Up in the Air Square Card

Here's another card that showcases the gorgeous *FREE* Everyday Enchantment DSP in the Sale-a-Bration brochure. I've paired it with the *FREE* Hostess set Up in the Air on the first page of the Summer Mini. The stamped circle is the 1-3/4" Circle punch, and I've matted it on a Pool Party Circle that I've die-cut using the Big Shot Circles Die. I watercoloured the image using Blender Pens. The finishing touch is Crumb Cake Seam Binding ribbon, layered with the *FREE* Sale-a-Bration ribbon.

Sale-a-Bration Favourites

So what do you think of this year's Sale-a-Bration selection?? Any favourites yet? I dare you to pick just one! Here are my TWO favourites:

The Fresh Vintage stamp set and Everyday Enchantment DSP...so, so pretty!
I kept this one really simple...with such lovely colours and designs, I felt I could get away with it! I've added a vintage touch with a dash of spritzing and some gorgeous Very Vanilla Velvet Ribbon (from the Summer Mini). I cut the circle with my Circle Scissor and coloured the image with markers.
I'd love to hear your Sale-a-Bration favourites!

Sale-a-Bration 2012

It's HERE! It's every one's favourite time in the Stampin' Up! year, when you can earn free stuff with every order of $100. And this year, there is more of a selection than ever before. Check it out HERE.

It's also the best time to join Stampin' Up! ...Not only is the Starter Kit discounted to $249, you also get to choose an extra stamp set for free, from any current catalogue!
Joining is so simple...you can do it online in only a few minutes. Click on the "Join my Team" tab to find out more. Why not make 2012 the start of something great? There's nothing to lose and so much to gain!

  

I'm back!

Have you missed me? Hopefully you've been so busy enjoying school holidays and getting the New year off to a fantastic start that you haven't even noticed my blogging hiatus.

We've been having a lovely January. It's been a nice combination of accomplishment, activity and relaxation. We re-painted our bedroom, bought some new bedding, which then inspired me to make a set of 3 framed artworks to hang above the bed, plus I've sorted through lots of cupboards and drawers and had a big clean-out. We've taken the kids to see the Harry Potter Exhibition, the Illusionists, a couple of movies, and lots of catching up with friends. We've also had plenty of time just chilling out at home.

I've managed to squeeze some crafting in amongst all that, playing with my new stamps. I'll take some photos in the next day or two so that I have something new to show you. In the meantime, here's a very *bright* design from last year's stamp-a-stack using the Blossom Party die and a few punches:

The colours are Rich Razzleberry, Poppy Parade, Peach Parfait, Very Vanilla and Wild Wasabi. I used the Big Shot to cut out one set of flowers in the 3 main colours and came up with 4 card designs, just adding a couple of punches.

I'm getting excited - Sale-a-Bration starts TOMORROW! I'll be back then to show you this year's selection of free products. I know you're going to love them.

Best of Everything Stamp-a-Stack

I can always tell a successful stamp-a-stack class by the number of people who say to me "I didn't think I wanted this stamp set and now look what you've done!" LOL I also had a few people say "I hadn't even noticed this set in the catalogue until now!" (if you are one of those people, it's called Best of Everything and it's on page 80). Here I've paired it with Berry Blossoms paper and I think they work very well together. I think these cards are pretty self-explanatory. Bringing just a snippet of DSP into your card designs is a great way to give them some extra punch and it gives you a colour combination to work with too! And can I just say that I am LOVING those Mini Brads (pg 143). They are so perfect for the centres of little flowers and for the tip of the Jewellery Tag too...and they are only $7.95 for 200 of them.. Bargain!

Some News...

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. I think this was one of my favourite Christmases in a while. It's always the children who make Christmas special for me and this year we had more than ever before in our family. I have two gorgeous twin nieces who are now 3, and I think the age of 3 is such fun...they really "get it" for the first time. We were also joined by Dave's niece and her 2 girls who are 1 and 3. There were 19 of us here for Christmas dinner and it definitely felt like a party!
And of course it was my nephew Leo's first Christmas too. He took it all in his stride, smiling at everyone, and being such a good sport about being passed around for a million cuddles. And then we also met my cousin's little girl Baylea for the first time. They live in Queensland and we've waited 6 months to meet her. I've decided that I have an illness - "baby-shopping-itis". I went a little bit berserk buying cute things for all those babies!

And 2 items of Stampin' Up! News...
Don't forget that there's only a couple more days to take advantage of the December Frenzy. A couple of items are no longer available at the Sale Price:

121508

72

Every Moment Wood-Mount Set

$31.95

121600

75

Ornate Blossom Wood-Mount Set

$19.95

Get great Stampin' Up! products up to 50% off during our December Frenzy sale -- 1-31 December only! There are some absolute bargains, so it's the perfect time to treat yourself to a belated Christmas present :o) Download the flyer HERE

We've also just been informed that the Stocking Builder Punch (item 124095) from the 2011-2012 Summer Mini Catalogue will NOT carry over into the next Idea Book & Catalogue. Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase.

Email me if you have any questions or to place your order!

 

My Christmas Card

This year I 'narrowed down' my Christmas card list to 160 (yes, really!!) so I had to design a simple, mass-producible card. Here's what I came up with:

In the end I wasn't completely 100% happy with it, but I knew that if I procrastinated any longer I just wouldn't get ANY made.
I've used my favourite Fine Flourish background stamp, and the little tree from Jolly Bingo Bits with a little rhinestone star on top. The sentiment is from A Beautiful Season, stamped in Early Espresso ink.
I've also used 2 new punches from the Mini - the 1" Square and the Postage stamp, along with the 1-1/4" Square. The colours I've used are Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your friends and family and a joyous year ahead. Stay safe over the holiday season!

  xoxo

Christmas Mice Candy Wrappers

I made some little table gifts for our Team Christmas Dinner, and of course they had to be mouse-themed, for our team Stampers Anony-mouse:

I used the Candy Wrapper Die from the Summer Mini to make 20 of these. With a chocolatey treat inside:

...red and green m&ms! They looked pretty cute sitting at our Dinner Table :o)

Christmas Gifts

I have a few Christmas projects to show you. These actually date from last year, but I never got around to blogging them, and I thought I should do it quick smart before they have to wait another year! Here's a cute little "sevens" box with an acetate window:

And a matchbox with an acetate window and a ribbon puller:

And a stamped cello bag with a decorated topper, perfect to fill with treats:

And here's the whole set:

Jacob's Lego Birthday Card

Edited to Add: I've had a few requests for instructions, so I've added them to the end of this post.

I thought I'd take a little break from Christmas projects to show you Jacob's birthday card:

He turned 11 at the end of November and is still very much into Lego. Not having any Lego stamps, I made some Lego Punch Art instead. I've also used Big Top Birthday DSP, which is perfect for kids cards. I love using the paper corrugator as a more masculine alternative to ribbon.
Jacob's comment on receiving his card was "Mum, how do you come up with these things??" My answer..."I'm a genius!" (of course) LOL

To make the Lego pieces I used Pacific Point, Real Red and Daffodil Delight cardstock. I punched circles using the Itty Bitty Punch Pack Circle Punch. My Lego pieces are 2.5 x 2.5cm, 3.5 x 2.5cm and 4.5 x 2.5cm. I sponged all of the edges of the pieces and the circles. Stick on the circles with a little piece of a Dimensional (foam dot) and add a White Gel Pen highlight. That's all there is to it!

Amy's Christmas Gifts

When Amy saw my Secret Santa gifts, she wanted to make some for her friends. They are the perfect size to pop a little bracelet and necklace inside for her 3 special friends. Here is her version, which she made with just a little guidance:

They have a decidedly girly touch, don't they? We decided that the reindeer must be Rudolph's daughter! The annoying part is that I actually prefer her version of the reindeer to my own. She's 14 and already as tall as I am, and now she's teaching me a thing or two about craft as well! Maybe I'll get her to run a class on making these ;o)

 

12 Days of Christmas - Card 12

This one is definitely not a card, but I think it's one of my favourite projects ever and I thought it was a fitting finale for the 12 Days of Christmas. We had our team Christmas Dinner last Friday night and we all made a Secret Santa Gift. Here are the Secret Santa gifts I made, posing for their group photograph:

How cute are they?? I first got the idea for these when I was shopping in Target and a saw some little cone-shaped characters filled with lollies. My Stampin' Up! brain immediately thought "I could make those with the Petal-Cone Die". So I came home and made the Christmas Tree:

Look at the pretty star, made with the oh-so-sparkly Glimmer Paper (in the Summer Mini) and the Doily Triple Layer Punch:

I had so much fun making the tree that the whole time I was thinking 'what can I make next?'. How about Rudolph:

Isn't he adorable? (if I do say so myself!). I wanted him to be holding something, and what would Rudolph need for those foggy Christmas Eves...

...a GPS of course!
At this point I wondered if anyone else had had the genius idea of making characters out of the petal cone die. Google turned up these clever ones on Tanya Bell's blog, so of course I had to make my own version of them too. Here's Santa:

Holding his list (checked twice of course):

And my Angel (at this point my desk looked like a bomb had hit it, but I had to keep going!):

Her Christmas Carols book even has real music:

And finally my elf:

He's even holding a real present, which I filled with some Antique Brads:

All of their little bodies were also filled with goodies.
Judging by the tears in Michelle's eyes when she opened her present, I think she liked them :o)

12 Days of Christmas - Card 11

Well, this one's not exactly a card...more of a card and gift in one! It's a Chocolate Double-Slider:

And it contains a little Christmas magic. When you pull up the tab to reveal the chocolate:

A secret panel slides down to reveal your Christmas message:

Just like magic!
I've used the gorgeous stamp set A Beautiful Season to decorate my Slider and some luscious Cherry Cobbler striped ribbon. My chocolate came from Aldi, but the small Lindt bars also fit inside these.

Proud Mummy Moment

...just interrupting the scheduled programming with a Proud Mummy Moment. We just had School Presentation Day and Jacob was just announced as School Captain for 2012 and he also received the Academic Award for his class. At her school, Amy received an award for 2nd in her Year in History and a Merit Award for English. Suffice it to say, this Mummy was a blubbering mess!

12 Days of Christmas - Card 10

Another retired set that I wanted to show you:

A Wish for Peace was a stamp set that I always tended to stamp in soft colours, but here I tried something a bit different - Riding Hood Red and Old Olive on a Confetti White base, with touches of Early Espresso. I've also used the Soft Holly wheel (still available).
Only 2 more days to go! I hope you're feeling very Christmassy by now!

12 Days of Christmas - Card 9

Here's Something for Christmas strutting its stuff again, this time in purples. I've used Wisteria Wonder for my card base, with a touch of Elegant Eggplant ink. The shimmer is courtesy of the gorgeous Frost White Shimmer Paint. I sponged it on to the raised areas of the Embossing using a sponge dauber.
If you don't know how to make an Embossed Frame check THIS post.

12 Days of Christmas - Card 8

I hope you don't mind me showing you some cards made using a retired set in this 12 Days of Christmas. It seemed like a shame to miss this design. Perhaps some of you might own the retired Christmas Classics set, or you could always substitute a different set.

I've CASEd this layout from page 25 of the catalogue. The colours are Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Real Red. I've coloured some pearls with a red permanent marker for the holly berries.

12 Days of Christmas - Card 7

Welcome Christmas is one of the sets on sale during this month's December Frenzy. It's half price - only $19.98 in clear mount! Super bargain! Here's a card I made using the set, combined with another gorgeous Christmas set, Contempo Christmas.

This card is a Joy-Fold card, so there is a mini card on the front that opens to reveal:

The ornament on the front holds the mini card closed in place. And on the other side:

The great thing about this sort of card for Christmas is that there's plenty of room to add a family photo inside. This card is very Shimmery in real life. I've stamped some of the images in Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and sponged all the edges too. The colours I've used are Rich Razzleberry, Night of Navy and Crumb Cake.