Sunny Challenges Week 39
Well this week at Sunny Challenges and Creations Vicky set the challenge and believe you me it had me thinking for quite a while. She gave us this sketch and the colour combo Soft Suede, Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo. I had to think about this one for about two days before I had a clue and I’m still not sure about what I have done.
Anyway, I started with a card base of Tempting Turquoise and then added a layer of Soft Suede to the top. I punched strips of Melon Mambo card stock using the Lace Ribbon Border Punch. 
I threaded the punched card stock with Very Vanilla 1/8″ Tafetta Ribbon and added a couple of Tempting Turquoise Glimmer Brads to each piece. They are then attached to the sides of the Soft Suede card stock. I stamped a piece of Very Vanilla card stock using two of the stamps from the Delicate Doilies stamp set using Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo ink. I also stamped one of the flower centres from the Mixed Bunch stampset using Soft Suede ink. I sponged the edges of this piece using Soft Suede ink and then added it to the centre of the card front. I stamped “happy birthday” from the Easy Events stampset onto Very Vanilla card stock using Soft Suede ink and punched it using the Word Window Punch. 
I attached the greeting to a Tempting Turquoise Modern Label and then to the card front using dimensionals.
Well, as I said, I am not convinced about the results, but I would love to know what you think.
You will certainly need more inspiration so please visit Vicky and Gwen and our Guest Designer for this month Tanya. Once you have created your card, scrap page or 3d item, pop on over to Sunny Challenges and Creations and add it to Mr. Linky. As always I look forward to seeing what you can create.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Birthday Gift
When I made the card in this post which was the CASE from Pinterest, I couldn’t share this variation because I made it for a friend for their birthday which we celebrated last night (Happy Birthday Sharron). Sharron loves purple and so I made the same card but added 3d flowers instead of the punched flowers in my first card. I also made her a gift card holder to match the card.
Here is a photo of the gift card holder open and the inside of the card. I only decorate the inside of my card once I know who I am going to give it to. You can find the tutorial for this cute little Gift Card Holder on Andrea Walford’s blog.
I made a gift bag to house the card and gift card holder also using the same layout. The gift bag actually started life as a large envelope. You seal the envelope and cut off one end so that it is open and then score down the two sides and across the bottom. You attach pieces of card stock to the front and the back and then open out the envelope and fold under the little triangle in the bottom corners and there you have it – instant gift bag. I love making gift bags this way because I can convert an envelope which is just the right size to hold my gift.
I made the flowers by punching Elegant Eggplant card stock using the 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle, the 1-3/4″ Scallop Circle and the 1-1/4″ Circle punches. Then I cut them into spirals and rolled them up. I like to hold my flowers in place with a little crystal effects. Once my flowers were dry I attached them to the cards, gift holder and bag using Mini Glue Dots and then added the Basic Pearls to the centre.
I cut the leaves from Always Artichoke card stock using the Little Leaves Sizzlet. The ribbon is Rose Red 1/2″ Seam Binding and the embossing folder I used is Finial Press.
I’d love to hear what you think of my little gift combo.
Bye for now, Kris.
May Promotion and New Starter Kit
Stampin’ Up! has an exciting promotion for the month of May. If you buy 3 packages of Designer Series Paper, you get one free! That’s a saving of $18.95, so if you have been holding off buying some of our gorgeous designer paper, now is the time to do so.
As part of this exclusive offer, Stampin’ Up! has also announced that if you sign up to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator during the month of May, then you will receive a free pack of Designer Series Paper each month until the end of the year. That’s six packages of designer series paper of you choice FREE.
At the same time Stampin’ Up! announced that the Starter Kit price has been reduced to $169.00 and you can completely personalise the kit. So that means you can select up to the value of $235.00 worth of Stampin’ Up! product for the amazing price of $169.00. As well as the product that you pick you will receive a business starter package valued at $80.00 – all for $169.00.
So if you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact me, so that I can tell you all about Stampin’ Up! and what a fabulous company it really is. OR just visit my Stampin’ Up! website, click on “Join the Fun” and you can sign up online.
Bye for now, Kris.
Casing Pinterest
The challenge at Late Night Stampers this week is to CASE (copy and share everything) something from Pinterest. Now I love Pinterest but so far haven’t made anything that I have pinned. So this was a great opportunity to do so. I found this gorgeous card from Kingston mama Crafts here on Pinterest or if you don’t have an account then here on her blog. I must give a warning here though that Pinterest can become obsessive, there are so many ideas pinned there, I could spend all day – if only I had the time.
Anyway this is my version. I embossed a piece of Whisper White card stock on the bottom 2/3rds using the Finial Press Embossing Folder. I wrapped this piece just above the embossing using Rose Red 1/2″ Seam Binding. I stamped the “happy birthday wishes” from the Petite Pairs stamp set in the top right hand corner using Elegant Eggplant ink. I cut two sets of leaves from Always Artichoke card stock using the Little Leaves Sizzlit and attached them over the ribbon on the left hand side. I punched two sets of flowers from Elegant Eggplant card stock using the Boho Blossom punch. I used the back of my Paper Piercer and the Mat Pack to make the flowers “cup” a little in the middle. I attached the flowers to each other and to the card front using Mini Glue Dots. The last thing was to add some Basic Pearls to the centre of each of the flowers.
I hope that my CASE does justice to the beautiful card that inspired it. What do you think? How does it compare?
Bye for now, Kris.
Sunny Challenges Week 38
The challenge this week has been set by Vicky. She has provided us with a sketch and we need to use “in-colours”.
I embossed a piece of Whisper White card stock using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. Then I embossed a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock using the Stripes Embossing Folder and attached it to the left hand side of the Whisper White embossed card stock. 
I wrapped this piece with Concord Crush 1/2″ Stitched Poly Ribbon and then attached the whole piece to scored and folded Concord Crush card stock. I stamped the image from the Tea Shoppe stamp set using Concord Crush ink onto Whisper White card stock. I also stamped the “middle” tea cup onto scrap Whisper White card stock using Concord Crush ink and cut it out. I attached the cut image over the top of the stamped image using a dimensional. I added mat of Blushing Bride card stock to the image panel and attached it to the card front using dimensionals. 
I tied a bow using Concord Crush 1/2″ Stitched Poly Ribbon and attached it to the card front using Mini Glue Dots. I punched 3 flowers using one of the punches from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. I attached these to the card front using Mini Glue Dots and added a medium Basic Pearl to the centre of each one.
These in-colours are gorgeous and I cannot believe that they will be gone when our new catalogue comes out in September. Still, at least we get to enjoy the in-colours for two years now, instead of just one.
Ok so now for some more inspiration take a look at what Vicky and Gwen have created. Once you have your card, scrap page or 3d item ready, then pop over to Sunny Challenges and Creations and add it to Mr. Linky. Can’t wait to see what you do with the challenge this week.
Bye for now, Kris.
Corner Bookmark
I have been wanting to try one of these for a while now and the Sudsol challenge to Case the sample in our Stampin’ Up! Impressions magazine gave me the push I needed.
I found a great tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers (I really don’t know how I would get along without this site) which was really simple to follow.
Basically you need a 4″ square piece of card stock, add a couple of score lines and then decorate. It couldn’t be more simple. I used Whisper White card stock. Once I had the score lines in place I stamped the large flower from the Vintage Vogue stampset using Real Red ink. I also stamped onto a post-it-note and cut it out. I used the image on the post-it-note to mask the stamped image and then stamped the vine image from the same stampset over the top of the Real Red flower using Old Olive ink. 
I stamped the small flower onto a scrap of Whisper White card stock using Real Red ink but stamping off once onto scratch paper first. I cut the small flower out and attached it to the centre of the large flower and added a large Basic Rhinestone. I punched the bottom edge using the Eyelet Edge Punch and then stamped “wonderful you” from the Loving Thoughts stamp set using Real Red ink. Lastly I wrapped the bookmark with Real Red 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon and tied a knot.
I love how simple these are to make and also how really gorgeous they are. If you haven’t made one, then you should also give it a try.
I’d love to hear what you think.
Bye for now, Kris.
A New Technique
Today I am sharing a fun technique that I tried after I saw it on Splitcoast Stampers. It’s called Magical Masking. This technique is very simple. You take a strip of masking tape and put the sticky side down on your ink pad and then when it is nice an inky you stick it down onto Glossy card stock. It has to be glossy and then the fun part, you take the edge and pull really quickly, like you are removing an eyebrow wax or something similar. The ink stays on the glossy card stock and you can reuse the masking tape or try another colour.
I used Baja Breeze, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue ink to add the colour to my Glossy card stock and then I stamped the image and greeting from the Just Believe stamp set using Early Expresso ink. I think it is a fantastic technique and so easy to do, although you do get your fingers a little inky.
What do you think, isn’t it gorgeous?
I just wanted to share with you a photo of my grandsons with their Great Grandfather. Yesterday both boys marched with my Dad in the Kallangur Anzac Day Parade.
Ethan (on the left) was wearing the medals that belonged to his Great Great Grandfather and Noah (on the right) was wearing minatures of the medals that belonged to his Great Great Uncle. I was very proud as I watched them March. Lest We Forget.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Male Card
I made this card using the sketch challenge at Stamping 411 this week. I haven’t used much of the Well Worn Designer Series Paper but I love the colours and I think it works well for a masculine card.
I attached the piece of Well Worn Designer Series Paper to the left hand side of Whisper White card stock and then wrapped the piece with 3/8″ Twill Tape. I attached an Early Expresso button to the Twill Tape using Linen Thread and tied a knot. I used my Mat Pack and Paper Piercer to attach three Early Expresso brads in the upper right hand corner. This piece was then attached to scored and folded Not Quite Navy card stock. I stamped the image from the Seaworthy stamp set using Early Expresso ink onto Whisper White card stock and then attached it to Cajun Craze card stock. The image panel is attached to the card fron using dimensionals.
I really like the way this card turned out, perhaps I should make male cards more often.
What do you think?
Bye for now, Kris.
Sunny Challenges Week 37
It was my turn to set the challenge at Sunny Challenges and Creations this week and I decided that you simply need to make a card with a “window”.
I scored and folded Whisper White card stock and punched a “window” in the bottom right hand corner using the Blossom Punch. I also embossed the card front using the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder. 
I cut a strip of Twitterpated Designer Series Paper and a piece of Pear Pizzazz card stock. I lined up one of the long edges and ran the card stock through the Big Shot using the beautiful new Edgelit Die. I wrapped this piece with some of the gorgeous Ridinghood Red 3/8″ Pleated Satin Ribbon and then attached this piece to the top of my card front. Both the die and the ribbon are available in the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the image and stamped one of the flowers from the Mixed Bunch stamp set using Ridinghood Red ink on the inside of the card so that it would show through the “window” I punched in the card front.
It’s a simple challenge this week so I am looking forward to seeing your interpretation. If you would like a little more inspiration then pop on over and visit Vicky, Gwen and Tess. Once your have created your card, scrap page or 3d item then pop over to Sunny Challenges and Creations and add it to Mr. Linky.
As always I look forward to seeing all of your fabulous work.
Bye for now, Kris.
Two New Baby Boys
This past week I have welcomed two new baby boys into my extended family. Both Mum’s and babies are doing well. So welcome Joshua and Lucas.
For my first card I used Bashful Blue and added a layer of Whisper White which I embossed using the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder. I punched a 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle from Chocolate Chip card stock and attached it to the embossed Whisper White Card stock. Then I added a layer of Chocolate Chip which I embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and attached it to the card front over the top of the scallop circle. I punched a 1-3/4″ Circle from Whisper White card stock and attached it to the centre of the Chocolate Chip Scallop Circle using dimensionals. I punched Bashful Blue card stock using the Stocking Builder Punch (retired) and cut it down slightly. I used Whisper White card stock and the same punch to get the cuff, heel and toe pieces. Once I attached the pieces I embossed the whole “bootee” using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. 
I attached the booties to each other and to the Whisper White 1-3/4″ Circle using Mini Glue Dots. Once I got this far I suddenly realised I didn’t have any Bashful Blue ribbon so I used Marina Mist 1/8″ Tafetta Ribbon to tie a bow and attached it to the top of the booties using a Mini Glue Dot. I don’t think it looks too bad with the Bashful Blue. I stamped “welcome baby” from the Short and Sweet stamp set using Chocolate Chip ink and punched it out using the Word Window Punch. The greeting is attached to a Bashful Blue Modern Label and then to the card front using dimensionals.
I made the second card using the same embossing folders and elements but using Marina Mist card stock instead of the Bashful Blue card stock. I changed the orientation to landscape as well.
Well, what do you think? I love them both, even though I did use a retired punch. I’m really sorry that this punch is retired because I love using it to make these cute little booties.
Bye for now, Kris.
Stamping with Kris 