colour me happy

Inlaid embossing fun with K's

2012-02-01T18:00:00.000+11:00

Todays card is one I made for a friend who wanted to give a special 40th birthday card for a friend. While asking what her friend might like, she said the friend was having a themed party where everyone had to come dressed as something beginning with the letter K, as the birthday girl's name begins with K - fun huh! So, with that in mind, this is what I came up with:

As you can see, I've used the inlaid embossing technique again with the square lattice embossing folder. I just love the look this gives. The K & the 40 is from the timeless type junior alphabet die set & I think it was perfect for this, since it's almost square. I thought it might look too plain with just the K's so I added some itty bitty punched flowers before I embossed & some little rhinestones after.
The card is a tall one - The front is approx 21cm x 10cm from memory. This was a hurried photo, so the colours are not quite right, but you get the idea ;0)

It's been a while since I made this, but I'm pretty sure at the time I thought of the lovely Sarah Klass's card with numbers to get me started (coincidentally a 'K' too!). Thanks again Miss S.

My friend liked what I came up with & hopefully the birthday girl did too.

Thanks very much for stopping by. Hope you liked the card & hope to see you again soon.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Card/Paper: baja breeze base, rose red, regal rose, whisper white, lots of Subtles collection scraps for the K's

Accessories: basic rhinestones, celery grograin ribbon (retired)

Tools: Big Shot, square lattice embossing folder, Timeless Type junior alphabet dies, circles #2 die, 1 3/4 inch cirle punch, itty bitty punch pack

Loving Best of Everything

2012-01-31T21:15:00.004+11:00

I'm still catching up with posts, as the lovely ladies who received today's cards will realise. As most of you won't have seen them & that I really liked them, here we go anyway! They're all using the Best of Everything set, which still makes me smile every time I see or use it.

First up is one I made for my gorgeous stamping friend Kim.

The birdie & branch are actually sparkly in real life, as they're stamped with frost white shimmer paint, coloured with reinkers. The colours are concord crush, melon mambo & lucky limeade. The spotted paper & flower swirl papers are from the Cheerful Treat hostess only DSP pack & are one of my fave papers from this year. The happy birthday wishes image is from the fab Petite Pairs set.
I've used the dotted scallop ribbon, dotted side down with some cotton twine for my bow. I carried the paper to the inside too:

I made the next card for my dear friend Wendy's birthday. It's similar to the first & used many of the same supplies. This time, I used a crumb cake (kraft) base with melon mat. The stripe DSP & concord crush DSP is also from the the Cheerful Treat DSP pack.

And one more simple card before I go....I made this little thank you card with some leftover pieces I had on my desk. It was really quick & easy, but I think it's cute.

Hope you like these cards, as much as I liked making & giving them. Thanks very much for visiting & if you have any questions or would just like to say hello, please leave a comment. I love hearing from you. Until next time,

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Best of Everything 1

Stamps: Best of Everything, Petite Pairs, Happiest Birthday Wishes (hostess)

Card/Paper: concord crush, melon mambo, lucky limeade, whisper white card, Cheerful Treat DSP (hostess)

Ink: elegant eggplant, lucky limeade reinkers, frost white shimmer paint, concord crush ink pad

Accessories: basic pearls, melon mambo dotted scallop ribbon, cotton twine (non SU)

Tools: itty bitty punch pack

Best of Everything 2

Stamps: Best of Everything, Petite Pairs

Card/Paper: crumb cake, melon mambo, whisper white card, Cheerful Treat DSP (hostess)

Ink: elegant eggplant, lucky limeade reinkers, frost white shimmer paint, melon mambo ink pad

Accessories: basic pearls, melon mambo dotted scallop ribbon, cotton twine (non SU)

Tools: itty bitty punch pack, scallop edge punch. Big Shot, Circles #2 die (largest circle)

Best of Everything 3

Stamps: Best of Everything, Petite Pairs

Card/Paper: crumb cake, melon mambo, whisper white card, Cheerful Treat DSP (hostess)

Ink: elegant eggplant, lucky limeade reinkers, frost white shimmer paint, perfect plum ink pad

Accessories: basic pearls, celery grosgrain ribbon (retired)

Tools: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, itty bitty punch pack

My Christmas card...& more tags

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000+11:00

This is it...finally my last Christmas project from 2011 & it's my Christmas card.

Unfortunately, circumstances meant I didn't get to finish or send most of them, but I wanted to post it here anyway, as I was really happy with how it turned out & disappointed I didn't get to send our Christmas greetings to friends & family. I did think about using it for next Christmas, but decided to show you all instead.

Here's a closer view, so you can see the detail a bit better. (which I still have to show you!).

The colours are wisteria wonder & elegant eggplant. I've always had a thing for purple & I love love love this monochromatic combination.

This card includes some of my favourite images & things. I'm sure you recognise Dasher the reindeer. I combined him with the gorgeous Peace on Earth (from Four the Holidays), Merry Christmas (from Delightful Decorations) & a beautiful image from the new Charming set in the Summer Mini. Charming isn't a Christmas set, but I just HAD to use the image as it's soooo pretty. I clear embossed it on the purple card (much shinier irl). The ruffled wisteria ribbon is just yum & the top note shape got a little nod too!...as well as many punches!

Anyway, while I'm raving about the Charming image, I made matching Christmas gift tags using it & the scallop tag from the Two Tags die. The light was bad when I took the pic, so the eggplant doesn't look quite right.

I also used it for tags on Cara's school dance teachers gift bags which I made with DSP.

Jolly Bingo Bits is back
And finally before I go, I have two more tags to show you using Jolly Bingo Bits.
Cara had a male teacher this year - always tricky for gifts. I decided to go with a more manly night of navy & riding hood red combo for the tags & used the star/snowflake from Jolly Bingo Bits. I like how the smaller image lets you layer the punches & not obscure the lovely scallop stitching....which I realise in hindsight is not very manly, but c'est-la-vie! I'm sure he still liked the wine inside the bag!

His second gift had a definitely more manly look too!

Anyway, I think that's it for Christmas for me. I hope even though that Christmas is gone for 2011, that my projects give you some inspiration for this year...or the next.

Until next time, inky wishes from me.

Supplies:

My Christmas card

Stamps: Dasher, Four the Holidays, Delightful Decorations, Charming

Card: wisteria wonder, elegant eggplant, whisper white

Ink: elegant eggplant ink pad, versamark pad

Accessories: wisteria wonder ruffled ribbon, basic pearls, clear embossing powder

Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Circles die, Circle Punches -1 3/8 inch, 1 1/4 inch, 3/4 in, 7/8 inch, heat tool, embossing buddy

Eggplant Charming Tag

Stamps: Charming, Four the Holidays

Card: whisper white, elegant eggplant

Ink: elegant eggplant ink pad

Accessories: basic rhinestone

Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags die, Circle Punches -1 3/8 inch, 1 1/4 inch

Riding Hood Red Tag & Bag

Stamps: Charming, Four the Holidays

Card: whisper white, riding hood red, choc chip, retired DSP

Ink: riding hood red

Accessories: Accessories: riding hood stripe ribbon (retired)

Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags die, Circle Punches -1 3/8 inch, 1 1/4 inch

Melon Mambo Tag & Bag

Stamps: Charming, Four the Holidays

Card: whisper white, regal rose, melon mambo, Flirtatious DSP

Ink: melon mambo

Accessories: white organza ribbon

Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags die, Circle Punches -1 3/8 inch, 1 1/4 inch

Jolly Bingo Bits tags

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Four the Holidays

Card: whisper white, night of navy, riding hood red

Ink: night of navy

Accessories: riding hood stripe ribbon (retired)

Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags die, Circle Punches -1 1/4inch, 1 inch

Happy Australia Day!

2012-01-26T18:21:00.001+11:00

Just popping in quickly to wish Happy Australia Day to everyone. Hope you've had a great day celebrating our beautiful country with friends & fun.

...and from Cara, Harry & Jaz......."Aussie Aussie Aussie!"

Punch Pal Christmas treats

2012-01-24T21:22:00.000+11:00

I'm sure you're getting sick of seeing Christmas projects, but I couldn't finish without showing you some little treats I made for Cara to give to some special buddies at the end of the year.

Hanging Penguin Shaker Ornaments

First I made these little hanging Christmas shaker ornaments using some sweet treat cups for her special buds & school dance teachers.
The little penguin from the very cute Punch Pals set is stamped in elegant eggplant, coloured in with markers, then cut out & mounted him on a stamped background. The sweet treat cup is filled with a mix of faux snow & dazzling diamonds glitter & is quite sparkly in real life. The remainder of pieces are either punched or die cut. See the supply list below.

Here's what they look like from the back. The cute snowman is is from the Tags til Christmas set. He's just stamped in elegant eggplant & coloured with a red marker.

If you want a more boy suitable version, you can omit the white piece & it looks like this

I got this fantastic idea to use the treat cups like this from fellow Demonstrator Michelle Grech. You can see the fantastic Christmas trees she made here. Thanks so much Michelle!

I took photos of each construction step to make a photo tutorial, but I haven't had time yet. If I get enough comments requesting one, I'll consider getting back to it.

Snowman Treats
I needed to make some more treats & realised the little bags I'd bought didn't fit the choccies I bought (sigh), but Damien the wonder husband came to the rescue with some pre-packed marshmallow swirls. These said "snowman" to me, so I stamped, coloured & punched the cute little snowman from Punch Pals to make a little topper. These were really quick, but I think they were really effective.

Here's a close up version. Some are coloured a little more girly & mounted on melon mambo & some more neutral & mounted on celery. On the back, I made a custom greeting in word to say Merry Christmas from Cara...but no pic!

Here's how they looked all packaged together...

Jelly Bean Treats
Finally, I made some some Christmas jelly bean treats, which were really colourful....& yummy. These had another greeting from Tags 'til Christmas & a little greeting from Cara on the back...which you can see in a couple of them below.

Anyway, I hope these give you some ideas for treats. Of course, you could easily change the colours & stamps to suit birthdays, Easter, Valentines Day etc.

Thanks again to Michelle for sharing the idea for the sweet treat shakers & thanks to you all for hanging in with my Christmas projects. I'm sure I only have one more Christmas project to show you now - my own Christmas card - & then I'll move on.

Until next time...

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Hanging Ornament

Stamps: Punch Pals, Tags 'til Christmas

Card: real red, bashful blue, whisper white card

Ink: elegant eggplant ink pad, real red, elegant eggplant, pumpkin pie markers

Accessories: dazzling diamonds glitter, sweet treat cups.

Tools: Big Shot, Perfect Pennants die (white doily), circle punches - 2 3/8 inch, 1 3/4 inch

Snowman Treat

Stamps: Punch Pals, Tags 'til Christmas

Card: certainly celery, melon mambo, whisper white card

Ink: soft suede ink pad, real red, elegant eggplant, melon mambo, certainly celery, wild wasabi, choc chip markers

Tools: 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punch, circle punches, 1 3/4 inch circle punch

Jelly Bean Treats

Stamps: Tags 'til Christmas

Card: real red, whisper white card

Ink: real red ink pad

Tools: scallop square punch

Sale-a-bration Starts Now!

2012-01-24T00:00:00.000+11:00

Yes, it's the time of the year we love love love - Sale-a-bration is here...& this year it's bigger & better than ever with even more free goodies to choose from & a super special when you join Stampin' Up . Can you tell I'm excited?

Everything you need to know is in the fantastic Sale-a-bration catalogue but here's a summary.

When does the fun happen?

Sale-a-bration (SAB) starts today & continues until 31 March 2012.

You can earn free goodies during SAB in two ways:

Spend:

Every $100 you spend on any catalogue items, earns you one exclusive free SAB item of your choice.

Host:

If you host a Stampin' Up! workshop with total sales of $600 or more, you'll earn one SAB item of your choice free.

Workshops can be hosted in your home, or you can simply collect orders from friends & family to earn your freebies.

What goodies are available?

You can choose from stamp sets, a designer paper pack, or a brad & ribbon pack. All the available items are shown below Bet you can't choose just one favourite.

These items are ONLY available during Sale-a-bration & can only be earned - not purchased.

(click the pic for a bigger image)

Join the fun & save on our Starter Kit!

During SAB, you can purchase our fabulous full Starter Kit for just $249 AND get choose an additional catalogue stamp set of your choice for free.

If your wishlist is massive & you'd like to receive a discount on everything you buy, or have been thinking about how Stampin' Up! could help pay for your hobby or become a business, Sale-a-bration is your time. Check out my SU website HERE for more info & give me a call for a totally no pressure chat.

You can also find out more about Sale-a-bration & download the SAB brochure here on the SU website.

If you'd like a SAB catalogue or you have any questions about anything SU related, please don't hesitate to contact me.

My new stamping room is almost finished, so I actually have a place to stamp. Hopefully I'll get a chance to play with some of my pre-ordered SAB goodies (just another perk of being a Demonstrator).

Back soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Merry Christmas pennant banner

2012-01-23T22:14:00.004+11:00

The next project I have for you is a Merry Christmas banner we made in my November class & was a really fun one to make.

click on the pics for a bigger version

My gorgeous friend Kellie designed the banner & I loved it so much & knew my class ladies would too, that I asked her if I could use it for my class. It's a bit tricky to fit & light 1.2 metres of banner in a photo though!
Here's a single pennant to show more detail!

The colours I used are riding hood red, old olive, certainly celery and early espresso together with the Letters to Santa & striped Patterns (celery & olive) DSPs. The DSP circle & scallop circle are punched out, pierced & attached to the pennant. The letters are of course from my very well used Timeless Type alphabet die set. I used linen thread to hold the banner together, but our new Bakers Twine (Summer Mini) would be perfect for this project too.

It looks like a bit of work to make, but as the pennants & flags & letters are cut using the petal cone die (see the pic below) & the circles are punches, it's pretty quick.
Each die cut makes 2 pennants. Simply cut off the tab & then cut the remaining cones in half. The rounded end is simply folded over the string & adhered - easy! The flags are cut out in early espresso card, folded in half over the string. Al little pearl adds some shine.

Since the banner is something I'd like to use each year, we all made a simple tab box to store it in. I made it big enough to make it easy to fit the banner in, but small enough to protect it. Wrapping it in some tissue will also help it to stay together in the box too. This is a decorated version, in case it's for a gift, but you could just make a plain version too.

I think that's all I need to say for now. Hope you love this idea & are thinking of all the other occasions you can make banners for. I'm thinking I need one in my moved & almost complete new stamp room.
If you like this idea, leave me a comment to say hi & I'll pass it on to Kellie too (she's a bit of a bad blogger these days but I still love you heaps Kellie!).
Back again soon.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Card/Paper: riding hood red, old olive, certainly celery and early espresso card, Letters to Santa DSP & Patterns DSP (celery & olive stripes)
Accessories: basic pearls, linen thread
Tools: Big Shot, Petal cone die, Timeless Type junior alphabet dies, punches: xl scallop circle die, 1 3/4 inch circle punch, piercing tool

Christmas petal cone box

2012-01-23T17:18:00.001+11:00

I almost forgot to show you today's project - a petal cone box that I demo'd at Kim's Christmas workshop in November. These fun boxes are really easy to make for lots of different occasions, but a little tricky to show clearly in one pic apparently.

The box is really quick to make using the petal cone die. The die includes the petal cone shape, a half circle scallop & a flag. Here's a pic of the die.

To make the box, I simply cut 2 cone shapes in white, which I wheeled in riding hood red with the Sparkle Jumbo wheel) & cut 2 half scallop circles in riding hood red. To assemble the box, fold & flatten the score lines made by the die & run a strip of sticky strip down both flaps & join together. Attach the half scallops underneath 2 opposite petals & you're done. I decorated my box with some Christmas baubles & a Merry Christmas sentiment from the Delightful Decorations stamp set (in lucky limeade & riding hood red). The box holds quite a lot - I think I fitted around 24 Darrell Lea jingle balls in mine - yum!

I also took a quicker version of the box to show the ladies, which was also wheeled with the Sparkle wheel. I used a scallop sentiment from Perfect Punches to decorate with some lucky limeade ruffled ribbon.

Well, that took longer to write than to actually make the box, so I'd better leave it there. If you have any questions or just want to say hello, just leave a comment.
Thanks heaps for visiting. I think I only have 2 more Christmas items to show - 1 of which also uses the petal cone die, so hopefully I'll be back soon.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, perfect Punches
Card: whisper white, riding hood red card
Ink: riding hood red, lucky limeade
Acessories: certainly celery taffeta ribbon, lucky limeade ruffled ribbon, basic rhinestone
Tools: ornament punch, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 3/4 inch circle punch

Tag folder for a special hostess

2012-01-10T11:44:00.001+11:00

The shutter guy is still hard at work in my new crafty room & has to get to our bedroom after that, so I think I have time for another post.
I realised I haven't shown you the hostess gift I gave the lovely Kim at her November Christmas themed workshop. This was a very special workshop as it I ran it with one of my newest downlines - Beverlee - who also happens to be Kim's Mum. I demo'd a petal cone die project (reminder that still need to show you that too) & Beverlee took the girls through a make & take card (which I don't have a pic of - sorry!).
My gift was a book of Christmas tags...

Here it is open...

I've included 8 tags in the pack & a little roll of ribbon to use with the tags. They're made with the smaller of the tags in the two tags die & are decorated with stamps & punches. The tags are about 11cm x 5cm each. I just love how the tag end co-ordinates with the scallop circle punch.

More about the folder... It's very simple - just one piece of card scored & folded a couple of times to make a spine & base. I can't give you the measurements for this one as I forget to take them before I gave the folder to Kim. I think the front is probably around 14cm x 9cm though.
I've put together this quick template to show you the score lines required. You can adjust the size to fit whatever you want inside.

Notes:

The vertical score lines form the spine of the folder.
The horizonal lines form a base & a flap to hold the items in place. I cut out the centre piece as shown to make a neat finish.
I use a brad to secure the edge of the flap. This also holds the ribbon in place (you can see the brad on the cover - I covered the inside with the paper).
Just one more tip - the base scores should be half the width of the vertical scores, so the folder folds neatly in half.

I've made quite a few of these folders over the years for note cards, as they make great gifts. You can see some oldies here & here if you're so inclined.
While I'm linking, you can see another Big Shot project I demonstrated at Kim's previous workshop here.)

Well, this post has taken me so long that the shutters are all installed now, so I'm off to check them out... after adding the supply list. Until next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Snow Swirled (snowflake & sentiment), Perfect Punches (Joy at Christmas), Easy Events (mistletoe), Contempo Christmas (sentiment)
Card/Paper: riding hood red, cherry cobbler, certainly celery, garden green, very vanilla card. Letters to Santa DSP
Ink:garden green, cherry cobbler, wild wasabi, riding hood red ink pads
Accessories: pear pizzazz poly twill ribbon, very vanilla 1/4 in grosgrain ribbon, basic rhinestones
Tools: Big Shot, Two Tags die, 1 3/8in circle punch, 1 1/4 in circle punch, scallop circle punch
crop-a-dile (holes in tags)

More Christmas stocking SAS cards

2012-01-10T09:02:00.001+11:00

The shutter guy cancelled yesterday, but he's here bright & early this morning, so I'm taking some time out with my morning cuppa to share some more cards. These are the last 2 cards from my October Christmas SAS... or the month of the stocking.

I chose a non-traditional colour combo of island indigo, pool party & certainly celery....& I actually tilted a panel! The stockings are stamped & punched out, then layered on the white panel with dimensionals only near the toes. The whole tilted panel is also raised on dimensionals. I love love love the Peace on Earth sentiment (from Four the Holidays) - such a beautiful font.

The next card uses the same basic pieces in a different layout, with the same colours mixed up.

Keep reading if you'd like to see how this final card evolved...
This card was actually the second version of this card below. I changed it, so that it would be a little quicker to make & so that both SAS cards could use the same pieces.

That card was actually based on this card below, which I liked, but didn't suit the colours & look I wanted. For some reason, it has a real retro feel to me - maybe it's the rounded corners & lacy border. Not sure!

Anyway, I think that's all the stocking cards I have for you for now, so I'll be back with something different next time. Don't forget that the stocking punch is only available while stocks last.

Inky wishes, Di

PS: Looks like the shutter install might take a while, so I may be back again!

Supplies:

Tilted stocking

Stamps: Stitched Stockings, Four the Holidays

Card/paper: certainly celery, island indigo, whisper white card, Island Indigo Patterns DSP (in colors 11-13)

Accessories: basic rhinestones, pool party ruffled ribbon

Tools: stocking punch

Pool Party stocking

Stamps: Stitched Stockings, Four the Holidays

Card/paper: pool party, certainly celery, whisper white card, Island Indigo Patterns DSP (in colors 11-13)

Accessories: basic rhinestones, island indigo ruffled ribbon

Tools: stocking punch

Retro stocking

Stamps: Four the Holidays

Card/paper: riding hood red, certainly celery, very vanilla card, Certainly celery Patterns DSP (subtles), Jolly Holiday DSP (retired)

Accessories: gold brad

Tools: stocking punch, dotted scallop ribbon border punch, corner rounder punches (current & retired)

Stocking Joy

2012-01-09T08:56:00.000+11:00

I'm just waiting for the guy who's installing our new shutters to come & thought I'd share a quick project. It's another simple Christmas card from my October SAS...with no stamping (shock!).

Like my last card, I used a punched stocking replace the letter J in Joy. The stocking top & foot is slighly raised & faux stitched to add a little more detail (click on the pic for a better view). The layout is a fave one using my trusty top note die. I think that's all I need to say, but if you have any questions, just let me know.
I have a few more stocking cards to show you next time, then on to something different.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: Just remembered! - Stampin' Up! have advised us that the stocking punch will NOT be carrying over into our next Idea Book, so stocks will only be available while stocks last, or until the Summer Mini ends on 31 March at the lastest. So, if you'd like to order this punch, just contact me.

Supplies:
Card/paper: old olive, very vanilla, cherry cobbler card, Jolly Holiday DSP (retired)
Accessories: cherry cobbler dotted scallop ribbon
Tools: stocking punch, Big Shot, Timeless Type junior alphabet dies, Top Note die

A personal share

2012-01-08T22:53:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone
Hope that you all had a lovely Christmas & new year surrounded with family & friends. I'm sorry for my absence, but it's been a very difficult month for our family. I don't normally share much personal info on my blog, but I feel compelled to explain...

Our lives were turned upside down on December 18th, when my darling Damien's brother Josh passed away suddenly. As you can imagine, we, his parents, Josh's wife, kids & friends are devastated at his loss & are gradually trying to come to terms with it. Thankfully, we were all able to spend Christmas together as a family, but are now back at home. This is hard, since we live far from one another.
Through all this, we have all felt very blessed to have so much support, practical help, thoughts & prayers from many beautiful friends, family & our church community. For this, we feel truly grateful.
I'm not really sure why I wanted to share this here, but I guess it has made me more aware that we never know how long we have on this earth, so I hope that through this sadness, I can be more aware of the many, many reasons we have to be grateful to be here.

On a more trivial note, I've been thinking about whether to post the remaining Christmas projects I had planned to show, since Christmas seem so far away (both past & future). I've decided that I'll gradually post them & other projects I have as time & inclination permits. I hope that sharing my little projects here will in some small way provide inspiration to others, in the same way as I am inspired & thankful for all the wonderfully creative people who share projects on their blogs & pages & in person.

Until next time.
Warm wishes, Di

Jolly Stocking Christmas

2011-12-14T23:01:00.000+11:00

Tonight we had Cara's Christmas Concert at school, so we've had a lovely Christmas song filled night. Now I have Michael Buble's "Holly Jolly Christmas" song in my head, so I thought that this card would be perfect to blog about.

It's from my October SAS class (AKA the month I went stocking mad with our new stocking stamp set & matching punch!). I got the idea in my head that the stocking could substitute for a 'J', then I realised the stocking stamp was actually facing the other way. Undeterred, I decided to use patterned paper instead of the stamp, so it would face the 'right way' & began thinking of Christmassy words to use it on. I cut the remaining pieces from riding hood red card & mounted the whole stocking on dimensionals. The remaining letters were cut with the Timeless Type letters & the sentiment is from the 'Four the Holidays' set. This card also marked the return of the fabulous Top Note die.

One important note about making a J - you need to punch the stocking with the wrong side of the DSP facing you so the right side forms the J.

You might also realise I used some retired DSP on this card - I loooooved this DSP (as did my class regulars) & bought a couple of extra packs before it retired, so I thought it was a shame not to use it.

I did make another version using our current Christmas DSP - 'Letters to Santa' (& some of my fave spotty Patterns DSP pack too), but realised I wouldn't have enough for the class...but you get to see it here anyway.

I think that covers everything I need to say, so I'll say bye for now. I'll be back again with more stocking fun next time.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: I have a confession to make about "Four the Holidays"- I was initially a little put off buying it included the ubiquitous 'Happy Holidays' sentiment, which we just don't use in Australia. BUT, I got over myself & realised it had 3 very useful sentiments (Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings & Peace on Earth) in fonts I love (& you know I'm a sucker for a great font) for only $24.95. I'm so glad I got it, as I've use it heaps..which you'll see over the next week or so. You can see the set in the online catalogue HERE

Supplies (All SU unless stated)
Jolly Seasons Greetings
Stamps: Four the Holidays
Card/Paper: old olive, whisper white, riding hood red card, Regals Patterns DSP (riding hood red spot), retired DSP (name completely escapes me!)
Accessories: gold brad, dotted scallop ribbon - olive
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, stocking punch

Jolly Seasons Greetings from Santa
Stamps: Four the Holidays
Card/Paper: old olive, whisper white, riding hood red card, Regals Patterns DSP (riding hood red spot), Letters to Santa DSP
Accessories: basic rhinestone, dotted scallop ribbon - olive
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, stocking punch

More Jolly Bingo Bits

2011-12-12T08:30:00.000+11:00

Hi there. Today I have another Christmas card to show you using the Jolly Bingo Bits set. Can you tell I really like this set?

Some of you may remember this card layout from the second card in this post, which was actually a case of this one! The colour is another monochromatic combo - this time baja breeze & island indigo (who knew how much I would love this colour!). Baja gives a softer, subdued look than pool party, but I really like it.

It's a pretty simple card, but I just wanted to mention how I did the two colours in the glove & skate images. First I inked up the image with my baja breeze ink pad, then highlighted sections with my indigo marker. For the snowflake, I just added the extra colour after I stamped the image. I think they work really nicely with the lovely sentiment from Curly Cute.

Anyway, that's it for me for today. Hope you like the card & that it gives you some more Christmas ideas. Back next time with more Christmas inspiration.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Curly Cute
Card/Paper: island indigo, baja breeze & whisper white card, Subtles Patterns DSP (baja breeze)
Ink: baja breeze & island indigo ink pads, island indigo marker
Accessories: white 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon
Tools: 1 inch circle punch

Jolly Petite Pocket Gift card Folder

2011-12-11T07:30:00.000+11:00

I'm on a roll with the posts! Today I have a cute (I think) little gift card folder, which I demonstrated at Kim's Christmas themed workshop in September.

Kim had heard lots about the Big Shot & wanted to see it in action, so I decided to use my new Petite Pocket die to make a patterned paper gift card folder. It's so easy to make a basic pocket - just run the die through the Big Shot, punch a couple of holes for the reinforcement rings, attach two strips of tape, adhere & you're done.
As you can see, I decorated the pocket with lots of punches, as thankfully, Kim is a fellow punch fan. You could of course use what you have!

You can hopefully see more detail in this close up of Rudolph (from the Jolly Bingo Bits) set. I stamped him in soft suede, then coloured his nose, eyes & antlers with markers. I punched him out with the 1 inch circle punch, then mounted him on a 1 1/4 inch & 1 3/8 inch circle punches & scallop circle. The sentiment is punched with the modern label punch.

Here's the back of the folder - opened & closed. The little reinforcing rings (in olive) come with the die. To make it easier to get the gift card out, I attached it to a strip of olive card, with a rounded end.

I think these would look really cute attached to your Christmas tree to wait for Christmas (assuming you're much more organised than me!).
At the workshop, I showed the gift card inside the folder, then added a Freddo Frog instead, to show they would be a great kids class gift too, as well as a treat for Kim's cute little boys....& lets face it, you can't beat chocolate!

If you have any questions about anything, or would like to just say hi, just leave me a comment. I love hearing from you. Until next time,
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits (Rudolph), Short & Sweet (sentiment)
Card/Paper: real red patterns DSP, whisper white, old olive, choc chip card
Ink: choc chip ink pad, real red & choc chip marker
Accessories: gold brads
Tools: Big Shot, Petite Pocket die, extended premium crease pad, punches - circles - 1 3/8, 1 1/4, 1 inch, scallop circle, modern label, wide oval (gift card strip), paper piercing tool

Simply Snow Swirled

2011-12-10T08:30:00.000+11:00

Hello again. Today I have some simple cards to show you, using one of my all-time favourite Christmas sets - Snow Swirled. First up... this was the make & take at a Christmas themed workshop for Kim - a lovely new stamper - in September.

Most of the ladies were new stampers too, so I kept the card simple, with some quick, easy & effective techniques. I thought these might be useful to share for new stampers out there...or old stampers like myself who could use them for my own Christmas cards too, which I wish were done already! So here they are...
1. Simple colour scheme - monochromatic schemes always work - two colours plus a neutral - pool party, island indigo & white in this case
2. One stamp set - Snow Swirled is great as it includes co-ordinated images plus 2 sentiments that can be used on the front & inside the card.
3. Two colour tree - ink up with the lightest shade (pool party), sponge dauber stars with deeper colour (island indigo), then stamp.
4. Punched sentiment - no straight stamping required - Just stamp & punch it out - I used the beautiful decorative label punch here & layered it under the matted tree.
5. Embossed background - I still get a wow every time I emboss a piece of card. The petals a plenty folder I used here is great for Christmas & all year round. Don't have a Big Shot (yet!) - just stamp the background with a co-ordinating star stamp in the same colour ink as the card.
6. Add some bling - Add a little (or a lot), especially for Christmas. I sprayed the embossed background panel with a shimmer spray made with champagne shimmer paint & Isocol. I also gave the stars on the tree more bling, with some dazzling diamonds attached with 2 way glue.
Hope that helps someone!

I also showed a matching gift card folder at the workshop but alas it seems to have gone for a walk. If I find it, I'll post with the second workshop project!

I made some more new quick & easy Snow Swirled samples to show the ladies at the workshop, which I'll show you too...

This one is even quicker than the workshop version, made with olive & razzleberry card. I just wanted to show how easy you can change the colour scheme. The embossed panel is very sparkly IRL too!

This one is an updated version of this old favourite of mine. I used olive & razzleberry again, this time with some Patterns DSP, spotted scallop ribbon & some basic rhinestones
And one more..

This is one of my favourite new colour combos - pool party, island indigo & certainly celery...& you'll be seeing it again soon.

Well, that all from me for now. I'll be back with the second project from Kim's workshop next time.

Inky wishes, Di

PS: Any questions, just ask!

Supplies: All SU unless stated

Kim's workshop M&T

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Card/Paper: pool party, island indigo, whisper white

Ink: pool party, island indigo

Accessories: dimensionals, champagne mist shimmer paint, Isocol (to mix with shimmer paint to make shimmer spray)

Tools: Big Shot, Petals a Plenty embossing folder, decorative label punch, sponge dauber, spray bottle (non SU for shimmer spray)

Christmas SAS 1 - Jolly Bingo Bits

2011-12-09T08:30:00.000+11:00

Here I am again with the second card from my September Christmas stamp-a-stack class. For this card, I used some of the cute images from the Jolly Bingo Bits set and the gorgeous new lace ribbon punch in choc chip, real red & lucky limeade (new in-colour for this year - a really lovely brighter olive) & white.

Here's a closer look at the stamped & pierced panel:

I got the clear mount version of Jolly Bingo Bits, so I could quickly stamp multiple images in a line or in this case, a square on the clear blocks.

For this card, I placed the 4 stamps in a square pattern on a clear block (D), which enabled me to ink up 3 of the images with my full size ink pads & one with 2 markers (bauble), & stamp them all at once onto the square white card. Then I just added extra details with markers. The colours/extras used on each image are:
1. Santa - real red ink pad, then markered over eyes with black marker.
2. Rudolph - soft suede ink pad, real red marker for nose, early espresso marker for antlers
3. Gingerbread - soft suede ink pad (this sample was choc chip but I liked the soft suede more & used it at the class), black marker for eyets, real red for mouth & old olive/real red for buttons
4. Bauble - old olive & real red marker. Tag stamped in real red with real red punched jewellery tag & silver mini brad to attach. the tag end has a half a dimensional underneath to pop to tag off the page a bit.
After I finished the images, I used the piercing template from the mat pack to pierce the border. This looks as if it takes a while, but it's quick with the template.

If you want to make card this even a little quicker with less positioning, you could stamp & punch out the images with our brand new 1 inch square punch which fits beautifully in between the pierced squares. I made a version this way, but don't seem to have a pic, so you'll have to try it for yourself.
Oh & in case you're wondering how I attached the punched lace ribbonBy the way, I used 2 way glue pen at either end of the piece & a little on the middle.

So that's it for my September Christmas SAS. Hope you liked the cards. Check out October next time!
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Pennant Parade (Merry sentiment)
Card: choc chip, real red, lucky limeade, whisper white
Ink: real red, soft suede, choc chip ink pads, real red, old olive, early espresso, basic black markers
Accessories: silver mini brads (these are so useful & a real bargain too!)
Tools: medium jewellery tag punch, lace ribbon border punch

Christmas SAS 1 - Easy Events

2011-12-08T16:20:00.001+11:00

Todays project was the first card from my first Christmas Stamp-a-Stack class for the year, in September & includes the branch stamp & greeting from the Easy Events stamp set.

I got the clear-mount version of this set so I could separate the sentiments from the images & make this great set even more flexible.
As you can see, I repeat stamped the branch in celery on the card base. I also used it as a focal image on vanilla card - stamping the branch in chocolate, then the sentiment in cherry cobbler. the clear mount makes it really easy to position the greeting.
To add a little more detail, I coloured the berries & leaves using a blender pen & ink taken straight from the ink pad lid. This is such a quick & easy way to add a little more colour.

I also made this variation using the same pieces & used some dazzling diamonds to the berries to a little subtle bling....although a little too subtle to see in the pics apparently!

I think that's all I need to say, but if you have any questions, please ask. These cards could be easily translated for any number of events with a change of stamp or colour, so have a try & see what you come up with.
I'll be back with the second card from the September SAS next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Easy Events
Card/Paper: certainly celery, riding hood red, very vanilla, choc chip card, wild wasabi Patterns DSP
Ink: choc chip, cherry cobbler, riding hood red, wild wasabi ink pads, blender pen
Tools: double scallop ribbon punch

Christmas Reindeer Jars

2011-12-01T16:33:00.001+11:00

I'm going totally out of order to show you today's project, as I just can't wait to show you these cute little reindeer jars filled with chocolate balls.

My friend Alison & I made them as little thank you gifts for all the lovely ladies from Cara's school who we volunteer with us at the school Uniform Shop & fundraising group. Normally I am such a last minute Charlie & only have these gifts ready give these out on the last day of school, but Alison is sooo organised that we got together to make them yesterday (waving at you Alison - I know you'll be reading this!).
Here's a closer version showing Rudolf & his sparkly red nose better.

Rudolph is made with pieces from the Owl builder punch, except for the antlers, which are made with the Swirls Squiggle die. (I think it's called that!). The head is the owl body with feet cut off. The nose is the largest circle (punched out with our brand new red Glimmer paper from the Summer Mini) & the eyes are...well the owl eyes! The antlers are stuck on to the white circle with a 2 way glue pen & I hand drew the mouth with an early espresso marker. The neck is a leaf shape cut using the 1 3/4 inch circle punch. I've mounted Rudolf on a 1 3/4 inch circle & 2 3/8 inch scallop circle.

We got the idea for Rudolf from a similar reindeer on a paperclip, that my lovely friend & downline Sarah made last year for her students (I can't find them on her blog, but they were really cute).

We filled the jars (which was from Ikea - sold in a set of 4 for only a few dollars) with Darrell Lea Jingle Bell chocs. To finish off the decorations, we made a matching tag using a sentiment from 'Tags til Christmas', punched out with the square scallop punch & mounted on a 4.5cm square tag. We added a thank you message to the other side of the tag, then threaded some ribbon (from my pre SU stash) & tied a pretty bow. Done! All the ladies seemed to really like them & I think we convinced some other volunteers that they should volunteer at the Unform Shop too next year.

Anyway, I hope you like them too. If you have any questions, just leave a comment...or leave a comment anyway. I love to hear from you. Back soon with....something else!
Inky wishes, Di

PS: The super sparkly red glimmer paper is available in packs containing 2 sheets of 12inch x 12 inch card for $8.95 plus s&h. It's also available in silver for Christmas & all year round bling! See the Summer Mini HERE for more info.

Supplies:
Stamps: Tags til Christmas
Card: choc chip, whisper white & real red card, red glimmer paper (summer mini)
Ink: real red ink pad, early espresso marker
Accessories: jar (Ikea) ribbon (non SU from old stash!)
Tools: owl builder punch, 2 3/8 inch scallop punch, 1 3/4 inch circle punch, square scallop punch, Big Shot, Swirls Squiggle die, piercing tool.

So much to tell, so little time!

2011-12-01T14:49:00.001+11:00

This is a super quick post to tell you about all the excitement that starts today, as I only have a little time before I pick up Miss C at school.

Today is the first day of Summer, which for stampers is made even better with the start of our brand new Summer Mini Catalogue. You can view it online HERE, but if you'd much rather sit with a cuppa & have a good look, contact me to get your free copy.

To make today even better, our December Frenzy sale also starts today. You'll find lots of stamp sets, accessories & tools are 30%- 50% off. You can view pics & details of what's on sale HERE, or by clicking the link. I'll be placing an order in the next day or two so let me know if you'd like anything.

Well that's all I have time for now. Time for pick-up! Let me know if you have any questions.
Inky wishes, Di

Best of Everything Thanks

2011-11-20T21:41:00.001+11:00

Hi there!
Tonight I'm feeling tired after a hard week, but very thankful for many things, so I thought it'd be a good time to show you a couple of thank you projects.
First up is a card & bag I made back in September, to thank a lovely hostess for a great workshop.

This was my first play (of many so far) with the fun 'Best of Everything' set, which was a total must-have on my first new catty order. The colours I've used here are peach parfait, certainly celery, choc chip & white. Here's a close up of the card...

... and the bag. These bags are so simple to make - just scoring & a few cuts - but look so effective. the matching tag adds a little extra something.

The second card I have to show you shares the same birdie layout, this time with a scallop square die, and using baja breeze, marina mist instead of the celery.

I made this one to welcome a new Demonstrator to my team in September too. As you'll see, I had some lighting issues taking this pic, so the pic colours don't look right, despite lots of photoshop fiddling (sigh)

Anyway, I'm pretty tired tonight so I'll finish here for now. If you have any questions about the projects, need any other info, please say hi & leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Until next time, sending inky wishes,
Di

PS: Almost forgot - In case you haven't realised, the scallop square duo die is 10% off in November, so it's a great time to get this really useful die. There's lots more too - check out the full list of what's on sale HERE.

Supplies
Card & Bag Set
Stamps: Best of Everything, Short & Sweet
Card: peach parfait, certainly celery, white smooth card, choc chip textured card, Patterns DSP (Brights - pumpkin pie, Subtles - certainly celery)
Ink: peach parfait, choc chip, certainly celery & old olive markers, peach parfait & choc chip ink pad
Accessories: pear pizzazz poly ribbon, basic rhinestones
Tools: Itty Bitty punch pack (flower), word window punch, large oval punch (bag)

Peach Scallop Card
Stamps: Best of Everything, Short & Sweet
Card: peach parfait, baja breeze, marina mist, choc chip, white smooth card, Patterns DSP (Brights - pumpkin pie)
Ink: choc chip & certainly celery, peach parfait & pumpkin pie markers, peach parfait & choc chip ink pad
Accessories: choc chip dotted scallop ribbon, basic rhinestones
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Square duo die, Itty Bitty punch pack (flower), word window punch

Butterflies of sympathy

2011-11-14T09:30:00.000+11:00

Hi there. Hope you had a relaxing weekend.
I made today's cards a couple of weeks ago to send to family friends who have sadly lost loved ones.
While I always think of the recipient when I make cards, it's especially true when I make sympathy cards. I only hope that my little bits of paper may help them know that they're in my thoughts.
Here's the first card I made:

I used the Manhattan Flower embossing folder with the top note die & Beautiful Wings embosslit to create a soft & hopefully elegant card with a simple monochromatic combination of bashful blue, marina mist & white. I was really happy it turned out like the picture I had in my head.
I think it's pretty self explanatory, but just a little note about the largest butterfly. I layered a bashful blue butterfly over a marina mist one - with a glue dot in the centre & dimensional on the wings to give more lift. You can hopefully see it better here:

The second card shares the same design, with a blushing bride & celery colour scheme. I used some retired in-colour DSP in the same pattern.

Looking back at these cards, I think they could easily be used for many other occasions too, just by changing the sentiment & colours.

A little thank you
Before I go, I have a little thank you card to show you, that I made with some of the leftover pieces I had on my desk. The greeting is from the new Petite Pairs set, (which the sympathy cards greeting was too), this time punched out with the new small oval punch. Very quick & easy, but quite pretty too I think.

Well, I think that's all I need to say, but if you have any questions or would just like to say hi, just drop me a line.
Take care of you & yours.
Di

Supplies - All SU!
Blue Sympathy
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Card/Paper: bashful blue, marina mist, whisper white card, Patterns DSP, Patterns DSP (basful blue - subtles pack)
Ink: marina mist
Accessories: basic pearls, marina mist grosgrain ribbon (retired)
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Manhattan Flowers embossing folder

Pink Sympathy
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Card/Paper: blushing bride, whisper white card, In colour patterns DSP (retired hostess)
Ink: marina mist
Accessories: basic pearls, pear pizzazz poly ribbon
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Manhattan Flowers embossing folder

Little thank you card
Stamps: Petite Pairs
Card/Paper: pool party, pretty in pink, whisper white card.
Ink: island indigo
Accessories: basic pearls
Tools: Big Shot, Top Note die, Beautiful Wings embosslit, Manhattan Flowers embossing folder

7th birthday blossoms & bling

2011-11-12T22:36:00.001+11:00

I've been trying to get here to catch up on showing you some projects since the start of the month, but life has been just too busy to blog...or even get to check out my fave bloggers either, worse luck. My poor google reader is bursting at the seams! Anyway, cross fingers I get this done before I head to church.
I made this one recently for a good friend's cutie patootie daughter, who recently celebrated her 7th birthday (did you guess?).

As you can see, it's mainly all about punches (which is always a good thing - right?). First, I made the number seven using layered branches punched with the bird punch, then added flowers made with the boho blossoms & itty bitty punches & a hanging bird cage from the Aviary set (why? - I just thought it was cute!). The greeting from Create a cupcake on a punched word window & modern label finished off the punch fest. The birthday girl loves a bit of bling, so I HAD to finish it with some rhinestones - 21 to be precise! You can see a bit more of the details here:

Sorry that the colours are a bit blah in the pics. I was running a bit late (again!) & took them at night. It really looks pretty & a lot brighter IRL.

Well, I hope you like the card & if you have any questions, just ask. Thanks again for your patience with my lack of blogging. I hope I can start posting a bit more often soon.

Inky wishes, Di
Supplies: All SU!
Stamps: Aviary, Create a Cupcake
Card/Paper: melon mambo, pretty in pink, so saffron,certainly celery, blushing bride Patterns DSP (subtles pack)
Ink: rose red, rich razzleberry
Accessories: basic rhinestones, glue dots, tombow mono adhesive
Tools: punches - punches - bird builder, boho blossoms, itty bitty punch pack, word window, modern label

Hey Big Shot! - New November Promotion

2011-11-01T09:08:00.002+11:00

Just popping in quickly to tell you about our new Big Shot promotion for November.
You'll get 10% selected dies & embossing folders, including the new Petal Cone die that I'll be using at this Saturday's Christmas banner class.
If you don't have Big Shot yet, you can also purchase a special Big Shot Bundle at 10% off this month only. Check out the dies & embossing folders on sale below.

Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	10% Off Price
Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	10% Off Price
156	117332	Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
156	114515	Flower Burst Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
157	114517	Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	116824	Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	119277	Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
158	113440	Buttons #5 Sizzlits Die	$9.95	$8.95
159	113466	Pillow Box Bigz Die	$36.95	$33.25
159	114507	Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
159	120903	Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
160	115953	Mover & Shapers Punch Windows	$54.95	$49.45
160	120893	Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die	$69.95	$62.95
160	121810	Petal Cone Bigz L Die	$59.95	$53.95

BIG SHOT BUNDLE
A special Big Shot bundle is also available in November at 10% off. It includes a Big Shot, plus the embossing folder & embosslit listed below.

Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	10% Off Price

155	128994	- Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine - Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die - Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$186.85	$168.16

Contact me for more info or to book a place at this Saturday's class (only 2 places left). Back soon.
Inky wishes
Di

Pennant Parade Birthdays

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000+11:00

Hi there!
Today, I have a couple of birthday cards to show you, made back in August with some of my pre-ordered new catty goodies, including the new Pennant Parade stamp set.
In Colour Pennants

click on pic to see a bigger version

This card was my first play with some yummy new in-colours - pool party, island indigo, calypso coral & lucky limeade...& I reeeeally like them!
It's a very simple layout, especially when both pennant styles can be punched out with the matching pennant punch (love!). The little star I used for the bottom panel comes from the same set. the happy birthday is a fave from the 'Party This Way set. I didn't have any new colour ribbons when I made it, but I think the old olive grosgrain worked in well.

Bring on the Cake

click on pic to see a bigger version

I made this card for another friend of Cara's who had her 11th birthday in August. The layout is the same, but I used some new striped Bring on the Cake DSP for the pennants. Then I stamped some cute 'Itty Bitty Bits' images & punched & layered them on top. The colours are bright & fun...but alas my pic is not so bright! Like many cards this year, this one needed to include a gift card, so I decorated an inside pocket to match.

I'm sure you'll see lots more pennant ideas over the year, as the set has so many possibilities. Until next time, thanks for visiting & leave a comment if you'd like any more info on anything.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: If you love the new in-colours, you can get all 5 new ink pads & a pack of matching cardstock for just $56.95 (plus s&h) - that's a saving of $16.70 based on the normal individual cost.

Supplies:
In-Colour Pennants
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Party This Way
Card: pool party, island indigo, calypso coral & lucky limeade, whisper white
Ink: pool party, island indigo, calypso coral & lucky limeade ink pads & markers
Accessories: old olive grosgrain ribbon
Tools: pennant punch

Bring on the Cake
Stamps: Pennant Parade, Party This Way, Itty Bitty Bits
Card: crumb cake, whisper white, poppy parade, daffodil delight
Ink: poppy parade, marina mist ink pads, blushing bride marker
Accessories: 1/8 inch daffodil delight taffeta ribbon
Tools: pennant punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack (circle), 1/2 inch circle punch, word window punch, modern label punch

Elegant eggplant & melon mambo - a new fave

2011-10-08T23:06:00.000+11:00

Hi there....& a huge thanks for hanging in there after my lack of posts.
Today, I have a couple of cards I to show you using a new favourite colour combo - elegant eggplant & melon mambo.

Casing Christine
I was introduced to these great colours back in August when I saw this fab card by the always amazing Christine Blain. I'd never thought of using the Extreme Elements set for girls cards, but I loved how Christine used it & showed the pic to Cara to see what she thought. Her verdict - "That's so awesome Mum - could you make that?" So,of course I really HAD to get it! I then pretty much immediately cased it to make a pocket card for Cara's friend's 11th birthday. This was the result.

And here's the inside.

It was such a fun card to make & I think I might be getting over my aversion to tearing too. Thanks again Christine for this great idea.

Jolly Ice-Skating
Fast-forwarding to September, I needed a card for another friend's 10th birthday. The birthday girl was having an ice skating party, so I thought the ice skate stamp from the new 'Jolly Bingo Bits' Christmas set would be perfect. I used my eggplant & melon combo again - this time with some regal rose.

I carried the theme to the inside too, which also needed to hold a gift card. By the way, the inside & front greetings are from the new hostess set - Happiest Birthday Wishes, which I'm sure is going to get a work-out in the coming year.

If you haven't tried these colours, give them a whirl. I'm sure you'll love them too. Leave a comment if you have any questions or just want to say you haven't forgotten me. Back sooner than later I hope.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Casing Christine
Stamps: Extreme Elements, On Your Birthday
Card: elegant eggplant, melon mambo, whisper white
Ink: elegant eggplant, melon mambo, regal rose, wisteria wonder
Tools: spritzer

Jolly Ice Skating
Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Happiest Birthday Wishes (Hostess only)
Card: elegant eggplant, melon mambo, regal rose, whisper white, Patterns DSP (regal rose)
Ink: elegant eggplant, melon mambo
Accessories: melon mambo scallop dots ribbon
Tools: 1 inch circle punch

2011-10-01T10:09:00.004+10:00

Just popping in very quickly before we head off for a weekend getaway to share a fun Christmas promotion for October. This month, you can purchase our fun new Stitched Stocking stamp set & co-ordinating stocking tag punch before it's official release in December. This set is perfect for cards, tags & lots more... & you know you can't beat a matching punch!
Even better, you can earn both the set & punch free by hosting a $450 in-home or catalogue workshop. These goodies are worth up to $87.90, in addition to the $70 hostess benefits you'll already receive for hosting a $450 workshop.
Check out the pic below or my SU website for more info & contact me to place your order or book your workshop. I have limited dates available in October, so please get in quick.

Back next week with some more projects to share.
Inky wishes, Di

Inlaid blossoms Klassy case

2011-08-27T08:30:00.015+10:00

Today, I have another inlaid embossing pocket card to show you - albeit a bit later than planned. I made this folder one back in July for Cara's BFFs birthday & was really happy with how it turned out. You might recognise too that the fun inlaid embossing panel made up of mostly 'Blossom Party' flowers was based on this card by the gorgeous Sarah Klass.(waving Sair)

I really love the look that the embossing gives. Soooo effective. Apologies for the colour in the pic though. It was another late night/bad light creation & looks so much brigher IRL. In case you're wondering
- The words were inked & stamped separately using 'Curly Cute' & my trusty stamp-a-ma-jig. The 'th' is from 'birthday'.
- The '10' is made of 3 die cut numbers stuck together with 2 way glue.
- I embossed another little panel for the inside. Here the pic to prove it.

Anyway, I think that covers it. Hope I've given you some more ideas to try. I still have lots more to show, so hopefully I'll be back soon. Please leave a comment to say hi or ask me about anything you're not sure of.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: Girls in the know - I finally found my hiding SAMJ imaging sheet - phew & yay!!!
PPS: only 4 more days until our new Idea Book starts. Double yay!!
PPS: Hi Rachel (grin)

Supplies
Stamps: Curly Cute
Card: rose red, marina mist, certainly celery, pretty in pink, bashful blue card
Ink: rose red ink pad
Accessories: rhinestone brads
Tools: Big Shot, square lattice embossing folder, Blossom Party die, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, itty bitty punch pack

Whimsical Memories

2011-08-26T21:06:00.004+10:00

Life has just gotten in the way of blog posts again, but I really wanted to get in a quick post or two before the end of the month. Today's project is a boxed set of cards I created 2 years ago (yes, I'm that behind...or not!) using the beautiful Garden Whimsy set & Bella Rose DSP. It never made it to my blog as I'd submitted it for publication, then never got around to posting it when it wasn't accepted. My customers often mention it though & it's always been a favourite of mine, so I thought I'd post it as a farewell tribute, since Garden Whimsy retires this month (& I think is sold out too). Anyway, here's the whole set...

(click on the pic to view larger image)

The cards all include different Garden Whimsy images, but mostly the same sized card & DSP pieces & kiwi satin or riding hood red ribbon. Most of the sentiments are from 'On Your Birthday (which is still available).
Here's are all the individual projects, which may help you see the layers better.

For the 3 butterfly cards, I stamped a second image & cut out only the wings & secured them with glue dots near the body & dimensionals on the wing edges for a fun look.

The snail shells are cut out & raised on dimensionals too.

The tulip head & leaves are duplicated & raised too.

Finally, I made this box to hold all the cards.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this project, even though it's an oldie. I'm thinking I'll have to try making a new set using a new set using similar layouts - another thing to add to my list. Hope you have a happy weekend. Back soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Think Happy Thoughts (retired), On Your Birthday

Cards/Paper: riding hood red, chocolate chip, kiwi kiss (retired), whisper white, Bella Rose DSP

Ink: riding hood red ink pad, kiwi kiss ink pads (retired)

Accessories: riding hood red taffeta ribbon (retired), kiwi kiss satin ribbon (retired), gold brads

Tools: boho blossoms punch, mat pack & piercing tool.

Torn frame birthday for JAI79

2011-08-05T16:43:00.002+10:00

I'm back....& as surprised as you at this very unexpected blog post. One of today's must-do tasks was to make a birthday card for my wonderful father-in-law. So, while having a morning cuppa, I saw Kim's fab torn frame card for the new challenge at Just Add Ink - just add tearing/distressing. Regular visitors will know that tearing & distressing are very rarely used words here at colour me happy, but I thought it could work well for my FIL's card & finally give me a chance to try a JAI challenge too.

So, armed with this great torn frame tutorial by the very sweet Sharnee Torrents (who wonderfully demonstrated the technique at Convention), I went to work & this was the surprisingly quick result...

First I made the torn frame with some night of navy & old olive card (I would have stamped it first but I really didn't think it was going to work for me, LOL). Then I stamped the navy panel with the 'Sanded' background, 'Sense of Time' clock & cog images & 'Grunge Rock' diamonds & no.1, Finally, I distressed the edge of the navy & ivory panels with the bone folder (very therapeutic I must say). I thought the panel needed a little something extra at the bottom, so I added some striped ribbon & attached a squashed jumbo eyelet.

Back to the frame for a mo. The birthday sentiment (Engraved Greetings) is stamped on night of navy ink on naturals ivory card, which has given it a more distressed look than normal, then spritzed with the spritzing tool & old olive marker. You can see the torn frame better here...

I'm really happy (not to mention very surprised ) with how the card turned out, as well as the fact I can get it in the mail today. Hope you like it too. Please leave a comment if you need any more info, or just to say hi.

Hope you have a happy weekend.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies: All Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Sense of Time, Engraved Greetings, Sanded Background (all on retirement list), Grunge Rock

Card: Old olive, night of navy, naturals ivory

Ink: night of navy ink pad, old olive marker

Accessories: night of navy 1 1/4 inch striped grosgrain, jumbo eyelet

Tools: bone folder, crop-a-dile (to squash eyelet!), spritzing tool

Inlaid embossing...what took me so long?

2011-08-05T08:30:00.008+10:00

I think the inlaid embossing technique is probably the most popular new technique of recent times & I finally got to see why at the end of June, when I made this card for the same lovely friend as yesterday's card.

I can't believe it took me so long to try it....although our renovations have a lot to answer for, lol. It's a really simple technique, but I think it gives fabulous results, thanks to the magic ingredient - the square lattice embossing folder for the Big Shot.

A couple of details - Once I embossed the panel, I added a couple of raised smaller butterflies, punched flowers & some of my fave basic pearls to finish. The birthday tag was punched with the medium jewellery tag (I made this longer). Here's a closer pic.

In the rare chance there's someone else out there still who hasn't tried inlaid embossing, here's how you do it.

1. Cut, die cut or punch out shapes in cardstock or patterned paper.
2. Glue shapes to piece of card. You can overlap layers, but don't go overboard. At this point, you may be thinking "I don't know about this" but keep going!
3. Place decorated card into the square lattice embossing folder (or other tightly patterned folder) & run through Big Shot.
4. Take out card from folder & look amazed, as you see the seemingly magical transformation of your card into a single layer. Easy!

I was really happy with how this turned out & encouraged to do some more. I've seen some phenomenal cards using this technique & next time I'll show you one I made that was inspired by some of my favourites. Leave a comment if you have any questions, tips or just want to say hi. Until next time...
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card: Marina mist, baja breeze, soft suede, very vanilla, certainly celery card.
Ink: chocolate chip (I think....or maybe soft suede)
Accessories: marina mist 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon, basic pearls
Tools: medium jewellery tag punch, itty bitty punch pack - flower, Big Shot, little leaves die, beautiful wings embosslit

Birdie gift card folder

2011-08-04T20:33:00.001+10:00

Hi there. Today's project is a pocket gift card holder I was asked to make to hold a birthday Stampin' Up! gift voucher for a lovely friend & customer (smiling & waving at you J).

To make it, I inked up the bird (from the Punch Potpourri hostess set) in peach parfait ink, lightly sponged around the edges with poppy parade ink & stamped on white card, then punched out with the 2 step bird punch. I then rested him on 2 punched old olive branches, backed with a circle & scallop circle.

The base is old olive card trimmed with some dsp from the in-colour hostess pack & peach parfait scallop. Here's the inside - clean & simple, trimmed with the same dsp print design, this time in peach parfait.

As I was writing this post, I realised that many of the goodies I've used will be retiring at the end of this month - the hostess stamp set & dsp, plus the 'for you' sentiment (a favourite of mine) from the Great Friend set.

Did you know I can make Stampin' Up! gift cards for any occasion. Contact me for more info. You can also find a Christmas pocket gift card folder here, & more oldies here & here.
Next time....I'm not sure, maybe another gift card holder...or some inlaid embossing...or both. If you have any questions, just leave a comment....or leave a comment anyway. I love to hear from visitors.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: Just a quick update on the retirement list - as of today, all jumbo eyelets & the metallic brads are sold out, so check out the list if you haven't already. You can find the retirement list here.

Supplies:
Stamps: Punch Potpourri (hostess), Great Friend
Card/paper: old olive, peach parfait, bashful blue, whisper white card, pear pizzazz & peach parfait in colour DSP
Ink: old olive
Accessories: pear pizzazz poly twill ribbon
Tools: 2 step bird punch, 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punch, Big Shot & circles #2 die (2 inch circle)

Time to Say Goodbye

2011-08-01T09:13:00.002+10:00

It's time again for Stampin' Up! to make some room for lots of the new products coming in our new Idea Book.

You can see & download the huge list of what's not going to carry over HERE. There's everything from stamps, wheels, designer paper, ribbons, punches, Big Shot dies & lots more.

I'm still taking in some of the detail, but from first impressions, there are lots of things (sob) that have jumped out at me, that you won't want to miss. I'll be back through the month with more.

Stamps
So Swirly jumbo wheel - This is my all time favourite & most used wheel, seen most recently on my triangle box. Perfect for just about any occasion.
Simply Said - this was the first SU set I ever bought & is still a fabulous & flexible floral set.
Sanded - an essential for male projects & any time you need an aged look.

Accessories
Lots of ribbons will be retiring in certain colours. Some of the ones I'll really miss are rich razzleberry (in most varieties), old olive 3/8 inch taffeta ribbon, marina mist (satin & taffeta) & very vanilla (3/8 in taffeta).
Jumbo eyelets - another fave for male cards & mini-album binding.

So, download the list, check it out & contact me if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: If you're on facebook & haven't noticed the link to my Stampin' Up! facebook page on the left column, then check out & 'like' the page to keep up to date with what I'm up to.

Hello & goodbye Blossoms

2011-07-29T22:23:00.000+10:00

I'm back again to show you another class project from last Saturday using the cute & very flexible single stamp, Hello Blossoms. I made 2 similar cards & couldn't decide which one to make with the girls, so I let them choose . Here's the first version (which is my fave)...

They're both very clean & simple, but I wanted to focus more on the techniques we used, namely omitting with markers, paper sueding & ruffling ribbon. The first includes more of these techniques than this simpler version.

There are a couple of differences - some more obvious than others:
DSP - the first is a fun print from the Nursery Specialty pack & the second is from the Sunny Garden pack. It's amazing how it changes the look.
Ribbon - The first has taffeta ribbon, which we ruffled - I showed the girls how to do this by fraying an end & pulling a centre thread to gather. The second is poppy parade poly ribbon, tied in a simple knot - quick & easy
Flowers - The flowers on the first card have a soft distressed look thanks to the paper sueding technique. On the second, the flowers are simply punched & the petals flicked up. the yellow flowers are textured card, which I really like.
You can see the detail better here. As an aside, I didn't realise when I took the pic in a hurry that the flowers had been a little flattened, but I haven't had a chance to take another pic...trust me, they look even cuter with a bit of flicking on the edge.

Here's the inside. Simple, but I think sweet. The flowers are sueded too.

Before I forget, I really wanted to show you my inspiration for the sueded flowers, which came from none other than the fabulous Shelli Gardner at Convention. The card below is a complete copy of Shelli's card except for the friend sentiment. Shelli used the hello letters from the flower centres to say...hello, but I wasn't that patient (lol). I really love love love this card, which is weird as it includes two things I very rarely do - tear paper & tilt panels, but go figure!

Unfortunately, I won't get to show you any more from Hello Blossoms, so I'll just leave you with a few more ideas to try yourself...
1. Use markers to ink up the ink up the stamp with different colours. Quick & very effective.
2. Omit part of the images to build a different look. As on these cards - ink the stem & scallop with an old olive marker & omit the flower heads. Add punched flowers, buttons or any other stamped flowers.
3. Omit some of the flowers to make a smaller pic - as I did for the inside of the card.
4. For the flower centres, use a simple punched circle, brad, rhinestone or pearl.
I'm sure there's lots more, but I'm out of time for now.

Just a final reminder that Hello Blossoms is only available until Sunday (for just $13.95 - bargain!) & I don't think it will carry over into our new Idea Book. I'd be very happy if it does though. Contact me for more info & leave a comment to say hi.
Until next time...
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Class Cards
Stamps: Hello Blossoms, Perfect Punches (birthday & friend sentiments), On Your Birthday (inside card)
Card/Paper: certainly celery, poppy parade, peach parfait, whisper white card, Nursery Suite Specialty DSP, Sunny Garden DSP
Ink: old olive marker
Accessories: basic pearls, celery taffeta ribbon, poppy parade poly ribbon
Tools: boho blossoms punch

Shelli's Card
Stamps: Hello Blossoms
Card/Paper: rich razzleberry, old olive card, Patterns DSP - Brights (olive & razzleberry), Newsprint DSP
Ink: old olive
Accessories: basic pearls, antique brad
Tools: designer label punch, boho blossoms punch

Strength & Hope... just in time

2011-07-28T22:21:00.002+10:00

It doesn't seem long since we welcomed the Autumn/Winter Mini & now there's only a few days & it will be gone. So, I thought I'd better get to showing you some more projects using the goodies I got...other than cupcakes of course. I feel like I haven't had time to have a good play with my sets & none more so than the beautiful Strength & Hope. I decided I HAD to use it for one of my class projects from last Saturday. Here it is!

I went with a perfect plum & pink pirouette colour scheme - girly, but not too girly. I stamped a butterfly & flourish in pink pirouette ink on the same card, stamped & cut out a plum butterfly, added some pearls (what did I do before these?) The butterfly is attached with a glue dot in the centre & dimensionals on the wings.

For the scallops, I layered pink & plum Patterns DSP scallops on the bottom of the panel, flicked them up for some added texture, then added a final touch of pretty in pink taffeta ribbon. Here's a closer shot:

On the inside, I added a pink panel & cut another butterfly, but forgot to take a pic.

Before I go, I'll just share a final reminder about Strength & Hope. As you might remember, this set helps raise funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation & will only be available until the end of this month. It's not in the new US Idea Book, & I think likely it won't be in ours either when it arrives in September. So if you love it & would like to support this truly worthy cause, order it this month.

If you'd like to know more about the Stampin' Up! Strength & Hope campaign, check out this video from the amazing Shelli Gardner, Stampin' Up! Co-founder & CEO.

If you'd like any more info or would like to order Strength & Hope, just contact me by Sunday afternoon. I'll be back next time with another Autumn/Winter Mini project from my last class. Until then...
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Stamps: Strength & Hope, Great Friend
Card/Paper: perfect plum, pink pirouette, whisper white card, Patterns DSP (subtles - plum & pink pirouette)
Ink: perfect plum, pink pirouette ink pad, perfect plum marker
Accessories: pretty in pink taffeta ribbon, basic pearls
Tools: Big Shot, Elegant Lines embossing folder

Cupcake triangle box

2011-07-25T09:00:00.005+10:00

Hi again. Today I have the last of my cupcake workshop projects to show you - a triangle box with cupcake tag to co-ordinate with the melon cupcake card in this post.
Triangle boxes are one of my favourite quick box projects - they're so simple to make - you don't even need any adhesive - but look much more complicated. I showed 2 versions at the workshop, first, a quick limited supply version using only Create a Cupcake & matching punch...

Then, I demonstrated this stepped up but still very simple version. It's wheeled with the So Swirly jumbo wheel & choc chip ink & the cute scallop tag is made with a few more punches.

The So Swirly wheel is my all-time favourite wheel. it's perfect for so many occasions - birthdays, Christmas, engagements, weddings, babies - & it's so forgiving if you make a rolling boo-boo.

These boxes were made with half an A4 sheet & are perfect for holding some chocolates (isn't everything?), or as wedding favours. Smaller boxes, using a quarter A4 sheet are great for jewellery or other little goodies.

The picture below shows the basic scoring template for making a triangle box. You can easily change the card dimensions, so long as you follow the basic principles.

You can see some more of my triangle boxes (including some Christmas ones) from a long long time ago here.

So, which one do you like, the simple or stepped up version? Mine is the stepped up version - love rolling the wheel & of course playing with my punches!

If you haven't tried making one of these boxes, have a go & I'm sure you won't stop at one. Leave a comment to say hi or if you have any questions.
That's the last of my cupcake projects for a little while at least. Back with something different next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Both boxes
Stamps: Create a Cupcake
Card/Paper: choc chip, melon mambo, whisper white
Ink: choc chip, melon mambo
Accessories: white taffeta ribbon
Tools: Build a Cupcake punch

Extra supplies - stepped up version
Accessories: basic rhinestone
Tools: itty bitty punch pack (flower), 2 3/8 inch scallop circle punch, 13/4 inch circle punch, paper piercing tool & mat

A Cupcake workshop or two

2011-07-20T09:00:00.006+10:00

Continuing the cupcake theme, I have some cards to show you from some cupcake themed workshops I ran for some lovely ladies in June (waving at you Alison & Corinne). Most guests were completely new stampers with kids, so I wanted the cards to be quick, easy & fun. This was the make & take everyone made:

Both colour combinations are from the Brights collection - melon mambo, rich razzleberry & regal rose for the girl version, pacific point, tempting turquoise & pumpkin pie for the boys, with some Brights Patterns DSP. To add a bit of interest & help take the detail to the inside, I trimmed a little off the right edge & punched with either the scallop edge or pinking hearts edge punches. On the inside, I added another cupcake - because clearly one is not enough! Here's the inside of the girly version:

I made a gift box for each hostess with more cards inside to show some more cupcake ideas in a range of colours, Here's one of the sets. The box can be used on a desk once the cards are used.

...and here are some of the other cards inside - these mainly use colours again from the brights collection again:

For this one, I put the cupcake on a plate made with 2 oval punches.

This one has a more neutral colour palette...& much better colour IRL - late night photo!

Another pink version - love that colour combination.

For this one, I placed the cupcake on a 1 3/4 inch circle & a 2 3/8 inch scallop circle (punched twice to form the spiky edge). Then I added a couple of brads instead of punching the edge & a flag end.
I hope these give you some more ideas for using Create a Cupcake or colour combinations to try....or something. Just drop me a line if you have need any more info. I still have my workshop demo project to show you, but I'll have to do that next time. Until then, bye for now.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
Make & Take - Both
Stamps: Create & Cupcake,
Tools: Build a Cupcake & word window punch
Make & Take - Pink
Card/Paper: Pink version - melon mambo, regal rose, pretty in pink, whisper white card, Brights Patterns DSP - rich razzleberry, regal rose.
Ink: rich razzleberry, regal rose, chocolate chip
Accessories: basic rhinestones
Tools: scallop edge punch
Make & Take - Blue
Stamps: Party This Way
Card/Paper: Blue version - pacific point, tempting turquoise, pumpkin pie
Ink: pacific point, choctempting turquoise, chocolate chip
Tools: pinking hearts punch
Hostess Box
Card/Paper: Ricj razzleberry, melon mambo, whisper white card, Brights Patterns DSP - rich razzleberry

Tools: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet, XL scallop edge punch, paper piercing tool

love letter handbag

2011-07-18T22:27:00.004+10:00

Hi there. Today I'm sharing the final card from my Cupcakes & More class. For this one, I wanted to show a more elegant look, so we made this handbag card.

It shares the similar layout, cupcake set & punch to the other three cards, but the classy Love Letter DSP, black satin ribbon & Elements of Style flourish stamp help give it a very different look. I thought the sentiment went really well with the handbags too - love this sentiment!
I added another handbag inside, with the happy birthday greeting, but forgot to take a pic - doh! In any case, here's a close-up of the handbags

Tips for making handbags

There are lots of different ways you can make handbags, but here's how I made these ones.

1. Base - Punch a cupcake base from DSP. I so loved how the spotty dsp I used here works so well with the scallop edge of the base - small things!)

2. Handle - Punch a 3/4 inch circle from scrap card, then centre & punch a 1 inch circle over the 3/4 inch hole, to make a ring. Attach the ring to the back of the DSP, so it lines up with the cupcake top. I used 2 way glue to attach mine.

3. Flap - Punch a scallop oval, cut off 5 scallops from either end (see pic below - makes 2 flaps) then attach to top of base. Add a basic rhinestone, pearl or brad to finish.

There are lots of other handbag variations you can try too:

- use the 2 oval punches to make a longer handle

- use the base right way up
- use different flap shapes - a circle, oval, modern label

- stamp a base instead of using DSP
- add a punched itty bitty flower for fun

My inspiration for the handbags came from a lovely baja & chocolate card with 3 handbags on the display board at Convention. I don't know who made it, but if it's your or you know who made it, just leave a comment & link if you have one & I'll add it here.

So, that's all the class cards. Here's a final pic of all the cards together.

(click for a bigger pic)

Which was your favourite? I was really pleased with how the handbag one turned out & is probably an equal fave with the ice cream card. I hope they've given you some more ideas to try. I do have a couple more cupcake projects from my June workshops, as well as some other projects, so I'll be back with more soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake, Elements of Style

Card/Paper: riding hood red, naturals ivory, basic black, very vanilla, Love Letter DSP

Ink: cherry cobbler, crumb cake

Accessories: black satin ribbon, basic rhinestones

Tools: Big Shot, Scallop square duo die

A cupcake & a hot air balloon too

2011-07-15T22:02:00.000+10:00

Hi there! I'm back again to show you two more cards from my Cupcakes & More class. Both cards are made with the Create a Cupcake set & matching punch, plus the scallop square duo die.
First up, a bright & fun card with a little party scene complete with cupcake & mini pennant banner.

This is a very quick & easy card thanks to the cupcake set & punch, plus the cute itty bitty punch flower. The only fiddly bit is cutting & attaching the pennants, but here's a suggestion to make this easier if you need lots.

Tip - Making lots of pennants

Use a template to cut your triangles, like this 1.5cm wide one below I made in ms word. Cut a strip of dsp, attach a strip of sizzix adhesive sheet to the back, then hold triangle template on top of dsp & cut out individual triangles.

As an aside, I used a bigger version of this template for the ice cream cones in this card.

Hot air balloon birthday

Next up, I showed the girls how to quickly turn a cupcake into a hot air balloon. This is a really simple but effective card that could work for many occasions & people, just by changing the colours or sentiment.
I really liked the colour scheme (although the colours don't look quite right here. Sorry, I've taken so many pics & the camera just won't give me the true colours!)

Balloon Tips

- The basket is stamped with a one of the cupcake bases in the set,

- The balloon is a 1 3/8 inch (35mm) circle.

- The basket strings are just very thin strips of chocolate card.

- The clouds are the cupcake top.

My inspiration for the balloon & cloud layout was from a lovely card with a background stamped with a clear acrylic block, that I saw on a Convention display board. I don't know if it was a swap or a SU sample, but I really liked it. If you know who made it, or it's yours, please leave me a comment & I'll happily credit it to you.

Anyway, hope you like these ideas. Leave me a comment if you have need any other info or just want to say hi. I'll be back next time with the last card from the class.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Both Cards

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Tools: Build a cupcake punch, Big Shot, Scallop Square duo die, itty bitty punch pack

Cupcake Card

Card/Paper: old olive, rich razzleberry, so saffron, whisper white card, Brights patterns DSP (old olive, rich razzleberry & melon mambo), Sunny Garden DSP

Ink: rich razzleberry, melon mambo

Accessories: basic rhinestone

Hot air balloon birthday

Card/Paper: marina mist, peach parfait, pear pizzazz, whisper white, baja breeze, choc chip card, Sweet & Sour DSP

Ink: marina mist, chocolate chip ink pads

Accessories: basic pearl

Tools: 1 3/8 inch (35mm) circle punch

Neapolitan Ice Cream Birthday

2011-07-14T13:22:00.001+10:00

I've been trying to write a post about my convention adventures before I post anything else, but as it's still a work in progress, I thought I'd quickly start sharing the projects from my June Cupcakes & More class. This was my first class after our extended renovation fun, so I was really looking forward to getting together with the girls & had a great catch-up.

We made 4 cards - each using the Create a Cupcake stamp set and/or the co-ordinating Build a Cupcake punch in different ways & with similar layout elements assisted by the new scallop square duo die. Today, I'll show you the first card, which was also the class favourite - an ice cream birthday card inspired by the classic neapolitan flavours of choc, vanilla & strawberry.

Here's a close- up of the panel - The ice cream cone is really sparkly IRL as it's sprayed with a shimmer mist made from champagne mist shimmer paint. The cone is backed with dimensionals to really pop it off the card.

I carried the theme to the inside too, with more scoops of ice-cream.

Tips & Techniques
- Punch 3 cupcake tops for the ice cream scoops. Add more scoops to decorate the inside.
- Cut a triangle for the cone & emboss with the square lattice embossing folder. No Big Shot? - score diagonal lines to make a diamond pattern.
- The flower is a fun addition. For the centre of the inside flower, us a 'sprinkle' from the cupcake punch. Perfect fit!
- Put the whole ice cream together then spray with shimmer paint spray.
- The sweet treats greeting tag made with the jewellery tag punch. To make the tag longer, cut a 9mm wide strip of card, then only feed one end into the punch to punch a tag end. Stamp the greeting then cut off the excess.
- Basic rhinestones add a fab sparkly touch for a bargain price. You get 213 single rhinestones in a pack (when you count the ones on strings) for only $9.50.

Hope you like this little project as much as the class girls did. If there's anything else you'd like to know, just drop me a line or leave a comment, as I love hearing from you. I'll be back with more from this class next time.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Curly Cute (happy birthday), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (sweet treats)
Card/Paper: choc chip, very vanilla, pink pirouette, pretty in pink, rose red card, Subtles Patterns DSP - pretty in pink
Accessories: early espresso 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon, basic rhinestones, champagne mist shimmer paint,
Tools: Big Shot, polka dots & square lattice embossing folder, scallop square duo die, jewellery tag punch, itty bitty punch pack - 4 petal flower.

The biggest post in all the world & this is how it goes...

2011-06-13T22:52:00.003+10:00

...It’s a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious birthday post for Cara.

Our gorgeous girl Cara turned double digits (her words - 10 to the rest of us) at the beginning of May & finally had her birthday party last weekend, so today I’m going to share some birthday fun & projects. First, of course is the birthday girl herself on her special day....I can't believe how much she's growing up....& yet is still our little girl!

Cara requested a peanut butter pie for her cake, (an absolutely delicious treat with an oreo cookie crumb base, creamy peanut butter & drizzled chocolate on top found by my friend Kellie.) Yum! Unfortunately, I forgot that our pie plate was still packed up, so I hastily borrowed a pottery dish from a friend. Then, it didn’t want to come out without quite a bit of coaxing. Anyway, it all worked out in the end...as you can see here with her best bud S!

At this point I’m sure most of you are thinking “where’s the paper?”, so as this is really a papercraft blog, here we go.

Cara’s card

One of Cara’s pressies is to see Mary Poppins the Musical in Sydney (in July – we still have to be a bit patient!), so I decided to make her this Mary Poppins themed birthday card.

(click on the pic for a bigger version!)

Cara loves bright colours so I cut coloured paper strips from the brights Patterns DSP pack & all I can say is thanks to my trusty Timeless Type dies for the 33 letters! There are of course more die cut butterflies, which I apparently can’t stop using! The card panels are each 9cm wide by 10cm tall, so a long 54cm in total.

The party

Cara asked to have a sleep-over with some friends, but as she wanted to have more girls over than we could fit in (& truth be told – than Mum & Dad could handle), we agreed she could have 4 friends stay & have a crafty party with more girls beforehand (much to my surprise, as she doesn’t generally share my stamping obsession). The challenge was on.

The invitations

Cara requested purple (razzleberry – check!), pink (melon – check!) & aqua (huh?... but yes! some treasured retired cool caribbean to the rescue!), chose a cupcake theme, & we’re off. Well, I started playing & thinking & asking Cara questions. 10 mins later, ”Muuuuummmm, can we start making them now?” “Ummm, no, not quite yet babe” I reply. The pressure! Anyway, after a bit more fiddling, I finished the sample & got the approval to go ahead. Cara helped punch, tape & attach the various bits together & this was the final result. I have to say I was very happy with how they turned out. What a team!

The party projects

Cara’s brief was “to make some stuff” so that gave me plenty of freedom. We only had 1½ hours for craft though, so everything had to be pretty quick & easy to do. I finally decided to decorate a calico tote bag, make a paperclip bookmark & post-it note holder, all in Cara’s chosen colour theme & here are my samples...

The bags

I bought the basic calico bags online – a bargain at $2 each. I cut lots & lots & lots of fabric flowers & butterflies (backed with appliqué adhesive) with my trusty Big Shot (yes, it cuts fabric fabulously!). It was such fun to watch the girls choose their pieces & lay out their design. Here’s a pic of all the bits they had to choose from. Yes, I went a bit mad cutting shapes & still have tons left.

Damien & my dear & brave friend Kellie helped the girls out by ironing on all the pieces, so before long they were all done. Here are some of the final creations from the sleep-over girls (since I totally forgot to take pics at the party in all the chaos). If you look closely, you’ll also see their glittery purple initials tied on a ribbon to personalise the bags some more. Everyone also received a matching notebook & pen at the party. They all seemed thrilled with their creations & so was I.

(click on the pic for a bigger version!)

Bookmarks & Post-Its

Then we moved on to the bookmarks & post-it notes. I had pre-stamped & punched all the bits & the girls did a great job putting everything together. I was quite amazed how quickly they did everything & told them my grown-up class ladies would have taken a lot longer.....although I have to say it would have been quite a bit more relaxing, but with about the same amount of chatting! Here’s a closer pic of the projects - front & back.

The bookmark has a cupcake on the front & a personalised initial on the back & all the pieces are cut with punches or dies. So easy!

The post-it note has my favourite little owlie & my new favourite die – the scallop square duo. I cheated a little on the colour combo with these, as I had to substitute tempting turquoise instead of cool caribbean.

Finally, the essential lolly bag. I made a selection of fancy favour boxes in razzleberry, melon or turquoise, decorated with contrasting Brights Patterns DSP strips & a ‘For You Flower’. So quick & easy, but I think they’re cute.

Well, that’s it! Cara & all the girls said they had a great time at the party, so we were happy too... & exhausted! I think we all crashed by 8.30 the following night.

I hope all this gives you some ideas. Leave a comment or drop me a line if you like the projects or have any questions. I'll be back soon with something...that's not a butterfly!

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies

Cara's birthday card

Stamps: Many Merry Messages ('wishing you a'), Party This Way ('happy birthday), Butterfly Prints

Card/Paper: whisper white & lots of Brights collection card, Brights Patterns DSP

Ink: regal rose, rich razzleberry ink pads

Accessories: brights brads, ice rhinestone brads

Tools: butterfly punch, Big shot, butterfly wings embosslit, timeless type alphabet dies

Invitation

Stamps: Create a Cupcake, Family Phrases

Card/Paper: cool caribbean (retired), rich razzleberry, melon mambo, whisper white card, Brghts Patterns DSP (melon mambo)

Ink: cool caribbean (retired), rich razzleberry, melon mambo ink pads

Accessories: basic rhinestones

Tools: punches - itty bitty shapes, build a cupcake, 2 3/8 inch circle, 1 3/4 inch circle, word window, dies - circles #2 die (2 inch circle), scallop square clear

Tote Bag

Tools: Big Shot, Dies - Flower folds, Island Floral, Beautiful Butterflies, Circles #2

Cupcake Paperclip Bookmark

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Card/Paper: rich razzleberry, melon mambo, whisper white card,

Ink:cool caribbean (retired), rich razzleberry, melon mambo ink pads

Accessories: basic rhinestones, melon spotted ribbon (retired)

Tools: punches - itty bitty shapes, build a cupcake, 2 3/8 inch circle, 1 3/4 inch circle, word window, dies - circles #2 die (2 inch circle), timeless type alphabet

Owlie Post-it note holder

Card/Paper: rich razzleberry, melon mambo, tempting turquoise, whisper white card, Brights Patterns DSP, Other DSP (retired - can't remember the name!), post-it note book

Accessories: basic rhinestones, googly eyes (non SU)

Tools: punches - itty bitty shapes, 2 step owl

A little vintage for Lea

2011-05-25T18:03:00.000+10:00

Hi there. Today I have one more butterfly card to show you. It’s very similar to this one I showed last time, but this time I’ve tried to add some little vintage touches. As many of you know, this is not my natural style, but the card was for my lovely friend Lea, who loves vintage, so I thought she’d appreciate that I tried to go there. Anyway, this is the card.

Looking back at it, I think it still looks like me & nowhere near as vintage as some, so maybe I’d better point out some of what I tried to do. First, the colours. I used some beautiful Love Letter & Newsprint DSP, with cherry cobbler, riding hood red, black, vanilla...& a little bit of bashful blue to mix it up. I distressed all the cardstock & paper edges, sponged the edges of the DSP & butterflies with riding hood red or crumb cake ink, then added an antique brad which I sponged with a little black staz on ink. The greeting mat is the modern label punch, which I always think looks a little vintage too (despite having a modern name?)

Here’s a close up of the large butterfly, so you can hopefully see some of the sponging etc better.

And here’s the inside. Just love this sentiment from Create a Cupcake.

The neutral panel is naturals ivory card, which is a lovely colour with tiny little specks through it to add a little extra interest.
Oh & I almost forgot. Here’s one more pic of the card & pressie with matching butterfly belly band. I would have liked to use cream tissue paper, but only had white.

So what do you think? Does it look in any way or shape vintage? In any case, I had fun making it & Lea seemed to really like it & that’s most important. I’d better finish this post quickly & not waffle any more, since I’ve already lost it once to the dreaded blue screen of death on my laptop. Back soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Deal of the Week 4

It's also time for our last deal of the week. This week is Stampin' Around wheels & very cute rub-on packs. Check out my SU website here for all the details & contact me if you'd like to order anything.

Bye again!

Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake (Autumn/Winter Mini)

Card/Paper: cherry cobbler (base) riding hood red, naturals ivory, bashful blue card, Love Letter & Newsprint DSP

Ink: riding hood red, crumb cake ink pad, black staz on ink

Accessories: 5/8 in black satin ribbon, vanilla 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon

Tools: Big Shot, Dies - Beautiful Butterflies & Beautiful Wings, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Punches – word window & modern label

Sarah's birthday butterflies

2011-05-18T09:00:00.025+10:00

Good morning! No, you’re not dreaming, I’m actually posting 2 days in a row. Today I have a matching card & box to show you, which continue the butterfly theme. I made them for my friend & fab SU team member Sarah’s (of Sarah’s Stamping Style) birthday last month. I was tempted to use Sarah’s favourite colour melon mambo, but I remembered I’d made her a melon package at Christmas (note to self – I haven’t shown this either!), so decided to try something different, which I hope she liked too. Anyhoo, here’s the finished card...

The colours are a combination of marina mist, bashful blue, certainly celery, with just a touch of razzleberry. My big shot got a work-out cutting the ‘Beautiful Butterflies’ & Beautiful Wings’ butterflies & embossing the bashful blue card with the ‘Elegant Lines’ embossing folder. So quick & easy to do, but I get such a kick every time I do it. The layout was inspired by the Inkspirations challenge 67 sketch – I just changed a couple of details.

Here’s a closer look at the main butterfly, which I think looks sooo pretty. Just a couple of notes – the itty bitty button is backed with a little razzleberry DSP & the antennae are made with linen thread.

...& the inside (which has a punched brand new decorative label to cover up a verrrry crooked sentiment!) Oops! Don't check it S

I also got Sarah a glittery snow globe that holds photos, so I made a matching box...which I think from memory was around 9.5cm square (Sarah said yes it is, so all good!). Here it is closed...

& open!

Finally, here’s the card & box together....

Must have been taken the pic at a weird angle, as the poor card looks a little dumpy (& no-one wants that LOL). I was really please how they turned out, so hope Sarah liked them too. If you’d like more info on anything, just leave a comment or drop me a line.

Next time, I'll have a similar card to show you - this time with a more vintage twist (well, vintage for me!) Until then, take care of one another.

Inky wishes, Di

New deal available today....on accessories!
It's Wednesday, so time for a great new deal of the week. This week is accessories, including one of my favourite ribbons & some great brads (& who doesn't love a sparkly brad!

Check out my SU website here for all the details & contact me for more info. Enjoy!

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Discount Price
119750	137	Daffodil Delight 5/8'' (1.6 cm) Satin Ribbon	$16.95	$11.87
119963	137	Certainly Celery 3/8'' (1 cm) Taffeta Ribbon	$12.95	$9.07
109112	139	Square Fire Rhinestone Brads	$19.95	$13.97
109113	139	Square Ice Rhinestone Brads	$19.95	$13.97

Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake (Autumn/Winter Mini)

Card/Paper: marina mist, bashful blue, certainly celery, whisper white card, Subtles Patterns DSP

Ink: marina mist ink pad

Accessories, marina mist brad (subtles pack), itty bitty buttons, linen thread, certainly celery grosgrain ribbon, razzleberry taffeta ribbon

Tools: big shot, beautiful wings embosslit, beautiful butterflies die, elegant lines embossing folder, punches – modern label, word window, decorative label (Autumn/Winter Mini)

Lots of little Mothers Day cards

2011-05-17T20:18:00.002+10:00

April just flew by, between renovations, school hols & an escape to the Sunshine Coast & now, May is following suit with Cara’s birthday, not to mention Stampin' Up! convention, last week. More about some of these events later though, or I’ll never get today’s post finished.

Each year the fundraising committee for Cara’s school runs a stall for Mothers Day, where kids can choose a gift for their Mum. This year, I suggested that we give each child a card to give with their gift... a handmade one of course, so that’s what we did. This idea was inspired by Nikki Stalker, who made these lovely cards last Mother’s Day for her school.

I knew the cards had to be simple & quick to do as we had to make 320 & only had limited time to complete them, and most importantly, appeal to the kids. Fortunately, our renovation schedule meant I had useful time at home to prepare the card packs. Then, with some good friends & school Mums to help put them together, we finished them in plenty of time for our stall on May 5^th. Anyway, here is a sample of the card designs. You can click on the pic for a bigger version (& yes, that is our beautiful & finally finished floor under the cards - yay!).

We made lots of some, depending on supplies, time & how much I liked them! Most are variations on a butterfly theme, with different bases & DSP. The fronts are 7cm x 7cm, which meant I could cut 6 from one A4 sheet. Here are some close-ups of some of mine & the kids faves too...

This birdie one was my favourite & Cara liked it too, as she chose one in turquoise with spotty DSP for me (shown top row, second from left).

This sparkly butterfly (which was much more glittery IRL) was the kids favourite, as I kept having to replenish supplies!

These designs were used for most of the cards, with different base & DSP combinations.

This was another popular one (especially with the girls) in a turquoise base (shown 3rd row, far left). It's also a favourite retired DSP of mine.

The Mums who helped out seemed to like making & seeing the cards & we had lots of nice comments from the teachers too. The kids mostly seemed pretty excited to pick their card too, so I think it was really worthwhile. It was very entertaining watching them choose a card too - some were really decisive & picked one straight away, some checked out them all out first, some picked the same as their buddies, & to my surprise lots of boys picked hot pink girly cards & girls picked simpler blue ones. All in all, it was a fun & rewarding experience & I hope we can do it again next year.

Anyway, I hope all the Mums, Grandmas out there had a wonderfully special day. I’ll be back next time with some butterflies. Let me know if you’d like more info on anything

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Stamps: Butterfly Prints, Garden Whimsy, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Family Sentiments, Great Friend, Short & Sweet

Card/Paper: lots! (mainly retired)

Ink: lots! (mainly retired)
Accessories: dazzling diamonds glitter

Tools: butterfly punch, 2 step bird punch, word window punch

new deals

2011-05-11T10:39:00.001+10:00

Hi there
I'm literally ready to walk out the door for my trip to the Melbourne Stampin' Up! Convention, but just wanted to remind you that a new discount deal of the week starts today - this time on selected big shot dies & the new colour kit for our great Stampin' Pastels. Check out my SU website for more info & e-mail me if you'd like to order anything. I'll be back on Sunday, but hopefully will be able to check my e-mail while I'm away.
Take care of one another.
Inky wishes
Di

Deals of the week are back!

2011-05-01T13:34:00.001+10:00

I’m just back from holidays in time to tell you about some great discount Stampin' Up! deals available during May. Each Wednesday in May, you’ll find a new list of select products on sale for that week. This week it’s discounted stamp sets. Be sure to check my SU website each week to see what the new deals are.

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
121578	37	Tag Alongs Wood-Mount Set	$31.95	$19.17
120468	59	More Monkey Accessories Clear-Mount Set	$23.95	$14.37
121550	59	More Monkey Accessories Wood-Mount Set	$29.95	$17.97
120003	75	Cottage Garden Clear-Mount Set	$24.95	$14.97
119163	75	Cottage Garden Wood-Mount Set	$32.95	$19.77
121494	98	Compliments to the Chef Wood-Mount Set	$35.95	$21.57

Click on the stamp set name to view it in the catalogue. Stocks may be limited so contact me ASAP if you’d like to place an order.

Gotta run for now. Back soon I hope.

Inky wishes, Di

Sweet & sour cupcake birthday

2011-04-11T15:17:00.004+10:00

Doesn’t sound like a great combination does it? I think it works though in this bright & fun birthday card I made for friend of Cara’s... & is also my entry for Keesh’s latest sketch challenge #65.

The sweet & sour combination comes from my new ‘Create a Cupcake’ stamp set & matching punch (from the new Autumn/Winter Mini - yay!), teamed with some Sweet & Sour Specialty DSP.

The card was hugely inspired by this fabulous card by Krista, from which I took my colours & cupcakes. I just found Krista’s blog & love her sense of colour & style, so please check out her creations.

Here’s the fab sketch from Keesh for Inkspirations #65, which I just stretched into a regular sized card - inspired by design team member Renee’s stunning creation.

The card needed to hold a gift card, so I added a panel to the inside left, to slide the card in & then decorated the right panel to match. By the way, the base is peach parfait, which I generally prefer to pumpkin in large doses:

Here’s one final pic of it together with the matching stamped envelope & little handbag, which I made for a stall I ran at Cara’s school at Christmas.

The handbag was based on a fab swap that a demo friend received at the last SU convention. I don’t have the swap to tell you who made it, but if you know who did, or it’s you, please let me know & I’ll credit & link your creation.

Edited 11/4 6:20pm - I have found out that the handbag swap was made by the lovely Julia Leece. You can see her original swaps here - I just used the scallop envelope die for the top, but otherwise it's the same. Thanks heaps Julia.

Some final tips....

- The choc chip scallop circle around the die cut circle (circle b/s die)was made using the regular scallop edge punch. Just punch a strip of scallops, then cut a slit between each scallop, which enables you to bend the strip around the circle. If it doesn’t quite fit, just add an embellishment or ribbon to cover. My join is hidden by the bottom of the pumpkin cupcake.

- The button is a clear ‘itty bitty’ one (from the Summer Mini) with a matching punched rose red flower adhered with 2-way glue. These buttons & matching punch are still available on our carry-over list if you missed getting them.

- I wanted to add some texture to the rose red front panel, but not make it look busy, so I used textured cardstock instead of smooth.

- the sweet & sour dsp is made with some glossy embossed sections, which adds a lovely touch.

Thanks heaps for popping by & hope you liked the cupcakes....I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more. If you have any questions about anything, just drop me a line, or leave a some comment love. I’ll be back next time with a project I’ve been doing for our Mother’s Day school activities.

Inky wishes, Di

Supplies:

Stamps: Create a Cupcake

Card/Paper: peach parfait (base), rose red textured, whisper white, choc chip card, sweet & sour specialty DSP

Ink: rose red, pumpkin pie, choc chip ink pads

Accessories: pumpkin pie taffeta ribbon, itty bitty buttons, linen thread,

Tools: big shot, circles #2 die, build a cupcake punch, scallop edge punch, itty bitty shapes punch, word window punch

Russel’s 50th birthday – meet Elvis the Owl

2011-03-23T12:05:00.003+11:00

Last weekend we had a fantastic time at our dear friend Russel's 50^th birthday party, so I wanted to share the card I made for him. Russel is one of the kindest guys you'd ever hope to meet, so I wanted to make him a special card...but what to do? He loves listening & playing music & is a big Elvis fan, so I thought a music theme would be good, plus he has a great sense of humour so I wanted it to be a fun card. Enter Splitcoast sketch challenge 324, my trusty owl punch, tiny scraps of card, & some Elegant Soiree DSP & you get...Elvis the Owl!

He's ready for his close-up, so you can see him better...

I am quite chuffed to say I came up with Elvis all on my own. Most of the pieces are just normal owl bits & hopefully you can see what I've done from the pic, but just some little things...
To make the collar, I cut a little slit in an owl chest piece, so I could fold down the top. The belt is just a strip of card & the buckle is metallic silver card.
I wanted him to wear sunglasses (which clearly all rock owls must), so I used Crystal Effects® on the smaller circle & added a spot of white gel pen. I wasn't sure about how they turned out, but he just didn't look 'rock' enough with normal eyes.
The wings holding his Grunge Rock guitar are 2 step birdie punch wings folded over. The guitar is inked with not quite navy, but I stamped off first.

A bit more on the layout – I used Splitcoast sketch challenge 324 - just turned it upside down & stretched it into a square. This is the great sketch.

The final card front is 14.8 x 14.8cm. I used marina mist for the base (really love this newest blue), teamed with Elegant Soiree DSP & a little soft suede & vanilla for the Curly Cute greeting. When I was editing the pics, I realised I'd unintentionally used almost the same combo as this card. Apparently my current go-to male colours! The Timeless Type numbers got another run through too – I stuck two together for extra strength. Oh, before I forget, here's the inside of the card - I just repeated some paper & added another guitar.

OK, I think that's all I need to say, except Russ & his gorgeous wife (& fellow stamper) Nicky really liked Elvis, so I was really happy. Finding it a bit hard to concentrate, as our house is vibrating & so noisy with the sound of electric saws & nail guns. The good news is that it's due to our new floor being finally laid (yes girls, classes getting closer now!). If you'd like any more info, just drop me a line & leave a comment if you like Elvis. Thanks for stopping by.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: Some Elvis Trivia – while googling to try to find an Elvis owl to case, I discovered that Elvis actually had a suit with a big silver owl belt – strangely enough called the blue owl suit!....so of course my Elvis the owl had to wear a blue suit too.

Supplies
Stamps: Grunge Rock (Summer Mini), Curly Cute
Card/Paper: marina mist, soft suede, very vanilla, crumb cake, not quite navy, metallic silver, card Elegant Soiree DSP
Ink: marina mist, soft suede ink pad, not quite navy marker, white gel pen
Accessories: Crystal Effects®
Tools: 2 step owl punch, 2 step bird punch, Big Shot, Timeless Type junior alphabet dies

A quick card...or not

2011-03-21T17:50:00.006+11:00

Have you ever had one of those days? Well I certainly had one with today's card, which is my entry for Inkspirations Challenge 62. This week is a colour challenge & here are the colours.

Initially, I wasn't sure whether to try the challenge, because of the daffodil delight (not a big yellow fan), but then last Friday night, I saw Helen's cute one layer card & decided to have a go, but had no idea of what to do yet. Saturday morning, I woke up & had a really clear idea in my head - a very rare event let me tell you. I wanted to use this week's clean & simple sketch - FLT132, use lots of white space to tame the daffodil (like Helen's cute one layer card), & use the Aviary set for the stamping.
10 minutes later,it's really coming together until I stamp the last image....& it blurs. No worries, I'll stamp another one...& I drop the inked owl stamp on the card. Take three & it's all going well, until I get some ink on my hand & it goes on the newly stamped page (sigh). Well, at this point, I have to leave it to get some other things done.
Sunday afternoon, I start again & manage to leave a shadow of an omitted greeting image on attempt 4. At this point, I'm thinking maybe this card wasn't meant to be, but I really need to get 2 cards in the mail for friends' birthdays, so I kept going with attempt 5 &.....success!! I manage to stamp & finish a card & even after all my stuff ups...including a dodgy inside greeting which I covered up (shhh) I'm very happy with how it turned out. So, with no further slip-ups, here's my entry for Inkspirations challenge 62!

& here's the inside too.

This is the great clean & the simple sketch I used too...if you're interested. I stretched the sketch & used a little extra ribbon, but I think it's still clearly there.

Meanwhile, back in the craft room, I start on the second birthday card, but decide to change the colours a include some baja breeze. Even better, I manage to stamp & layout most of another card without any further boo boos.....& then I start seeing the migraine lightning bolts in my eyes. It's time to stop for now.
So, now it's today, I've finished the second card & am happy with it too.

It's very similar to the first, except for the baja, a different ribbon detail & add a little rhinestone bling. The inside is very similar too.

I can't say who the cards are for, as they're in transit but when the recipients receive them, you'll know who you are (grin)....& apologies that they're a little late now (sorry).

Anyway, what's the moral to this story?
... Inspiration does come when you least expect it & can come from many places.
... Be patient with yourself (& inanimate objects!)
... Keep trying & you'll get there eventually.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by & thanks very much if you actually made it through this whole saga. Hope you have a happy day. I'd love to hear what you think.
Inky wishes, Di

PS: When I was getting all the links for this post, I realised that the fabulous Kirsty Brown used Aviary in her Inkspirations card too. I don't remember seeing it when I first saw the challenge colours, but maybe my subconscious did & helped my idea along the way. Anyway, thanks Kirsty!
PPS: the finished card front is 10cm x 21cm & fits in a DL envelope.
PPPS: if you have any other questions, just drop me a line.

Edited: Wednesday 23/3 - one more with the scraps!
Since I'm still stuck in my craft room with the floor work going on, I thought I'd pop back in to show you a final version of this card I made with some of my errr..extra bits! This one is a smaller, regular sized card, so the stamping takes up more of the card & gives it a different look. I kept the ribbon simple & just added a little 'Itty Bitty Shapes' flower & some more rhinestones. This one isn't for the challenge, as the base is pretty in pink & chocolate. I just had some bits handy.

Thanks heaps for all the lovely comments you've been leaving too. I love hearing from you. Bye again!

Supplies:
Stamps: Aviary (Summer Mini), Afterthoughts (hostess L1), On Your Birthday
Card/Paper: regal rose, early espresso, whisper white, Brights Patterns DSP (regal rose)
Ink: early espresso, regal rose, daffodil delight, baja breeze ink pads,
Accessories: espresso satin ribbon, fire rhinestone brad (pink), flower brad, basic rhinestones.

Tools: stamp-a-ma-jig

You're too kind

2011-03-21T11:59:00.002+11:00

I’ve recently (& not so recently – sorry Nikki) received some blog awards from some very generous ladies, so would like to acknowledge these & most importantly say a huge thank you for your kindness & encouragement, to the lovely ladies who have awarded them.

First up, I received the Stylish Blogger Award from the lovely Nikki Stalker (so sorry it’s taken me so long to get this up Nikki – renovation brain I think) & last weekend from the lovely Janice Spencer, who’s blog I’ve just found. The rules of this award are apparently are:

1. Thank and link to the person who passed the Award my way;

2. Share 8 things about myself;

3. Pass it on to 8 others; and

4. Let them know about the Award.

So, 8 things about me...very random! That was hard on a Monday morning!

1. I’m a Christian.

2. I’m a converted e-book reader, since we got an i-pad. My hubby Damien & I are reading (I’m re-reading) the Miles Vorkosigan sci-fi book series together. Fantastic series!

3. I’m a total chocoholic for milk chocolate (especially Lindt classic), but am not as fond of dark chocolate & don’t like white chocolate at all.

4. My star sign is Virgo – which should be no surprise to anyone who knows me.

5. I can’t wait to finish our renovations, so we can have a family room again....& get most of the family room furniture out of our bedroom.

6. I’m really looking forward to going to Melbourne & the SU Convention in May, with my fabulous friend Kellie.

7. My favourite song (& video) of the moment is “Hollywood by the fabulous Michael Buble. Check it out HERE if you want to see why.

8. I’m gradually working my way re-watching all the Taggart TV series. If you haven’t heard of Taggart, it’s a police murder mystery show set in Glasgow, Scotland. As a Glaswegian by birth, I really enjoy hearing the accents, slang, humour & seeing scenes my first home town....plus the stories are really good!

Now to pass it on....

That’s so tricky, as so many bloggers inspire me... but here we go.

Sarah Milbourn – Sarah’s Stamping Style

Lyndell Andrews – Lyndell’s Card Corner

Andrea Karadimos – Stamp my Day

Cathy McLean – Happy Shack Stamping

I’m very proud & to say these first 4 nominees are part of my SU Diamond Stampers downline...Go girls! Their styles are all different & very beautiful & most of them have just starting blogging, so please give them some encouragement. These final 4 fabulous ladies blogs are always in my ‘check this out immediately if not sooner’ list. Say no more!

Kim Badelt – Kim’s Stamping Spot

Liam Pucher - Inspire Stampin

Sarah Klass

Sam Post - Ryemilan's Stamping & Scrapbooking

Phew! That was hard to narrow down.

Well, if that award wasn’t enough, I was thrilled to receive the Liebster Award from the amazing Helen or H2 as you may know her from her fab blog.

The idea behind this award is that you nominate 3-5 blogs that are pretty new or have less than 300 followers, so I’d like to nominate...

Chrissie's World – Chrissie gave me such encouragement when I started blogging with her lovely comments & I am forever grateful for that.

Leanne Dixon – Leanne has become a dear friend over the past couple of years & is also my SU Auntie. She’s a stamping technique queen & loves vintage.

Kellie Jupe – well,what can I say about the gorgeous Kellie? She definitely not a regular blogger, but her cards are fab & I hope this encourages her to do & post more (grin). Love ya Kellie!

Before, I go, I’d like to say a final thanks again to Helen, Nikki & Janice for these special awards. If you need any more inspiration, please check out the bloggers on the right column, as they’re all wonderful!

I’ll be back later hopefully with my card for the latest Inkspirations challenge....if I can get some work done first.

Inky wishes, Di