Christmas Tree Lantern

One of my lovely customers sent me a link to a very talented lady called Danielle Daws.  Sorry I haven't linked you directly to her positing but if you look on the right hand side for Christmas Tree Box you will be taken to the posting.

I absolutely loved what she and her very handy hubby had created so just had to make one.  The solid tree in the photo is how the template turned out.  I was lucky enough to have a play day so I actually made a few and enlarged the template to get different sizes.  Knowing how much I love Christmas I couldn't help but wanting to take this further.  I then had a thought that wouldn't it look great with windows and a flickering candle inside.  No you don't need to imagine burning curtains, fire alarms and fire fighters rushing in! - a battery operated tea light candle. 

I enlarged the tree to 130 percent and cut out windows and inserted vellum.  This size makes the base large enough to put a tea light candle in.  They look so good at night time. 

The larger candle was rolled with So Swirly and Silver ink which sadly has retired but you just have to have silver with Christmas.  I added some Rhinestones which are on page 140 of the catalogue and can be missed so easily as they are not displayed very well but are a MUST have.

Thanks Danielle for the inspiration and what a great hubby you have for drawing up the template. 

Watercolours

Watercolouring can be so much fun and this little set is just right for this technique.  We used Every Moment which is on page 72 of the catalogue and can be easily missed - I know I missed it the first few dozen times I flicked through my catalogue.  The colours are Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Sahara Sand and Watercolour paper.  We used the Aqua pens to "paint" the image and of course we had to add a little Dazzling Diamonds that unfortunatley don't show up too well in this photo.  Both the butterfly and flower centre dazzle.

What is going on with me lately - another bird!!!!  This is also part of the Every Moment set.  The colours are the same as the card above and the words are from Elements Of Style.

To give the non watercolour lovers a break we also did this quick but effective card inspired by the Catalogue.  By simply changing the colours and embelishments you can adapt this card to be either male or female orientated or adult to child very easily.  This one is done in Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush and Whisper White.  We used the Polka Dot embossing folder a punch or two, a bit of ribbon and some bling and there you have it, quick, simple but effective.

I have done this in several colour schemes and also used the layout for several Christmas cards but unfortunately I can't find the photo's I took before I gave them out!  That's what happens when you don't do things immediately.  Maybe Santa will bring me a personal organisation fairy!  Fingers crossed!

Fast and Fabulous Gift Set

This was a little Card Set we created to either keep on hand for those last minute occassions or to give away as a gift for someone special.  The stamp set is one of my favourites but sadly it isn't one that you can buy as it is a Level 2 Hostess Set but even better you can earn it for FREE!!!   All you need to do is  host a workshop with a few friends and you could not only get this set for free but also earn $60 in free spend.  Now there is a great reason to get some friends together.
The folder is made from Soft Suede.  The other colours are Whisper White, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry.  We made 4 cards with co-ordinating envelopes.  The cards were kept generic so they can be used for many occassions.  We used Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive grosgrain ribbon and the scallop trim border punch.  The stamp set is a 2 Step stamping set so we all got loads of practise using the Stamp-a-ma-jig so everyone should be an expert using this now.

Missing In Action

I have so many things to post to catch up but have been crazy busy lately and unfortunately my blog site has suffered.  Hopefully I will get to post a heap of photo's later next week.  Thanks for checking in.

Loads of Extreme Elements

It has been so long since I posted but hopefully I can catch up now.  These cards were from a few weeks ago and it was a week of the Elements.

The first card uses Elements of Style which is a gorgeous set even though it has a bird in it.  Believe it or not I have used the bird several times.  I was looking for a classic black and white theme.  The image is stamped in Basic Black and the photo doesn't show that some of the flowers have been mounted and sprayed with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.  We used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and to create a different look we put Whisper White ink onto the folder before we ran it through the Big Shot.  You can just see a white outline of the impressions.  When doing this you need to reink the folder each time you run it through and the ink just washes off when you are finished.

The second card uses Extreme Elements and Extreme Surfboard.  The colours are Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz and believe it or not Real Red.  When I looked at this photo I realised the red looks very orangy but I don't have time to take another photo.  The surfer is stamped in Pacific Point.  The words are from A Word for You and we used the markers to just pick up the Happy Birthday as 'with a cherry on top" didn't quite fit this card.  Markers are a great way of picking out certain "pieces" of stamps giving you even more versatility with your sets.

Just Believe in the majic of Butterflies

 Just Believe is one of the sets I just had to have as soon as I saw the new Catalogue.  This is the first chance I have had to use it and I am even more in love with it.
The colours are Pretty In Pink, River Rock (so glad this one came back) and Very Vanilla.  We used the markers to colour the stamp.  The River Rock layer has been stamped with Wonderfully Worn background to give it a slightly textured look.
We used the Bigshot and the Lots of Tags Sizzlits and the Word Window punch.  The words are from Just Believe.  We have mounted an extra flower for some dimension and added some Pretty In Pink Grosgrain ribbon.

This is a fairly simple card but looks effective.  The main card is Rich Razzleberry with River Rock and Very Vanilla.  The butterflies are from the Beautiful Wings Embosslits which is another must have in my books.  The Vanilla card was run through the Big Shot with the Finial Press Embossing Folder.  The butterflies were sprayed with a Shimmer Mist created from the Champagne Shimmer Paints.
The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry Satin and the tags were created from the Teeny Tiny Tags and Jewellry Tag Punch.

Christmas Purse Box

I have wanted to make on of these for such a long time and finally got around to doing it as a class.  I just love this design.  It makes a really cute gift wrap option or use it to put some special photos in as a display.
Now these really are very simple to make and it is then up to you as to how much you decorate them.  For some reason the open picture is importing on its side so imagine it being up the right way.  I have spend so much time navigating computer problems lately I am just going to accept that this is how it is on this one.

The colours are Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla.  The patterned paper is Jolly Holiday and the ribbon is Old Olive.  The stamp set used was Delightful Decoratons and the Merry Christmas is from Many Merry Messages.We did some embossing with the Silver Embossing Powder and used the Ornament Punch along with the large and retired small Star Punches.

I am hoping to make a few more of these before Christmas as they are a great quirky packaging idea.  Hopefully a few that attended the class will make some more also (I'm giggling).

To relax everyone after making the Christmas Purse we did a few very simple gift tags using the Level 3 Hostess Set, Playful Pieces.  This is such a versatile set and these have been copied from the Catalogue.  If ever there was a reason to host a workshop, this set is it.  There are SO many wonderful things you can create from this set it is incredible! 

A Touch of Music

I have been MIA for some time now with my postings.  Sorry about that but life took over and so did the dreaded Tax man and getting my computer back on track.  I have had huge wrestles and many hours of hair pulling trying to get my computer back to how it was and I think I have finally won.  Now the only thing hanging over me is getting my tax return done so fingers crossed that over the next few weeks I will get on top of that and then I will have plenty of time to play and post!

This card was from class three weeks ago!  I just love the new Music Notes wheel and look forward to spending more time creating with this.  The colours for this one are, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler (of course) and Whisper White.  It is a really quick and simple card with the most time spent doing a running stitch through the grosgrain ribbon to gather it up.  You can do the same look by running a strip of tape along the card front and then "tuck it" as you go.  Actually sewing it makes it a little more permanent though and you can play with the gather.

The words are from A Word For You on page 110 which is a gorgeous new set, I just love the font.

This second card uses Artistic Etchings which  I nearly didn't buy but I am glad that I did.  The colours are River Rock, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla.  The River Rock and Very Vanilla layer have En Francais stamped in River Rock Ink and have been edged with a dauber in River Rock.  It is very hard to see in the photo but we stamped the medallion from Artistic Etchings over the En Francais using the Champagne Shimmer Paint.  Now if you haven't got your hands on the fantastic Shimmer Paints yet, what is wrong with you?!!!!!!!  These are the MUST HAVE product of the year!  You can stamp with them, make a shimmer mist that sparkles or colour them and have a sparkling ink.  The options are endless and they can just lift an image giving your cards a whole new look.  Make sure you add them to your next order!

Christmas Decorations

This was one of the projects at my last class of term 3.  I didn't get time to do any posting before we went away so trying to do a bit of catch up.

This card and gift tag uses the gorgeous Delightful Decorations set.  The colours are Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke.  The words are from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and we used the Lots of Tags for the Big Shot and the Ornament Punch.

I also used the new Scallop Trim border for the inside.  I haven't been a real fan of Always Artichoke but I think it goes really well with my new favourite, Cherry Cobbler.

Off to (Sunny?) Qld

Our whole family is off to supposedly sunny Qld today for 2 weeks.  I have been looking forward to this break for awhile now so hoping that the weather picks up. 
We are going to the theme parks and Australia Zoo and generally for a bit of a look around.  This will be our first road trip with all the kids for quite a while so it will be interesting how many times teenagers can ask "are we there yet"?
I have a few girlfriends on speed dial to pick me up from the airport if it all gets too much (ha,ha).
I won't be posting for a few weeks but will be checking emails every so often so if you have any queries shoot me off an email and I will repsond when possible.
Classes will begin back the second week of school term so the first being Tuesday 19th October.  I am looking forward to getting back into classes but I have been enjoying my holiday so far.
I knew it was time for a holiday when I was sitting on my lounge having breakfast last Tuesday and the delivery man, that I normally pounce on, arrived with a brown box and slid it onto my verandah.  Not only didn't I pounce on him but I also sat and finshed my breakfast before I bothered to get up and bring the box in.  Now that is a definate sign that I was ready for a break.
I hope everyone enjoys the school holidays and I look forward to catching up with you in a couple of weeks.