Creative Elements Party

As I mentioned before, September & October are very busy months for me each year. September also coincides with the release of the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue every year. Hence, I think that I'll always be late having my annual SU IB & C party as I only managed to hold my party on 22 October. Be that as it may, better late than never.

For this year's IB & C party, the lovely people who came got to play with the Creative Elements stamp set. Many of them groaned about having to cut flowers and a butterfly out but I was gleefully unapologetic. We had a lovely afternoon and at times, the silence was deafening as they concentrated on their Make & Take task. Here it is.

 project recipe
stamps: Creative Elements (WM 124956, CM120647), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (WM 119185, CM 120024)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Poppy Parade (119782), Pool Party (122938), Island Indigo (122937), Stampin' Write Marker - Poppy Parade (119801)
card stock: Poppy Parade (121694), Pool Party (124398), Whisper White (106549)

tools: Scallop Trim Border Punch (118402), Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder (119976), Stamp-a-ma-jig (101049),
the added pizzaz: Blender Pen (102845), Dazzling Diamonds (102023), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), 2-way Glue Pen (100425)

cardessence tips

• stamp the flower 3 times on WW card stock and cut out in 3 layers to get the 3 different flower sizes;
• for the 2 toned butterfly, I first inked it with Pool Party (always the lighter colour first) and then "rocked n rolled" it in Poppy Parade before stamping;
• don't forget to leave a thin white border when you cut out the flowers and butterfly as this technique will preserve the edges of your stamped images;
• stamp and colour your background piece before running it through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder;
• depending on which look you like, you can daub the edges either before or after dry embossing (before embossing = soft edges, after embossing = worn look);
• I like my images precise and centred properly so I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig (SAMJ) to stamp the frame and sentiment.

Well, that's your lot for today, TTFN

An Angry Bird-day

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love Angry Birds? My second son is crazy about them and I used this as inspiration for his birthday card this year. This is a fun and easy card to construct but you do need lots of circle punches.

project recipe
stamps: retired stamp sets -  Wonderful Favourites, Happy Moments (SAB 2010), Tropical Party (2010-2011 Summer Mini Catalogue)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Pool Party (122938), Real Red (103133), Old Olive (102277), Stampin' Write Marker - Basic Black (100082)
card stock: Pool Party (124398), Real Red (106578), Tempting Turquoise (108598), Daffodil Delight (121680), More Mustard (106569), Basic Black (121688), Basic Grey (121689), Whisper White (106549)

tools: 1/2" (1.3mm) Circle Punch (119869), 1" (2.5mm) Circle Punch (119868), 1-1/4" (3.2mm) Circle Punch (119861), Owl Builder Punch (118074), Cupcake Builder Punch (121807) Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Large Oval Punch (119855), non SU flower punch (for tail)

the added pizzaz: Aqua Painters (103954), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430), Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755), 2-way Glue Pen (100425)

cardessence tips

• along with the circle punches, I used the Owl Builder, Itty Bitty Shapes and Cupcake Builder punches to obtain the circle punch outs for the bird shapes and to build their eyes;
• use the L Oval Punch for the white bird and trim to shape - sand the trimmed edges to round off;
• cut out an equilateral triangle for the yellow bird - trim the corners and sand to round off the corners;
• the best way to achieve the non circular eyes, first punch a cresent shape on WW card stock before punching out; stick this WW piece on to BB card stock and repeat the process; this process is easier than trying to adhere and match the pieces after punching out every piece;
• I used the top of the Cupcake Builder punch piece to sponge cloud shapes with Pool Party ink on the large WW base;
• I stamped "son" and "happy birthday" on to WW, punched it out with the Cupcake builder punch and sponged the edges;
• cut out all the pieces by hand including the tails if you don't have a small flower punch in that shape;
• to make it all "POP", adhere the completed birds with dimensionals.

Have a punching good time

Grunge Rocker Son

It's been a while since I posted. September and October are always busy months in my household. There's Father's Day, both my sons had birthdays as well as the school holidays. Anyway, here's the birthday card I made for my eldest son who celebrated his 10th birthday in early September. My son loves playing the guitar and I used it as the theme for his card with the Grunge Rock stamp set. This beautiful set is ideal for both feminine and masculine cards, scrapbook pages and 3D paper projects.

project recipe
stamps: Grunge Rock (WM 122055, CM120555), Wonderful Favourites (retired)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Pool Party (122938), Island Indigo (122937)

card stock: Pool Party (124398), Island Indigo (124390), Whisper White (106549)

tools: 1/2" (1.3mm) Circle Punch (119869), 1-1/4" (3.2mm) Circle Punch (119861), 1-3/8" (3.5mm) Circle Punch (119860), Owl Builder Punch (118074), Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (117335)

the added pizzaz: Rhinestones (119246), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

cardessence tips

There are no tricky techniques to this card hence, I only have two tips to share with you.

• to achieve a very light background on the WW base, ink up the stamp with PP and lightly stamp off on scrap paper before stamping on the WW base.
• cut out the guitars before mounting them, the punched out and matted crown and son images with dimensionals.

Thanks for looking but do come back again to see the birthday card I made my youngest son.

Masculine Flourish

The Fine Flourish stamp is a single stamp that is ideal for masculine cards. I've used it in Father's Day and Birthday cards in which I've kept to a clean, simple and masculine theme. Here are 2 variations to show you that a simple style can have different looks - and all with just using one stamp.

project recipe
stamps: Fine Flourish (WM 121833), Teeny Tiny Sentiments (WM 119185, CM120024, Heard from the Heart (WM 119167, CM 120006)
ink: Classic Stampin' Pad - Night of Navy (102977)

card stock: Crumb Cake (121685), Night of Navy (106577), Very Vanilla (106550)

tools: 1-1/4" (3.2mm) Circle Punch (119861), 1-3/8" (3.5mm) Circle Punch (119860), 1-3/4" (4.4mm) Circle Punch (119850), Circle Scissor Plus (112530)

the added pizzaz: Hodgepodge Brads (retired), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

 cardessence tips

• ink up your stamp in Night of Navy and stamp on 2 pieces of Very Vanilla card stock;
• trim one of the images as closely as you can to the perimeter of the image then proceed with quartering the trimmed VV cardstock image; punch out the other piece with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch;
• I used the Circle Scissor Plus to cut out my 1-1/2" Crumb Cake piece before adhereing to the 1-3/4" Night of Navy circle piece.
• mat all your pieces in 2 layers and adhere every matted piece to the card piece with dimensionals.
• I adhered the mats for the sentiments directly on to the card piece however, you may wish to add dimensionals to the smaller matted sentiment eg. "Happy Father's Day".

Thanks for stopping by

2011 - 2012 Idea Book & Catalogue plus Starter Kit Promotion

Happy September Everyone

It's here! The brand NEW 2011-2012 Idea Book & Catalogue is released today! Are you as anxious as I was to get a copy of this beautifully illustrated catalogue? You can view it online HERE but wouldn’t it be better to have your personal copy on hand?

The IB&C is catalogue is yours for free when you host a party. With as few as 4 friends, we can have a fabulous couple of hours of fun using some of the new products. In addition, the Hostess Benefits have been revised to give you greater choices. Call or email me as I will be happy to discuss the possibilities with you! However, if you prefer to purchase a copy for $12.95, let me know.

Check out the new In Colours. Aren’t they gorgeous? I for one am so happy to see Wisteria Wonder on the market for the purple fans. Calypso Coral and Lucky Limeade are my favourites at the moment as I think that they are happy Spring colours.

Other Exciting News 

For the month of September only, Stampin’ Up! has generously offered 2 Starter Kit promotions:

• The $169 Mini Starter Kit, and
• The Standard Starter Kit at a 20% discount ($289 - 20%)

You will be able to customise most of the items in these starter kits to suit your needs. For example, you can change equivalent value stamp sets or choose your own Classic Stampin’ Pad colours.

The items in the Mini Starter Kit represent a total RRP value of $310 whilst the Standard Starter Kit is valued at more than $610.

If you are interested in joining the Stampin’ Up! family as a demonstrator, hobbyist or just make this a one off purchase, call me to find out more details and additional benefits.

Summary of September Events

Click here to view my Events. Please note that classes are limited to 8 people, all materials are supplied and pre-cut but colours may vary. Alternatively, if you prefer to arrange with a group of your friends (min 4, max 8) to have your own private in-home classes, contact Me.

Monday Zen and the School Holiday Workshop are held in my home at 5 Alpine Court, Vermont South.

• As a reminder, Monday Zen is just an opportunity for everyone to get together to start or finish your own projects - no lessons or structure. Hence, don’t forget to BYO all your crafting needs. Please Note that this session will start at 10.15am as I have to be at school assembly to watch my son’s violin ensemble play.
• Book in early for the School Holiday Workshop as classes are limited to 6 kids. 

Have a great month