Christmas Luminaries
While searching on Pinterest I found a cute little Luminary by Debra Smart here. Debra shared some quick instructions to show how she made them but didn’t have a specific tutorial for their creation. I decided to add a platform to the inside that would hold my battery operated tea light and I decorated using the Snowflake Elements and the Home for the Holiday Enamel Dots. I created my own instructions and the ladies at the Beachmere Retirement Resort made these on our all day class. 
I embossed Vellum Cardstock using the Snow Falling Embossing Folder and attached them to the back of the Basic Black Window Frames made using the Hearth and Home Thinlits Dies and added the little piece for the frame to sit on to hold the tea light. However, when looking inside the frame I didn’t like the look of the raw Vellum edges showing and of course they weren’t all perfectly even either! Soo… I decided that I would add another frame to the inside of the Luminary so that you couldn’t see any raw edges. 
I did have to trim down the sides of the Window frames a little so that it would fold properly and I could still connect the four sides together. I also added a little tape to the tea light holder so that it would stay permanently connected to the window frames. I love how this turned out. A little glitter with the Gold Sequins also gave it a special look. Each side has some decoration, so that no matter where you are sitting you have something to look at. If you would like to make one of these, then please download the Free Tutorial. You will not find instructions for adding the inside layer (as this was an afterthought), but I am sure that you can work it out.
Bye for now,
Kris
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A special birthday wish
Today I am sharing the card I made for my eldest granddaughter’s 11th birthday. I love the Hey Girl stampset it has so many elements that allow you to create so many different looks for your cards. I stamped my image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured it using my retired Blendibilities (I just couldn’t return them, I never had an issue with any of mine and I love how easy it is to get a great coloured look). The balloons and shopping bags are fussy cut to make placement a little easier. 
I used Basic Gray card to layer the focal image and also for the base card. I embossed Melon Mambo card using the Happy Hearts Embossing Folder to add a little texture. Inside is simple with the greeting from the Sassy Salutations stampset stamped in Melon Mambo and a little more embossing.
Sorry about the retired product but couldn’t resist sharing. For those of you like me who couldn’t bear the thought of parting with their blendibilities I used these colours – Melon Mambo, Skin Tone (nude), Rich Razzleberry, Coastal Cabana, Wisteria Wonder and Daffodil Delight.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Year End Sale
I love sale time, there is always something reduced in price that I just “have to have”, well Stampin’ Up! is having an End of Year Sale. Woohoo and to make it even more exciting Australian and New Zealand customers have an additional discount on selected items from the Annual Catalogue of up to 50% ffor this week only (10th to 17th December). Download the PDF or visit my store to see what’s included in this sale and remember anything from the annual catalogue will be discounted for this week only.
Happy shopping.
Kris
Celebration Time
I was extremely lucky to get together with the lovely ladies who attend my classes at home and support my business in many, many, ways as well as my downline. We shared a lovely lunch (thanks so much to my husband who willingly dons his chefs hat and cooks the barbeque) lots of laughs and generally had a great catch up.
I also want to thank my three little helpers, my two granddaughters (thanks Abi and Elyssa) who love to hand out my Christmas gifts and also help to serve and share around the snacks and my grandson (thanks Ethan) who is also a dab hand at barbequeing (not sure if that is a word). I try to give each of my ladies a little gift to show my appreciation for their support and friendship over the last 12 months. This year I used My Digital Studio (how sad I am that this has retired) to create the decoration for the front of the gift bags and also for the tags to label each of the handmade gifts. Since I have at least one lady with dietary considerations, I add the ingredients to the back of the tag so they can be sure that they are safe for their use/consumption.
Each bag contained a small chocolate bar, because everyone needs chocolate. The Chocolate Bar Holder is available as a free tutorial. This is the perfect way to present those cute little chocolate bars that Aldi sells. This year I stamped one of the trees from the Festival of Trees stamp set using Garden Green ink. I love how if you keep stamping you create the look of the forest, don’t you? The greeting comes from the Holly Jolly Greetings stamp set (this stamp set isn’t retiring in January, woohoo) and is stamped in Real Red ink. They are closed with a length of 1/8″ Striped Ribbon in either Garden Green or Real Red. So cute aren’t they? I also covered a small notebook using the same stamping decoration as the Chocolate Bar Holder and added the greetingfrom the Reason for the Season stamp set (these stamps aren’t retiring in January either) in Real Red ink . The image panel was sponged around the edges using Garden Green ink before it was attached to the front of the notebook. I added a small selection of homemade gifts, including a couple of Bath Bombs, some Rocky Road and a Peppermint Body Scrub which is just devine if you use if on your hands every time you wash – it makes them so soft and silky!
I was also spoiled with a swag of lovely gifts from these ladies, lost of chocolate and wine, which I know will be enjoyed over Christmas for which I thank them very much.
I am so looking forward to catching up with these ladies again in the New Year.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Stamping All Day
Once a year I hold an all day event at the Beachmere Retirement Village. We begin our day at 9am and finish when all projects are completed. We bring morning tea and lunch to share and all in all have a wonderful, although a little tiring day.
This year we made five projects – a Framed Art Piece, a Gift Box, a Tea Light Holder, a Triangle card, and a Bendi Fold card.
Since I haven’t shared a tutorial with you in a while I thought that some of you may be interested in making this framed art. We created four panels, two each of two different sizes to fit on a full A4 sheet of Thick Whisper White card. When I create these pieces, I try to use product from the current Holiday Catalogue. The Christmas Tree panel was inspired by one that I found on Pinterest – isn’t it just adorable. My frame is recessed so that I could add some dimension to the panels if required. Would you like to create this project, well you can, simply click on the link below to download your instructions and then start creating.
I would love to see your finished samples.
Kris
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20% OFF! and Retiring List!
EDITED: I believe this sale applies to the Australian and New Zealand markets only!
From today for just 5 days Stampin’ Up! has discounted selected stamp sets by 20%. That’s a huge saving!. Download the PDF to see which of your must have stamp sets are discounted. You won’t be able to delay, order the ones you want immediately or miss out on this fabulous deal. You can place your order directly at my online store.
Just to add to the excitement Stampin’ Up! has released the retiring list for the Holiday Catalogue. While this catalogue doesn’t end until the 4th January, products also have the disclaimer “while stocks last”, so if you want something from this catalogue, you need to purchase it as soon as possible to ensure you don’t miss out. So download the PDF and shop to your hearts content and then visit my online store to place your order.
Have a fabulous time checking out the specials and be sure to visit my online store to place your order and don’t forget the discount only lasts 5 days.
Bye for now,
Kris
Another Birthday
My family seems to love having birthdays in groups and this past month is no different. Last week was my son-in-laws birthday as well as my niece! Thought I would share with you the card that I made for Jason.
I actually had a card sitting on my bookshelf which used this particular layout and I thought that I would use it again for Jason’s card. I began by attaching Whisper White card to scored and folded Night of Navy card. I stamped the striped image from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set onto Whisper White card using Night of Navy ink. I sponged around the edges using the same ink, attached it to Night of Navy card and then to Whisper White card.
I stamped the triangle image from the Dotty Angles stamp set onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, sponged the edges with the same ink and attached it to Basic Black card. The panel is attached to the Whisper White card over the Night of Navy panel. I stamped the car from the Guy Greetings stamp set onto Whisper White card using the Memento Tuxedo Black ink and attached it to Basic Black card. The image panel is attached to the card front using dimensionals. Lastly I added three Basic Black Candy Dots from the Neutrals Candy Dots collection to the upper right hand corner. Simple.
It’s not hard to buy for either of my sons-in-law a bottle of their favourite bourbon or rum always goes down a treat and this year was no exception. I used the two largest Banners Framelits Dies to cut Whisper White and Basic Black card. I stamped “to and from” using the image in the Merry Everything stamp set and a Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker. I also stamped the car again using the Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The tags are scored and a 1-1/4″ Scallop Circle is punched through the end. This gives you a way to hang the tag from the bottle, no extra wrapping. He did get a little something extra and once again I used the brown paper that Stampin’ Up! supplies in my orders to wrap it.
All in all it went down a treat.
Bye for now,
Kris
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November Class
Thought you might be interested to see what projects we will be making in the November Class. This is my last class for the year and it will be lots of fun. We are going to make a Framed Art piece as well as 3 extra special cards. You can use the framed art to update the one we made last year. I am so excited for you to be making the Bendi Fold and Triangle cards. There is something extra special and magical about making cards that are able to stand on their own and are not “flat”.
If you live in or near Narangba (Brisbane, Qld) and would like to attend this class, then check out my Classes and Workshops page where you can find the dates and all the other details you need.
Bye for now,
Kris
Turning 7
My granddaughter Jae celebrated her 7th birthday on Thursday. How quickly she is growing up! Like all little girls her age she loves the movie Frozen, so I used Pinterest to get some inspiration to make her a frozen card. I embossed the Whisper White card using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder and attached it to scored and folded Soft Sky card. I cut Soft Sky card using my Dress Up Framelits (retired but with 4 granddaughters I couldn’t let this one go) I trimmed the bodice, covered it in Versamark and sprinkled with Heat & Stick powder and Dazzling Details combined and then heat set it. 
I cut one more full dress and two more skirts and layered them together. I added lots of Basic Rhinestones – a girls gotta have bling! The greeting from the Petite Pairs stamp is stamped in Soft Sky on Whisper White card, punched using the Large Oval Punch and attached to a Soft Sky Scalloped Oval. Inside I just added the second part of the birthday greeting and a piece of Soft Sky card embossed using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder. 
Of course you have to have matching decoration on the gift bag, so once again I embossed Whisper White card using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder and attached it to Soft Sky card. I stamped the greeting from the Happy Birthday Everyone Hostess Stamp Set onto Whisper White card using Soft Sky ink and cut it out using the largest Oval Collection Framelits Die. The greeting is attached to the Soft Sky Scalloped Oval Framelit from the Oval Collection Framelits Dies. 
I punched three flowers from Soft Sky card using the Petite Petals Punch, added a little dimension and a couple of sets of leaves punched from Soft Sky card using the Bird Builder Punch. Lastly I added a large Basic Pearl to the centre of the flowers. Her present included a small set of books which would not fit inside the gift bag so I used the brown paper that Stampin’ Up! supplies in my orders to wrap them.
I’m pleased to say that Jae loved her presents, card and gift bag. Success!
Bye for now,
Kris
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A Pretty Box
The bonus project for last month’s card class was this cute little Pillow Box. Who knew they could be gorgeous and practical too! The box pieces were cut from Kraft Card which is sold in 12″ x 12″ packs of 12 and is a little thicker than our normal card and therefore perfect for boxes. Once you have cut out the box pieces you need to make sure that you have folded all the score lines very well, especially the curved ends which hold the box closed. We used Fast Fuse to hold our boxes together which made it a very quick and easy. 
The front is decorated with half a Tea Lace Paper Doily and Natural 5/8″ Chevron Ribbon which covers the cut edge of the Paper Doily. The ribbon is joined on the front of the box, again with Fast Fuse. The flower is created by stamping the image from the Reason for the Season stamp set onto Garden Green card once and Cherry Cobbler Card twice using Basic Black Archival ink. We cut out the whole Garden Green image, one full flower from a Cherry Cobbler image and a smaller section from the middle of the flower for the last Cherry Cobbler image. The full Cherry Cobbler flower is attached flat to the Garden Green image and the smaller flower is attached to the centre of the full flower using dimensionals. Lastly I added three tiny Basic Pearls to the centre of the flower. The flower is attached to the front of the box using Fast Fuse.
I love this box and I am quite impressed at how large it actually is. This will be gorgeous under my tree this year.
I’d love to hear what you think of my pillow box and if you have made any yourself.
Bye for now,
Kris
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