31 May 2008

Happy birthday Keegan

Pete's son Keegan turns 18 this week, I've only known him for the last 3 years of his life but do they grow fast!!

I hate doing "boy's cards" so must admit thinking help an hour or so ago. I'd used yonks ago for one of my first demo swaps the now retired Oxford designer paper & Carte Postale and made masculine cards with them. I still have some paper left & it's good to use up those scraps. So it was a starting point. I decided I was going to use the also retired stamp set Collage Alphabet as thought the free style of it would appeal to an 18-year old boy. My original idea was to spell out the word eighteen but found this lovely pocket card over at SCS so it provided my inspiration. And there maybe a wee surprise behind the inner tag that will make him a happy boy!
Stamp sets: Collage Alphabet, Artifacts, Looks Like Spring, Occasional Greetings
Cardstock: Brocade Blue, Natural ivory
Ink: Brocade Blue, Close to Cocoa
Other: Hodgepodge hardware, hemp twine

I have inked the star stamp in brocade blue & then rock n' rolled the edges of the stamp in close to cocoa - cool effect.

26 May 2008

My talented artistic cousin Chris has updated her website


As some of you may know I come from a family with many artists in it (not me - though people tell me I write nicely!)

I think this is what I LOVE about Stampin' Up! so much as that I can be creative & hopefully bring pleasure to others & myself with my cards etc.

Anyhow my cousin Chris whose "wall sculpture - Looking Forward" that I am the proud owner of has updated her website - so have a peep.

Happy Birthday Joan



I've been having a social life so no time for blogging but have created a few cards, this one was a repeat of a card that I made a while back and loved. I do love this saying it's so APPROPRIATE.

Stampset: Garden Whimsy, It's Your Birthday, Looks Like Spring
Inks: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White (Craft Ink)
Card stock etc: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery & Certainly Celery Designer Prints
Other: Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Celery ribbon, horizontal slot punch

From what I gathered Joan had a very special day & our mutual friend Judy also used this stamp set for her card - so hope Joan likes butterflies!! We both used lots of glitter because Joan is our Glitter Queen!

12 May 2008

Stampin' Up! co-ordinates in a BIG way!

One of the great things about SU! is that everything co-ordinates, the card stock, the ink, the ribbons, the brads, the buttons, the eyelets & even the designer papers. So it makes it really easy for those of us that aren't as artistic as others to make an awesome card really quickly.

This is from one who had to think & prepare for my downline training last night after Mother's day celebrations with the family. The techniques we were looking at tonight were water colouring, embossing & setting an eyelet (the old way & the new way with the Cropodile). I wanted a card that covered the lot, so designer paper to the rescue!

I used the very lovely Petals & Paisleys DP. One of it's flowers reminded me of a flower from the retired In Full Bloom set.

Stamps: In Full Bloom, Small Sayings (both retired)
Card stock: Pretty in Pink, Cool Carribean, Whisper White
Designer Paper: Petals & Paisleys
Inks: Pretty in Pink, Cool Carribean, Rose Red, Old Olive, Versamark
Other: Black embossing powder, black eyelets, Cropodile, Aquapainter, sponge dauber, Cropodile, black eyelets, dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 2-way glue pen, Snail adhesive

Listed below is the CURRENT Designer Paper range & their co-coordinating SU! colours (12 sheets of double dipped DP for $13.95):
Designer Series Paper Colour matches
Berry Bliss: Purely Pomegranate, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa
Brocade Backgrounds: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, River Rock
Dashing: Old Olive, Real Red, River Rock, Very Vanilla
East Coast Prep: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard
Fall Flowers: Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky, Sahara Sand
Jersey Shore: Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Brilliant Blue, Bashful Blue
Le Jardin: River Rock, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke, Bashful Blue
Notebook: Soft Sky, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Outlaw: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla
Petals & Paisleys: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Taken with Teal, Cool Caribbean (in-colour '07)
Spring Break: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky
Spring Fling: Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron
Spring Flowers: Barely Banana, Cameo Coral (stamped off once), Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand
Spring Showers: Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss, Sahara Sand
Spring Silhouettes: Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky, Very Vanilla
Wintergreen: Always Artichoke, Certainly Celery, Sage Shadow, Soft Sky

11 May 2008

Baroque Motifs really does rock!


Wow my 10-year old nephew made this card for my sister Tracey for mother's day. I thought Tracey had made it for our mum as it was so beautiful. Maybe Max will be the first male demonstrator in NZ! Well done I'm impressed, the flourish in this set is just gorgeous I think it's hard to make a bad card with it. Though he may need to work on his cutting skills a wee bit.

Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Card stock: Pale plum, Perfect plum
Inks: as above
Other: lots & lots of dazzling diamonds glitter, brad

By the way my mum loved her Wild Rose card I had made her a few weeks ago (phew) and her lovely soft micro fleece heated throw - think I want one too as it's so snugly & warm.

My wonderful team to the rescue...

My upline Jacque's team (which I am a part of) is known as the Creative Inkers & they certainly hit the SPOT with inspiration for card class last Monday.

My favourite set in the new catalogue is Baroque Motifs & at $46.95 it is great valuePLUS I fell in love with the new in-colour Groovy Guava - it rocks all right especially with River Rock (another in-colour for '08). Which is what the samples in the new Ideas Book have been created with but my very talented upline Jacque added some Always Artichoke to the mix in one of her cards which looked stunning.

The 2nd card Anne Dil prepared for our demo swap & we finished them off just after midnight on Saturday night in Napier. Needless to say I was too tired to get it right so it was rather fortuitous that I had card class in my home the following day & I could repeat (reinforce) how it was made. Anne's original card/stand was made using textured card stock but apart from that mine is the same design & colours which are stunning.

Groovy Baroque Rocks:



Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Card stock: Groovy Guava, Always Artichoke, River Rock
Inks: as above
Other: twill, hodgepodge hardware, sponging, spritzer (Cameo Coral, A Artichoke)

Anne's fabulous card:



Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Card stock: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper white
Inks: Versamark, Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate
Other: Clear embossing powder, Purely Pomegranate double stitched grosgrain, linen thread, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, dimensionals, 2-way glue pen, circle punch, lots of sponging & distressing.

Thanks "guys" they were a major hit.

7 May 2008

More Rose Red


My dear friend Donna & her friend Wendy had a workshop last night. It was quite a scarey thing presenting to friends - much easier with strangers!

Donna wanted to do a magnetic bookmark card using glossy white card stock & the crayon resist technique which could be used as Mother's day cards.

She loves Rose Red, so using the colour coach wheel I matched this colour up with Elegant Eggplant (& purple is Donna's favourite colour) & Always Artichoke. A white crayon, sponges, magnetic strip & we were away.

Stampsets: Artfully Asian, Occasional Greetings, Weathered background
Card stock: Glossy white, rose red, elegant eggplant, always artichoke
Ink: as above
Other: Elegant eggplant grosgrain ribbon, magnetic strip, white crayon, sponges, white Signo gel pen

Some of the ladies filled their leaves entirely in with the crayon before sponging so really white leaves, some only used the elegant eggplant & always artichoke. But some great cards made by all, thank you to all who attended :-) And yes my bookmark which was on the table as a display "fell into" the rose red inkpad on the lower RHS at the end of the night whilst cleaning up :-(

1 May 2008

Demo swap/training again


& the girls are off to Napier for the weekend (photos & goss will follow). I've been busy creating wee cards to swap with the team & lucky for me as what little mojo I have has been drained (trying to do a team colour challenge) that I found this really sweet little card on Angie's blog & it was perfect. I loved it, it was easy and it used the designer paper that is May's promotion with SU! (so the timing was perfect!). Unfortunately someone - yes me, had almost used up the Always Amethyst DP with the wee daisies on it, so I had to create more cards using the other colours so there was enough to go around the team, saying that I think the Rose Red has the most pizzazz & I don't even really like Rose Red. So maybe that was a good thing.



Stamps: Short & Sweet
Ink: Basic Gray
Card stock: Almost Amethyst, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, So Saffran & matching designer paper
Punches: 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle & square punches
Other: white brad & grosgrain ribbon, sticky tape, dimensionals