OCTOBER WORKSHOP

Well summer is getting closer and with the weather over the weekend it truly felt like it was here. We had a nice break yesterday with thunder, lightening and some rain.  It didnt really cool down for long as it didn't rain enough. Watching the weather tonight looks like we are in for rain for the remainder of the week. We really need it.  Speaking of summer, that means its almost the end of the year which means only one more home workshop left before Christmas. Our October workshop has been and gone and I am busy preparing for the next one. I have a Stamp Camp before then though so I have a shoebox to think about.  Not sure what I will be doing.
Anyway here are the cards we made last week.
The first one is one I cased from a day at Ngaire's where we had a get together with some of the other SU! Demonstrators and we did a shoebox each.  Natalie (sorry I don't know her last name) had used a Nativity scene but I chose to use The Open Sea as I wanted a masculine card. The images were punched using the 1" punch then placed on a long piece of Not Quite Navy cardstock. I wanted to keep it clean and simple.

Cardstock - Not Quite Navy
Ink - Not Quite Navy
Stamp Sets - The Open Sea, Wordplay
Accessories - 1" Square Punch

The next card was also cased but I have made some alterations. This card was inspired by Jennifer Timko (Stampin on the fly blog). Jennifer had three vases in a row where she used the Large Oval Punch.  I wanted to alter it a bit and also make it a bit easier for the girls at the workshop.  I used the Extra-Large Oval Punch and only made one vase. I did use the original colours that Jennifer used but then changed it to something a bit brighter. Here it is:-

Cardstock - Tangerine Tango, Tempting Turquoise
Stamp Set - Just Believe, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Markers - Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise
Stamp Pad - Tangerine Tango (vase)
Accessories - Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch
Small Oval Punch (discontinued)Daubers, Square Lattice Folder,
Crystal Effects (flower)

I have seen this design on a few blogs but recently saw one that Susan Joyce had shown us at a Stamparoo get together at Ngaire Andersons. This is a very simple project and once you have made one then they are quite quick to make. I made one for a friend recently for her birthday so I will put both up. The one we did at my workshop was a Christmas theme. The girls loved it and some of them were going home to make one again so they didnt forget how to do it. The tutorial for this pop up card can be found here

The front I left simple.
Stamp Set - Heart of Christmas
Cardstock - Real Red, Whisper White
Markers - Gumball Green, Real Red
Accessories - Rhinestone, Two Tags Dies, Petals A Plenty Folder

The inside using Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP
 

Stamp Set - Birthday Whimsy (retired)
Cardstock - Basic Gray, Whisper White
Stamp Pad - Lucky Limeade
DSP - Twitterpated
Accessories - Window Punch

The inside using One In A Million Stamp Set

Well I will be off now as after the weekend I have had I really need my beauty sleep. I now have Fridays off so I am going to endeavour to try to blog on a Friday. I need to create a name dont I!  Until then its goodbye from me and again thanks for popping by :)

CATCH UP!

This is a cute little 3"x3" card made of Vellum

Yes I think I need to catch up as I have not posted for over a month now. I can't believe where the time goes. I keep thinking I must get on and do something but time just slips away. I must admit I have not been on my computer very often of late. With winter here (although hardly any rain), we have had some very cold evenings and my craft room is quite cold. I do have a heater that I sometimes put on. The main heater is in the family room. Our cat Mia has a catdoor which opens out to the side garden into her cat cage and the air from outside continually comes in. We cannot leave the family room door open as the heat escapes out the side door. Oh well! The joys of having pets. Most of the time my cat spends her time in my bed. I have to put a towel over my pillow which then goes under the sheets so that she can lay on it. She always lifts up the doona to lay underneath. Lucky cat! We have a lovely warm waterbed so why wouldn't she?
Anyway I am here now and have quite a few cards to put up so I hope you enjoy browsing.

Cased from Heather Tiley

I dont know where to start so I will start with one of my favourites from the SU! Conventions Swaps. I just love this card which was made by obviously a very talented lady by the name of Heather Tiley who was inspired by Dawn Olchefske. I cased this card and used it for two of my workshops. The ladies loved this one.
This card was made using the following:-
Cardstock - Vellum Card, Whisper White, Crushed Concord (one of my favourites and sadly leaving us at the end of August)
Stamp Sets - Mixed Bunch, Loving Thoughts (both from Autumn Winter Mini)
Ink Pads - Concord Crush
Accessories - Whisper White Ribbon, Scallop Oval Punch, Oval Punch, Brads,  Stylus from the Simply Scored Scoring Tool (to rub on the underside of the stamped vellum to raise up the pattern which makes it go a white colour)
Don't you just love it? You just have to make this card as it looks better in real life.
I have also made a few extra cards using the same technique but using Real Red Cardstock and Inks.
In these cards I have used Snow Swirled and Tree Trimmings Stamp Sets.

Real Red CS, Vellum & Snow Swirled Stamp Set

Using Real Red and Tree Trimmings Stamp Set

I guess its Christmas in July now so not so early for Christmas Cards. At least getting a head start for December!



The next few are using Glossy Cardstock. I was asked by my group of ladies for different ideas on how to use the Glossy CS. Here are just a few ideas.
The first one is one of my favourite techniques. First of all you need to cut out your piece of cardstock (Glossy) and go over it with your Brayer using More Mustard. Using your Sanding Block rub in one direction back and forth over the cardstock. Once you have gone from one end to the other then turn around clockwise once and start sanding the opposite way from one side to the other.
You then stamp with Music Notes Wheel with Basic Black. I have also added some Real Rust Ink (discontinued) using the Extreme Elements Stamp Set. Go over the image once again with the Sanding Block until you have a feint image before you. I have cut out a circle with Basic Black CS for the record using the Circles #2Dies and the image from Grunge Rock as well as the guitar. I have used the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch for around the image and placed it on some DSP and Real Rust CS then Basic Black CS. I quite enjoyed making this card. I hope you like it.

The next one is using up your scrap pieces of Glossy Cardstock embossing with the Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder. I have used Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine Tango Cardstock and Ink. Using a sponge gently go over the embossed area which highlights the pattern. The punch I used is actually discontinued but I had forgotten at the time. Sorry!
A very simple card but quite effective.

The next card I used Lovely As A Tree and I also cased this one.  I am so sorry as once again I cannot find the name of the talented person who I cased it from. First of all cut your piece of Glossy Cardstock to the size you wish. Run over with your Brayer using Daffodil Delight. You will need to tear a piece of paper a lay it about 1/4 of the way up from the bottom and using your brayer this time with Pumpkin Pie Ink go over the cardstock for the remaining 3/4 of the card. Lift up your piece of paper and move it to about halfway and go over again with your brayer but this time using Soft Suede Ink. For the last time lift up your piece of paper and move it again to approx 1/4 of the way from the top and go over with brayer using Bravo Burgandy. You can then use Versamark and Black Embossing Powder to place your Lovely As A Tree image onto your card. I have torn the sides of the card for a bit more texture.

I have made two cards the same here using the same technique but one is with Confetti Cream cardstock and the other with Glossy Cardstock. I have used Versamark on each cardstock and embossing with clear embossing powder using Mixed Bunch Stamp Set (leaving us at the end of August, hopefully to join us in the new Catalogue - only hoping) When using the heat gun on this technique you need to heat it enough to make the raised layer disappear. It takes a lot longer on the Glossy Cardstock but not so long using the Confetti Cream. You need your image to look like it has an oil effect and you could possibly see the image on the other side of the cardstock. Using your daubers choosing your colours go over the images. I have used Concord Crush, Pumpkin Pie and Tempting Turquoise. It gives your card a Batik look.



I was asked to make a card for my boss as it is their 25th Anniversary of their business. I thought and thought of what to do. I could not make it too fussy as it was for a man and a woman. I finally came up with the balloon idea and the sentiment The Sky's The Limit and this is what I came up with. I saw Tara Bilbao's card using the same stamp set and drew my idea from that. Thanks Tara! The card is actually an A5 size and inside I used whisper white and sponged the clouds all over. I placed an extra piece of cardstock so that there was enough room for all of the staff's good wishes. They loved it!

I was also asked to make a card for one of our staff for his 60th birthday and this was what I came up with. I saw the tag idea in the Summer Mini Catalogue using the gorgeous Open Sea stamp set. I hope this one makes it to the new Catalogue in September too. I also used the DSP Nautical Expedition from the Summer Mini Catalogue. This card is an A4 size as there were to be quite a few people coming along to sign the card.





I have been having a look on Pinterest. Check it out as there are lots of ideas on there and not just cards and crafts. There are all sorts of categories such as Cooking, Renovations, Clothing etc. This is where I found my next card. Yes I have cased this one too but using a different colour and stamp set. The designer of this card is the very talented Paula Dobson. Her card is gorgeous, obviously the reason why I love it so much. We used this card for my last workshop. A very simple but effective card. Check out Paula's blog for her card. I actually used Crumb Cake for my workshop but had mine on show for a different colour.

The last few cards are using the Framelits Labels Collection from the Autumn Winter Mini Catalogue. I found these ideas on you tube. The first one (Flip Flop Card) was found here and the second one (Framelit Funfold Card)  was found on this site.
Its great that we can look up the tutorials on You Tube and watch them step by step and pause when you want to. I tend to watch the video first writing down the measurements then watching again and pausing as I go to make the card. The Pumpkin Pie card below is a very simple one and can be made quickly for that birthday you almost forgot for that someone special.



                                                                                                                                                                      

Well I guess I had better get off to bed. Its almost midnight and I start work at 7.30am tomorrow. It is to be 2 degrees tonight so it will be nice to snuggle up in our lovely warm waterbed.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. I know its a long one but I had to catch up. I will try to promise to post at least once a week from now on. I am going to have to designate a night when I actually post.
Dont forget the Autumn Winter Mini is almost finished. You have until 31st July to put your orders in. Remember we cannot guarantee that any of the products in the mini will appear in the new Catalogue in September. 
So from me its bye for now and thanks for popping by:)

March Workshop

My little group of ladies is growing. Its nice to see everyone having fun and hearing the laughter. This week I think I made them too simple as they were finished in no time. I had a busy weekend as I had a workshop on Saturday, Monday and then off to Ngaires on the Tuesday night for our Stamparoos get together.  One of our lovely ladies, Lynda Winfield has flown the coup and moved to Melbourne. She will begin her Stampin' Up! journey over there once she has set herself up. We will miss her dearly but we will be able to catch up with her at Conventions. It does not make it seem like its forever then. She is such a talented lady and I will miss seeing all of her lovely creations and of course at Stamp Camps.
Back to my workshop. These are the projects my lovely ladies made this time.

The idea from this one came from Convention last year in Melbourne. Here it is here.  Sometimes you just need to create ideas by looking at another card and taking it from there. I liked the way the crimper was used and how we dragged our stamp pad over the corrugation to give it the rustic look. This was how I built the idea for the Happy Birthday one below. I love the butterfly in this card and we used markers to colour it. We also used the Dotted Ribbon Border Punch just a little under the image.  Below you can see the card I created from the idea I got from Convention.                                               

For this one I have used the following: -                      Cardstock - Confetti White, Pear Pizzaz, Early Espresso    Stamp Set - Best Dad Ever                                Stamp Pad - Marina Mist, Pear Pizzaz, Early Espresso Accessories - Early Espresso Marker, Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon, Crimper                                                    First of all I cut a piece of Confetti White 6 x 8cm. I inked up my stamp with Pear Pizzaz and then rock and rolled with Marina Mist. (To rock and roll you need to gently roll your stamp around the edges onto your ink pad to give your image an extra colour or shade) I then went around the edges of the stamp very gently with Early Espresso. This is to highlight the edges and then I  huffed to moisten the stamp and stamped it onto the Confetti White Cardstock. I ran my Pear Pizzaz cardstock 9.5 x 14.5cm 3/4 way through the crimper and then went over the crimped area with my stamp pad giving it a rustic look. I tied my ribbon in a knot to accentuate the ties knots. I love the colours used in this card.

I just love this next one as I love the nautical image of The Open Sea.  This stamp set unfortunately will disappear once the Summer Mini Catalogue finishes on 31st March. I have heard it wont be appearing in the new catalogue but one can only wish.  This one is also a very simple one and very effective using the following products :-                      Cardstock - Soft Suede, Whisper White, Pool Party          Stamp Pad - Pool Party, Soft Suede                                         Stamp Set - The Open Sea 

Accessories - Stamp-a-ma-jig, Dauber                                        I love simple and effective cards dont you?   This idea brought me to another idea. We had to do a swap with 1 layer only.  There were some lovely ideas and it is amazing what you can create with just one layer. Here is mine using The Open Sea.  I scored a piece of Whisper White cardstock at 3 & 9cms from the top of the card. I then masked the outside area and stamped my image onto the cardstock. I used the Scallop circle punch to create the clouds by sponging.  I used a dauber for the water and Teeny Tiny Sentiments for the sentiment. A very crisp and clean card.  I seem to have been doing a lot of masculine cards lately which is odd as I tend to have trouble trying to think of ideas for the men. I will come back later and show you the other lovely cards I received in the swap. There were only 9 of us this time so a lovely little bunch sharing stories and saying our farewell to Lynda.                              




For my next card I had prepared a bit more this time as I knew there would be some ladies who would not want to get their fingers all inked up. I decided since it is almost Easter that we would use the Happy Easter Stamp Set from the Summer Mini Catalogue.   I used Watercolour Paper and a Blender Pen with various coloured Markers. For the background we used shaving cream and re-inkers. First of all you place some shaving cream onto an old plate or some kind of surface and flatten it out a bit.  I used Baja Breeze and Pacific Point re-inkers and placed a few drops over the top of the shaving cream.  I then used a skewer to swirl the ink around (not too much) to make a pattern. I used Glossy Cardstock and placed this glossy side down onto the shaving cream and lifted it and wiped straight away with a paper towel.  You need to wipe it off straight away or you will be left with unwanted streaks.  It is such a WOW project and the kids would love this one. It can get a bit messy though but it all comes off in the wash.      

The last ones I would like to show you are what we did at one of my workshops recently. My hostess wanted a card for her dads birthday and this is the one I chose. I was already working with the Best Dad Ever stamp set so this is another sequence of masculine cards. These two cards are exactly the same only the first one I used only Basic Black and Very Vanilla cardstock.  I used the First Edition Specialty DSP from the main catalogue and clear embossed the image onto the DSP. I then used my brayer to cover it in black ink and used a tissue to rub off the excess ink from the embossed areas. I spritzed over the card so that it wasnt too bare.
The other card uses Marina Mist Ink Pad and Well Worn DSP.  I used the same technique with the resist embossing and Basic Black Ink.  Quite a stunning stamp set. 
Well I guess that is it for me tonight. I have an early start in the morning so I must get my rest. I was awake until 2am this mornng. For some reason I was unable to sleep.  I know..... these are the times you get up and create. I had to work this morning so I was unable to do that, normally I would. 
Well its bye for now and I hope I made it up to you for being away for so long. Cherio for now and thanks for popping by :)