Scallop Tag Topper punch box

At Stamp Club tonight we made these cute boxes using the scallop tag topper punch. I got the idea from Carole Parsons' blog, thanks for the inspiration.

I used the Beautifully Baroque stamp set on Daffodil Delight card, with the butterfly from Papillion Potpourri and also the Beautiful Wings embosslits, and some retired ribbon.The cute Easter chicks were from my fave shop for chocolate, Aldi!

Hope you like it!

Christmas ornament decoration class

Today I had a great time with some lovely ladies making the Christmas ornament from the cover of the mini catalogue. I really had no idea how long the class would take so we arranged to make a day of it and had morning tea and lunch as well. Then the unexpected happened and my order for all the products didn't arrive in time, I was devastated as I had planned this for ages and everyone had been able to come on the same day; the thought of re-arranging it didn't thrill me. Fortunately I have a lovely upline, and she lent me her 'Ornament Keepsakes Bundle', along with some tulle ribbon. A couple of the guests also had the set from a previous order, and so thankfully we were able to muddle through the day - I couldn't have done it without you girls!
As it turned out it really only took a couple of hours, but it was kind of essential that we had a few Big Shot machines, and more than one 'Holiday Ornaments' Framelits set.
Thanks for an excellent day everyone, and I know you'll enjoy making some more of these delightful decorations when our order finally arrives! (Just to clarify, it is the delivery contractor who has delayed us getting the order, not Stampin' Up!)

Merry Christmas banner

I love my new Pennants Bigz die, and this is my latest creation with it. I've made a couple of these before with the Paper Angels, but this was the first one I made from my own ideas. I've still got to make the 'Christmas' part, hopefully before the big day itself, but we all know how time ticks away from us and we end of getting nothing done so... Must think positive!!

a few new things

 

Here are a few new things I've made recently; the Thanks a million card was a project for my craft group, where we made the card and the chocolate pull treat as a matching gift. I love the French Foliage stamp set, at $31.95 for the clear mount version it is really good value, and so beautiful in autumnal colours. I used Cajun Craze, Perfect Plum and Natural ivory card stock, and also used the Woodgrain background stamp to set the leaves off nicely.

The next card was for my friend Teresa's birthday, and I did a 'rock and roll' technique on the flower from the Summer Solstice stamp set. The Little Leaves die for the Big Shot added some delicate foliage, while the ribbon and button step up the card a little. Although a simple design, it is still effective and shows how pretty a monotone card can be.

Finally a card that I cased from my Paper Angels meeting recently, I love the way the 11/4" striped grosgrain ribbon can be frayed and tied around itself to create a faux feather look. The image comes from the Clearly for You stamp set, and the French Filigree background stamp was versamarked and clear embossed. The Framelits Labels collection is a must have item for the Big Shot at the moment, with 6 different sizes of labels you can create a layered effect or make frames for your photos etc., and at only $49.95 it is a real steal. Available from the Autumn/Winter mini catalogue until the end of July.

Contact me to purchase any of the Stampin' Up! supplied used, we ship all over Australia!

Cherished girls

My two gorgeous girls were photographed together here in 2007, gee they were so cute then! Not that they're not cute now, but they've developed a love/hate relationship that can be quite taxing! I used a technique shown to me by Liz Collett where you fold DSP and cut it on the Big Shot. You may remember making paper-chain dolls the same way as a child! I have wanted to use this sheet from the Beau Chateau DSP for ages, and the folded paper technique really was a great way to frame this photo too. As you can see it is a pretty simple page in terms of design, but the embellishments and separated-paper flowers add the right touch without detracting from the photo itself. I have also fussy-cut some more flowers from another sheet of DSP to add more dimension to the page.
See also repeating-flowers for more ideas using this technique.

If you have a Big Shot, then this is a must have set of products at a reduced cost with assorted ribbon, card and ink, PLUS you get to spend $50 on anything you like from any current catalogue! This offer only available from me at Lets Create By Stamping

repeating flowers

Thanks to Liz Collett for the inspiration behind these cards that I showed the ladies how to make in Monday night class this week. They are made using the Fun Flowers and other flower dies on the Big Shot, but are linked because of the way the DSP was folded to start with. Its a bit like making those linking people when we were kids, remember how we cut out the body but made sure that the arms were on a fold line? I loved this technique because its a great way to make a border or a focal point on a scrap book page too. If you'd like me to show you how its done, book a FREE workshop and I'll show you how :-)

Beyond the Garden product suite

Monday night craft class we made a box and card set, using the Beyond The Garden suite of products from the Summer mini catalogue. The colours are really vibrant in the DSP, with Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango; it really makes me think of summer. These products are only available until the end of March, so please contact me to place your order.  The box, envelopes and decoration are all cut from the Big Shot using Stampin' Up! dies, it is a really easy tool to use, and with the new way of rewarding hostesses with a half price item when sales reach +$600, you could be the proud owner of a Big Shot for only $75!

birthday girl

Miss O was six last week, and she had a great time at the movies seeing The Muppets with some friends from school. I made this card quite quickly as things were getting hectic, but even so I think it was a success. I used the 'Big Top Birthday' DSP combined with the 'Fun Flowers' and 'Two Tags' dies and 'Flower Garden' embossing folder. The brad and ribbon is from the free Sale-a-Bration 'Everyday Enchantment' pack.

My good friend helped me in the rush make these party bags too, they were made from a C5 envelope (I think that's what they're called!). We stamped an initial for each child with the 'Broadsheet Alphabet' set, and used some left over ribbon to tie them to the bags. Each bag was stamped with an image from the 'Sunny Fun' set.
You can see all the items used in the Idea Book and Catalogue (see link on the right), and also the Summer mini catalogue.

A card for my loving husband

I made this beautiful card for my DH for Valentine's Day, wasn't he lucky?! Actually he benefitted from a couple of classes I ran so I had some spare ones, lol!
I tinted the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder with white craft ink before running it through the Big Shot, it gives a really nice subtle effect. I then stamped 'Love' from the Tiny Tags stamp set around the 2.5" circle. This was easy to do when you start at the top ('north') and then go 'south', 'east' and 'west'. You can then stamp in between those points to get an even spread.
I punched out the heart from our new glimmer paper ($8.95 for two 12" sheets) and stamped 'Amour' from the Artisitic Etchings stamp set with the white craft ink again. Finish the card off with some white organza ribbon ($11.95 for 13.7 m).
In return I got a bottle of Kahlua and some roses, so I think I did very well too!

Favourite teacher scrapbook canvas

We have a fantastic music teacher at our school, Tegan always thrives in her lessons, and she has really developed her confidence these last few years. This year Tegan got to perform with the choir and sing solo in front of a large crowd at our performing arts awards night, and also at the opening of the new Performing Arts Centre, and she wouldn't have had that chance without Mrs Van's help. As a thank you I decided to make a scrap canvas, and yes, it's black and red!!

I used a retired piece of DSP for the background and then added some red glimmer paper with stars punched out. I liked the negative of the punched image so used a Top Note die cut frame to highlight a photo too. Spinner Wheel from 'Take  Spin' stamp set worked really well as it describes everything that we love about her teacher! A mini vintage tag finishes the project off.

This is a really simple project to create using any size canvas from an arts supply shop, this one was about 8 inches big. If you would like to create something like this you can buy the other items mentioned from the Stampin' Up!® Idea Book and Catalogue, contact me to find out how you can get extra FREE items with your order during Sale-a-Bration...

embossed butterflies

I've been meaning to scrap this photo for the last four years!! It was at Liv's first birthday. That's what I love about scrapbooking, you don't have to be obsessive about it, just wait until the right papers and images come along that match your photo. I love this DSP from Stampin' Up!, its called "Blueberry Crisp" and blends well with Marina Mist card stock. The butterflies are cut from the exclusive Big Shot die "Beautiful Butterflies", and the stamped butterfly image is from the new Sale-a-bration set "Bliss". I stamped the flower image from "RazzleDazzle" in Whisper White, and embossed it with a mixture of white embossing powder and turquoise glitter, which is a bit hard to see but looks really pretty. You can get a FREE sale-a-bration set by spending $100, and if you have a qualifying workshop too you can get extra free sets. Check out the link to my web page to find out more.