PaperLady

Individual Spin

2012-02-02T16:20:00.000+11:00

I love the way people interpret things differently. It's endlessly fascinating and if you take the time to question why (in any scenario), it's quite an eye opener to discover what motivates people to do things.
Of course, if you look deeply, you'll find answers that go beyond basic likes/dislikes. Some are complex, some are not.

That said, I'd like to share a photo of one of the projects we made at class last night.   It shows how each person has put their own spin on the card. I can tell you there was a lot of giggling going on.......no names mentioned, you know who you are!!

Top of the challenge list for a lot of people is the torn paper technique.   It takes a while to become comfortable with the "messy" or random shapes that torn paper creates, and in fact, despite the actual tearing activity, I still believe you need to create a finished piece that looks balanced. But is that a contradiction? We also discovered (in class) that having long nails affects the end result. Who knew?!

Here's the pic.    I won't ID the makers - they know who they are.    But pay attention to the differences. After tomorrows class I'll post a pic of my sample.   We are very interesting, us crafters!

Stay out of the rain!
Karen

Dessert

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000+11:00

Ok, so it's not craft, but it is yummy!

I had this dessert the other night at the Sugar Room in Pyrmont. Super yummy passionfruit pavlova with chantilly cream and fairy floss!

How good is that? Now I don't normally photograph my food when I'm out to dinner - I was even a tad embarrassed - but it does look a little bit like a cute snow woman with a feather fascinator on her head, dont you think?!
Happy Australia Day - note the green & gold colour scheme of this picture.
Karen

Mojo Monday 225

2012-01-25T15:15:00.000+11:00

These are some of the freebies you can get during Sale-a-bration. I am lovin' this paper, Everyday Enchantment. It has lots of colours in it: Lucky Limeade, Pool Party, Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede & Peach Parfait. This makes it incredibly versatile and very easy to embellish because you're bound to have something in at least one of those colours.

I really like the new Postage Punch as well. It's part of Shelli's Signature Collection (say no more!) and is absolutely fabulous with the Pretty Postage stamp set. Both products are in the Summer Mini Catalogue. And to make Sale-a-bration even more attractive, there's a stamp set called Fresh Vintage that has another postage stamp in it.....ooooh I can hardly wait for my order to arrive.

I've also used Kindness Matters because the butterfly images work so well with the DSP. I have Felicity Hawkins to thank for this today because I popped over to her blog before I started crafting. You can also see a gorgeous card in this month's Aust Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine by Felicity. She really is a very talented lady.

Anyway, hope you're inside keeping dry.
Cheers
Karen

Sale-a-bration 2012

2012-01-24T15:11:00.000+11:00

What a lovely surprise to see a different product offering this year. Previously it has all been about stamps (and I do love that!), but this year we've got Designer Series Paper, ribbon & brads as well.

You can go check out the brochure on the Stampin' Up! website here.

How gorgeous are these papers? This is the pack you'll get for FREE with your product purchase - unless you choose stamps, ribbon & brads that is! Well, yes, we are spoiled for choice. But these papers are so delicious, I'm off to make a card with them right now!

Happy Sale-a-bration!

Oh, and if you place your order with me this week (before Jan 30) I'll also include a special little surprise from me to you!

Cheers

Karen

Sneak Peek

2012-01-13T09:57:00.000+11:00

Sale-a-bration 2012 is just over a week away and Stampin' Up! have outdone themselves with a lovely offering of goodies this year presented in a delightful new way.

Despite my determination to wait until the sales period, I managed to find this gorgeous Designer Series Paper in my last order....giggle. Ummm, how did that happen?!

Here's a sneak peek:

I've used lots of In Colors to make these: Poppy Parade, Calypso Coral, Peach Parfait, Pool Party. And of course, one of my favourite neutrals, Soft Suede. It seems that all our ribbons look lovely too, whether it's seam binding,

ruffled,

or lace.

These cards are for my special customers, so don't tell them that you've had a sneaky peaky!
Enjoy this Friday 13th.......hope it's not too weird!
Karen

Imagine the Possibilities

2012-01-12T09:00:00.001+11:00

When it comes to using scraps, the possibilities are endless, as I'm finding out.

This card was unbelievably simple and all determined by the size of the top layer (Concord Crush). I punched out circles with the 1 1/4" punch and layered them on top of eachother moving them around until I was happy with the look. The faux stitching was an accident - the thread broke in the machine so I ended up with a nice row of holes!! White gel pen to the rescue.

Tip: Be careful starting a card in this fashion i.e. top layer first. This card won't fit in a standard size envelope, so keep that in mind if you don't want to make an en-vy as well.

Happy Thursday.
Karen

Thanks a Million

2012-01-11T21:55:00.000+11:00

I think I've discovered the reason why I don't use enough scraps; they're tucked out of the way in my craft studio. Having them on the desk is far more sensible, although it does present a small space issue because the box is so big!! But here's another card that is helping to use them up:

I can't claim the design. It's one hundred per cent Stampin' Up! No wonder I love it so much.

Supplies used:
Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs & Word Play
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla & Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake & Cherry Cobbler
Punches: Doily, Lace Ribbon, 1 3/4" Scallop circle, 1/2 & /4" circles.
Crochet thread & red button

I'm interested to know how you store your scraps & where they are in your craft space. Leave me a comment!
Cheers
Karen

Sunday Scraps

2012-01-08T14:05:00.000+11:00

It's an overcast and slightly rainy Sunday afternoon - perfect for using up more scraps!

This lot (of scraps) came from a box I keep that's full of unused cardmaking kits from classes (some over 3 years ago!). I may be a hoarder?! Anyway, I pulled out a kit which contained the Close to Cocoa base, Ruby Red layer, vanilla watercolour paper & a piece of Mellow Moss gingham ribbon.....now that's old! The flourish (non SU) and the flowers were in the scrap shape drawer. A small amount of stamping with the trusty Stamp-a-majig for good placement (I can't say perfect......look closer, I'm a bit sloppy today!) and some glitter glue completes the card. The flowers are cut out from our long retired Haiku paper.

Happy Sunday.
Karen

Scrap to it!

2012-01-07T09:00:00.000+11:00

Two days of this and I may have formed a habit? Oh well, it's a productive one!

This card uses up some embossed cardstock that I'd previously made with the Stripes embossing folder. Some of the design elements were necessary to cover flaws - there's a mark on the white cs under the butterfly and the embossed whitecs was a little crushed so I covered it with the butterfly negative. Love that!

The butterfly negative - or stencil, was created using scrap cs - yes! - and I embossed the cut out for added interested. Using daubers, I added colour so the white cardstock, then turned the stencil over (so you don't see the messy inky edges) and attached it with dimensionals. The flower brad makes a cute centrepiece.

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set: Curvy Verses
Cardstock: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Petals a Plenty & Stripes EBF & Beautiful Butterflies Die with Big Shot
Scallop Trim Border Punch
1/8" Taffeta Ribbon in Daffodil Delight

Have a lovely weekend!
Karen

Getting into the groove....

2012-01-06T09:00:00.003+11:00

Ok, so it's only been one day, but I'm feeling a tad proud about the whole "using the scraps up" thing. Yes, I've done it again, with the exception of the card base - but that must mean that I've run out of large white scraps, right?!

I got the idea for the dress on SCS. And there, in front of me in the scrap-shape drawer was a die cut perfect for a skirt. Yep, it's from the Perfect Pennants die and I love Not Quite Navy so now all I have to find is a scrap of DSP in.......yes! Blueberry Crisp! What a find. The rest is, well, scraps!

The top is made using the Designer Label punch & it has that little cut out bit in the centre perfect for a waist line.

I used the 1/2" circle punch for the neckline and attached some blue seed beeds with Crystal Effects.

Supplies Used:
Stamp Set: Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Wild Wasabi textured
Ink: Wild Wasabi
DSP: Blueberry Crisp (R)
Tulip Embossing Folder, Perfect Pennants Die & Big Shot
Designer Label Punch, Small Oval (Retired), Large Oval punch
Silver cord & seed beeds - non SU

Oh I could play all day!
Cheers
Karen

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000+11:00

Without some discipline I will soon disappear under a pile of scrap paper & left over die cuts and punch shapes. It's not that I don't use my scrap bits and bobs, I certainly try, but somehow they seem to multiply in the dead of night while the craft room is empty......very mysterious!

When I made my Mojo card yesterday, I played around with a couple of things, as you do, until I came up with the finished project. Naturally, my "extra" bits were piled on the table, and as I was about to sweep them into the scrap drawer a little voice yelled "Stop!" Since they were all in the same colour scheme & looked quite nice together, my little voice told me to do something with them now. So I did......

Absolutely everything is out of the scrap pile. Even the card base. I did have to do a bit of piecing together but you can't really tell so what the heck?

The punched circles and scallop circle came about by accident. I punched the smaller circle first (Pool Party), then went back to the scrap piece, now with a hole in it and punched out the larger circle (Pool Pary ring). The Very Vanilla scallop circle was made by punching out the 1 3/4" circle first then going back to the scrap piece with the hole in it to punch out the scallop which I offset slightly - just for fun! I used Tombow multi adhesive to stick the hemp onto the ribbon because the bottle has a nice fine tip that you can easily use for small areas.

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Pool Pary, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake & Metallic Gold
Ink: Soft Suede
DSP: Spice Cake
Punches: Small Heart, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, 1 3/8" Circle
Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon & Hemp
Antique Brads

Hope you are somewhere crafting.
Karen

Mojo Monday 222

2012-01-04T13:32:00.001+11:00

My first project for 2012 is this weeks Mojo Monday. I thought I'd take the opportunity to use more of my Spice Cake suite....still lovin' it!

I inked the main stamped image with More Mustard & then after fussy-cutting I coloured the small circles with a Pool Party marker. The centre of the image is a smaller stamp from Spiced Paisly inked with Soft Suede & Pool Party marker. The edges of the Very Vanilla cardstock for the sentiment & the large circle are sponged with Pear Pizzazz, as are the leaves.

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Spiced Paisley & Warmest Regards (long retired)
Cardstock: Soft Suede Textured, Pear Pizzazz & Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party (marker) & Pear Pizzazz
Paper: DSP Spice Cake
Punches: 1 3/4" circle, Blossom Petals Builder, 3/4" circle
Polka Dots embossing folder & Big Shot
Basic Jewels: Pearls
Linen Thread

Gelato

2011-12-27T10:26:00.000+11:00

Here's a card I made for my daughter's friend who will be in Rome for her birthday this year - lucky girl!

The idea came from Jackie Topa. She's an absolute whizz at cardmaking but particularly brilliant at creating almost anything using punches. I wish I could see punch shapes in every day items still, with a bit of practice I'm sure I'll get better.

The cone is made with the Petal Cone die & then embossed using the square lattice folder. I punched out the icecreams with the 2 1/2" circle first, then punched each one with the 2 3/8" scallop circle. The first "scoop" of icecream is actually from the Petal Cone die. I stuck it behind the cone and then layered the "flavours" on top. A red button with some florist's wire for a stem makes a yummy cherry on top.

Hope you have a gelato flavoured day.
Karen

Snowflakes

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000+11:00

With our tropical weather right now, snowflakes are not exactly on my mind. In fact, I feel more like I'm living in Singapore than Sydney! But it is Christmas and I love snow......ahhh the christmasses of my childhood. And more recently, those spent in the US.
Anywho, making that lovely snowflake using the lace border punch for class recently, I had some over and this is what I did:

I've had these note pads for ages...years maybe..giggle. They were already cute with their little built in pen holder and miniature pens. But now they're gojus!!

I covered the fronts with DSP. The one on the left is Beau Chateau, on the right is Old Olive from the Brights Stack. The Not Quite Navy scallop circle comes from the Perfect Pennants die for the Big Shot. If you haven't got one of these, you're mad (and I mean that nicely!), because we've already had a great sale on the machine this year so now you'll have to pay full price. Still 24 hours to call me before it's too late for a gift certificate though!!

Here's a close up of the snowflake. You take a strip of cardstock, mine was about 18cms long and punch the whole length with the Lace Border punch. Then you accordian fold it and adhere the two ends with sticky strip to make a circle. It will want to sit up like a funnel so you have to tease it flat in the centre and use a dollop of mono liquid glue to stick it to the scallop circle. Punch a bit more out with the Lace Border again and cut out a centre piece to glue onto the middle of the snowflake. Top with a rhinestone and you're done.

For extra pizzazz, use a Zig glue pen to add a line of glue along one edge of the punched strip before you accordian fold it. Sprinkle it with Dazzling Diamonds and wait a couple minutes for it to dry before folding - carefully to avoid all the glitter coming off on your hands.

Now who wouldn't want a pad to write their wish list on that looks like this?

Be merry!
Karen

Blink & you've missed it!

2011-12-23T17:35:00.000+11:00

2011 that is! Well, slight exaggeration, but it sure went by in a flash.

Last Saturday was our PaperLady Christmas party. I chose to combine all classes & club this year and we had a ball.......well that's no surprise! There was a little bit of crafting done (thanks ladies for helping me use the Big Shot to get a lot of scallop circles made for ornaments), a lot of laughs while we played games, and of course, the required sharing of treats. It was a lovely way to round off our year.

Here we are just getting started. Who's that in disguise?

Gloria went all out with the Christmas jewellery, while Michelle chose Christmas colours from her wardrobe.

Avril wouldn't miss an opportunity to craft, even at a party!

Is that Susie underneath the bling?!

No one could deny that Wendy was the best-Christmas-dressed! Yes, she won the Elf award for Christmas spirit.

Kristen however, forgot......well, actually she didn't read the email (by her own admission), so she was the recipient of the Grinch award!
Nice face!

It's no party without the Big Shot - that's it, centre stage.

And of course, every good shin-dig has a line up at the buffet table

what nice ladies they are, patiently waiting their turn

Gloria trying to convince us that she should get an elf award too!

So, that's it for 2011. Lot's of lovely crafting done, new friendships made, a shared joke or two and lots of fun had by all.

Oh, and by the way, the Elf & Grinch are the genius ideas of Brisbane demonstrator Vicki Hodgman. If I can find her blog, I'll pop back later with a link for you.

I look forward to sharing more craft adventures in our classes & club during 2012.

Cheers
Karen

Paperlicious

2011-12-13T15:55:00.000+11:00

Last night we held our first PaperLicious Christmas Party at the Indian Palace in Balmain. We had a lovely evening with good company, a few giggles & some crafting talk, great food & fantastic swaps.

It was a bit dark so we look a little grainy - sorry girls!

This month's swap challenge was to use the Ornament Punch (item #119847). We also had a step it up option to try to create something that wasn't necessarily Christmas. I love this type of challenge because it shows you just how versatile our punches really are. And who wouldn't want to buy a high quality punch that they can use for Christmas and ALL year round?

Joey's card

Irene's card

Julie's treat bag

Wendy's card

My card

Tracy's card

Michelle's gift box

Joey decorated these cello bags and filled them with Italian cookies for each of us.

And here we are after dinner stamping on the paper table cloths and holding up our lovely crafty things!

Not happy unless we're stamping

Showing off our swaps.

Happy Tuesday!
Karen

Yummy

2011-12-12T22:00:00.000+11:00

Who doesn't love cupcakes?

I made this cute little set as Christmas gifts for my team. 12 patty cases with a holly pattern, 12 toppers & some red and green Christmas tree sprinkles. So cute.

I made the box to size. That's super easy to do, just place the items you want to pack into a box on your SU grid paper........order it from me today......then you can see how big the base of the box needs to be. Add a couple of centimetres (or more) for the sides of the box and cut your card stock to size, scoring it at the appropriate depth. I use a Scor-Pal for this but a ruler & stylus work just as well (hurry up SU, we want our own company scoring tool please!).

Lastly, you make a wrap out of acetate and again use your grid paper and box base to determine the size and the score marks. Add a stamped piece and some ribbon and your done.

Hope you're getting through your Christmas preparations.
Cheers
Karen

Mojo Monday 217

2011-12-05T09:46:00.001+11:00

This is a week late for the Mojo Monday challenge, but better late than never, right?
I've used these gorgeous new products from the Nautical Expedition Suite in the Summer Mini Catalogue. The stamp is from a set called The Open Sea & the Designer Series Paper is Nautical Expedition.

And how's that Bakers Twine? Gorgeous! It's deceptively soft and not at all like something you'd use to truss a chicken.....oh, I suppose that's butcher's string...giggle.

For my Family is the stamp set that contains the word 'dad' - it's a set of 24 and includes every family member so it's super versatile as well as "happy birthday", "merry christmas" & "congratulations". Love that.

Other products are: Early Espresso ink, 2 1/2" circle & modern label punch. The buttons are also from the Summer Mini and are called Spice Cake Designer Buttons with 16 in the pack in 4 colours - Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede & Pear Pizzazz. The Ruffled Ribbon is in Pool Party.

Click on the pic on the side bar to go check out the new Summer Mini Catalogue for more inspiration and gorgeous new products.

Cheers
Karen

December Frenzy is Here!

2011-12-01T14:32:00.000+11:00

December marks a number of occasions in our family. The most important is my daughter's birthday today.......here's a picture of her card:

I even decorated the inside. Love that butterfly die for the Big Shot

Happy Birthday Hayley. It's also the beginning of the silly season for us.....the decorations will go up once the birthday celebrations are over and we'll start the round of social events & generally get all christmassy feeling!

It's also a big month for Stampin' Up! with their December Frenzy sale.........see the flyer here with AMAZING prices. I'm so relieved that I didn't order a couple of these products last month so now I can save some dollars for extra Christmas shopping...giggle.

And of course, the Summer Mini Catalogue products are available today....woo hoo, it's a good day in crafting!

Mojo Monday 216

2011-11-22T21:33:00.000+11:00

Another great sketch from Mojo Monday - again, it appeals to me because of it's simplicity. Which seems to be the reason why I get overly (and uncharacteristically) busy with my card! Go figure.

All I knew when I saw this sketch was that it was going to feature my new favourite DSP that's coming in the mini which will launch on 1st December. So yes, you are getting a sneaky peaky!

The paisley stamp was done by inking the stamp with markers in a random way. Tip: start with the lightest coloured marker and work up to the darkest so you don't mess up your lighter colours. Use the brush tip and don't worry too much about where you ink as long as you get the variety in the colour and ensure the whole stamp is inked.

Supplies used:
Spiced Paisley (coming soon) & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz
Paper: Spice Cake DSP (coming soon)
Ink: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Pool Party
Designer Buttons Spice Cake in Soft Suede (coming soon), Elegant Lines Embossing Folder & the Big Shot, Hemp & Vanilla crochet thread, Basic Pearls.

Hope you are staying dry in this awful weather!
Karen

Early Product Release

2011-11-22T08:52:00.000+11:00

You gotta love this! You can buy the gorgeous Stitched Stocking Set & co-ordinating punch BEFORE the Summer Mini Catalogue comes out on 1st December.
That's right, order it now and get your Chrissy projects off to a great start.

Stitched Stocking Stamp set of 7

#125798 Wood Mount $53.95

#123784 Clear Mount $42.95

Stocking Tag Builder Punch

#124095 $33.95

Cheers
Karen

What's the Goss?

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000+11:00

Feel the Frenzy, that's what! In addition to the Summer Mini Catalogue on Dec 1st (cue small whoop of joy), you will be able to enjoy select Stampin' Up! merchandise with up to 50% discounts. Oooooh, just in time for Christmas. Get your partner, hubby, significant other, even your neighbour to purchase a Gift Certificate from me so you'll have something under the tree that you REALLY want this Christmas. Then, call me on Dec 27 with your order. Sounds fantastic to me!

Merry Merry!

Enjoy the week!
Cheers
Karen

There's a Buzz in the Air

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000+11:00

The Summer Mini is due out on December 1st.....I can hardly wait to show you. Here's a little lookie at a couple of projects I made with one of the stamp sets:

Quite pretty I think! And oh so simple. A quick one layer card with the sentiment stamped twice in 2 colours then punched out and raised on dimensionals. A little silver clip from the Clips Asst pack adds a nice detail and the ribbon, well, I just love the ruffles! There's a smidgen of yellow behind the decorative label.....it's bleach. It was intentional, I assure you. I'm planning a class on that technique coming soon.

This heart is from the same set as the stamped image above. I did a bit of spotlighting to highlight the bird and butterfly. Not sure if you can see the little pearls in the centre of some of the flowers, they are so delicate. Organza ribbon, a crocheted flower & an Antique Brad.....need I say more? The colours are Poppy Parade (red), Baja Breeze (blue) and So Saffron. Not a colour combo I would choose but the Color Coach told me to do it, so I figured I'd better try!

Right, I'm off to the beach for breakfast, hope you have a nice day planned....see ya!
Karen

Versatile Stockings

2011-11-19T09:00:00.002+11:00

Playing around with the Stitched Stocking set & punch has been a lot of fun. And I'm sure you're all dying to be able to buy it come Dec 1st. Here's a sneak peek at some of the cute things you can use it for:

Now I can use this stamp set & punch all year round....woohoo! I stamped the stockings in Pretty in Pink on Whisper White then cut about a third off the top. Trimming the little scallop tops was easy then I stuck then back onto the stocking base with snail. The Striped embossing folder looks great with Flirtatious DSP layered on top. Hello Baby came from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and the rhinestones......shhhhhh....are covering up a mistake!

Rudolph is made by using the stocking upside down. The antlers came from the Bird Builder punch and the nose is from the Owl builder. His ears are the heel of stocking punch.

Timeless Portrait DSP gives this a non-traditional look for Christmas. The stockings make great "L's" and I've used the Timeless Type alphabet Sizzlits for the other letters. This is a slightly different shaped Joy fold card with the width of the fold out piece rather long, but necessary because of the length of the word. Tip - make it bit deeper so that the card can stand up when open....oops! Triple layer Doily Punch used for the closer and the Cherry Cobbler stamping on the background piece is from Season of Joy.

Now, go play with your punches!!

Karen

It's a Scrapbook Page!

2011-11-18T20:14:00.001+11:00

It's been a long time since I did a page. Please don't read back through my scrapbook posts because you'll find I've done nothing I promised! Oh, the best laid plans....giggle!

Last night I went to a scrapbook class that my downline Irene was hosting. This is what I made:

Isn't it gorgeous? I copied (almost exactly) the sample because no matter how hard I try, I just can't do my own thing in a class.   I get all flustered and then end up with a project I don't like, so this way, I come home with a perfect project, one I love and that I can then develop in the relative peace of my craft room.

Supplies used:
Ornament Punch - well duh, right?!    Some were stamped first using Contempo Christmas, others are dry embossed using the Polka Dots embossing folder and the Big Shot.
A few were Spritzed to give them some sparkle.

The pictures were taken during a Christmas holiday in Mammoth, CA a couple of years ago. Such lovely memories.   But the $64 million question.....will I do more pages....you'll have to check back to see!
Have a great weekend.
Karen

Circle Circus Swaps

2011-11-15T11:39:00.001+11:00

Thought I'd share the swaps I received at our PaperLicious team meeting last night. This was our first team swap and the brief was to use Circle Circus.

Wendy

Irene

Tracy

Julie

Julie put a scratchie inside. And I won $2!!

Joey

Aren't they gorgeous? I will add Michelle's when I get it, but we missed her last night as she was sick. Get better soon!
Happy Tuesday.
Karen

First Thank You 2011

2011-11-14T22:22:00.000+11:00

What a lovely surprise email I received tonight - our first thank you for this year's Christmas Cards for the Troops. It touches my heart when I read this and I'm thrilled that Major Toohey would take the time to send it. I will scan the email to post on the CCFTT page, but this is a copy and paste so it doesn't look quite as official.

**********************************************************
Dear Karen,
On behalf of the Australian Officer's working for the UN in Israel,
Syria, Lebanon and Egypt (Operation Paladin), I would like to thank
you for the lovely Christmas Cards you sent us to use for our families
back home.
Be assured that we truly appreciate the fact that Aussies are thinking
of us over the festive season and ensuring our welfare is being looked
after.
Thankyou and have a safe and happy Christmas period back home. We will
miss it for sure over here.
David

D.J.TOOHEY
Major
********************************************************

Happy Monday
Karen

Christmas Joy Fold

2011-11-10T10:00:00.001+11:00

I just earned a performance bonus with SU......love getting free stuff, don't you?! One of the products I chose was the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet for the Big Shot. It's the perfect size for cards. So I thought I'd give it a try with the Joy fold card.

I seem to be very focused on traditional Christmas colours this year. Not sure why. Anyway I'm running low on patterned paper so I made my own.

Supplies used:
Stamps: Snow Swirled & the standard wheel Sweet Swirls
Cardstock: Real Red & Whisper White
Paper: DSP Neutrals stack - Whisper White
Ink: Lucky Limeade & Real Red
Triple Layer Doily punch
Rhinestones & some of last years polka dot ribbon that I turned over so you just see the stitching.

It's too hot, so I'm moving my office to the pool!
Cheers
Karen

Oh Joy!

2011-11-09T12:57:00.000+11:00

Just tried my first Joy fold card. And I think I like it! There's quite a lot of processes but that may be because I made it a bit busy. It's simple enough to do, and I think you could play around with the dimensions to suit your needs.

Do you see the little blue scallop trim behind the Happy Birthday greeting? I made that by punching out some cardstock using the new Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. Then I cut the punched piece in half lengthways to stick it behind the Modern Label.

You can see how I've attached the little closer-holder thingy here. I've used dimensionals but put two on top of each other so it's easier to close the card.

I love the way all the patterned paper is so different, yet it works so well. That's the beauty of Stampin' Up! co-ordinating products. Takes all the guess work out! And this particular pack of DSP has 11 colours in it making it perfect for all sorts of projects and colour palletes.

Supplies:
Stamps: Warmest Regards & Tiny Tags, Creative Elements
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy & Whisper White
Paper: DSP Paisley Petals
Ink: Bravo Burgundy & Not Quite Navy
Modern Label, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border & Jewellery Tag, Bird Builder, 1 1/4" circle & 1 3/8" circle punches
Linen Thread

Stay cool in this HOT November weather. I'm melting in my craft room!
Cheers
Karen

Card Delivery Day is Here!

2011-11-07T09:11:00.001+11:00

Well, it's Monday 7th November and I'm off to the barracks to deliver all the lovely Christmas cards that are so beautifully handmade & donated by many wonderful cardmakers from around Australia. I will add some pics to this post when I get back later on.

I did open the door this morning to the postie with another box of 100 so I'm thrilled that they made it to me on time. If you have sent cards and your name is not on the list perhaps they haven't made it to me yet. Watch this space, I'll see what I can do.

Those are just some of our cards packaged into the yellow envelopes ready for the off. That little lot is going to Afghanistan.

When I arrived at the barracks there were some extra cards sent there to be included with our stash so that took the total to 2,601! How fantastic is that? So there you have it.....another year of CCFTT is complete. Take a bow everyone. You've all done very well!

Happy Monday
Karen

Glebe Markets

2011-11-03T10:00:00.003+11:00

Susie, Gloria & I did our first market stall at Glebe last month. It was a great day, we met lots of lovely people and sold some of our stock......to make room for more!

Here's our little stall. We had lots of lovely things and will be doing it again on 12th November so if you want some Christmas cards or packaging ideas that are unique and beautifully hand made why not pop by and see us?

Cheers
Karen

Inkspirations Challenge #92

2011-11-02T15:00:00.000+11:00

This colour challenge from Inspirations was Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand & Very Vanilla.

I made the banner for the greeting using the large oval punch - cute eh? I'll pop back in a day or two with a tutorial. The centre of the flower is made using our new seam binding. I'm loving that ribbon! It's so soft and easy to work with. It's a fairly easy technique where you tie a knot in the end of your ribbon then keep wrapping around the knot until you get a closed rose look. It's secured with glue dots - about 5. I wish SU still had the big ones!

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy & Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla
DSP: Timeless Portrait & Cherry Cobbler
Ink: Not Quite Navy
Lace Border Punch
Big Shot, Stripes Embossing Folder & Fun Flowers die
Rhinestones & Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding

Don't forget that some of our Big Shot dies are on special right now - check it out here.

Cheers
Karen

My Morning Walk

2011-11-02T10:00:00.001+11:00

It was a glorious morning the other day and I happened to have my phone so I took these pictures.

Sorry it's not craft related, but maybe the colours will inspire you to go make something.

Cheers

Karen

Remember, Remember the 5th of November.......

2011-11-01T19:49:00.000+11:00

.....gunpowder, treason, and........Stampin' Up! SPECIALS! Ok, so if you're not English, you may not get that was the first line of a poem about Guy Fawkes who was in a lot of trouble for plotting to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.......what does that have to do with a special offer, you ask? Well, it's a sale to "Die" for.......

Check out these dies and their prices! And, if you haven't got a Big Shot yet why not take advantage of the bundle discount?

GE DescriPTION RETAIL PRICE 10% OFF
Call or email me today to take advantage of this great offer, and see how the Big Shot & it's wonderful dies & embossing folders will have you creating beautiful Christmas cards and gift packaging to impress your friends and family in a flash.

Cheers
Karen

Finally...

2011-11-01T19:02:00.000+11:00

I finally sat down to make a pile of Christmas cards for the troops! I have made others throughout the year, but because it was such a busy time on our special cardmaking day I didn't get to make a big bundle in one go.

I decided to keep it really simple and use some of my stash - something I've been trying to do with other projects as well. And I'm quite pleased with the results. Here's some of them:

They look so pretty all grouped together on the table.

The retired DSP on this one was Riding Hood Red. I loved that pattern. Isn't the organza ribbon gorgeous?

More retired DSP & stickers from a long gone pack of Accents & Elements. The buttons were gifted to me by a friend and I think it looks really cute on top of the wreath from Contempo Christmas

I can't remember what this paper was called........thinking......maybe Holiday Harmony? Or it could have been a Simply Scrappin' kit......Wish Big perhaps?

Another DSP from the same pack as the one above. I'm thinking it was Wish Big.

How cute is that little bird & the snowflake? I always overlook those Sizzlits and now they're retired :-((

As much as I like doing cards that have a bit more to them, it's quite satisfying to make really simple ones that you can do quickly. And it lets the paper speak for itself - which is so easy when it's Stampin' Up! because it's totally gorgeous - retired or not.

Hope you enjoyed the Melbourne Cup today!
Karen

Yum....Cake!

2011-11-01T10:00:00.001+11:00

As promised, here's Lana's cake.

She loves wearing Vans and wanted a cake in her favourite pair.......a picture later, and the clever Michelle from Scrumdiddlyumptious cakes made this.

It was so yummy. The cake itself is choc mud and even the floorboards are edible - I loved that because you can never have too much icing.

Check out Michelle's many designs here.

Hope you have a flutter on the Melbourne Cup today and win a prize!
Cheers
Karen

A birthday weekend

2011-10-31T12:22:00.000+11:00

Wow! What a busy weekend. We were on the go constantly, but what a fab time we had. It was Lana's birthday on Saturday and I wanted to share the cards that Hayley & I made for her.

Hayley's first:

She's used Fox & Friends for the monkey stamp. And what a great job of cutting them all out! I love the colours - inspired by the new Big Top DSP.

Here's mine:

I found the idea for the bear on SCS. Isn't he cute? He was easy to make: I used the 1 3/4" circle punch for the body, the 1 1/4" for the head and tummy, 1" for the face, the large circles from the Owl Builder for the paws & ears, and the small circles for the eyes. I drew the claws, nose & eyes on with a black journalling marker. The paper is Big Top DSP and I've used it on the flag banner & the present. I hand cut the little flags because I don't have a punch that I was happy with to get the right shape. The present was made using the 1 1/4" square punch. Linen thread attached with brads is ideal for hanging the banner but it was a bit fiddly & I had to punch a hole in the whisper white cardstock first, then tie the bow in the thread and set the middle of it over the hole before pushing the brad through. I like the stripes embossing folder but did find that it cracks the white cardstock - odd because it's ok on coloured stock. Who knew? The stickers for the numbers and word "Bear" were in my stash - how lucky that I had the right colours!

Thanks for looking. I'll pop back tomorrow with a picture of the cake made by my friend Michelle.

Happy Halloween!
Karen

Mojo Monday 212

2011-10-25T12:02:00.000+11:00

I had a huge clean out of my craft studio yesterday - huge! I moved everything, cleaned under everything and re-gigged my space. It was wonderful to come up here this morning and see how lovely everything looks! In the process, I streamlined all my scraps and leftover kits from classes, making a decision that I would use some of these things up rather than stock-piling them for a future date (that never comes!)

This weeks mojo sketch is a nice simple one (I like those!). So I got to work sifting through the old kit box and found some ready cut papers & cardstock just perfect.

The colours are Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Basic Black & Very Vanilla. I've used some of our retired DSP "Newsprint" & Pacific Point DSP. The greeting stamp is from Afterthoughts (now retired), but remember, it was part of an old kit so the idea is to use as much from the kit as possible and try not to make more scraps!! I have added the "4 You" greeting from Tiny Tags Yes, they were in the kit too.

Have a scrappy day. It feels great!

Pink Ribbon Day

2011-10-24T13:24:00.000+11:00

Today's a day for remembering those we've lost to breast cancer and for sending hope and prayers to those who are dealing with this dreadful disease.

Be thoughtful and thankful today.
karen

Simple Thank You Cards

2011-10-18T10:42:00.000+11:00

It's getting harder and harder to make a card without the Big Shot!! Who knew?!
These cards are really simple and use the Top Note & the Tulips Embossing Folder.
I'm loving that Mocha Morning Specialty paper - this one is flocked in black. It goes so nicely with everything!

The ribbon is the new ruffled one in Lucky Limeade.

The cardstock colours are Calypso Coral, Island Indigo & Wisteria Wonder. I printed the message on Whisper White cardstock then ran it through the Big Shot with the Top Note.

Have a lovely day.
Karen

Crafting for a great Christmas

2011-10-15T22:25:00.001+11:00

What a super day I had today. Why, you ask? Well, I was fortunate to spend almost ALL day crafting with some lovely ladies while we made Christmas cards for our deployed servicemen and women. Well. I use the term "we" loosely......I didn't actually finish even one card today!!!! I was too busy organising, talking, running the raffle, talking, fielding questions, talking, eating cupcakes, and did I mention....talking? I did prep 50 cards though and thanks to my friends Deb & Gudula, 15 of them did get finished. I will complete the rest before the due date....giggle.
However, the other ladies, oh my goodness, they made a collective 463 cards! How fantastic is that? Take a bow ladies. Your generosity donating all your supplies, your time and your help is valued and appreciated, thank you!

Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was a visit from Julee who runs the ops area at the barracks where they dispatch our cards from each year. Julee brought 3 soldiers with her, all in uniform, and what a treat it was to have them join us for a chat. I think they even learnt a few craft tips & techniques. The pictures tell the story!

Nigel's first ever card making experience. Helped along by Margaret's craft genius-ness!

Just getting started

Surprise visit from the army

Quality control!

Look at them work!

It was such a lovely surprise when Julee arrived with the troops, I almost cried!

Learning to punch out a stamped image with lots of encouragement!

Telling jokes.....blurry picture incase you can lip read!

Claudia did a presentation on Origami cubes - ideal Christmas baubles. Thanks Claudia!

A finished cube

Very elegant Kelly

Stunning!

Love that tree Justina

Justina's a master with the glitter glue

Margaret's second year at CCFTT. What a sweetie!

Sorting, sorting! So many cards, so little space to put them all. This is one happy lady! Michelle, your smile is infectious!

Gloria shall be crowned the card making, cake baking queen of the day. 110 cards & 18 cupcakes. Wow!

Yes, Bev had a big smile on her face too as she sorted and packed her creations

Denise used a lovely chalk technique on the baubles. Gorgeous!

What a whiz you are Jenny! So many cards.....oh 45 I think!

Nigel showing us 3 of his cards - his first attempt no less. Well done!

The lovely Susie treats us to more of her creative designs.

Claudia shows off her different designs

That ornament punch was popular today - there were at least half a dozen in the room and something tells me that Joey really likes it!

Thanks to Gudula, some of my cards got made today. And I think she's a happy crafter too!

Deb making sure I've got some more made! Another big smile....every picture tells a story

Avril's second year at this event also - and around 52 cards made! I think you love this hobby Avril!

Last but by no means least, I must thank those businesses who contributed to make our day such a success:
Stampin' Up! for wonderful raffle prizes.
Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre for the use of the garden room.
Victoire Bakery Rozelle - Duncan, the pastries & bread were divine
C'est Bon Cafe Rozelle - Elizabeth, the quiche was delicious
Woolworths Balmain - Graham donated a gift card for salads, drinks & partyware.
Avril, Michelle, Gloria & Susie all brought sweet treats to round off our lunch. Yum to you all!

Stamp happy wherever you are!
Karen

Bookmark Case

2011-10-13T11:43:00.000+11:00

I'm casing the IB&C this morning, and I really like the result.

It was so easy to make.   And although I do have the supplies list I didn't really need it, just the picture from the catty.
The stamp set is Kindness Matters & I've used Lovely Letters for the alphabet.   I cut the "K" out using the Curly Label punch. Then I stuck it to a post-it note and repunched it on all four sides to make it smaller - cute eh?
The inks are Melon Mambo & Soft Suede and I cut the bookmark using the Two Tags die in the Big Shot with Confetti White cardstock. Victoria Crochet Trim, a pin from Vintage Trinkets and a charm complete the look.    The charm is not SU (I've had it for years, as you do!) but the catty uses the Trinket Keys and I think I'm now going to have to buy them!!

Happy Thursday.
Karen

Nice packaging!

2011-10-03T19:03:00.000+11:00

According to my husband, this is a Samboy box. I think they were drink containers that you used to freeze??

Anyway, it's a gorgeous shape for packaging little gifts. This one has a small trinket box with a fob watch top inside. I love the results. I guess the downside is that you have to destroy it to get it open, but if you only put a bit of snail onto the centre fold it does come away easily.

The DSP is Beau Chateau. Isn't it lovely? I love this paper because it goes with the Elements of Style stamp set which I've used to make the tags.

I paired it with the Box #2 die for the Big Shot to make this little Marina Mist chocolate box. This shade of blue works really well with Chocolate Chip and Early Espresso. I love the Boho Blossoms punch to layer small flowers and the pearl is a perfect embellishment.

What could be better than a couple of passionfruit truffles from Belle Fleur?! Yum!

Hope you have enjoyed the long weekend. See if you can finish it with a craft project!
Karen

Another Christmas sample

2011-09-26T09:00:00.006+10:00

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

2011-09-23T09:00:00.001+10:00

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

2011-09-22T09:00:00.001+10:00

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

2011-09-21T09:00:00.004+10:00

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

2011-09-20T17:05:00.001+10:00

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....

2011-09-20T11:47:00.000+10:00

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!!

2011-09-15T17:21:00.000+10:00

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

2011-09-13T12:47:00.000+10:00

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

2011-09-11T15:44:00.002+10:00

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

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000+10:00

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

2011-09-08T09:00:00.001+10:00

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

2011-09-07T09:00:00.001+10:00

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!

2011-09-06T17:31:00.001+10:00

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

2011-09-06T15:33:00.000+10:00

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.

2011-09-02T10:00:00.002+10:00

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.

Less Than One Day To Go!

2011-08-31T15:47:00.000+10:00

That's right, tomorrow we can order from the new catalogue.....woohoo! But today, I had a play with some things I got on my preorder (demonstrator privelages, yeh!).

I really like the Lace Border Punch and wanted to use it to edge this card....but guess what? When I punched it on the edge of the Wisteria Wonder base it fell off! Yep, it's a border punch that comes clean off leaving a straight line on whatever you've punched it from....funny when you do it the first time! So the resulting strip of Lucky Limeade was a necessity, and fortunately I like it.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Creative Elements and Well Scripted
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade & Whisper White
Ink: Wisteria Wonder & Island Indigo
Ribbon: White Taffeta
Lace Border Punch
Basic Jewels Rhinestones

Hope you like it too!
Karen

Petite Pocket

2011-08-30T12:11:00.001+10:00

Here's a really simple project I made using the Petite Pocket Bigz Die and the Big Shot:

The cool colour is one of our new In Colors (available 1st Sept) and it's called Pool Party. I've stamped in Lucky Limeade (another new In Color) using Word Play and Delicate Doilies. The closure is made using the little circley holey thingys that are part of the Die and I've added antique brads with some linen thread.

These little pockets are sized to hold gift card.

Here's one that's a tad more busy.

The inspiration for this came from Bettty Traciaks blog. She has amazing ideas for all sorts of lovely things.

Finally, the pocket we made as our Make n Take at the launch on Sunday:

I did this one in Island Indigo using the Button Buddies set and Whisper White Taffeta ribbon. Cute don't you think? You make the closure by punching two holes next to eachother in the centre of the flower and threading each end of the ribbon from back to front. Wrap your ribbon band lengthwise around the pocket and pull the ends so the flower sits flat, then tie a knot or bow and trim the ends.

Tell the recipient that they don't need to untie the bow to open the pocket, they can just slide the band off sideways.

The insert is a small card with Happy Birthday stamped on it and I've used a bit of linen thread throught the circley holey thingy so you have something to grab onto when you pull it out of the pocket.

Happy Tuesday.
Karen

Catalogue Launch

2011-08-29T12:48:00.000+10:00

What a lovely afternoon we had at the catalogue launch yesterday. Games, fun, good friends, fantastic food and lots of prizes. We even managed to squeeze in a make n take....giggle. Oh and the catalogue! Possibly my favourite one ever and I'm pretty sure it was well received by everyone else (smile).

Thought I'd share this pic of my C.A.S.E of the front cover. I popped a small packet of seeds into each seed sleeve and gave one to all the attendees. I should have lots of friends I can borrow herbs from by summer!

Those beautiful real flowers were given to me at the launch by my friend Gudula - isn't that funny that she chose the colour to match the projects by accident? Well done Gudula.

I'd also like to say a big thank you to everyone who brought a plate to share. We were treated to some amazing treats both sweet and savoury and the call went up for a PaperLady cookbook so we may have a new project to start work on!

Happy Monday
Karen

Sneak Peek

2011-08-25T11:57:00.001+10:00

Well the new caty launch is fast approaching and I'm so excited!! I've been playing with products from my preorder and I can't wait to share them, but in the spirit of surprises, I don't want to give too much away, so here's a little sneaky peaky!

This card uses some new DSP, a new punch and yes...the new co-ordinating fabric. I've actually used a lot of fabric in my launch projects and it's so thrilling because I don't sew but I love the textures that using material can add to a design.

Like the dots? That was an accident!! I used the flat rubber stamp from the Distressing Essentials and a combination of dabbing and swiping to get the ink over the embossed polka dots. I love the way the little circles appeared as if by magic!

Hope you're signed up for my launch on the 28th, but if not see the side bar at the top of my blog........ooohhhhh there's a lot to look forward to!

Karen

Sketch Challenge WT335

2011-08-19T14:03:00.001+10:00

I had a chance to do another challenge this week. This time the brief called for heat - either images representing heat or using heat in the creation of the project i.e. heat embossing.

When I had a clean out the other day I discovered a box of unused card kits leftover from numerous classes and workshops over the years. I decided this was a good opportunity to try to use them up for challenges. So, they are now in view on the desk which should force me to use them, right?!

The first unused kit contained a piece of Whisper White cut to A5, a piece of Bordering Blue & another white piece that were suitable as layers, and a small scrap of Tempting Turquoise. Here's what I did for this Ways to Use it challenge:

Supplies used:
Stamp set: Pendant Park & Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Ink; Craft Whisper White (sorry, leftover from my US demo days!) & Basic Black Classic & Marina Mist (for sponging)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Marina Mist & Bordering Blue (R)
Ribbon: Navy 5/8" grosgrain
Clear embossing powder, heat tool & sponge

Thanks for looking!
Have a great weekend
Karen

More Retiring Soon

2011-08-17T09:00:00.000+10:00

Can you believe it? There's more yummy things retiring. As sad as it makes me to see things I love go forever, I do like the opportunity to try new products so it's kind of bitter sweet to say farewell to these:

Actually this one is devastating - I LOVE the Large Star punch & I LOVE EVEN MORE the Jumbo Eyelets. The Spiral Punch is already gone.........:-(( and the greeting is from that versative set Occasional Greetings. Goodbye! BTW this is a techniqe called embedded embossing. I did a class on this last week but if you'd like to learn how I'll run another in the future......

Ah, now if it's not enough to loose the Large Star Punch, how do you feel about saying goodbye to our Classic Stars Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel? Ha!

Now the For You Flower has been a go-to stamp for me this year. And it's one of my favourites in the A la Carte range. Oh well, out it goes! The heart stamped on the background comes from Simply Said. Well, who would've thought that set would get the chop?!

These stamped images are also from Simply Said. Isn't it cute? Well get it quick or get over it!

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

Karen

Dress for Success PPA106

2011-08-16T22:00:00.000+10:00

Here's a card I made tonight for a Pals Paper Arts challenge where the brief was to use one piece of DSP, one punch and one sentiment. I think my card would also satisfy a CAS (clean and simple) criteria!

The DSP is from the patterns pack in Basic Black. I've used the sentiment from Perfect Punches and the punch is the Wide Oval. The ribbon is from last Christmas so it's retired, but I loved the spots with the stripes. I like it because it's a great manly card....no not the footy team! I know nothing about football.

Anyway, I'm off to tidy up my craft space....again.....before I call it a night.

See ya!
Karen

Mojo Monday 204

2011-08-16T13:12:00.000+10:00

A Mojo at last!

Thought I'd use retiring products for this one. Hope you like it.

Supplies used:
Stamp Set: Petal Pizzazz & Warmest Regards
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Grey & Basic Black
Paper: DSP Love Letter
Ink: Red Riding Hood, Basic Grey & Basic Black
Punches: Photo Corner, Scallop Oval
Ribbon: Riding Hood Red Taffeta
Basic Jewels Rhinestones

Go make something!
Karen

Retiring Soon!

2011-08-13T08:00:00.002+10:00

Hurry Hurry Hurry! Don't miss out. These gorgeous (if I do say so myself) card samples are all made using retiring products. Do you see something you just can't live without? THEN CALL ME TO ORDER IT TODAY!

Retiring Products on this card; Bugs & Kisses Stamp Set & Sweet & Sour Specialty Designer Series Paper.

Retiring products on this card: Fresh Cuts Stamp Set & Love Letter Designer Series Paper, Designer Label Punch, Photo Corners Punch.

Retiring Products on this card: Friends 24-7 stamp set, Designer Label Punch.

Retiring Products on this card: Friends 24-7.

Retiring Products on these 2 cards: Great Friend stamp set, Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper (on left), Sunny Garden Designer Series Paper (on right), Spiral Punch (already sold out).

Hope you have a super weekend.
Karen

The Value of Swaps

2011-08-12T10:58:00.001+10:00

I'm part of a big team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators and most of them are on the Central Coast. We have a team forum and it's a great place to trade ideas and share techniques and stuff.

From time to time we do a card swap and this month I hosted it. The brief was to use retiring products so we would each have a stash of ideas to share with our customers. This is also a great way for me to learn new techniques and provides inspiration for using my own materials in different ways.

Normally we'd aim to get as many involved as possible and anyone in the group can take part but this swap was particularly time sensitive so we got a group of 4 willing attendees (me included). Here's the results:

Starting top left and going clockwise:

Debra's card:   Uses Fresh Cuts stamp set in Marina Mist classic ink. She's also used the Occasional Greetings set for the Happy Birthday. Don't you love that perfect bow?

Nerida's card: Stamp sets here are Friends 24-7 & Sense of Time.    Nerida has combined these two really well using different ink colours - Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso & River Rock (I think). She's added a touch of class by heat embossing the flourish (from Friends 24-7) in gold.   The Designer Label punch in Crumb Cake cardstock is also retiring.

Linda's card: Razzle Dazzle stamp set & Occasional Greetings are stamped in Pacific Point. The DSP is Blueberry Crisp and the Designer Label punch is used in Pacific Point cardstock.

My card: I chose Great Friend for my stamp set and the DSP is Sunny Garden. I've used the Designer Label & Photo Corners punch. The Striped grosgrain ribbon in Certainly Celery will also retire.

So there you have it. A nice little grouping of swaps using retiring products.   Isn't it amazing that we all chose different stamp sets?   Now I have a couple of new ideas that I want to incorporate into my own cardmaking and lovely keepsakes of stamps & tools that I will really miss.

Happy Friday!
Karen

New Catalogue IB&C Sneak Peek

2011-08-11T22:47:00.001+10:00

This is a very exciting month with the arrival (to demonstrators) of our brand new, sparkly, shiny & oh-so-lovely 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue.

You may know that the items in the catty don't actually go on sale until 1 September. However, if you are one of my cherished customers, you can attend a launch party on Sunday 28 August, 2pm at my house. Call or email me if you want to be one of the lucky ones!

Meanwhile, I have been perusing...(translate: reading the print off the page)....my copy of the catty, and the cover is so completely gorgeous that I thought I'd try to CASE a couple of the projects. Bear in mind that at the time of making I hadn't received all my pre-ordered sneak peek stuff, but, given my 5 years experience with this wonderful company, I've had a shot at a really good forge!

One of the colours on the card & in the flowers should be a new In Color. I've substituted Cajun Craze, and I really like it. Also, the paper that looks like DSP is actually made by stamping part of a stamp repeatedly onto Confetti White Cardstock to get the desired effect. I've substituted twill tape and crumb cake taffeta ribbon for the new one's I don't yet have and my torn paper with the espresso dots on was done using a marker.

Now, the SU rules are very clear about us not being allowed to post a picture of the catalogue but we can show pictures of projects so I'm hoping that I've not crossed any boundaries. I'll check with them tomorrow so if my post is gone after talking to demo support you'll just have to come to the launch to see the real thing!

Don't forget that there's still some retiring products available, but they're running out fast so please don't delay if you still have some things on your wish list.

I will pop in tomorrow with some pics of cards I've made using retiring products.......it's so sad it makes me weep....giggle!

Happy end of the week
Karen

Say Goodbye

2011-08-01T23:04:00.000+10:00

It's that time of year again, when we say goodbye to some of our wonderful products to make way for the new IB&C.

This means that if you have something on your wish list that's about to retire, you should order it now!

The retiring product list will be updated daily and once sold out, there will be no stock renewal so there's no point me posting a list here.

Instead, click on this link to be taken to the customer home page and once there choose the Say Goodbye graphic.

Be sure to let me know asap if there's something you just have to have.

Cheers
Karen

Hope & Strength

2011-07-28T21:37:00.000+10:00

I've read this before - and said it before - but Sympathy cards rank among the most difficult cards to make. Even harder when it's for a loved one of your own. Thanks to some inspiration from U.S. demonstrator Linda Gutierrez, I found a beautiful idea using the Hope & Strength set. I've replaced the "Hope" stamp with one from Teeny Tiny Sentiments and I think it's lovely. The words are perfect - believe, unity, love, together, strength, blessed & courage; all things that we wish for those left behind. And the faux mother of pearl technique gives the card an elegance while the butterfly reminds us that life goes on.

I love to read your comments, so let me know if you like it.......but remember the credit goes to Linda Gutierrez in California.

Thanks for stopping by.
Karen

Dry Embossing

2011-07-26T14:06:00.000+10:00

Emboss simply means to raise something. In craft we emboss in several different ways. The term dry embossing refers to using a stylus and a stencil, a scoring tool & ruler or an embossing system like the Big Shot with various patterned embossing folders. The latter being the simplest - and the most effective.

We make the distinction of "dry" embossing because in papercraft, heat embossing is very widely used so to simply say "emboss" can be confusing.

I was using up scraps last night from the leftovers of a creative session and here's what I made;

The size of this first card was determined by the dry embossed piece I had leftover. I used the Petals a Plenty die with the Big Shot. Can you see how the DSP is embossed as well? I stuck it to the cardstock before running it through the Big Shot so that both ends have that lovely raised finish. Because there's a pinch point in the embossing folders - and it doesn't matter which end of the folder, you basically get a little ridge around the edges - I used the ribbon to cover it up.....cheeky, eh? To add some glam, the Dazzling Diamonds were adhered using a glue pen.

Here's another angle that may show the glitter a little better.

Supplies: Stamp Set: Well Scripted.
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Pacific Point
DSP: Blueberry Crisp
Ink: Night of Navy
Wide oval punch, Petals a Plenty EBF & Big Shot, Colour Spritzer & Sponge
Dazzing Diamonds

This next card has two types of dry embossing.

Can you pick them? The DSP was embossed as was the flower using the Big Shot. It may be hard to see on the paper because I've used the negative, or the side that is pushed in. The second type of dry embossing was done with a scoring system - I can't name it because it's not SU and we don't currently have them (I wish we did, it's great!).

I didn't have any brads or buttons in the right red and it really needed the colour introduced a second time to look balanced. So, I used my Crop-a-dile to punch 3 small circles of cardstock 3/8" each and carefully stuck them to the card with a glue pen. Then I topped each one with Crystal Effects. I had intended for them to look shiny, but then I sprayed it all with the spritzer so my CE has a matt finish.

Supplies Used:
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Sahara Sand
DSP: Blueberry Crisp
Ink: Not Quite Navy - in the Colour Spritzer tool
Petals a Plenty, Flower Burst Embosslit & Big Shot
Linen Thread, Crystal Effects.
Ribbon is not available in Not Quite Navy so I pleated a piece of cardstock instead.

Happy crafting. Leave me a comment - I love reading them!
Karen

Mojo Monday 200

2011-07-25T18:33:00.000+10:00

This is actually last week's Mojo Monday. I had it started before the weekend but just couldn't get it together - I guess I lost my mojo.....giggle.

Supplies used:

Stamps: Punch Bunch
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red
DSP: Sweet & Sour Specialty
Punches: Scallop Circle - 2 3/8", Scallop Square, Double hole, Scallop border, Boho Blossoms
Very Vanilla ribbon, Jewels Pearls, Flower Brads
Big Shot with Polka Dots embossing folder

If you're wondering about the scallop circles in Rose Red & Elegant Eggplant, I punched them out once,

then stuck each one onto a post-it note at the sticky bit.

Next you slide the post-it note with the punched scallop back into the punch and adjust it so the scallops punch again in the centre of the original scallops.

It's a lovely shape don't you think?

Thanks for looking.
Enjoy your week.
Karen

A quick case before bed

2011-07-18T22:44:00.000+10:00

I've spent hours making christmas cards for the troops tonight, so just before I decided to call it a night, I cased a card from the IB&C. This was a quickie - do you know which page it's from?

The colours are Baja Breeze, Whisper White & Soft Suede. The greeting is one of my favourites from Word Play. And how effective is that embossing with the Elegant Lines folder and the Big Shot? Not to mention the tone on tone flowers - Floral Fusion Sizzlit. The ribbon is Certainly Celery twill....from a promotion last year maybe??

Leave me a comment if you know the page. And tell me your favourite embossing folder.

G'night
Karen

Christmas In July

2011-07-18T12:26:00.001+10:00

We went Ice Skating yesterday at our Christmas In July event in Balmain. It was a fun morning and got me thinking a little Christmassy - well, it is cold and the year is marching on. Before long, we'll be planning our Christmas cards again!

Here's a cute card I made this morning, still feeling festive, from a stamp set that Tracy bought me last year. I've used Very Vanilla cardstock with Real Red and the DSP is Love Letter (it's retiring soon so don't miss out if you want to get your own!).

The little elves are the Swedish Tomte - aren't they cute? They're not SU so I can't name the brand here.

Thanks for looking. Go create something!
Karen

More distressed cards!

2011-07-07T22:38:00.000+10:00

Last night's class was another success with the ladies really getting into the stick and giggle! Even those outside of their comfort zone!!! That said, I didn't get a couple of pics, but here are the one's I did get:

Gloria's card

Liz's card

Vicki's card

I should point out that when you do a PaperLady class you have options. I prepare projects in a way that showcases a technique or a particular product. However, I encourage creativity at whatever level people are comfortable with. That means that you can shake up the project to customise it for your own needs, likes and preferences. I do however make no apology for stretching your skills and in fact I hope that happens regularly so you can explore the many possibilities that our paper crafts have to offer.

That said, my own preference when attending a class is to copy the original project - why? Well, I really like to make sure I get it. That way, I can take it home and will remember what I learned more easily. I also struggle to develop my own ideas when I'm in a group. That could be because I'm a bit of a chatty crafter so it's harder to multi-task!

Bottom line? Come to a class, learn a bit, do a bit, chat a bit and have tons of fun! But take home the project you want - the copied version or your version.

Happy distressing....kit, that is!
Karen

Bookmark - Last one

2011-07-07T14:47:00.000+10:00

Just had to share Wendys cute bookmark from the challenge. What a cute little robot/space dude!

Cheers
Karen

Ribbon Weaving

2011-07-04T22:44:00.001+10:00

This is a cool idea for using ribbon - although it does use quite a lot.

Oops! Got a lovely oval in crystal effects there! Yes, two of the little ball-ee things joined up to make an oval.....awwwww how sweet!!

You cut a square of cardstock to the size you want - base it on how many pieces of ribbon you want to weave and how wide the ribbon is. I did 5 strips on each side (10 all up) and they are each 10 cm long. The card is just over 7cm square. You need the extra length so you can work with the ribbon and have enough to fasten on the back of the cardstock.

Attach each piece of ribbon to the back of the cardstock using sticky strip i.e. 5 pieces along the top and 5 down one side. Then start weaving at the corner where the two pieces of ribbon meet. Use a bit of snail adhesive to secure ribbon to the cardstock as you go. Finish up by securing all the ends to the back of the cardstock. Mine became a Christmas card because of the ribbon - yes, I know, it's only July!!

Supplies:
Old Olive carstock & ink
Red extra thick card - I've used bainbridge board offcuts from a picture framing project.
Holiday Print stamp - retired
Ribbon - this is one of SU's from last Christmas I think.
Gold cord
Crystal Effects
Ornament Punch

Thanks for looking!
Karen

Love Gifts?

2011-07-02T09:00:00.001+10:00

Well, how would you like these as a gift from me? Oh, and Stampin' Up!

Ice Cream Parlor Bundle Promotion 1 - 31 July 2011

This month, when you place an order for $100 you will receive this gorgeous coordinating set of ribbon (over 13m) and buttons (48 in 3 colours) absolutely free. That's a $31.95 value for........nothing!

Here's a couple of projects I made with my set:

Email or phone your order through today!

Cheers
Karen

Distressing Essentials (DE)

2011-07-01T21:23:00.000+10:00

No, I'm not talking about what you need to be distressed! There's no distress while we're crafting thank you - or at least there shouldn't be! However, if you have the kit from SU called Distressing Essentials, you will have all you need to create beautiful aged projects that lend themselves to all sorts of occasions.

With the masculine card presenting a constant challenge for me (sorry boys, I mean that in a nice way), this weeks class was an opportunity to see how to get a grown up male look without a lot of fuss but also without it being "boring" and plain. Cue the DE kit. There's the fantastic colour spots - 4 of them in mahogany, tea, charcoal & blue; a flat rubber stamp for blending and smudging colour; a large sanding block & an emery board with different grades of roughness from fine to gritty to give texture and soften stamped images or paper patterns; and 3 shaped metal files for sanding in tight spots like chipboard letters and around the inside edges of punched holes.

So after a demo of the possibilities I threw the challenge to the ladies to create a distressed card for a special male. Heres what they did:

Avril's card

Avril used the rubber stamp to smoosh ink onto the envelope.

Joey stamped onto the DSP. The vintage trinkets are perfect on the crimped piece.

Laurel made the most of the pattern on the DSP and it goes really well with the sponging on around the stamped image.

Sadie's inked, torn and sponged to get this gorgeous effect. The raspberries just speak for themselves.

Susie has layer upon layer to add texture. She has stamped onto twill tape and used the ink spots to "dirty" up the clean twill so it fits nicely with the other elements. The chipboard letter has been covered in paper, stamped & filed - genius!

Tracy's card has nice texture created by the tearing of the layers, scrunching the paper and using the files to rough up the edges.

Isn't it lovely to see how you can all take the same materials and turn out a bunch of different stuff? Everyone used the same tools, same DSP (Botanical Gazette) and same stamps. We did have a lot of greeting stamps available though because I think it's really important that my customers can make a card that suits their needs. The use of twill tape in place of ribbon & jumbo eyelets with Hemp instead of linen thread also give the end result a more masculine feel.

Hope you are inspired to go make something!
Cheers
Karen

And the Winner is.......(today, anyway!)

2011-07-01T19:34:00.000+10:00

Tracy Farmer!!!!

Congratulations Tracy, your name was picked in the raffle to win the gorgeous Stampin' Up! bag full of crafting goodies.

Now, the draw took place during our class today, so Tracy already knows she won. She very graciously took a stamp set and a punch out of the bag and decided to re-gift them. So, we pulled two more tickets out of the bowl.......and the winners are.........

Gloria Fong - drew the punch

Michelle Hughes - drew the stamp set.

I will be calling you both to arrange drop off of your goodies! Thanks Tracy for that kind gesture.

Congratulations everyone and thank you to everyone who entered the draw.

Happy Friday
Karen

Faux Pearl

2011-06-29T14:24:00.001+10:00

I love this technique! I did a class on it using Rose Red and it was so pretty I decided to try it with Marina Mist. This is a gorgeous blue and works with many styles of card. These cards used the same supplies except that I changed the stamp set. I originally designed them as my first attempt to get published. Well, they didn't make the cut, but I still love them!

I like the contrast of Marina Mist with Basic Black. The punched flowers are made using the Boho Blossoms punch and our pearl jewels. The flower on the sentiment is made by punching out and layering two of the boho blossom flowers from a leftover scrap of the faux pearl cardstock.

The faux pearl technique uses gloss card stock so if you want to stamp on it you must use StazOn otherwise the ink won't dry. You start with your piece of gloss cardstock - mine is white. Then you scrunch up a piece of plastic wrap and dip it into some shimmer paint that you've put onto a paper plate. Wipe of the excess paint and then dab it onto your cardstock. Make sure you leave some white space so that your ink colour will show up darker in some places. Wait for the paint to dry. Then you use a light colour ink on a brayer (Speedball is my favourite because it is softer and has a bit of "give" in it) to roller over the cardstock. Once it's covered to your liking, polish the excess ink off with a tissue. Then cut your cardstock however you like, stamp on it and finish your card. Easy!

The flower stamped on this card is subtle because it's a fine line image. But I like the way it contrasts with the solid bird.

Masculine cards are a constant challenge for me. But I think you can adapt this technique to suit a more male card by switching the stamp set. I've used Sense of Time here and I'm really pleased with the results:

The black brads are a great addition and the crimper is my go-to tool for turning cardstock into an embellishment when I'd normally use ribbon.

This last card is a bit busy. I stamped the base card tone on tone using Marina Mist ink on MM cardstock. The faux pearl is used on the clock face, the sentiment and on the strip of cardstock that goes behind them. The pearl jewels give a royal feel to the card and I've "dirtied" it up ever so slightly by roughing up the black circle layer behind the clock face.

So, that's my take on faux pearl.   It's another great technique using shimmer paint & a brayer. Because it's quite soft, you could use it in landscapes as a gorgeous sky or sunset. Why not give it a try?

Supplies Used:
First two cards:
Stamp Set: Elements of Style
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Basic Black, Glossy White.
Ink: Black StazOn, Marina Mist Classic
Accessories:   SU's Shimmer Paint in Platinum, White narrow grosgrain ribbon, Marina Mist satin ribbon, Jewels - pearls.
Tools: 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Scallop Oval punch, brayer, plastic wrap & paper plate

Last two cards:
Stamp Set: Sense of Time
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Basic Black, Glossy White.
Ink: Black StazOn, Marina Mist
Accessories: SU's Shimmer Paint in Platinum, Black grosgrain ribbon, Jewels - pearls, black brads
Tools: 1" circle punch, crimper, 1 3/8" circle punch, brayer, plastic wrap & paper plate

Thanks for looking!   I love reading your comments, so let me know what you think.

Happy Stampin'
Karen

Bookmark #4

2011-06-22T11:16:00.000+10:00

Here's Susans bookmark.

It's so cute! I love frangipani's and she's shown off the SU! Concord Crush colour and pattern to it's best advantage!

Will pop back with some project pics shortly. Busy as always!

Karen

Casing the IB&C for a gift

2011-06-10T09:00:00.006+10:00

Ok, so this is partly a case and partly not.........the ring (Lyn Morrison) and brooch (Michelle Martin) are both inspired by convention swaps and they made perfect gifts for my 16 year old niece. I love the colours, although the red in the ring became decidedly pinky tinged when I used a tad too much shimmer paint! Still, who doesn't like a bit of bling on their ring, right?! The cute little basket that I packed them into is one I've made numerous times before. I chose the colour scheme because of the Love Letter DSP on the brooch - so gorgeous. I think I'll be making a ton of these in every colour so I can wear one every day!

From an original design by Michelle Martin, http://www.ministamper.com/

From an original design by Lyn Morrison

Colours used are Real Red, Whisper White, Concord Crush & Rich Razzleberry.

The card is from the IB&C page 115. I tweaked it a bit to suit the occasion but have retained the main elements. The last section of the card has the scalloped envelope die, perfect for money or a gift card because 16 yr old niece's have a long list of needs that Auntie's and Uncles are not always aware of!

Hope this inspires you to get busy and re-create something you've seen and loved.

Oh, and I should add that I don't have a website or blog info for the talented Lyn Morrison. but she's a SU demo so you will be able to find her.

Thanks for stopping by.
Karen

Bookmark #3

2011-06-09T12:07:00.000+10:00

Here's Liz's bookmark.

She's used the lovely Greenhouse Garden DSP and made one of the paper flowers that we did in class a few weeks back. Love it!

Karen

Customer Challenge

2011-06-06T13:55:00.002+10:00

During Convention, Stampin' Up! offer Memento Mall which is an opportunity for demonstrators to shop for company logo merchandise. There are always lovely things to buy and all using SU's amazing colours and patterns. This year was no exception with bags, stationery items, aprons, clothing......the list goes on.

I loved the magnetic bookmarks in the patterned In Color Designer Series paper designs, so I bought some to give to my customers. I decided to throw them the challenge to decorate their bookmarks any way they liked.......lol I thought a bit of ribbon & a flower would suffice, but look what they came up with.....

Michelle made this cute little sheep with punches & that Haiku paper - gorgeous

Gloria chose the Concord Crush bookmark. Doesn't it make a lovely backdrop for this colourful butterfly laid on the scalloped oval punch shape?

Hope you like them. I will show you some more after the next class.

Happy stamping
Karen

Jewellery

2011-05-31T20:52:00.000+10:00

Here's my first attempt at some "real" jewellery.

Basically, Denielle Bernauer inspired me at Regionals last year, and then she upped the ante at Convention!!

I've used her Stamp N Shrink(TM) for these projects and stamped our beautiful SU stamps before baking them. If you'd like to have a go yourself, contact Denielle directly to buy the Stamp N Shrink(TM) and get the full instructions.

Ornate Blossom necklace & earrings

Bliss flower necklace & earrings

Share a cup "tiny" earrings - sorry about the yellowy colour, bad lighting I guess!

I hope I've done Denielle proud. Thanks for looking!

Karen

Weekend!

2011-05-27T21:04:00.000+10:00

Well, it's Friday night and I'm sitting here in my craft room trying to decide what project I want to do. I have a special something on the go that I can't talk about, then there's my next class projects to design and there's the unpacking of today's class materials......hmmmmm, oh well I might just play with something new.   I still have to try out one of the sneak peeks I got at convention.....ooops....can't say anymore about that either!!!

What I can tell you about it this years Christmas Cards for the Troops. As you know, at DSNS last Saturday the ladies got started on some cards. So we're off!   I popped round to Avril today with an order and she is also champing at the bit to give me her latest stash that she finished this week.

But I also wanted to show you some pictures that a friend sent me. Her husband is in the navy and she has moved all over the world with him and their children. We met up at convention and she told me stories about how our deployed service men and women worry about not being able to have a card to send to a loved one for a birthday or anniversary. It's hard enough to be away from home, let alone in a war zone and know that you can't send your love via a written word - and a piece of paper that you've actually touched.

This got me thinking about those that focus on the negative aspects of the armed forces over the last year or two.   Whether or not you support the troops, agree or disagree with war, or that we're in it, we still need compassion.   At the end of the day, these are our people, other human beings, miles away from home and desperately wishing they had a birthday card to send to their 5 year old child, or a Christmas card to their mum and dad.

Please don't misinterpret my view, I'm not suggesting that people are not entitled to their opinion & I don't wish to change anyone's mind. I just ask that negative feelings be put aside. And then you can go freely and make some gorgeous cards!

Thank you Nikki for sending me these pictures. I hope they touch your heart.

A smile is a smile in anyones language

We all need help to carry a heavy weight

Everyone needs love

A good giggle

Heartbreak

Have a lovely weekend in our safe, free country.
Blessings
Karen

Deals of the Week #4

2011-05-25T12:37:00.001+10:00

Deals of the week are out today - Available till next Tuesday.

SAVE 30%!      These products coordinate with other items in the IB&C so it's worth a look if you already have some of those products

Item             Page        Description               RRP        Sale Price
113838        62      Right on Track               $11.95      $8.37
                             Stampin' Around Wheel

115619        68      Retro Remix                  $11.95       $8.37
                            Stampin Around Wheel

119975       134   Vintage Type Rub-Ons     $15.95     $11.17

118760        134     Play Date Rub-Ons        $16.95    $11.87

Great prices, so email or phone me today.

Cheers
Karen

Swaps from Convention 2011

2011-05-24T18:04:00.000+10:00

I was lucky to receive about 40 swaps during Convention this year - I mentioned the variety in my last post, which totally blew me away in terms of the genius ideas I saw - of course that meant I gave away 40 swaps made by me, so it was tres busy in that last week before we flew!

There's too many products to list, however you'll see the demo's name under each pic. Let me know if you want any other details like instructions or contact info and I'll do my best to help.

Here's some of my fav's:

Barbara Bicknell, NZ

Cheryl O'Bree

Denielle Bernauer

Glyn Savage

Jane McGlade Smith

Mine - designed to coordinate with my outfit on the first day!

My swap in Tracy's colours because she loves orange - coincidently the SU bag was in the Sweet and Sour DSP too!

Kathy Faulkner - the vintage technique here was perfect

Kathy Faulkner's accordian surprise inside the box

Lyn Morrison. I only take this off to shower!!!

Lyn Morrison

Marija Paic - never be short of an embellishment again

Nerida Carter - always elegant and stylish

Michelle Martin

Nicola Duffield

I love your feedback, so please leave a comment below if you like what you see.

Happy Crafting
Karen

Darling Stamp And Scrap Club

2011-05-21T17:02:00.000+10:00

Just popped in quickly to tell you that Darling Stamp and Scrap club was lovely today.   We had a couple of new ladies join us - welcome to Catarina and Hester. I hope you both enjoyed your crafting time and will come back next month for more chit chat, craft and cake!

Gloria and Susan are both PaperLady class gals but this was their first DSNS too.   Oh the creative juices were flowing!   Avril, Susie & Claudia were crafting up a storm with lots of Christmas cards made for this years troops donation. And Claudia and Lana were such sweeties picking up coffee, setting up afternoon tea and generally helping out - thanks girls.   Towards the end of the afternoon we had a drop in from Karen & Kate. Kate has a great eye for colour, as does Susie and they both helped collate supplies for our kits.

What's more, today was our first dry DSNS - it has rained, no poured, every week!   I was thrilled to pack away a dry banner for the first time.

Unfortunately I forgot to take pics.....sorry.....so here's a couple more from Convention.

Please don't forget the rules - these designs are not mine and as they were on a board I can't tell you whose they are so please credit SU Convention Demonstators 2011 if you copy! Thanks for your understanding.

Pop back tomorrow to find out how you can win a fantastic prize!

Karen

Convention Swaps

2011-05-21T10:53:00.000+10:00

There were some lovely projects this year and a huge variety of things from bottle tags with Freddo frogs in them to elegant jewellery pieces - yes, all made out of paper!

Here's a few to get your creative juices flowing.

As these projects were all attached to the boards I can't credit the designer, so although I love you to use images you see here as inspiration, please be sure to acknowledge that the design was from SU Convention 2011.

All projects are copyright 1990- 2011 Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Have a great weekend.
Thanks!
Karen

Deals of the Week #3

2011-05-18T16:24:00.001+10:00

Promotion Details:
During the month of May, Stampin' Up! will offer several discounted products as 'Deals of the Week.' No limits* and no minimum purchase required.

Below is a schedule of when the weekly deals will be announced on the demonstrator and customer websites:

Weekly Deals # 1: Sunday, 1 May 2011; 12:01 AM (AET)
Weekly Deals # 2: Wednesday, 11 May 2011; 12:01 AM (AET)
Weekly Deals # 3: Wednesday, 18 May 2011; 12:01 AM (AET)
Weekly Deals # 4: Wednesday, 25 May 2011; 12:01 AM (AET)

This Week's Deals:

Item Page              Description                 Regular Price           Sale Price

119750/137         Daffodil Delight 5/8''         $16.95                    $11.87
                       (1.6 cm) Satin Ribbon
119963/137      Certainly Celery 3/8''          $12.95                    $9.07
                        Taffeta Ribbon
109112139      Square Fire                           $19.95                   $13.97
                         Rhinestone Brads

109113/139         Square Ice                       $19.95                    $13.97
                          Rhineston Brads

Call or email to place an order - remember, SU will return prices to normal before the end of the week if the allocation of specials is reached.

Cheers
Karen

Convention 2011

2011-05-18T15:35:00.001+10:00

I'm back! And there's so much to tell you I'm buzzing with enthusiasm.

Melbourne was a fantastic destination. The convention centre is a superb location as we had tons of room and a variety of "spaces" to be in. We had some really fun classes - they are designed to be educational for business/demonstrators, but I can tell you that I laughed so hard you'd would've thought I was attending a comedy festival!!! On the flip side, there was a lot of sharing and some really personal moments that meant even the toughest ladies had to wipe a tear from their eyes. Those of you who know me well would also know I'm a soft touch so I sniffled a bit more than most!

Trace and I were fortunate to have booked a great hotel 5 mins walk from the centre - fab to get a bit of exercise and see the city. We ate some wonderful food, sampled some lovely wine and received amazing service from the locals.

Anyway, enough chitchat. Check out some pics........

Catching up with Shelli - always a delight. May she live forever!

So thrilled to be here. Trace and I are wearing the swaps I made - giant flower brooches.

OMG look at the line for Memento Mall

Samples on display in Memento Mall - cute frame idea

Centre stage in the theatre. I'm sharing what I love with you all!

Giant paper flowers - Memento Mall again.

General Session theatre - great set up SU, so comfy!

Wearing our SU scarves....well, if you've got it, you've got to flaunt it right?!

Waiting for our first general session to start. Sorry, whoever took the pic must've had wine with lunch!!

Anna is one of my friends from QLD - first met last year at Conv in Sydney and this sweet lady makes Cards for the troops.

Ok, so Trace is having a love affair with a stamp - this is the giant stage version.....will it be in the upcoming IB&C she wonders....drooling!

Swaps Galore......these are from Regionals 2010 & Convention 2011. These crafters are talented. I take my hat off to every one of you........giggle, my swaps are up there too!!

Next year we are off to Canberra..........why don't you come along? Ask me how, and no, you don't have to be a demonstrator. It's for friends too you know?!

Got to go prep for a class now, so I'll pop back tomorrow with some close ups of swaps.

Thanks for looking!
Karen

Just plain gorgeous

2011-05-16T10:00:00.001+10:00

Everything about this card appeals to me. It's basically a CASE of an SU design - that's what I love about SU, there are so many things to copy!! Anyway, there's quite a lot of processes in this card but it was a joy to make.

Stamp Set - Notably Ornate
Ink - Versamark, Crumb Cake, Basic Black & Rich Razzleberry marker with the Spritzer tool.
Cardstock - Certainly Celery, Rich Razzleberry
Paper - DSP Newsprint
Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder & Big Shot
Basic Black embossing powder
Fancy Flower Punch
Antique Brads, Black Brads
Grosgrain Ribbon - Rich Razzleberry
The leaves are from the Bird Punch
The small flowers are from a retired punch with 3 flowers in a row

Have a great week!
Karen

Time for Tea

2011-05-13T10:00:00.000+10:00

I love Jackie Topa's website and she always has gorgeous ideas, tutorials, online classes and such.

Anyway, here's one of her ideas for making a cute little tea bag holder - would be a nice way to display tea bags at a morning tea or even a little gifty thing to add to a hamper.

Stamp set - Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Ink - Choc chip
Cardstock - Pear Pizzazz
Paper - Sunny Garden
Oval punch
Lace edge border punch

Go ahead, have a cuppa and make something crafty!
Karen

Deals of the Week 11 - 17 May

2011-05-11T16:31:00.000+10:00

This Week's Deals:

Item            Page                 Description              Regular Price    Sale Price
120963       142           Stampin Pastels                  $28.50             $22.80
                                    New Color Kit (19)
115957       151         Thanks Embosslits Die          $21.95             $17.56

114513       151    Sweetest Stem Embosslits Die    $21.95            $17.56

113483       155           Pennant Bigz XL Die           $74.95             $59.96

Call or email your order by 17th if you want any of these products!

Karen

Thanks a Million

2011-05-11T15:05:00.000+10:00

Well, it's off to Convention tomorrow - look out Melbourne, here I come! But before I go........I just got the Word Play stamp set the other day and haven't even had time to mount the stamps yet but thought I'd make a super quick thank you card using one of the greetings. I also wanted to see how the new Tulips border embossing folder worked - and I love it!

Stamp Set - Word Play
Cardstock - Rose Red
Paper- Sweeet & Sour Specialty
Extra Large bird punch
Decorative Label punch
Scallop Circle Punch
Choc Chip ink & grosgrain ribbon.
Tulip embossing folder and Big Shot/.

Thanks for looking
KarenBig

Easter goodies

2011-04-28T10:02:00.000+10:00

Ah, the bunny has been and gone, the waistline is a little extended, but the boxes that the goodies came in remain!

These were gifts to me and my girls made by my friend Susie - you can check out her other gorgeous creations at http://paperalchemy-susie.blogspot.com/

Aren't they adorable? I love the beaded flowers on the pink spotty boxes, and those little padded fabric flowers are so cute. They look like miniature pin cushions! Thanks Susie!

Hope you're warm and dry today - and possible crafting too!
Cheers
Karen

SplitCoast Sketch Challenge

2011-04-25T09:00:00.002+10:00

Since I'm on a challenge roll. here's a sketch challenge from split coast.

Shimmer paint added to flower petals with sponge dauber

I saw this as a great opportunity to use up some retired DSP from a pack called Tea Party. I LOVE the colours in this paper, and it's one of those designs where all the patterns seem to combine extremely well.

I had one more paper flower left over so I used it with some die cut leaves and the Big Shot - Sizzlits Little Leaves.

The greeting is from Occasional Greetings and I've punched it out using the new Decorative Label punch in the Autumn-Winter mini catty. The spiral border punch adds a nice simple detail to the bottom layer of DSP.

Hope you like it!

Cheers
Karen