Festive Friday

I saw a card on Pinterest that really inspired me.  Unfortunately I can no longer find it so I can't credit the original designer.

Anyway, mine is quite a bit different but I think you would recognise it if you saw the original so please let me know if you do.

I've used the Snow Flurry Bigz die to make the snowflakes.  I can see many possibilities for this because there are 3 sizes of snow flake and they will layer beautifully.

The embossing was done using the Northern Flurry folder for the Big Shot, and the bauble is one of the circle medallions from the Pennant die.

My second card is very similar but uses a stamp from Perfect Punches in the centre of the bauble.  I stamped in Real Red ink and used the 1 3/8" scallop circle to punch it out.

Thanks for looking!  Hope you have a lovely weekend.
Cheers
Karen

Colour Palettes

Stampin' Up!'s product co-ordination is well known, and certainly makes it easier to choose stamps, paper and embellishments that create eye catching projects, especially if you're a doubter (like me) about what works and what doesn't!
They also have great colours to work with.  But they don't just dump us in the colour wheel and let us fend for ourselves. 
No sir-ee! 
SU colours are all divided into families; Brights, Subtles, Regals & Neutrals.  That gives us crafters a great starting point. 







But then, to go one step further, they also share with us the colours that have been used in each of their packs of Designer Series Paper. 

This is great for a few reasons: 
the guesswork is taken away, and your colour co-ordination will be a breeze;
you get the feel for mixing colours across families;
you can identify with a particular colour family & may have a favourite; 
you develop a sense of your style and "go-to" colours and;
you try colours that maybe you would've overlooked, but because they're in a pack of paper you like, you tend to experiment and venture outside your comfort zone.

Here's an example of how beautiful colours, across families are used:

The Designer Series Paper here is Floral Fusion....gojus!!  And I'll tell you a secret, ssshhhhh, we're using it in our next class (Oct 10 & 12).   The colours in the paper are Rose Red & Baja Breeze, both from the Subtles family. Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry & Tangerine Tango, all from the Brights family, Lucky Limeade, an In Colour, and Whisper White as the neutral.

Every sheet of paper in the pack is delicious and the floral images are fresh and contemporary.

In the current annual catalogue you will find the Designer Series Papers on pages 162-165.  Under each you will see the colours listed that are used in the paper.

So why not pick out your favourite pack of paper, identify the colours and see what fabulous creations you come up with?!

If you would like even more help with your colour choices, and a little info about the science behind colour creation, you can consult our colour coach on page 151.  It makes choosing colours a doddle and because they are Stampin' Up! colours you know you're on the right track.

Right, it's off to finish a project for my October classes, so I'll talk to you again soon.
Thanks for looking!
Karen

Getting Scrappy

While we were still in San Diego, I printed lots of photos with the intention of...well, I don't know what really.  Not sure if I'd intended to scrap book them or just load them into an album.   But I did keep a whole pile of them together and even sorted them into various categories.

Tripping over the box just recently while have a tidy up......I came across the pics and decided to jump in with both feet and have a go at doing a page to show at Darling Stamp & Scrap last week because the theme was chipboard accents & I LOVE chipboard as a page embellishment.

What do you think?

The page is very striking in Daffodil Delight, and the designer series paper in Wild Wasabi & Melon Mambo picked up the colours in the pics rather nicely.    I love the chipboard flower that I covered in Summer Smooches DSP.  That is such a varied pack of paper that you could use it for all sorts of occasions.  The cherries and lime stamps are long retired, and the umbrella was from my stash.  The chipboard letters are SU, but from an old pack of On Board letters.   I used the brush tips of my SU markers in Marina Mist & Melon Mambto to colour them in.   To create some texture I added sand, sticking it on with Tombow liquid glue. 

And you know what makes this page really amazing?   The memories it brings back.  Our friends were visiting from Sydney and we took them for a cocktail in the beach bar overlooking Coronado Beach at the famous Hotel Del.  It was the most perfect day! 

Thanks for looking!
Cheers
Karen

Mojo Monday 259

It's been a while since I did one of these. 

Here's the sketch:

And my interpretation:

 

Sorry it looks so blue with that background.  I need to work on my photography skills!   To represent the scallop detail in the sketch, I've used white taffeta ribbon and ruffled it behind the Pool Party Framelit.   Quite tricky to do!   I've only ever done this technique in a circle before and I overlooked the fact that the framelit has those bits that cut in.  Oh well, I'm still pleased with the way it turned out.  Hope you like it too.

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set;  Betsy's Blossoms
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pool Party & Pacific Point
DSP: International Bazaar
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, Lucky Limeade & Pacific Point
Framelits Labels Collection
Chevron Embossing Folder
Big Shot
Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon 5/8"
White Gel Pen

Just a Quickie!

I'm referring to a card project, in case you wondered!

Some of our new embossing folders are larger making them suitable for a whole Aussie-sized card front  (148mm x 105mm).   This card uses the new Chevron folder.   I like it because I can see possibilities for male cards, and a lot of us do struggle to make cards for our men!

I've used the smallest number of supplies on this card;
The greeting is from the Word Play Stamp Set, stamped in Early Espresso ink;
Whisper White card stock and a scrap of Marina Mist
Marina Mist Satin Ribbon
Chevron Embosssing folder for the Big Shot.
1 1/4" & 1 3/8" Square Punches.

Hope your Thursday is terrific!
Cheers
Karen

Monsters Galore!

I was playing with the Make a Monster set today as it will be featured in my classes this week.

Thought I'd share this cute card with you.

I stamped the monsters onto Whisper White cardstock then used Stampin' Up!'s watercolour pencils to colour them in.  I didn't use an aqua painter because the images should really be stamped on watercolour paper for it to work properly, but I'm happy with how they turned out.

The most time consuming part was cutting them out, but it's relaxing and who doesn't need that ?!

I still have some spaces in this weeks classes if you'd like to come along and try out this stamp set for yourself.  And before you ask, no, this isn't the project!

Supplies Used:
Stamp Sets:Make a Monster  & Calendar Alphabet (R)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant
Ink: Poppy Parade, Garden Green & Elegant Eggplant
Watercolour Pencils
Brights Buttons
Spots Embossing Folder & Big Shot
Raffia

Cheers
Karen

A Ribbon by any Other Name

Summer Smooches Designer Paper was used to make this box, the Fancy Favour Die for the Big Shot.   It's a cute box with that wavy detail along the top don't you think?  

The "ribbon" was made by cutting a strip of Whisper White cardstock and stamping the greeting along the length.  I then cut it into 3 pieces, the length depends on the item your decorating, so I measured the width of the box and cut one piece about 2cm wider.   The remaining piece I cut in two so that one piece was about 3 cm longer than the other.  The smallest length makes the base of the ribbon and I cut the "flag" ends with a square punch (any size will do).   For the other two pieces, turn them over and place a bit of snail adhesive in the centre (on the back).  Fold each end in to the middle so they are stuck to the snail.   Layer the longer piece onto the base piece, the shorter piece on top of that, then wrap another piece of Whisper White (that you've stamped the greeting onto) around the middle and glue it at the back.  I find glue dots are the best way to attach it to the box.

 

By using this technique to make ribbon, you can have any colour and any width of ribbon you like.  So not excuse to not decorate with "ribbon"!

 

Karen

Gifty Things

These are a couple more of the projects I displayed at my catalogue launch to showcase the Summer Smooches Designer Series Paper.

The Journal makes a lovely gift for someone who likes to keep a little note book handy.  Yes, a few of my friends still like paper & a pen!

The flower detail was done using the Big Shot and the Fun Flowers Die.   I love the way each of the flowers are so different but they layer perfectly.  The medallion comes from the Pennant Die.

The bird on the bookmark was made by stamping the image from Betsy's Blossoms.

Candles are favourites of mine to give as gifts.  The larger one was stamped first using the tissue paper technique.   More about this later.     The small one was very simple and just uses a wrap made of DSP and decorated with a frame from the Big Shot, some flowers hand cut and a bit of ribbon.  Of course you have to remove the wrap before burning, but the stamped image is fine and won't set fire to the living room!  Always a bonus.   But don't look too closely, I put the paper on upside down..giggle!

Thanks for looking!
Karen

Ladies Just Want to Have Fun!

Catalogue browsing, stamping, make & takes, trying new products!  These ladies enjoyed it all!

And what could be more fun than a catalogue launch?

Even the dog likes the catalogue!  Way to go Stampin' Up! There is something for everyone.

Making an In Color sheet

Make n Takes with Betsy's Blossoms and the Itty Bitty Framelits

The best way to see the new Co-ordinations range is to have a go at embossing and sanding it!  Very popular!  I think Lou & Alicia enjoyed it too!

 

Thanks for coming along ladies.  I hope you have fun with all your new products!

Happy Wednesday!
Karen

Notecard Holder

This is a C.A.S.E. from the new catalogue.   It hold a bunch of cards and envelopes and has three coloured dividers in it with scallop circles cut in half to use as tabs.

The DSP is Summer Smooches.  It's so bright with Daffodil Delight, Rich Razzleberry & Island Indigo in it.   The flowers and letters are made using 2 retired products, but we have new gorgeous alphabet sets and the small flower from the Itty Bitty Punch pack would work just as well.  

I did some faux stitching around the edges of the DSP using a white gel pen.   And the ribbon is our gorgeous white 1/4" stitched grosgrain.

Enjoy!
Cheers
Karen

SUO Challenge 53

Well, I have the perfect project for this challenge which is all about boxes and bags.

I absolutely love making bags and special packaging for gifts, so I am thrilled to share this with you.

The nature of SUO challenges is that they are "Stampin' Up! Only" so you can only use SU products.   And that's not hard when your craft room is full of them!!  Here's a link to their blog if you'd like to check it out.

This bag is soooooo simple.  It uses 2 sheets of DSP and a strip of a third piece to define the top.  I particularly love this paper, Floral District, and especially the sheets I've used because those poppies lend themselves beautifully creating the feature of the bag.   I made the ribbon surrounds using a 1" circle punch and punched the centre out using the 3/8" hole from the Crop-a-dile.  The ribbon is white Organza, also SU.

Happy Wednesday!
Make something special to celebrate mid week!
Cheers
Karen

Project Displays

Some of the goodies I made to show at the launch.

I love this gorgeous photo box.  I'm trying to do more scrapbooking...time!  But this was a lovely way to show off some pics and embellishments.   And how cute are the buttons?  

Christmas gift ideas for 2012.   Not sure if you've seen SU's calendar this year, but it's super cute and comes with a display stand.  And who doesn't love a journal or notebook for Christmas?  Do you like the gift tags?  The idea for those came from Felicity's blog.  Check out her amazing work here.

No launch would be complete without a yummy treat or two.  I'm loving the cupcake toppers & that cake banner!

This Week's Classes

Here's a little peek at this week's classes featuring the new In Colors and our gorgeous new Designer Series Paper.

There's still a couple of spots if you'd like to come along, so contact me today.
Cheers
Karen

We Have Lift Off!

The 2012 Annual Catalogue is in full flight!  And didn't we bring it in well at the launch on Saturday?   I'll say.   The punch was flowing, the artichoke dip didn't disappoint, and the Catalogues were everything and more we'd hoped for!

So, with a big thank you to all the ladies who came along and made it a fun afternoon, here's the first of some pics for you.

Late on Friday, getting the goody bags ready.

New product samples for everyone

What's in a goody bag?

New DSP samples this year from "Summer Smooches" & "Be of Good Cheer"

Individual Fridge Magnets

To those of you who couldn't come, I hope you can join us next year.   Feel free to request a catalogue and I'll get one out to you straight away.

Cheers
Karen