A Male card
I was surfing a couple of challenge sites that I like to visit and found this great sketch on the Technostamper blog. I had a couple of kits left over from one of my classes sitting on my work table and thought that the contents would work great with the sketch. Unfortunately I am a little late for the challenge but here is the card anyway.
I embossed Whisper White card using the Woodgrain Embossing Folder. I attached a narrow piece of Early Expresso card to the back of a piece of Crumb Cake DSP from the Neutrals Backgrounds Designers Series Paper Stack before attaching it to the bottom of the embossed Whisper White card. 
I punched another narrow piece of Early Expresso card using the Scallop Edge Border Punch and attached it behind the top edge of the Whisper White card. I had a piece of Early Expresso Baker’s Twine in the kit and decided to tie it around the Early Expresso card before attaching to scored and folded Crumb Cake card. I stamped the ship from the The Open Sea stamp set onto Crumb Cake card using Early Expresso ink and punched it out using the 2-1/2″ Circle Punch. 
The image panel is attached to the card front using dimensionals.
Inside I attached the same DSP/Early Expresso piece to the bottom of Whisper White card. I stamped the “Happy Birthday” from the Sassy Salutations stamp set using Early Expresso ink.
What do you think? I think it’s gorgeous!
This was fun to make, and I love that I used up a kit that I already had on hand.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Casing the Catalogue
Today I am going to share with you a set of cards I made using the gorgeous stamp set Lotus Blossom from the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.
I cased this set of cards from the catalogue just to showcase how gorgeous this stamp looks in many different colours. There is a three step stamping process to create the blossom and you start with the darkest image (which is the smallest image) first and work towards the lightest (which is actually the largest image). I stamped my flowers using the following colour combinations – Crushed Curry and Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise and Soft Sky, Calypso Coral and Crisp Cantaloup and Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum. The stems are stamped using Old Olive and Pear Pizzaz. You stamp the first stamp with the darkest colour, the second stamp with the lightest colour. You use the lightest colour for the third stamp but stamp onto scrap paper first.
I stamped the flowers onto Whisper White card and then added the greeting from the Wetlands stamp set using, Crushed Curry, Tempting Turquoise, Calypso Coral and Elegant Eggplant. The images are attached to card in the same colours. The Gold stripe Fancy Foil Designer Vellum is attached to scored and folded Whisper White card. Before attaching the image panel to the card front, I wrapped two of them with the Gold Baker’s Twine and tied a knot. The other two image panels are wrapped with the Gold Sequin Trim.
Inside the cards I stamped the flower using the same colours as the card front. I attached a narrow piece of Gold stripe Fancy Foil Designer Vellum to Whisper White card and then a co-ordinating piece of card which has one long edge punched using the Scallop Edge Border Punch.
Don’t they look gorgeous? I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on this beautiful stamp set! Well beginning 5th January, this stamp set will be FREE with a qualifying order. If you don’t have a demonstrator, then contact me to find out the details.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Merry Christmas to All
Well it’s finally arrived – Christmas Day. I am looking forward to spending the day with my parents, daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, sister and my niece and her husband. Its a little cloudy but looks like it might clear and be a beautiful day. We are going to be near the water so we want a little sun but also a cool breeze so that it doesn’t get too hot.
I want to take the opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year full of all the things that bring you happiness. Have a wonderful day, celebrating with your family and friends.
I look forward to spending time with you all over the coming 12 months.
Bye for now,
Kris
Sketch Frenzy Friday 121914
When I saw this sketch, I knew it would be perfect to make a Christmas card. In fact, this card is going to a friend and hopefully will arrive before Christmas. (I did post it a couple of days ago.)
To begin I embossed Whisper White card using the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder and attached it to scored and folded Garden Green card. 
I punched three circles from Under The Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper using the 1-3/4″ Circle Punch and another one using the 2″ Circle Punch. I attached the DSP Circles across the embossed Whisper White card. I stamped the “merry christmas” from the Endless Wishes stamp set onto Whisper White card using Early Expresso ink and cut a “v” in one end. 
I attached the banner across the DSP circles.
On the inside I stamped the greeting from the Bright and Beautiful stamp set onto Whisper White card using Garden Green ink.
Very simple and very quick to do but I think it is rather gorgeous – you can’t go wrong with this beautiful Designer Series Paper. I do love hearing what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Progress December Daily
I shared with you a while ago the first page in my December Daily Album and while I have been taking lots of photos, I haven’t had much time to complete my pages, until this last week.
I decided to shout myself an Epson Picturemate Printer so that I could print the photos I wanted, exactly as I wanted. This printer lets me print 4″ x 6″ photos or I can photo collage onto the 4″ x 6″ canvas up to 8 photos. Amazing and the quality is just fantastic.
Anyway, using the printer at home means that I can look at the layout, select my photo and print it either portrait or landscape to suit my page. This makes it much easier for me to complete the pages, especially when you need to add the pictures on “back to back” pages.
The first layout shows my grandchildren decorating my Christmas Tree and putting up the various banners and decorative pieces which we have made between us over the years. My tree is beautiful and always decorated heavily on the side most accessible and will never win a contest for being the most perfect tree, but each decoration has a memory attached and that is what I treasure most.
My two youngest granddaughters were spending the day with me while I was working on the photos and they were really interested to see what I have done and what I had written. This is the most important part of memory keeping being able to share the story and the memory of wonderful times together.
The second page shows my Mum with a couple of other ladies at my Beachmere Class on the left. The right side of the page shows my grandson Noah collecting a weekly award at his school assembly.
I will show you more of my album over the next week or so. Although, I must say that my album will not be a documentation of each day necessarily, but I will document all the outings, school events and family occasions that come up during the month.
Hope you are all getting organised to celebrate Christmas.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Sketch Frenzy Friday 121214
The sketch for the current Sketch Frenzy Friday challenge reminds me very much of some cards I made a couple of years ago and so I thought I would remake the card using up to date Stampin’ Up! products.
I cut four pieces of Under the Tree Specialty Designer Series Paper and trimmed each piece into four smaller pieces. I swapped the pieces around so that I could get four card fronts from the cut DSP. I attached the pieces of DSP to Whisper White card and then to scored and folded Cherry Cobbler card. I stamped “Merry Christmas” from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set onto Whisper White card four times using Cherry Cobbler ink. 
I cut the greetings using the larger banner from the Bitty Banner Framelits Dies. I attached the greeting to the card front over the large panel on the right hand side. 
I cut Gold Glimmer Paper using the second smallest star from the Stars Collection Framelits Dies and attached it to each card front so that it sits over the end of the greeting banner. 
I stamped the smallest star from the Bright and Beautiful stamp set onto Whisper White card using Cherry Cobbler ink and cut them out using the smallest die in the Stars Collection Framelits Dies. The stamped stars are attached to the centre of the Gold Glimmer Paper stars using Dimensionals. I added a medium Basic Rhinestone to the centre of each star.
I cut four narrow strips of each of the Designer Series Papers I used on the card fronts, attached a narrow strip of Gold Glimmer Paper behind the top edge and then attached the DSP to Whisper White card. I stamped the greeting from the Bright and Beautiful stamp set using Cherry Cobbler ink and then attached the panel to the inside of the card.
I bet you can guess which card had a smudge of ink!
Thanks to the Sketch Frenzy Friday team for a great sketch.
Bye for now,
Kris
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For some reason Teeny Tiny Sentiments doesn’t have an image in the store but this link will take you there.
What’s in the Bag?
I know you all loved seeing the gift bags I presented to my customers and downline but I thought you might like to see what was in them. I love including gifts which I have made myself and this year was no exception.
I found a recipe for Peppermint Body Scrup on my favourite site – Pinterest. The scrub is actually easy to make and smells devine. I purchased some small jars (this year I found them at Kmart) and filled them with the scrub. I used My Digital Studio to create labels for the bottles, printed them onto some pretty paper and punched them using the 1-3/4″ Circle Punch. 
I used some Sizzix Adhesive Sheets that I had on hand to add adhesive to the back of the labels to attach them to the front of the jars. I think they look pretty, don’t you?
Next I found some cute Mason Mugs at Kmart. 
I made some Hot Chocolate mix and placed one serve in the Cellophane Bags 4″ x 6″ (which by the way are food safe) and sealed them with some retired Washi Tape. The little bags fitted inside the Mugs perfectly. I created a tag in My Digital Studio which gave directions on how to use the mix. The tag is printed onto Whisper White card and then punched with the Scallop Tag Topper Punch. I used some retired Gold Twine to attach the tags to the handle. Yes, I agree, pretty cute.
I also made some Rocky Road which I placed into the Cellophane Bags 6″ x 8″. I created another tag using My Digital Studio, just so they would know what they were getting. This tag is punched using the Decorate Label Punch. I punched a hole in one end using the Crop-A-Dile and attached the tag to the bag using Linen Thread.
I bought some of the really yummy chocolates from Aldi that come in a pack of 5 and created the Chocolate Bar Holders, the tutorial for which you can find on my Free Tutorials Page. I created the holders using Whisper White card and decorated the front of the holder and the front of the pocket in the same manner. I stamped the dotty background stamp from the Gorgerous Grunge stamp set and Pear Pizzazz ink. I added three strips of the All is Calm Designer Washi Tape and stamped the greeting from the Good Greetings stamp set on the front only (no longer available) using Lost Lagoon ink. 
I stamped the tree from the Festival of Trees stamp set onto Whisper White card and cut it out using the Tree Punch. I added the tree on the front of the holder using dimensionals. Lastly I threaded a length of Lost Lagoon 1/2″ Stitched Satin Ribbon to keep the holder closed.
I love how all of the gifts turned out and from the ladies reactions they did too.
To qualify for one of these gifts all you need to do is attend my classes throughout next year and you will receive an invitation to the Christmas Party.
I would really love to hear what you think.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Happy Birthday Abi
Today is my granddaughter Abi’s 10th birthday. She is very excited because she is getting her own flute to replace the one she hired from the school last year. This is the card and tag I made to go with her gifts.
I cut an oval from Whisper White card and embossed it using the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder before attaching it to scored and folded Smoky Slate card. I also cut a frame to go around the oval from Melon Mambo card. I stamped the image from the In This Together stamp set onto Whisper White card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured the image using Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Smoky Slate and Skin Tone Blendibilities. 
I cut the image out using a smaller oval and attached it using dimensionals inside the oval frame in the embossed Whisper White card. Now as Abigail is only turning 10, I thought it best to cover up with martini glass in the image. I stamped the leaf image from the Hello There stamp set onto Whisper White card using Old Olive ink. I also stamped the small flower using Melon Mambo ink and cut out both images. I attached them over the martini glass and although they are probably a little too large, I think they look ok.
I stamped “happy birthday” from the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set onto Whisper White card using Melon Mambo ink and cut it out using the smallest die in the Bitty Banner Framelits. I cut another banner from Melon Mambo card using the banner die in the Circle Card Thinlets. I attached the two banners together and then to the card front using a dimensional in the centre and Glue Dots on the ends.
Inside I kept the card pretty plain to leave room to write my message. I embossed a 2.5cm wide strip of Whisper White card using the Decorative Dots Embossing Folder and attached it Melon Mambo card.
The gift is wrapped in the brown paper that Stampin’ Up! so thoughtfully supplies with my orders. The tag is stamped and coloured in the same way as the image on the card. I used the Scallop Tag Topper Punch to punch the top of the tag. I used some Gold curling ribbon to tie around the parcel and attach the tag.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Celebration
Yesterday I had my annual Christmas gathering with my customers and downline. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful group of friends. We had a lovely time chatting together over lunch.
I always like to give them something small to take home and thought you might like to see. I purchased some bags from Spotlight and decorated them using My Digital Studio. I used the Wishing You stamp brush set – digital download which I recoloured with Real Red, Early Expresso and Garden Green. I love these colours together! I printed the panels onto Whisper White card and added a layer of Garden Green Card. 
I cut a 3cm wide piece of Real Red card using the Finishing Touches Edgelits. I put the fancy open cut edge onto the bottom of the printed panel and used the scallop edge at the top of the panel. Two edges with one cut – love it! I created a tag using the stamps in My Digital Studio, which I again printed onto Whisper White card. I trimmed the card to 4.5cm wide and punched the top using the Scallop Tag Topper Punch. I punched the top of Real Red card 5cm wide using the same Scallop Tag Topper Punch. 
The tags are adhered together and tied to the bag using some retired Whisper White ribbon. I filled the bag with some goodies which I will share with you a little later. I seem to be very time poor at the moment.
My downline received the same gift bag filled with goodies but they also received the a bottle of wine. I created some tags for these by stamping Whisper White card with the large dotted image from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set using Pear Pizzazz ink. 
I added three pieces of the All is Calm Designer Washi Tape. I stamped the greeting from the Good Greetings stamp set (not currently available) using Lost Lagoon ink. I stamped the tree from the Festival of Trees stamp set using Lost Lagoon ink and punched it using the matching Tree Punch. I attached the trees to the bottom of the tag using dimensionals. The tag sits over the bottle through a 1-3/4″ Circle I punched in the top.
Here they are all are sitting under the tree waiting for the party to begin.
My friends are very generous and I want to say a big thank you for all the gorgeous gifts I received yesterday and which I didn’t open until after everyone had gone. I was very spoiled. Thank you again.
Bye for now,
Kris
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Last Class for 2014
Yesterday I held my last class at the Retirement Village for this year. As always it was a fun day. The ladies who attend my classes are just fantastic. I hope they read this post and know how grateful I am for their continued support. Anyway as it’s Christmas I couldn’t leave without giving each of them a little gift. I recently became a very happy owner of a Thermomix and used it to make Rocky Road Truffles for the ladies. I wrapped them in alfoil so that they wouldn’t melt all over the presentation bags. I used the medium cellophane bags in the catalogue – did you know that they are now food-safe? I used a little retired Washi Tape to hold them closed and created a small tag for each one.
I cut Very Vanilla card using the Chalk Talk Framelit and then stamped “Merry Christmas” from the Merry Everything stampset using Real Red ink. I stamped the row of trees from the Cheerful Tags stamp set across the bottom of the tag using Garden Green ink.
I love how these tags can be hung from the gift without the need to tie them on.
I’m glad to say that the gifts were a big hit.
I also have to say a huge thank you to these wonderful ladies for my gift from them. I was touched and surprised by the fantastic voucher to a local shop which has always caught my eye and now I have the perfect reason to visit. Thanks again ladies – I look forward to joining you again in the New Year.
Bye for now,
Kris
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