Happy Birthday Abi
My granddaughter Abi is turning 6 on the 16th of this month, but is having a “Disco” Birthday party today. This is the card that I made for her.
My base card is Rich Razzleberry and I added a layer of the gorgeous new Presto Patterns Specialty Designer Series Paper. This paper comes White and is embossed with different designs and you just add ink to create paper anyway you want. For this one I sponged on Rich Razzleberry ink until I was happy with the depth of the colour and the pattern emerged. I think this paper is going to become a bit of a favourite of mine. I ran Whisper White card through the Big Shot using the Scallop Circle Bigz Die and then cut out the dress shape. I covered the card with Versamark ink and then used a combination of Heat & Stick Powder and Dazzling Diamonds to emboss it to get this marvelous glittery dress. I wrapped a small piece of Rich Razzleberry 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon around the waist and added a Clear Rhinestone to hold it. The dress is attached to the card using dimensionals. I stamped “celebrate” from the Fabulous Phrases stampset onto Whisper White card using Rich Razzleberry ink and punched it out using the Word Window Punch and sponged the edges with the same ink. I layered this onto a Modern Label punched from Rich Razzleberry ink and attached it to the bottom right hand corner of the card.
I love the way this has turned out. I have seen a lot of these little dresses over time and this was just the right occasion to use one. I hope that Abi enjoys this card as much as I enjoyed making it for her.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Candy Cane and a Reindeer
My granddaughter Abi was looking at some samples that I had saved from the internet and saw this cute little Reindeer Candy Cane Holder that Bev Watt designed. She asked me to make them for her friends at school. I thought ok, 5 or 6 should be fine. What I didn’t know was that in Prep, everyone in the class is your friend, so that adds up to 22. That was bad enough but I had already promised to make gifts for my grandson Ethan’s Pre-Prep class, thankfully only 10, so that’s 32!!!
I cut my ovals from Chocolate Chip using my Creative Memories Oval Cutter (wish I had bought the Ovals Original Die for the Big Shot, would have been so much easier). My nose is a Real Red 3/4″ circle and the eyes are Whisper White 1/2″ circles and Basic Black 1/4″ circles. I hand drew the mouth (not very well) and added some white highlights in the eyes and on the nose with my Gel Pen. I didn’t have anything that looked “swirly” for the antlers, so I punched out Large Ovals and then punched a Scallop Oval around them and cut these up to make the antlers. The ears are Small Ovals. If I was only making a few I would have sponged the larger pieces before assembling but not with this many to make.
I followed Bev’s instructions and cut a 1cm wide strip of Chocolate Chip card, scored it so that I could sandwich the Candy Cane between the two ovals. My candy canes didn’t have hangers, so I tied them with the gold cord which Stampin’ Up! used to carry. I used my crop-a-dile to punch the hole for the hangers and the cellophane tops to go through.
This is what 22 looks like.
I’m not really complaining, I love doing things for the grandchildren and they are at an age where they still like what I do. I’m just a little worried about what and how many I will have to make next year when I have 3 grandchildren going to school. I might have to make a start a little earlier in the year.
Oh well, I’m off to make another 10.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Big Thankyou and a Small Share
I am completely overwhelmed by the comments I have received since Kim Score featured a couple of my punched cards on her blog Paper Punched Addiction. In actual fact over 1,500 people visited my blog on the 29th November and I am so excited. A number of you have become followers of my blog and I hope that I can continue to provide some inspiration for you all. Kim is an amazing paper crafter, so take a look at her gorgeous creations. Thanks again Kim for sharing my blog with your followers.
Today I am going to share with you a couple of gift bags that I have decorated for a Christmas Party I am attending at the weekend. The idea is to bring one female and one male gift.
The gift bag on the left is one that I received with a purchase that I made recently. I decorated the front by simply layering some Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock which has one edge punched with the Eyelet Edge Punch. The tag was inspired by some that my friend Shirley featured on her blog recently. I cut my tag from Window Sheet. The Very Vanilla card has been torn on one edge and all the edges sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink, a layer of Cherry Cobbler card – again with an edge punched with the Eyelet Edge Punch – as well as a thin strip of Holly Jolly Designer Series Paper has been added. The snowflake image from Season of Joy has been stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink onto Very Vanilla card and punched out with the 1 1/4″ circle punch. A 1 3/8″ circle of Cherry Cobbler has been added and then it is attached to the tag.
The bag on the right is a Kraft coloured bag I purchased from Spotlight. The decoration is the same except I have torn one edge of the Cherry Cobbler card instead of punching it.
The tags are a great way of using up lots of scraps of card and designer series paper (thanks Shirley). By leaving the tags blank, I hope that whoever receives these gifts will use the bags again for someone special in their lives this Christmas.
I love being able to re-use the bags I receive when I am shopping, so I now have quite a stash.
Bye for now, Kris.
Happy Engagement
My neice got engaged recently (Congratulations Kathryn & Dan) and I wanted to make a special card.
I used Basic Black and Very Vanilla which I think look so elegant together and the gorgeous Newsprint Designer Series Paper (I absolutely love this paper).
Card base is Basic Black and I added a layer of Very Vanilla which I embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. To create the image panel I layered Newsprint Designer Series Paper onto Basic Black which has one edge punched using the Scallop Trim Punch. I wrapped this piece with Basic Black 5/8″ satin ribbon and attached it to the card front. I stamped the two champagne glasses from Cheers to You on Very Vanilla card using Basic Black ink and punched it out using the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch. I layered this onto Basic Black which I punched using the 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Extra Large punch. I added this to the card front just using snail. I stamped congratulations from Perfect Punches onto Very Vanilla card using Basic Black ink and punched it out using the Modern Label Punch. I layered this onto a Basic Black piece punched using my Movers and Shapers Modern Label Die. This is attached to the card front using mini glue dots.
I really love this card and hope that they will too.
Don’t forget tomorrow marks the release of the new Summer Mini and if you don’t have a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and you need a copy, please contact me so that I can get a copy to you.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Froggy Santa
Ok, ok, I know I must be obsessed…. another Santa. Well it is almost Christmas. Anyway I was inspired by a Christmas Froggy that Nancy Dawson posted earlier this year. I also used this weeks Just Add Ink sketch.
My card base is Pear Pizzazz and I have stamped the Sanded Background on it using Pear Pizzazz ink. The metal piece is a coke can I cut and ran through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder. My frog is attached to a layer of Whisper White. I sponged the edges of this piece with Pear Pizzazz and then embossed it using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. This is attached to a layer of Pear Pizzazz card and then Poppy Parade card.
What do you think? I think he is gorgeous.
This shows how I made my frog. I used Poppy Parade card and the bird from the Two Step Bird punch for the hat. I cut off the beak and then used the Word Window to punch out Whisper White card which I put back into the punch and cut in half. Then I trimmed off the tail section. I added a 1/2″ Whisper White circle to the hat. The face is a Large Oval and I added a beard cut by punching a Scallop Circle from Whisper White and then using the Large oval I cut off a section. The eyes are Pear Pizzazz cut with 3/4″ circle punch and then layered with 1/2″ Whisper White and 1/4″ Basic Black (retired punch). The body is Poppy Parade punched using the Wide oval punch. Then a .5cm strip of Whisper White and a .5cm strip of Basic Black. I put a 1cm strip of Brushed Gold card into the Medium Jewellery Tag punch to make the square. Then I added a piece of Basic Black punched using the Slot Punch (retired). The legs are Small Ovals punched from Pear Pizzazz and the feet are half one of the blossoms from the Boho Blossom Punch. To finish him off I used the Two-Way Glue pen to cover the Pom Pom on his hat, the White Strip on his belly, his beard and his hat band, then I added Dazzling Diamonds. I hand drew the mouth (not very well).
I hope you have some fun making this gorgeous fellow.
Bye for now, Kris.
Step/Stair Card
Thought I would share a card we are making today at my Technique Class – Fancy Folds.
There are many different variations on how to cut these cards but this little squarish shape appealed to me. The Whisper White card is cut to measure 12cm x 24cm and I have cut on the 5cm mark to create my card. The score lines are at 2cm, 4cm, 8cm, 12cm (across whole card) and 18cm.
I stamped the small swirl from Priceless onto Whisper White card using Night of Navy ink on the long panel, once at the top and once at the bottom. I then stamped the flower from Season of Joy onto Whisper White card using Night of Navy ink and cut it out. I added it to the long panel over the swirls and added a large Basic Rhinestone. The “very merry” is from Short and Sweet which has also been stamped using Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White card before attaching to the front step. The tree from Season of Joy has been stamped using the same ink onto Whisper White card and cut out before it was attached to the middle step. The tree has a small Basic Rhinestone in the centre of the star. The “wordy” stamp from Season of Joy has been stamped onto Whisper White card using the Night of Navy ink and attached to the last step. I’ve added small Basic Rhinestones to the 3 poinsettias at the top left of the image.
I love this card and thoroughly recommend that you try one of these cards. Send me an email and we can set up a time for me to show you how.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Ribbon Wreath
I don’t know if many of you look at the samples in the catalogue or not but it is easy to bypass them when you are so busy looking at all the gorgeous things you want to buy. Well recently whilst selecting some ribbon, I noticed that on page 136 of the current Australian Idea Book and Catalogue there is a fantastic wreath made from ribbon.
Since I don’t have a wreath for my front door, it started me thinking. By chance when I was in Spotlight on another errand I found a circle of cane which was exactly what I needed to tie my ribbon onto. (Sorry I didn’t take a photo this as I was too excited to get started.)
I used these ribbons –
Old Olive, Whisper White and Real Red 5/8″ Satin Ribbon
and
Early Expresso, Real Red and Old Olive 1 1/4″ Striped grosgrain Ribbon.
I cut the ribbon into 20cm lengths and tied them to the cane, making sure that they were nice and tight. Before I completed the circle I added a length of Whisper White 5/8″ satin ribbon (about 80cm) which I tied in the middle to the circle and then tied in a bow so that I can hang it on my front door. Unfortunately this photo is taken as it lies on my family room floor. I’ll try and post one later when it is hanging on the front door.
Here is a closeup so that you can see how pretty the ribbons look all together.
I hope that this will inspire you to make one for your front door.
EDITED TO ADD
I’ve had a lot of people contact me, asking how much ribbon I have used. Well…. I used 4m of each colour of ribbon. I cut 20cm strips and have 20 strips of each colour on the wreath. I also had an extra 80cm of Whisper White Satin Ribbon for the hanger.
Some of those people who contacted me were from places other than Australia and they wanted to know “What is cane?” I can only say that it was a ring of cane/rattan/wood which is 10″ in diameter and approximately 1/2″ thick (like your finger). I bought mine at Spotlight. I have also seen metal rings at some craft shops and these would work just as well. I hope this helps all of you who would like to make one of these gorgeous wreaths.
Bye for now, Kris.
An Owly Santa
I already told you that I loved that sketch from SUDSOL last week and here is another card I made using it – my owly Santa card.
This card is very traditional with it’s Real Red and Whisper White colour scheme. The base card is Real Red and the next layer is Whisper White which has been embossed using the Petals–A-Plenty Embossing Folder. The next layer is Real Red and one edge has been punched using the Scallop Trim border punch. The Whisper White layer has been embossed using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. The left hand side has been wrapped using Real Red 5/8″ Satin Ribbon before attaching to the card front.
The “Season’s Greeting” is from the Snow Swirled Stampset and I have stamped it using Real Red ink onto Whisper White card. I punched it out using the Scallop Oval punch and then added a Real Red Wide Oval behind it. It is attached using mini glue dots to the bottom centre of the card.
This is what I did to create my little owl (which is not my original idea but I do not know who to give credit to) –
Owl Body – 1 from Real Red (cut off the feet), 1 from Basic Black (trim down and attach behind Real Red Body.
One white body piece – layered with a .5cm strip of Basic Black card. 1 small square of Brushed Gold card (1/4″ square) and one Slot Punch (retired) in Basic Black (trimmed a little).
Eyes – one large Whisper White Circle, one medium Basic Black Circle (use gel pen to add highlights).
Hat – one Real Red Bird Wing from Two Step Bird Punch, one Whisper White Word Window (put it back into the punch and cut it in half). One Whisper White medium circle from Owl Punch. The medium circle and the word window pieces have been coloured using two-way glue and then had dazzling diamonds sprinkled on top.
The little owl is added to a Whisper White circle punched using the 1 3/4″ Circle Punch using dimensionals and then layered onto a Real Red 2 1/2″ Scallop Circle and attached to the card using mini glue dots.
What do you think? I told you the Owl Punch is versatile. There are literally hundreds of variations “out there” on the net. Well I’m off to do some housework and some sewing (another banner, this time a Birthday one).
Bye for now, Kris.
A Young Graduate
My grandson graduates from Pre-Prep next week and apparently he gets to dress up in a Cap and Gown. So I thought I should make him an appropriate card. I used the sketch from Stamping 411 as my inspiration.
I immediately thought of the Owl Punch and scoured the internet for inspiration. I finally decided that I would use a Night of Navy Scallop Circle and trim off 5 scallops to create the neckline of the gown. I then folded in two scallops to create the front of the gown. Lastly I used a narrow piece of Night of Navy card which I wrapped around the top edges and folded onto the front to create the tie. I added a small Basic Rhinestone for a little “bling”. The hat is created by using half a Word Window and then trimming it down a little in length. The other part of the hat is created with the Modern Label. The owl himself is created using Crumb Cake, Whisper White and a little Pumpkin Pie for the nose. The owl is layered onto a Whisper White square which has had the edges sponged with Night of Navy ink and then it has been embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. Then this piece is attached to a Night of Navy cardstock layer. The Crumb Cake layer has been stamped with the Sanded Background using Crumb Cake ink and sponged around the edges using the same ink. Then it has also been embossed using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. It has been layered onto Night of Navy cardstock. Night of Navy 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon has been tied around both layers and then it has been attached to the folded Crumb Cake card. I used my computer to create “Graduate” and printed it out onto Whisper White card after adjusting the ink colour to Night of Navy. I punched this out using the Word Window punch and layered it onto a Night of Navy Modern Label before attaching it to the bottom right hand corner of the card.
I think this little owl has turned out fabulous and I know that Ethan will love it. If you don’t have this punch then you are missing out on some fabulous creating. Tomorrow I will show you my Santa Owl.
Bye for now, Kris.
A Wish For Peace
Ok, so this is my second post for the day. Well it is not something you should get used to but I wanted to share a card I made for a sketch challenge on SUDSOL – only thing is, I missed the deadline. Oh well…. Thought you might like to see it anyway.
I liked the sketch when it was posted but didn’t get to it till yesterday and when I went to upload it this morning, the sketch challenge had closed and a new sketch was posted.
I used Night of Navy and Whisper White for this card. I love Navy for Christmas Cards. The dove from A Wish for Peace is stamped using Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White card and punched using the 2 1/2″ scallop circle punch in the new Summer Mini. I also sponged the edges with Night of Navy ink. This is layered onto Night of Navy and then Whisper White which has had one edge puched with the Eyelet Edge Punch. I wrapped this piece with Whisper White 5/8″ Satin Ribbon. The next layer of Night of Navy has been stamped with the tree image from Snow Swirled and the edges have been sponged with Night of Navy ink. (I’m not sure that you can see this.) I stamped Noel from Many Merry Messages using Night of Navy ink onto Whisper White card and punched it out using the Horizontal Slot punch. I trimed the edge after attaching it to the Night of Navy Card. The last layer is my folded Whisper White card.
I’m happy enough with this card and I really like the sketch. In fact I will be using it again for a special card I will share soon.
Bye for now, Kris.
Stamping with Kris 