Tuesday 29 October 2013

Holiday Card Consulting Service

Do you want to make your own Christmas/Hannukah/Holiday Season cards this year?


Would you like to have a handmade, but professional look to them?

I have the solution for you!

Book a half hour holiday card consultation with me and we can go through your ideas and I will help you plan and design your cards.

The cost for this one-on-one session is $40.  Call or email me today to lock in your dates and get those cards done!

Find my contact details here.


Monday 28 October 2013

First 3 Are Winners!

The FIRST 3 people to place an order with me today will receive a SPECIAL SURPRISE GIFT in the mail.


To place an order, call me on 0427 063 376, email me on kecumming@gmail.com or order online here.

Phone & Email orders must be received by me no later than 8pm this evening 28/10/13.

Online orders must be received by Stampin' Up! no later than 11.50pm this evening 28/10/13.

And don't forget that today is also the final day to SAVE 25% off 25 of our gorgeous stamp sets!

Good luck!   Make sure you're in the FIRST 3!

Cheers
Karen

Thursday 24 October 2013

The Perfect Gift From PaperLady Comes with Options

Finding the perfect gift can be so tricky these days.  Not to mention doing battle with the traffic, the Christmas shoppers, finding parking...the list goes on.

I have the solution for you!

Give a Gift Certificate from PaperLady this year.
 They are available in any amount, have 12 months validity and can be used for my classes or Stampin' Up! product - or a combination of both!


What could be easier?  You can EFT payment and I'll mail it out to you for free so you don't even have to leave home.

Feel free to share this post with anyone who might be looking for the perfect gift for you this year too!
Have a crafty day.
Cheers
Karen

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Get 25% off 25 Stamp Sets Until 28th October!

Wow, what a great way to celebrate Stampin' Up!'s 25th anniversary!

Check out this list and see which of these stamp sets you'd like to buy for yourself.  There's 6 pages of stamp sets, so have a look at them all!   BETTER STILL - start your Christmas shopping and get your crafty friends a gorgeous gift!

Have a happy stampin' day!
Karen

Tuesday 22 October 2013

More Altered Packaging

Yesterday I shared a couple of ideas for upcycling packaging.  Things you probably have in the cupboard that you can re-use to create interesting and pretty gift wrapping.

Here's a couple more:
 The humble egg carton has been re-used by children in schools and preschools forever!  But it's also cute when dressed up for nice choccies!  I like to buy eggs laid by hens in the farm yard but while looking for them be sure to choose the most natural looking boxes too.  This one was white but I did add a coat of sealer and some white paint to pretty it up a bit more.  Be careful though, food items do absorb odours and paint-tasting chocolate is yucky and possibly poisonous!!

 This is an all-time favourite bottle shape for me.  It's flat on both sides so you can stamp on it, but because it's round, it's perfect for doilies.  This one was made using brown packing paper from my Stampin' Up! orders and I cut it out using the Large Doily Die for the Big Shot.

 You can never have too many tea-lights.  These look stunning en masse in the garden when you're entertaining.  And they're super easy to stamp using black StazOn ink.
You can't see it here, but I've even stamped the bottom so you get a nice pattern reflecting when the candle is lit.

Happy Tuesday.
I may have a couple more ideas for you tomorrow, so pop back.

Cheers
Karen

Monday 21 October 2013

Can Altered Packaging Ideas Reduce Landfill?

I prefer to make my own packaging for gifts wherever possible.  And I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to great packaging shapes, whether it's bottles, boxes, plastic fruit containers or whatever!   My husband is constantly rolling his eyes at me when I ask him to save yet another item that he deems to be rubbish!

So today, I thought I'd share with you a couple of the things I have made that started their lives as something else.  Some of them are packaging, but some are now "new" objects in their own right.  I should point out that these are not all my original ideas - there's only about a dozen "new" ideas in the craft world, the rest are all variations!!

 This is a baby memory tin.  Can you guess what it was before?  

The ribbon was a challenge.  I used my old Stampin' Up! tool kit with the eyelet setter and hammer to make the hole.  It was noisy but it worked!
 These are the little inserts to write the milestones on.  I printed them on the computer using Whisper White card stock - border included then cut them with my trimmer.

I found the poem online and thought it was such a cute idea.  I still have incomplete baby books and my girls are almost 13 & 16!  I think one of these would have been much better for me!

 This is my personal favourite.  It would make a lovely gift box for jewellery or a scarf or other small item.  Yep, chocolates too!
 I think you may have guessed it started it's life as a strawberry box!  I filled it with shreddie that I've had for years, but if you've got a document shredder at home or work, you could make your own.  
 The cardstock was heat embossed with gold.
Ornament Keepsakes & Holly Jolly Stamp Set work well together don't they?

I'll have more ideas for you tomorrow, so pop back then.

Leave a comment if you think you know what the Baby Memory Tin was made from.....

Cheers
Karen

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Short Cut to Christmas Projects

Good Morning Stampers!

The holiday season is approaching and it's time to start planning your projects for Christmas cards, table decorations, gift giving and wrapping as well as home decor.

Sound overwhelming?  Well I can help you there!

I’d like to send you a free product catalogue. Normally it retails for $6 but I’m going to send it to you for free.  However before I do, I have to have a conversation with you.

So, if you want a Free catalogue, here’s what you need to do:


Send me an email at kecumming@gmail.com  with your phone number and the best time to call you.  

I’ll then call you and we’ll get the ball rolling on this.   Can’t wait to speak with you and looking forward to sending you that catalogue.

Have a crafty day!
Karen

Sunday 13 October 2013

Christmas Cards for the Troops, Card Making Day 2013

What a fantastic day we had today.  Thank you to all the fabulous card makers who helped make it such a perfect day of craft and fun.


Naturally, we played a couple of games to get the laughs going - or should I say, keep them going!  There's a lot of giggling and frivolity with this lovely bunch!!  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the hilarious Christmas drawing game that we did, but congratulations to Deb for winning the challenge!



The food was yummy, and a big thank you has to go out to C'est Bon & Baker's Delight in Rozelle who always support us with the most amazing quiches, breads and sweet treats.


All in all, it was terrific, and I think may be our largest event to date with around 24 people and approx 840 cards produced on the day! What an achievement.

A couple of other people took pictures so I will try to post those sometime this week.

Cheers
Karen


Tuesday 8 October 2013

Thinlits are Coming Soon!

What's a Thinlit I hear you say?    See below.....



Wow, what a cool idea!  I can't wait to get mine, and we will be using these in class later this month so if you want to have a go with this great new tool contact me to book now!

Cheers
Karen

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Butterflies on the Edge

This card is chock full of retired stuff....apologies!  However, take it as your cue to go dig out some of your older craft materials, I think you'll be surprised at what you find stashed in the back of your stamp drawers!!

And it's all about the butterflies.  They are from a set called Time Well Spent which was an appreciation gift to all demonstrators from Shelli, back when I was a demo in the U.S.  I won't ever be parting with it, that's for sure!

I stamped them on the edge of the Whisper White card base and have carefully hand cut around them.  This creates a border so you can see the inside of the card and I've added some patterned DSP in Blushing Bride (from an old stack).  I used my Stampin' Pastels on a cotton bud to colour the butterflies.  I bet you've got a set of those pastels somewhere haven't you?  And you haven't used them for a while, am I right?!

I'm not sure about the ribbon, it's a bit twee with that button and bakers twine but I thought it needed something else....and once it was stuck, I wished I'd left it blank with just the sentiment.  Tip - don't stick it till you're sure you're happy with the look.  Well duh!

Anyway the finished card is kind of girly and pretty.

Now, your challenge for today, if you choose to accept it, is to go find (or dig out) something you haven't used in a while and create a beautiful project with it.    I would love to hear about what you make, so please pop back with a comment to tell me all about it.

Have a lovely day.
Cheers
Karen

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Christmas Window Tutorial

I was inspired to make this card by Cindy Hall, one of the design team at Freshly Made Sketches.  It's quite a nice way to use the spruce tree from Lovely as a Tree.


I stamped the trees all over a square piece of card stock that measures 10cm x 10cm.  Some of the trees were stamped without re-inking so you get the feeling of depth.  Then I cut the card stock into 4 squares, each 5cm x 5cm.  Layer them onto a piece of black measuring 12cm x 12cm and you have your "view" in a window frame.

The ornaments were made using the Itty Bitty punch.  I attached them with glue dots so they're not completely flat.  The sentiment is punched out using the Decorative Label and I punched a scallop circle from glimmer paper to add a little mat and give it that extra lift from the frame.  Garden Green card stock cut with the Little Leaves Sizzlit adds an extra bit of greenery - I only cut one branch and snipped it in half because it was a bit big to use whole.

The whole thing is layered onto another piece of Whisper White measuring 13cm x 13cm.  And finally my card base is Cherry Cobbler, 14cm x 28cm folded in half.

Don't forget, when you're making large square cards you need to ensure you either have an envelope large enough for it, or you'll have to make one.  You should also consider the postage cost because non-standard sizes attract more $$.

Have a super day.
Cheers
Karen