Checkered Christmas
I saw a card on Pinterest that used the holly image from the Blended Seasons stamp set in a panel across the top of a card and it gave me an idea to try using the Peaceful Poinsettia stamp set and the Buffalo Check background stamp. I stamped the Buffalo Check background onto Whisper White card using Granny Apple Green ink and attached it to scored and folded Basic Black card. I stamped the holly image from the Peaceful Poinsettia stamp set twice onto a strip of Whisper White card, once at the top and once at the bottom. I coloured the image using the Dark Real Red and Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends.
I attached the stamped panel to Basic Black card and attached it to the left hand side of the card front. I stamped the greeting from the Timeless Tidings stamp set onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 
I attached the greeting to Basic Black card and then the card front using dimensionals.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped the holly image from the Peaceful Poinsettia stamp set twice onto the left hand side of Whisper White card, once at the top and once at the bottom. The images are coloured using the Dark Real Red and Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends.
This is not what you would call a traditional Christmas card, but I love how bright and cheery it is even though I have used Basic Black card. I’d love to know what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
First Frost First card
I haven’t shared this card with you previously, but in honour of the Holiday Catalogue launching yesterday, I thought I would show you the first card that I made using the First Frost stamp set and my own design. This is a favourite layout of mine which is very simple to adapt to lots of stamp sets and occasions. I embossed the bottom two thirds of Whisper White card using the Basket Weave Dynamic Embossing Folder. I stamped the greeting from the First Frost stamp set onto the top part of the embossed card using Tranquil Tide ink. I wrapped the top of the embossing with the beautiful Tranquil Tide 1/4″ Velvet Ribbon and tied a knot with another piece of the ribbon. The whole panel is attached to scored and folded Tranquil Tide card. I stamped the large leafy image from the First Frost stamp set onto Whisper White card using Tranquil Tide ink. The image is cut out using the co-ordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies. I also stamped the large flower from the First Frost stamp set onto Whisper White card using Berry Burst ink and cut it out using the co-ordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits Die. 
I trimmed off the stem and some of the leaves and attached the remaining leaves behind the flower. The flower is attached to the card front using dimensionals.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped and cut out one more large leafy image and one more large flower. I trimmed the leaves in the same manner, attached them to the back of the flower and then the lower left hand corner of Whisper White card.
I truly love this stamp set and I have discovered that the flowers give the best impression if you lay the stamp on its back and gently add some ink with a soft tapping motion. 
You do not get such a beautiful image if you tap the stamp onto the ink pad. In fact, I believe by adding the ink to the stamp you get a much better application of ink with any image. I have found in my classes that once people start inking this way, there is much less need to clean the stamps and people don’t get so much ink on themselves. For those of you who like to be thrifty, using your stamps and ink pads this way means you don’t have to re-ink them so often because there isn’t so much waste of ink. Try it and see what you think.
As I said at the beginning of this post, yesterday was the first day that you as customers can begin purchasing from this amazing Holiday Catalogue. If you do not have a catalogue you can click on the link on the right hand side of this page to view it OR if you do not have a demonstrator and you live in Australia, please contact me so that I can arrange for you to have one. I held my first class yesterday using these products and the ladies were all very impressed. Why don’t you let me know what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Case this Sketch 287
Today’s card uses the sketch challenge at Case This Sketch as the starting point. I am going to share a new stamp set with you – First Frost from the Holiday Catalogue. The products in this catalogue can be purchased beginning tomorrow. It is an amazing catalogue, one that you are going to love.
To create my card I started by cutting a square of Whisper White card and then cutting it in half on the diagonal. I embossed the pieces using the Layering Leaves Dynamic Embossing Folder. (You really must experiement with these folders and try spritzing with water, it makes such a difference to the embossed effect. Try it, I am sure you will be amazed.) I attached a narrow strip of Soft Sea Foam card behind the diagonal edge on each piece and attached them to a piece of Soft Suede card. The whole panel is attached to scored and folded Real Red card. I stamped the greeting from the First Frost stamp set onto Whisper White card using Soft Suede ink and cut out the greeting using the Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies. 
I also cut out Real Red card using the layering framelit from the Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies and attached them together. I love that you can cut out a greeting and then cut a mat to give a perfect layer. I stamped the large leafy image from the First Frost stamp set twice onto Whisper White card using Soft Sea Foam ink. I cut out the images using the co-ordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits Die. I cut Soft Sea Foam card using the leafy die from the Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies. I stamped the large flower and the small flower from the First Frost stamp set onto Whisper White card using Real Red ink and cut them out using the co-ordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies. I attached the stamped and die cut leaves behind the greeting panel and attached the whole piece to the card front. The flowers are attached over the greeting panel and the leaves.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped the large leafy image from the First Frost stamp set onto the lower left hand corner of Whisper White card using Soft Sea Foam ink. I stamped the large flower from the First Frost stamp set onto Whisper White card using Real Red ink and cut it out using the co-ordinating Frosted Bouquet Framelits Dies before attaching over the stamped leaf.
I love this stamp set because has so many possibilities including Christmas. I am sure that it is going to be a favourite from the Holiday Catalogue. One of the things I love about being a demonstrator is the fact that we can access new product earlier than our customers, which gives us a chance to “play” with new product before anyone else. If you have ever thought about being a demonstrator, then my advice would be to just do it. You will soon find out what a great “family” Stampin’ Up! is. If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also if you don’t have a demonstrator and you want a copy of this catalogue, and you live in Australia, then contact me so that I can get one out to you.
Kris
Product Used:
Happy Father’s Day
In Australia we celebrated Father’s Day yesterday so I thought I would share with you the card I made for my Dad. I was inspired by some cards posted by Carolyn King (an Aussie Demonstrator) which used the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper. This card is pretty much an exact case of Carolyn’s card. I didn’t read Carolyn’s post properly so I did not create a template for my card, I just winged cutting on the angles. I first cut the Very Vanilla card and attached a piece of Early Espresso card behind, using the Paper Trimmer to cut away the excess Early Espresso Card. 
I attached the Wood Textures Designer Series Paper behind the trimmed card to create just right sized panel for the card front. I cut Early Espresso card using the Happy Birthday Thinlits Die and trimmed away the “birthday”. I attached the “happy” to the card front. I created “fathers” and “day” by stamping on scrap Very Vanilla card using the Stamparatus, Labeller Alphabet and Early Espresso ink. The Stamparatus makes it so easy to create any word you want using this lovely stamp set. I trimmed the words from the Very Vanilla card and attached them to the card front. 
I stamped the outline leaf from the Colourful Seasons stamp set using Early Espresso ink and stamped the fill image using Crumb Cake. I also stamped a small leaf from the same stamp set onto scrap Very Vanilla card using Crumb Cake ink. The leaves are cut out using the Seasonal Layers Thinlits Dies. I also used these dies to cut the detailed leaf from Early Espresso card. I attached the leaves to each other and then the card front. I tied a bow using Linen Thread and attached it to the stem of the leaves.
To decorate the inside of the card, I attached a narrow strip of the same Wood Textures Designer Series Paper to the bottom of Very Vanilla card.
I hope all the Father’s out there had a wonderful day yesterday.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Cairns
Today we left Charters Towers and travelled to Cairns. We left the inland and hit the coast at Cardwell a very beautiful spot. We spent some time there stretching our legs. Both the girls loved it there and wanted to stay. Such a pity we were on a tight schedule. Anyway we continued on our travels and reached Lake Placid mid afternoon. We set up and spent a relaxing time playing charades and sharing stories. 
I kept this page simple because the photos bring back many memories and big smiles to the girls faces. I have used the Delightfully Detailed Memories and More cards once more as well as the Tabs for Everything stamp set in this case just to add the date. I trimmed the photo in the lower right hand corner to sit on top of the laser cut card. Once more the title has been cut from Blackberry Bliss card using the retired Timeless Type Alphabet Dies. 
Page two details our visit the next morning to Lake Placid and the Barron Gorge and again uses the Delightfully Detailed Memories and More cards. I added the “happy life”, small heart and date using the Tabs for Everything stamp set. The third page shows our visit into Cairns itself and the beautiful St. Monica’s church which has the most stunning stained glass windows depicting creation. We had a lovely lunch along the esplanade before heading back to the caravan park. Two of my favourite chefs cooked a lovely BBQ dinner. The page once more uses the Delightfully Detailed Memories and More cards.
I hope you are enjoying my pages, showing off photos from our holiday. You can see that I am a fairly simple scrapbooker, preferring to let the photos tell the story. I hope that by sharing these pages, you will see that scrapbooking or Memory Keeping as I prefer to call it doesn’t have to be complicated. Hopefully, I may even inspire you to start creating your own pages to share your memories. I’d love to know what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Freshly Made 352
Once more I am playing along with the sketch challenge at Freshly Made. This card uses a new product from the Holiday Catalogue and a stamp set from the Annual Catalogue. I embossed the top 3/4 of Whisper White card using the Tin Tile Dynamic Embossing Folder and attached it to scored and folded Shaded Spruce card. I attached a piece of the Garden Impressions Designer Series Paper across the bottom of the embossed card, covering the end of the embossing. I stamped the large flower from the Graceful Garden stamp set onto Whisper White card using Mango Melody ink and cut out the flower only. 
I stamped the same flower but this time only the leaves twice onto Shaded Spruce card using Shaded Spruce ink and then cut out the leaves. I attached the leaves behind the flower before attaching to a circle of Mango Melody card cut using the Layering Circle Framelits Dies. The whole panel is attached to the card front. 
I stamped the greeting from the Sunshine Sayings stamp set onto Whisper White card using Shaded Spruce ink and punched it out using the Classic Label Punch. The greeting is attached on top of the Designer Series paper.
To decorate the inside of the card, I attached a narrow strip of the same Garden Impressions Designer Series paper across the bottom of Whisper White card. I stamped the small flower from the Graceful Garden stamp set onto Whisper White card using Mango Melody ink and cut out the flower only. I stamped the small flower onto Shaded Spruce card using Shaded Spruce ink and cut out three of the leaves. I attached the leaves to the back of the flower before attaching over the left hand side of the Designer Series Paper.
Sketches are a great source of inspiration for me, especially if I am a little lost for mojo. What about you do you love sketches?
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Floral Beautiful Day
This is the last card I made using the One Sheet Wonder template and Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series paper. I don’t know about you but I quite often struggle to use the side of the paper with the really vibrant and large floral images. However, I decided to give it a try and I am more than happy with the outcome. I stamped the greeting from the Love What You Do stamp set onto the lower right hand corner of Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I attached the Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series paper to the left hand side of the stamped Whisper White card. 
I punched a length of Basic Black card using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch and attached it over the edge of the Designer Series Paper. I stamped the floral image from the Love What You Do stamp set onto Whisper White card using Tranquil Tide ink. I cut out the image using one of the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. 
I stamped the same image once more onto scrap Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured the flowers using the Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blends. I cut out the flowers and attached them over the floral image stamped in Tranquil Tide. I attached the image to a Basic Black scalloped oval cut using the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. The image panel is attached to the card front using dimensionals.
To decorate the inside of the card, I attached a narrow strip of the same Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series paper to the bottom of Whisper White card.
I’d love to hear what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Another One Sheet Wonder Card
Here is another card I made using the One Sheet Wonder template and the pieces of Share What You Love Specialty Designer Series Paper left over from other projects. I stamped the floral image from the Love What You Do stamp set onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured in the flowers using the Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blends. I attached the Designer Series Paper to the stamped Whisper White card so that it covered the lower part of the floral image. I wrapped the top of the Designer Series Paper with the Silver 3/8″ Metallic Edge Ribbon and tied a knot. 
I punched a narrow strip of Basic Black card using the Decorative Ribbon Border Punch and attached it over the bottom of the Designer Series Paper. The whole panel is attached to scored and folded Tranquil Tide card. 
I stamped the greeting from the Love What You Do stamp set onto Whisper White card using Rich Razzleberry ink and fussy cut it before attaching to the Designer Series paper.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped the floral image from the Love What You Do stamp set onto the lower left hand corner of Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The image is coloured using the Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blends.
I hope you are enjoying these cards as much as I enjoyed making them. I have one more card to share using the template.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Inkspire Me Challenge 264
I created today’s card using the sketch at Inkspire Me and the Stylish Christmas stamp set from the Annual Catalogue. This is one of the Distinktive stamps and gives such a gorgeous impression. I stamped the flourish image from the Stylish Christmas stamp set onto the left hand side of Whisper White card using Mossy Meadow ink. I stamped the greeting from the same stamp set over the flourish using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
I attached the stamped card to Mossy Meadow card before attaching a piece of the Festive Farmhouse Designer Series Paper (from the soon to be released Holiday Catalogue) to the right hand side.
I wrapped the edge of the Designer Series Paper with 5/8″ Striped Burlap Ribbon (another one from the Holiday Catalogue). The whole panel is attached to scored and folded Cherry Cobbler card. I stamped the poinsettia image from the Stylish Christmas stamp set onto scrap Whisper White card using Cherry Cobbler ink and cut it out. I attached the image to the card front and added Clear Faceted Gem to the centre.
To decorate the inside of the card, I stamped the flower onto the lower left hand corner of Whisper White card using Cherry Cobbler ink. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas – don’t you think? I can’t wait to share more from the new Holiday Catalogue with you all soon.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Day 3
Today’s pages showcase photos of our day out and about in Charters Towers. We spent the morning visiting the Columbia Poppet Head, the Venus Gold Battery and the Miner’s Cottage. I added the photos to the pocket page and used one of the Delightfully Detailed Memories and More cards for the journalling. I cut the title from Blackberry Bliss card using the retired Little Letters Thinlit Dies. These dies do not contain numbers, but a little trimming of the “B” created my number 3. I also stamped the lower right hand corner using one of the sayings from the retired Let’s Get Away stamp set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. 
The second page showcases our visit in the afternoon to Castle Hill. We explored the remains of the Pyrites Works and the ammunition bunkers from World War II. We also passed a family of Rock Wallabies, hiding among the rocks alongside the pathway. I used Crumb Cake 12″ x 12″ card for the base of the page and added a piece of the Natures Poem Designer Series Paper. The journalling was printed onto Whisper White card and cut into strips. The third page showcases a couple of photos taken at the lookout on Castle Hill while we waited for the Ghosts on the Hill show to begin.
This page again uses Crumb Cake 12″ x 12″ card for the base with the addition of some more of the Natures Poem Designer Series Paper. I used one of the 4″ x 3″ Delightfully Detailed Memories and More cards for the journalling. I also stamped the greeting from the retired Remember This stamp set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
What a wonderful day we had exploring the sights of Charters Towers. It is one of my favourite towns and now also Abi and Elyssa’s too. Creating these pages brings back such happy memories – I hope you enjoyed them as well.
Bye for now,
Kris
Product Used:
Stamping with Kris 