Baby Spice (Cake)

Did I get your attention? LOL – During school holidays I worked on a really enjoyable project for Laurenz’s year 1 teacher, who is with him again in Year 2  for a few short weeks before she goes off on maternity leave preparing for the arrival of her first baby.  She has been a gem of a teacher and supportedmy oldest boy’s thirst for knowledge and endless working mind in a way that I will appreciate for ever – so I had this idea to create a set of baby shower invites for her and package them in one of my favourite silver tins.  Then I started to worry that by the times school began she may have planned her shower or decided not to have one…

So I decided to create a set of 10 thank you cards with stamped envelopes instead, with an invite insert that could be glued over the top if that was what she wanted to do… A kind friend (Thanks K) loaned me her Baby Bundle stamp set and I teamed it with the Spice Cake DSP from the Summer Mini. I think the result is a really vintage-y kind of baby feel.

Here is what I came up with:

The Multi Purpose Card

The Inside and Insert

The Tin

I knew I wanted to water colour the prams after I saw this card from Lianne Carper over at www.cardscraps.com – I loved the water colouring and the way she had cut out and propped up the pram, heart and wheels on dimensionals - the wheels, bears and love hearts were coloured directly with markers.  I used SU watercolour paper for the best results, and coloured with my aquapainter and ink from the lid of my inkpads.  The old olive dots were directly coloured with the writing end of my marker for precision colouring!

My Water Colouring

My basic colour scheme of pool party, old olive, early espresso and very vanilla with a hint of pumpkin pie is inspired directly from the DSP – this is a sure-fire way to guarantee success in your projects – let stampin up do the hard work of colour coordination for you!!!

I copied the basic layout of the cards for the tin cover and added the word BABY using my timeless junior alphabet dies and big shot.  The buttons on my project are all vintage – from Mum’s collection that she kindly handed down to me when I embarked on card making a few years ago – they remind me of my child hood and I love using them on my projects

What else can I tell you? Making gifts for people is one of my favourite things to do – this set was truly a labour of love (no pun intended)!

Hope you enjoyed looking over my project – I’d love to hear from you if you have any questions about the techniques I’ve used – until next time!

Bingo – Stampin’ Up! Style

Hi Girls,

I am excited to share something a little different with you today… Last weekend I had a fantastic crafting weekend at Avalon Homestead in Toodyay and this was one of the projects on my list that i had to try…A Bingo Game using Jolly Bingo Bits and the Bingo Background stamp, with a game spinner from Stampin’ Up!

I started by decorating a metal tin with the Bingo stamp and a few glittery snowflakes, and then created 4 game cards (all using a different combination of stamped imges from Jolly Bingo Bits), a Game Spinner using the Penants Builder Punch and a Game Spinner, and then matchboxes to house a set of counters that I ordered from eBay.

I love these colours for Christmas – I’ve taken my cue from a “boyish” sheet of Letters to Santa DSP with Marina Mist, Early Espresso and Old Olive.  “Boyish” becuase I made this game for Laurenz and Kyan and they have been playing ever since! Here are some other pics:

I love thinking outside of the box and trying projects other than Cards and Scrapbook Pages – hope this inspires you too!

Dinoroar’s first outing

I recently made these cute cards for two sweet little boys having birthdays this month – it’s the first time I have inked up Dinoroar and it was a joy to colour! First time stamping on twill tape too – what ya think? The DSP I used is Well Worn – just matches really well!

and inside one of my favourite stampsets Outline for Fun

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s a Circus Tent Invite!

Hi there!

When it came time to start thinking about Kyan’s birthday invites, I just knew that I wanted to use the Real Red and White stripes from the Big Top Birthday Designer Series Paper so I set out  to find a template for a Carnival Tent Invite.  I really didn’t think I would find a template but lo and behold – WOW – I found this:

The very generous Heidi Van Laar posted a great template here which I proceeded to print on thick card and use as a template to create this:

I purchased the party time stamp set for the sentiment and used the very cute lion from Fox and Friends for my “Circus Lion” The “For When Where RSVP” is from party time too.  My lines are from Notes and Details

I created this invitation part by cutting the words separately with my rubber and craft scissors and then placing all the pieces on the largest clear block, and stamped simultaneously using my stamp a ma jig to make sure the lines were straight on my whisper white card.

I am so happy with how these turned out! And this colour combo is just fantastic for girls and boys of many ages…

Stay tuned for the lolly bags which I am designing at the moment!

Thanks for stopping by!

Father’s Day Cards

I recently used craft time at Stamp Club to make Father’s Day Cards for my Dad and Husband – using a few retired stamps as I am yet to order a Dad orientated stamp from the new catty (but have my eye on one for next year!!!) come to think of it nearly everything is retired on these cards!

I’ve used the direct to stamp technique, colouring in portions of the motorcycle with different colored markers and really loved the effect – this is a technique that more seasoned stampers tend to forget – it’s almost too simple but my downline Trisha and I were just talking about how it is easy to forget a) what’s in your stash and b) what you used to do with said products LOL

I’ve also used a sponge dauber and my frost white shimmer paint to highlight around this second motorcycle and the sentiment stamp – just to give it a little extra accent…

Thanks for stopping by – as usual if you have any questions be sure to let me know

Loving Square Cards

Hi Girls,

I’m continuing my love of square cards with this post – this card was part of the stash I created during our recent 10 hr stampin’ crop.

My card base is Rich Razzleberry, with Whisper White and Basic Black Mats I’ve stamped my Medallion in Rich Razzleberry onto Whisper White – so crisp!

Next up I needed to create my butterfly embellishment – I recently aquired scraps of this gorgeous glittery fabric (saved from the bin after a production run actually!).  I applied an adhesive sheet (Autumn Winter Mini Catalogue) to Basic Black card, then peeled off the adhesive backing and added the fabric.  I always like to smooth over with my bone folder to make sure all the card and fabric is sufficiently stuck to the adhesive sheet.

And of course then I’ve run my prepared fabric/card through the bigshot using the Beautiful Butterflies Die – choosing the largest open butterfly. I love that the adhesive sheets basically make every die and punch you have into sticker makers!

I’ve added three large Rhinestones to the centre of the butterfly for some extra pizazz!

My sentiment is one of the really versatile ones from the Just Believe Stampset, punched with the Modern Label Punch and layered onto a scalloped oval.  A rhinestone on each side of the label adds the last finishing touch.  My ribbon is retired but you could use Rich Razzleberry Grosgrain etc.

And inside I couldn’t resist sponging the edges  – I’ve stamped one of my favourite images from Friends Never Fade:

I have resisted spraying this card with my colour spritzer or shimmer Mist – the girls assured me that it was great clean cut like this – I’ve been shimmering up EVERYTHING lately so maybe this is a nice change!

Thanks for stopping by!

Get Well Classic

Hi Girls and Happy Sunday!

Thanks so much for stopping by today – I’d like to share a card created for a friend who hasn’t been feeling so crash hot this last week – at the time this post goes live, I will be lunching at Jane Brook Estate with said friend and co, and enjoying a beautiful meal, funny conversation, and a great afternoon!

Anywho, yesterdayLaurenz (6) asked if we could do “a little class together” which involves picking colours from the colour lab (see my new link on the sidebar) and a sketch which we keep on screen and then follow along using our own stamps…Cute idea eh? In this case the sketch inspiration comes from Stamping a Latte – check out Jodi Collin’s card here 

The colour combo we chose from the Colour Lab was Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla (was supposed to be white but I go for VV every time at the moment!).  I just love the Blushing Bride Polkadots – this DSP is from the 6 x 6 Hostess Set of Papers.  My Baja DSP is from Greenhouse Gala.  Here is a closeup of the details:

My stamp is from the fabulous Fun and Fast Notes and I stamped in Stazon Black, then coloured using Blender Pens and Ink pressed in to the lid of my Stampin’ Pads.  I chose the three main colours Baja, Blush Bride and NQ Navy to colour in the flowers and coloured the Vase with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.  It is so easy to dip the Blender Pen in the lid of the Paint and colour straight to card.

Stamping Elegance TIP: Mark one end of a Blender pen with sticky tape wrapped around and keep this one dedicated to shimmer paint.

My embellishment also features Shimmer Paint – I simply assembled and then coloured in the scalloped section to give it extra shine.  My Butterfly Embosslit is responsible for the stacked butterfly – I love the dimension you get from stacking it together – I’ve secured with a brad through all and topped the brad off with an adhesive rhinestone for some extra bling.

Hope you enjoyed this project and find time to craft for yourself soon!

Just a side note - something I don’t mention very often is that I am always available if you need help in getting the most out of your SU products – often we fall in love with something on-line or at a workshop but when it comes time to create at home we have forgotten the method or can’t quite get the technique right – just give me a call or drop me an email on stampingelegance@live.com and I would be delighted to help!

Have a fantastic day!

Fantastic Fun at Christmas Stamp-a-stack

Hi Honeys,

It was a fabulous bunch of girls who attended my Christmas Stamp-a-stack on Friday Night… I’d just like to say a big thank you to Lou, Ness, Jo, Kim, Melissa and Zelda – for your enthusiasm and energy – I had a great time flitting between designs and embossing stations and the bigshot (with a little stamp cleaning in between!)

The evening started off with a little pillow box treat for each stamper – This little gift was so easy to create. I used entirely Jolly Holiday DSP and Very Vanilla Card with Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler Inks.  The stamp is from the Perfect Punches set – definitley a fave of mine!  And the box? One swipe of the Big Shot with Pillow Box Die and a strip of coordinating DSP and away we go! And inside? A mini pack of maltesers!

 

I have shared several of the card designs with you on previous posts, so here are the two outstanding designs offered as part of the “Buffet” on Friday:

I love this little Christmas tree from Fun and Fast Notes - just another reason why this stamp set is one of the best investments you can make!  I’ve stamped the tree a second time onto watercolour paper and then cut him out and placed it on top for a cute 3D effect.  I’ve coloured with stampin pastels and blender pens.

Another of my favourite designs this year is my Marina Blue and Night of Navy card:

I’ve stamped the Christmas Tree from Contempo Christmas and really went to town trimming the tree with pearls, brads and a rhinestone star.  I love that the tree is trimmed to match the sentiment (also from Contempo Christmas) I’ve wheeled down the side of my top note with the matching Contemp Wheel.  Love non traditional Chrissie colours!

I also promised to share my Christmas candle display, created for pride of place on my lowline tv cabinet this festive season.  I’ve lined my three designs up on a beautiful Christmas Dish:

 

Here are a few of the finer points:

Instead of securing my hodgepodge hardware with brads, I added a rhinestone each side – bling!

See my 3D ornament bauble? I picked that up from blogland but later noticed that it is on display in the SU Catalogue too!  Created simply by punching two ornaments, folding them and placing them side by side…

Will I ever tire of this scallop flower? Sigh… I’ve used ten scallops to create this one with a fancy brad from my hodgepodge Hardware as it’s centre. Love the polkadot DSP from Jolly Holiday!

And 7 matching sized loops created this ribbon rosette – with my favourite Button from the Buttons Big Shot Die for it’s centre with a sweet linen thread bow.

Ok are you seriously Christmassed out yet?  Check back later for details about how you can score some free ribbon from Stampin Up to Dress up Your Christmas!

Bye for Now – it’s my babies 4th birthday today so I am off to play with his pressies!

Outdone by a 6 year old Crafter!

Hi there,

As you read this I will be soaking up the sun in 27 degrees Coral Bay sunlight – hope you enjoy this little look into my household activities during school holidays…

Laurenz (Master, 6)

Mum I want to make a get well card for my friend Ellie with my broken arm robot stamp

Mum (Seasoned Card Maker, 35)

Ok darling you choose exactly what colours you want from your stash (I gave him a huge stack of card etc for his birthday during holidays) and I will get the inks out that you would like…

So he proceeded to make the most AMAZING card – and I can honestly say that the only think I helped him do was cut out the last half of his robot because he wanted to keep the broken coil/spring at the top and thought he would probably cut it off.

I love how he has just sticky taped the robot on – how cute is that adhesive option???

Tools/ techniques Laurenz used WITHOUT a frefresher on how:

• Aqua painters to colour in Robot
• Masking sentiment off the “Happy Couple” stamp with sticky tape and just coloured the hearts with a Stampin’ marker
• Folding corner and attaching brad
• Punching little love hearts, chopping mini dimensionals up and attaching
• Chopping sentiment up and attaching with dimensional

Need I go on?

 I am proud as punch I gotta tell you! And what’s more…I LOVE HIS COLOUR COMBINATION!

Mum (Seasoned Card Maker, 35)

Laurenz honey can I please case your card which means I love it soooo much that I would like to copy it?

Laurenz (Master, 6)

Of Course you can Mum!

Here is my version:

This is my first attemp at an aperture card – and I realise that my dimensional positioning leaves a little to be desired as you can see them through the window sheet – I will set them back further next time

But I was right about Laurenz’s colour combo – My version is Perfect Plum, Pink Pirhouette, with a hint of Riding Hood Red ink as a focul point in the image – exactly like my boy did!

So who’s do you like best? Be honest now!!!!

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #30

I love this colour combination! Rich Razzleberry, Kraft, Old Olive and Whisper White! So I had to play along with the challenge over at Makeesha’s blog this week…

Product Recipe

Stampset – Playful Petals (Two Step Stampin) Best Yet (Hostess Level 1)

Cardstock – Rich Razzleberry, Kraft, Whisper White

DSP – Cottage Wall

Ink – Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Ribbon – Rich Razzleberry Polkadot Grosgrain, Hemp Twine

Embellishments – Gold Brads and Clear Button

Big Shot Dies – Lots of Tags

I’ve been wanted to create a large fringed flower for a while so this seemed like a great opportunity!

Why not head over here to the inkspiration challenge and check out the other creations both from the design team and the very talented crafters playing along this week?

Thanks for stopping by!

Jan x