Happy New Year

We are having a great time at Anna Bay. The beach has been fantastic and the water is warm enough for me to swim in for the first time in a few years.
All the boys have been fishing every day and have managed to catch enough to feed us each night for dinner so the boat was a good investment.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Years Eve and New Years Day! We are having a street party in the Caravan Park so don't have to battle crowds or worry about who is driving.
I am looking forward to having a play day soon and posting some new creations for you all to see. I hope that everyone from classes has been doing some creating.
Happy New Year!!!!

A Very Merry Christmas

Wow what a busy past few weeks. I had hoped to make a couple of posts before now but just ran out of hours in the day but I am sure you will all understand at this time of year.
I hope that everyone has a fantastic Christmas and New Year. I look forward to catching up with everyone at classes or workshops next year and I promise to do some postings after New Year.
Stay safe and don't party too much. See you all in 2009 (scary saying that out loud)!

Wow What A Challenge

When I was doing a class one day we were talking about difficult stamps that you buy on a impulse, win or are given and then you don't know what to do with them. Sherry had such a stamp and I bravely said to bring it along to next class and I would see what I could do with it. Boy! will I know to check out the stamp first next time I offer to do that. She did actually give me two stamps but I am not ready to tackle the second one yet.

This is a Stamp Yourself Silly stamp and this is what I came up with. Sorry photo doesn't show colour very well. I will try and get a better picture but hubby is away with our good camera for the weekend.

I used Stampin' Up! card stock and inks. The colours are Rose Red and Old Olive. I used blender pens to do the colouring with Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink and Blush Blossom. The sentiment is from Occassional Greetings and Sherry, this is "For You".

November Christmas Cards

Over the past two weeks we have been adding to our Christmas Card collection. These cards were done two weeks ago and were quick and easy but effective.
The first card used Lovely As A Tree and Short & Sweet stamp sets. The card stock was Whisper White, Real Red and Old Olive. Inks used were Old Olive and Real Red. The tree was dabbed with Crystal Effects and covered with Dazzlin' Diamonds for that all important BLING effect.

The second card used Fun & Fast Notes and Short & Sweet. The card stock was Old Olive, Real Red and Very Vanilla. Dashing Designer Paper and Real Red ribbon were used to embellish and the tree was coloured with Blender Pens and Real Red and Old Olive ink.

More November Cards

Last weeks cards included a Christmas card and an all occassions card.

The Christmas card used the Lovely As A Tree, Itty Bitty Backgrounds and Sweet Serendipity. The cardstock used was Bashful Blue and Whisper White. Inks were Bashful Blue, Silver and Versamark. The tree was dabbed with Crystal Effects and Dazzlin' Diamonds added for Bling. The words were punched out with the

1 3/4" punch and mounted on the Scallop Circle.

The second card uses Bloomin' with Beauty and En Francais. The cardstock is Purely Pommegranate, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. The inks used were Versamark, Purely Pommegranate, Old Olive and Whisper White. The colours were applied with the Blender Pens and the edges of the card were inked with the Sponge Daubers. The scallop edges were created with the Corner Rounder punch and the ribbon is Purely Pommegranate.

Another Make & Take

Party goes got to choose which layout they wanted to make. The Enjoy Every Moment set is so versatile. These cards used the It's Beautiful roller.
The colours are Pixie Pink and Always Arthichoke and Whisper White. The large and small oval punches were used and the ribbon is Always Arthichoke.
I think everyone who used this set fell in love with it. What a pity it is disappearing!

Out with The Old - Make and Takes

Friday nights Out With the Old - In With the New Party was a great night. Everyone had a wonderful time catching up with each other and making some cards with product from the Spring Catalogue before it ended.

This card used the Enjoy Every Moment set and the Daisy Dash Wheel. The cardstock is Garden Green and Whisper White. Inks are Whisper White, Garden Green and Real Red.

This is an example of using a non christmas stamp and making it christmasy (if that is a word).

Even non crafters found this fun and easy to make and couldn't wait to get home and show their families how clever they were.

Having A Green Moment

I am not normally a green person but for the past week or so I keep gravitating to Old Olive and I am really enjoying it.

My daughter had a birthday party to go to today for twins and she bought them some jewellry, (cos all girls love jewellry, right). She wanted something to put them in so off I went to the cupboard to find what I had stashed away. The tin was an old Gravox tin that I covered with some Designer Series Paper. The cardstock is Old Olive and the stamps sets I have used are Short & Sweet, Live Your Dream, Embrace Life and Think Happy Thoughts. I also used the It's Beautiful roller. Inks used were Old Olive and Whisper White and cardstock is Old Olive and Very Vanilla.

My daughter was thrilled and I hope the girls receiving the gifts will be also.

Back to the 70's

I haven't had much time lately to update my blog but I think everyone is busy at this time of year. It seems the closer we get to Christmas the crazier everything gets.

We had my husbands work christmas party last weekend and it was a 70's and 80's disco night and yes is was fancy dress. We had great fun looking for costumes and this is what we came up with. It is always scary when you go to these nights wondering are you going to be one of the few dressed up but almost everyone was and some were unrecognisable. We had a great night and hearing all those great disco songs again was fantastic.

Out With The Old - In With The New

I am holding a Mini Catalogue change over night on Friday 28th November. This will be your last chance to order from the Spring Mini and a great opportunity to preview the new Summer Mini which will be released for ordering on 1st December.
There will be some Make and Takes, samples of classes for 2009, Christmas craft ideas, Prizes, nibbles and drinks. Come along for a relaxing night and some fun!
Call me or email for invitation details.

20% off Rub-Ons Promotion

If you love Rub Ons this is a great special for you! Take a look HERE for more details.
All you have to do is spend $20 on regular catalogue products and you receive a 20% discount on selected Rub Ons. Once you spend your $20, you may purchase as many packs as you like!Only $15.96 per pack (regularly $19.95). There are 2 sheets in every pack, one black and one white.
Page Description
141 Urban West Rub-Ons
141 Cherished Memories Rub-Ons
141 Anchored Rub-Ons
6* Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons
11* A Perfect Day Rub-Ons
*From Spring 2008 Mini Catalogue

If you have never used Rub Ons and are not sure what to do with them, email me and I will happily explain how to use them.

Single Markers Promotion

From November 10th to November 30th you get the fantastic opportunity to purchase your favourite colours in the Stampin' Write markers for only $4.95 each. This has never been offered before in Australia. If you want some more information, take a look HERE.

The markers are great for so many uses. Colour directly onto your stamps, shading onto stamped images, colouring ribbon or create a water colour effect.

Make sure you take advantage of this great offer and stock up on your favourite colours!

A Sparkling Tree

It is getting closer to Christmas and I am trying to come up with a "mass produce" card as I don't know that I am going to have much time to make all my own cards. I spent some time playing around today and this is one that I came up with.

I have used my Fiskars cutter to cut out the oval shape. The stamp sets are Lovely as a Tree and Short and Sweet. The cardstock is Real Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. The ink colours are Old Olive and Real Red. To get the sparkle effect, I used Crystal Effects and Dazzlin Diamonds. I finally got around to using some of the Hodgepodge hardware again and the large Oval Punch.

This was a quick card to make and the sparkle makes all the difference. Who knows this may be the card that I use.

Wedding Invitations

I did a class last night and one of the ladies is getting married soon so I did a Wedding Invitation with an RSVP card attached and Thank You card to match. It is done with a "Beach Theme" in mind. I used Almost Navy, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and Whisper White card stock. The stamps sets used were Together Forever and Seaside. I also used the flourish from Baroque Motifs on the outside tag and on the inside. The inks used were Blue Bayou, Soft Sky and Versamark.

The Invitation folds out and I used the Perforating Tool from the Cutter Kit to create a tear off RSVP. I used the Scallop Punch and the 1 3/8" Punch on the centre piece of the Thank You card and mounted this with Dimensionals.

I did create another set with same layout but different colours so I will post these later.

5 Petal Flower Punch

I have seen a few of these around on the internet so today I thought I would have a go at doing one. I punched 7 of the 5 petal flowers from Pale Plum card stock and inked them using a dauber with Perfect Plum. I then cut all the petals into single petals and stuck them around a centre flower filling in the gaps each time. The leaves are the same punch and I cut it into 2 and 3 petals. I used Mellow Moss card stock for these and also inked around the edges using Mellow Moss. The flower centre is two of the flowers from the Boho Blossoms Punch in the mini catalogue. I did these in Pale Plum and inked with Perfect Plum also. The edges are curled slightly and both layers are mounted with Dimensionals.
The background is Pale Plum stamped with the Linen background stamp in Versamark and then lightly rubbed with Perfect Plum from the Stampin' Pastels. The Mellow Moss has been edged with Mellow Moss ink and the words are from the One of A Kind set. The flower centre is a half pearl from the Pretties Kit.
This card took a little time but it gives you a different use for the punch and you don't have to do so many layers.

OOPS Wrong Day

I really need a holiday or drink or something. The workshop is on Saturday not Friday. I think I will go to bed very early tonight.

Workshop Tomorrow

I have been very slack and not put this information up on my Blog. I have been advertising a Christmas Workshop Day to all my class customers. It is on tomorrow from 1 - 5pm. The cost is $40 and you get to make a great Christmas Gift Box that is a little like a jewellry box, a mini scrap album and a gift wallet with gift cards. The Gift Box will make a great present and you will certainly WOW whoever you give it to. The Scrap Album can be used for photo's or just write some lovely sentiments for someone special.
If anyone is interested, please email me or call on 0411 222 501 for more details. Sorry for the late notice and I really must get more organised.

Final Stage of Renovation Complete

Phew!! The final stage of our renovation was completed today. Hooray!!!! I have been waiting for the hand railing to go in to put this last photo up. The wonderful, very overworked man arrived today and finished it off. The best thing about this is that I now have a great place to hang some extra christmas lights. Can't wait for 1st December so the lights can go up. Now we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of our (or should I say, their labour).

Happy Birthday

My youngest son had his 10th birthday recently and this is the card I made for him. He picked the set and it worked out great as the cake has 5 candles so I stamped it twice to get 1o which he thought was clever. It doesn't take much to impress a 10 year old sometimes.

I used the bold brights which I don't often go to but they are great colours for childrens cards. This one is Brilliant Blue and Green Galore. I stamped the background with Versamark. The images arew stamped in Brilliant Blue and Green Galore also and the cakes are highlighted with Crystal Effects. I actually double stamped the cakes and cut out the second and mounted them with Dimensionals to make it look like the cake is sitting on the plate. The Happy Birthday is punched out with the Large Oval Punch and also popped up with Dimensionals.

He had a great birthday and we actually managed to pull of a suprise party for him which was fantastic but hard to do. His face was worth all the secrecy though.

Pocket Card

This is one that we did at a class last term. It can be used as a mini album to stick photos in or as a card with plenty of room for lovely sentiments.

The card stock is Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Old Olive. The inks were Chocolate Chip, Versamark and Old Olive. I used the So Swirly roller in Chocolate Chip and the small flower from Baroque Motifs in Old Olive. I have also rubbed Old Olive and Chocolate Chip Stampin Pastels over the images to give it a softer look. Each panel inside holds a card made from Old Olive and the tag is punched with the Round Tab punch. I used the small flower stamp again in Versamark to highlight the tabs and along the Old Olive strips. The edges have been rounded using the Corner Rounder punch.

The wallet is held closed with a strip of Very Vanilla cardstock rolled with the So Swirly roller and chalked. I have tied some Old Olive Organdy ribbon which sadly is no longer available to give it some extra effect.

More Black & White

This card was threatened to be thrown in the bin so many times while I was making it I am truly surprised I am posting it. I had one of those messy days that every panel had a smudge on it and had to be redone at least once. Determination set in and it had to be made but I never wanted to do it again.

The stamp set is Boho Backgrounds which has 4 beautiful stamps. It is a little different in that the centre folds over to hold the card closed and forms part of the card front. I hope the pictures make this clear as I don't know how to explain this one. The cardstock is Basic Black and Whisper White and I have used Basic Black ink. The ribbon is Basic Black and can you guess what set the small flower is on the front?

A Warm Card On A Cold Day

Today is so cold it feels like the middle of winter again. Whilst looking through my cards I saw this one I made some time ago and it felt warming so I thought I would post it.

The base card is Purely Pomegrantate which I will be devistated when it goes. I have used both the En Francais and Linen backgound stamps on this in Versamark and then sponged with Chocolate Chip using the Daubers to give it an aged look. I have then torn the edges of both Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip and mounted these. I added some Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon and a buckle from the Hodgepodge kit as a highlight. The lovely words are from the Occassional Greetings set stamped in Purely Pomegranate and sponged in Chocolate Chip.

All About Christmas

I have mentioned before that I love the rollers for great quick cards and this is one that I did at a workshop awhile ago. It uses the All About Christmas roller which I just love. I rolled it in Always Artichoke ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. Using the small Star punch I punched out the small star. This was mounted onto Real Red cardstock strip that I had put a "stitch" line across. I then punched another small star from the Always Artichoke and mounted them with Dimensionals. The Very Merry has Crystal Effects on it to make it pop out. Quick and easy but effective. What do you think?

Black & White Birthday

I set myself a challenge today to make a birthday card using only black & white. I thought this was going to be much easier than it was. I also had a short time to do it in as usual. I really must build up a stock pile of cards to have on hand so I am not always rushing as running out the door.

This card is done using the So Swirly roller in black ink on Whisper White card. The words are from the Think Happy Thoughts set. I have used the 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches and a flower and bling brad from the Pretties Kit. The basis of the card is Basic Black card stock and I had to use a scrap piece of ribbon I had lying around.

I would have loved to have added some other colour but that was not in my challenge. What do you think?

Finally Some Traditional Christmas Colours

Now that I have the blues out of my system, here is a card in the traditional colours I like.

The set once again is Crazy for Christmas. I stamped each of the images and coloured them in using Real Red and Glorious Green ink pads with the Blender Pens. I then punched out a section of each with the 1 1/4" circle punch. I used the 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out the "windows" in the Real Red card. This is mounted on Old Olive card. To create a little extra effect I have punched a half circle from the corners and used silver brads in each corner. The words are stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White and mounted on Old Olive. Once again I punched off the corners. Add some silver cord or ribbon and the card is finished. This one was a little more fiddly but worth it, I think.

'Tis the Season

This is another Christmas card created over the past few months. Funnily enough I am a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas and always go for red, green and white but the past two cards have been in blues. Don't worry my fellow traditionalists there are some other samples coming up soon.

This card was created from two sets from the Sring Mini Catalogue. (If you don't have one yet, send me an email and I will get one to you). The words are from Sweet Serendipity which has some beautiful sayings which cover many occassions. The snowflake is from Seasons of Joy which is another fabulous set.

The colours are Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver and Whisper White. The images are stamped with Versamark and embossed with silver embossing powder.

I know that snowflakes are not really our thing in Australia but this is a great card for anyone with relatives overseas that have a white Christmas.

Christmas Card Sample

Since July one class a month has been dedicated to making Christmas cards. Hopefully this will make everyones Christmas a little less stressful and has given people ideas to go off and mass produce. Unfortunately I haven't started my cards yet so the plan is to get some made these holidays.

This is a card that we made a few months ago and one of my customers requested that I put it up on my blog, so here goes.

The set is Crazy For Christmas and the colours are Night of Navy, Whisper White and Brushed Silver. The images are stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White card stock. I used Bashful Blue and Night of Navy ink pads to colour the trees with Blender Pens.

I double stamped the image and punched out a section using the 1 1/4" circle punch and then backed that with the 1 3/4" circle punch in Night of Navy. This was mounted using Dimensionals to give it a bit of lift. Stamp the words and add a bit of ribbon and you have a relatively easy card.

Sorry about the few smudges on this one but it has been around for a while. I really should make a new one but that will have to go on the bottom of the to do list.

Bloomin' With Beauty

One of the great sets from the Mini Catalogue is Bloomin' With Beauty. I was in a colouring mood so this is a great set for using the Aqua pens or Blender pens. The colours used are Certainly Celery and Lovely Lilac. I used the Water colour paper to stamp the images on.
For dimension I double stamped the flowers cut them out and raised with Dimensionals. This gives the effect of the flowers actually being in the vase. I used Crystal Effects on the vase to make it look like ceramic and added some silver brads to the word plate.
There is another beautiful flower in this set which I will do something with and add shortly.
With all the lovely spring flowers about, have a look at this set and let your imagination run wild.

Birthday card for my niece

It is my neices 4th birthday tomorrow and we are going camping tonight so once again I have to come up with a quick card. I couldn't go past one of my fav's in Garden Whimsy as she loves butterflies and pink. I have used Pixie Pink and Whisper White and the words are from Short and Sweet.

To add a bit of bling I have used Crystal Effects on the wings with Dazzlin' Diamonds as a girl always needs a little sparkle. To give some dimension to the card I stamped an extra butterfly and cut it out and mounted with Dimensionals.

Wonderful Holiday

Well we are back from Fiji and it was absolutely wonderful. The people are so warm and friendly, their smiles would light up a christmas tree. We went away with Darrens work and they had organised some activities. The first day we did a car rally which was so much fun. Our team was a little disorganised and didn't leave until about 20 minutes after everyone else. With some very shaky navigating going on we messed up the first clue and ended up driving around in circles for another 20 minutes.
Once on track we were off and there was no stopping us. We saw some fantastic local sights that normal toursists wouldn't see and ended up coming in 3rd. Prizes were handed out and we managed to win the "Most Research" in our answers prize. Thank goodness for mobile phones and internet!
The second day we all sailed to an island that was only for us and spent the day snorkelling, swimming and of course more eating and there was a Sydney-Melbourne beach volleyball tournament that was a little more competitive than some would have admitted. With much cheering from the crowd and the locals the score was one all.
It was a great trip but I missed the children so was glad to be coming home.
Now its time to focus on work and get some new and exciting projects together. I had better get cracking!

Fiji Magic

I am so excited this morning. I am going to Fiji for 4 days today and can't wait. I will take some photo's and post next week and I promise to get some more cards done and update this blog!!!
Darren won this trip through work and we are going on our own which up until this morning when I looked at my kids in bed I thought was wonderful.
Just because I haven't been making anything lately, I hope you are all being super creative and remember I like to see homework every now and again.....

Technology Is Great

There are times when technology is a wonderful thing. My husband had a great little gadget that has allowed me to get my email and update my blog whilst at the snow. We are having a great time and I am getting a little better at skiing. I wouldn't say that I am in love with it yet but at least I can get up and down the mountain without falling over. I have found some new muscles though that I wish I hadn't.

Anyway here are some cards that we made in class in July. The set was the wonderful Garden Whimsy. This is one of my fav's from the catalogue and was very popular amongst the classes.

The butterfly card is made with Certainly Celery and Elegant Eggplant. The flower card was done with Purely Pomegranate and Wild Wasabi. The gorgeous ribbon is from the new mini catalogue and is satin Purely Pomegranate.

Phew! What A Day

Wow today has been busy. I had a class on this morning, my daughters BIG "13th" birthday this afternoon and have been packing to go to the snow for 5 days. Boy am I looking forward to getting down there and putting my feet up for a while.
I have heard that the snow is fantastic although I am a hot holiday kind of gal but I am sure that my kids are going to have a ball. They love skiing!
Hopefully when I get back I will finally get around to posting some new cards and updated renovations photo's.
Back on deck on Friday so please email me and I will answer as soon as possible.

Stitches and Papercraft Show

Hi to everyone I met at the show last week. I totally enjoyed the two days that I was out there. I have always attended the show but never been on a stand before and it was a wonderful experience.
I got to meet so many talented people and to share my passion with you. I say this often but will say it again, "I love my job". Hopefully everyone that attended the stand and got to watch the demo's or took part in the Make and Take has gone home inspired and has been busy creating!
Please contact me if you would like any information on classes or workshops or to discuss any products. If you didn't get a catalogue at the show, I can arrange to get one to you. There are so many great products and creative ideas it is a great buy.
I will hopefully have some new cards to post soon. My renovation is nearly over and that will give me so much time back. For everyone who is waiting for the final product, hopefully next week. I want to wait until everything is done for the next photo.

A Beautiful Surprise

One day last week a very dear friend called in and gave me this beautiful bunch of flowers. It wasn't my birthday and I wasn't sick they were just a lovely surprise. They all started out as buds and over the past 5 days I have had the pleasure of watching them bloom into this wonderful display of natures beauty. Each day they have looked different and each day I get a great feeling when I look at them so I thought I would share that with you. Hope you see the beauty that I do. Thanks for my lovely surprise!

Where has the time gone

I haven't had much time lately to update my blog. With renovations and work I have neglected my postings. I made this card a while ago but I still love it. The colours are Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White and Certainly Celery. The stamp set is Bold Butterfly from page 81 of the catalogue. I have mounted the large butterfly using Dimensionals to give the card some lift. I have also used the Dimensionals in glitter and put them in the centres of some of the flowers. This doesn't show up very well in the photo but it really lifts the card. The ribbon is Certainly Celery Grosgrain.

I promise to update again soon and will also post the latest stages of the renovations. I have a great photo of cat footprints in wet cement which was a laugh.

Kristina Werner Colour Challenge # 16

I was excited when I saw Kristina's Colour Challenge this week. The colours were fabulous and the Bundle of Joy Stamp Set came straight to mind. This weeks challenge was to use Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Very Vanilla.

I had so much fun making this card. It may be difficult to see but the moon is mounted and the stars have a little glitter for a bit of sparkle.

This is such a sweet set and I have now been inspired to make a few more cards.

I Love That Picture Frame Mum

A few months ago my daughter was looking through a furniture shop catalogue in the Sunday papers and saw a picture frame that she absolutely loved. We have recently redecorated her room to make it look a little more teenagerish and I have to admit that it would have suited her room perfectly. That was until I looked at the price!!! The look of disappointment on her face was obvious but she took it very well that it wasn't possible.

A few weeks ago we were in The Reject Shop and saw this picture frame only it had pictures of Beer and Spirit brands in it. Great for the husbands bar but not so for a teenage girls room. "Just imagine it with some black and white cardstock and stamped images", I said. She pretended to be excited but I don't think she thought it would look like the store one.

Finally tonight I got around to putting it together. I was thrilled with the look but the real test was showing my daughter. With great trepidation I took it and asked what she thought. To my great relief, she loved it. Now we just have to wait for Dad to put it up on the wall. No-one said things happen quickly in my house.

I used Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock and ink pads. The stamps used are from Peaceful Wishes, Brocade Basics and Baroque Motifs. I also used the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel.

I am thrilled with the final effect, what do you think?

Latest Stage of Reno's

Our house is taking shape. The gutters have been replaced, the roof has been painted and the rendering is finished. We are getting to the final stages now and it is very exciting. Over the next two weeks the driveway gets done, the painting will be finished and we should have some turf. I am so looking forward to the final product. I have to get out to buy some tiles this week so haven't had as much time as I hoped in the holidays to be creative. Hopefully I will get a few hours tomorrow to make some cards and I will get them posted as soon as possible.

Kristina Werner Colour Challenge # 15

This weeks Kristina Werner colour challenge was very difficult for me. This is my second attempt and for anyone who knows me this is so far away from my comfort zone and not anywhere near my usual style. I really wanted to do something different and challenge myself so hopefully it worked. These are not colours that I would naturally be drawn to so that was an extra challenge but I did think mans card when I saw them so thought I would get a head start on Fathers Day. The colours are Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa. Real Rust, Certainly Celery and Whisper White. The wording is from Occasional Greetings and I have used several different sized circle puuches. Hope you like it!

Kristina Werner Colour Challenge # 14

When I first saw the colours in Kristina Werners challenge this week I thought this would be easy but I have to admit I struggled a little. I decided to be monochromatic and to exclude the Ruby Red and River Rock thinking it would be easier. That's why it is called a Challenge though and it was rewarding in the end.

I have used Basic Black, Whisper White, Going Grey and Basic Grey card stock and Basic Black and Whisper White ink pads. One of my favourite wheels is So Swirly which adds great effect on the Black and after many attempts at putting some words onto the card I went for the flower from Think Happy Thoughts and kept it neutral. Just for a little extra effect I used a silver brad in the centre of the flower.

Yeah! I have Stairs

I am so excited, I have stairs again!!! No more climbing up and down a ladder, which I don't do very well. My children are a little disappointed though as they found the site of Mum on a ladder quite amusing.

We also have our retaining walls finished which made a huge difference to the appearance of the house. Next week is going to be a hive of activity with gutters going on, the renderer will start, and the roof will be painted! My apologies to all the farmers but I do have my fingers crossed that we don't get too much rain over the next week or two - purely selfish reasons of course.

Kristina Werner Colour Challenge # 13

This was so much fun. I loved the colours for this weeks Kristina Werner Colour Challenge. The In Colours are great and Purely Pomegranate is one of my favourites. I have used the Oh So Lovely Hostess Level 1 set, En Francais and Linen backgrounds. The colours for this week were Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi, River Rock, Regal Rose and Whisper White.

Oh, So Lovely Hostess Set

One of the best things about hosting a Stampin' Up!® party is that you can very easily earn free stamp sets! So not only do you get to catch up with friends, make some fun thing, you can receive free goodies as well! What a great way to spend a couple of hours.

My favourite Level 1 Hostess Set is Oh, So Lovely. It is so versatile. I made this card as part of a set for a Workshop to demonstrate how flexible the set can be. The card is Pretty in Pink and Certain Celery. I used Blender Pens to colour in the flowers and created a "Highlight" to lift part of the image.

If you would like to see more samples of how this wonderful set can be used, get a few friends together and book a workshop.

Yet another great stamp set

This is another favourite set of mine, Brocade Basics on page 101 of the Catalogue. It is so versatile and striking and not to mention great value! You can create borders, backgrounds or a stunning centre piece for a card or on a scrapbooking page.

I have gone for the simple approach again as I have said before, always in need of a quick and easy card. The main card is Not Quite Navy from Earth Elements and the other colour is Purely Pomegranate from this years In Colours. I added a little highlight with the Round Tab punch and the small flower is from Baroque Motifs on page 98. I punched the flower with the 1/2" circle punch and mounted it with Dimensionals. It is difficult to see in the photo but I also covered the small flower with Crystal Effects to make it look like a clear button. The centres of the main flowers also have Crystal Effects and Glitter for that all important Bling factor.

If you are looking at my Blog I would love some feedback so please leave a comment.

Kristina Werner Colour Challenge #12

This is my first attempt at a Kristina Werner Colour Challenge. I used the Garden Whimsy Set and the colours for this week are Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Sahara Sand and Whisper White. I have to admit that I struggled with this one as these are not colours I would normally gravitate to but that's why it is a Challenge. I added some glitter for a bit of Bling!!!

Our Site Supervisor

In the absense of any creativity that I was hoping to have today, I thought I would show you our Site Supervisor (SS). Every day when the builder arrives, SS Benji checks out his van and tools to make sure he is well prepared. Any work that is done must be inspected by him and given his approval.

When the digger arrived he wasn't quite sure if it was safe to drive so had to check that out also.

Hopefully my mojo will come back soon and I will have some new creations for you.

Renovation Update

After a week of rain and no progress, two extremely messy but very efficient men arrived at my house and turned my front yard into what might resemble a war zone. This is what those in the building industry call progress but I am yet to be convinced. I just have my fingers crossed that the rain has gone for a week or two.

Hopefully now some real action can take place and we can get back to normal. The best thing is, I have an excuse for messy floors and dusty shelves.

Waste Not Want Not

My husband brought home a Memory Card for one of the children to use for school. They were so excited that they now had one but I was far more excited about the tin that it came in. Before it got discarded into the rubbish I grabbed it to create this great little gift card holder. I thought it would make a fantastic gift for someone.

I used Basic Black and Whisper White card stock. The stamp set is Bud Basics which is such a versatile set. The outline is stamped in Black ink and the flowers are stamped in Silver.

I purposely didn't put any words on them so that they could be used for any occassion.To finish it off I tied some black and white ribbon around the tin for presentation.

Make sure you take a closer look at packaging before you throw it out, who knows what you could do with it.

Quick and Simple

Once again I had to produce a quick card for birthday. One day I will get time to make a whole stack of cards that cover all occassions but that sounds like a perfect world.

I used the in colours for this card with Soft Sky and Purely Pomegranate. The stamp set is Brocade Basics from page 101 of the catalogue. This is such a great set!

I stamped the stems in Soft Sky and the flowers in Purely Pomegranate on Whisper White card. Each piece is edged with Soft Sky also. These were then mounted on Purely Pomegranate on a Soft Sky base card.

This card literaly took minutes to make but I think is quite stricking. I hope that you like it.

One of My All Time Fav's

I really love the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set and keep going back to it. This weeks class used this set and one of the cards was embossed which is also one of my favourite techniques.

I have embossed with Silver embossing powder onto Elegant Eggplant cardstock and mounted onto Basic Black. The Thanks if from the set also and this was embossed and cut out to make a tag. I have tied it on with silver cord which unfortunately was discontinued from the old catalogue but I just had to use some leftover bits.

The simple "Heartfelt" was stamped in Encore Silver ink pad to finish it off. Everyone really enjoyed making this as watching the embossing effect take place is always a little amazing. Once again my photography isn't the best or perhaps I need a new camera........

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin’ Up! ®

Football Card

We have a boy on my son's rugby team that has broken his arm and I had to whip up a card today so the team could sign it.

I used the great new sets Just Rugby and Go Team which are great for boy cards. It has always been a little difficult to do boy cards but these sets make it so easy. Have a look at page 68 and 69 in the Catalogue at the wonderful sets available.

The images are stamped with Night of Navy ink pad on Bashful Blue card stock. I cut the image of the player and mounted this onto Night of Navy card. I had a scrap of Certainly Celery which I used as a highlight strip. The words are punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch and then mounted on Certainly Celery punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch. This was then mounted on Certainly Celery and then onto the Night of Navy base card. I used Dimensionals to lift the football.

I then used my new Crop-A-Dile that I got for Mothers Day and punched three holes on each side for a highlight. I taped left over strips of Certainly Celery behind the card to add a little more colour. To cover the strips on the inside of the card I needed to add a paper insert.

Sorry about the quality of the photo, I think I need to do a photography course! I hope this all makes sense as it is late and been a long day. Hope this gives you some inspiration for boy cards.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin’ Up! ®

Great Last Minute Card

I love rollers for last minute cards and believe it or not most of my cards are last minute. I did this card for my son to take to his friends party 10 minutes before we had to leave the house.

I used the Classic Stars Jumbo Roller on Whisper White card stock and Green Galore ink. I cut the strip to size and double mounted with Whisper White and Green Galore and then stuck to my card base. I then punched a few stars from Green Galore card using the Large Star punch and mounted in place with Dimensionals to give the raised effect.

The Happy Birthday is from the Occassional Greetings set and this is stamped in Green Galore and then edged with the same ink.

As you can see, very quick but quite effective. Changing the colurs gives a different look and you could even do this in girly colours and add a bit of sparkle.

Images © 1990-2008 Stampin’ Up! ®