breeze
Other: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Filigree Designer Brads

I was so encouraged by my success I tried my hand at making one of these easel cards using the largest butterfly on the die. After a bit of trial and error, I managed to get it to work.

Here is a closeup of the Pink Pirouette butterfly ... as you can see, I went a little further with the decorations on this one, by sparkling up the brad with some Dazzling Diamonds. To do this, I used tweezers to hold the prongs of the brad and smooshed it into my Versamark pad. Then I dipped it into Heat & Stick powder and heated it until the adhesive just melted. Then I dunked it straight into a tub of Dazzling Diamonds and voila! And that stuff is well glued down, too, I checked - it's not going to shed all over the place.

Still might need Shimmer Paint on this one though ...

Supplies used:
Stamp(s): Bella Toile
Ink: Pink Pirouette
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette
Other: Beautiful Butterflies Bigz die, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Filigree Designer Brads, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds

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

Mmm, roses...

Long time no see! Still too busy to sit down and stamp, although I do need to make some gift card holders for my brother's kids by Christmas day - ah, there's plenty of time, there's still two days to go *g*.

In the meantime, here's a card I made last month and completely forgot to post. My dear friend Pauline was turning *ahem*, so of course I had to use one of her favourite stamp sets to celebrate.

I have also used the Manhattan Flower embossing folder, as it coordinates perfectly with the big rose from Fifth Avenue Floral.

To emphasise the embossed background just a little, I sponged it lightly with some Crumb Cake ink, and also sponged around the edges of the punched-out greeting.

If you look closely, you can see the subtle glitter of Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint spritzed lightly across the central rose.

And as a final touch, I added a self adhesive rhinestone to dot the "I". The rhinestones, along with sticky-backed pearls, are new to the catalogue this year (page 140) - for only $9.50, you get 150 rhinestones or pearls in three sizes (2mm, 3mm and 5mm).

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Fifth Avenue Floral, Upsy Daisy
Ink: Early Espresso, Versamark, Crumb Cake
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Other: Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint

More Christmas cheer

As promised, here's a picture of the Christmas card that my lucky friends and family are going to receive this year.

Rather than think of a new design, I just based this on the card I made for my "real life job" employer to send out to our customers, with a couple of changes. First and most obvious (duh!) is the colours - I have gone for a more traditional red/green look, with a slightly vintage feel (using the vanilla and kraft).

This is a chance to showcase my new favourite colour, Cherry Cobbler ... so pretty ...!

I also used one of the little stamps in the Delightful Decorations sets for the Christmas message in the middle of the bauble, stamped in the new Crumb Cake ink which matches the cardstock formerly known as Kraft.

The one change you can't really see in this photo is the shimmer spray I've used on the vanilla layer. You put a few drops (about 10) of the new Shimmer Paint (page 143 in the 2010-11 Idea Book & Catalogue) in a little spray bottle, top it up with some rubbing alcohol (available in the health & beauty aisle in your supermarket), shake well before each use, and spritz your cardstock for beautiful shine. If it's not sparkly enough, you can respritz when it's dry.

Here's an exteme closeup, where you can actually see the flecks of paint (click for a closer view). If you could see the actual card, you would see that it has a glow about it, and really adds to the overall effect - I'm very happy with this year's efforts!

And you can expect to see a lot more shimmer in my cards - I love this Shimmer Paint!

Supplies used:
Stamp/s: Delightful Decorations
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Old Olive
Other: Top Note Die, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Ornament Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, Shimmer Paint