Simple Christmas Stars

Hello! Today's card is another using So Many Stars. It shares a few elements of yesterday's card but is simpler & quicker to make. This is a very good thing if you're mass producing Christmas cards.

JAI 480 technique challenge - Christmas stars

So our new challenge at Just Add Ink is to just add a technique. Oh the choices! I decided to combine two of my favourite techniques - heat embossing-emboss resist with a brayered ombre-graduated background - with my favourite Christmas-Holiday catalogue bundle, So Many Stars.

JAI 470 Just add no stamping - starry double easel 18th

I'm happy happy happy to be sharing a starry 18th birthday project for today's new Just Add Ink challenge - just add no stamping. No stamping!? No problem I say.

I'd been hoping we'd have stitched stars in the Christmas-Holiday Catalogue (starting 4 September), & was super excited to see there's a FABULOUS bundle called So Many Stars. I was able to pre-order the bundle (you can too when you join SU this month) and thought it would be perfect for the no stamping challenge. I also added a fancy fold - this time a double easel card in landscape mode.

More Christmas Stars

November had been a busy month for classes and other normal life stuff and I've only just had a chance to take photos of all the cards I've made. Here's one from my first Christmas class using the So Many Stars bundle.

JAI 482 sketch challenge - Pretty bauble

It's a sketch challenge week at Just Add Ink and who doesn't love a good sketch. This one is definitely a fun one with so many options.

I've been obsessed with the Christmas Gleaming stamp and punch bundle over the last couple of weeks (not that you've seen them those cards on my blog yet) - you have to love a bauble, but I used it again for today's card, teamed with a fave sentiment from So Many Stars.

For the cutest 3 year old birthday girl

There are few things funnier & cuter than a 3 year old little person & today's card is for one of the sweetest kids, and daughter of one of my dearest friends & teamie.

Christmas Card class - Gleaming Baubles

Hello! I'm getting back to Christmas today with more of my November class cards using stamps, punches and paper from the Brightly Gleaming suite.

I love shine and baubles for Christmas so this suite was an easy choice. It's very easy to work with too and hard to put down. You'll see lots more of it over the next few days.

Today's cards show how you can get double duty from the same piece of paper and punched shapes to help you create lots of cards quickly with a different look.

Clean and simple seaside baubles

Today I have three more clean & simple Christmas card ideas to share with you that are perfect for last minute creating - which I soooo need to do.

They all feature the Christmas Gleaming stamp set & punch bundle, Stampin Blends markers, plus another of our newest in-colours, seaside spray. This is a beautiful pale blue that's difficult to capture on my camera.

Get started with Christmas creating

September means it's time to get creating for Christmas - you know it will be December before we know it, so start early and make it fun.

Luckily, the Stampin' Up! Christmas-Holiday Catalogue is here & you'll find all you need for a creative Christmas to suit your time, energy, budget & style.

Not just for Christmas - You'll find Halloween goodies if you're so inclined. Even better, many of the stamps, dies, embossing folders, papers and accessories are perfect for all year round creating. You'll see many of these in my top picks listed below.

Can't wait to start? Shop it all in my store now!

Download Christmas-Holiday Catalogue pdf

Christmas stars & new year wishes

Well, I'm back again with my very last project for Christmas & 2008 too. Wow! Where did the year go? I realised that I started blogging last December, so I guess it's my blog-iversary too (hmmm, maybe a celebration is called for)...but I digress. Back to the project – a star card. Earlier in the month I saw this wonderful star on Shelli Gardner's blog, which was a gift from an Aussie demonstrator, Felicity Gray. I absolutely loved it, so when I found this tutorial on Jackie Topa's blog, I HAD to have a go at making some... & couldn't stop. Here's a 5 pointed version.
I've used Holiday Thyme designer paper for both stars, but they'd look beautiful with so many others too. 6 panels are needed if you want to alternate patterns with 2 different papers, or use the same paper in reverse, but I like how 5 points look too. I also added a greeting panel to one side of the base, so I could add a Christmas message.

After I made some, I thought, hmmm, they would be lovely to use year after year. So, to keep them safe, I made a little pizza box to give & store them in. The box is stamped with the star from 'Fun & Fast Notes' & Merry Christmas from 'Occasional Greetings'. I wish I'd remembered about that star stamp before now though, as it would have been beautiful on Christmas cards! Oh well, there's always next year.So, that's all for 2008 except for a LOT of thanks from me....

To my truly wonderful husband Damien, & beautiful girl, Cara, I feel very blessed to be part of your lives & I love you both so very much . Thanks also to Damo for your endless support of my 'crazy hobby' & messy stamping room (errr, home office - sorry!) ;o)

Love & hugs to all my friends & especially to Ngai, Nette, Wendy & Kellie, for so much love, friendship & encouragement. Love you girls!

To my extended family, thanks so much to everyone for their love, support & a welcome ear through a tough year for us all.

To my Stampin' Up family (up, side & down) Janine, Kellie (again), Leanne, Cathy, Andrea & Lynda. I'm so glad Stampin' Up has brought us together & I'm really looking forward to sharing the journey with you all again next year...& to Sam, you rock girl! - I'm so glad we met & hope to share more fun with you soon.

To all my Stampin' Up! blog buddies (so much talent, so little space...but especially, Karen, Sarah & Chrissie) who inspire me so much, thanks for sharing your ideas & creations. You're all amazing!

Thanks also to everyone who's visited this year & an extra 'mwa' to everyone who's left a comment (or lots....esp Chrissie). I love getting comments & really appreciate your thoughts.

Wow, I didn't think I had so much to say!
So finally, I hope you all have a fun new year celebration & a wonderful year ahead, full of love, happiness & many blessings... and a happy hogmanay to all my Scottish family!

Take care & best wishes & hope to see you here again soon in 2009.
Love Di

Supplies:
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Occasional Greetings
Card/paper: Holiday Thyme designer paper (retired), cranberry crisp (retired), old olive & very vanilla card.
Ink: old olive & cranberry crisp ink pads
Accessories: organdy ribbon (retired)

Christmas Shaker Cards - To You & Yours Kit

Back in November when Christmas still seemed quite far away, I ran two fun classes using the To You & Yours Shaker Card Kit...& then forgot to take pics of the cards. This kit includes 18 cards: 6 each of three different shaker card designs, including a tree, bauble, & star cards, each with their own shaker elements & foiled card base. This is probably my favourite SU kit yet, as the cards were easy to make but pack a big sparkly wow & I love interactive cards. Even better, Stampin Up! did all the work so I can play & be productive at the same time. My class lovelies chose how many cards they wanted to make at the class & I showed them how they could adapt the designs to create different looks.

Changing Up the cards
 I really enjoyed making the cards my own with some simple touches:
- Mixing up the card bases & shaker elements from the kit.
- Letting the lovely foil card bases shine by omitting the white shaker backing on most cards.
- using spare gold foil from kit to cut/punch/die cut extra shapes.
- Using matching sentiments from the Embellished Ornaments bundle (for outside & inside) on all cards.
- Using coordinated stamps & dies from the Peaceful Pines bundle with the leftover foil from the kit.
- Using gold cord on some cards for extra sparkle.
- I didn't use the To You & Yours stamp set that SU designed to coordinate with the kit since I had other supplies that coordinated so well with the kit.
So, here's what I made. Click on the pics to see better details.

Trees

All trees - Embellished Ornaments bundle sentiments
Tree 1 - Horizontal striped base, stamped tree (Peaceful Pines bundle). Spare foil - punched star & strip of gold under tree. Sequins glued inside the shaker.
Tree 2 - Diagonal striped base - I love how this looks like tinsel on the tree. Spare foil - punched star & die cut pot (Peaceful Pines bundle). Sequins mixed with glitter in the shaker - suggested by one of my clever class gals.
Tree 3 - Horizontal striped base. Spare foil - punched star & strip of gold. Sequins glued to outside of window.
Tip: want more trees? The large tree die in the Peaceful Pines bundle is the same size as shaker window.

Stars

Star 1 - kit sample except for some spare sequins glued on front & gold cord.
Star 2 - Horizontal striped base - moved sentiment to top. This is my fave star card even though I included too many stars in the shaker - go easy!
Star 3 -  Omitted gold foil border around shaker. Used kit sequins instead of stars & glued a few extra around the sentiment.
Tip: You'll only need to use half the shaker elements in the kit - use half!

Ornaments

All: No white backing piece on any card - love seeing the striped foil. Die cut real red ornament top from the Embellished Ornaments bundle
Ornament 1 - Moved sentiment. Adhered some spare gold stars to front.
Ornament 2 - Changed to landscape. Added some sequins on front.
Ornament 3 - this is mostly the kit version except for backing & addition of gold cord

Speaking of the kit, this is how Stampin' Up put the cards together with the coordinating To You & Yours stamp set.

So if you love this awesome To You & Yours Kit too, you're in luck. It's discounted in our Year End Sale from $35.70 (roughly $2 per card - bargain!) until 4 January, unless sold out first. To You & Yours stamp set is also reduced to $21.00. Get in quick for some last minute cards for to get started early on next years cards.  I've listed all the supplies used in my store list below, so check them out.

I hope you've enjoyed my ideas for the kit.  Leave me a comment if you like them or have any questions. Remember to pin for later too. I've created a collage of all the cards, ready for you to pin

Back soon with some more ideas. Thanks for stopping by today.
Inky wishes, Di

Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one. Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order. Note - Stamp sets & bundles noted below may be available in other mount options (eg wood, cling rubber or photopolymer). I have listed the option that I used. Please check the online store if your preference is different.

Print Recipe

To You & Yours Shaker Cards Project Kit	Embellished Ornaments Clear-Mount Bundle	Peaceful Pines Photopolymer Bundle	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack	Gold Cording Trim
To You & Yours Too Photopolymer Stamp Set

Christmas Star of Light 1 - so simple

Star of Light was my absolute love at first sight bundle of this Holiday Catalogue for so many reasons; the gorgeous star, swirl & sentiment stamps in the Star of Light set, plus the intricacy & flexibility of the dies in the coordinating Starlight dies. It's way overdue for some blog love though, so I'm going share projects using it over the next few posts.

This bundle gives endless possibilities from simple to very intricate. First up I'm sharing some super simple cards you can so make in plenty of time for Christmas, starting with a couple in a possibly unusual combination of crumb cake, soft suede & copper, which I absolutely love.

You can't get much more minimal supply than this & so quick - you'll have you cards done in no time!
I started with a crumb cake card base stamped in soft suede ink with the super swirl (as I call it), gorgeous scripty Merry Christmas, & die cut & stamped star. Then, I stamped the star image in soft suede on whisper white, cut it out & added a copper foil (swoon) intricate star on top. Some bling & clear Wink of Stella (WOS) finished it off.
Tip - use WOS sparingly on top of stamping, as it can blur the image, as it did here little, if you look closely (please don't :) ).

I carried the swirl to the inside & added some individual stars (lovely to use on their own too) & sentiment.  Quick & easy but very elegant I think. Of course you could make this in any colour combination you fancy.

This version has a very similar swirl layout but I also added some individal stars to the mix. I cut 3 copper foil stars & mounted them on dimensionals. Oh how I love that copper foil. It has such a beautiful warm colour & gives the crumb cake & soft suede a lovely warm look.

Note: I don't think the large star should have the circles showing (they're die ejection holes) but both my Big Shots are quite tight & wouldn't cut the copper foil without leaving them, so I've embraced the circles as part of the design. Here's a head on view.

Leaving crumb cake for a mo, here's a super simple & elegant card in my favourite pool party & bermuda bay combination. It's pretty much a total copy of this brilliant card by the equally brilliant Lyssa Zwolanek as I thought Lyssa's layout was so perfectly balanced & beautiful that it needed no adjustment.

Again, it's super simple - just stamps, ink & card. I stamped the white layer stamped in pool party & bermuda bay, then mounted on a pool party base.  There's lots of Stella on this one too....& for some reason it didn't bleed like on the crumb cake.

Star Tip: the large star is partially coloured in & you might think I used a marker or blender pen, but no! There's a sold stamp in the Star of Light set that colours those sections in just one stamp - brilliant!  It's so easy to place too since the stamps are clear photopolymer.

On the inside, I added a trail of stars combined 2 sentiments. The edge stars are pool party & sentiment is in bermuda bay. Do you love this one as much as I do?

I have lots more projects to share next time, so pop back soon. Thanks for visiting today.
Remember to pin for later inspiration too.

Inky wishes, Di

Get your Star of Light discount bundle now

You can get the Star of Light bundle, including both the stamps & dies at a 10% discount until 3 January, but you'll want them now to get your Christmas projects finished. After 3 January, 2017 they Star of Light stamps & Starlight Dies will be available separately at no discount.

It's a little hard to see the beautifully detailed in the Holiday Catalogue so here's a closer look. Click on this pic for a larger view.

Supplies
To see & order any items used in today's project, just click on the items below to see them in my Online Store. You can order from me if you live anywhere in Australia. I would love to be your Demonstrator if you don't already have one.  Please allow "Demonstrator contact" in your preferences so I can thank you properly when you place your order.
Note - Stamp sets & bundles noted below may be available in other mount options (eg wood, cling rubber or photopolymer). Please check the online store if your preference is different.

Star of Light - crumb cake

Print Recipe

Star Of Light Photopolymer Bundle $84.50	Copper Foil Sheets $7.00	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock $14.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock $15.75	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50
Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush $11.50	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments $8.75	Big Shot $159.00	Big Shot Magnetic Platform $70.00	Precision Base Plate $41.00
Star Of Light Photopolymer Stamp Set $45.00	Starlight Thinlits Dies $49.00

Star of Light - simple pool party
Print Recipe

Star Of Light Photopolymer Stamp Set $45.00	Pool Party A4 Card Stock $14.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock $15.75	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad $11.50
Star Of Light Photopolymer Bundle $84.50	Starlight Thinlits Dies $49.00