An off day

I'm being brave today and showing you a card that I don't like...one of those ones that started as an idea in my head and then didn't translate very well onto paper. I stuck 3 strips of cardstock down onto my Sahara Sand card (Wisteria Wonder, Pool Party and Calypso Coral) and then stamped Summer Solstice on top in Early Espresso ink. I think the rest is all pretty self-explanatory...and just a little bit ugly unfortunately! Oh well, we all have off days ;o)

for a special someone...

I made this card for a special friend who had a birthday recently. It's always more fun making a card when you have a specific recipient in mind :o) I had fun playing with some of my favourite products on this card. I dyed and spritzed paper flowers, and I also wet and then crumpled some of the gorgeous Seam Binding ribbon. And I have used my favourite DSP, Paisley Petals. The finishing touch was an Antique Brad...they are sooo pretty!

Fox and Hound Punch Art

I don't do a lot of punch art, but every so often I love to get a bit creative with punches. I had an old punch art book that I used for inspiration for these, and just adapted the designs to suit the Stampin' Up! punches I own.
Here's a cute little hound:

And his friend the fox:

I'm happy to let you know what punches I used. Just leave me a comment if you'd be interested in that information!

Edited to Add: Here's a picture that has all of the pieces I used to put together the little fox. They are all Stampin’ Up! Punches that I have used, and I used the colour Cajun Craze as my main colour. Hopefully you’ll be able to figure out how to put the little fox together from that!

Unfortunately I don’t have the little puppy anymore, and silly me didn’t write down what punches I used. Going from the picture, I think I used the Word Window for the ears, feet and eyepatch. The eyes are the candle flame from the cupcake punch, and the clouds are the top of the cupcake. Circles for the head and body (I think 1-3/8” and 1-3/4”?). For the muzzle, I think I used the Heart punch and cut off the top of one of the ‘bumps’ of the heart and rounded it off. For the tail, I think I sliced a sliver off the side of the heart. I can’t for the life of me remember how I did the nose or tongue, but I’m sure you can work something out!

Attention Craft Sale Attendees!

If you came along to our Craft Sale last weekend and bought the Hostess set from last year "Silhouette Sentiments" in clear mount, can you please check your set. One of my team members has just informed me that she found a stamp (it's a little bird sitting on ab ranch) that had fallen out of its box. If your set is missing this stamp, email me, and I'll put you in touch with her. Thanks!

Delicate Doilies Stamp-a-Stack

Do you all ever get sick of seeing all my Stamp-a-Stack Designs? Hopefully not, because I don't get sick of designing them! And here we have more doilies...hopefully you aren't too sick of those either!
These ones are really simple (but effective...I hope!) Just one layer of cardstock, with one of the doilies highlighted using circle punches to layer it up. Perfectly Penned was the perfect sentiment to finish these cards off. I also added some ribbon, and a Rhinestone bling to the centre of the main doily.
TIP: use a black permanent marker to make a "black diamond" out of your Rhinestone bling...it gives it a more masculine touch.

The colours I've used here are Pool Party, Island Indigo, along with Lucky Limeade, Pumpkin Pie, Poppy Parade and Rich Razzleberry.

My Friend Stamp-a-Stack

This was my Stamp-a-Stack class last month. We used the babywipe technique and the My Friend stamp set along with some of the new In Colors. The babywipe technique is simple but effective - you make an "inkpad" out of some folded babywipes and apply drops of re-inkers to your "inkpad" (I used Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral and Pear Pizazz). You can use the "inkpad" for several inkings. I stamped on glossy white cardstock, and the base card is Sahara Sand.
For the sentiment I pulled out an oldie but a goodie, Oval All.

Craft Sale Update

It was great to see so many of you braving the heat at the Craft Sale on the weekend. I had a very successful day and was able to re-home lots of my retired Stampin' Up! supplies. I still have some stamp sets and a few other bits and pieces left, so if you live near me and would like to pop over and have a look, just email me.
I also have 3 DSP sampler books for sale. Every year my team and I get together to make a batch of these and I have 3 left over, so it's first in, first served. It's a Designer-Series Paper Sampler Book. It contains a 4" x 4" square of each of the Designer Series papers. It's great to see the papers "in the flesh". The book is $25 (plus $5 postage anywhere in Australia). Email me if you're interested.

Here's a look at the one we made a couple of years ago:

GIANT CRAFT SALE!

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It's on again!
My team and I are getting together to have our fourth Annual Giant Craft Sale Day.
We have cleaned out our cupboards, and have lots of Craft Goodies that need to find new homes. There are retired stamps and scrapbooking supplies, ribbons, embellishments, plus handmade cards and gifts too (perfect for Christmas!), and lots lots more!
Everything will be priced to sell, so come along and grab a bargain! We'll also have Lucky Door Prizes to be won.

When: Saturday, 19th November

Time: 9:30am -1pm

Where: NEW VENUE! Toongabbie Public School Hall

(cnr Fitzwilliam St and Binalong Rd Toongabbie, opposite the IGA.)

Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested, and I hope to see you there!

Filigree, Frames and Feathers

Here's my other Shoebox Swap design. A nice simple one, but how gorgeous is that French Filigree background? So pretty! The colours are Wisteria Wonder, Elegant Eggplant and Pear Pizazz.
I've had so much use from the Four Frames stamp set and the co-ordinating Decorative Label punch...and the ladies at today's workshop know how much better the punch is than cutting them out!

I've been busy getting ready for our Craft Sale on Saturday, but Amy and I managed to squeeze in a trip to the movies to see....guess what? (hint: feathers!)

Perfectly Penned Pennant Parade

...can you say that 6 times fast?

Here's a card I designed as a ShoeBox Swap at Stamp Camp. I love this colour combo for a blokey card - Island Indigo, Lucky Limeade and Cherry Cobbler, with a dash of Basic Black and Crumb Cake. The Pennants also come in very handy for masculine cards, for men of all ages. And 3 of them fit so nicely inside the Top Note.
The greeting comes from "Perfectly Penned"...love that font!

Dave's 40th Invitations

I thought I'd give you a break from Doilies (yes, can you believe I still have more Doily cards??) This is the invitation I made for Dave's 40th. I had to make 30 of these.
I stamped the aeroplane (from "Ain't Love Grand" Hostess set) in Black Stazon ink, then I stamped it again on a post-it note and cut it out to make a mask. I also made 2 cloud masks (using the cupcake punch). I put my masks in place while I sponged Baja Breeze and Bashful Blue ink over the top. I used the 2-1/2" Circle Punch to punch out my circle. The aeroplane actually pulls along a message that says "i miss you", so I stuck "Look Who's Turning" on top and then inside:

I had the perfect excuse to buy the Big Shot Numbers Dies!
It was definitely a labour of love making these ....  Just as well he's worth it ;o)

Masculine Doilies

Who said that blokes can't have doilies? Here's my take on a more masculine doily card. I've used Well Worn Designer Series Paper (if you struggle with making 'male' cards, you have to get this paper!). The colours I've used are Cajun Craze, Not Quite Navy, River Rock and Soft Suede. Love that Artichoke Denim Ribbon too...not too girly ;o)

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes for Dave. He has been showered with handmade cards, gifts and special surprises today. Jacob even made him a short film entitled "Big Davey: the 40 year old version". Soooo funny!

Moroccan Doilies

Are you totally over the doilies yet? I hope not, because I'm not finished! I have a couple more to show you and then I'll move on to something different, I promise. I've gone with a bit of a Moroccan feel here, using Pumpkin Pie, Melon Mambo and Pretty in Pink.

It's a simple card with a tried-and-true layout. The pretty ribbon border punch and a dash of rhinestone bling makes it a bit more special. I've also used circle punches to layer up some of the doilies.
We are still getting recovering from a BIG weekend. Dave hits the Big 40 on Wednesday, and we celebrated on a Harbour Cruise last night with 60 of our nearest and dearest. It was a fabulous night...one that we will remember for many years to come.

Versamark Resist Doilies

And while we're on the subject of Doilies.... (these are all cards I made for my Stampin' Up! Regional Training presentation). This was one of those delightful cards that looks more complicated than it is...don't you just love that?! All I did was stamp the doilies in Versamark ink on Glossy White cardstock and then sponge over the top in Wisteria Wonder ink. Don't Concord Crush and Wisteria Wonder look lovely together?
I've also used the Four Frames stamp set and a greeting from the Precious Butterflies Hostess set.

 

A New Look!

I thought it was about time for a re-furb around here! What do you think of the new look? It's still a work in progress, so bear with me...

 

Embossed Doilies

I'm loving the versatility of the Delicate Doilies stamp set, and I decided to try something a bit different with it. I pulled out some of my new embossing powders in Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo. I stamped the doilies on Basic Black cardstock in Versamark ink and then sprinkled small pinches of embossing powder (one colour at a time) on top. Heat with an Embossing Tool and Voila! I kept the rest of the card pretty simple so the embossing is the star.

 

Big Shot Promotion!

This is the first time we've had a Promotion surrounding everybody's favourite toy, the Big Shot!
So I'm very excited to announce that during November, you can get 10% off select Big Shot dies. Use these exclusive dies to create fabulous shapes, embossing, and more! Or, if you don't have a Big Shot, now is the time to remedy that...get 10% off our exclusive Big Shot Bundle!
 

Page	Item	Description	Retail Price	10% Off Price
156	117332	Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
156	114515	Flower Burst Embosslits Die	$21.95	$19.75
157	114517	Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	116824	Petals-a-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
157	119277	Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Embossing Folder	$14.95	$13.45
158	113440	Buttons #5 Sizzlits® Die	$9.95	$8.95
159	113466	Pillow Box BigzT Die	$36.95	$33.25
159	114507	Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
159	120903	Scallop Square Duo Bigz Die	$39.95	$35.95
160	115953	Mover & Shapers Punch Windows	$54.95	$49.45
160	120893	Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die	$69.95	$62.95
160	121810	Petal Cone Bigz L Die	$59.95	$53.95

And the Big Shot Bundle:

Page	Description	Retail Value	10% Off Price	Item
155	Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine	$186.85	$168.16	128944
156	Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die
157	Manhattan Flower Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

Read all about it HERE