Another birthday

This is another of those card that I couldn't post on here until the person's birthday had arrived.  I have made this card almost identical to a previous one on here, but this time in Calypso Coral.  

I'm not sure which one I prefer.  What about you?  Calypso Coral or Indigo Island/Lucky Limeade.   

Going out for dinner tonight to celebrate my friend's 60th birthday.  Happy birthday Beth.  

A couple of oldies

I haven't anything new to show again, so have had to search back into the archives.  I have a class coming up in two weeks and am working on that, but nothing I can show you yet.  

This first card was made using the flower from the Asian Artistry Hostess set.  I have just stamped it randomly, even though someone told me there is no such thing as stamping randomly - we always place it where it would look best apparently.  So, this has just been stamped and then coloured with the blender pen and then a greeting added. 

 And the elephant from this card was in a previous mini catalogue and is called Baby Steps.  The diagonal stamp was not a SU one.  The card was made for a friend who just had a baby.  Green for a baby girl?  You know I don't like traditional colours.

Hope to have something new to show you on Friday. 

A little vintage

What a great weekend. We had a family BBQ lunch on Saturday, and a lazy day on Sunday.  Just what was needed.  Hope you enjoyed your weekend.  

I also had a little clean up of my stuff on Friday afternoon.  You know all those little bits and pieces you seem to collect on the way.  Like when you go to someone's house and use their stamp sets and stamp random images with the idea in your head to make something with later.  And then you never remember what you were going to use them for!  Well I went through all that and packaged the bits in a cute little box for my neice Lily to use.  Took them up on Saturday and she wanted to start creating right away.  

This is the card I made for my mother in law's birthday.  The lady is not a Stampin' Up image, but I think she is just so elegant and needed a simple old world type card. The card is a gate fold card and I have used Crumb Cake and and Early Expresso inks.  

And the inside ...

 

A 6 year old card

No, I don't mean the card is 6 years old, I meant the card is for a six year old.  

This is for my niece, the one who came and played crafty with me last weekend.  The card needed to be bright and colourful and something suitable for a girly girl.  My options were owls, butterflies or cupcakes.  Lily really is more of a princess/shopper type kid, but you have to work with what you got!

I know it's the same layout as one before, but ...

And the inside ....

By the time I had finished, it was after 8.00 so no natural light for photography, only flash. 

And the chaos left behind ....

 

Indigo Birthday

At last something I really liked and enjoyed working on.  In an earlier post where I was saying I had so much stuff on my desk and so many ideas of what I wanted to do and needed to have it looking just right, this was one of the cards I was working on.  This was for one of my friends who makes the most amazing things, cards, scrapbooking and off the page stuff, so I needed this one to be good.  

I bought some of the 12 x 12 textured cardstock (see the grainy lines through it) and Island Indigo is one of my favourites at the moment.  Teamed with Lucky Limeade and the look is very crisp (in my opinion - you may think otherwise).  All edges have been sponged and inked up with the french script and water droplets from French Foliage and the butterfly is on vellum with white embossing powder.  Add one of the stamps from Apothecary Art, coloured with a blender pen and then cut with Framelits.  

As you can see, I even did an inside for it. 
 

Two more extra special ones coming up soon.

Male birthday

This one was made for Greg's birthday.  Not one of my better ones, but once again I was in a bit of a hurry.  

The stamp set here is Stitched Stocking and there were five different types of socks and you could also get a punch to cut them out.  Great for male cards.

Greg usually thinks of something clever for me for Mother's Day and my birthday, but when his time comes around I am usually stuck for an idea.  Mind you, everything he wants or needs is either soooo expensive or it's something he needs to pick out, so unfortunately this year for his birthday we gave him T shirts, boxers and a book called Velocity.  The others were a necessity, but he is really enjoying the book.   

We had our almost 6 year old niece stay with us on Saturday night.  She came down so she could spend time with the kids and us and also "craft" with her aunt.  It was lovely having a little person interested in all my stuff.  Lily made a card for her Dad for Father's Day and a little petal cone die basket for herself.  It had so much stuck to it, but it actually looked quite good.  I hope she comes again soon.    

Introducing the New 2012-2014 Stampin' Up! In Colors

Today is the first day of the new Stampin' Up catalogues; both the annual catalogue, which will be current until the end of June 2013, and the smaller mini, now called Holiday catalogue, which will be with us until the end of January.

As usual, with every new annual catalogue we get a new set of In Colours which stay with us for two years now.  This year's colours once again have lovely names to complement them; Raspberry Ripple (reddish), Summer Starfruit (yellow), Midnight Muse (deep blue), Primrose Petal (pinkish) and Gumball Green (guess).  These five colours are all designed to coordinate and compliment each other.  I haven't actually seen them in real life yet, mine are yet to come, but if you would like to see a comparison of these colours with some of Stampin' Up's other colours, Mary Fish, a demonstrator from America, has posted a few cards on her site to show you.  You will also see a few of the new products from the catalogue as well.  

Here is the link.  Her site is well worth a visit - she has some great ideas. 

A Father's Day card

I realised yesterday afternoon that I had better make and SEND a card to my Dad for Father's Day, so had to whip something up in less than an hour.  Takes me that long to figure out what colours to use normally.  Anyway, this is the second attempt, and managed to get it in to the mail before 5.00 pm.  The colours in this photo make the yellow seem very bright but it was actually a mustard yellow and looked better in real life.  I think it needs a little more work, but I was in a hurry.  Wonder if it will arrive today.  

A little bit of happiness

This was another one of those bits stamped out and forgotten for a while.  The makings of the card were one that was left over from a class held a while ago, so I have put them together and this is the result.  Once again I have popped in the greeting from Itty Bitty Banners and a Framelit backing.  The flower is from the almost retired set Happiness Shared, another one I don't own.  

 

Fox and Friends birthday card

At last I can show you something I have been working on recently.  In between tiling the laundry (finally) and all those things you have to do on the weekend I was able to make a card just for fun.  All the cards I have made recently have been for upcoming birthdays and I can't put them on here yet cause I don't want certain people to see them before they should!  (That sentence made sense in my head).

I was looking at all the little bits and pieces I have stamped out or punched when playing with other people's stuff and thought it would be good to try and use some of them up.  I love this little set and would have bought it if I had younger children. 

Once again I have used squares just because I like the look of them.  All the squares have been sponged around the edges, cause I like that too.  The little animals have been popped up for effect.  The greeting is from a set called Itty Bitty Banners, one available in the new catalogue.  Not long to go now.  

 
 Sorry, no close up.  I had an assistant photographer.  And no, it's not your eyes.  It is a little blurred. 

 

My mess

I am sitting here in my mess of stuff trying to make a card for someone whose birthday is coming up next month, and nothing looks any good.  I want the card to look vintage, elegant and pretty and I am imagining Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede.  First problem; I have run out of BBlue.  Next problem; I don't know what stamp set to use, so I have pulled out almost every one I own and looked and thought and thought some more.  Then I looked at things I had stamped using other people's sets and tried to work something with that.  Then back to Apothecary Art and played with that for a while.  Then decided on Pool Party, but needed some paper to go with it.  So, pulled out all the bits of patterned paper that I had to find something to match.  Found that, but not sure if it works.  

So after sitting for a while, thinking for a long time and wasting cardstock, I have decided to leave it for another day.  Ever have days like that? 

So here are the pictures to show you what has been going on here over the last couple of days.  Nothing but mess!

 

Elegant Butterfly punch - sneak peek

I had to make a few birthday cards this weekend and when I like what turns out, I generally stick with the idea.  That's what happened with these two.

I have used a few new products in these cards such as the beautiful stamp set Papillion Potpourri and the matching butterfly punch.  You can also see one of the stamps from Itty Bitty Banners, a set of six different greetings, which also has a set of framelits to cut the shapes out for you.  So easy.  All of these will be available from the 1st September.

Not really clear in the photos, but the base card has been "stamped" using a bit of glad wrap direct to the ink pad and then stamped on the cardstock.  As I don't have any large backgrounds stamps, this is my way of adding a bit of interest to the base.  I have then used the Top Note die with a strip of white  embossed cardstock; the Wisteria one with Perfect Polka dots and the Pool Party card with a Darice brand folder I had.  The greeting has two little rhinestones added to it to give it a bit of sparkle.  I think they look beautiful together, the colours just blend so nicely.  Separately I am not sure which one I prefer.

A little bit excited

I'm a little bit excited at the moment because I have finally gotten one of my cards published.  It's in Australian Cardmaking Stamping and Papercraft magazine Vol 18 No 8.  I knew it was going to be in, just not which edition, so I was a little happy after looking in the letterbox to find a complimentary copy of the magazine with my card in it.  And its in with two other Stampin' Up cards too.  

I had originally sent in four cards using the owl punch but they only wanted this one for the Reader's Gallery.  It's a shame, cause the four of them looked good together, but I'm not going to complain.  You can check out the other three cards if you look up Punch - Owl punch on the left side bar.  

Another old favourite

Another old favourite of mine, but these stamps were before my Stampin' Up days.  I have made a lot of cards overs the years using this set and many of them have been shaker cards with sand enclosed.  I did hear of one of them springing a leak in the mail, so the recipient got a bigger surprise than intended when it was opened. 

The beach houses stamp is from StampWorld and the kids are from Stamps et cetera.  The kids are popped up on dimensionals and the surfboard and float are coated in Glossy Accents.  Don't think I can ever part with these ones, even though they don't get used much now. 

Something old

I am currently working on a birthday card for a special person and am having trouble getting it to look like I want.  I am trying for something vintage-y and elegant, but it all just seems to be crap at the moment.  So, I don't have anything new to show here, but have found something made around the time of the introduction of the 2011-2013 In Colours.  

The background image is the shadow image from Simply Soft and then I have used the Petite Pennants Builder punch to show off each of the new colours with their matching papers.  The hardest part was stamping the single letter on each pennant.  OK, and threading them all on too.  

Goodbye to an old faithful

Baroque Motifs was one of the first sets I bought from SU.  I love the flourish, there's just something about those curves.  Very elegant and graceful, not like me.  I have used this set many times on male and female birthdays, sympathy and Christmas cards.  I am sad that it will be retiring at the end of August, but there are some great things to come.  My catalogues arrived yesterday and I have spent (wasted) many hours pondering over what I need, want and desire when September arrives.  

Have you ever ..

Have you ever looked in a craft magazine and liked a layout or design so much you needed to copy it?  I do it all the time.  In my case it is usually a card and I generally get stumped because I don't have the same supplies that have been used in the original.  That was the case with this one.  

It was an ad in Cardmaking Stamping and Papercraft for Alisa Tilsner, a SU demonstrator from ?Perth.  I liked the layout but didn't have the stamp set, Established Elegance.  

So this is my final result.  I still like hers much better so will keep working on it.  I have used Fresh Vintage, Baroque Motifs and the flourish is part of the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder.

Petal Cone die

Look what I got - the petal cone die.  This was on my wish list for ages before I actually got the chance to buy it.  And you know what, now I can't remember why I wanted it so much.  I haven't had much of a chance to try it out yet and I do have a few more ideas for it, so stay tuned.  

When I try things out for the first time I generally use old cardstock, so this one is retired YoYo Yellow.

The end of the cone can be folded shut or left open, whichever you prefer.  Would be handy for those kids birthday party lolly bags. 

Stampin' Up Retirement List

As of Friday night, Stampin' Up have sold out of the following: 

Peach Parfait Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
Concord Crush Classic Stampin' Ink Refill
More Mustard Stampin' Write Marker
3/16" Gold Brads
Dotto Refill
Crimper
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Ink Refill

If you are after a bargain, my tip would be to grab some of the ink pads.  All of the colours are on special, some at $8.96 and others for $7.17.  From September all ink pads sold will be in the new design with the extra special foam which is supposed to give a better coverage when stamping, so all the old style are reduced.  If you were a fan of the 2010-2011 In colours; Peach Parfait, Poppy Parade, Pear Pizzazz, Concord Crush and Blushing Bride, you had better start re-stocking before they are all sold out.  The Designer Series Papers are also reduced from $18.95 down to $14.21 and even $11.37.  You'd better get in soon.  

Seeing stars?

This is a case of a card I saw on someone from America's blog.  It uses the Stars 2 Big Shot die from Stampin' Up, not available in Australia.  Fortunately I have a friend who recently returned from a trip to US and bought me this die while they were away.  Aren't I lucky to have such a good friend.  

Have used Early Expresso and Read Red cardstock, along with First Edition DSP.  This is my favourite paper and I was pleased to see that SU like it too, so much so that it will return in our 2011-2012 Annual Catalogue.  

Needs a bit more tweaking to get the shapes right, but it would make a great card for a teenager or male, and no stamping involved. 
 

Retired List of SU Products

August is the time of year when Stampin' Up releases the list of all products that will not be returning in the new September catalogue.  This is when you get the chance to purchase them before they leave, sometimes at a discount of 25-75% off.  Things sell out very quickly, already they have run out of Peach Parfait and Concord Crush refill, so if there is anything you have had your eye on, now is the time!

A lot of my favourite sets are going; Fifth Avenue Floral, Baroque Motifs and Vintage Vogue.  The 2010-2011 In Colours will also be retired and you will see that there are a lot of ink pads on the retired list too.  These are being replaced with a new firm foam inkpad which is supposed to give a better coverage. 

Here  is the link for the list of retiring stamp sets and this is the link for the retiring accessories.  If there is anything you are after please send me an email.

  

A bit early for Christmas?

Is it too early for Christmas cards?  I always say I am going to start planning and making my cards earlier in the year, but even this is too early for me.  

My sister is currently on a caravanning holiday around most of Australia and before she left she loaned me one of her stamp sets that I have always admired.  The set is "Snow Swirled" and I have held off buying it because we don't have snow at Christmas.  I am always harping on to my friends about not having snow and winter themed Christmas cards - they must get sick of me saying it.  So these actually aren't snowflakes, they are dust mites.  That makes me feel better.  

Colours used are Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist and Crumb Cake.  I might add a pearl or diamonte to each dust mite for a bit extra sparkle.