Thank You
Just wanted to pop in an say thanks to everyone who visited my site and commented on my Blog Hop post. I am overwhelmed by all your kind words. I hope that I can keep up the “good work”.
Can I just say that I had a rather full day yesterday. It was the last day of term for my eldest granddaughter and my husband and I were delighted to be able to attend her school for the Easter Bonnet Parade. I was also delighted to be able to visit my newest granddaughter Ava Elizabeth at the Mater Hospital yesterday afternoon. I now have four granddaughters and two grandsons. My life is blessed.
Anyway thanks for visiting and I hope that you will come back soon to see what else I have to show you.
Bye for now, Kris.
Let’s get hopping
Today marks the launch of the fantastic new Autum/Winter Mini Catalogue. and this Blog Hop so you can see all the fantastic ways that some absolutely fabulous Stampin’ Up! demonstrators has used the gorgeous new products in this Mini. You may have come to me from the fabulous Kelly Nelson’s blog (aren’t those robots just adorable) or you may be starting here, either way you are in for a treat as you continue on through all 26 fantastic blogs participating today. In fact we had so many demonstrators wanting to showcase all the fabulous things in this mini, we are having another blog hop on the 7th April, but more about that later.
This is a long post so you might need to top up your cuppa.
Now this Blog Hop has been organised by ESAD-SU a fantastic group of Extra Special Australian (and New Zealand) Demonstrators. I love being a part of this amazing group which has been a constant source of inspiration and encouragement to me. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know-how and the regular cyberstamps.
So if you are a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator from Australia or New Zealand then please feel free to join our group.
Now before I share my project with you I also want you to know that as my customers, if you make it around to all the Blogs involved in today’s Blog Hop, and if you make a comment on each one, you are then in the running for some Extra Special Blog Candy. The participating demonstrators have donated candy for this blog hop and if you are the lucky winner you’ll be getting all sorts of parcels filled with fantastic Stampin’ Up! product. Now if you do get to all and comment on all the blogs send an email to Sharlene Torres at stampwithsharlene@hotmail.com with your name and email address and then everyone who has also visited and commented on all of the blogs will go in the drawer for the ‘extra special’ blog candy.
Ok, so on with the show.
Today I am sharing with you the things that I have made for my five gorgeous grandchildren for Easter and now you will understand why I haven’t been blogging for the last week or so.
I am so excited to share that we now have the fantastic Big Shot Die Cutting Machine available for you to purchase. This is an absolutely fabulous Die Cutter. Not only that but we have some exclusive dies available for you to purchase. Today I have used one of those dies – The Fancy Favour Box – to create these cute little easter baskets for my grandchildren.
I have used Pretty in Pink for the girls and Bashful Blue for the boys. Before assembling them I rolled each one with the Spot On Jumbo Wheel using Versamark ink. The handles are 1 ¼” strips of matching cardstock, punched down both sides using the Eyelet Edge Punch for the girls and the Scallop Edge Punch for the boys. The handles are attached using silver brads and for the girls I have also added a Pink Pirouette flower punched out using the Trio Flower Punch. The cute little bunnies on the front were inspired by one that I saw on Connie Babbert’s blog .
Punches used –
1 3/8” Circle for face (Pink Pirouette/Close to Cocoa)
1” Circle for cheeks (Whisper White) with ¾” Circle layered on top (Pink Pirouette/Close to Cocoa)
½” Circle for nose (Pretty in Pink)
Scallop Oval for Ears (Whisper White) layered with Large Oval (Pink Pirouette and Close to Cocoa).
½” Circle for Eyes (Whisper White) layered with ¼” circle punched using the Crop-A-Dile (Basic Black).
The bows are made using Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue Tafetta Ribbon. Inside is a little bag of mini chocolate easter eggs.
Of course I had to make each of them a matching card.
The colours are again Pretty in Pink, Bashful Blue, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa and Whisper White card. The Whisper White card has been run through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (love it). I have again used the Scallop Edge Punch on the Close to Cocoa card and the Eyelet Edge punch on the Pink Pirouette card. The bunnies were inspired by one I saw posted by Kim Score .
I thought the bunny was absolutely adorable and had reproduce him/her on these cards. Punches used –
1 ¾” Circle Punch for body
1 ¼” Circle Punch for head
Butterfly punch for legs (cut in half)
Small Oval for ears.
All pieces were punched in either Bashful Blue or Pretty in Pink and each piece was sponged with the matching ink. The tail is made using the Boho Blossoms Punch. The three pieces are used and I have sponged them either with Pretty in Pink or Bashful Blue ink. I layered them and then pierced a hole, inserted matching brads, then I scrunched them up to give them some dimension.
Ribbon is again either Bashful Blue or Pretty in Pink Tafetta and I have added a bow to the girls cards.
Now along with their box of choccies and their cards, the boys are getting the construction sets shown in the first picture in this post and the girls are getting these gorgous little rag bags.
These are made using the Stampin’ Up! exclusive Top Note Die. I cut all the material on my Big Shot, cutting four layers at a time but I am sure I could have cut at least six layers at once. Then I stitched them altogether following a tutorial I purchased from Lynn Pratt . I love the way they turned out and I am sure the girls will be delighted with them. They have a pocket each end on the outside and a large pocket on the inside.
Now I am the last blog on this hop but if you haven’t done the full loop just go back to the beginning with the lovely Andrea Buckland . She has some fabulous cards to show you using the gorgeous stampset Autum Days.
Now don’t forget to leave a comment on all the blogs you visit in this hop to be in the running for some fabulous blog candy.
If you live in my area and would like to see these products and more, then email me and reserve a place at the Open House which Shirley, Sarah and I are hosting on the 9th April.
Bye for now, Kris.
Cottage Garden Sneak Peak
Ok so this is my second post for today. What can I say, I am on a roll. The last post showed you one stampset that is ending and this post combines, the old with the new.
The card was created using the Technostamper Challenge Sketch for this week. I started with Rose Red card and then added a layer of Old Olive, but first I ran the Old Olive card through my BIG SHOT using the Polka Dot Embossing Folder (really neat huh). I added two layers of the Designer Series Paper, Tall Tales (Summer Mini). The image panel uses a stampset called Cottage Garden being released in the Autum/Winter Mini Catalogue on 1st April. I stamped the stem in Old Olive ink onto Whisper White card. The large flower is a two step stamp, which I love. The first flower is stamped in Rose Red, after stamping onto scrap paper first and the second is overstamped using Rose Red ink as well. The small flowers are a single image and they were also stamped in Rose Red ink. The image panel was layered over the DSP using dimensionals. Now the really exciting thing about this new mini is that you will have the choice of purchasing your stamps as either Wood Mount (same as now) or Clear Mount. The new Clear Mount stamps will use the same quality red rubber but will be repositional onto Clear Blocks so that you can “see” exactly where the image is going to be stamped. But more about what that means later.
I would love to hear whether you like this card.
Bye for now, Kris.
Happy Moments Birthday
I created this card for two reasons, firstly because I wanted to enter the Late Night Stampers Happy Moments challenge and secondly because I wanted to use the sketch challenge at Card Scraps for this week. I also thought you might be interested in how this FREE set can be used.
I love this sketch and it gave me an excuse to use my Circle Scissors. I used to hate anything with a circle but now I am on the look out for ways to use them on my projects. The base card is Kiwi Kiss with a layer of Whisper White. The Tangerine Tango piece was punched along the bottom edge using the Eyelet Edge Punch (can you tell I love this punch). I layered the Kiwi Kiss circle onto the Tangerine Tango card and then wrapped it with the Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin ribbon and tied a bow. The image was stamped onto a Whisper White circle using Basic Black ink. I then stamped the image onto pieces of the Kiwi Kiss Designer Series Paper, cut them out and paper pieced them onto the base image. I attached the image panel using dimensionals over the top of the ribbon. Lastly I stamped “happy birthday” (from the same stampset) using Kiwi Kiss ink onto the bottom right hand corner of the Whisper White card.
I am really happy with this card. I love the bright colours and I am certainly going to miss this set when it retires at the end of the month. It is one I reach for quite often.
Bye for now, Kris.
Sale-A-Bration ends 31st March
So I thought I should show you a card I made for the challenge over at Cards & Things.
I based my colours for this card on the Tall Tales Designer Series Paper from the Summer Mini (also ending on 31st March). I started with a 4 1/4″ square card in Brilliant Blue. Then I added a piece of the DSP 4 x 4″ square and then added a smaller piece of DSP. I stamped my “Giraffe” (at least I think it is a Giraffe) from the Animal Stories Stampset (page 21 of the Summer Mini) in Brilliant Blue ink onto Whisper White paper. I layered this onto a piece of Brilliant Blue card and attached over the DSP. I stamped Happy Birthday from Starring You stampset in Chocolate Chip ink onto Whisper White card and punched it out using the 1 3/8″ circle punch. I layered this onto a Scallop Circle in Chocolate Chip. I attached this to the card using dimensionals. I took a slight liberty with the sketch and placed the greeting on the left hand side of the card instead of the right hand side. I love the way it turned out, bright and cheery and so “kid” friendly.
Bye for now, Kris.
Happy Birthday Sean
It is my son-in-law’s birthday on Thursday and when I saw this week’s sketch challenge at Stamping 411, I knew exactly what I was going to do for his card.
The sketch is really quite simple but an effective way to showcase Stampin’ Up!’s gorgeous Designer Papers. I chose to use Windsor Knot DSP which I think has quite a “manly” feel to it. My base card is Chocolate Chip to which I have added a layer of Old Olive which I stamped using the Sanded Background and Old Olive Ink (love this stamp).
The three pieces of designer paper were each attached to a piece of Chocolate Chip card and then to the Old Olive card. I wrapped this whole piece with Linen Thread and tied it in a knot. The “beer mug” image is from Cheers to You and I stamped this in Basic Black onto whisper white and coloured it in using my So Saffron Watercolour Marker and Blender Pen.
I coloured the “froth” using my Two Way Glue Pen and added some Crystal Iris Chunky Sprinkes . I hope you can see how this glitters and in real life it really makes the “froth” pop. The greeting is also from Cheers to You and I stamped this using Chocolate Chip ink. The edges were sponged with Chocolate Chip ink and then attached to a piece of Chocolate Chip card with one edge punched with Scallop Edge Punch. I attached this over the Linen Thread using dimensionals.
I am really happy with the way this card has turned out and since neither of my Son’s-in-Law look at my blog, I thought I was quite safe in posting this today.
Bye for now, Kris.
Happy Anniversary Emma & Jason
Today is my youngest daughter’s wedding anniversary and I am going to show you some photos of the card I made, however, I am not going to give too much away, as I have used a lot of product from the Autumn/Winter Catalogue due out on April 1.
The colours I have used are Mellow Moss, Elegant Eggplant and Bordering Blue. These are the colours for this week’s challenge at Cards & Things. I love these colours.
In this photo you can see how I have also used White Basic Small Grommets from the Summer Mini around the centre of the large Elegant Eggplant flower and then inserted a large Rhinestone Brad into the centre. The stampset is one from the Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue which will be released on the 1st April. I love this set and I am sure that you will too. I am also submitting this card to this week’s challenge by the Late Night Stampers Yahoo Group – Just Add Bling.
This shows a close-up of another stampset which will be released in the Autumn/Winter Mini and the matching punch. How cool is that!
If you would like to see these new products then mark this date Friday 9th April at 7pm. I will be holding an Open House to show off some of the fabulous new product being released by Stampin’ Up!. Let me know what you think.
Bye for now, Kris.
Something Sweet
Today I am sharing a card that I made using the Something Sweet stampset from the Summer Mini. I wanted to participate in the Stamping 411 sketch challenge and also the Just Add Ink colour challenges for this week. The colours to use were Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Pink passion and So Saffron and they just screamed gumballs to me so this is what I have come up with.
I started with a base of So Saffron and to round the corners I punched out a 11/4″ circle, traced around it using pencil and then I cut along the pencil line. The corner rounder punch would not have been “round” enough. I added a strip of tempting turqoise card. The image of the gumball machine was stamped using So Saffron ink onto Whisper White card (also used my stamp-a-ma-jig to get perfect alignment). I stamped the gumballs using Green Galore, Pink Passion and Tempting Turquoise ink. Some of the gumballs were stamped onto scrap whisper white card, cut out and attached over the stamped gumballs using dimensionals.
This image panel was layered onto Pink Passion card and attached to the card front. The “happy birthday” greeting is from the Think Happy Thoughts stampset. Using Tempting Turquoise ink I stamped the greeting and then the flower inside using Pink Passion ink. I punched it out with the 1 1/4″ circle punch and then layered it onto a 1 3/8″ Green Galore circle. This was attached to the card front using dimensionals. I love the way the colours have come together and I would love to hear what you think.
This stampset also works fabulously well the the Treat Cup as you have seen in previous posts, but don’t forget that you won’t be able to purchase it after the 31st March. .
Bye for now, Kris.
Happy Birthday Elyssa
Yesterday was my granddaughters 2nd birthday. She was excited about it all last week and kept on saying “Happy Birthday Elyssa Saturday”, perhaps not as clear as that but we knew what she meant. Anyway there is a bit of pressure in creating a card for any of my grandchildren as they are all so into handmade cards.
I used the Something Sweet stampset from the Summer Mini and a Treat Cup to create a flower with a “snow globe” centre. Firstly I punched my hole in the Whisper White card using the 1 3/4″ cirlce punch also found in the Summer mini. I stamped the flower petal image from the same stampset in Rose Red ink all around the “hole” using my Stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up. I did this again on a scrap piece of Whisper White and cut out the petals, but not cutting all the way into the circle. My stem image is from the Fifth Avenue Floral stampset and is stamped with Certainly Celery
ink. I stamped a couple of leaf images from Something Sweet stampset onto scrap Whisper White card using Certainly Celery ink and cut them out. To create the “Snow Globe” I followed the instructions in this video and used my Light Pink Chunky Sprinkles to create the “snow”. I layered the Whisper White piece onto Certainly Celery card and added Regal Rose 5/8″ wide grosgrain before stamping my “happy birthday” from the Occasional Greetings stampset using Rose Red ink. I attached the second layer of flowers around the treat cup using dimensionals to give it some extra lift. This whole piece was then layered onto Rose Red Card. On reflection I think the card was a little “old” for a two year old but Elyssa loved the “Snow Globe”.
To hold the gift I decorated a kraft gift bag. Firstly I rolled it using the Watercolour joy standard wheel and Rose Red ink. I tied two bows to the front set of handles using Whisper White Kraft ink. I stamped Happy Birthday using the Happy Everything Stampset and then added a cute “flower” made using the Scallop Circle Punch.
I wanted something soft and fluffy, so I rolled some tissue paper with the Watercolour Joy wheel using the Rose Red ink. Then I cut it into pieces to make a stack of 8 and punched out the Scallop Circles.
I inserted a Filigree Brad through the centre and then scrunched each layer up and around the brad, creating a really soft and fluffy flower which I think looks sooo cool and a bit like a carnation. I attached it to the Whisper White card using a Mini Glue Dot and then distressed the edges. I layered this onto a piece of Rose Red card which also had the edges distressed and then this was attached to the front of the gift bag.
All in all I am pretty happy with the way both the card and the gift bag turned out.
What do you think?
Bye for now, Kris.
Classes Update
I have just updated my Classes and Workshops page. I am holding a Technique class on the 27th March featuring a fantastic technique called Split Negative.
We (Shirley, Sarah & I) are also holding an Open House on Friday 9th April to launch the Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue being released on the 1st April. This is a very exciting time to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator because of the fabulous new releases and also the new direction some of our products are taking. I hope that you will be able to come along and see for yourself the fantastic new product in this Mini Catalogue.
As we are talking about new classes I thought I would show you one of the cards we made at the Stained Mosaic technique class.
The colours in this card are Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun and Kiwi Kiss. The stamped flower is one from 5th Avenue Floral and I have also used my 5 Petal Flower Punch, Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon and some Silver Hodgepoge. I am not going to go into specific details with this card, however, if you missed this class and would like to learn this technique, then contact me and if we get numbers I will run another class.
Bye for now, Kris
