Another Christmas sample

I really like the simplicity of this card.   I can't claim the original design, it came from Michelle Martin who does absolutely gorgeous projects.   Thanks for the inspiration Michelle!

Anyway, here's how to do it:
I used aluminium foil to make the baubles with the ornament punch and then ran them through the Big Shot with the Petals a Plenty embossing folder.   If you stick your foil to cardstock using multipurpose adhesive sheets you can do a 12"x12" page in one go which makes it a quick way to do lots at once.  Otherwise it's a bit fiddly to do one at a time - although it is a good project for all those off-cuts of adhesive sheets (I have tons already!).

The rest is elf-explanatory.......pardon the Chrissy pun!

Have a great week.   As you read this I will be relaxing on a beach somewhere north of here!

Karen

Scrappy Christmas

I'm sorting through my stash ready for Christmas cards for the troops this year, and I got a tad distracted.....smile....bet that never happens to you, right?!

Here's what I made:

Basically, it's all scraps apart from the Whisper White cardstock bases that I had to cut.  I've used the Snow Swirled stamp set for the snow flakes & greetings.  And the ornament punch - a favourite of mine.  But all the other cardstock and papers were in the scrap box.  I can tell you that the colours are Real Red, Wild Wasabi & Crumb Cake though.  And the wide oval is fast becoming my go-to punch for greetings because it works with so many of my stamps.

Anyway, it's off to do something else.....oh, that's right, I have to return to the task I started - sorting out the Christmas stash...lol!

Stay focused.
Karen

CAS Masculine Birthday

The new Mocha Morning Specialty DSP is a real winner.   I think some of the papers remind me of an old world gentleman's club......well, at least those I've seen in movies! 

This card is definitely clean and simple and the stripes really lend themselves to a discerning gentleman's birthday.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set:  Word Play
Cardstock: Very Vanilla & Soft Suede
Paper: Mocha Morning Specialty DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Buttons
1/2" Circle Punch

What do you think?

Karen

Mojo Monday 207

Once again, too much time has passed since I did a Mojo Monday.  This one got me thinking about details.  The sketch has quite a lot on it, and that means it stretched my creativity because I'm more inclined towards clean & simple styles.

Here's my card:

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Life Definitions, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
DSP: Mocha Morning Specialty - yep, it gets my vote for favourite so far this year!
Ink: Early Espresso
Wide Oval Punch, Full Heart & Heart to Heart punches
Basic Jewels Pearls & Satin ribbon in Early Espresso.

Enjoy!
Karen

JAI 85 Challenge

Popped in to do a Just Add Ink challenge this afternoon, only to find that I'm way out of my league making baby cards!  A good reason to do challenges, really.

My inspiration came from a swap card that my friend Avril made for our Sydney Regional training day.  So many people commented what a lovely card she'd made so I thought I'd try the technique.  Combined with the sponged sky it looks pretty and then there's the cute giraffe from Fox & Friends.   Time I got that set out and played some more me thinks!

Thanks for looking!

Karen

All elastic bands are not created equal....

I popped by Michelle's place last week to welcome her to my SU team and she had been busy creating some cards.  She had a gorgeous display of projects and quite a variety from angry birds to Christmas baubles!   Needing to make a male birthday card today (& stressing over it!) I suddenly remembered the angry bird!   That led me to Michelles inspiration and ultimately to having a go myself.

Here's the result......cased quite well I think!   And here's a link to Tami's blog.  Thanks Tami for an inspiring way to look at punches.

Oh, and the title of this post?   Well, I discovered that I'll buy better elastic bands in future, these one's are square and they don't stick to ANYTHING!  I have finally coaxed them into position with dimensionals & snail, but I hope the recipient isn't too rough with it because it's likely to pop off at any moment!!

Happy Tuesday.  Hope you are enjoying our glorious spring weather.

Karen

Ok, so it's not perfect!!

That could be the understatement of the year.

This is my first attempt at brayering a scene & using the Reflection technique.    I hope Kerry Bunting doesn't see this!!!  She was my inspiration for the brayer background, and yes, I kept looking at the photos of her projects but it's just not the same as having her there telling you what to do...smile.

The first card looks like a lake with a swamp at the edge.....hilarious!   I guess I did the brayer back to front and my hills are a little wrong.   I'm no artist that's for sure.

This next one is a little better.......maybe?!!   I think I did a good job with the reflection technique and I don't mind my fence either.

Anyway, I guess the point is that you have to have a go, and not everything you do will be perfect.   Sometimes I think we only post "perfect" projects and if you're a beginner that may be a bit daunting.  So, from here on in, I might try to post some of my trial........or stuff up projects as well!!

Thanks for looking......no really, I hope you come back!!

Karen

Fancy Favour in Fabric

I got a lot of ideas for the Big Shot at our recent regional training day, so decided to make a box with the Fancy Favour die before I completely forgot what I'd seen!    And it made a great project for our team meeting last night.

This is also my first experience using the adhesive sheets made by Sizzix (and sold by Stampin' Up!) specially for use with fabric.  It really makes adhering fabric to cardstock very easy and therefore, achievable.   I'm not a sew-er, although I can sew, but I do love fabric and think it's gorgeous when combined with paper craft projects.

Without further ado, here's what I made.

This is the pretty fabric called Flirtatious.  It's colours are Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White & Wisteria Wonder.  I had a bit left over after I'd cut out the box so I was able to use the Blossom Party die to cut the little flower.  The brads are from our neutrals range & the ribbon is taffeta.

Leave a comment if you like it!
Karen

Sydney Regional Training Day

This was a little wearable brooch that I made for each of my group.  Just in case anyone got lost!

Yesterday we enjoyed a full day of Stampin' Up! fun at the Convention Centre in Darling Harbour.   This year was a bit smaller in numbers than I remember but then again in those massive halls it's easy to feel a bit dwarfed! 

We were treated to some wonderful craft presentations and workshop wows by demonstrators and staff.  As always I came away with a lot of new ideas and was inspired to try some projects with our new fabric line and Big Shot dies.   

One presentation that really stood out was about the creative process involved in designing a card or craft project.  The projects used our stamps to create a scene and the first example was a Christmas setting looking through a window into a house.  It was lovely with the family dressing the Christmas tree (Welcome Christmas set), decorations hanging from the ceiling and the roof with a big wreath over the top.   I wish I'd taken a photograph of the finished card!  But the main thing I took away from the presentation was about looking at our stamps in a different way - using them to create a picture.  Sketching a design beforehand is rarely something I do.  I usually have a stamp set, colour scheme or technique as my starting point and jump right in!   I might try some preliminary sketches to see if I can view my products from a whole other perspective.

I would also like to mention a big thank you to Jenny H for bringing her donation of cards for the troops with her.  We did the handover after lunch and had a nice catch up chat!  It's lovely to connect with other demos at these events and continue to build our friendships.  And of course, this year I had an extra treat having both my downlines, Tracy & Irene and 6 of my gorgeous customer friends along for the fun.  That's the first time I've been able to take a group with me and it was lovely!

Anyway, enough chatter.   Here's some pics!  All images are copyright to Stampin' Up!

Here we all are, very happy to be stamping and crafting all day!

At the table, BEFORE we got it all messy with our make n takes

Me & Susie checking out our swaps

Gloria offers tips on how to put this card together......it's all about the glue & where NOT to put it!

Michelle is in her element

Tracy won the first door prize of the day

Could you give us a bigger smile Susie?!  It's all about the glitter - FREE champagne glass.  No wonder she's grinning.

The swap board

More swaps

Susie's swap is a memory game.  How adorable is that! Check out her blog here.

A close up of the flower on the top of the box - I love it!

Tracy made these pinwheels as little party favours

How cute!

Irene used the Top Note to make these lolly bags - and put lollies in too!

This is Avril's swap.   She's layered stamped images from Autumn Days, Upsy Daisy, Pocket Silhouettes, Clearly for You & Curvy Verses.  Doesn't it look amazing?  It reminds me of a cottage garden. And she had a variety of colours for people to choose from too.

My swap - it had a freddo frog inside - emergency chocolate is always handy!  But crazy me, I didn't keep one for myself!!

I think it's safe to say that we all enjoyed ourselves, from the moment everyone arrived at my house to car pool. Thanks Michelle & Tracy for being our able chauffeurs.  

One last word, if anyone has any spare lunch boxes that they don't want - or cutlery, Wendy will gladly take them off your hands!!

Have a great week!

Karen 

Birthday Cake

Another one of Hayley's creations is this gorgeous birthday cake made using the crimper and large scallop circle punch.  I think she was inspired by something she saw on SCS but unfortunately she can't remember the link - apologies if you recognise it!   I love how she's used Crystal Effects on the "icing" and then topped it with beads for a really chunky sprinkle finish.

The stamp set is Circle Circus & the cake in the bottom corner is from an old Sale-a-bration set....can't remember the name.

The colours are Choc Chip, Pink Pirouette & Crumb Cake. 

Go make something!
Karen

Lace Border Punch

This punch is gorgeous.  I've already used it on several projects and taught a class with it.  However, it's unlike any of our other punches and may cause a bit of strife until you get used to it. 

So I thought I'd give you a few tips on how to get the most out of this tool.

Firstly, this punch slices the whole punched image off the paper or cardstock leaving a straight line.  That makes it easy to keep using that same piece of cardstock.  However, it won't give you a border on a piece like the scallop or eyelet border will so you should know that before you turn your 12" x 12" scrapbook page into a 12"x 10 1/2" page!!

Next, use this punch on the table, right side up.   It needs to be on a sturdy, level surface.

Place your cardstock or paper onto the punch ensuring it's flush with the guard rail.

Put the heel of your dominant hand on the punch, place the other hand on top and PUNCH!   It's a SHORT, SHARP action, not a slow squeeze ;-))

I'm right handed so my right hand is on the bottom, left on top

Then, slide your cardstock either left or right and align with the silver template, then put the heel of your dominant hand on the punch, place the other hand on top and SHORT SHARP PUNCH AGAIN!

Continue until you have the length of Lace Border that you want.

Now, what happens if you accidentally do a slow squeeze?   Well, quite simply you'll jam the whole thing together.   The plastic top of the punch will feel lose, the paper will be so stuck inside you can't see it, and you'll be a little antsy! 

So, how do you fix it?   Well I'm not telling YOU how to fix it, but I will tell you how I fix it: 

 I get a hammer or a screw driver....yes, I know it's in the shed, go get it.......then I tap the underside of the punch lightly until it releases its captive paper.   Salvage what you can of the paper and/or start over.  I've only had one time when I couldn't release the punch like this, so I dropped it on the concrete patio which fixed it instantly.  Don't tell Shelli I throw my SU stuff around like this please!

So, there you have my little "how-to" with the Lace Border Punch.  It really is gorgeous so don't be scared....it's just a punch, after all!

See you soon.
Karen

Vintage Style

My daughter likes to make cards and gifts for her close friends when they have a birthday.   She's got a great eye for design and loves to pick out supplies from my stash (don't know where she gets that from!).  Anyway, I've been making a few things with the products from the Beau Chateau Suite and there's a number of finished projects lying around.

I love what Hayley's done with the ribbon here.   

Also inspired by the flowers on the new catty cover, these little blue one's are lovely.   Don't you love these glass bottles?   They are juice bottles from a local cafe.   Won't be throwing any of them away in future!

Hope you're enjoying the week.
Cheers
Karen

Punch - The kind you drink!

Every good party needs a little something yummy to drink.  This year's caty launch was a good excuse to make some punch - perfect for a sunny Sunday afternoon, and just the right blend of sweetness, fruit & alcohol to loosen everyone up and get them caught up in catalogue fever.

Picture is copyright to Taste.com.au    The punch I made was the one in the carafe with all that gorgeous fruit!

Here's the link direct to the recipe.

Cheers!
Karen

Box #2

I've been wanting this die for the Big Shot for a really long time.   And the start of the new catalogue was an ideal time because they made a really cute display on launch day.  

These boxes are small enough for an item of jewellery, big enough for some special chocolates - maybe something yummy from our own Belle Fleur Chocolate shop in Rozelle!   But they're great because you can decorate them in so many different ways.  They work perfectly with our Tasteful Trim die (see the large scallop border on the Wasabi box) and are really easy to put together.

Hope you like them.

Cheers
Karen

Stepping it up.

One of the fun things about crafting with a group is that you get to see everyone's take on the project.   As the class "teacher" I always find this exciting because it makes me look at products and ideas in different ways.   Sometimes I get a little blinkered with my craft and I like the fact that I learn something new in my own classes as well!

That said, here's Susie's stepped up version of a card we made at Convention as a make n take.  

Susie has a great eye for colour and detail and she loves sparkle!  Check out her blog here.