Jo Eades

JAI 103 - Valentine's Day Colour Combo

2012-02-03T00:01:00.001+11:00

Hi, long time, no posting. I have been suffering from a severe case of no motivation/no inspiration. In an effort to overcome this, I decided to join up with the Clean & Simple Cardmaking Class held at Online Card Classes, hosted by Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire & Julie Ebersole, which as given me plenty of inspiration and helped me spend some extra cash on some 'much needed supplies'. You all know how that goes, right!

Anywhoo, this brings me to the point of this post and that is Just Add Ink Challenge 103 - Add a project using Red and White for Valentine's Day!

And here's what I made, inspiration for which I got from one of the sketches given on Day 1 of the class. This is actually the 4th version of the card, the first 3 I didn't like and I 'found' this verison when I was pulling version 3 apart.

It uses a retired Stampin' Up! set - A Happy Heart, which I have stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped the I {heart} You again in Real Red ink, covered the heart with a bit of 2-way Glue and covered it with Red glitter, then punched it out using my 1/2" RD punch. The heart is popped up on a dimensional, as is the whole front panel.

Well, that is all from me. Got quite a few photos to edit from my son's first day of school yesterday. Make sure you check out the rest of the DT's beautiful creations.

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise)
Stamps: A Happy Heart (retired)
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: 2-way Glue Pen, Red Glitter from Fine Galaxy set, 1/2" RD punch, dimensionals

JAI #100 - Just Add Crowns

2012-01-13T00:02:00.004+11:00

Well, hello there. Just Add Ink is celebrating its 100th Challenge this week and as a part of our celebrations we are having a Blog Hop. If you're following along the hop, you should have arrived here from Delys' blog.

As it is our 100th Challenge, we decided that the theme would be Just Add Crowns, as a salute to the Queen and the birthday messages that she sends out to those turning 100, LOL! We are also offering a prize, to be drawn randomly, selected from all of those that comment on ALL of the Design Team's posts.

Anyway, this is what I came up with. Surprisingly, I found that I had quite a few crown images, not so surprising was that fact that I'd never used any of them. I also decided to finally put to use my Simply Adorned pendant I got during our pre-order (and which is now available to purchase in the Summer Mini)

(I found it hard to photograph, i.e. I had nothing to hang it on, so cheated a little and put it back in the box)

I've used the Clearly for You set, with the main background stamped in Soft Suede, but stamped off once. The crown is stamped in full strength Soft Suede and then I ran my Quickie Glue Pen over the top and added some gold glitter from the Fine Galaxy glitter set. The No. 5 is stamped in Peach Parfait.

This is what the back looks like

Same colour scheme as the front, the sentiment is from the Tiny Tags set. I really like how it turned out and it was quite a bit of fun to make and it's super easy to change it up so you can coordinate it with any outfit (which, of course, we all know is super important)

The next stop on the hop is the very talented Jodene's blog, just click on the button below:

Don't forget to leave a comment on each of the Design Team's posts to be in the running for the prize on offer.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise
Stamps: Clearly for You, Tiny Tags
Ink: Soft Suede, Peach Parfait
Cardstock: Very Vanilla
Accessories: Fine Galaxy glitter, Simply Adorned Chain, Simply Adorned Pendant, Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura)

JAI #97 - Just Add Inspiration

2011-12-09T00:01:00.002+11:00

Good Morning

This week at Just Add Ink the challenge is to use this photo I found in a Vogue, or maybe it was Harper's Bazzar I was flicking through whilst I was the hairdressers as inspiration for your creation. (It will also explain the average photo as it was taken with my phone.)

Here it is

Of course, I fell in love with it, because, after all, it is an advert for Tiffany & Co, but I thought these little purses in such vibrant colours were just to die for. Santa, if you're reading this, I would not be sad to see the pink one, or the blue one under our Christmas tree *wink*

I thought the colours in the photo looked very much along the lines of Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Melon Mambo and Lucky Limeade, so they are the colours, along with a bit of silver that I have chosen to work with.

And this is what I came up with

I cannot tell you how many versions of this I went through to eventually end up using this 'test' piece. I tried it using my treasured textured Whisper White, with the Melon Mambo stamped off once, with it at full strength,with the Poppy Parade being brushed on using a marker, with the Poppy Parade being rock'n'rolled, with it being stamped on watercolour paper, with it being spritzed with water on watercolour paper, with 3 spritzes not being enough and 4 being too many - OMG it just went on & on & on. In the end, I chose this one that was on plain Whisper White, with the Melon Mambo being stamped off once and the Poppy Parade being rock'n'rolled on. The sentiment is from the same set and was stamped in Encore Silver and embossed with Silver embossing powder. This should have taken 15 - 20 mins max, instead of the nearly 1-1/2 hours it actually did.

I hope you enjoy this inspiration photo and look forward to seeing your creations. Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with too. As usual, lots of beautiful creations to inspire you.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend

Supplies Used: Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Botanical Silhouettes (PTI Anniversary set)
Ink: Melon Mambo, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Encore Silver (retired by SU! but probably still available elsewhere)
Cardstock: Whisper White,. Pool Party
Accessories: Silver embossing powder, Heat Tool, dimensionals

JAI #93 - Colour Challenge

2011-11-11T00:01:00.002+11:00

This week at Just Add Ink we have a colour challenge, check out these gorgeous colours that Kim picked out for us

I must admit though, I did struggle a little with them, especially the Melon Mambo, which is a tad bright compared to the others. It took me 5 goes to come up with this

I've found myself in a bit of a 'packaging' mode and decided to give my unused Pillow Box die, which by coincidence, is part of the Stampin' Up! promotion this month, a whirl.

I cut it out of Whisper White and stamped it in alternating bands of colour. The sentiment is stamped in Pool Party and punched out using the Modern Label Punch. I used a couple of rhinestones to accent the tag, and tied it all up using the Organza Ribbon, which is one of my absolute favourite ribbons.

I'm off the the Stampin' Up! Regionals in Melbourne this weekend and I'm looking forward to catching up with all my stamping friends, many of whom I only see at this event.

Make sure you check out the rest of the Design Team's creations - lots of pretty inspiration for you. Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless specified otherwise
Stamps: Faux Ribbon (PTI)
Cardstock: Whisper White
Ink: Pool Party, Certainly Celery, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Big Shot, Pillow Box die, Modern Label Punch, Rhinestones, Organza Ribbon

A Sale to 'Die' For!

2011-11-01T12:27:00.000+11:00

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm posting this, it's been forever since I've posted a SU! promotion on my blog, but here you go!

During the month of November 2011, Stampin' Up! are offering 10% off selected Big Shot dies & embossing folders and a Big Shot bundle (if you don't already have a Big Shot). The full details are listed below:

And if you don't have a Big Shot? Get 10% off the exclusive Big Shot Bundle! The Big Shot Bundle includes the following:

If you would like to take advantage of this great offer or wish to order any other Stampin' Up! products, please feel free to contact me, I can take orders from all over Australia and have them shipped directly to you.

Thanks for visiting and hope you are having a great day! (It's a holiday here for the Melbourne Cup!)

JAI #91 - Colour Challenge

2011-10-28T00:01:00.001+11:00

Wow, it feels like it's been ages since I've posted on here, well it probably has been. Last Friday I had my first workshop in a very long time. Oh my, I was so rusty, so many things had changed, hope I didn't mess up to bad.

Anyway, on to the challenge this week at Just Add Ink, we have a colour challenge - Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler and a Neutral of Choice

I was just thinking to myself I probably took the easy way out using Whisper White as my third colour, turns out it's what I should have been using anyway. OMG, I really need to READ what the challenge is. It wouldn't be the first time I have made a mistake because I didn't read the challenge properly.

This is what I made

and this is what is inside

This is the Sizzix Box #2, which holds these 2 pieces of fudge just perfectly. I found the fudge at Aldi when doing the shopping, it was very reasonably priced and I thought they would be great for gifts for the staff at my son's Kinder.

For this one, I have stamped the polka dot image in Versamark and embossed using Cherry Cobbler embossing powder. Can I just tell you how much I love the fact that SU! are offering coloured embossing powder. I LOVE heat embossing - it's one of my favourite techniques. I must admit I probably wouldn't emboss for more than one of these cause it was a little time consuming, but it adds that little bit 'extra' for the challenge.

The tag is from the Tags till Christmas set, which I was lucky enough to win during Prize Patrol at Convention this year. It has also been embossed with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder and punched out using the Decorative Label Punch. It was all tied up using White Organza ribbon.

The box is super easy to put together and depending upon how you decorated them, you could whip lots of them up in no time at all.

Well, that's all from me today. Be sure to check out the rest of the gorgeous creations the Design Team has come up with - lots of wonderful inspiration, as usual.

Thanks for visiting and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Tags Til Christmas, Polka Dot Basics 2 (PTI)
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Whisper White
Accessories: Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder, Big Shot, Sizzix Box #2 die, Sticky Strip, White Organza Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, pretty silver cord.
Fudge from Aldi

JAI #89 - Just Add Inspiration

2011-10-14T00:01:00.004+11:00

Happy Friday to you

This week Delys has provided us with a beautiful inspiration photo to work with. Look, isn't it beautiful

I took a very literal inspiration from this photo, using the colours and the silhouette, and this is what I came up with

I decided to try for an old style, polaroid/border photo look, so I masked off some glossy white cardstock and sponged some Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Wisteria Wonder inks over the image and sentiment that I had stamped in Versamark and embossed with Black embossing powder. That panel is then mounted on a Basic Black card base using dimensionals.

Well, that's it from me. Hope you have a wonderful day and weekend.

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Trendy Trees, Love & Sympathy (not available in Australia)
Ink: Versamark, Daffodil Delight, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Wisteria Wonder
Cardstock: Glossy White, Basic Black
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Dimensionals

JAI #87 Colour Challenge

2011-09-30T00:01:00.001+10:00

This week at Just Add Ink, we have a colour challenge using a couple of the new In Colours - here they are

I must admit, the last few weeks I've been suffering from a lack of inspiration and this week was no exception. I really had no idea of what I was going to do with these pretty colours until I came across some sketches I downloaded from PaperCrafts Magazine - I think they were the basis for their Card Ideas for Paper Crafters edition, but I can't find the link for where I downloaded and printed them out from now, sorry.

Anyway, this is what I came up with

It's a little embarrassing to admit it took me 4 goes to get this right. First of all, I couldn't decide on the layout of the stripes, then once I decided on the layout, I couldn't remember what lines I was using to get the spacing right and then I put a great big finger print on one. Anywhoo, this one turned out OK, so I quickly mounted it onto the card base before my son could cut it up - he was 'helping' in the studio and chopping everything he could find into teeny, tiny pieces.

I cut the banner using my Petal Cone die, I like how it is overhanging the edges of the card, I've seen it done before but never tried it myself.

Well, that's it from me today. Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with - there a lots of absolutely gorgeous creations to spark your creativity.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy your weekend. Hope your team wins!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Faux Ribbon, Birthday Basics (PTI Ink)

Ink: Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake (SU!)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake (SU!)

Accessories: Petal Cone die, Big Shot , Linen Thread, dimensionals (SU!), Buttons (PTI)

JAI 85 - Just Add Baby

2011-09-29T22:47:00.000+10:00

OH MY GOODNESS, I was just preparing my post for tomorrow's Just Add Ink Challenge, and I've come across this, which I have totally forgotten about. I started the post but never got around to finishing it. Oh dear, have a lot going on at the moment. Sorry.

This week at Just Add Ink, Patrice challenged us to Just Add Baby. I must admit that this week I have had so much going on and have felt so tired that I just didn't get around to creating something brand spanking new, so I have cheated just a little *blush*

The card that I have to show you today is the card I made for my friend Felicity's baby shower, but as I haven't shown it on my blog, I thought I would use it for this challenge

I stamped my Fox & Friends in Riding Hood Red, Baja Blue, So Saffron and Sahara Sand Craft Ink and embossed them using a clear pearl embossing powder that I've had in my stash for ages and absolutely love. I love how it has given them a nice, soft feel. The sentiment is from an old SAB set - one of my favourites.

I have embossed the front of the card using my Polka dots embossing folder on the 'wrong' side so the dots are debossed rather than embossed.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Congrats (retired)

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Sahara Sand Craft Ink

Card Stock: Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Polka Dot embossing folder, Heat Gun, Corner Rounder (retired), dimensionals, Pearl Embossing Powder (from stash)

New Baby

2011-09-09T13:32:00.001+10:00

Friends of ours had a baby a couple of weeks ago, this is the card that I made for her.

I've used some items that are now available in the new SU! catalogue. I've stamped the pennants using Pretty In Pink ink and punched them out with the Petite Pennants punch. The letters and sentiment were stamped in Versamark and embossed with Melon Mambo embossing powder. These were punched out using the 1/2" RD punch.

For the background, I added some of the Bigshot Adhesive sheets to the back of Whisper White cardstock and then punched them using the Lace Ribbon punch. I'm still not sure if I'd recommend this method to others as my punch didn't really seem to appreciate that very thin extra layer of glue and backing paper but it did make it a cinch to adhere to the card.

This card is a bit bigger than normal, from memory I think it was 21 x 20 cm with the 20 cm side being folded at 10 cm. I can tell you that it fits into a DL sized envelope though. And as extra long as this card is, I still couldn't fit the name William on, so Flickity Flick, young William will have to wait a bit longer for his welcome to the world card whilst I try to come up with another idea!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Pennant Parade, Fresh Alphabet (PTI), Welcome Littel One (Stamp A Rosa - I think, it's very old)

Ink: Pretty In Pink, Versamark

Cardstock: Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot Adhesive Sheets, Ribbon Lace Punch, Petite Pennants Punch, 1/2" RD Punch, Melon Mambo embossing powder, Heat Tool, Bakers Twine

JAI #83 - Sketch Challenge

2011-09-02T00:01:00.001+10:00

It's sketch challenge time over a Just Add Ink this week. This is what Bron came up with.

And this is my take on it.

I was inspired by last week's, use something from your stash challenge. I found this DSP when I was digging out the piece I used for last year's challenge and was really surprised to see how well it went with SU's Rich Razzleberry. I was almost a perfect match and I've had it for at least 8 years (and never used it). I was also pleased to see how well Certainly Celery matched as well. The doily is one that I picked up at the party supply shop across the road from my work. The just leaves the sentiment. There's a bit of a funny story behind this sentiment. This is one of the very first stamps I bought when I first started stamping. I remember telling my friend at the time, that if I had a 'Happy Birthday' sentiment and a 'Merry Christmas' sentiment, that I would pretty much be 'set' in my stamping needs. I also very foolishly, said that I would be able to keep all of my crafting stuff in a 12" x 12" square craft tote. Oh my, how delusional was I. It's laughable really, when you look at how much stuff I now own.

Well, that's it from me today. Be sure to check out what what the rest of the Design Team have come up with.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Happy Birthday (Stamp-It)
Cardstock: Rich Razzelberry, Certainly Celery, DSP from can't remember but it was a well know brand, doily
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Big Shot, Circles #2 die, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Scallop Border Punch.

JAI #82 - Just Add Something From Your Stash

2011-08-26T00:01:00.000+10:00

This weeks's challenge at Just Add Ink is to Add Something from Your Stash, preferably something you've not used before! This was my idea and I found it extremely difficult as I was totally overwhelemed with options. No real surprise there though, lol!

Anyway, this is what I came up with

It's based on a Make A Card Monday card by Kristina Werner. The frame was so easy to do - I used my Martha Stewart Scoring Board - and it's so effective.

The paper is something I've had in my stash for at least 5 years. It's so pretty and shimmery but I had never gotten around to using it. The sentiment is from PTI and has been in my stash for well over 12 months without being used. It's been embossed with White Embossing Powder.

I really love how it's turned out and it's a design that I will be able to reproduce for the squillions of birthday cards that I need to make for September, and use some more of that unused DSP that is laying around in my stash.

I can't wait to see what you use from your stash for this week's challenge.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Giga Guidelines (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Bashful Blue (SU!), pretty paper from my stash - no idea who the manufacturer is

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Dimensionals (all from Stampin' Up!), Martha Stewart Scoring Board

Another Sneak Peek

2011-08-18T22:11:00.000+10:00

Here is another sneak peak of some of the new 2011 - 2013 In Colours.

In this card, which is basically a CASE of this card by Julie Buhler, I've used Pool Party and Island Indigo. I've inked up my clear blocks to create the background (again), and I've stamped the splodge from Extreme Elements in Going Gray. The guitarist was stamped in Versamark and embossing with Black EP. The sentiment is from PTI, and is one of my favourites! Oh, the white layer is popped up on dimensionals.

Only a couple of weeks now until the new catalogue goes live - I can't wait - what about you????

I had something else written here and then my laptop went beserk (as it often does, it's very annoying) and deleted it. I can't remember what I had written, so I'll just leave it at that, lol!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise.
Stamps: Extreme Elements, Extreme Guitar, Birthday Basics (PTI)
Ink: Versamark, Going Gray (retired), Pool Party, Island Indigo (available September 1)
Cardstock: Whisper White Textured, Island Indigo
Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool

JAI #80 - Sketch Challenge

2011-08-12T00:01:00.000+10:00

Hello

It's Friday (YAY!!) and that means it challenge time over at JAI. This week we have a sketch challenge, brought to you by Bron, check it out

Bron originally called it a Pocket Card with a flourish, and this is my interpretation of it

I've made some packaging for a little block of chocolate.

I must admit, I'm quite proud of this because I made the packaging all by myself, based off a little box of complimentary mints I received at one of our Regional seminars. It was a lot easier than I thought, and it took me less time to make the box than it did to stamp it, which isn't that suprising when you look at the quality of stamping here. Not the best, I must say. A lot of the credit has to go to my score board though, it made it super easy.

Do you like the colour of the cardstock - it's the new In Colour, Wisteria Wonder. I think it's gorgeous. Do you like the stamp I've used?? That is the new Parlour Prints background stamp that will be available to purchase on September 1, 2011. I've stamped it in Versamark and embossed using clear embossing powder

The sentiment is from Just Believe and has been stamped in Wisteria Wonder. So are you excited to see what else is coming up in the new Stampin' Up! catalog - not long to wait now!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, lots of gorgeous inspiration for you!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Just Believe, Parlour Prints (available September 1, 2011)
Ink: Versamark, Wisteria Wonder (available September 1, 2011)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder (available September 1, 2011)
Accessories: Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Embossing Buddy (yes, really!), Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch (well, that's what I call it anyway), Vintage Brads, Bakers Twine, Sticky Strip, Martha Stewart Score Board

New Catalog Sneak Peek

2011-08-11T16:55:00.000+10:00

Last week, I was able to place an order for goodies from the upcoming 2011/2012 Stampin' Up! catalog, one of the great perks of being a demo. My order arrived on Friday and I put this together over the weekend.

It's pretty much a case of this card by Tessa Wise, with a couple of changes. I've used the Delicate Doilies stamp set and one of the new 2011 - 2013 In Colours - Pool Party, along with Chocolate Chip and Wild Wasabi. The colour combo I chose using my Colour Coach - additional colour swatches for the 2011 - 2013 In Colours will be available for purchase on September 1. The senitment is from So Happy For You, that was available during this year's SAB promotion. As per usual, I never seem to get around to using my SAB sets until SAB is well and truly over.

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see my JAI DT submission for more catalog sneak peeks!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Delicate Doilies (available September 1, 2011), So Happy for You (retired, SAB 2011)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pool Party (available September 1, 2011), Versamark

Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party (available September 1, 2011)

Accessories: Heat Gun, Green Embossing Powder, Bakers Twine

JAI #78 - Colour Challenge

2011-07-29T00:01:00.001+10:00

Howdy, this week we have a colour challenge at Just Add Ink

These colours ended up being quite versatile and I couldn't decide whether I wanted to do a masculine card, a baby card, since my friend Felicity welcomed her much anticipated bundle of joy to the world a week ago today, or something floral. I decided on the floral and started off using my 'Just Because' set. After faffing around watercolouring it, sprizting it with shimmer mist and cutting it out, I decided to do something completely different after getting sidetracked by something I found on the floor! This is what I ended up making

And I totally love it. The card base is Sahara Sand textured cardstock, as is the top panel. I have stamped that panel with Sahara Sand ink by inking up one of my clear blocks and stamping directly onto the cardstock. I really love the effect this technique gives. I then coloured the inside of the Flower Garden embossing folder using Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Not Quite Navy markers. I shoved the stamped piece into the embossing folder and ran it through the Big Shot and this is the result. Then I just used dimensionals to attach it to the card base. I did try adding a sentiment, but didn't like the way it looked so I trashed it and started again. Not so much of a big deal because I had already accidently used my Early Espress marker instead of the Chocolate Chip one - oops. To clean the inside of my embossing folder, I just spritzed it with a little Stampin' Mist and then popped a baby wipe inside and ran it through the Big Shot and it came out as clean as a whistle :)

Make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, lots of beautiful ideas to inspire you I'm sure.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend

Supplies Used:
Ink: Sahara Sand; Certainly Celery, Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip markers
Cardstock: Sahara Sand Textured
Accessories: Big Shot, Flower Garden embossing folder (US only), clear block, dimensionals

Last Convention Make & Take

2011-07-22T12:51:00.000+10:00

As promised, just a 'few' weeks ago now, here is another of the Make & Takes we did at the 2011 Stampin' Up! Convention.

Mine is a little different to most as the sample card had the Old Olive cardstock crimped and distressed with Early Espresso ink. Here's where I admit that I'm not really a fan of the 'crimped' look - I think it's because it brings back too many memories of BAD 80's hair and associated fashions. Anyhoo, I decided not to crimp and I'm SO glad I did because I just love how this has turned out. I can't remember the exact dimensions of the card, except to say that it fits into the Small Open End Envelopes.

The card base and the piece the butterfly is stamped on is Natural Ivory cardstock, the Early Espresso scalloped border was punched using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch* and cut in half. The butterfly was coloured with Not Quite Navy, Old Olive and Early Espress markers and it, along with the swirl can be found in the Creative Elements* set. The sentiment is from the It's Your Day set*. It's Your Day coordinates with the Great Day Simply Sent kit which we were all given during convention. I'm yet to actually crack that open - no real surprise there though :)

Thanks for visiting, I'll be back to show you a card that I entered into the 2011 Papercrafts Gallery Idol competition. I didn't make the cut, which is not suprising since there were SO many fabulous creations, but I love how the card turned out anyway.

Hope you have great day, thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Creative Elements, It's Your Day * (available for purchase September 1, 2011)

Ink: Old Olive, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Early Espresso markers

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Old Olive, Early Espresso

Accessories: Dotted Scallop Ribbon punch * (available for purchase September 1, 2011), dimensionals

JAI #76 - Inspiration

2011-07-15T08:30:00.001+10:00

This week at Just Add Ink the challenge is to create something inspired by this gorgeous photo

Aren't the colours and the view just beautiful? Anyway, for this week, I decided to take some additional inspiration from the new US catalog that was released just last week and which is choc full of absolutely gorgeous samples, and this is what I came up with

This card is basically a CASE of the gorgeous card on the front of cover of the catalog, minus a few of the new items that are yet to come our way. I have used the Creative Elements set, which will be available here on September 1. The cardstock is from PTI and an almost exact match to the new Pool Party In Colour, which will also be available on September 1. I have clear embossed with swirl and I tried very hard to dry emboss the oval, however my tearing got a bit out of control and ended up being a bit too close to the dry embossed line so you can't really see it.

The new US catty is absolutely gorgeous, so full of beautiful new products and samples. I can hardly wait for the release of ours in just a few weeks as a LOT of those products are coming our way - we saw sneak peeks during Convention a few weeks ago.

Well, that all from me. Be sure to check out what the rest of the DT have done - the photo has provided lots inspiration and therefore, lots of beautiful creations.

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Creative Elements (available September 1, 2011)
Ink: Versamark, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, Old Olive
Cardstock: Whisper White Textured, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, Crumb Cake DSP, Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Decorative Label punch, Extra Large Oval punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Bitty Shapes punchpack, Photo Corner punch, White organza ribbon, Pearls

Fancy Folds Blog Hop - JAI 74

2011-07-01T00:01:00.004+10:00

JUST ADD INK FANCY FOLDS BLOG HOP

Z Fold

Welcome to the next stop on the JAI Blog Hop, I hope you enjoyed viewing Delys' fabulous star card and you're ready to check out another Fancy Fold. Too bad, I have made a fairly straight forward Z fold card, lol!

Here's a few more photos from differnt angles

Close up of the inside panel

Close up of the front

This card is fairly simple to make. All I did was take a 12x12 piece of Whisper White textured cardstock and cut that at 14.85 cm, which is the same side as a piece of A5 cardstock folded in half. Then I scored it at 4" and 8" on the 12" side. Here's a quick picture of it on my score board

When I folded it, I made a mountain fold at 4" and a valley fold at 8". Easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!

The card was inspired by a teeny tiny picture of a wedding invitation I saw in a magazine. I have also noticed that I'm quite liking the sentiment stamped on a vellum strip at the moment.

Well, that's all from me today. Thanks for stopping by, now it's time to move onto the fabulous, Kathy Tanner's blog where she has another awesome Fancy Fold for you to try. Just click on the blinkie below to take you there.

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Life (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Memento Tuxedo Black, Staz On
Cardstock: Whisper White textured, Basic Black, Vellum
Accessories: Dimensionals, SNAIL

JAI #72 - Just Add Colouring

2011-06-17T08:30:00.001+10:00

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to Just Add Colouring - either using markers, inks, blender pens, aqua painters etc, etc, etc. I've been dreading this one cause I'm not all that good at colouring, a fact that is evident by the amount of solid stamps I have in my collection :)

Anyway, after much deliberation and at least one other attempt that met the round file, this is what I managed to come up with.

I really wasn't sure where to start so I just stamped a few of the daisies onto the watercolour paper and started colouring. The placement of the daisies is very similar to the M&T that we did at our Regional Seminar last November - I have used different colours though! Once I was finished, I had to decide how I was going to finish it off, so I turned to my trusty layout folder and picked this one from CAS. The sentiment is from the retired A Little Birthday Cheer which has been embossed with Black Sparkle embossing powder. In the end, I'm quite happy how this has turned out (just don't look at how many times I've gone out of the lines *ooops*)

Make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team has come up with - some gorgeous creations for your inspiration :)

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise)
Stamps: Every Moment, A Little Birthday Cheer (I think - retired)
Cardstock: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour Paper, Vellum
Ink: Black Staz On, Versamark, Old Olive, So Saffron, Peach Parfait, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, Soft Suede
Accessories: Heat Gun, Black Brads, 1/16" punch, Black Sparkle Embossing Powder (American Crafts), Dimensionals

JAI #70 - Sketch Challenge

2011-06-03T08:30:00.001+10:00

This week at JAI it's a sketch challenge.

To start with, I was a bit stumped as to what to do for this since I don't have the Scallop Circle die yet. I was going to drag out my Circle Scissor Plus, (I did do that eventually anyway) but then I had another idea.

This is what I came up with

The doily I picked up from the party supply shop across the road from my work. The rest came together quite quickly, suprisingly enough. I have embossed the base using an old Cuttlebug embossing folder. Because the card measures 5" x 5" I had to run it through twice. There must be a trick to that which I am not aware of because I ended up with a bit of a line in it. Luckily that doily was big enough to cover it up, lol! The sentiment is from the L3 Hostess Set, Occassional Quotes and has been stamped in versamark and embossed with Silver Sparkle embossing powder that I have had in my stash forever!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with. There are some absolutely spectacular project for your viewing pleasure :)

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Occasional Quotes
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot, Embossing Buddy, Circle Scissor Plus, Heat Tool, Embossing Folder (non SU!), Silver Sparkle embossing powder (non SU!), paper doily (non SU!)

In reply

2011-06-02T19:14:00.000+10:00

To this anonymous comment I received yesterday,

Jo, I can see you're excited about the opportunity we were given at convention for sneakie peaks. I'm shocked however that you are posting them all on your blog. Do you think it's doing yourself or your business (not to mention other demos) any good?? With three months until our own catalogue release, would you not be better off concentrating on the things you think are going to be retiring?

I just want to state the following:

1. During check in at Convention we were all give a piece of paper that stated, and I quote, "We're excited to share the 2011 - 2013 In Colors with you!!! Because these colours have not been released in any market, we ask that you not share names or photos of the 2011 - 2013 In Colours until June 1, 2011"

2. During Pam Morgan's General Session presentation, she requested that we do not post photos of anything we had seen at Convention until June 1, so as not to ruin the surprise for those on the Alaskan Cruise (sorry cruisers, we did get to see the projects Pam demonstrated before you :))

3. The kicker, and my personal favourite is a copy of an email I have from Australian Demonstrator Support which states, and I quote, "From the 1 June 2011 you may share photos of projects using the convention stamp sets. Photos of the actual products cannot be shared until the catalogue is available to the public on the Stampin' Up! website on the 1 September 2011."

My post yesterday showing the Make & Takes we did at Convention and the 2011 - 2013 In Colors was based on WRITTEN CONFIRMATION I had received from Demonstrator Support themselves.

As for your assertion that I'm not doing my business any good, well I hate to disappoint you but I haven't had a thriving business since I returned to work fulltime, nearly 4 years ago. Not that it's really any business of yours. I hardly feel that my posting of the M&T will detract from your, or any other demo's businesses either when Stampin' Up! are offering a VERY generous Hostess Promotion at the moment and yesterday announced another promotion that will run for the month of July.

And, no, I do not think I would be better off concentrating my efforts on things that may be retiring. I couldn't care less about what's retiring and what's not. I am, however, interested in providing those who read my blog samples of new and exciting products when I have been advised I'm allowed to do so.

So thank you for visiting my blog, maybe next time you will be upfront enough to leave your name rather than hiding behind an anonymous comment.

Convention 2011 - Warning Sneak Peeks Ahead

2011-06-01T10:54:00.000+10:00

Our Annual Stampin' Up! Convention was held just a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to do an update but since there was a lot of stuff I was unable to share until June 1, I decided to wait until now. This year Convention was 3 days, instead of just two, which meant we got to do some extra activities, such as the Pen, Pad, Marker - more on that a bit later *hint*. Whilst I loved that it was 3 days, I still felt the time just whizzed by, there were a heap of people that I saw in passing but just never got around to speaking to because we just seemed to be continually moving from one thing to the next.

On Registration day we were very excited to find out what our Make & Take sets were going to be and they did not disappoint :). We received the Creative Elements and It's Your Day sets and our Make & Takes were absolutely gorgeous. I've only completed 3 out of the 4 and have only edited 2 of the 3 photos of them, so I will have to add the others in a later post. Here is one of them - the No. 3 Card.

The floral image, the long frame (behind the floral piece) and the No. 3 are from the Creative Elements set. This is a set of 8 and all of the samples I have show all of the stamps. The floral image has been covered in Champagne Shimmer mist - the sample only had it on the flower but I didn't like how I went over the lines using the sponge dauber so I cover the whole lot! As you can see, the M&T included SEAM BINDING so I am guessing that it will also be included in the new catalogue. Just a head's up - start saving now ladies - all of the things we saw at Convention are absolutely gorgeous - you are going to want it all.

This is the second Make & Take I did - the Treat Yourself 6x6 Scrapbook page. My friend Bron took a photo of me showing off the No. 3 card during our M&T session and I've cropped it down to finish off this page. Convention is the ONLY time I ever complete scrapbook pages of myself, which is kind of funny, probably cause it's the only time I'm in the photos instead of taking them.

Again, all of the stamps are from Creative Elements, the big floral swirl, the long frame, the border and the sentiment which reads 'Treat Yourself Like You Own Best Company'. Again, more SEAM BINDING (yay). Also that Not Quite Navy scallop border hidden under the Old Olive flag was made using the RIBBON BORDER punch (yay - been waiting for that one).

Here are some more samples of the Creative Elements set from the display boards.

I really love the colour palette of this one. The Butterfly is from Creative Elements.

The 'Create' is the 8th image in the Creative Elements set. (And oops, I've cut the ribbon off from the side)

This one is pretty. The flower has been popped up on dimensionals, but you could cut the flower into many layers to get a multi layer effect.

I really love this one, love the effect of the colouring of the flourish/swirl and the addition of the punched flowers. Colour palette is very pretty too!

The M&T that I haven't finished yet uses the PETAL CONE DIE, another item I have been hanging out for.

We were also told that our Demo pre-order will include more Christmas stamps so we can get a head start planning for workshops, making cards etc., so that was super cool. We were shown samples of 2 of the sets, but I'll have to do a separate post for those as I haven't edited the photos yet of the samples Shannon shared with us. I can tell you that one of the sets will be Tags for Christmas, which was featured in the US Holiday mini which I won, along with the Tulips Embossing folder in the very first Prize Patrol - yay - that's 2 years in a row for me - how lucky am I???
As I mentioned earlier, one of the activities we got to do was the Pen, Pad, Marker. This is where you make samplers showing all the SU! colours of cardstock, marker and ink. Kim & I didn't think we'd have enough time to complete it as we had a lunch date with the rest of the JAI girsl but when Nikki told us that it included the NEW 2011/2013 IN COLOURS we took one look at each other and hightailed it back upstairs.

So here it is, what you've all been waiting for - the 2011/2013 In Colours -

I LOVE them all and can't wait till our Demo pre-order in August. As I've been typing this up, I've realised that my top in my M&T photo is very similar to Calypso Coral :) I've also realised that we received a HEAP of information, so I apologise now as the blog posts will probably be all over the shop as I remember things.

I hope you have enjoyed all of these sneak peeks - honestly we saw SO many beautiful, beautiful things, I CANNOT wait for this new catalogue. I've got a feeling it's going to be the best yet! Hopefully I'll be able to update with some more convention info over the next few weeks (being honest here, lol)

Cheers

JAI #68 - Colour Challenge

2011-05-20T08:25:00.001+10:00

This week it's a colour challenge at Just Add Ink, and very pretty ones at that! (Can you read the names?, they look a bit blurry to me - Pear Pizazz, Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum & Whisper White)

Having just returned from Convention (more on that in a later post), my mind was overflowing with inspiration. One of the projects that stood out to me was a book mark demonstrated by Shelli using the Clearly for You set, from the Autumn/Winter mini. Here is a picture from the big screen, so it's not fantastic quality - sorry about that - the video guy seemed to have a bit of trouble focusing at times.

Another technique that I saw on a few swaps was the use of the clear block as a background stamp, so I decided to combine the two to come up with this

I love to read and purchased this bookmark die a little while ago as I am FOREVER losing my bookmarks. It's cut from Whisper White textured cardstock. I then grabbed one of my clear blocks that I've had forever and inked it up with Baja Breeze ink and stamped it directly to the cardstock. The other images are from Nature Walk, also from the Autumn/Winter mini. I used my Pear Pizzaz and Perfect Plum markers to ink up the floral image and the ink pad for the No. 147 sentiment. A bit of linen thread through the top, finished off with a clear bauble from the now retired Pretties Kit added a little bit of extra something. Oh, and the book I'm reading at the moment is 'The Burning Wire' by Jeffrey Deaver - author of 'The Bone Collector', this is another in the Lincoln Rhyme series.

I will be back over the weekend with my Convention round up post - lots of interesting information to share :)

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Nature Walk
Ink: Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizazz and Perfect Plum Markers
Cardstock: Whisper White textured, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Big Shot, Clear block, Linen Thread, Bauble from Pretties Kit (retired), Bookmark Die - Papertrey Ink

JAI #66 - Just Add Flowers

2011-04-29T08:30:00.001+10:00

Hello, wow Friday has come around quickly this week! The challenge at JAI this week is to Add a Flower. The inspiration for my first item came from my umbrella which I got a couple of years ago at the Stampin' Up! convention held in Canberra. Surprise, surprise that it was raining in Melbourne last week and when I put my umbrella up, it reminded me that I had meant to make something based on it. So here we are, nearly 2 years later

Another Petal Cone box, however this one I hand cut by tracing around another my friend had sent me. I did change the colours up a bit, though. Here I've used Pink Pirouette, Going Gray and Baja Breeze cause I needed to use the pre-cut scallop 1/2 circles I was given to help disguise the slightly dodgy cutting. I also wanted to add a flower to the top but I couldn't work out how it would close so I dug out my Crop-O-Dile, that I have used just twice to add some eyelets and used a piece of Pretty In Pink tafetta ribbon to close it.

And then, instead of keeping my spare to use as a pattern, I decided to make that one up too!

This one was cut from Melon Mambo and also has Pink Pirouette scallop circles. The edging is from the Ice Cream Parlour DSP & Quick Accents SAB pack (US/CAN only) and the ribbon is from the Ice Cream Parlour Ribbon & Buttons SAB pack (US/CAN only). My friend looks after me so well, sending me extras she had earnt. The Pom Pom Trim is from the current Australian Autumn/Winter mini catalogue. Boy, the Crop-O-Dile had its biggest work out of its life, adding more eyelets for the ribbon closure. It's the most it's been used since I got it 3 or so years ago *blush*.

Cute, hey? I think I'll fill them with some choccies for the Nana's for Mother's Day!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, there's some gorgeous inspiration for you.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Supplies Used: All SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Going Grey (retired - why, SU! this is such a pretty colour)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo
Accessories: Petal Cone Die (US/CAN only), Big Shot, Scoring Board, Sticky Strip, Tombo Mono Multi, Crop-O-Dile, Pretty In Pink Tafetta ribbon (possibly retired), Melon Mambo Pom Pom Trim, Ice Cream Parlour DSP & Quick Accents, Ice Cream Parlour Ribbon (US/CAN SAB), eyelets from stash of stuff

JAI #64 - Inspiration by Chocolate

2011-04-17T17:36:00.000+10:00

Sorry this post is a bit late. I really didn't like the card that went up on the JAI blog so I made something else :)

Anyway, the challenge this week was to create something inspired by your favourite chocolate wrapper. What to choose, what to choose - you see I don't like to play favourites when it comes to chocolate - white, milk, dark - they're all welcome at our house!!! So here's my original card

Can you guess what my inspiration was???? Maltesers! Yummo! Anyway, this didn't really turn out like it looked in my head and the more I looked at it the more I needed to make something else. This is the something else:

Same colour combo, same cardbase colour and same DSP. Based of a sketch from Clean & Simple. Which one is your favourite????

Well, it's going to be short & sweet - almost time to get dinner started so I can tackle the massive piles of ironing that await me.

Hope your weekend has been good to you! Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

CARD 1
Stamps: Cupcake Collection (PTI)
Ink: Early Espresso
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, Poppy Parade DSP
Accessories: 1-1/8 RD" punch, 3/4" RD punch

CARD 2
Stamps: Take Three - Spring (PTI)
Ink: Early Espresso

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, Poppy Parade DSP
Accessories: Big Shot, Heat Tool, Take Three Die (PTI), Rustic Twine (PTI), American Crafts Embossing Powder (sorry can't remember what the colour is called)

JAI #62 - Just Add a Bag or Box

2011-04-01T16:45:00.030+11:00

This week the challenge at Just Add Ink was to create a bag or a box. Those of you who know me, know that I'm not a 3D type of girl so I was a bit worried about what I was going to do for this challenge. Then a friend of mine sent me some diecuts from the Petal Cone die so I could see what it looked like. That got me to thinking as I was sussing it out, how cool would it be if it done in acetate????? Well, this is what it looks like

Pretty cool, hey? My original idea was to have them as party favours for my son's birthday, which isn't until September, but hey, I'm trying to be more organised. I'm rethinking that idea because let me tell you, this cone holds a HEAP. There is a whole bag of Easter Eggs in this one. I also filled it with Skittles and it took nearly a whole bag of those too (I'll add photos of those later, probably tomorrow now). I think if I want to use it as a party favour, I'm going to have to stuff it with some shredded cellophane otherwise I'll be spending a fortune on lollies to fill them, and giving 5 year old boys a larger sugar rush than they really need, lol!

Anyway, I thought acetate was a really good material to use for the first time putting this die together. It just allowed me a little extra wiggle room for lining up as the sticky strip came away from the acetate without destroying it like it does with cardstock. The DSP is East Coast Prep from about 2 years ago. I made the rosette by cutting a strip that was 12" x 2" (I think) and then scoring every 1/4" using my scoring board. I stuck the edges together with sticky strip and then added the 1-1/4 RD circle to hold it all together. The hardest part of the project was getting the rosette to stick to the acetate. The H was die cut using the Timeless Type Jnr Alphabet.

Well, that's it from me for tonight. Feeling a little tired after spending this evening at Harry's first Auskick session.

Don't forget to check out what the DT and our two guest designers have done - all their creations are amazing.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you have a great weekend

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up!

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Acetate, Brilliant Blue & East Coast Prep DSP (retired)

Accessories: Petal Cone Die, Bigshot, Timeless Type Jnr Alphabet, Scallop Edge punch, 1-1/4" RD punch, Sticky Strip, Tombo Mono Multi, Dimensionals.

JAI #60 - Colour Challenge

2011-03-18T10:33:00.001+11:00

There's a new challenge at JAI today - this week it's a colour challenge. Colours that I like on their own and which look really good together also. They are Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Whisper White and Crumb Cake

I based my card on this sketch I found over at Clean & Simple. This is what I ended up with.

The oval panel was white, however I got a little excited when using the Tea Stain distressing ink and ended up covering more than I intended. Never mind, I'm happy with the way it turned out. I did find adding a sentiment a little hard. I tried a few differnt things before settling on the 3 tiny tags. I was also going to use the Very Vintage wheel on the base except I forgot and I stuck the DSP down before I remembered. Ooops.

Well, I'd best be off - we're heading off to Loch Sport today for our friends 'Shinding' and I have to finish packing.

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting.

Supplies Used - All Stampin' Up! unless specified otherwise
Stamps: Tiny Tags, Life (PTI)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive - Markers & Ink, Tea Stain, Mahogany (from Distressing Kit)
Cardstock: Whisper White textured, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry DSP (from Brights collection)
Accessories: Linen Thread, Jewelry Tag punch, Scallop Trim Border, Oval die, BigShot

JAI #58 - Tribute to Amanda and Danielle

2011-03-07T15:35:00.000+11:00

This week at JAI we are having a tribute to Amanda and Danielle - we have all CASED one of their cards. I owe a great deal of gratitude to Amanda and Danielle for chosing me to be a part of the JAI Design Team. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be chosen - THANK YOU BOTH for taking a chance on me. I have totally enjoyed every minute and I wish you both every happiness and success in your future endeavours.

The first one is one I CASED of Amanda's. The elements I changed up are the flower and brad, the stamped leaf image and the sentiment, which in hindsight should have been a bit bigger as it gets a little lost.

And this is one I CASED of Danielle's. The only things I have changed up are the colours, I've used Melon Mambo and Basic Black, and I've added rhinestones instead of pearls. Why mess with such great original creations!

This was a super fun challenge - the hardest thing was deciding on which cards to CASE.

Hopefully you can all play along this week - I'd love to see which cards of Amanda's and Danielle's you choose to CASE.

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All SU! unless noted otherwise

AMANDA'S:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Turning a New Leaf (PaperTrey Ink)

Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla Textured, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Newsprint DSP

Accessories: Antique Brads, Big Shot, Birds & Blooms Sizzlet, Scallop Trim Border Punch

DANIELLE'S

Stamps: Apple Blossoms (L2 Hostess)

Ink: Melon Mambo, Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsuienko)

Cardstock: Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Basic Black

Accessories: Basic Rhinestones, Basic Black Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Large Scallop Die (PaperTrey Ink)

JAI #57 - Colour Challenge

2011-02-25T08:30:00.001+11:00

Howdy, this week at JAI we are hosting possibly the hardest colour challenge ever!!!

I did my usual trick of pulling all my inks out and stacking them up. Surprisingly they looked good together. I pulled out a couple of stamp sets that I thought would look good with the colours we had to work with and got to work. Version 1 got filed in the round file. Version 2 was put aside - it looked alright but as I was making it I had another 'brilliant' idea. Unfortunately, Version 3 met the same fate as Version 1, so I present to you Version 2 - the best out of a bad lot!

I've used the L2 Hostess set, Apple Blossoms, which I've had for ages and never used until now. The 'Hello' sentiment is from Hello Again. The Cherry Cobbler DSP is from the Regals Assortment. I thought I'd add a border along the edge using the Scallop Trim Border punch, however when I was putting the card together, I realised that you can't even see it. The main panel is Textured White cardstock and the ribbon is Daffodil Delight satin.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with - great ideas using HARD colours!

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Apple Blossoms, Hello Again
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight
Cardstock: River Rock, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler DSP
Accessories: Daffodil Delight Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border punch, Corner Rounder (retired), Dimensionals

JAI #56 - Sketch Challenge

2011-02-24T22:02:00.000+11:00

Oh dear, looks like this post fell through the cracks. This was my submission for JAI #56 - a sketch challenge.

Wasn't really sure where to go with this sketch, so I pulled out my colour coach. I decided that Pink Pirouette would be be my starting colour and these were the colours that the colour coach recommended - Baja Breeze and Early Espresso.

All the stamps I used are from PaperTrey Ink. Cardstock, ink, ribbon and accessories are all from Stampin' Up!

Sorry the post is so late.

Supplies Used: All from Stampin' Up! unless specified otherwise

Stamps: PaperTrey Ink

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla Textured, Baja Breeze DSP

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso

Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Lots of Tags Sizzlets, Stickles.

JAI #55 - Just Add Love

2011-02-11T19:39:00.000+11:00

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink was to Just Add Love - perfect timing with Valentine's Day being this Monday to make a card to my other half :)

This is what I made him

As I'm actually going to give this to him, I've kept it fairly plain and concentrated on a 'technique' - cracked glass. I used Real Red ink to ink up the heart and then rolled the edges in Cherry Cobbler, and stamped onto Naturals Ivory cardstock. I then stamped it again using Early Espresso, cutting out just the banner piece and set it aside. Then I got my versamark pad and smooshed it all over the heart image, sprinkled it with clear embossing powder and heated with the heat gun. I repeated this about 4 times then I popped it in the freezer to harden it (probably didn't leave it in there long enough though). Then I bent it a few times to 'crack' the embossing powder and rubbed some Tea Stain and Mahogany ink over the top and wiped off the excess. The ink gets into the cracks, giving it an distressed, aged look. I attached the cut out sentiment to the heart using dimensionals and then dry embossed a frame around the edge of the card and attached the heart to the card using dimensionals.

Be sure to check out the fantastic creations the rest of the DT have come up with along with some other BIG and exciting news from Danielle & Amanda.

Well, that's it from me for tonight, off to pick up fish & chips :)

Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Will have to look that up, lol!

Ink: Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Versamark

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory

Accessories: Heat Gun, Clear Embossing Powder, Distressing Kit, sponge

2010 Papertrey Favourite

2011-02-05T17:06:00.000+11:00

February 15, 2011 marks PaperTrey Ink's 4th anniversary. I remember that day because I couldn't buy 'Paper Tray' the set that was released that day as at the time their shopping cart was not set up for Australia. A couple of emails later, that set was on it's way. My collection has certainly grown from there.

As part of the Anniversary celebrations, we have been asked to show our favourite PaperTrey creation from 2010. This is mine:

Congratulations on a fantastic 4 years, can't wait to see what is in store for 2011!

JAI #54 - Colour Challenge

2011-02-04T13:07:00.000+11:00

This week at Just Add Ink we've got a colour challenge - Early Expresso, Soft Suede, Regal Rose and Rose Red - a colour combo that I've never used but is very, very pretty.

This week my card (notice they're always cards, don't want to get too carried away and do some scrapbooking or something 3D *smile*) had to do double duty - the challenge and actually be USED - I know, I can hear you all hitting the dirt as you faint from the shock of it, lol! I am a S - L - O - W crafter, if I get something finished in one night, I'm doing well. In an effort to get more organised, I have put almost everyone's birthday into my new iPhone, which is all well and good, except for the fact can now see I have to make A LOT of cards over the next few weeks *eek*

Anyway, enough of the rambling, this is what I made for my friend Felicity's birthday, which is today (Happy Birthday chickie).

I used my Soft Suede, Regal Rose and Rose Red markers to ink up floral frame from Just Believe and stamped it onto Naturals Ivory cardstock oval, which I cut using my Ovals die. I then inked up the image again in Early Expresso ink and stamped it onto a scrap, added the sentiment and cut just the frame portion out and adhered it over the coloured image. It's a bit hard to tell, but I've spritzed with with some Champage Simmer Mist (I need to add more paint to this mixture - it's not quite sparkly enough) and then added some Tea Stain and Mahogany ink (from the Distressing Kit) to the edges. I've also inked the edges of the DSP using Rose Red ink and there's a couple of teeny, tiny pearls on the Regal Rose flowers. The crochet trim can be found in the Summer Mini.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, all gorgeous as usual.

Catch you later. Thanks for visiting

Supplies Used: All SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Just Believe

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Rose Red Designer Series Paper (from Subtles collection)

Ink: Early Express, Rose Red Ink; Soft Suede, Regal Rose and Rose Red Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories: Oval die, Bigshot, Victoria Crochet Trim, Champagne Shimmer Paint, Distressing Kit, Sponges, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals

JAI #53 - Just Add Inspriation/Add A Burst of Colour

2011-01-29T14:31:00.000+11:00

or if' you're like me, just do whatever! It's safe to say that I did not properly read or understand the DT challenge at JAI this week. We were given this beautiful photo with the description 'Just Add Inspiration - Add a Burst of Colour'.

Now, I did give this photo a glace - yep, bright yellow but as you can see from what I made, the bright colour was the only thing I took from this photo. *smacks forehead. This is what I made

When I read 'Bursts of Colour', I immediately thought of black, white, with a bit of something bright to really pop! Then I was reading Cath's Moxie Fab World blog and there was a colour challenge of black, white, bright pink and orange. Perfect! What stamps should I use - lightbulb - Avairy.

Then it went downhill a bit. The stands for the birdcages ended up being a bit low in the end and not quite as evenly spaced as I would have liked. I should have started again at that point but I had stuck that ruffled ribbon down and it was stuck good & proper and I didn't think it would withstand another move around on the card before totally unravelling. I thought there was a bit too much white space at the top so I added a couple of score lines - oops, bad move - we'll fix that by adding a little more ruffled ribbon and some bling to blind anyone looking too close!

Well, must dash. I've got the grocery & meat shopping to put away before I start the ironing (fun day, hey?)

I'm looking foward to seeing your creations this week. Don't forget to check out the great creations the other DT girls have come up with - just beautiful!

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies Used: All SU! except where noted
Stamps: Aviary, Occassional Quotes
Ink: Black Staz On, Regal Rose, Peach Parfait
Cardstock: Whisper White
Accessories: Basic Rhinestone Jewels, SAMJ, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Modern Label Extra Large Punch, Hibiscus Burst Satin Ribbon (PTI)

Songs I listed to whilst blogging (and eating my lunch): Telephone - Lady Gaga & Beyonce, 17 - Ladytron, Fantastic Voyage - Lakeside, Immagination - Laura Branigan, Immigrant Song - Led Lepplin (yes, in the L's on iTunes)

JAI #52 - Sketch Challenge

2011-01-21T08:30:00.010+11:00

This week at Just Add Ink it's Sketch Challenge Time. And yowzers, I found it super tough.

Usually I have some idea of how I want things to work out, but with this sketch I was totally stumped. In the end, I picked up my colour coach for some inspiration. The combo of Pure Poppy, Not Quite Navy and Sahara Sand had caught my eye before, however it's a bit masculine and I thought this sketch was a bit feminine. So that was the challenge I set myself, to see if I could make a masculine card from a feminine sketch as I had no other ideas!
Here's what I made:

I used my Top Note die to cut the wavy line, I used the Square Lattice embossing folder (from the Summer Mini) on the Not Quite Navy layer and I clear embossed the sentiment and the dots. A couple of slivers of Sahara Sand cardstock and I was done. The Not Quite Navy layer is popped up on dimensionals to give it a bit of lift.

So what do you think?? Does it work???? I hope so.

Be sure to check out what the other Design Team have come up with! Thanks for visiting :)

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Apple Blossoms, Birthday Basics (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Pure Poppy, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand and Sahara Sand DSP (from the Neutrals stack)

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Heat Gun, Clear Embosssing Powder, Embossing Buddy, SAMJ, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Square Lattice Embossing folder, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder (retired), Tombo Mono Multi, Quickie Glue Pen (Sakura)

JAI # 51 - Just Add Monochrome

2011-01-17T21:28:00.000+11:00

OMG, where is my head at this week???? Can't believe I nearly forgot to post this.

Anyway, this week the challenge at Just Add Ink is Just Add Monochrome. This is what I made

I must admit, I have made this card before, but I've never gotten around to sharing here. So when my original idea didn't work out the way it did in my head, I resorted to what I knew would work!

I have stamped the swirl from Baroque Motifs 3 times with Versamark and then embossed with some embossing powder that I have had in my stash for ever. I don't have a lot of it left so I am quite stingy when I use it as it looks so pretty on Very Vanilla. The sentiment is from an old SAB set from a couple of years ago. And yes, it is on crooked. *aaargh* - didn't notice until it was way, way too late.

Normally I make this as single layer card but this time I thought I'd mix it up a bit and make an additional layer. The card base is 5" SQ and the layer is a 1/4" smaller (I think). Both the layer and the senitment are popped up on dimensionals.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team have done, all gorgeous as usual.

Well, that's it from me for tonight. Thanks for visiting :)

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! except where noted
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Congrats
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Very Vanilla
Accessories: Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Dimensionals, Pearl White Embossing Powder (Inky Pinky)

JAI #50 - Colour Combo

2011-01-07T09:35:00.000+11:00

This week at JAI it's a colour challenge

When faced with a colour challenge, I like to gather all my colours together to see what they look like together. These were kind of floral colours to me, so I started pulling out stamp sets I thought would look good, when I came across Cheep Talk. Bingo, just what I was looking for and this is what I made

I took a bit of inspiration from Felicity's Christmas card with the ribbon treatment, and I was pleased to use another stamp set for the first time :). It's a bit hard to tell but the little bird is popped up on a dimensional as is the sentiment.

Well, that's it from me today. Finally, it appears we are getting some warm weather, typical when I have to return to work on Monday :( Hope you have a wonderful day and weekend.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Cheep Talk, Hello Again
Ink: So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla, So Saffron
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped Ribbon (retired), Linen Thread, Bigshot, Cloud Die and purple button (Papertrey Ink)

Aussie Cards for Sale

2011-01-06T21:41:00.000+11:00

Today, when I was going through my Google Reader I came across a post on Karen's blog about Aussie Cards for Sale, which is an Australian website specialising in Handmade Cards. They are looking for new designers to sell their cards on their website, and since I make way more cards than I sell (or send out *blush*), I thought I throw my hat into the ring, in the hope I may get chosen.

We have to showcase at least 4 on our blog for consideration, so I'm adding just a few of my favourites

Thanks for the heads up Karen, hopefully we'll both get selected :)

Quick Thank Yous

2011-01-05T14:00:00.000+11:00

Well, that ended up being a longer than expected break. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year.

Unfortunately the New Year didn't start as I would have liked and I've made up a few thank you cards for those who helped me out on Sunday morning.

These first two will be for the lovely nurse at Mitcham Private (whose name I didn't get) and for the radiographer who copped a call at 9.00 am on a Sunday asking her to come in.

Same design, both use papers from on old Basic Grey 6x6" pad (Sultry maybe). Sentiment is from SU!, stamped in Cherry Cobbler Craft ink and embossed with Clear EP and punched out using the 1-3/4" punch. This has been added to Papertrey Ink's Mat Stack 2, cut from Cherry Cobbler cardstock and embellished with a couple of Kaiser Pearls.

This last one is for my Doctor. I'm pretty sure I woke him up when I rang his message service at 7.00 am. I'm very thankful he was able to see me as early as he did.

Again, same design as before, paper from a different Basic Grey 6x6" pad (Mellow maybe?). The sentiment has been stamped in Papertrey's Orange Burst pigment ink as I couldn't get a good impression with my SU! Pumpkin Pie craft cube - it seems to be a bit dry. It looked a bit 'clean' so I 'dirtied' it up to match the paper using SU!'s distressing kit - Tea Stain and Charcoal inks. The mat was cut from Kiwi Kiss cardstock using Papertrey's Limitless Layers and has been distressing with the Tea Stain ink. It's a little different but I like how it's turned out.

Thanks for visiting. I'll be back later in the week with my JAI DT submission.

Supplies - SU! unless specified otherwise

Card 1 & 2
Stamps: Elegant Thank You
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, DSP - Basic Grey
Ink: Cherry Cobbler Craft
Accessories: 1-3/4" RD Punch, Big Shot, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Mat Stack 2 die - Papertrey Ink, Pearls - Kaiser

Card 3
Stamps: Elegant Thank You
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss (retired), Very Vanilla, DSP - Basic Grey
Ink: Orange Burst - Papertrey Ink
Accessories: 1-3/4" RD Punch, Big Shot, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Distressing Kit - Tea Stain & Charcoal ink, Limitless Layers - Papertrey Ink

Just Add Ink Swap Hop

2010-12-05T00:00:00.002+11:00

We recently had a card swap at Just Add Ink... If you haven't come across it before, a swap is where all participants make multiple copies of one card design and send them off to the rest of the group. What you end up with is a copy of everyone's cards, but you've only had to design one! So we thought we'd share them with you all on a Swap (Blog) Hop!

Here are a few details about what's happening... There are 14 stops on our Swap Hop (Just Add Ink and each of our 13 Design Team members), but the hop is set up in a loop so it doesn't matter where you start. All you need to do to follow along is click the Swap Hop button at the end of each post and you'll be taken to the next stop! The great part of that is that you can do the Swap Hop whenever you want.

I decided to do a masculine themed swap - having so many males in the family it is something that I have to do often, so I'm comfortable with it. I pulled out some of my new sets from the IB&C - Extreme Elements and Extreme Surfboard.

Here it is

I chose my colours based on the ocean, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi and Early Espresso - OK, well maybe EE is not an 'ocean' colour but it went well with the others. I stamped all the background elements first and the stamped the surfer in VersaMark and embossed with White Embossing Powder. The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy - sometimes to you have to go searching through your 'girly' sets to find the right 'manly' sentiment - the font is the key - no swirly fonts for the men in my family, lol!

This is quite an easy card, the main panel is attached to EE card with dimensionals and the sentiment is also attached using dimensionals. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

I hope you and the DT girls liked my swap - it got the 'thumbs up' from my other half, so that's always good *smile*

Next stop on the Hop is Kim's. Enjoy!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Extreme Elements, Extreme Surfboard, Upsy Daisy

Ink: Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi, VersaMark

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Early Espresso

Accessories: Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Dimensionals

JAI #46 - Just Add Critters

2010-12-03T21:15:00.000+11:00

This week at Just Add Ink it was a fun, fun, fun challenge - Just Add Critters. I had so many ideas running through my head it was hard to settle on just one. In the end I decided to use my 'must have immediately' Owl punch that I had yet to use! This is what I came up with:

Aren't they so cute - even thought they are kind of fiddly little suckers to put together. And if you are not careful, that punch bites - I've still got a few little marks on my hand where it bit me, not once but twice. Ouch.

You may also notice something new - the lovely square lattice folder from the Summer Mini, which is available now. Their bellies have been punched from the Ski Slope DSP, which is now retired, the sentiment is from Christmas Classics set and the ribbon is also retired. I have also spritzed the embossed layer with my Shimmer Paint Mist. (and yes, it did make the Real Red ink feather just smidge :( )

Make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, they are all super cute!!!

I'm off now to make a birthday card for one of Harry's little friends who is having his party tomorrow - hopefully the rain will hold off till late afternoon as we are heading off to the park.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Christmas Classics

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Whisper White, Ski Slope DSP (retired)

Accessories: Owl Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Tombo Mono Multi Glue, Big Shot, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Baja Breeze Ribbon (retired), Dimensionals, Frost White Shimmer Paint (as mist)

Sunsets

2010-11-29T23:07:00.000+11:00

Last week we had some really nice sunsets so I thought I'd get the camera out and see what I could capture. I've been practising with my big camera - I had a bit of an epiphany with it the other day but in saying that, I've probably broken every photography rule known to man. Anyway, here are some of my favourites.

I actually missed the best bit of the sunset getting the camera and changing up the lens, lol! This is the top of one of the trees in our front yard.

Here's one with the sun setting through the tree.

Now this you may just be able to make out the container ship - the view from our balcony, way out in the distance is of Port Phillip Bay, here is a close up crop (I hope) of the ship

Now, I know it looks teeny tiny in this photo but we are about 30km from the beach so I think my camera's doing a pretty good job.

Well, that's it from me for tonight. Have a good night/day

Melbourne Regionals Swap & M&T #1

2010-11-19T18:57:00.000+11:00

Last weekend we had our Stampin' Up! Regional Event in Melbourne. I managed to get a few swaps made up for the occasion. This is what I made, based on something I saw in an upcoming US publication.

The Vanilla layer has been embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then spritzed with Frost White Shimmer Paint mist that I made up. I've also used some of the Newsprint DSP, the sentiment is from Perfect Punches and has been embossed using Clear Embossing powder and punched out with the Scalloped Oval punch. I tried a new technique - ruffled ribbon - which took a while to get the hang of, and used one of the tools from the Distressing Kit to 'dog ear' the top corner.

During Regionals, we get to hear all sort of great business tips and see some great project ideas. We also get to do Make & Takes. This year the M&T's were 'beefed' up a bit, which was really, really good but it also meant that I only got 1 out of the 4 finished :) I decided to do this one first, because it used the Colour Spritzing Tool, which I don't have (yet).

Isn't it pretty? I was really pleased with the way it turned out but the staff at the Convention Centre may have thought otherwise since I mangaged to get quite a bit of Soft Suede spritz all over their very nice white table cloths. Ooops. 1 down, 3 to go!

Supplies Used:
Regional Swap
Stamps: Perfect Punches
Ink: Basic Black, Versamark
Cardstock: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Newsprint DSP
Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Big Shot, Scallop Oval punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Old Olive Satin ribbon, Distressing Kit, Frost White Shimmer Paint (as mist), Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

Make & Take #1
Stamps: Every Moment
Ink: Soft Suede, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Black StazOn, Soft Suede marker
Cardstock: Soft Suede Textured, Naturals Ivory, Water Colour, Old Olive
Accessories: Aquapainter, Scallop Edge punch, Old Olive 1/8" Taffeta ribbon, Daffodil Delight 3/8 Taffeta ribbon, Basic Pearl, Clip Assortment

JAI #44 - Colour Challenge

2010-11-19T12:20:00.000+11:00

This weeks it's a colour challenge at Just Add Ink and these are the colours we working with

They are such earthy colours and totally remind me of the National Parks and forests that are so close to our house. This is what I made

I've used a new set - Growing Green. As soon as I saw the colours, I knew I wanted to use this set. I've stamped the Maiden Hair Fern (at least that's what I think it is) in Wild Wasabi and clear embossed on watercolour paper. Then I watercoloured the leaves using Wild Wasabi ink and my aquapainter. To disguise my dodgy watercolouring, I've given the whole thing a spritz with Frost White Shimmer Paint Mist. (If you enlarge the photo, you should be able to see the shimmer)

The sentiment, from Occasional Quotes (L3 Hostess) is also stamped on watercolour paper using Chocolate Chip ink. I punched it out using my new Modern Label punch and added a couple more of those teeny tiny pearls on either side of the sentiment. The DSP is River Rock from the Neutrals paper pack and the ribbon is retired.

To make the shimmer paint mist, I got a few little spray bottles from Hairhouse Warehouse, dropped in a bit of paint and then filled the bottle with Isocol Rubbing Alcohol. My mist was quite a light mixture as I wanted a very subtle effect on my Regional swap. I have now added a bit more paint to make it a little stronger. Here's a photo to show you what it looks like.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Design Team's brilliant creations and I look forward to seeing you creations using this colour combo!

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Growing Green, Occasional Quotes
Ink: Wild Wasabi , Versamark, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Watercolour Paper, River Rock DSP
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Aquapainter, Corner Rounder (retired), Basic Pearls, Modern Label punch, Frost White Shimmer paint (as mist - shown above), Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon (retired), Dimensionals

JAI #43 - Just Add Christmas

2010-11-17T23:17:00.000+11:00

Boy oh boy, am I cutting it fine with this one. Silly thing is though, I had it made and photographed last week but just haven't gotten around to uploading.

Anyway, as you've probably guessed from the title, the challenge at Just Add Ink this week is Just Add Christmas. Time to break out my new Christmas set that I purchased just the week before the current promotion was announced - nice one SU! grrrr.

If you look really close, you can see that I have clear embossed the Merry Christmas sentiment from Contempo Christmas on the Very Vanilla piece. The magical hanging ornament has been stamped in Cherry Cobbler and punched out using the new Ornament Punch. I have also embellished the ornament with a heap (14) of those teeny, tiny little pearls. I really like the way it turned out and it would be easy to mass produce minus the embossing (cause that took ages) and the pearls (you would use a lot)

Well, that's it from me tonight. I will be back soon to show you the swap I made for the Melbourne Regionals that I attended last weekend as well as the 1 out of 4 Make & Takes that I got finished there.

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Contempo Christmas
Ink: Versamark, Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Jolly Holiday DSP
Accessories: Ornament Punch, Embossing Buddy (which I cannot find, NOT COOL), Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder (retired)

JAI #42 - Sketch Challenge

2010-11-05T12:56:00.000+11:00

This week at JAI it's a sketch challenge

This is what I came up with

I've been dying to use Friends Never Fade since it was available for pre-order. I stupidly didn't order it then, so I had to wait a whole month, whilst being tempted by a never ending procession of beautiful creations. I have it now, so it's all good! The co ordinating Greenhouse Gala DSP is so pretty too! The stamped image has been embossed with Clear EP so it's nice & shiny. The only thing I want to change is the Chocolate Chip matting. I wanted to use the Scallop Trim Border punch - I was hoping I could be clever enough to make corners with it like you can with the plain scallop border punch. Obviously I'm not that clever so I ordered the Scallop Trim Corner punch yesterday. The ribbon is retired Chocolate Chip Satin that was available a couple of minis ago.

Short & Sweet from me today. Be sure to check out all the other fantastic creations the DT girls have come up with. Look forward to seeing your creations!

Supplies Used: (All Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Friends Never Fade

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Cardstock: Pear Pizzaz, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DSP

Accessories: Clear EP, Heat Gun, Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon

JAI #40 - Colour Challenge

2010-10-27T22:42:00.000+11:00

Oh gosh, I am so behind. I started this post on Friday and I'm only just getting back to finish it now *eeek*

This was my DT submission for JAI #40, which is a colour Challenge - Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Pear Pizazz and Blushing Bride. For some reason these colours screamed 'baby' to me, so that's what I made, a baby card.

I've stamped the Sahara Sand base with the Nursery Letters wheel using VersaMark and then clear embossed. I have actually unmounted this wheel and remounted onto EziMount foam as it is no secret that I am 'wheel challenged'. Makes it SO much easier to get a good impression first time around. There is a small border of Pear Pizazz that I have punched using the Scallop Trim border and the striped DSP is from the Level 1 Hostess In Color DSP Patterns pack. The scallop circle is retired chipboard that I have covered using Bashful Blue craft ink. The cute little deer is from Forest Friends, which I have finally inked up after having for close to a year :) It is also the first time I have used the White Organza ribbon which is just so soft and pretty. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags, stamped in Pear Pizazz and punched out using the Jewelry Tag punch.

Well, that's it from me tonight - can't believe it's Wednesday already. Hope the rest of your week is great - I'm looking forward to a 4 day weekend - yay for Melbourne Cup!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Forest Friends, Tiny Tags, Nursery Letters (retired)

Ink: VersaMark, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizazz

Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Pear Pizazz

Accessories: Bashful Blue craft ink, Whisper White organza ribbon, Linen Thread, Scallop Trim Border punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Clear embossing powder, Heat Gun, Chipboard Scallop Circle (retired)

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #44 - Butterflies

2010-10-16T23:03:00.000+11:00

I have always wanted to participate in one Makeesha's challenges, but have never got around to it. Harry had a birthday party to go to today which meant that I had a card to make and while going through my Google reader last night I came across the latest Inkspiration Colour Challenge and I thought what perfect colours for a little girl's birthday card.

This is what I made

And this is the interior

And a close up of the butterflies

So what do you think of my photos??? I have just finished Jessica Sprague's Photo Editing: Good to Great Workflow, class. Who knew there were SO many steps in editing your photos. Well, actually, only the 1st one has all the steps. I accidently missed a few in the 2nd and whilst I remembered all the steps in the 3rd, I forgot to add my brand new watermark that I got from Karen Giron. I have go back over the class again so I can take better notes and then I will need to rewrite my notes for it all sinks in. I'm excited by the results I have gotten so far.

Anyway back to the card - it's pretty simple. I used my ruler and Stampin' Write Journaler to make the frame and tried to stamp the sentiment in the middle of the gap I left. I say tried cause this was the 4th one I made and I was SO over it by this time. The 1stt time I used a different marker and it smudged, the next 2 times the sentiment didn't come out properly. I was using StazOn and I think it was drying in the time I was taking to make sure the stupid thing was straight and centred.

On the inside I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment (forget its name, sorry) in Pretty In Pink and then went over it with a Clear Spica pen to give it a bit of sparkle. The butterflies were die cut using the Beautiful Wings Sizzlet and attached to some repurposed acetate using sticky strip and SNAIL. To make the acetate spring, I cut a 2-1/2" circle of acetate using the Circle Scissor Plus and then cut into it, gradually moving towards the centre, kind of like peeling a apple with a peeler, a technique a saw ages ago on Lauren Meader's blog.

Well, that's all from me tonight, a rather intersting movie has started called Zodiac, starring Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jnr and Jake Gyllenhaal and Anthony Edwards (Dr Green from ER :)) Looks good, anyone else seen this???

Supplies Used: Stampin' Up! unless otherwise indicated.
Stamps: Birthday Wish (maybe, it's retired anyway), Birthday Basics (PaperTrey Ink)
Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Marina Mist, Daffodil Delight, Stamper's Select White (PaperTrey Ink)\
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Black StazOn
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Sizzlet, Big Shot, Basic Rhinestones, Sticky Strip, SNAIL, Acetate.

JAI #38 - Just Add Bling & Pink

2010-10-08T13:45:00.000+11:00

This week, the challenge at Just Add Ink was to add Bling and Pink in an effort to raise awareness on Breast Cancer. The Cancer Council’s Pink Ribbon Day, which will be held on Monday October 25 this year, aims to help raise awareness about breast cancer, as well as raise funds towards research, education and patient support programs. This year alone around 12,000 Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, which is still a huge number.

So for this blinged up challenge, this is what I came up with:

It's a little hard to tell in this photo, but I have mixed Silver Embossing Powder with some Dazzling Diamonds, so it's really quite sparkly in real life - photos taken at 11.00 pm do not have the 'right light' so the don't show the real sparkle. My mixing ratio was quite scientific - I used a scrap of cardstock to scoop up some silver ep and some dazzling diamonds and mixed on a acetate sheet till I got a colour I liked. This one has a bit too much silver for my liking - the first one I made was better, however I dropped it and bent the front corner. I tried to save it but ended up completely trashing it, so I had to start again. I've also done one with pink glitter but couldn't decide what colour the sentiment should be, so I'll post that when I get around to finishing it.

Pretty simple, the embossed panel raised up on dimensionals, as is the sentiment, which is embossed using plain silver embossing powder.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out rest of the Design Team's very gorgeous creations.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Baroque, Congrats (both retired)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Versamark

Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, Dimensionals, Rhinestones.

Catch Up!

2010-10-02T20:08:00.000+10:00

Again I'm a bit behind with the whole blogging thing. My baby, who is not such a baby anymore turned 4 last month. I have absolutely no idea where those 4 years have gone, but here is the invitation I made for his party

It's a matchbox style, this is the inside

I masked the 3 back balloons and popped the Wasabi one up on a dimensional. Also masked all the strings. Hmmm, glad I only made 12 of these, lol! The colour combo is Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie and Wild Wasabi and came from some old DSP (East Coast Prep maybe??). The blue circles on the front were made with the Circle Scissor, I used the 1-3/4" RD punch for the Wasabi ones.

This is the co-ordinating card I made:

This inside is decorated the same as the invitation but I took the photo after we gave the card to him so it has all the mushy stuff we wrote. It also explains the dirty fingerprint on the front :)

Today was his little bestie's party, this is the card I made for him:

Colour combo for this is Real Red, Bashful Blue, Pear Pizzaz and Whisper White, taken from the rub ons, whose name escapes me at the moment. The letters are diecut using Timeless Type Jnr sizzlet alphabet and covered with crystal effects. They kind of look like stickers IRL, unfortunately we were in a rush and this is the best photo I have. I also used my crop-o-dile for the very first time, whoo hoo! This card is a DL sized card, 10 cm x 21 cm (finished) so I could fit his name in.

Well, that's it from me today. Thanks for visiting.

Supplies Used:

Invitation:
Stamps: Party This Way, Introducing (retired)
Ink: Brilliant Blue (retired), Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi, Black StazOn
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue (retired), Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, DSP (East Coast Prep? - Retired)
Accessories: Circle Scissor Plus, 1-3/4" Punch, Staples, Dimensionals

4th Birthday Card:
Stamps: Party This Way
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi
Cardstock: Brilliant Blue, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, DSP (East Coast Prep)
Accessories: Bigshot, Timeless Type Jnr Alphabet Sizzlet, Crystal Effects

Tristan's Card
Stamps: Party This Way, It's Your Birthday (retired)
Ink: Real Red,Bashful Blue, Pear Pizazz, Going Grey (retired)
Cardstock: Real Red, Bashful Blue, Pear Pizazz, Whisper White
Accessories: Bigshot, Timeless Type Jnr Alphabet Sizzlet, Crystal Effects, Crop-O-Dile, Linen Thread, 2 way Glue, Eyelets (non-SU!)

Royal Melbourne Show 2010

2010-09-26T21:14:00.000+10:00

Today, Jarrod & I took Harry to the Royal Melbourne show. 369 photos later, these are some of my favourites from the Freestyle Motocross and Sampson the Monster Truck. I also managed to snap a couple of the ponies - lucky the boys were bored by the ponies, otherwise I think I would have filled my memory card.

This first on is from the Fancy Dress. This was the winner. I'm not sure if you can see it properly here or not but the pony is dressed as Donkey from Shrek. Shrek is leading, Princess Fiona is riding and Puss in Boots, Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming are also there.

Other place getters included a beautiful black pony that was dressed like a poodle, Humpty Dumpty, Scooby Doo, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. All very cute, and such a lot of hard work put in to them all.

Here are a couple of Sampson the Monster Truck

All of these are from the Freestyle Motocross

I like the middle rider - Look Mum, no hands (or anything else for that matter, lol)

And I think this little poppet was competing in one of the Junior Rider Classes - this was the only shot I got of the ponies - the boys were bored

Well, that was our day at the show, Harry went of heaps of rides, the lines for showbags were so absolutely massive it was a complete joke, we're sunburt and tired but we had a pretty good day considering it was super, super busy.

I'm off to watch my Top Chef which I recorded earlier, have a good night

JAI #36 - Sketch Challenge

2010-09-24T21:08:00.000+10:00

This week it's a sketch challenge at Just Add Ink, and a really cute one at that!

This is what I came up with:

I've used a bit of new stuff and a bit of stuff that I've had for a while but not used - I know, it's a reoccuring theme, isn't it :). New stuff is the Blushing Bride cardstock and Newsprint DSP. Stuff that I've had for a while but not used before is the Very Vintage wheel and the All a Flutter stamp.

I inked up the wheel using Versamark and wheeled onto the Blushing Bride base. I stamped the butterflies using Black StazOn on Very Vanilla cardstock and then used my blender pen to add a little Blushing Bride ink to colour the wings. The body was coloured using Soft Suede and I used dimenionals to add them to the card. And that's it - easy peasy, lemon squeezy. (Shhh, I may have also added a layer of Clear Spica glitter marker to the butterflies too to make them nice & sparkly)

Hope you all have a great weekend, it's the AFL Grand Final here in Melbourne - go Saints!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: On Your Birthday, All A Flutter (al a carte), Very Vintage jumbo wheel,

Ink: Versamark, Black StazOn, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede

Cardstock: Blushing Bride, Newsprint DSP

Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon, Scallop Border Punch, Corner Rounder

Digital Scrapbooking

2010-09-23T21:17:00.001+10:00

I can't believe it. I have completed, not one but two digital scrapbook pages today. I have been a fan of Jessica Sprague for quite some time, but have been totally overwhelmed by the whole digital scrapbooking thing and have never got any further than looking admiringly at her blog.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago, when I saw Amanda posting some super cool digital pages. She told me she has taken a Jessica Sprague on-line class and encouraged me to have a go. So I promptly purchased Jessica's class, Up & Running with Photoshop and today I sat down and worked through Lesson 1. (I was home from work today as last night Harry was doing his best Linda Blair impersonation :)) What I'm going to show is actually a bonus page, I haven't got the 'right' photos to finish Lesson 1 properly. Look at what I did

Honestly, I couldn't believe it was so easy. I may actually get some of the hundreds of photos I have of this kid into some sort of album for others to see. The fantastic photo was taken by Shaz Martello-Rowe, if she had a website, I'd link it because she has taken THE most fabulous photos of us. If you're in Melbourne and need some family portraits done, let me know and I will forward you her details.

OK, time for me to get into the 'studio' and finished off my JAI Design Team Swaps. Thankfully that Early Espresso cardstock I was waiting on arrived in time.

Tomorrow is my DT day, hopefully you'll drop by to see my submission :)

Cheers

JAI #35 - Just Add Sympathy

2010-09-20T20:30:00.000+10:00

This week at Just Add Ink the challenge was a sympathy card. Sympathy card are never easy to make - this is what I came up with.

I have used a really old set that I rediscovered when sorting through my stamps the other week. It's called Art of Life and it was a Hostess Set from the 06/07 catalogue. It was a set that I just had to have, funny thing is, this is the first time I've used it. I still love it though.

The background image is inked up using Crumb Cake ink and stamped onto Naturals Ivory. I didn't really like the way it looked so I scrunched it up, which made it look a bit more distressed. I had trouble unscrunching it, so I ran it through my bigshot a couple of times, which flattened it out really well :) The leaf image is stamped in Early Espresso (which is just divine), layered onto Crumb Cake and then onto an Early Espresso base. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and punched out using the Word Window punch. The ribbon is from PaperTrey Ink.

Thanks for stopping by.....

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Art of Life (retired)

Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Cardstock: Naturals Ivory, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Accessories: Word Window Punch, Dimensionals, Dark Chocolate Satin ribbon (PaperTrey Ink)

JAI #34 - Colour Challenge

2010-09-10T09:28:00.000+10:00

It's a colour challenge at Just Add Ink this week.

All colours that I love - by themselves. Together - not so much. For some reason, Certainly Celery took on an almost flurosecent tinge, making me check that I had actually used the correct colour.

After spending hours and hours trying to decide on what to do for the card base this is what I finally decided upon

The main image is from Dreams du Jour, a set that I've had well over a year and never used until now. I stamped it in Versamark and embossed with clear emobssing powder. I coloured the flowers using a blender pen and pastels, a technique that I haven't used in ages. Actually it's only the 2nd or 3rd time I've used my pastels since getting them in my starter kit, but I love how they have look on Crumb Cake (please can I just call it Kraft), so I think I'll have to keep that in mind for future use.

So that's it. Have a great weekend, some of my new goodies have arrived so I'm looking forward to playing with them. I'm also taking a Copic Colouring class on Saturday with Mandi which should be fun! I look forward to seeing your creations (although I have been super slack over the last few weeks with my commenting, sorry about that)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Dreams du Jour
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, Blender Pen, Stampin' Pastels (why can't we call them chalks, pastels are like crayons), Scoring Blade, Dimensionals, Corner Rounder (retired but I'm not giving it up!)

JAI #32 - Just Add Fabric

2010-08-27T08:30:00.001+10:00

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink was to use FABRIC. As soon as I saw this challenge, I knew exactly what I was going to do, because I'd already given it a test run!

And this is what I made

It's a little coin purse that I have made using the Scallop Envelope Die. And it is super easy to make. I actually tried to make this a bit larger so I could add a zipper using this tutorial my friend Chris found. Unfortunately, the smallest zip I could find was 5" and the opening is 4", so it was a no go this time. Maybe with some more fiddling I can get the opening to 5" but I think it will throw the proportions out.

Here's a couple of other views:

From this view, it's a bit easier to see what I've done - cut 2 envlopes, one for the back, the other for the front of the purse. The front envelope, I folded the scalloped edge to the inside and stitched close to the fold. Then I cut the excess flap off, as close to the seam as possible. Then it was just a matter of stitching them both together along the score lines, and then trimming as close to the seams as possible.

I actually used to do quite a bit of sewing and I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me quite some time to work out how to attach the press studs - it has been awhile *blush*. The 'J' was cut using the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet sizzlet and attached using Crystal Effects. (I have in the past tried to machine stitch the letters, the fact that I haven't here will tell you how that worked out, lol!)

A word of warning: Sizzlets are only recommended to be used with paper and cardstock. However, they cut the blue felt with ease. I have also tried them with the white that I used for the purse and they worked OK, but I had to trim them to get them out. Other sizzlets I have didn't work at all with the white and some pink that I have in my stash. Go figure!

Supplies Used:

From Stampin Up!: Big Shot, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet, Scallop Envelope Die, Latte Button, Crystal Effects

Non SU!: Sewing Machine, Cotton, Press Stud

JAI #31 - Colour Challenge

2010-08-21T16:50:00.000+10:00

This week over at Just Add Ink it's a colour challenge

I really had no idea of what I was going to do for this challenge except that I knew what colours I had to use and that I wanted to use my new Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder. Before I sat down to make this card, I sorted through all my stamps, putting all my retiring ones aside and putting all those staying back in the cupboard. Whilst I was doing that I came across my lovely Dasher, who has lived at my house for quite a while now but who has never been used. With the time flying like it is, I thought I'd get a start on my Christmas cards and this is what I came up with.

Isn't he lovely? I 've stamped him in Chocolate Chip and I've added some Diamond Stickles to his antlers and to the bottom on the sentiment. I love how they have turned a goldy colour on the Kraft, or soon to be renamed Crumb Cake. I've rubbed some Versamark over the embossed piece to highlight the embossing. It came together pretty quickly and I think it will be pretty easy to mass produce.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Dasher, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Real Red

Accessories: Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain, Vintage Wallpaper embossing Folder, Big Shot, dimensionals and Diamond Stickles (Ranger)

JAI #30 - Helphing Hudson - Just Add Wheels

2010-08-13T12:30:00.000+10:00

This week the JAI team have joined in with the Helping Hudson Fundraiser team, and are doing a challenge in Hudson's honour - Just Add Wheels. If you haven't read about Hudson, please visit the blog and check out his story and all the great challenges, prizes and tutorials available to purchase to help this cute little guy get his wheels.
This is my DT submission

The colour inspiration for this came from a pair of Harry's pjamas. Light blub moment was using brads for the wheels, putting my previously unused Jumbo 5/16" brads to good use. I used Crystal Effects on the windows to look make them look like glass and then another light bulb moment to have the sentiment look like it was coming from the smoke. I made the template for the cloud using the large Oval Punch, 3/4" RD and 1/4" RD punches. This card is for one of Harry's little friends who is celebrating his birthday on Saturday.

And yes, Choo Choo and Right On Track will be available for purchase again come September 1.

Whilst I like the end result, I wish I had have been as creative as the other DT girls, who have come up with the most awesome projects. Be sure to check them out here.

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to checking out your creations. Don't forget to Help Hudson too!

Have a good one!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track wheel, Party This Way

Ink: Going Gray, Real Red, Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise

Cardstock: Real Red, Whisper White

Accessories: Jumbo 5/16" Brads (Neutrals), Brads (Antique), Crystal Effects, Large Oval Punch, 3/4" RD Punch, 1/4" RD Punch, 2 mm Handheld Punch, Sponge, Dimensionals

JAI #28 - Just Add A Man Card

2010-07-30T08:30:00.001+10:00

Well, here we are, almost at the end of another week! This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is Just Add A Man Card along with a great colour combo thrown in for good measure!

The colour combo is

I must admit, I don't mind making masculine cards. With as many males as there are in Jarrod's family, it's kind of been sink or swim, lol! The most trouble I had with this challenge was reading & understanding it!

Anywhoo, after realising that my original ideas had nothing to do with the challenge, I had to come up with something else. Hoping to get some inspiration, I pulled out my catalogue and soon the floor was covered with DSP, chipboard and stamps, but I was coming up empty. I prised myself up off the floor and as I sat down at my desk I noticed some offcuts left from cutting down some 12 x 12 Chocolate Chip for my adopted team's Deconvention. Light bulb moment and this is what I ended up creating!

The stripes were created from the offcuts and adhered to the card using Mono Multi adhesive and my Quickie Glue Pen, which has a really, really fine tip - kind of like a pen. The circles I made using my Circle Scissor Plus for the first time - yay me! I used the Timeless Type Alphabet Junior sizzlets to die cut 'dad' out of Baja Breeze cardstock and covered them with a coating of Crystal Effects, so they're nice and shiny! I used dimensionals to adhere the letters to the circles and to adhere the circles to the card. Rounded the corners and I was done. Father's Day cards for this year are done & dusted!

Thanks for visting and for all the lovely comments you have been leaving me! I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamps: None!

Ink: None!

Cardstock: Kraft, Baha Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Circle Scissor Plus, Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet Junior, Crystal Effects, Corner Rounder, Dimensionals, Mono Multi Adhesive, Quickie Glue Pen - Sakura

JAI #27 Sketch Challenge

2010-07-25T19:32:00.000+10:00

This week over at Just Add Ink it's a sketch challenge.

I had lots of ideas for this great sketch - one kept sticking in my mind, however trying to get it to work took way more time than I would have liked. In the end, after filing lots of stuff in the round file, this is what I came up with.

Supplies Used: Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise

Stamps: Turning a New Leaf, Take Three Trio - Spring (PaperTrey Ink)

Ink: Versamark, Black Staz On

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Urban Oasis DSP

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, Black Brad, Black 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (PaperTrey Ink)

JAI #26 - Design Team Debut!!!!!

2010-07-16T08:30:00.001+10:00

Oh My Goodness - it's finally here, my design team debut! I'm so excited and nervous all at once. Thank you to all of you who have left me messages of congratulations, it's so very much appreciated. *hugs* to you all!

This week's challenge is Just Add - EMBOSSING. Heat embossing is one of my favourite techniques. It was the first thing I tried when I started stamping. I still remember how cool it was watching that powder melt before my eyes.

Anyway, this is what I came up with

I thought I'd also add in a little dry embossing as well, so I dry embossed a 'frame' on my watercolour paper. I then masked the edges and stamped the daisies using Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. I then made up a wash of water and a couple of drops of Kiwi Kiss and Old Olive reinkers and brushed it all over the watercolour paper using a paintbrush. Then I waited for it to dry, which took AGES. When it was dry, I matted it onto some Basic Black, wrapped some Linen Thread around a few times and added the sentiment. The sentiment is from Tiny Tags, stamped using Black StazOn onto watercolour paper and punched out using the Jewelry Tag punch. I also dry embossed a couple of lines at the bottom of the card base and added the main image using dimensionals.

So that's it - first assignment over! Thanks for visiting and look forward to seeing your challenge entries. Hope your day is a good one

Supplies - All from Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Tiny Tags

Ink: Versamark, StazOn Black, Old Olive Reinker, Kiwi Kiss Reinker

Cardstock: Kraft, Watercolour paper, Basic Black

Accessories: Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Bone Folder, Ruler, Linen Thread, Jewelry Tag punch,

Part 3 - Things I've made and not yet shown

2010-07-11T22:54:00.000+10:00

Here I am, back again with more things that I have yet to post here. Sad thing is, I will still have more to show after this. *blush*

Anyway, here's the first

This was a case from here, with a few minor changes - I used Fox and Friends from the current Autumn/Winter Mini as I didn't have Cheep Talk when I made this card. I also decided to cover the whole front of the card with patterned paper. I won't tell you how pieces of paper I wasted until I realised that the easiest way to achieve this look was to use Dotto to hold the cardstock and patterned paper together, run it through the BS and, remove the paper, THEN trim it to size. I know, DUH, right!

Supplies Used: Stampin' Up unless noted otherwise

Stamps: Fox & Friends, Trendy Trees

Ink: Pacific Point

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, So Saffron, Good Morning Sunshine DSP

Accessories: Movers & Shapers Curly Label Bigz Die, Big Shot, Word Window Punch, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon

This was supposed to be a case from pg 197 of the US 09/10 catalogue. The patterned paper is from the Patterns Pack II DSP (Level 1 Hostess) in Garden Green. The 'thanks' was diecut from Garden Green cardstock, using the Timeless Type Alphabet. Turns out this is slightly larger than the Many Thanks sizzlet SU used in their sample, which messed up the whole design. I made the flower by punching 3 scalloped circles from Very Vanilla and scrunching them up really, really well. By doing this, you break the fibres in the paper, allowing you to be able to pull them apart, it also give them a kind of faux suede look. A brad in the middle holds them all together and the edges have been distressed using Tea Dye Duo from PaperTrey Ink.

Supplies: Stampin' Up! unless noted otherwise

Stamps: None

Ink: Tea Dye Duo (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Kraft, Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Pattern Prints II DSP

Accessories: Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Medium Sizzlet Die, Little Leaves Sizzlet Die, Big Shot, Brad, Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Corner Rounder, Crafter's Tool Kit

Last one for tonight

This set uses the cutest little set from Sassafrass Lass. Can't remember the name of it but I loved the fact that the flower is almost the same as one featured in the Good Morning Sunshine DSP. I inked it up using my Pink Passion and Kiwi Kiss markers (which I made up myself from a tutorial I found here).

Supplies: Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Sasafrass Lass, PaperTray (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Pink Passion, Kiwi Kiss markers, Stazon Black

Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon

Just Add Ink #24

2010-07-05T23:01:00.000+10:00

Well, here I am, back a little later than anticipated, but I guess you get that, lol! Lucky there is some sort of football program on tonight, otherwise I'd still be fighting with my OH over the use of the laptop.

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is a sketch challenge,

Cute, hey. I actually have a non SU! set that would have been perfect but as I have to refrain from using 'contraband', I came up with this instead

I was so happy with the way this one turned out, I made another using the another sentiment from Upsy Daisy!

I have a lot of stamps that I purchased when the catalogue first came out that I have yet to use *blush*, so I have set myself a little challenge to use them all, at least one, before the new catalogue comes out in September. In this case, I've used 2 - Inspired by Nature and Upsy Daisy.

I also need to apologise for the quality of the photos. I think I mentioned that I got a new camera for Mothers's Day and I forgot to adjust the settings for these photos. I've left the aperture open too wide and have ended up with too shallow a depth of field, which has meant that the sentiments are not as sharp as they should be. Lesson learned. Check settings before you start!!!!

Have a good night!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Inspired by Nature, Upsy Daisy

Ink: Versamark, StazOn Black

Cardstock: Basic Black (smooth & textured), Basic Grey, Whisper White

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, dimensionals, Embossing Buddy

July 2010 Stampin' Up! Promotion

2010-07-03T17:51:00.000+10:00

Stampin' Up! have a fabulous promotion for the month of July. I thought I'd add an update here, even though I have my great SU! Demonstrator Website that updates automatically, just in case you missed it!

I already have a few of these sets - Big Bold Birthday, Cottage Garden (which I was lucky enough to win at Convention) and Tiny Tags. Cheep Talk has been on my wish list for ages, so I decided this was a GREAT time to get it.

If you'd like to take advantage of this great offer too, just email me your order! I can ship direct to you, Australia wide.

I'll be back a little later with my entry for JAI24!

Toot Toot Insert Mega Shocked Face Here

2010-06-30T23:09:00.000+10:00

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I applied to a design team. Well, you'll NEVER guess what - I got accepted. *Add shocked face here*

I am now a member of the design team for Just Add Ink. I am so excited and nervous all at once, I'm still pinching myself. Along with myself, another 7 very talented girls are joining the existing design team. Click here to see who else is about to burst with excitement!

I also want to send out a big Thank You to Amanda and Danielle for taking a chance and choosing me. I am extremely grateful and hope I can live up to expectations and provide some sort of inspiration.

I thought I would get a couple of 'test' runs in before I start for real, so here is my card for JAI#23 - Just Add Patterned Paper. Now, this was kind of easy for me. I says this because I have a LOT of DSP to choose from - some of which has never been opened *blush*.

This is a design that I was going to use for one of my convention swaps, but I just couldn't get it to work with only current SU! products, so I put it in the too hard basket. This challenge was just what I needed to see if I could 'make it work' (yes, I love Project Runway)! I'm happy with how it turned out.

Supplies Used: All SU! unless otherwise noted

Stamps: Occassional Greeting, Tiny Tags, Linen (retired)

Ink: Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede

Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Very Vanila, Bella Bleu DSP

Accessories: Build a Brad Pewter, 1/2" RD punch, Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Ovals Die, Cutter Kit, Sponge, Linen Thread, Dimensionals, Button (PaperTrey Ink)

Part 2 - Things that I've made and not shared yet

2010-06-21T22:41:00.000+10:00

OMG I can't believe there are so many! Enough for another day *eek*

I've always wanted to have a go at stamping on candles, and after Simone Bartrum's fabbo presentation at our Mebourne Regional event, I was inspired! The fact that Harry's carer from Childcare was getting married a few weeks later, gave me the push I needed to actually do it! Here's the finished product:

Supplies Used: All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless specified otherwise

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Fresh Alphabet (PaperTrey Ink)

Ink: Real Red, Black StazOn

Accessories: Red Gems (Kaiser Craft), Tissue Paper, Heat Gun, GladBake

I also made a card to match

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Congrats (retired SAB set)

Cardstock: Whisper White

Ink: Real Red, Black StazOn

Accessories: Red Gems (KaiserCraft)

This was a card I made on commission for my haidresser. My brief was to make something for a 40th and that it should have some bling! It also needed to be big for a group to sign it so its finished size is A5. It's very hard to see, but the white has been stamped with the damask from Friends 24-7 using Versamark. I then sprinkled on some Heat & Stick powder, heated with my heat gun and then applied some Dazzling Diamonds to make it really sparkly.

Supplies Used: All from PaperTrey Ink unless specified otherwise

Stamps: Vintage Frames, Background Basics: Text Style

Ink: StazOn Black, StazOn White, VersaMark (Stampin' Up!), Plum Pudding

Cardstock: Stampers Select White, Bitty Dots

Accessories: Black Satin Ribbon, On Boards Lots of Letters, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Vintage Button, Thread, Scrap Acetate, Butterfly Punch (EK Success), Purple Gems (KaiserCraft)

And the final card for tonight started off as a wedding card for some friends but ended up being a bit too 'blingy' so I changed it into a thankyou card and gave it my real estate agent, who got a absolutely fantastic price for our unit that we were renovating for the better half of last year - it was only on the market for 2 weeks, 2 weeks prior to Christmas!

Here's a close up on the sentiment, can you see the glitter around the edges?

Supplies Used: SU! unless noted otherwise

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, All Scallops (maybe - not sure???)

Cardstock: Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, 2 way Glue, Chocolate Chip Satin (retired)

Well, that's it from me tonight, have a good one!

Okey Dokey, It's Time for an Update

2010-06-18T23:30:00.000+10:00

I'm doing something completey crazy and applying to a Design Team. Upon going through my photos, I realised that I have a heap of stuff that I should have uploaded. So in no particular order, cause I don't want to tell you how old some of these projects are, here we go:

This was the M&T from my last workshop, based upon the M&T from Convention 2009.

Stamps: Trendy Trees & ?? (mind has gone blank but it's from the Autumn/Winter mini)

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette

Accessories: Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain, Word Window punch, Linen Thread, 2 Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds

This is the card I made Jarrod for his birthday. I was based on something I saw in a past issue of PaperCrafts magazine and the colours were based on ribbons from PTI. I also used this as one of my Convention 2010 swaps, except I change the colours slightly, as some of these are retired.

Supplies: SU! unless specified otherwise

Stamps: Circle Circus, Birthday Basics (PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Basic Grey textured, Whisper White, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Marigold Morning

Ink: Basic Grey, Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Marigold Morning

Accessories: 1-3/8 RD Punch, 1-1/4 RD Punch, 1" RD Punch

This is one of my all time favourites. I made this for one of Harry's little friends birthday. The flagpole is a toothpick. Based on the invitation I made for Harry's birthday last year.

Supplies: SU! unless specified otherwise

Stamps: Choo Choo*, Right On Track*, Birthday Basics, Fresh Alphabet (both from PaperTrey Ink)

Cardstock: Stampers Select White (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Staz On Black, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sunrise (I think), Riding Hood Red, Going Grey, Orange Zest (PTI)

Accessories: Corner Rounder (retired), On Board Lots of Letters, Crystal Effects

* These 2 sets were in the 2009 Spring Mini and at the moment are currently unavailable. This may change if they are included in the new IB&C, due for release September 1, 2010

Not sure what's happening in the background of this photo but it is what it is, cause I no longer have the card. A card I made for a family friend's little boy's first birthday (obviously). Stamps set was purchased for 2 reasons:

1. I had seen it on Kristina Werner's blog and I thought it was SO cute

2. It had a flower image very similar to that in the Good Friends, with it, I could make it up in colours to suit my every whim, lol!

Supplies Used: SU! unless specified otherwise

Stamps: I can't remember the name but it's by Sassafrass Lass, Fresh Alphabet, Simple Alphabet (both from Papertrey Ink)

Cardstock: Ruby Red (I think), So Saffron, Whisper White, Sweet Slumber DSP

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Staz On Black

Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, 1-3/4 SQ punch (OR Photo Corner, can't remember which - boy memory is BAD tonight, lol), some type of thread, 1/16" RD punch

Thanks to Julie Buhler for the tutorial to make the scallop rectangle.

Well, that's all for tonight - I have plenty more to share too!

Cheers

1st Ever Competition Entry

2010-06-15T22:21:00.000+10:00

I wanted to share my entry that I submitted to the Copic Australia Card Challenge. The challenge was to use the colours E02, Y06 and BV06, which translate to a skin colour, a bright yellow and a lovely mauve. This was my first ever entry into any sort of competition relating to stamping/papercrafting and it was even a bigger deal to have to use my Copics. I have had them for nearly a year and whilst they are beautiful to work with, I have been immensly intimidated by them.

I was really, really happy with how this turned out. I used the requisite colours as follows: E02 was the base colour for the orange flowers, which were given depth (I hope) with YR02 and YR04 - I think. I did have all the colours written down but I can't find them now. Y06 was used in the flower centres and BV06 was the base colour for the purple flower. I'm pretty sure that the pink flowers started with a base of RV10. (I will update with the correct additional colours once I find where I've put the listing). I drew the frame using my Black Stampin' Write Journaller and a ruler, the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, stamped in Memento Black, as are the flowers, which come from the SU! Fifth Avenue Floral set. The cardstock is also from Papertrey Ink.

I was really glad that I entered -as they say, you have to be in it to win it :)

Thanks for looking - have a great night/day

Convention 2010 - Long Post ahead

2010-05-25T22:41:00.000+10:00

Wow, another great Convention has come and gone. What a fantastic time I had in Sydney. Before Convention started, I took on the challenge of climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with my very good friend and roommate Flick (or is that Phlick, lol). Now I am not good with heights, so this was a very BIG deal for me. The ladder parts were the worst, especially coming down, when you climb down between the train tracks. Not only did I have 1 train zip past me, but 4 - OMG. My hands were absolutely filthy from the Death Grip that I had on the railings, a fact that was evident in the photos they took at the top. The view was utterly spectacular, as we climbed as darkness fell, but I'm glad I can add the climb to the 'been & seen' list!

Onto Convention. We were a little late getting started and as a result I missed out on getting one of Teneale's great swaps - check it out - it is defiantely a highlight of convention to get one of Teneale's swaps. I didn't make as many swaps as I did last year and as a result swapped mine out very quickly. Then it was on to Momento Mall, where I was lucky enough to grab one of the fantabulous Card Trees (photo to follow), along with a beautiful black cardigan with three cute rosettes made out of the wide black striped grosgrain ribbon. I'll have to get of a photo of that too. I also picked up the super cute Pink Flamingo Beach Towel.

Our Convention bags contained some brand new stamps sets that will be featured in the new catalogue and some super cute rub ons. We used those in our make & takes. I'm not sure if I can post them here yet - if I can, I will as they are really, really sweet. I still have one to finish as I am a bit of a slow stamper.

Day 2 started with classes (man, a little more sleep may have been good, lol), then another general session, in which Shelli gave another great stamping demo. I have lots of great photos of Shelli's fingers as she was doing the 'Price is Right' wave over the cute elements. Day 2 finished with the last prize patrol, which I was lucky enough to win the Cottage Garden set from the Autum/Winter Mini. Then everyone was whipped into a frenzy when Shelli said that she was sad that not everyone had received a free stamp set and wouldn't it be good if everyone got a free set. Up on the big screens came ANOTHER brand new stamp set, and this was handed out to ALL of us. This one coordinates with alot of our current punches, the wide oval, the scalloped oval, the curly label, the scalloped circle, the round tab and the modern label, which is a bit of a sneak peek for us.

As this is getting a bit long, I'll finish up with a couple of photos

The registration area, waiting for the doors to open.

This one is of me, Chris and my adopted upline, Gail. Gail and I are both signed direct to SU! and she has been lovely enough to allow me to join in with her and her great, fun downline.

This is the display board from Shannon's great presentation using the Circle Scissor Plus. I can't wait to pull mine out to try some of these ideas out!

Well, that's it for me tonight, just waiting to see who wins Survivor!

Cheers

Ch,Ch Changes

2010-04-13T23:15:00.000+10:00

Yes, I've changed my blog AGAIN. My friend Chris alerted me to the fact the Blogger now allows for static 'Pages', the whole reason I moved over to Wordpress in the first place.

Wordpress and I never really clicked, so I've returned back to my friend Blogger. Long time, no see Blogger!

I've also updated to a funky new template and added a Classes page, where you will find my upcoming classes listed. They are also listed on the My Events page on my Stampin' Up! website.

OK, that's all from me tonight, catch you all again soon.

Crazy for Cupcakes Class Details

2010-03-17T07:09:00.002+11:00

As promised, here are the details of the Crazy for Cupcakes Class:

Make your next birthday celebration an event to remember when wow your friends with one of these gorgeous cupcake themed birthday cards. Or you could give the entire set to a friend or loved one for a birthday gift they'll be sure to 'cherrysh' !

Date:   Friday March 26th, 2010
Time: 7.30 pm
Cost: $25.00 which includes all materials to make the 4 cards (with envelopes) and CupCake shaped card box.
Location: My Studio, 29 Hume Street, Upwey VIC   3158

Please email me to sign up for this class.

Supplies
• Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, On your Birthday
• Inks:   Basic Brown, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose Classic inks, Optional: Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose WWC.
• Paper: Sweet Always DP, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Medium Whisper White envelopes
• Accessories: Sticky strip, Snail adhesive, Stampin’ Dimensionals, 2-way glue pen,Crystal Effects, 1" Double - Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon, 5/8" Regal Rose ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds glitter,silver brads, paper snips, 1/16” handheld circle punch, 1 ¼” circle punch,   ticket corner punch,Key Tag punch, crimper (optional), blender pen, Stampin’ Scrub, Stampin’ Mist, paper trimmer & scoring blade, bone folder, Stamp-a-ma-jig,Uni-ball Signo gel pen,Embossig Buddy (optional) Stampin’ Sponges, pencil & ruler, Velcor circles

:

PayPal Test

2010-03-17T00:00:00.000+11:00

Upcoming Events

2010-03-16T08:44:00.000+11:00

As I have mentioned before, I have a Stampin' Up! Website . My SU site has had some new features added, such as a Blog, a Hostess Portal and of course, you will also find information Stampin' Up! promotions, links to catalogs etc.

It also contains a calendar, which I have updated to show my upcoming events. I have added 2 new classes -

Crazy for Cupdakes - to be held Friday March 26, 2010, commencing at 7.30 pm

Occassions Card Class - to be held Friday April 30, 2010, commencing at 7.30 pm

I will post further details and samples tomorrow, as they are saved on my 'other' computer *wink*

Classes will be $25 per person and will include all materials required.

All classes must be prepaid 1 week prior to class being held to reserve your place. Classes can be paid via cash, direct deposit or PayPal if you wish to pay by credit card.

EDITED: I have been trying able to add PayPal buttons here - Hooray for modern technology.

Please email me to reserve your place today, as places are limited

Look forward to seeing you soon

Missing MoJo Challenge 1

2010-02-18T08:56:00.001+11:00

A few weeks ago my demo friends at GailForceStampers threw down a challenge to help us find our missing mojo. The challenge was to use the colours from the Kaleidoscope Papers - Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Only Orang, Pink Passion and Pixie Pink - just slightly bright colours. Thank goodness we were allowed white (and only white) as our neutral. I actually made 4, here are my favourites:

This card is 20 cm x 10 cm nope, it is 8.5 " x 10 cm (finished size) (I think - I do know that it does fit into a DL envelope though). Man I like to make things difficult by using metric & imperial measurements, lol! ( Not really, I used PaperTrey's Stampers Select which is 8.5 x 11"). I used Butterfly Prints and the coordinating punch, both from the Summer Mini catalogue. I didn't have orange or yellow bling so I coloured some clear ones with my Copic markers. I'm pretty sure the sentiment is from Trendy Trees but it is stamped in Basic Grey, which was not part of the challenge.

This one is 5 x 5" (I think) and uses the actual Kaleidoscope papers. I had cut these papers for a different project (that didn't work) & thought a patchwork would. I think it did. The frame is from PaperTrey's Borders & Corners Monogram and the sentiment is from PaperTrey's Mega Mixed Messages. It was punched using the 1-3/8" SQ punch and I then rounded the corners to coordinate with the frame. This came togther so quickly that I made another 6, all with different frames & sentiments. Again I've used Basic Grey - so again I fail to meet the challenge requirements.

Well, that's all for tonight, I have been busy creating, and have even taken photos. Just have to get around to posting them here. Tomorrow night I have to clean up the 'studio' - it is a disgusting mess.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and I hope you have a great day/night wherever you may be.

Ciao

Supplies Used:

CARD 1: Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Butterfly Prints, Trendy Trees

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White - Papertrey Ink

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Summer Sun, Only Orange, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink, Basic Grey

Accessories: Butterfly Punch, Self Adhesive Gems - Kaiser Craft, Copic Sketch Markers

CARD 2: Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages, Borders & Corners - Monogram

Cardstock: Stamper's Select White, Kaleidoscope DSP - SU!

Ink: Basic Grey - SU!

Accessories: 1-3/8" Punch, Corner Rounders (1 retired, 1 current) - SU!

PaperTrey Emboss Resist Challenge

2010-02-07T07:57:00.001+11:00

This is my entry. I think I'm extremely close to the cut off time so I'm going to post and run and come back and post details in a minute.

The challenge for Day 5 of the PaperTrey 3rd Birthday Celebrations was an Emboss Resist. Since this challenge fell over a weekend, I was able to participate. I thought I was running low on time but it looks like I actually had a couple of hours to spare :) That 's what happens when I try and work out time differences in my head, lol.

My inspiration for this card came from this photo I took from our balcony of a sunset a few months ago. Ever since I took it, I thought it would great for an emboss resist technique. I love how the stamped image turned out, but I'm not sold on the rest of the card, and may even pull it to bits after this. (It kept me awake last night thinking of other things I could try to 'fix it up').

Supplies Used: All Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted.

Stamps: Life - PaperTrey Ink, Happy, Happy Birthday

Cardstock: Glossy White, Basic Black

Ink: Pacific Point, Ballet Blue, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Ruby Red, Riding Hood Red, Versamark

Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponges, Black Satin Ribbon - PaperTrey Ink

Hope you like it and thanks for looking.

Till next time...

No, you don't need glasses

2009-11-06T07:45:00.000+11:00

It is actually me posting on my blog, LOL!

So what have I been doing since my last post way back in May, I hear you ask??? Well, if you remember we were house hunting for a bigger house and renovating the unit were we used to live. Notice I used the term 'used' - that's because we found a new house - YIPPEE. We moved to beautiful Upwey in August. We have nearly finished renovating the unit - hopefully that will be ready to put on the market next weekend.

So you'd like me to tell you about our new house - well, OK. It is much, much bigger than our 2 bedroom unit that we were squashed into. But one of the best things about the house is that I now have my very own stamp room or 'studio' as I've decided to call it. Here's a couple of photos, it's not quite finished yet but I love it none the less

So you're looking at my current workspace, with room for 2. I've got room to add another 2 tables, which will give a total of 4 workstations in this area. There is also another area about 2 m x 4 m that will be my class area. The 2nd photo is of my cupboards , which are directly behind my work area, the smaller one is my 'contraband cupboard' and has all my PaperTrey, BG and other assorted items of fancy. The bigger cupboard currently has my SU stamps, DSP and other assorted accessories. Eventually I will add another cupboard beside it to house other stuff that is currently in A4 sized stackable drawers. On the floor are a couple of Ikea chest of drawers which I am painting and once finished will sit on my desk and house adhesives, bone folders, scissors etc.

I also wanted to tell you about another new development - I have a new Stampin' Up! website - www.joeades.stampinup.net This is where you will find current Stampin' Up! specials (check it out now to find out the November specials), my class calendar (once I update it - I'm aiming for classes to start around end of November). You can even join my team online! Whilst I'm not stopping my blog completely, the DBWS will have the most up to date SU! info (because SU! update it for me, lol)

Now before this becomes a 1,000 page epic, I will leave you with a photo I took a week or so ago from our balcony. Hope you like it!

Convention 2009 - Part 1

2009-05-08T08:31:00.000+10:00

2009 was my very first time at Convention and it did not disappoint. I had such a great time and really needed another few days off from work to recover, LOL! I travelled with my good friend Marlene and we met up the the girls from Gail Force Stampers. Marlene and I dubbed ourselves the Gail Force Groupies and had so much fun hanging out with Gail (aka Gale Force 1), Felicity, Karen, Coral, Chris, Gina, Anne-Marie, Steph & Julie. Before we left we had arranged to do a shoe box swap and I just wanted to say how fantastic the staff at Rydges Lakeside were in accommodating 11 noisy women in their foyer whilst we stamped. Here's a few photos:

From L to R: We have the side of Karen's head, Coral, Felicity and Marlene

From R to L is Chris, Gina (I know you can only see her t-shirt) and Steph. I don't think I'd ever had so much fun stamping but by the end of the night my eyes felt like they were about to fall out of my head. I've still got Marlene's swap to finish and I still have to take a photo of mine.

I need to take some more photos of my convention bag and my goodies from Momento Mall so I think I'll leave it there for tonight.

I will say that Convention 2010 is pencilled into the diary already. I can't wait!

National Scrapbooking Month - 2 Great Promotions from Stampin' Up!

2009-05-06T08:31:00.000+10:00

In celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, join Stampin' Up! as a demonstrator for only $150 with our limited-time (May 1 to June 1, 2009) Scrapbooking Starter Kit. The Scrapbooking Starter Kit contains the following:

Item Code	Description	Retail Value
112231	Schoolbook Serif Alphabet stamp set*	$77.95
113059	Simply Scrappin' Petal Party	$36.95
108697	Earth Elements Assorted textured card stock (12" x 12")	$21.95
105216	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad	$11.95
103179	Craft & Rubber Scissors	$37.95

*Substitutable for any stamp set up to $77.95 value.

Please note: Each of the products listed above may be substituted for like items. Please see the Scrapbooking Starter Kit Order Form for details.

The Scrapbooking Starter Kit also contains all the business supplies contained in the standard Starter Kit:

Getting Started DVD

Getting Started Guide

Guest Invitation Postcard (100)

Idea Book & Catalogue (8)

To My Hostess Envelope (10)

Project Sample Sheet

Recruit Brochures (20)

Hostess Brochure (20)

Hostess Benefits Form (10)

Customer Order Form (50)

This is an absolutely fantastic time to join Stampin' Up! - never before has it been so affordable. It is also a wonderful time for all of you who already have a great supply of stamps and accessories to join. When you become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, you also receive access to a fabulous website full of inspiration and information, full colour monthly newsletters, 20% off all your stamping supplies, (30% off on your first order placed within 45 days of joining), plus you have the opportunity to attend all the fantastic events, such as Convention (which I attended over the past weekend - more on that another time - I've got heaps of photos to share).

If you decide to take advantage of this fantastic promotion, you will have to the end of September to make the minimum sales requirement of $500 ($550 inc. gst per quarter). If, after you join, you decide that Stampin' Up! is not for you, you can walk away with out any penalty, so you really have nothing to lose.

If you are interested in this fabulous promotion or have any questions, please contact me and I will send you out a free, no obligation information pack.

The 2nd promotion offered in the month of May is - buy three packs of select Designer Series paper ($16.95 each), and get one FREE! See selections below:

Item	Page	Description
112042	132	Urban Garden Designer Series paper
112470	132	Haiku Designer Series paper
113976	132	Pink Flamingo Designer Series paper
112468	132	Sweet Always Designer Series paper
113992	133	Tea Party Designer Series paper
113975	133	Raspberry Tart Designer Series paper
113966	134	Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series paper
112469	134	Holiday Treasures Designer Series paper
112041	134	Bella Rose Designer Series paper
113974	134	Bella Bleu Designer Series paper
113978	135	Urban Oasis Designer Series paper
112461	135	Washington Apple Designer Series paper
112039	135	Windsor Knot Designer Series paper
113980	135	Candy Lane Designer Series paper

If you are interested in either of these fabulous promotions or have any questions, please feel free to contact me .

Hello Again

2009-01-25T01:15:00.000+11:00

Hi, it's been a while hey? Life just took over ......you know how it is. Anyway, the reason for my post, and yes, there is one, is to submit my card for Kristina's Colour Inspriration Challenge. It's number 39 this week and the colours were Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red, So Saffron and Green Galore.

Here's what I came up with. I should let you know that there is NO stamping at all. I finally used my SU RubOns that I've had sitting here quite a while now. Whilst I love the idea of rubons, I find them hard to work with. That being said, I'm pleased with how this turned out. I also used my few favourite embellishment - buttons.

Also, I need to make an apology for the photos from now on - my camera seems to be dying a slow death. We're looking into getting a new one, so please bear with me.

Supplies:

Cardstock: Basic Black Textured, So Saffron, Real Red, Green Galore, Whisper White

Accessories: Anchored and A Perfect Day RubOns, Button, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

Sketch Challenge

2008-08-23T21:15:00.000+10:00

Another quick post so I can link up - will be back later to add in all the details.

This is the card I made for this week's 2 Sketches 4 You sketch challenge. It is also a bit of a CASE of a sample in the 07 US Fall/Winter IB&C. I love the colours and this card is for one of Harry's little friends who is having her 2nd birthday party in less than 1hr (which is why I have to dash)

Sorry about the photo, it's a little blurry - batteries in my camera are almost flat so it was a choice of a bit blurry or crooked!

Off to link to 2S4U site

Colour Challenge #19

2008-08-23T21:07:00.000+10:00

Hi there

This is going to be quick, will be back later to add all the details in. This is for Kristina's colour challenge, Whisper White, Basic Black, Basic Grey and another of our choice. I chose Yo Yo Yellow.

Here it is:

Catch you later. Off to link to Kristina's site before the deadline!

Stuck for a Title!

2008-08-17T02:31:00.000+10:00

I've sat here for about 5 minutes now trying to think of a witty title for this post - just not happening. Anyway, this week's card for the sketch challenge at 2 Sketches 4 You. I really enjoy the challenges that Kazan and Laura set - I don't know what it is about them, but for some reason they take my work to the next level (well, in my opinion anyway, LOL).

This week's sketch was by Laura and after looking through my stuff, I decided to make it a Father's Day card for Jarrod. Since it's only 3 weeks away and the next 2 weekends I'm playing chauffer to Harry for the birthday party season, it's one thing crossed of my never ending list of things to do!

The finished card is 14 cm x 14 cm Very Vanilla. The papers are from the Basic Grey Archaic 6x6 Paper Pad. The sentiment has been stamped in Chocolate Chip Classic ink on SU twill using Rough Edges Mini Alpha. The stars were punched using SU Star punches and the brads are Antique Brass. The stars have been adhered to the card using dimensionals.

While this is a really simple card it took a while to make. The first time I stamped on the twill I had got all the way to the 'e' when I accidently stamped it SIDEWAYS - OMG, absolutely NO way to fix that, except to start again. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Rough Edges Alphabet

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Grey Archaic 6x6" Paper Pad

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Star Punch, Large Star Punch, Twill Tape, Antique Brass Brads, Dimensionals, SAMJ

Hope you're all having a great weekend - thanks for looking!

Another Week Goes By....

2008-08-11T07:19:00.000+10:00

This week I've combined the Kristina's colour challenge and the sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You for this card.

This is Kristina's colour inspiration - Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red and I've chosen Summer Sun. Pretty bright colours, aren't they?

This is what I came up with.

I started with the idea to sponge the colours on the embossed (with black EP) heart from Always (from the Spring Mini). The heart came out well, then next thing was to decide what to do with it! That's where Kazan's 2S4U sketch came into it - I thought the heart would work well as the accent. Actually, the layout is SO versatile, I'm going to be using it again!

The card came together as a few different elements, the black scalloped embossed edge was next, followed by the embossed Pumpkin Panel. Well, that actually took 2 goes, originally I thought it would look good black (I used Staz On) but it just wasn't dark enough so I tried clear embossed. The sentiment panel took a few goes too!

I have a few other workshop samples to share too, but I've got to iron my clothes for work tomorrow, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks for looking, hope you've all had a great weekend.

Supplies:

Stamps: Always, Baroque Motifs

Ink: Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, VersaMark

Cardstock: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Rose Red Designer Series Paper

Accessories: Black Detail Embossing Powder, Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Sponges, Corner Rounder (guard removed), Dimensionals

I

2 Challenges - 1 Card

2008-07-27T10:27:00.000+10:00

Hey, I'm back - last week I was just too tired to even think about making ANYTHING. This week I'm cheating a little because I've covered 2 challenges with the one card- Kristina's Colour Inspiration Challenge and 2Sketches4You sketch challenge. (Well, I've missed the cut off for Kristina's but I'm still in time for 2S4U)

Here's Kristina's inspiration piece - the colours are Rose Red, Regal Rose, Sage Shadow & Whisper White. You can see Kazan's sketch here.

This is what I came up with

As soon as I saw Kazan's sketch I knew I wanted to used Always - from the New Spring Mini which starts on August 1, 2008 and when I saw the colours in Kristina's challenge, I had the idea of stamping the bird with Versamark on white then embossing with clear EP and then colouring the details using my markers. I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I was really happy with the result. The rest is pretty self explanatory - no complicated techniques here!

Thanks for looking - hope you're all having a great weekend and keeping warm (the nights have been particulary cold here in Melbourne this week)

Catch you next week!

PS: I have received my copies of the BEAUTIFUL new Spring Mini - if you would like a FREE copy, leave a comment or send me an email with your address deets & I'll get one out to you!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Always, Occassional Greetings

Ink: Sage ShadowClassic Ink, VersaMark, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip Markers

Cardstock: Whisper White, Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, Rose Red 6x6 Pallete O' Prints

Accessories: Clear EP, White Gel Pen, Corner Rounder, Rose Red 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals

2S4U Sketch Challenge

2008-07-13T09:59:00.000+10:00

Firstly, a bit of housekeeping. My montly newsletter is running late, but I guess you've already realised that by now. I started it last week, but the words just weren't flowing. Hopefully, I should have it finished next week.

Secondly, I just wanted to thank you all for the lovely comments that you've been leaving me. It's much appreciated. Special thanks to Curt, who was the first guy to leave a comment!

Thirdly, I've got some Spring Mini Cataglogues on their way to me. If you'd like one, please send either leave me a comment or send me an email with your address details and I'll put one in the mail for you. There are SO many beautitul things.......you'll find it hard to decide what to get first!

OK, so now for today's card. I've used the sketch posted at 2 Sketches 4 You. This is a fantastic blog and I'm having so much fun working with Laura and Kazan's sketches. This week it was Kazan's sketch. I'm not sure if I can post a copy of the sketch here on my blog so here's a link so you can see if for yourself.

I've used some more things from my Spring Mini pre-order. See that BEAUTIFUL Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon. I have been hanging out for this since it was realeased in the States last year. It also comes in Chocolate Chip - yummy! As soon as I laid my hands on it I knew it was going to be used for this sketch. The Baroque background stamp I have wanted for AGES, it just gorgeous. I have stamped it in VersaMark and embossed with black embossing powder. The sentiment is from Always (you can expect to see more of this set - it's another that's been on my wish list since it was released in the US.) The flowers are from One of a Kind and are punched out using matching Boho Blossoms punch. One of a Kind, Always and Boho Blossom punch are in the Spring Mini and will be available for purchase on August 1, 2008.

Well, that's all for tonight, it's late and I'm tired. Hope you're all having a great weekend. Thanks for looking :)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Baroque, Always, One of a Kind

Ink: VersaMark, Purely Pomegranate

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Purely Pomegranate

Accessories: Black embossing powder, corner rounder, Purely Pomegranate Ribbon, Boho Blossoms Punch, dimensionals

Colour Inspiration #15

2008-07-12T18:43:00.000+10:00

Gotta be quick. I'll be back to edit this post with all the details once I have linked to Kristina's blog. I've lost track of the time but I know I'm cutting it close.

OK, I'm back. Time again for another colour inspiration piece from Kristina. Here is this week's inspiration piece. Aren't the colours just gorgeous.

I had wanted to use my Wanted DSP for this challenge, but when I got home from work, I realised that the Close to Cocoa didn't really go all that well. And since I was going to use the Wanted papers, I had also thought that I could use some Western stamps that I got from Paper Candy many moons ago that I hadn't inked up yet. So, the CTC not matching kinda threw a spanner in the works. After a bit of messing about, this is what I decided to go with, cause I just couldn't get past using the Bronc! The Star brads are from the BEAUTIFUL Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware that will be available in the Spring Mini, which starts on August 1, 2008. (Yes, my pre-order arrived on Thursday, yay - look out for some more sneak peaks!)

Thanks for looking and hope you have a great weekend. Keep warm (or cool it it's hot where you are!)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bronc & Ride 'em Cowboy sentiment - Paper Candy (don't think their available anymore)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Really Rust, Certainly Celery

Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Star brads from Styled Silver HPS (available 01/08/08), dimensionals

Sketch Challenge Time Again

2008-07-06T09:58:00.000+10:00

I had time to complete this week's sketch challenge over at 2 sketches 4 you. This is a fantastic blog and I'm finding it really inspiring.

This week's sketch was so pretty, I thought it would make a great wedding/bridal card. This is what I came up with

The card started out as being 8" x 4" (and fits into a standard DL envelope), however, I found it to be a bit too tall for what I wanted, so I trimmed a little off the top and it's now 6-5/8 x 4. I'm really enjoying making these non standard size cards. The base is Very Vanilla and the patterned paper is from Spring Silhouettes. The frame is from Frames with a Flourish and the sentiment (which reads now & forever) is from Occasional Greetings. I used my Chocolate Chip marker to dot around the scallops to tie in with the frame and some Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon. The blue pearls are from KaiserCraft (Bliss). I really love how this turned out!

Hope you're all having a great weekend, thanks for looking!

Supplies:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Spring Silhouettes DSP, Stamps: Frames with a Flourish, Occassional Greetings, Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip Marker, Accessories: Corner Rounder, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, KaiserCraft Pearls (in Bliss) and Dimensionals

Colour Inspiration #14

2008-07-04T07:32:00.000+10:00

OK this has to be quick, got dishes to do and the Amazing Race is about to start. Time for another colour inspiration challenge from Kristina. This is the inspiration piece.

I didn't think I'd get around to completing this in time to make the cut off, but I the idea came to me at work this afternoon and it turned out just like I imagined (something that RARELY happens). It's my best friends daughter's 15th birthday next week and these colours are PERFECT for her and now I've got plenty of time to actually get there - the mail takes ages to get from Melbourne to Merimbula.

Here's what I came up with:

The card is 6-5/8" x 3-1/4", the same size as the SU Long Notes in last year's mini catalogue. I've used American Craft Thickers, I think they're called GiftBox and they are self adhesive chipboard. I LOVE these and wished I had bought more of them cause they were originally white - I've just rubbed them over the Rose Red ink pad and voila! (and they're not quite dry yet, LOL)

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Happy, Happy Birthday Wheel, Ink: Basic Grey, Rose Red, Cardstock: Basic Black, Going Grey, Accessories: River Rock Stitched Ribbon, American Craft Thickers, Dimensionals.

Jo Eades

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