Jolly Stocking Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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