…and while we’re at it, happy November and a bit of October too

I don’t believe I’ve ever gone quite so long without updating my blog before, and whilst I have excuses reasons, I’m not going to bore you with the details, other than saying that along with the end of school/lead up to Christmas goings on that are standard at this time of year, we have been to three weddings in the past five weeks (with two more to come before mid February) and I have also been learning to drive my new and very exciting “World’s Smallest and Smartest Kitchen” aka the Thermomix.

So between those things, plus life in general, blog time has very much taken a back seat, and while I’ve enjoyed having entire days without even switching the computer on, I feel bad to have slacked off so much.

Ok, so I went into the details after all…

All this is not to say that I haven’t been stamping.  There were three wedding cards at the very least, but I have also been busying myself with teacher gifts and Christmas craft, as well as a workshop here and there as well.

And planning.  I like the end of a year, as it means the start of a new one is not too far away and I love a new year for fresh beginnings and new adventures.  And I’m a tad bit excited about some fresh beginnings and new adventures of my own

So anyway, I’ll be back shortly (no, really, I will) to show and tell you about a great new promotion that’s happening this month, plus the all new Summer Mini catalogue that starts TODAY!

I’m off shortly to wake up my small girl, collect my big girl from school, then get them both into their leotards for gymnastics this afternoon.

In the meantime, here’s the card that I made for two of the three recent weddings…

May I say that I am completely and totally in love with the Basic Pearls Jewels in this year’s Idea Book & Catalogue.  Like totally.

At $9.50 for a sheet containing 150 of those babies in three different sizes, plus three strips of joined ones, they’re an absolute steal!

Right, off to bust out some cartwheels and round offs with the kiddos…

Back soon!

“Simple, elegant wedding card”
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories: Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder, Basic Pearls, Early Espresso Satin Ribbon, Jewelry Tag Punch, Linen Thread

I mentioned in yesterday’s post about Hudson, that there was a bunch of fun stuff happening over at the Helping Hudson blog, and challenges are just one of those fun things!

There have been three challenges set for this week, and you can enter them by donating $2 per challenge entry, or $10 for all nine challenges that will run over the course of the three week fundraiser.

I have opted to enter all nine, and so far am on track with the first three completed just this afternoon!

Here’s the first one – a sketch…

And here’s my entry…

I thought I would get out some of the retiring sets this month, for a final fling before they disappear in September.

I’m a little bit heartbroken that this set – Embrace Life – has made an appearance on the Last Chance List.   I just love to watercolour it, and it was also the set that I used the one and only time I have ever submitted to and been published in a stamping magazine.

Ahhh, memories….

I am, also trying to get my money’s worth out of Cameo Coral before it disappears too.  I have always loved it, despite the fact that it’s on the bogey colour list of a good many others that I know!

Head on over to the Helping Hudson blog to try your hand at the awesome challenges they have going on.

Next up is my take on the colour challenge…..

“Helping Hudson Sketch Challenge #1″
Stamps: Embrace Life, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Cameo Coral, Rose Red, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP, Watercolour Paper
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Pink Pirouette, Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Rose Red Double Stitched Grosgrain, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware, Eyelet Border Punch, Small Oval Punch,  Stampin’ Dimensionals, Aquapainter

We’re up to week 23 at Just Add Ink and the girls have come up with yet another fabbo challenge to get your creative juices flowing…  Just Add DSP!

After a false start that I just couldn’t bring myself to make public, I used the opportunity to make a 12×12 scrapbook page using a photo from our recent trip to Sydney…

The great thing about Stampin’ Up! Designer Series Paper is that all the hard work is done as far as co-ordination.  No longer can I be found wandering the aisles of my local scrapbooking stores hunting down papers that will work with the one that have in my hand, that invariably doesn’t have a solid cardstock colour that matches either.

The papers in this layout are all taken from the Sweet Always pack, and I have only used seven of the 12 different designs that make up the pack, so the options for mixing and matching are pretty much endless!

Here’s a closer look at the detail…

The ribbon rose is a gorgeous idea that was detailed in our demonstrator publication, ‘Impressions’  that we demonstrators get each month.  It’s such a sweet and simple idea and a whole other way to use ribbon (and it uses ribbon, I will tell you!).

The idea of using it as a flower centre was one that I gleaned from one of the most talented scrapbookers I know, who also happens to be a Perth girl – Tanya Tahir.

I have never seen a layout of hers that I haven’t gazed open-mouthed at.  Such a talent and a lovely girl too

So there you have it – Just Add Ink Challenge #23 – a fabulous reason to hide away with some pretty papers and turn them into something prettier.

“Just Add Ink #23 – Designer Series Paper”
Stamps: None
Paper:Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip for sponging
Accessories: Top Note die, Little Leaves die, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies, Die Cut Blooms, 1-3/8″ Circle Punch, Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Chocolate Chip Marker, Stampin’ Sponge, Glue Dots

This week, Just Add Ink brings you another colour challenge, and what a cracker it is!  The lovely Bronwyn Eastley – fellow DT gal – came up with this one…

I can honestly say that left to my own devices, I would likely never have combined these colours in a single project, but that’s why they call it a challenge, right?!

Here’s my contribution…

Saved by my DSP collection

All I did was punch out 1-1/4″ circles from whatever Designer Series Papers that I could find with the relevant colours.

A bit of embellishing here and there (quite literally) and I was all done.

Hop on over to Just Add Ink to check out some fabulous creations with this combo and while you’re there, have a go for yourself

Just Add Ink Challenge #22
Stamps: Seeing Spots
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP, Cottage Wall DSP
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Rich Razzleberry
Accessories: Sunny Day Simply Scrappin’ Kit, 1-1/4″  and 1-3/8″ Circle Punches, Circle Ice Rhinestone Brads, Boho Blossom Punch, Button Bouquet, Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon

It’s a couple of weeks since we returned from our Easter holiday down south  and in something other than my usual form of scrapbooking an event a good many years after it actually occurred, I have completed a page using one of the photo’s I took on the trip.

Go me!

My almost seven year old doesn’t have a scrapbook page of her second birthday yet, but at least she has a beach layout featuring herself from a fortnight ago, right?!

Here it is, the Just Add Ink theme for the week being vintage…..

The journalling reads:

She’s a few years younger than I was when I went to Dillon Bay for the first time but Hannah was just as captivated by this beautiful stretch of beach as I remember being.  Miles of baby-powder white sand and the bluest blue water you ever did see

I grunged up the picture a bit using some Pioneer Woman actions in Photoshop and also some post-printing sponged on ink around the edges, so the baby-powder-esque sand isn’t done a great deal of justice in this photo but it really is a sight to behold.

As for the layout itself, it was rather a collaborative effort, as I used elements of things that I loved from all over to put it together.

The custom made Designer Series Paper to the left of the layout was inspired by the amazing artist that is Teneale Williams.

I started out with a 12 x 5 inch piece of Baja Breeze cardstock and stamped all over it with the Sanded background stamp – first in Soft Suede, then in Versamark.

After that, I inked up my brand new Medallion stamp – also in Versamark – and stamped it in a fairly tight fitting pattern all over as well.

The whole sheet was then covered in Clear Embossing Powder and blasted with my Heat Gun.

Once it was embossed, I loaded up my Brayer with Soft Suede ink and rolled it several times all over the sheet, giving the exposed, un-embossed cardstock a gorgeous rich brown colour and leaving the embossed parts the original Baja Breeze.

This technique is called emboss resist, because the embossed part “resists” the ink that is applied.  It’s a wonderful technique

As you would very likely be aware, the process of embossing leaves quite a shiny finish and being a vintage theme, I wanted a flatter, less shiny finish, so this is where my second collaborator comes in…

I was at the workshop of a gorgeous customer and friend on the weekend and she’s one of those super clever types who tries her hand – and succeeds amazingly – at everything arty and crafty.

*waving Mandy*

During the make and takes, as I sipped on the Nespresso coffee that was whipped up for me (have I mentioned recently how much I love my job?!) I was browsing her collection of ATCs and cards and 3D projects and checking out her funky workspace and came across a card that looked very much like emboss resist, but with no embossing.

Mandy kindly let me know that the way to get rid of the embossing after the resisting had been done was to iron it!

I was keen to use this technique immediately, hence its appearance in this very challenge entry, and I was even more pleased to have a use for my iron, since it doesn’t see the light of day very often in a more standard role….

Basically, you just lay some sheets of copy paper over the embossed area and using your iron on high, go right over the top, thereby melting off the embossed area, which is lifted away when the copy paper is removed.

How cool is that?!

The third collaborator was another gorgeous workshop guest and a good friend of Mandy’s who is also one of those super clever crafty types.

*hi Lisa*

Lisa sent me the link to a tutorial for some particularly funky (and I thought, vintage-y) paper flowers using the Scallop Circle Punch and Crimper.

You can find the tutorial –>HERE<–

To make mine, I first stamped the Medallion onto Naturals Ivory cardstock using Baja Breeze ink, then punched out three Scallop Circles.  After following the tutorial linked above, I sponged some Soft Suede ink on the edges of the flower and added a Button Latte button and Linen Thread to the centre.

I was really happy with the way it came together, as vintage style is not something I would usually try my hand at.

If you’d like to challenge yourself to create something with a vintage twist, head on over to Just Add Ink to check out some DT inspiration!

And if you’d like any further information on my layout or the products that went into creating it, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

“Just Add Vintage – History Repeating 12×12 Layout”
Stamps: Medallion, Vintage Vogue, Sanded
Paper: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla textured
Ink: Soft Suede, Versamark, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies, Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Stamping Sponges, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Stampin’ Write Marker

We’re headed off to the south coast of WA for a few days of beach walking, chocolate eating, egg hunting and general chilling out and I’m SO very looking forward to the break, but before we head off, I just wanted to pop in quickly to share this little Easter gift that I made for Hannah’s lovely teacher Mrs Bolton.

I found some Easter eggs that were Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze recently, so I grabbed a pack of each and thought I would create the gift around those colours.

I had no idea if the chocolate was any good at the time, but have taste-tested the leftovers and am happy to report that they taste just fine

You can’t really see inside the box, and I forgot to take pictures during the process, but I punched out eight 1″ circles for the eggs to sit in and popped that in the bottom of the box so that they would sit nice and straight and not roll around in there!

The lid was made out of Window Sheet rolled in the Scribble Jumbo Wheel using White StazOn ink.  It was my first foray into White StazOn and I am an instant convert!  I love the way it looks so pretty and dries so instantly on something as non-porous as plastic!

Here’s a close up of the little tag…

Right, I’m off to pack and get an early night before we head off in the morning.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe Easter and I’ll see you all in a few days!

“Happy Easter Mrs Bolton!”
Stamps: Occasionally, Scribble Jumbo SA Wheel
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Baja Breeze Patterns DSP, Window Sheet
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, White StazOn
Accessories: Small Tag Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Double Rectangle Punch, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Baja Breeze 1″ Stitched Gorgrain, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I would announce sweet Grace herself, but it would be rather overdue an announcement, considering that she was born in late August last year and is likely polishing her walking skills and most definitely up to eating solids as we speak.

Yes, I am that far behind in my blogging, who wants to know…?

Grace is the most delightful angel of a dear friend of mine that I have known since school days.  When she was born, I offered to make the birth announcements as a gift because I thought it would be a useful gift and also, quite happily,  gave me a fabulous excuse to dabble in the digital world that I love so much!

Of course a gift is not a gift unless it is packaged and embellished within an inch of its life, and this was no exception.

I made a little flat-ish box to sit the stack of announcements in, then wrapped the box in an overlapping layer of vellum, tying on a sweet little tag with lashings of Regal Rose grosgrain.

Here you can see a tiny peek of the box within, and a tiny peek of the princess herself, delicious little girl that she is

The flower on the tag is from Hello Again – a gorgeous little stamp set from the Summer Mini that has loads of possibilities, particularly as there are four other equally lovely stamps that make up the set.

I have used it to death these past few months and it looks equally good in soft, pastel colours as it is above, or in brighter colours like the following card that we made in one of the workshops I held here at home last month.

So while you’re patiently waiting in the queue for Framed with Love from the previous post, you might want to consider adding Hello Again to your list.  At $21.95, it’s a serious bargain, it has a matching Stampin’ Around wheel in Retro Remix,  and there are no guarantees that it will pop up again when the new Idea Book & Catalogue hits in September.

If I didn’t own it already, I know what I’d be doing

“Grace’s Birth Announcements”
Stamps: Hello Again, Nursery Necessities
Paper: Sage Shadow, Whisper White
Ink: Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, So Saffron
Accessories: Regal Rose 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon, Wide Oval Punch, Linen Thread

“Bright Hello Card”
Stamps: Hello Again
Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Green Galore, Pixie Pink & Summer Sun Stampin’ Write Markers, Scallop Square Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So I mentioned in a previous post that I would be back the next day with an additional card showcasing a similar look to that day’s card but in a different colour scheme.

And I had the best intentions in the world of doing so, but as it turns out, not a single spare second to fulfill my promise, between a super fun Saturday afternoon workshop (hi Sharima and girls!) and a school fete all day Sunday.

But I’m here now, just in time so that you can all rush at me to purchase Framed with Love before it is no longer available after tomorrow…

Here’s the card:

You can see that I used the same wallpaper-ish effect of stamping the scroll-y image repeatedly in the same way as the previous card, but that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.

Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Kraft would have to be one of my absolute favourite colour combinations and was perfect for this birthday card for my dear Mum-in-law and Mama to my girls, whose birthday was back in December.

Now if you would all form an orderly virtual queue, I can take your last minute orders for Framed with Love or any other set that you will be requiring from the Summer Mini, as well any Sale-a-bration sets that you might qualify for should your order be in excess of $100.

No pushing now, I will get to you all in time, and while you’re waiting, you might like to check out the next post due to pop up tomorrow showing you a sweet project with another Summer Mini set

“Mama’s Baja Birthday Card”
Stamps: Framed with Love, Occasional Greetings
Paper: Baja Breeze, Kraft, Naturals Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze DSP (retired)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Baja Breeze 1″ Double Stitched Ribbon, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Button Latte, Linen Thread, Stampin’ Sponges

We’re up to week 10 over at Just Add Ink and we have another fun challenge for you to play along with.

This time, you need to put something together using this delightful palette….

When I saw it, I had thoughts of submitting my blog header as my challenge entry, as it pretty much fits perfectly, but given that none of it is Stampin’ Up! and it doesn’t involve any ink, I thought better of it and moved on…

I love the soft, prettiness of this combination, but my own stamped creation is somewhat busy and loud as it turns out…

I think it’s the combination of the stamped upper panel and quite detailed DSP at the bottom that sort of shouts at you…

What do you think?

For the top part, I repeatedly stamped the decorative scrolly-type stamp from  Framed with Love out of the soon to be defunct Summer Mini catalogue, turning the stamp each time so as to fill the space with a fairly regular and tight fitting pattern.

You probably determined for yourself that the Stamp-a-ma-jig is pretty much a must-have for this  part…

See that Close to Cocoa 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbon across the centre…?   Well it’s not actually Close to Cocoa at all, or at least it wasn’t when it started out.  It’s Whisper White that has simply been coloured in with the brush end of my Close to Cocoa Stampin’ Write Marker.

How cool is that?!

Aren’t you just so glad that you popped in today and had your ribbon colour possibilities extended in direct proportion to the number of Stampin’ Write Markers that you own?

If you own every colour, then a roll of Whisper White 1/4″ Grosgrain and some Very Vanilla in the 5/8″ will enable you to custom make your own ribbon colours in varying widths as well!

You’re welcome

The main stamped image is another from Framed with Love, as is the long skinny stamp that stretches across the card underneath.  I wanted to get the most out of the one stamp set, and aside from the greeting out of Vintage Labels, managed to stick to just the one stamp set.

Check out the neat and perfect cutting out in this shot (whilst trying to avoid the less than stellar stamping if you would….)

The perfect border here is due less to my scissor wielding talents, and more to the fact that I now own a very exciting piece of die-cutting machinery plus a die that matches this stamp perfectly!

It’s coming up in less than a week’s time with the amazingly extensive Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue, and without going into too much detail, I can tell you that it starts with “B” and ends in “ig Shot”, so deduce from that what you will

I have another card to show you tomorrow that uses the same decorative scrolly-type stamp in a similar way, but in an entirely different colour combination, so pop in over the weekend to check that out.

In the meantime, head on over to Just Add Ink to check out the amazing array of projects inspired by this combination of colours, and play along for yourself if you like!

Oh, and don’t forget that both the Summer Mini Catalogue and Sale-a-bration are all done and finished come April 1, so if you *need* anything out of either of those catalogues, you’d best be contacting me quick smart!

Just Add Ink Challenge #10 – Colour Challenge
Stamps: Framed with Love, Vintage Labels
Paper: Cameo Coral, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Kraft
Ink: Cameo Coral, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Whisper White 1/4″ Grosgrain (coloured with Close to Cocoa Marker), Stampin’ Sponges, Stampin’ dimensionals

So I’m back with my project for Just Add Ink Challenge #9, which is another sketch challenge!

Personally, I’d be delirious if every challenge included a sketch, as I just love having a map of where things go for a starting point and many times will return to a sketch over and over to save myself time and angst when I need a card in a hurry.

So here’s what we got for this week…

And here’s what I turned it into…

The obvious thing to do where the sketch indicated a scalloped edge was to use a punch, but I wanted to do something a little bit different to show how a sketch can be interpreted in something other than the most obvious fashion.

I used a border style stamp from one of my brand new stamp sets out of the up and coming Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue to convey my idea of a scalloped edge and am quite happy that it turned out pretty much how I envisaged it

The other thing I wanted to do, not necessarily specifically with this sketch, but sometime soon, was bust out my Chunky Sprinkles which I got when they were part of the Inventory Clearance Sale a couple of months back, but haven’t shown the light of day to since!

To create the very glittery (and as it turns out, quite heavy!) effect that you can see here, I first stamped a piece of Whisper White with my new stamp set from the up and coming Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue, then covered the entire stamped piece with Versamark.

I then covered the whole thing with Heat & Stick Powder, blasted it with the Heat Tool, then liberally spread the Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkles over the top.

Before I returned the excess sprinkles to their container, I pressed down on them with my fingers to ensure maximum stick-ability and to try and avoid them all coming off again as soon as the card was vertical.

It seems to have worked a treat, and also ensured that everything I touched for the remainder of the day was dusted with a chunky sprinkle or seven

If you’d like to play along with the challenge for this week, or see what the rest of the Design Team have come up with, head on over to Just Add Ink then get busy!

Just Add Ink #9 – Sketch Challenge
Stamps: A new stamp set from the up and coming Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue (!)
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Chunky Sprinkles, Chit Chat Rubons, Button Bouquet, Stampin’ Sponges