Festive Friday #34

Hi!

Friday again, which means it's time for....

This week Nicole has put together a colour combination to use on the cards.

 

Now when I first saw this combo my first thought was "Nicole, what were you thinking???"  I put off making the card for ages, but when I could no longer avoid it and sat down to craft I realised just how GORGEOUS this combination is.  I love it!

 

 

I used my Simply Scored to create the background of the card.  I then dragged an inkpad over the top to highlight the score lines, and dotted on the joins with my white gel pen.  I wanted a luxurious, quilted look for the background.

Isn't the sentiment lovely?  It's a sneak peek from the new Holiday Catalogue that I received at the Melbourne Heartfelt Event.  I used my markers on the stamp to give the multicoloured look.

I decorated the inside in the same manner as the outside.

I hope you can play along with this gorgeous colour combination!

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Heart Of Christmas (upcoming), Tree Trimmings (retiring)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Simply Scored Score Board, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, White Baker's Twine,  More Mustard Designer Button, Dimensionals, White Signo Gel Pen

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Mocha Morning Specialty DSP

Hi!

Are you a user or a hoarder?  When you buy something pretty for your papercrafting, do you save it for a special occasion, or do you use it with abandon?  Sigh...I'm a bit of a hoarder, save it for a special occasion type of crafter.  Silly really, because I should be spreading the gorgeousness!  The card that has inspired this pondering was a commission for a friend.  She wanted a thank you card, but one that had a really positive message, for a friend that was helping them through a really tough situation.

I found the quote on the internet and printed it onto Very Vanilla Cardstock.  I used one of my new Apothecary Accents Framelits to cut around it.  The Vanilla looked a little stark, so I stamped over the top with the flourish from Creative Elements and Crumb Cake ink.  It didn't look quite finished, so I used my Crumb Cake marker to colour the areas of the flourish that weren't covered with text.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out.

I kept the inside quite simple so that she had plenty of room to write a heartfelt message to the recipient.  The Mocha Morning SDSP was perfect for this card.  I used a flocked piece to add to the luxury of the card.  I really should have made better use of this SDSP before it retires!

Stamps: Creative Elements, Just Believe
Ink: Crumb Cake
DSP/Cardstock: Mocha Morning SDSP, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Other: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits (upcoming), Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event She Loves The Beach Layout

Hi!

Back again with another of the layouts I created for the Heartfelt Events Scrapbooking Display Boards.

I struggled with this layout for a long time.  I wanted to use the Summer Smooches DSP but I just could not get it to work.  I was trying to have a row of circles across the page and after a day of pushing them around the page and getting nowhere I changed tack and went for flags.  Perfect!

Stampin' Up! were kind enough to send me a set of the upcoming Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies to borrow in order to create my layouts.  I love their size, and the fact that they cut through more materials than the retiring Timeless Type Alphabet Dies, but I'm not so keen on the fact that they are only capital letters.  To get around this I decided to use Daffodil Delight for both the background and the letters.  It really reduces the impact of the SHOUTY CAPITALS.

DSP/Cardstock: Summer Smooches DSP (upcoming), Daffodil Delight, Basic Black
Other: Big Shot, Typeset Alphabet Dies, 1 1/4" Square Punch, White Baker's Twine, Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Are You After Some Technique Inspiration?

Hi!

I just thought I'd pop in quickly to let you know that some of my demonstrator friends are doing a blog hop today that showcases some gorgeous techniques.  Whether you're new to stamping, or after a refresher on some techniques, you're bound to find something to inspire you on this hop - I know I did!

You can start here at the lovely Sue Madex's blog.  I'm a bit excited that she's CASEd one of my Festive Friday Christmas Cards!

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #132: Just Add A Sketch

Hi!

This week Mae has designed a fantastic sketch to inspire us all for the current Just Add Ink challenge.

There are so many ways to interpret this sketch, and the design team have come up with some wonderful cards.  Here's mine!

This card was actually a commission, and I decided to kill two birds by using the sketch as the basis for the card.  I was asked to make a trendy card for a new baby.

Here's a closer look at the main image.  I didn't want to hide the flags under a solid panel, so I decided to use a window sheet instead.  The image from the Baby Tee's wheel is watercoloured and the whole panel is popped up on some Dimensionals.

I used a second watercoloured image from the Baby Tee's wheel on the inside.

How are you going to interpret this week's sketch?  I hope you can find time to play along with us at Just Add Ink.

Stamps: Baby Tee's Jumbo Wheel, A Word For You
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Rose Red, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Crumb Cake, Black Stazon
Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Rose Red, So Saffron, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper
Other: Whisper White Satin Ribbon (retiring), White Baker's Twine, Window Sheet, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Blender Pen, 1" Square Punch

Bye for now,

Tina

Post Convention Swap

Hi!

After Convention this year I participated in a card swap.  The idea was that we should take something that inspired us at Convention and put our own spin on it.  The card I chose to CASE was one of the samples provided using the Daydreams Medallions stamp set that we all got at Convention.

I liked how this card is quite gender neutral, a handy card to have in your stash for emergencies!

I went for a different colour scheme of River Rock, Cherry Cobbler and Island Indigo.

All these Medallions are single stamps - I was very glad I only had to make 4 of these cards for the swap!  Even though I had the clear mount set I still used my stamp positioner.

I was a bit over it by the inside, so it was very simple!

Stamps: Daydream Medallions (upcoming), Memorable Moments (upcoming)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Island Indigo
Cardstock: River Rock, Island Indigo, Very Vanilla
Other: Island Indigo Baker's Twine, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals, Basic Jewel Pearls, Stamp Positioner

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event LOVE Layout

Hi!

As promised I'm back with the first of the layouts I was asked by Stampin' Up! to create for the scrapbooking display boards at the Heartfelt Events to be held around Australia and New Zealand.

Thanks to my very good friend Christine for taking this photo for me. This was the first layout I made for the Heartfelt Event.  You may notice that it uses some of the Twitterpated DSP, which is making a return in the upcoming Annual Catalogue.  Yay!

A few sneak peeks of new products in this layout.  The stamp set is a gorgeous set that I got at Convention.  Such a pretty set, called Daydream Medallions.  The diecut alphas are also new for the Big Shot.

You may notice that the photo is a mix of colour and black and white.  This is my "photoshop when you don't have photoshop trick".  I print the same photo twice, once in colour and once n B&W.  I then trim the colour photo and pop it over the B&W photo using dimensionals.  It's such a lovely effect and so easy to achieve - a great way to highlight part of the photo.  Here's a view of the side showing the photos popped up.

The big butterfly was die cut using the Big Shot and the Beautiful Wings Bigz Die.  The smaller butterflies are another sneak peek of the new butterfly punch.  We were able to play with it at Convention and I punched out some extras while I had the punch.  Lucky I did so I could use them on the layout!  I stamped all the butterflies using the Creative Elements Stamp set, curled their wings and popped them up on dimensionals.

You'll notice another sneak peek on the butterflies - the gorgeous vintage faceted buttons.  They are so pretty and sparkly!  These were meant to be used on my Make and Takes from Convention but I hadn't gotten around to completing them so fortunately I was able to use them on the layout.

For a bit of extra sparkle I spritzed the butterflies with some Isocol/Champagne Mist shimmer paint mix.

Stamps: Daydream Medallions (upcoming), Creative Elements

Ink: Basic Grey, Baja Breeze

DSP/Cardstock: Twitterpated DSP, Basic Grey, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Other: Big Shot, Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die, Typeset Alphabet Bigz Dies (upcoming), Elegant Butterfly Punch (upcoming), Vintage Faceted Buttons (upcoming), White Baker's Twine, Dimensionals, Paper Snips, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Isocol (non SU)

Bye for now,

Tina

Festive Friday #32

Hi!

How has your week been?  Mine has flown by in a blur of sick children and also my own sickness.  It's safe to say that I'm so over winter sniffs and sniffles - bring on summer!  But first we have Father's Day and this week Nicole is challenging us to make Father's Day cards using Brads as a feature element.  Don't just plop a brad or two onto your card, use them to make something spectacular!

I combined my brads with some Well Worn DSP - retiring at the end of the month!  I highlighted the 'Dad' panel by surrounding it with brads.  I used some non-SU brads from my stash - a great way to use them up!

I also used a few more brads to finish off the inside of the card.

I hope you can find time to play along at Festive Friday Challenges this week.

DSP/Cardstock: Well Worn DSP (retiring), Early Espresso, River Rock
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet Dies (retiring), Early Espresso 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Sanding Block, Brads (non SU), Piercer

Bye for now,

Tina

A Happy Card On A Dreary Day

Hi!

It's a miserable, wet day here in Adelaide so I thought I'd brighten things up and show you a happy, cheerful card. My stamping ladies were keen to do a bit of punch art a couple of months ago, so this is what I found for them to do.  You can find a tutorial for making the cow here.  The card was inspired by another I saw on a demonstrator website, but I can't link it here.

Can't you just imagine a cow popping it's head over the fence to say hello? lol

The fence was made by embossing some Crumb Cake with the Stripes Embossing Folder and then dragging a Crumb Cake ink pad over the panel to highlight the raised areas.

I hope this card has brightened your day!

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event Inspiration Board

Hi!

As promised, I'm back with some more photos from Stampin' Up!'s recent Heartfelt Event in Melbourne.  One change this year was that instead of making swaps we were asked to make just one card to put on an Inspiration Board for everyone to see.  It made a lot of sense to me, given how close we are to the start of a new Annual Catalogue.  It also appealed as I was so time-poor in the lead up to the event that I just wouldn't have had time to make swaps anyway - one was just perfect.

Well, I actually made three of these cards.  One for the Inspiration Board and the other two for two very special friends.  One was a (very) belated birthday card for Sue and the other was an early birthday card for Christine.

Little sneak peek of a new stamp set there!

I kept the inside as CAS as the outside.  I used Naturals Ivory as my cardstock base.  It has a lovely weight to it, and the flecks through it help to 'fill' all the white space on the card without being overwhelming.

Don't forget that I still have my layouts from the Heartfelt Event Scrapbooking Display to show you.  I'll be back in a couple of days with the first one.

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #130: Just Add Blue and Bling!

Hi!

Are you ready for another fabulous Just Add Ink Challenge?  I sure am!  This week Nikki has challenged us to Just Add Blue and Bling.  When I was thinking about what to make fro this challenge I thought back to my time in Paris and remembered the Eiffel Tower at night and how it sparkled with lights on the hour.  Such a pretty sight in a pretty city!  My card is inspired by my memories of Paris.

I used my Heat and Set powder in combination with Dazzling Diamonds to recreate the sparkling Eiffel Tower.

I also used a silver gel pen to add some stars to the night time sky.

Another Eiffel Tower on the inside of the card.  My Aunt and Uncle are off to Paris next year so I think I'll keep this card to send as a Bon Voyage card.

Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Sentimental Journey
Ink: Night Of Navy, Versamark, Silver Gel Pen
DSP/Cardstock: Night Of Navy Patterns Stack DSP, Night Of Navy, Real Red, Whisper White
Other: Silver Embossing Powder, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, 1" Square Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, White Baker's Twine, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat and Stick Powder, Mini Silver Brad, Basic Jewels Rhinestones

I hope you can play along this week at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

Stampin' Up!'s Heartfelt Event in Melbourne

Hi!

Over the past weekend I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Melbourne so that I could attend Stampin' Up!'s Heartfelt Event.  These are a new style of events run by Stampin' Up! and replace the old style Regionals Event.  I had so much fun at the event, and it was fabulous to catch up with some very dear friends while I was there.

I also had a second reason to be excited about going.  I had been contacted about 10 days before the event by the lovely Bec Howard from Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Support asking if I would like to design a scrapbook layout to go on display at the event, and the other events like it being held around Australia and New Zealand.  Once I got over the surprise, of course I said yes!  Then I found out I could do up to 3 layouts, to which I also said yes.  Then I realised I only had 10 days to do the three layouts and I was only able to use current products going forward, which turned the task into a limited supplies challenge.  Oh boy!  Thankfully Rob took over the meal preparation and general child wrangling for the weekend so I was able to work on my layouts.

Here are the display boards at the Heartfelt Event.  I won't say which layouts are mine just yet, I'll reveal them over the coming week or so.

I was so very excited to see my name in amongst a lot of  Stampin' Up! scrappers that I find very inspirational.

This was the front of the display.  I have one layout on this side, and if you know my children you're probably able to pick which one!

Here is the other side of the display.  You'll notice that I was photo bombed!  The gorgeous, mischievous and very funny Claire Martin from Demonstrator Support in Australia obviously couldn't resist! She's such a lovely, smiley person and it's always great to see her at Stampin' Up! events.  Oh, I have two layouts on this side of the board!

I didn't take many 'people' photos at the event, but here's one of the Just Add Ink girls that were at the event.  From L-R: Narelle, myself, Christine and Jo.  It was lovely to see Christine again and to meet Narelle and Jo for the first time in person.  And yes, it's been pointed out how well colour-coordinated we are in our peach and navy clothing!

A new feature of the event was that Stampin' Up! asked us to show our creativity by making our own name tags.  I threw mine together fairly quickly as I was running out of time and leaving for Melbourne the following morning.  I die cut the letters for my name and then glanced around my desk for something to stick them on.  The first thing I saw was this:

Yes, the DVD that all new demonstrators get when they sign up!  I somehow have ended up with about 4 copies so I wasn't worried about recycling one to make my name tag!  Here's how it ended up.

I also recycled the lanyard we got at Convention this year, and I couldn't leave off the fab felt brooch that Kim made for each of the JAI girls at Convention.  The letters are a bit of a sneak peek at the new alpha die coming out in the Annual Catalogue in September.  Stampin' Up! were generous enough to send my out a set of the dies on loan so that I was able to use them on my layouts for the Heartfelt Event display.  I love being associated with such a wonderful company!

Well, that's enough for now.  As I said before, I'll be back over the next week or so to show you the layouts I made for the display.  I'll also show you the card I made for the Inspiration Boards at the event.

Bye for now,

Tina

Farewell Flirtatious!

Hi!

Today's card has one of my favourite DSP's on it, the Flirtatious Specialty DSP. I particularly loved the doily sheets, which of course meant I hoarded them rather than use them.  I really need to change my thinking!  On this particular card I snipped into the sheet to use one.  I made this card for my Nana, who shares a 'birthday' with this fabulous country.

I tried to keep the card fairly simple as her eyesight's not what it used to be.

If you want some of the Flirtatious SDSP get in quick - it will be gone by the end of the month, if not sooner! As a bonus, Stampin' Up! have it discounted - it's now $18.71, down from $24.95 - a 25% saving!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI Scrapbooking Challenge #8: Just Add Buttons and Bows

Hi!

Yay!  It's the first Sunday of the month, and that means it's time for the newest Just Add Ink Scrapbooking Challenge.  This time Ruthy has challenged us to add buttons and/or bows to your layout.  I loved this challenge so much I added both!

I have always loved these photos of my daughter Ada.  They were taken to record her first ponytail, but you can't actually see the ponytail unless you look really carefully. She was just 8 months old in these photos - she's 7 now! I just love how her t-shirt says it all.

I used Baker's Twine to make cute little bows in each of the Perfect Plum buttons I used.  And what better title for a layout featuring buttons?

The above photo is of the journalling box.  If you look at the title photo you can see a die cut Labels Framelit poking out from the bottom of the photo.  If you pull down on it you reveal the hidden journalling.

Do you love the scroll work on the layout?  It took me a long time and many cranks of the Big Shot handle, but the effect is certainly worth it.  If you like the look and want to replicate it but don't have the die, you'd better get in quick - the Scribbles Swirls die is on the Retirement List :(

Stamps: Creative Elements, Apothecary Art
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black, GArden Green
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alpha Dies (retiring), Scribbles Swirls Die (retiring), Labels Collection Framelits, Perfect Plum Designer Buttons, White Baker's Twine, Glue Dots, Blender Pen

I hope you can play along this month at Just Add Ink, can't wait to see your layouts!

Bye for now,

Tina

Festive Friday #30

Hi!

Who's ready for another round of Festive Friday goodness?  Me!  This week Nicole has designed a cute sketch to use on our cards.  It's a very versatile sketch, with lots of room for playing.

I changed the sketch from rectangle to square for my card, which is a cute little 4 1/4" size.

Love, love, love Dasher for Christmas cards.  He's been a bit neglected lately, so it was way past time for him to see some ink.

More of the gorgeous Letters To Santa DSP on the inside.  I'm not worried about not much room for writing in my card, as I usually send out a newsletter with my cards.

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Dasher, Season Of Joy
Ink: Early Espresso, Marina Mist
DSP/Cardstock: Letters To Santa DSP, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Other: Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina