Christmas Circle Circus SAS

Here I am again with the second card from my October Christmas SAS.

For this one, I used the Circle Circus set. This is not a Christmas set, but when I first saw it in the catalogue back in April, I thought it would be great for Christmas baubles, as well as an opportunity to go mad with punches (& regular class goers will know how much I loooove bauble cards & punches, not to mention getting the most from the stamps in my collection).

The layout is very simple & quick to mass produce, but has some extra details to make it a bit more special. The hanging bauble has 3 stamped & punched out images, glued together & mounted on dimensionals.

I realised after making it that the colours are almost the same as this card, but with a different look. The greeting is from 'Many Merry Messages', a very well used essential Christmas set, as it includes greetings for both the front & insides of your Christmas cards. (I think this is my 3rd year using it!)

Here's another version with the colours & stamps swapped around.And one more quickie card I made at the same time. The front is 9.9cm x 9.9cm, which sounds like a weird size, but it means you can get 3 square cards from one sheet of A4 card. The card has a part oval punched out of the side, with another part olive oval inside with a ribbon knot attached.

Hope this gives you some more ideas for quick Christmas cards. Please let me know if you have any questions & thanks for popping in.

Inky wishes
Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Circle Circus, Many Merry Messages
Card: old olive, ruby red, whisper white
Ink: riding hood red, baja breeze, kiwi kiss, always artichoke
Tools: punches: scallop circle, 1 ¼ inch circle, ¾ inch circle; mat pack – piercing template & mat

Circle Circus set (114375) - $52.95

Many Merry Messages (115930) $64.95

Season of Joy SAS

I'm back with a very quick post to show you the first card from my October Christmas SAS.Those with good memories will realise I haven't show you September's SAS yet, but I don't have enough time for Sept now, as it has lots of different cards. This SAS saw the return of an old favourite set from last year – 'Season of Joy', with a new look courtesy of this year's in colours & some striped 'Ski Slope' DSP & spotty 'Holiday Wishes DSP from the main catty. I took my colour combo from the striped paper – baja breeze, riding hood red, old olive & chocolate chip. It's a very simple layout, but I like how it all came together. If you have any questions, just let me know.

Here is another variation of the card using the poinsettia/flower stamp. I don't think it works as well because the flower is maybe a little small – probably should have added a couple? Anyhoo, I thought I'd show you anyway.
I'll show you the second card design we made next time, which will hopefully be over the next few days. It's my darling hubby's birthday tomorrow, so I'll be a busy girl making sure he has a really happy day...& hopefully finding the card I made for him today. It has disappeared off the face of the earth. Damo joked that it was all a ploy to hide the fact I hadn't actually made one. Thankfully, though Cara saw it & I took pictures before I lost it, so he might have to settle for the digital version until it turns up! Anyhow, I'm waffling now, so I'll say bye for now & thanks for visiting.
Inky wishes
Di
PS: Thanks to everyone for all the lovely comments on my Regionals swap. What a bunch of sweeties.
PPS: Ski Slope DSP & the scallop oval punch are only available until Nov 30, so please contact me if you 'need' to order them.
Supplies:
Stamps: Season of Joy
Card/Paper: baja breeze, riding hood red, old olive, whisper white, Holiday Wishes DSP, Ski Slope DSP
Ink: baja breeze ink pad, old olive Stampin' Write® marker
Accessories: chocolate chip grosgrain
Tools: large oval & scallop oval punch, scallop edge punch

O Christmas Tree swaps

Well I'm finally back again to show you some little chuppa-chup Christmas trees I made as swaps for Stampin' Up!'s Demonstrator Regional Training day last Saturday. (btw, chuppa chups are lollipops for any non-Aussie visitors). Sam gave me one of these super-cute flower pots last year & the thought to make a Christmas version has been swimming around in my head since them... but I only got it out of my head a couple of weeks ago – sad huh?

I used some more Raspberry Tart DSP for the tree (surprised?) & the pot & stars are rose red cardstock. I adjusted Sam's pot dimensions to fit the look I wanted for the tree too. The trees on each end are my final swaps, the middle was another prototype, but I decided I liked the version with the large tag more (made with the 'Punches Three' hostess set). This also made it easier to include a (still tiny) project recipe. After making 18 though, my hand gave up the ghost, so I didn't end up having many to swap with the around 230 Demo's there, but I hope the ladies I did swap with liked the idea....& that you do too. I should have thought to take pics of some my team's swaps too, so I could show you, but I haven't, so that will have to come later.. so I'll just leave you with a mini forest of trees.In case you're wondering what Regionals were all about....It's yet another perk of being a Demo. I had a great day at Darling Harbour spent with my Demonstrator friends & team members, learning new ideas, tips & tricks from Stampin' Up! & some fellow Demonstrators, seeing & taking pics of all the fab ideas on the display boards, playing with new Summer Mini Catalogue goodies & laughing lots...not to mention eating a LOT of chocolate.

OK, it's bedtime for me now, but if you'd like any more info about the trees or anything else, just drop me a line & thanks heaps for visiting.

Inky wishes, Di

PS: Don't forget you can earn the square scallop punch for free this month, when you spend $85 on items from the Christmas Gift Guide before Dec 14. Click here for more info.

Update - Tuesday: Andrea, one of my lovely team members has posted her very cute triangle box Regionals swaps, so you can see them here now!

Supplies
Stamps: Punches Three (Short & Sweet – middle tree)
Card: rose red, whisper white, kiwi kiss card, Raspberry Tart DSP Ink: rose red
Accessories: gold brads, linen thread, dimensional. 2 way glue pen
Tools: star punch, square scallop punch

Leanne’s gift card wallet

Here's a cute little wallet style gift card holder that my friend & fellow Demonstrator, Leanne Dixon, showed us how to make at a Demo get together we organised back in September. It was a quick project to make, but sooo cute & very useful....plus I got to use lots of punches, which always makes me happy. The olive cover is decorated with some Raspberry Tart DSP, a punched oval greeting (from 'Best Yet') & some punched Boho Blossoms flowers. It's held closed with an attached tab, word window punched shape & gold brads.

On the inside, it has a section to hold the gift card & space to write a greeting. I scalloped the white panel with the scallop edge punch & then punched it out with the scallop oval punch. The punched flowers are also repeated.Thanks again Leanne for sharing this cool project with us. I think I'll be making lots more before Christmas.

Inky wishes
Di

Christmas Extravaganza Gift Offer Update:

Stampin' Up! have extended the free punch options in the Christmas Extravaganza gift offer. Now you can choose to receive either the Boho Blossoms punch used in this project or the square scallop punch for free when you order $85 of items from the Gift Giving Guide by 14 December. How's that for an even better offer? Please contact me for more info.

Boho Blossoms punch:Square Scallop Punch:Supplies:
Stamps: Best Yet
Card/Paper: old olive, pink pirouette & whisper white card, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: rose red
Accessories: gold brads
Tools: punches: Scalloped & large oval, word window, Boho Blossoms, scallop edge, corner rounder

Walk in the park...or not

Today's cards are ones I considered for my September Spring Mini class, but in the end changed my mind. I just wasn't sure about them & Damien (hubby & card critic) wasn't either. The funny thing is that I displayed them at the class, where it turned out that the girls at the class did like them. Damien was then roused on by all - oops! Anyway, I'll show you both cards & you can make your own decision on which, if any you like too. Here is the first one. The colours are a bit unusual for me – basic grey, cameo coral, going grey, baja breeze & whisper white, but just trusted the pretty 'Walk in the Park' DSP & went from there. I used the 'Great Friend' set again (what will I do without this set...at least until September next year?) & you might remember the layout from this card, which was cased from this one by Shelli Barron. Told you I loved it!

There are lots of layers in the matted section, with two, plus the butterfly popped on dimensionals. I added more 'pretty' with some clear rhinestone brads & basic grey taffeta ribbon. Here is a close up of the panel. One thing that mightn't be obvious is that the grey scallop around the greeting is not a punched scallop. I actually just punched through the DSP before attaching it to the front to show the basic grey card base. The greeting is popped on dimensionals. Anyway, why didn't it make the cut? Well, I thought it may look a little busy, although I do like it a bit more now.

And another one....

This was actually part of the first card I made & then pulled apart (hee hee). The butterfly panel was originally horizontal (like the one above), but I decided it was too big & made the second one (above) smaller. After fiddling around a bit though, I turned this panel so it was vertical & then reversed the paper (this pattern is actually the back of the floral in the first card), to try to overcome the busy feeling. Here's a close up of the main panel: In the end, this was Damien's favourite of the two, but I still wasn't sure about it....so I did something completely different & made the patchwork card instead!

Side story – it was my birthday a couple of weeks after this class & one of my friends gave me a hilarious & very appropriate fridge magnet which says "The opinions of the husband are not necessarily those of the manager." Too funny!

Inky wishes
Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Great Friend
Card/Ink: basic grey, baja breeze, cameo coral, whisper white, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink: basic grey, going grey, baja breeze, cameo coral
Accessories: basic grey taffeta ribbon, clear rhinestone brads
Tools: punches: scallop oval, large oval, small oval

Patchwork friend

Well, here I am again on a much cooler day than the 37 degree oven we had in Sydney yesterday. I still have a cold & my throat has gone out in sympathy today, but at least I don't have to talk to show you the second card from my Spring Mini classes. This time I've used some 'Walk in the Park' DSP arranged into a patchwork grid & the very popular 'Great Friend' stamp set.To make the patchwork shaped piece, I printed a template from the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website onto some cardstock, attached some really wide double sided tape over the whole template (still using it Ngai!), stuck punched squares of 'Walk in the Park' DSP on it (1 3/8 inch-3.5cm punch), then cut the template out. The trick to getting the patchwork centred is to attach the 2 centre pieces first & work out from there. After I made the first one, I found that the Stampin' Up!® glue sticks works better than the double sided tape, as you can wiggle the pieces into place better.
To finish off the piece, I've wrapped some pink taffeta ribbon around the shape & added a stamped 'Great Friend' butterfly & greeting in cameo coral ink (popped on dimensionals). The greeting was punched out with the curly label punch & I've added a little filigree brad & pink brad in the corner. I've layered the finished piece onto the kiwi kiss base & a piece of so saffron card wrapped with old olive grosgrain ribbon.
Raspberry Tart Friend
I thought you might also like the first version of the card, which I made using Raspberry Tart DSP (this is my absolute favourite paper from the current catty & you'll be seeing lots more of it).Anyhoo, I'd better try to get some things done here, much as I'd still rather be on the couch. Back soon with....I haven't decided yet :0)

Inky wishes
Di
PS:I've seen lots of these type of patchwork cards over time, so can't credit anyone in particular for the idea, but one that did stick out in my memory is this cute baby card on the fabulous Karen's blog.
Supplies:
Walk in the ParkStamps: Great Friend
Card/Paper: kiwi kiss, so saffron, whisper white, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink: cameo coral
Accessories: 5/8 inch old olive grosgrain, pink taffeta ribbon, filigree brad, pretty in pink brad
Tools: Curly label punch
Raspberry TartStamps: Great Friend
Card/Paper: rose red, pink pirouette, whisper white, raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: regal rose, rose red
Accessories: 5/8 inch regal rose grosgrain, kiwi kiss satin ribbon, filigree brad
Tools: Curly label punchGreat Friend - 116889 - $31.95

Paris in Spring

Well, I've finally made it to my September class projects. This is one of the cards we made at my Spring Mini class on 6 September. Seems like such a looong time ago. It's a very simple layout - one of my go to faves. I've used some oh so elegant & pretty Parisian Breeze specialty DSP, which is actually textured cardstock, teamed with the Fabulous Friend greeting from the 'Oval All' stamp set & some baja breeze double stitched ribbon.

I stamped the greeting in basic brown ink & lightly water-coloured with some baja breeze ink. Then I punched it out with the large oval punch, added a clear rhinestone brad & mounted it on a close to cocoa scalloped oval. Here's a close up of the greeting.

Anyway, I hope you like it. Thanks for visiting.
Inky wishes
Di

PS: Just a quick reminder that the stamps, paper & scalloped oval punch I've used here are only available until the end of this month. They will NOT be carrying over to the Summer Mini.

Supplies

Stamps: Oval All
Card: Baja breeze, close to cocoa & whisper white card, Parisian Breeze DSP
Ink: Basic Brown, baja breeze ink pad
Accessories: baja breeze double stitched ribbon, clear rhinestone brad
Tools: Large oval & scalloped oval punches, eyelet border punch

Snow Swirled SAS

Back again! I don't feel like moving off the couch with my cold, but at least I can be a little bit productive & finally share the second card from my August Christmas Stamp-a Stack (SAS). I used the gorgeous 'Snow Swirled' set teamed with Baja Breeze & Not Quite Navy card. I was overjoyed to see 'Snow Swirled' in the catty this year – you know I can't resist a good swirl & it's such a flexible set. As well as the lovely images, I love that the set includes a greeting for the front & one you can use inside a card too. This first version had 2 clear rhinestone brads, which I exchanged for some sparkly dazzling diamonds glitter in this final SAS version....not that you can see it in the sadly not very bright pics! Trust me, it looks much brighter IRL. You might also notice that I've also created a different edge for the snowflake circle, sing the scallop circle punch.I made a couple of layout variations too. I like the first one, which you can maybe see the glitter better on. I wasn't as happy with the second, but I thought I'd show you both anyway.Finally, while I was playing with the set, I made this very simple card using the same set & colours, which you could very easily mass produce. This also got the glitter treatment, which I hope you can see a bit.

If you'd like any other info or have any questions, just drop me a line. Thanks very much for popping in to visit. Hope you're having a happy Monday.

Inky wishes

Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Best Yet (card 5)
Card: Baja Breeze, not quite navy, whisper white card
Ink: baja breeze, not quite navy
Accessories: baja breeze striped grosgrain, 2 way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter, clear rhinestone brads (card 1), not quite navy brads (card 4)
Tools: scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 inch & 1 ¼ inch circle punches, large oval & scalloped oval punches (card 5)

Snow Swirled - set of 6 stamps - Item 115868 - $45.95

Christmas Gift Extravaganza

I'm back with some info on this month's new offer. & it's a goodie if you looove your punches, like me. From now until 14 December, Stampin' Up!® is all about Christmas gifts. Our Christmas Gift Giving Guide includes lots of gift ideas for the papercrafters in your life, as well as gifts you can make to give. What's more, for every $85 of items you buy from the guide, you'll receive a gift of a scallop square punch valued at $30.95.

You can view the guide here & see a list of items included in the promotion below, listed by category:If you'd like more info or place an order, just drop me an e-mail. Don't forget, you can also ask your loved ones to contact me too if there's something you'd like to see under your Christmas tree.
Inky wishes
Di
PS: I promise I'll be back with more projects soon. It was my wee mum's 80^th birthday yesterday, so we've been busy busy busy with that & now I have full blown head cold (despite the hot weather we're now having!), so I'm on a bit of a go slow.