gift vouchers

Just thought I would share this pic of a folder I made for a gift voucher. This is off to a very lovely lady, purchased by her husband. Now if I could just get my husband to think like this......

Lisa's Card

At this busy time of year when all your focus is on christmas, its really hard to suddenly think in birthday mode, but in creating this card for my sister it gave me a chance to use my new 'Embrace Life' stamp set. I think this is a beautiful set that I can see will lots of use from me! I also used some Stampin' Up rub ons and a bit of bling. (Ohh and the new felt flowers!)


Now I just have to whip up another for my niece who has the unfortunate birthday of 24th December.

Xmas card class - Wednesday 10th at 10am

This will be the final class for 2008.
What will be making. Xmas cards, of course!

The first card pictured below, involves making your own chipboard shapes and using the fantastic crystal effects. The background paper is all stamped, and was inspired by some scrapbooking paper I saw in a magazine.

The second card, has a bit a a vintage feel with lace and buttons, but is simple and fast to create. It uses the new stamps from the summer mini catalogue.


The next card is super quick (probably the fastest card you will ever make with me) and was inspired by Angela Sargent. It uses ribbon and paper from the spring mini which is no longer available, but its so beautiful how could I not, and I know alot of you have this paper already. The stamp is one from the hostess sets.

The fourth card, is again simple but uses some punches in different ways.

And finally a card using embossing, glitter and sponging. This card looks much better in real life, the colours are much more appealing. It also uses the new scalloped punch which I just loooove!

If you would like to attend this class on the 10th please email me to reserve your spot. I would love to see you all.

Some quick card creations

These are some cards I made using the Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' Kit.
These kits come with 8 sheets of cardstock, 6 sheets of double sided paper and 6 sheets of cardstock weight stickers. and best of all it is on special this month with 20% off the price. (Sorry to all those that have already bought the kit!). The above card uses the colours real red, wasabi green, pretty in pink and bashful blue. I also used the matching blue ribbon, lots of glitter and some white cardstock.

For the card below I substituted the real red for the so saffron, and used virtually the same design. These cards you can make so quickly, they would be great for last minute creations. Or is it only me that has to do this kind of thing.....


Hope you like it Rachel.

December Specials

This month, once again, Stampin' Up have come up with some super specials. For the whole of December when you spend $20 on any product they'll give you 20% off 12 products that will help tie up Christmas. From stamps to ribbon, from tags to calendars they've got it covered.

Festive Favourites stamp set (p.27) was $45.95 now $36.76
Crazy For Christmas stamp set (p.28) was $39.95 now $31.96
Snow Flurries stamp set (p.29) $20.95 now $16.76
Tag Time stamp set (p.43) $53.95 now $43.16
Many Merry Messages stamp set (p.111) $64.95 now $51.96
12"x12" Days-to-Remember Calendar (p.133) was $20.95 now $16.76
6"x6" Days-to-Remember Calendar (p.133) was $18.95 now $15.16
Winter Bright Simply Scrappin' (p.138) was $36.95 now $29.56
Three for You Punch Box (p.143) was $85.95 now $68.76
Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (p.146) was $14.95 now $11.96
Very Vanilla 5/8" grosgrain ribbon (p.146) was $14.95 now $11.96
White Square Aluminium Metal Edge tags (p.147) was $7.50 now $6.00

For all orders placed in December you will also receive a voucher from me that can be redeemed in January. Happy shopping.

A male card

Amother new stamp found its way into my home. I just don't know how it happens!!! 'Seaworthy' is a great set for making male cards. The images are intricate enough so you don't have to include alot on the card to make it interesting. I just used some ribbon, eyelets, faux stitching and rub-ons for the name. This set come from the mini and is only available to the end of the month. And don't forget there is 20% off all rub-ons for the month of November.

Next class is Nov 26th at 10am

In the next class we again making small gifts, this time some calendars. The first, pictured above is a hanging calendar with some simple watercolouring.


The next a magnetic calendar, which involves colouring the flowers, although this is not visible in the photo at all.


And finally a stand up calendar suitable for a night stand or desk.
I will have a few different colour choices for you so if greens not to your liking, that won't be a problem.
If you would like to attend the class on Wednesday please email me to reserve your spot.
In the class on Saturday the 29th you will a make the bookmark in a folder and either the calendar or the second bookmark. I will leave the choice up to you. Email me if you would like to attend the class on the 29th. This will be the last Saturday class for the year.

Using Stampin' Up markers

This month Stampin' Up is offering the sale of the markers individually for $4.95 ea which has prompted many questions about their use. I use my markers almost everyday and am using this opportunity to replace my most loved markers, chocolate chip and creamy caramel. Mostly I use them directly on the rubber stamps to stamp a small section of a stamp or use several colours on the one stamp. I just colour the rubber and stamp away. Very easy! I also use them for faux stitching, journalling and watercolouring (just colour on a sheet of plastic and use a brush or blender pen to apply to pic).
In the pic above I used the thumping technique to stamp the image. I simply inked up the tree in river rock to start with, then using a marker coloured the trunk brown right on top of the river rock. Then using the old olive marker thumped the marker randomly over the tree. Before stamping I used a sponge lightly over the stamp to mix the colours a little. I think it gives a natural looking tree, and really only took a few minutes to make.
Why not try using markers on your next project.

A Xmas Card

This year I seem to be using lots of non Christmassy papers to make my christmas cards, not sure why because I have sooooo many beautiful christmas papers I could be using....but who knows why I do so many things. Anyway, the above card is made using 'Spring Silhouttes' Stampin' Up paper, the 'Season of Joy' stamp set, soft sky and real red card, and creamy caramel, soft sky, chocolate chip ink pads, some ribbon, a pearl from the pretties kit, the large SU star punch and a paper flower. Notice that the design for this card is taken from the brown and olive card I made for Sue in an earlier post. If you make a card and you like it, why not try it in different colour combos for a completely different feel. It saves lots of thinking time!

Class 12th November @ 10am

This is the second part to Wednesday's class, a quick folder to present your bookmark in. It uses masking and chalks and is really easy to whip up. I'll have lots of colour choices for you with this, so have a think about the colour you would like to make. I would just like to add that the bookmark will only take about 10 mins, at the most to make. The class is primarily focusing on the folders and the masking techniques used to make them. At the completion of the class you will have 2 gifts to start your xmas shopping.

If you would like to attend the class on Wednesday the 12th or Nov 29th please email me to reserve your spot.

Bookmark class Wednesday Nov 12th at 10am

It's a very busy time of year for most, so I thought this class could be involve making two gifts for a special friend or relative. In this class you will make two beaded bookmark (using those gorgeous beads from the pretties kit) in different designs, and a folder to store one of them in. We'll also make the tags, and I'll include the cello bags, so its right to go. The folder involves alot of masking, using chalks, and sponging so hopefully you will pick up some new techniques along the way.


Here's some pics of the folder.

And below is a pic of the bookmark.

The second bookmark will be packaged more simply to show you how a handmade gift does not neccesarily take lots of time to make. I don't have a pic to show you yet, but stay tuned.

If you would like to attend this class, please email me to reserve your spot.

For those that can not attend in the week I'll also offer this class on Nov 29th at 10.00am.

Happy birthday Sue.

Class Wednesday 29th October 10am

Hi everyone. These are the samples for the next class on Wednesday 29th October at 10am. In this class we will be making 5 cards, with a variety of techniques. So if you are looking for a stamping overview this is definitely the class to attend. The first card is pictured above - the card used is actually gold but it does not photograph well. It uses heat and stick powder and lots of glitter as well as vellum cardstock. You'll fnd a detail shot below.



The second card is one I have asked to do several times and involves using a brayer on gloss cardstock and a little masking.

The third card is an interactive card where the circle in the middles actually spins around. It uses the 'Short and Sweet' stamp set which is on special this month. Only $23.96 for 12 stamps!

Now this card again looks much better in real life. It uses silver ink, and metalic cardstock to give it punch, but is simple and would be easy to make in bulk if needed.

And last but not least, this card is called a never ending card, because the panels just keep flipping over and over. Absolutely impossible to photograph, but heaps of fun to play with and soooo simple to make.
I think you could get addicted to these!

For everyone that can't make it during the week I will be running this again on Saturday the 8th November so don't despair.

But if you would like to attend on Wednesday the 29th please email me to reserve your spot.

We might even have a birthday girl attending!!!

Well I'm off now to a meeting with the school regarding my son attending next year. It's so exciting for me! Next year will be the start of a new era with both kids at school.

Thanks for visiting.

Some Christmas creations

These are some of the projects we made in the class last Saturday. The pic above is of a notepad cover. And below are a few xmas cards. They were all made using the Stampin' Up Winter Brights Simply Scrappin kits (pgs 137-139). They contain lots of cardstock stickers, textured cardstock and patterned papers. The stickers are really great to use because they can be moved a few times if your not happy with the placement. I never seem to get it right first time, so for me, that's perfect. Thanks everyone for your company on Saturday and thanks Kathy for suggesting this class.

Something new to look at Angela

I absolutely love the 'Baroque Motifs' set. The set just has so many uses. Here I have used it in a Christmas theme. I stamped the flourish in artichoke then highlighted parts using my watercolour pencils, added a few Kaiser gemstones and the gorgeous satin ribbon from the mini. So easy.
If you would like to make a folder similar to one above check
the blog in November for a future class!

Class Wednesday 15th October 10am

Wednesdays class is all about making cards for different occasions.
We'll make the card above using an easy technique to create a background. You will get to choose the greeting from any of the eight in the set.


Then we'll make the burgundy card using some two step stamping, again you can change the greeting to one you'll think you'll use.
Then we have a really simple wedding or engagement card using the beautiful hat pins from the pretties kit, and a simple card using supplies from the simply sent kits. You can see closer shots of the cards above in the previous entries.
If you would like to attend the class on Wednesday please email me to reserve your spot.
Thanks for looking.

More samples using my simple delights set

I am just loving this stamp set. I made this card and mini book last night using river rock and chocolate chip cardstock and the 'Brocade Background' papers. they co ordinate perfectly with this set. Don't you just love how Stampin' Up do this, makes it so easy even for the lazy like me!
If you would prefer to make this card in the class rather than the two from the set I am happy to accomodate.
Remember last day to order this set at the discounted price is Saturday the 11th.

Class Saturday 11th October

Well I've finally prepared the class samples for Saturday and its going to be a bit of a mix. The first card is the 'thinking of you' card above, which incorporates some two step stamping. You will of course have a range of greeting to choose from. This could be a get well, birthday, or good luck card if you choose.


The second card is suitable for weddings or special occasions. I have a range of greetings for you to choose from so you don't have to use the one pictured. In this class we are using lots of items from the pretties kit - I've even decided to part with some precious hat pins, which I just love!!! This card is pretty easy to make, but the beautiful elements used make it very special (well I think so anyway). You'll see a detail shot of the card below.

And for the final two cards I thought I would cheat and let you make two cards from the simply sent kits. This arrived yesterday, in its cute little box, and I could not wait to make them. They are super easy, as everything in the kit comes pre cut with extensive instructions. (Yah no cutting for me!)The stamps are die cut and it even includes the glue dots to use. I thought we might just sponge the edges though ....... If you would like to order one of these kits the 20% off special is only available till Saturday.

If you would like to attend the class and make the four cards above please email me to reserve your spot.

Thanks for looking.

Michelle

Using Close as a Memory stamp set

I like to have sympathy cards in store because I know the last thing I feel like doing is creating a card when one is needed. The design for this card came from the catalogue.

Die cuts and rub ons from the mini

If you would like to make lots of quick cards you really can not go past the die cuts and rub ons from the spring mini. These make it super easy to create a great range of cards or scrap book pages. I have also used the old olive designer paper, some matching buttons and some ribbon, and surprisingly no ink.
The die cuts come in a pack of four colours (old olive, pumpkin, bashful blue, and real red) and the sheets are 12" x 12" and are $16.50, so great value. I cant wait to try a few other colour combos.

I promise to have the Saturday class samples up tomorrow. Sorry I am leaving it so late, but have had an incredibly busy week with the school holidays.

Thanks for looking.

P.S. Kathy you left a no reply comment so I can't email you.....