A Mini Album
I am still trying to make all the projects that were part of the Spring and Easter Inkspirations 4U. This little mini album is one of the projects and has turned our really gorgeous.
This shows the album closed. It is really pretty tiny only about 2 3/4″ wide by 3 ” long. The album is constructed in Basic Black cardstock and I added Whisper White card which has been embossed using the Square Embossing Folder. I made the flower for the front by punching 3 Fancy Flowers from Melon Mambo cardstock and also 2 of the small 5 petal flowers from the Island Floral Die. I also punched one of the largest flowers from the Boho Blossoms punch. I used my bone folder to curl the flowers on both sides until the cardstock could be separated. They were stacked on a Vintage Brad and then scrunched up around the brad and opened out again. The leaves were cut from Old Olive card using the single petal on the Island Floral Bigz Die. They too were separated, scrunched and added to the back of the flower on the brad. I used a piece of Old Olive 5/8″ grosgrain ribbon which is attached to the back of the brad and then I wrapped the other end around a hair elastic which is attached over the flower to keep the album closed.
This is the first two pages inside the album. I have used Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla and Daffodil Delight cardstock. The designer series paper is from the Greenhouse Gala Series . I have also used a Clear Rhinestone brad and some Very Vanilla 3/8″ Tafetta ribbon. I have also used the Boho Blossoms Punch.
This is the second set of pages in the album. The colours used are Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Woodland Walk Designer Series paper. I have also used a Basic Rhinestone and some Very Vanilla 3/8″ Tafetta Ribbon. The punches used are Scallop Trim Border, Boho Blossoms and the Punch Pack.
This is the third set of pages in the album. I have used Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla and Cumb Cake cardstock. Again I have used Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper. I have also added some Basic Rhinestones and used the smallest flower from the Boho Blossoms Punch.
This is the fourth and last set of pages in the Mini Album. I have used Concord Crush, Pretty in Pink and Very Vanilla cardstock. I have also used a Basic Pearl, Concord Crush 1/2 stitched poly ribbon and the Boho Blossoms Punch and the Punch Pack.
I absolutely love the way this little mini album has turned out. Each of the pages will hold a “contact sheet” size photo – approximately 1″ x 1 1/2″.
I am really more than happy with the tutorial for this mini album and can’t wait for the next round of tutorials. I am actually getting the next round of tutorial FREE – so exciting – thanks Madeline.
Well I’m off to get ready for a family lunch to celebrate Good Friday. Hope your Easter is wonderful.
Bye for now, Kris.
My First Children’s Class
I have been wanting to do a class with children for quite a while and finally decided to schedule one today. It’s school holidays here in Queensland and I thought it a perfect time to have them make a Mother’s Day Gift.
They made a small gift box using the tutorial I found on Kerin Sylverter’s blog, a tea bag holder, the tutorial for which was shared by Bev Watt and a small 3 x 3 card to match. I allowed 2 1/2 hours for this class but the children were very speedy and it only took them 2 hours to complete all three projects. I think I underestimated their ability.
The box is made using Sahara Sand card and we punched the hole for the handle using the large oval punch. “Happy Mother’s Day” from the Occasional Greetings stampset has been stamped onto Very Vanilla card using Real Red ink. The flower is the small 5 petal one from the Island Floral Bigz die. The children used the big shot to cut two flowers and also two sets of leaves using Sahara Sand card and the Little Leaves Sizzlit. The flowers were glued together with a touch of snail and then a Gold Brad was inserted into the centre. The leaves were attached to the Very Vanilla card and then the flower attached over the top using a dimensional. Now each of the children used their own imagination to place the flowers and the leaves and I must say each of them was very different. A Real Red cardstock mat was added to the Very Vanilla card before attaching to the front of the box. The children didn’t tie their ribbon until they had made the little chocolate holder and card, so that they could be placed inside.
The chocolate holder has been decorated in the same manner as the front of the box, only this time they only used one set of leaves. They also used the Eyelet Edge Punch to decorate the top flap of the holder. I found some Lindt excellence chocolates and the children all selected one to go inside.
The 3″ x 3″ card is made in the same manner as the box and the chocolate holder.
All the children wrote inside their cards before placing them into the box and tying the ribbon.
The children all enjoyed themselves and I must say were all great students. I will be holding another class during the next school holidays and one of the children suggested that maybe we could make a Father’s day gift.
I think I will have to increase the level of difficulty a little for the next class.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Baby Card
I made this card for the challenge at Late Night Stampers this week – it’s all about babies. I started with a base card of Soft Suede. The next layer is certainly celery and I used my Tulip Embossing Folder for the very first time. I love the way this frames the cardstock. I embossed the Blushing Bride card using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder and added a mat of Soft Suede card. I stamped the “horse” image from the Animal Stories stampset onto Whisper White card using Blushing Bride ink (it is very light in the photo but shows up well in real life) and also added a Soft Suede cardstock mat. This image panel is added to the card front using dimensionals. I stamped the greeting from the Short and Sweet stampset onto Whisper White card using Soft Suede ink and punched it out using the Word Window Punch. I added a Soft Suede Modern Label and added it to the card using dimensionals under the right hand side only.
All in all a pretty simple card but I think it has turned out really well. Don’t you just love the depth and dimension of the embossing this gorgous new folder adds to the card. I am sure I will be able to find many ways to use it.
Bye for now, Kris.
A new technique
I watched a video posted by Sage Kimble about a vintage techniqe called tapestry paper. The card Sage created using this technique is absolutely gorgeous and although I used the same colours as her I don’t think my paper is quite as good. Some practice is in order.
Anyway here is the card I created for the Clean and Simple challenge this week using my tapestry paper. My base card is Crumb Cake and I added a layer of Bravo Burgundy. My tapestry paper is attached to the left hand side of the Bravo Burgundy paper and then I added a piece of Soft Suede which has been embossed using the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder. I added a strip of Bravo Burgundy 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon as well.
To create the greeting piece I used my Bravo Burgundy Stampin’ Write marker to ink up the oval around the “happy birthday” in the Perfect Punches stampset and stamped onto Whisper White card. I punched the piece out using the Wide Oval punch. I stamped “for you” from the Great Friend stampset inside the oval using Bravo Burgundy ink. I attached this to a tag cut from Crumb Cake card using one of the tags from the Lots of Tags sizzlits. I punched two sets of leaves from Soft Suede card using the Two Step Bird punch and also punched 3 flowers from Bravo Burgundy card using my Trio Flowers punch (retired). I attached the leaves and flowers around the greeting and added two medium and one large Basic Pearl to the centre of the flowers. The greeting piece is attached to the card front using dimensionals.
I quite like the way this has turned out and will definitely be trying this technique again.
Bye for now, Kris.
Nature Walk and a challenge
This week I finally had time to participate in the Stamping 411 sketch challenge.
I used Poppy Parade for my base card and added a layer of Pear Pizzazz card. The Whisper White layer has been embossed using the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder. I added the Poppy Parade 1/2″ stitched Poly Ribbon before attaching it to the Pear Pizzazz layer. I inked the flower image from the Nature Walk stampset using my Poppy Parade and Pear Pizzazz Stampin’ Write markers and stamped onto Whisper White card. I added a mat of Pear Pizzazz which has been punched down both sides using the Scallop Trim Border punch. I stamped “thinking of you” from the Three Little Words stampset using Poppy Parade ink onto Whisper White card and added a Poppy Parade Modern Label . I attached the greeting to the image panel and then added the whole piece to the card front using dimensionals.
Not quite sure if I have pulled this one off or not but I think it’s ok. What do you think?
Bye for now, Kris.
Strength and Hope
This stampset is on the last page of your Autumn Winter Mini Catalogue and Stampin’ Up! is donating $2.00 from the sale of every stampset to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I haven’t used this set much yet and thought I would participate in the Stampset Challenge at Sudsol this week.
The layout for this card was inspired by a swap I received from Simone Bartrum earlier this year. I used Whisper White as my card base and added a layer of Pretty in Pink card which I stamped with the “word” stamp from Strength and Hope using Pretty in Pink ink. I also sponged the edges with the same ink. The piece of Whisper White on the left is punched along one edge using the Pinking Hearts Border punch and then I embossed it using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. I tied this piece with Pretty in Pink 5/8″ Satin Ribbon before attaching it to the card . I stamped the butterfly from Strength and Hope onto Whisper White card using Pretty in Pink ink and cut it out. I attached it to the card front using dimensionals.
This is a close up of the bottom right hand corner of the card. You can just see the “words” stamped onto the Pretty in Pink card and the gorgeous butterfly image.
Well, hopefully I can post a little more often this week. I was away for a couple of days last week visiting my Mum in beautiful Pottsville (northern NSW). I also held a class while I was down there with some of my loyal customers (hello Mum, Robin and Ann).
Bye for now, Kris.
A Card Box
But this is no ordinary card box, it is designed for giving those beautiful one-of-a-kind 3d cards we make from time to time for someone special and I found this fantastic free box template on the Three Sisters blog. This is a great site because it is free to join and all the projects and templates shared are free as well. If you haven’t checked it out yet, then I suggest that you do. Anyway on with the box.
I constructed my box from Basic Black cardstock. I added a piece of Newsprint Designer Series Paper to the bottom section of the front of the box. I tied a double bow on the bowmaker that my son-in-law made for me and discovered that I could actually tie it onto the ribbon which is attached to the Very Vanilla card. I added a narrow piece of Basic Black card which has one edge punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch. I cut two sets of leaves from Old Olive card using the Little Leaves Sizzlit and added one to the bottom section and one to the top flap. My largest flower is made using 3 Real Red scallops punched using the 1 3/4″ scallop circle punch. I used my bone folder to curl both sides of each scallop until each one separates into two layers. I scrunched each piece into a tight ball and then opened them out. I stacked them onto a brad (any colour because you don’t see it) and then scrunched each layer up around the brad again. When you open it out again you get a real “carnation” like flower. The two smaller flowers are made using 1″ and 3/4″ circles.
The shows the box open and you can see there is plenty of depth in there for your 3D card.
I made my box especially for this card which I shared with you earlier in this post. The card was made as part of a technique class on making “paper flowers”. I lvoe it and couldn’t bear to part with it and now it has a gorgeous new home. I’ve actually got a recipient in mind for this card, and now it is even more special. I am really happy with the way this has turned out and I hope you all check out the site and make one of these fantastic card boxes for one of your special creations.
Bye for now, Kris.
Class Update
I have just updated my Classes and Workshops page and thought I would share a project which is featured in one of my upcoming classes.
This is another tutorial from Inkspiration 4U and as such I cannot share the instructions with you. I love the way it has turned out and the ladies who attend this class will be choosing their own Designer Series Paper from a selection which I will have available. I have used some of the beautiful Lap of Luxury Designer Series Paper for my photo frame.
This shows the photo frame closed with its gorgeous belly band. I have used the Island Floral Die to make this flower. I am so glad that it is one of the things that have been carried over from the Summer Mini Catalogue.
So if you would like to make this gorgeous photo frame then be quick to contact me and reserve your place, remember numbers are limited.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Cute Basket
I loved this little basket when I saw the tutorial as part of the Inkspiration 4U Spring Easter collection, but it used the Petal Cone Die which we do not have in Australia so I was thrilled when Madeline uploaded a printable template.
I used Pretty in Pink for the basket and added the petal trim in Whisper White which has been embossed using the Petals-A-Plenty Embossing Folder. I tied a double bow in my Whisper White 5/8′ Satin Ribbon and attached it to the handle using Mini Glue Dots. I used my Island Floral Die to cut 1 large flowers and 1 small flower from Pretty in Pink card and one set of leaves from Wild Wasabi card. I also used cut 1 Pretty in Pink flower using the Fancy Flower punch. I also punched the large flower on the Boho Blossoms Punch from Whisper White card. Each of these pieces was curled using my bone folder on both sides until the layers separated. I sponged the edges of the Whisper White flowers using Pretty in Pink ink. I scrunched each layer and then opened them again. They were stacked onto a Silver 5/16″ brad making sure that the petals were all staggered and that the two layers of leaves where slightly offset. I did a little more scrunching until I was happy with the way it looked and then added it to the edge of the basket using Mini Glue Dots. I cut some short lengths of Whisper White and Pretty in Pink and ran them through my paper shredder and then I used my crimper on them to give them some texture. I put them in the bottom of the basket and added some small easter eggs.
I absolutely love this little basket, even if it is a little time consuming to make without the Die. I really hope we get this die in the new catalogue in September.
Bye for now, Kris.
Markets
Shirley and I attended the Northside Twilight Markets again last Saturday. We had a fun afternoon showing some lovely people all the fabulous things about Stampin’ Up!. We would love to be able to meet more of you, so come join us on 7th May from 2pm to 6pm.
I made these cute little boxes from a tutorial I found by Kerin Sylvester . They are only tiny but they still hold 3 Cadbury Favourite Choccies (my favourite as well). The base of the box is Chocolate Chip card. I stamped the egg from the Easter Blossoms (retired) set using Pretty in Pink OR Bashful Blue ink onto Very Vanilla card. I also stamped “easter wishes” from the Occasional Greetings stampset using Chocolate Chip ink just above the egg. I added a mat in the same colour as the egg and then attached them to the card front. I used my double slot punch (retired) to create the holes in the top to thread my Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon through. I also created matching gift cards. These are only 2″ square. Again I used Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue card. The images were stamped in the corresponding ink onto Very Vanilla card and attached to the card base.
These are really cute . The tutorial actually gave instructions for 2 larger boxes and I am definitely going to be making these again.
I also made these little gift sets for Mother’s Day, which is also just around the corner. I used Whisper White textured cardstock for the Pillow Box. I stamped “a gift 4 you” from the Bring on the Cake stampset using Cherry Cobbler ink onto Whisper White card and punched it out using the Wide Oval Punch. I sponged the edges with the same ink. I used my Floral Fusion Sizzlit to cut the flowers from Cherry Cobbler card. I love to make my flowers 3 dimensional and these flowers are perfect for this. I use my bone folder to curl the edges of the flowers on both sides until I am able to separate them into two layers. I attached a silver brad through the layers making sure that the petals are staggered. Once they are all attached I scrunch each layer up around the brad, carefully opening them again to create a great dimensional flower. I added two sets of leaves behind the flower, punched from Always Artichoke card using the Two Step Bird punch. The flower and leaves are attached to the Wide Oval and then the whole piece is attached to the front of the Pillow Box. There are a couple of Cadbury Favourite choccies in the little box. The 3 x 3″ gift card has a Whisper White base and layer of Cherry Cobbler card. The top Whisper White layer has been stamped with “happy Mother’s Day” from the Occasional Greetings set using Cherry Cobbler ink. The flower and leaves are constructed in the same way as for the Pillow Box.
I made 2 more of these sets using Perfect Plum and Tangerine Tango card. I think they are super cute and a great little gift for a child to give to their Mum or even their Grandmother.
Bye for now, Kris.
