Nicole Stalker

My blog is moving…..

2009-10-26T22:59:00.001+11:00

I have decided to move my blog over to Wordpress, revamp it and my website and also host it on my website.

So all posts after this one will now be posted to http://nicolestalker.com.au/blog/ so if you are a regular visitor of have my blog bookmarked you will need to update your link.

If you go visit the new blog you will see I’ve gone with a colour change although I’m still to update the rest of my website but that will be done over the next few days. There is still some tweaking to do but all should go smoothly with any luck.

Happy stamping

It’s on again!!!!

2009-10-24T12:46:00.001+11:00

What’s on again??

Our Giant Craft Sale.

Back in May we had our 1st Giant Craft Sale and it was such a success we decided to hold another. We’ve cleaned out our cupboards even more and will have lots of Craft Goodies that need to find new homes. There will be stamps,both Stampin’ Up!(retired of course) and other brands, scrapbooking supplies, ribbons, embellishments and lots, lots more. We will also be selling handmade cards & gifts which will be perfect for Christmas.

Everything will be priced to sell, so come along and grab a bargain! We’ll also have some Lucky Door Prizes to be won.

WHEN: Saturday 24th October

TIME: 9am – 1pm

WHERE: The Church Hall
Blacktown East Presbyterian Church
Cnr Heffron Road & Gallop Grove, Lalor Park

Hope to see you there.

Nikki

Embrace Life

2009-10-23T08:30:00.000+11:00

Here’s another set that I haven’t inked in ages but I also decided to play with some retired colours.

I’m using that layout again that I’m really liking at the moment and did create 3 cards but I’ve already given one away and didn’t realise my photo hadn’t downloaded to my computer correctly so I can only share 2 of them with you. I might just have to recreate the other again….

Just briefly about computers, it seems mine is finally fixed and working correctly (I’m touching wood while typing this so I don’t jinx myself) and it turns out to have just been an updated driver required for my Vista laptop. I’m sure the company wish they had of tried this first before replacing USB’s, RAM and a Graphics Card. Oh well I guess that’s for all the problems I had to put up with……

So back to the cards.

I pulled out my retired Ginger Blossom DSP and some River Rock and Groovy Guava cardstock from last years In Colors to make these. I love this years but I still miss last years and seeing how I still have plenty in my stash I guess I should use some of it.

This card was actually the second card I made. Card 1 was the one I gave away.

For this card I’ve started out with a base of Ruby Red, scallop edged a piece of River Rock and then added some Ginger Blossom DSP in a Groovy Guava print onto the River Rock as shown. This was then is adhered to the main card.

Next I created my Scallop Edge Medallions in River Rock and a slightly smaller one in Ruby Red. This is layered onto the main card using Stampin’ Dimensionals. I’ve then stamped the flower onto Watercolor Paper using Stazon Jet Black ink and watercolored using an Aqua Painter and inkpads in Groovy Guava & Ruby Red. I have then cut out the flower, used a white gel pen on the stamens, added a white half back pearl to the centre and attached to the medallion using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The final step was to stamp the sentiment onto watercolour paper using Stazon Jet Black and punch out with the Word Window Punch. I’ve daubered the edges with River Rock and again attached to the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The next card is the same layout just using a different piece of Ginger Blossom DSP and changing the colours.

So for this one I started out with a Groovy Guava base and used Ruby Red for the scallop edge piece.

The medallion is Ruby Red and Groovy Guava. I coloured the flower image again using the Aqua Painter and inkpads this time using Groovy Guava, Cameo Coral and Ruby Red. The stamens have been coloured with a Ruby Red marker and I’ve added a vanilla half backed pearl to the centre this time as the DSP has more of a cream feel than a white.

The sentiment is done the same again but this time I daubered the edges with Ruby Red.

So do you miss last years In Colours? Maybe you have some left too and hopefully I’ve inspired you to play with them again. Feel free to leave a comment and a link to your latest creation using some retired items.

Happy Stamping
Nikki

Friends 24-7

2009-10-22T11:51:00.001+11:00

This stamp set was one of the first I had to have when the new IB&C came out in April. I think it had more to do with the fact that I loved the coordinating wheel but I did like the stamp set too. Unfortunately it hasn’t been used all that often. Another wonderful thing about this set is it’s one of Shelli’s Signature Collection sets which are new this year.

So seeing how I hadn’t used it much I decided it need to be inked up again. I love the sample cards in the IB&C for it so decided to recreate something along those lines but make it my own too.

I ended up making 4 cards very similar looking, 2 portrait orientation and 2 in landscape orientation, and changing the sentiments.

The colours I’ve used are Kraft, Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze and Whisper White. I really like to softness to these cards.

Here they all are individually for a closer look.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Friends 24-7, Oval All, En Francais
Card: Kraft, Close To Cocoa, Whisper White, Baja Breeze Patterns DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa & Old Olive Markers, Versamark & Baja Breeze inkpads
Accessories: Whisper White Taffeta ribbon, Scallop Oval, Scallop Circle, Large Oval, 1 3/8” & 1 1/4” Circle Punches, Matt Pack and piercer, Button Latte Designer Buttons, Sponge Dauber, Stampin’ Dimentionals, Hemp Twine.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Family Birthdays Part 3

2009-10-20T09:00:00.000+11:00

This is the last October family birthday I have to share with you. As I mentioned yesterday this time it is for my step-mother.

On Saturday 3rd October I held my World Card Making Day event. You may recall those that attended made a Chocolate Holder and a matching little handbag which contained 3 love note cards and envelopes. Well I ended up with 3 sets in total, my original sample and then 1 each from the 2 sessions I had. I decided to use 1 set as part of my step-mothers gift. I had also purchased her a Gift Card so made a matching gift card holder and then of course I needed something to package it all in.

Here’s a picture of all the items.

This is the box all finished ready to present.

I made a little gift card to match and wrapped in Baja Breeze ribbon. I decided to use the reverse side of the dsp on the sides of the box just like in the chocolate holder I wrapped the chocolates in alternate sides.

My step-mother was wrapped. At first she wasn’t going to open it till her birthday but as my girls hadn’t seen the gift card holder yet she opened it. Then it all went back in and ribbon tied up again ready for her to open on her birthday.

Well that’s it for family birthdays for now. I do have a few others before Christmas but most of those will just be cards which I’m sure you will see when they are done.

I’m on a bit of a roll at the moment so hopefully it will keep up and I’ll be posting a lot more regularly. I have a few more posts lined up for this week already and if Monday went as planned with getting the house back in order now that school has gone back I hopefully have created more to share with you.

Don’t forget if you are within driving distance to Lalor Park we are having another Giant Craft Sale this Saturday with lots of bargains. I’ll be clearing out my Carl punches, Punch tool, some scrapbook paper holders, storage draws and lots, lots more.

Till next time…..

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Family Birthdays Part 2.

2009-10-19T08:30:00.000+11:00

Next Saturday is my dad’s birthday and I wanted to make a little something for him. I always struggle making things for males as it’s not something I do all that often. I found a wonderful project from UStamp Fall 09 which I thought would be perfect for him.

The Windsor Knot DSP pack is ideal for male items and I was really happy with how this turned out. The image is from the Pun Fun stamp set (thanks Leonie) and the sentiment is a retired Rub-on.

and the inside looks like this….

I haven’t known my dad to drink coffee so I’ve put in hot chocolate sachets with some Ferrero Rocher Chocolates. I actually gave this to him last Thursday went we went to visit (my dad lives 2 hours drive away) and found out he does drink coffee but only 1 a day. At least I know for next time.

I wanted to make his birthday card to coordinate so have again used the same patterns from the Windsor Knot DSP pack but chose to use the Party Hearty stamp set. I’ve created faux brads by punching out 3 chocolate chip 1/4” punches (retired) and then adding some Crystal Effects over the top. Now I really should have used the new 5/16” chocolate chip brads available in the Spring Mini Catalogue till 30th November (Neutrals pack) but I’d already adhered the DSP to the front of the card and didn’t want to have the brads showing on the inside of the card.

It’s a pretty simple card but I think it went well with the gift and he liked it which is the main thing. I also bought a t-shirt to go with this handmade gift.

I mentioned my dad’s birthday is next Saturday 24th, well it’s his wife’s, my wonderful step-mothers birthday on the 27th. Tomorrow I’ll show you the gift I gave her last week. Some of it you have seen but I’ve expanded with a few more coordinating items.

See you tomorrow.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Family Birthdays Part 1

2009-10-18T20:32:00.001+11:00

I hope you have all enjoyed seeing the wonderful Secret Sister gifts that I received and also those I sent to my Secret Sister over the last 2 weeks or so. I really wish I could share my recent items I made for this new round of Secret Sister but alas they will have to wait till January so I don’t spoil my Secret Sisters surprise just in case she happens to visit my blog and see them.

I do however have some things to show you over the next few days and that is items I’ve made for recent or upcoming family birthdays.

The first one will be my 2nd daughter’s birthday which was today and she turned 11. The birthday girl, Courtney, loves the colour blue. I made her lolly boxes just like I made for 2 of her sisters back in September but instead of being pink hers were blue. Baja Breeze to be exact.

Don’t they look great. And guess what? One of her friends didn’t show (we hadn’t received a reply so we weren’t real sure either way) but I’d made one just in case. You know the way it works. If I didn’t make one she would have come so I thought I’d be prepared. But don’t worry it wasn’t wasted, I got one……lol

I’m so glad Marelle Taylor shared the instructions for these Seven’s Boxes as I have now used them for 3 of my girls birthdays now. My other daughters birthday was back in May and I made her little handbags designed by Makeesha Byl.

Guess what? I also made her card before her birthday. Well I guess technically it wasn’t but it was before she woke up…..hahaha. I had a late night/early morning (2:15am bed) finishing off the lolly boxes, wrapping her presents and making her card. However, I was determined to have them all done before I went to bed so then I didn’t have to rush around in the morning.

Would you like to see her card?

Again I followed the Blue theme and also used the Great Friend stamp set. I’m really going to miss this set when the Spring Mini end at the end of November. I truly hope it makes it into the next big IB&C in September 2010 but it will be a long wait to find out.

I’ve used Not Quite Navy as my base card, some Walk in the Park DSP which is a Baja Breeze print and for the 3rd colour I went with Whisper White.

I can’t remember where I saw this layout but I really like it at the moment and the double layer Scallop Edge Medallion really sets the card off. I’ve been meaning to try this for a while and last month Kirrily Matthews took some great Christmas Cards using this to Marelle Taylor’s team meeting for show & tell. After seeing her cards I knew I had to give it a go sooner rather than later. I had already printed the SCS tutorial to do this but had put it aside until Kirrily’s reminder.

If you pop back tomorrow I’ll show you what I made for my dad’s birthday which is next Saturday.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive…..September Part 3

2009-10-17T08:00:00.000+11:00

As the end of the month was drawing near and other participants where thanking their Sisters I was getting very anxious. I’d received all my items and wanted to thank my Sister. I asked on group for her to please let me know but no replies.

Well I found out why a day or 2 later.

It was because of this.

My wonderful, generous and very creative Secret Sister had one more parcel on it’s way to me.

Isn’t it gorgeous. If you’ve read my blog before now you might remember that the Raspberry Tart DSP is one of, if not, my favourite DSP pack in the current IB&C and my new favourite stamp set is of course ‘Great Friend’ from the Spring Mini.

So would you like to know what I received? I’ll go clockwise again starting from the front.

A Days-to-remember calendar for me to decorate, on top of that is a lovely crystal handmade angel (which my girls have already informed me could go on our Christmas Tree this year…..lol), a lovely card purse which inside contained the personalised Post-It Note holder (also the Angel and card where packaged in there too), then up the back is another wonderful bag which when you untie the ribbon the front and back fold down to reveal a little box which contained 2 little christmas cross-stitch kits (super idea and must make sure I get them both done before Christmas), next is that gorgeous box (there’s a close up of that coming) which inside contained some SU product including ribbons, clips, heat & stick powder, dazzling diamonds, Stampin Dimensionals and a Quickie Glue Pen, then there is the card. I love how Kylie used the leaf stem to create the background and I also love how she used half backed pearls on the butterflies.

Here’s a close-up of the gorgeous box with the paper ruffle.

Isn’t that gorgeous. I’ll be trying this out soon.

So that’s it for all the wonderful items I received. I was totally spoilt beyond any expectations. If you are reading this Kylie, thank you so much for being a fabulous Secret Sister. I sure hope I get to meet you in person one day to thank you properly. Maybe Convention 2010????

Now even though I’ve shared all the items I sent and those that I received I will have something else to show you tomorrow and hopefully on a more regular basis too.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive……September Part 2

2009-10-16T09:30:00.000+11:00

Today is what I thought was my final card and item for the swap. Kylie had met all her requirements and now I just had to wait for the reveal as it didn’t happen in this card. Boy waiting to find out was hard. I so wanted to personally thank Kylie for being such a wonderful Secret Sister.

I so love this card and never would have thought to do this.

Hopefully you can see all that sparkle over the card. Isn’t it wonderful. It looks even better in person. I really love the colours used too which are Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie. I haven’t played with this set in so long I really should pull it out again. I’ve definitely been playing with my Dazzling Diamonds more of late though.

Until tomorrow….

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive…..September Part 1

2009-10-15T11:00:00.000+11:00

As you have seen by the last few days Kylie is such a talented lady and this month is certainly no different.

My first item to arrive for September was another large parcel. This was my final gift with only a card to follow. Well so I thought…… To me I’d already received the $ requirement in my gift for August so all I was anticipating for September was handmade items.

Well I certainly received that. Look at this wonderful array.

Clockwise from front left: A handmade heart pin cushion which says ‘Home made is best’, Chocolate Holder (which I CASED and posted here), little box containing 3 love notes (card shown) and envelopes (another item I’ve CASED here for World Card Making Day) a gorgeous decorated shopping list pad (that’s what I’ll be using it as anyway) and pen, and finally the card.

Don’t you just love how Kylie has coordinated everything to make such a fantastic gift. Obviously seeing that I have already CASED two of the items I was very very happy to have received this. Seriously though who wouldn’t love to receive something like this??

I’ll let you in on a little secret….. There’s 2 more posts to go.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive….August Part 2

2009-10-14T17:34:00.000+11:00

My final item for August was another gorgeous card using the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set along with ….. you guessed it, some Kiwi Kiss.

If you haven’t seen this style of card before it’s called a Criss-Cross card. If you pull out the insert by the little Kiwi Kiss tab you will see this….

If I haven’t already said so, I’m so glad I went in this swap and of course that Kylie was my Secret Sister. I not only received lovely items just for me but it’s given me lots of inspiration too.

See you tomorrow…..

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive….August Part 1

2009-10-13T17:29:00.000+11:00

On the day this arrived my parcel delivery man arrived just before I went in to pick my girls up from school so I had to put this rather large box aside till I came back home. I was so excited when opening it up and my girls were all standing around eagerly watching too.

I’ve mentioned we filled out questionnaires but there were only so many questions and I didn’t really fill out a whole story for each answer but Kylie really picked well with this next colour scheme as my favourite of the ‘orange’ would have to be Pumpkin Pie and my favourite ‘pink’ is definitely Regal Rose.

What do you think? Isn’t this just wonderful.

What did I receive? The lovely decorated cellophane bag contained some Petal Punches, Flower Fusions, Ribbon, Filigree & Flower Designer Brads. This was in the box at the back along with a couple of Whisper White Greeting Cards and Envelopes tied with some more Regal Rose ribbon and also the ‘Three Little Words’ stamp set. Then of course there is the Chocolate Slider and coordinating card.

Was I spoilt, or what???

See you tomorrow for some more of Kylie’s items.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive…..July Part 2

2009-10-12T09:00:00.000+11:00

The second and final card for July is just as lovely as the first. This time Kylie used some of the Flower Fusion II felt flowers which I must admit to having but still not used. (Note to self – use them…..)

This is a simple but very effective card. Maybe I should just CASE Kylie’s……

I was very happy with the items I received for July but it gets even better. Pop back tomorrow to see what I received next.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

What did I receive…..July Part 1

2009-10-11T07:00:00.000+11:00

I can finally reveal that my wonderful Secret Sister was Kylie Robinson. Kylie was such a generous Secret Sister and I sure hope she had a wonderful partner too. I was spoilt rotten by Kylie and I’m about to show you, over the next week all the wonderful items she made and sent to me.

I first package was a card and gift. Kylie was told that one of my favourite stamp sets was Fifth Avenue Floral and that I loved Kiwi Kiss. Well she used both to these in this lovely card.

Along with this gorgeous card Kylie sent this lovely little handbag which doubles as a Post-It Note holder.

Isn’t this just gorgeous. Kylie has used the Faux Alligator technique (one I must try soon) on this item along with a Filigree Designer Brad and some Clear Rhinestone Brads.

Tomorrow I’ll share the 2nd gorgeous card I received for July.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

September Part 2

2009-10-10T09:00:00.000+11:00

This was the last gift and card I sent to my Secret Sister in which I revealed who I was. I have used the lovely Sweet Always DSP, coordinating cardstock, ribbon, etc along with the Always stamp set. Not Bold Brights but still reasonably bright and cheery in real life.

Inside the box was some Darrell Lea Chocolate Bullets, 3 Embossing Powders, a mixture of the new Flower & Filigree Designer Brads and a few more samples of ribbon this time the 1/4” grosgrain.

The box is one of Becky Roberts wonderful tutorials which I altered a little to suit my needs.

And here’s a closer look at the card:

The sentiment used on this card is from the ‘Taking Care of Business’ stamp set.

Well that’s it for my cards & gifts I sent my Secret Sister for Round One. I have signed up again for Round Two which is from October – December so once the reveal is done in December I’ll share the Round Two items with you.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

September Part 1

2009-10-09T15:00:00.001+11:00

As this was the final month for the Secret Sister swap I sent a card first and then the final card & gift for the reveal.

For this card I used a stamp set I hadn’t played with yet called ‘Playful Petals’. I was really happy with this card and I even managed to use Bold Bright colours.

The colours I’ve used are from the Colour Coach again. This time using Pink Passion, Lavender Lace, Green Galore & Brocade Blue. I’ve also used a Rhinestone Brad for the centre, layered the flower and also added some Dazzling Diamonds on the dotted part of the main flower centre.

Here’s a closer look:

So do you think I’m getting better with the Bold Brights?

Happy Stamping

Nikki

August Part 2

2009-10-08T10:00:00.000+11:00

My second card and final item for August I used Bold Brights and the wonderful Great Friend stamp set from the current Spring Mini Catalogue. The card is a CASE of one of Marelle Taylors cards we did at a recent team meeting. I loved the layout of this card.

I’ve actually made this card in a few combinations and even though I’m not a ‘Bold Brights’ person I was very happy with this card.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

July Card 2

2009-10-07T16:34:00.001+11:00

Well I’ve gotten out of order as I thought I’d already posted this card. Never mind I’m sure you’re just happy to see things.

This was the second card I sent for July. I used one of my Secret Sisters favourite stamp sets called Flight of the Butterfly. I have used a colour combination for this one and not used any Bold Brights.

The colours I’ve used are Mellow Moss, Regal Rose, So Saffron and Brocade Blue. The Regal Rose DSP is from the Level 1 Hostess set Patterns Pack II DSP.

I wasn’t 100% happy with this card but I’m not sure if it was because it was out of my normal ‘comfort’ zone or not. I wouldn’t normally pick these colours to go together but it was a combination from the Colour Coach so I gave it a go.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

August Part 1

2009-10-07T16:22:00.000+11:00

In August I sent my gift first again. My Secret Sister had mentioned that Ribbon was something she was lacking in so I decided to send her some to play with. For presentation I decided to use one of the DVD tins I had purchased a little while back and was yet to put to use.

I mentioned how my Secret Sister liked Bold Brights so I chose to use the Raspberry Tart DSP. There is only Real Red from Bold Brights in this DSP but it is nice a bright so I was hoping she would like it. I also used Sweet Stems and Basic Phrases stamp sets.

This is the front of the decorated DVD tin.

and this is the inside.

The left side contains a length of each of the Taffeta ribbons and the right side has a length of each of the 1/2” Striped Grosgrain Ribbons.

This is the coordinating card that was sent along with it.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

You may have guessed….

2009-10-03T08:00:00.000+10:00

that I finally have my regular computer back after 2 weeks of being in for repairs. This time they replaced not only what they determined the error to be but also an extra part just in case. They didn’t want me having to take it back yet again. So far so good but I’m still going to cross fingers, toes, legs, etc for a few more days.

What will this mean?

Hopefully some more regular posting and also now that the Secret Sister Swap I was in for the last 3 months is over and the reveal is done I have all my items I made for that to share with you.

The swap rules were that each month (July, August & September) we had to send at least 2 cards and 1 handmade gift with the final month being a gift containing some SU supplies as it was run only with fellow Australian Demonstrators.

I had a wonderful Secret Sister and I’ve shared the odd thing with you that I have CASED from her items she sent me. I do know who it was and will email her to see if she is sharing these on her blog and/or whether she is okay with my sharing them here of course giving her full credit.

At the start of the swap we received a questionnaire which we completed and sent back to the organiser who then forwarded them to our partner. This gave us some information about the stamp sets, SU colour family they liked along with some other information. Now my partner was a challenge in regards to colour family as her favourite was Bold Brights and if you have been reading my blog for a little while you will know that it is my least used colour family. At first I stressed about this but in the end decided to just go with what I liked but try and make things bright (using other colours or mixing them) and using some of her favourite stamp sets too.

I won’t be showing you everything in one post otherwise what would I show you tomorrow and the day after…..lol So I will spread them out over the next week or so.

As we had no particular order in which we had to send (i.e. we didn’t have to send Card 1 and then Card 2 and gift) I decided to make my first item a card & handmade gift.

When sending my gifts I coordinated the cards using dsp, cardstock, ribbons, etc.

This was the first card I sent:

With this card I used a Mojo Monday Sketch, one of my SS favourite stamp sets (Priceless) and I have used Real Red, Kiwi Kiss and Pink Pirouette cardstock & inkpads. A Real Red brad and some Real Red grosgrain ribbon.

Along with the card I sent this gift:

This is one of Lauren Meader’s Timeless Templates called Lolli-Pop Along. There are no lollipops in mine so the insert is just a base and for the cover I have used Vellum and wheeled the So Swirly Jumbo wheel using Whisper White Craft Ink over it.

Here’s a side view:

Inside is of course my gift. My gift for this month was a jar of Embossing Powder (something on my SS wish list) and a handmade Post-It Note holder.

Tomorrow I’ll show you card 2 for July.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Bored Children???

2009-10-02T10:56:00.001+10:00

I don’t know about you but I don’t often recall as a child saying I was bored. The few toys I had would keep me occupied and as I got older I would keep myself busy by reading, listening to music, playing with friends, having fun outside roller skating or playing at the park, knitting or some other craft.

Why is it that our children have so much more than we did but they can still come out with the “I’m bored” comment? Is it just me or do your children do this too?

Well I heard this comment from a few of my girls ( I have 4 of them) last Sunday so I gave them something to do.

Jayne Mercer posted a message on her blog on the 8th September about how she and some of her team have started volunteering at Play Therapists at Westmead Children’s Hospital. On her last visit one of the staff was punching out shapes for the children to use in their art activities. Jayne asked if they could use some punched shapes which of course the answer was YES so now Jayne has put the word out to readers of her blog and fellow demonstrators to see if they can also help with this.

So as you can see by the picture above my ‘BORED’ girls went to work with my scrap cardstock and some punches (both SU and some old Carl punches) and we ended up with this bag full of different shapes to donate. I did help too but most of them stayed at it and I think for the next 1 1/2 – 2 hours there were no bored comments.

If you can assist with this also it would be much appreciated I’m sure. You can either send your donation of punched shaped directly to Jayne (her address is in her post mentioned above) or you can forward them to myself and I will hand deliver them to Jayne on November 21st when I catch up with her at Stampin’ Up Regionals. If you would like to send them through to me my address is 134 Frederick Street, Lalor Park NSW 2147. If you are local then feel free to drop them off.

P.S. I will be selling off my Carl and non-SU punches at the next Giant Craft Sale on 24th October so if you are after some punch bargains be there early.

Happy Punching,

Nikki

Christmas Ornaments

2009-09-26T16:25:00.001+10:00

Jayne Mercer recently posted a Kusudama Ball she had made using the Bella Rose DSP which reminded me that I had seen them done previous years using Christmas Papers. Now I’m usually not a folded paper sort of person but I have Christmas DSP from previous years that has now retired and I thought this would be a great way to use some (if not all) of it up.

So far I’ve made 2 using some of the Holiday Thyme DSP. Yes that’s right. It’s from 2 years ago. The ribbon is also Cranberry Crisp Double Stitched. So glad I kept some of that too now.

Here’s the 1st one:

and of course this is the 2nd one.

I’m really happy how they turned out and they are really quite easy. I think the hardest part is gluing the 2 halves together.

On another note, I hope to be posting more regularly later next week. Yes I know I keep saying this but my laptop is back in again (and has been for the last 10 days) for repairs and I so hope they phone and say it’s ready in the earlier part of the week. You don’t realise how much you rely on computers until they aren’t around and having this computer in another room than my craft room makes it harder to do some things. I’d also like it all set back up before school breaks up on Friday for 2 weeks. Not how I really want to spend school holidays.

World Card Making Day

2009-09-21T20:07:00.001+10:00

What is World Card Making Day?

World Card Making Day is a holiday especially for the card makers around the world to:

Celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family.
Kick off (and get a head start on) the holiday card-making season.

When is it?

The first Saturday of October every year, a great time to start the holiday card-making (if you haven’t already done so), which makes it the most popular time for creating and sharing handmade greetings.

Who is it for?

Card-makers worldwide, from beginners to more experienced, retailers & manufacturers. Anyone who loves to make and create.

Why have World Card Making Day?

It is a day to gather with friends and family and share their common interest in card-making while inspiring and motivating each other.

How do we celebrate World Card Making Day?

Well that’s where I come into it. I will be holding a World Card Making Day event at my home in Lalor Park NSW and you’re invited.

When: Saturday 3rd October
Where: Lalor Park NSW (full address will be supplied upon booking)
Time: 2pm – 5pm or 7pm - 10pm
Cost: $15
Bookings are essential and required by Sunday 27th September. You can book by emailing me or phone on 0418 218 467
Tea, Coffee, Cakes & Biscuits will be provided.

Would you like to see what we will be making? It won’t be Christmas Cards but still great gift ideas.

If you saw my previous post you will recognise the item on the left but I’ve glittered the Butterfly this time. The item on the right holds 3 of the cards shown and envelopes. All materials are supplied including the required chocolate.

So if you’d like to come along and make these items please email or phone me asap to reserve your spot.

Nikki

Mmmm….Chocolate…..

2009-09-16T11:52:00.001+10:00

Don’t we all love Chocolate??

Of course I do and this month I received another fabulous gift from my Secret Sister and one of them contained Chocolate. This month we find out who our Sisters were and then as long as I receive her okay I will share her wonderful gifts here for you all to see. They are all just gorgeous and I couldn’t have asked for a better Secret Sister and hope she had as great a partner as I did.

So back to the Chocolate that I received. It wasn’t so much that I received Chocolate but the way it was presented. From the front it looks like a card but when you open it up it displays the Chocolate which was all individually wrapped to match the rest of the card. Now the chocolate used for this was the Cadbury 8 Moments which I found is very hard to find but I managed and purchased what was left as I’m going to make these up for some gifts I need over the next month.

So I sat down on Sunday and went to work making up a template to recreate this wonderful idea. I chose to use the Walk in the Park DSP and coordinating colours along with the Great Friend stamp set from the Spring Mini catalogue. I really love this set and it’s funny as I nearly didn’t purchase it because I’d not long since purchased the Flight of the Butterfly set so figured I had enough butterflies. So glad I changed my mind as I use it all the time.

So would you like to see what I’ve been talking about?

Here’s the front:

and now for the inside:

Isn’t this a fabulous idea?

Don’t forget to check back soon as hopefully I’ll be able to share the one I received or at least supply a link to my Secret Sisters blog/website where she has posted to share.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

The Birthdays have started.

2009-09-13T13:32:00.001+10:00

A large part of my family seem to all have been born after September. There are 8 of us that celebrate birthdays born between January – August and then 12 that are from September – December. I’ve just worked out that it would be even if one of my sisters and her family celebrated and even if I worked on January – June and July – December. Never realised that before as it just seems that once my eldest daughter has her birthday it all starts happening. I guess it doesn’t help when my youngest has her birthday 2 days after my eldest either…..

So last weekend, yes it was also Fathers’ Day, my eldest and youngest both had a combined birthday party. My eldest’s Birthday actually fell on Fathers’ Day this year and my youngest was the Tuesday. We just had a small party at home with only a few friends each and it was nice. My eldest is 14 and in her second year at High School so it’s always nice to meet her friends as you don’t have that same association with the High School as you do with Primary. She was allowed to invite 5 friends which turned out to be 3 boys and 2 girls. 2 of the boys we already knew and they are all just friends (or so they tell us…..) so it was a fun afternoon for them all. The weather was great so they ended up playing some ball games, darts and a few other things. My youngest turned 8 and invited 3 of her friends and they just played Polly Pocket most of the time until they decided to go out and play in the cubby house and on the trampoline. We also had a pinata which as anyone with children would know, they love. Not sure if it’s the bashing the pinata they enjoy or just the lollies that come out when they have cracked it open.

As it was a pretty laid back party I wanted to make some lolly containers for them to take with them. Unfortunately I didn’t snap a picture of the ones I made for the boys (they’re probably in the bin by now too) but I did manage to take one of the girls.

I’ve used my favourite stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalogue called Great Friends and on the tag I have used Heat & Stick powder with Dazzling Diamonds to jazz it up for the girls. The boys boxes where done in Baja Breeze and I’d stamped the surfer from the Seaworthy set and they didn’t have a tag. These boxes are the Sevens Box that Marelle Taylor shared a tutorial for on her blog not too long ago. I’ve added a clear window on mine using a Transparency sheet and also included little tabs on the top side panel pieces to support my lid.

I was rather slack and didn’t make my girls Birthday cards, and don’t think I have for a few years now which is rather shameful to admit considering what I do….. My girls complained this year, which they had every right to do, so even though they are late I finally made them both a card today. I decided to use the latest Stamping411 Sketch and the Crazy for Cupcakes stamp set.

My eldest loves purple and my youngest doesn’t really have a favourite (or so she tells me…) so I created these cards for them.

For my eldest

and for my youngest

On the card for my youngest I’ve added Crystal Effects to the balloon.

I hope they like them and I must remember to make sure I make them all Birthday Cards from now on and on time.

Supplies: All supplies by Stampin’ Up unless specified

Lolly Box
Stamp Set: Great Friend
Card: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Versamark
Accessories: Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop, 1 3/8” & 1 1/4” Circle punches, Linen Thread, Pop-up Glue Dots, Transparency Sheet (non-SU)

Card 1
Stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes, Polka Dot
Card: Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Watercolour Paper
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink, Stazon Black
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Card 2
Stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes
Card: Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, Watercolour Paper, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Stazon Black
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Another Bella but more SU

2009-09-11T08:00:00.000+10:00

I’m going to share another Bella creation today, again coloured with Copics on Neenah card but most everything else is SU.

I chose to use the lovely Raspberry Tart papers for this card. Bet that’s not a big surprise…. Copic colours were selected to coordinate with the colours in the papers along with some grey shades for the metal parts on bikes. This brings me back to my younger days when my old boyfriend had a bike and we used to go on some great rides. Never looked this good on it though and used to hate the helmet hair…..lol

Here’s a list of supplies I used to create this card.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Simply Said, Biker Bella & Biker Babe (non-SU)
Card: Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Real Red,Raspberry Tart DSP, Neenah Classic Crest(non-SU)
Inks: Cameo Coral, Memento Black & Copic markers (non-SU)
Accessories: Real Red Brads (Bold Brights pack), Scallop Edge Punch, Mat Pack & piercer, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Nestabilities.

mwah…..

2009-09-10T11:32:00.001+10:00

I’d like to apologise for my sporadic posting lately. I have been a little busy with other things/commitments and a small computer repair and haven’t done a lot of creating of late and then when I have it’s been items for a Secret Sister swap I’m in or yahoo group commitments. Hence I can’t really share those things until the Secret Sister reveal later this month or the voting has been done on the group cards/items. This then means I should have a few things at least ready to share with you for next month.

I do have something to share with you today but there is minimal SU included in the card. In fact it’s only a couple of punches (scallop edge & word window) and some ribbon (elegant eggplant 1/4” grosgrain). That’s very unusual for me but I’m still really happy with the card and hope you don’t mind me sharing it here. The paper I’ve used has been stashed away for I don’t know how long so it was nice to put it to use finally.

The image on this card is a Stamping Bella called mwahbella, hence the post title and the card also has ‘mwah’ as the sentiment. I’m really happy with how this image turned out. I love the colour combo which I’m calling Elegant Eggplant and Kiwi Kiss (there’s another SU inclusion…lol). I think these colours go together lovely and might see what I can create with SU items and the true colours. Of course I’ve coloured using my Copic Markers again. So lovin’ these.

Look who’s turning…..

2009-09-06T18:00:00.001+10:00

One of my good friends little girl turned 5 last Monday and this is the card I made for her.

I knew I wanted to use one of my recent Sugar Nellie stamp purchases for the card and decided on the Candy Lane DSP pack from Stampin’ Up and went from there. The balloon was an after thought but one I’m happy with. I’ve coloured the main image with my Copic Markers to coordinate with the colours of the DSP pack.

Supplies: All items Stampin’ Up unless specified otherwise
Stamps: On Your Birthday, Occasional Greetings, Big Bold Birthday, Gorjuss – Just A Girl (Non-SU)
Card: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White (Non-SU)
Inks: Riding Hood Red inkpad, Close to Cocoa Marker, Memento Black (Non-SU), Copic Markers (Non-SU)
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Circle, 1 3/8” Circle, 1 1/4” Circle, Word Window and Scallop Edge Punches, Sponge dauber, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Urban Garden & Upsy Daisy

2009-08-25T10:00:00.000+10:00

If you are a regular blog surfer you have probably come across the name Andrea Walford before. Andrea resides in Canada but through her talent and website assists demonstrators all over the world with her Class & Workshop Planners. I purchased some of her planners a while back and hadn’t made time to create them. Recently I purchased a few more (you know how it is new creations, papers, stamps and you find one you must have now) and on Saturday night I finally completed one. Right now I’m just creating from myself but next year I will be making these sort of classes a regular monthly event so keep watch for more details towards the end of the year.

The one I’ve created to share with you is the Upsy Daisy Card & Box set which is actually from September 2008 so you’ve quite possibly seen this around by now. Andrea makes the instructions very easy to follow but I raced ahead on the last card and then had to improvise a step, but that’s one of the joy’s of stamping. I made a couple of other small alterations too.

So what change did I make?

See the Baja Breeze Birthday Celebrations card. The ribbon had to be added differently. I’m happy with the adjustment and if I hadn’t of said anything you may not have even realised.

Supplies: All Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Card: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Urban Garden DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy, Basic Gray
Accessories: Baja & Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads, 3/4” & 1” circle punches, Slit Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, 2 Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Kiwi Fancy

2009-08-24T07:00:00.000+10:00

Well yes I do have a ‘fancy’ for Kiwi Kiss as I think it’s a lovely colour but that’s not the ‘Fancy’ I’m talking about. Today’s card was made using the Flower Fancy stamp set. This set is a reasonably new purchase of mine and it has seen ink before this card, I’m just not sure if I was happy enough with my results to share it here. I’m not wrapped with this card either but I don’t totally dislike it. The colours are a Stampin’ Up suggested In Colour mix combination and yet again I’ve used another Mojo Monday Sketch.

So here’s the card.

What do you think?

The Mojo Monday sketch I’ve used is Week 30 and the colour combination is Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Perfect Plum and Pale Plum. I’m thinking what I don’t like is the Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP.

I might have to have another play with this one. Maybe change the colours around.

Supplies: All Stampin’ Up!
Stamps: Flower Fancy, Kind Thanks
Card: Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Watercolour Paper, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Slit Punch (for corners), Sponge Dauber, Aqua Painter, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Baja Thanks

2009-08-23T11:52:00.001+10:00

I don’t know about any other bloggers out there but I find one of the hardest things to decide on is the ‘post title’. If I always used the stamp set as the title I’m sure you’d see the same thing over and over again and think ‘I’ve already seen that one’ even though it’s a ‘new’ post….

Anyway I’m going with Baja Thanks today as the colour that is used the most is Baja Breeze and the sentiment is Thank You.

This card came about after seeing this lovely card on Lynn Put’s blog. You all know I’m not too fond of Bold Brights and Lynn hasn’t used them either but her card is lovely and bright. My card doesn’t resemble the layout or colours of Lynn’s. I did want to do something bright and cheery like Lynn’s but I couldn’t find a colour combination that I liked so instead I went with a blue version and also changed to a different Mojo Monday Sketch to that which Lynn has used.

So here’s my card.

See. Nothing like Lynn’s gorgeous card apart from the flower arrangement although I’m quite happy with it.

This stamp set, Enjoy Every Moment, is one I purchased when it first came out in the Spring Mini 2008. I didn’t buy it immediately it was only after seeing some lovely creations others were making with it. Guess what. After I purchased it I never used it. Well that is up until last night. I say this every year but I really am going to try this time and make sure I have used every stamp set I own more than once. Of course you have your favourites that you make heaps with but I’m hoping to even that out a bit this time.

The sketch I’ve used is Mojo Monday Week 17 and the colours are from SU Color Combo’s site. I think I selected Whisper White and Kiwi Kiss and it came back with lots of choices but I decided on the one that added Baja Breeze and Pacific Point. I haven’t used a lot of Pacific Point yet so it was nice to not only use a ‘new’ stamp set but some new colours too.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m decorating the inside of my cards now. I used to create inserts on the computer for my cards (I still do occasionally) but it really finishes a card off when you do the inside too. It doesn’t have to be much but it keeps the theme going.

Supplies: All Stampin’ Up unless specified.
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Baja Breeze Patterns DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: 1” & 1 1/4” Circle Punches, Scallop Edge Punch, Rhinestone Brad, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Nestabilities Circle Plain & Scallop.

Happy Stamping

Nikki

Fun & Fast Notes

2009-08-12T19:09:00.001+10:00

I received this stamp set as part of Convention 2008 and I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t think I’ve used it since. Now if you are a regular visitor to my blog you might realise that it’s not really a ‘me’ set.

Back in June another demonstrator invited me to come along to her team meetings. I’m not part of her downline but I have known her for a little while and she knows the situation with my upline. I feel very privileged to be included and I just want to stress to anyone considering joining SU or any other company to put some consideration into who you sign up under. Not everyone joins a company for the same reasons and not all offer extra help/guidance. Don’t sign up under someone just because you consider them a friend do some research and make sure you have someone that’s right for you.

Anyway back to the team meeting. In June those who attended where given ‘homework’. Can you believe that? I’ve been long out of school….lol Okay, no it wasn’t that sort of homework. We were all given a left over class kit and we had to create something using the pieces in the kit. We could add to it if we wished. This needed to be brought along to show at the August meeting which was earlier this week. Part of the reason for this was because no one took anything for ‘Show & Tell’ at the June meeting either so at least if no one did for August we still should have our homework to show.

My kit contained an A5 card in Almost Amethyst, a strip of So Saffron, a Whisper White piece for an image and a slightly larger piece of Lovely Lilac to layer the image onto.

Not colours I’ve used for a while but not colours I dislike either. Looking at the pieces I decided I’d use my long forgotten, very neglected, Fun & Fast Notes stamp set. You probably worked that one out already though seeing the title of this post…..lol

So would you like to see the very quick and simple card I created.

I was quite happy with this card. Quick and simple isn’t usually me either but that’s because I’m so used to layering that to not layer too much seems like more work for me.

I’ve used the Watercolor Joy wheel and Almost Amethyst inkpad over the bottom of the main card. Then added the So Saffron strip. The main image has been stamped using Stazon Black onto Whisper White and then coloured using a Blender Pen and inkpads. I’ve used So Saffron for the bird along with a tiny bit of Apricot Appeal for the beak, Certainly Celery for the flower stem, Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac for the flower with a touch of So Saffron for the centre.

After making this card I decided to make another and ‘Step It Up’.

For this card I decided to stamp onto Watercolor Paper instead of Whisper White. I left the words off the main image and stamped those separately onto Watercolour paper and punched out using the word window punch. Instead of using a strip of So Saffron cardstock I used So Saffron 1/2” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. I created a window in the front of the card using the word window punch and adhered the words inside the card so they can be seen through the window. The main image is coloured using an Aqua Painter and inkpads with a So Saffron brad for the centre of the flower.

And here it is.

In the end I used a couple of things I have not used for a while. The stamp set of course, the Watercolor Joy wheel too (I tend to use the Jumbo wheels more than the standard when I do use one) and my word window punch hasn’t been used in this way for a long time.

So what do you think? Did I do okay?

hey there!

2009-08-11T09:00:00.000+10:00

That’s one of the stamps in the Really Retro stamp set by Stampin’ Up!. I think it fits perfectly with the card I’m going to show you today. Today’s card is another mixed card which I’m really happy with. The layout is from Mojo Monday Week 43.

For this card I chose to use the Haiku DSP. When using my Copic Markers to colour I always select my DSP first as it makes selecting my marker colours much easier.

Supplies:
SU items -
Stamp set: Really Retro
Card: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Haiku DSP
Accessories: Old Olive Brads (Earth Elements pack), Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals
Non-SU items -
Stamp: Tatiana Ketto (Stamping Bella)
Card: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers
Accessories: Nestabilities.

Something a little different

2009-08-10T10:00:00.000+10:00

Almost everything I share on my blog is made using Stampin’ Up! products only apart from the occasional tool I might use such as Nestabilities in a card here and there. I love Stampin’ Up! and their products but sometimes it’s nice to use other things too. About 12 months or so ago I purchased a few Copic Markers locally but due to the price of them and me wondering whether or not I’d use them I didn’t buy any more.

If you follow Makeesha Byl’s blog at all you might recall not too long ago she purchased some Copic Markers. After seeing her lovely creations and how she combined them with SU products I decided to take the plunge and purchase some more myself, and then some more, and maybe a few more…lol. Of course I then had to purchase some stamps from Stamping Bella and also some Sugar Nellie stamps too to use with my new Copics.

Since joining Stampin’ Up! back in June 2006 I don’t think I’ve spent much money at all on anything bar SU products so this was a bit unusual for me but I think it was just what I needed. I’m in the process of making some changes to my SU business so the past 2 months have been a bit different for me and my enthusiasm has died a little. Doing something a little different is helping get me back on track.

The card I’m going to show you today, and the one tomorrow, where both made a few weeks back. I’ve been a bit slack with photographing and editing the pictures to share with you all. Hopefully I’ll be back on track soon with more regular posts and I sure hope you don’t mind seeing a combination of SU and other items in some of my posts.

Today’s card layout was a past Bella Sketch. I’m still not sure if it’s missing something though. I just feel the bottom right corner is a bit bare (picture the watermark not there) but I can’t work out what I could put there. Maybe it’s just me. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous Raspberry Tart DSP as I love the colours in it. The stamp is Imeldabella which I just had to have after my good friend recently had a shoe splurge. Now how many pairs did she buy? 10 or was it 12? Maybe it was more? It was during a sale though, so why not. After all ‘it’s a girl thing’….

Supplies:
SU Items-
Stamps:Sanded
Card: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Flower Designer Brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Non-SU items-
Stamps: Imeldabella, It’s a Girl Thing (Stamping Bella)
Card: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers

Tri-Shutter Cards

2009-08-09T19:57:00.001+10:00

I’m sure you’ve seen some of these Tri-Shutter cards around by now especially if you’re a regular visitor to Splitcoaststampers. Two weeks ago in the SCS Weekly Inkling the Tri-Shutter Card was the featured tutorial. I’d been meaning to try these for a little while but my stamping has been a bit sporadic over the past 2 months or so and I’ve only just had a go over the weekend.

I made 3 in total, 2 similar, all made using the Great Friend Stamp set from the Spring Mini combined with the coordinating Walk in the Park DSP, but there’s a bit of a story to go with this.

I started making my 1st card on Friday afternoon. I wanted to get a start on it before my fortnightly stamp night with friends that night. I chose the DSP print that I wanted to use along with the base cardstock. I then made the base card up. Next I decided to put a stamped piece in the middle front section and add some DSP to the top and bottom of the front base piece. I also covered the back fold with the same DSP print. Once this was done I chose a print for the middle top and bottom sections. Then I came to a halt. I kept looking at it thinking ‘not sure if I like this’. I ended up putting it aside, took it out for stamp night, showed the ladies what I’d done so far but wasn’t sure about it. Nothing more was done with it that night.

Late Saturday afternoon I decided to make another using a different colour combination. It was inspired by this card made by Vera Schoeters. I finished this card while stamping with my good friend that night. So this is really my first completed Tri-Shutter but I’m still calling it my second…lol.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Great Friend
Card: Basic Gray, Walk in the Park DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Versamark
Accessories: Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon, Trio Flower Punch, 1/2 backed pearls (Pretties Kit), White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Rub-on (retired SU)

After completing this one I pulled the first one back out. My friend made a few suggestions and away I went. I was happy with the end result. I liked the one above but I think I like this one more as it’s much more colourful and to think it almost went into the garbage. So glad I decided to hold on to it for a little and relook at it.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Great Friend
Card: Baja Breeze, Cameo Coral, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP, So Saffron DSP
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Cameo Coral, Basic Gray
Accessories: Button Bouquet, So Saffron 1/2” Striped Grosgrain, Clear Embossing Powder, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I had a reason for making this card which meant it wasn’t staying with me (hence the blank cameo coral piece so I could write a message on) so I decided to make another. I made a few changes as you will see below.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Great Friend
Card: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Whisper White, Walk in the Park DSP
Ink: Cameo Coral, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Button Bouquet, Baja Breeze 5/8” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots.

So which one do you like? Leave me a comment and let me know.

July Class

2009-07-28T16:30:00.001+10:00

After revisiting the Faux Silk technique at Marelle Taylors last month I decided to make that the focus for my class this month. Class was originally scheduled for last Thursday 23rd but had to be moved to this Thursday 30th from 7.30pm – 9.30pm. Class is held in my home at Lalor Park NSW and there are still a few spots available if you would like to attend. You would need to let me know by 2pm Thursday at the latest so I have kits ready. To reserve a spot email me now.

In the class you will get to make a sample of the technique to go on your technique page (which I provide), a card using the technique, a corner bookmark and a post-it note holder. Cost of the class is $20 with all materials supplied.

Here’s a picture of the class items.

I place my technique pages into one of the Stampin’ Up Art Journals for easy reference. This isn’t included with the class but you can order one if you wish.

August Class will be held on Thursday 27th at 7.30pm – 9.30pm.

Yet another Cupcake….

2009-07-14T10:30:00.000+10:00

Yes that’s right I’ve made another Crazy for Cupcake card. I promise not to inundate you with them though and to create some cards/items using other stamp sets too…..lol

I’ve used the Candy Lane DSP in this card again (just love the colours) and the layout inspiration comes from Nancy Riley’s gorgeous card.

Now you might not be able to tell from this picture but the cupcake frosting sparkles.

Here’s a closer look.

This isn’t the best shot but you can see the sparkle….

I’ve used a Sneak Peek from the upcoming Mini in my card too. Can you guess what it is?

Supplies:
Stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes
Card: Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Watercolor Paper, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 2-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, Aqua Painter and ????

Crystal Inspired 2

2009-07-13T11:00:00.000+10:00

Hopefully you read yesterday’s post and are here to see what other combination I made Makeesha’s lovely card in from her Make It Monday #36 tutorial. Now if you didn’t see yesterday’s card then scroll down and check it out.

Here is my other combination:

and a close up to show the Crystal Effects:

Can you guess what the colours are??

Well here’s a list of supplies just in case.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Inspired by Nature
Card: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive & Tangerine Tango* Stampin’ Write Markers, Kiwi Kiss & Chocolate Chip Inkpads
Accessories: Tangerine Tango 5/8” Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads, Crystal Effects, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Mat Pack & Piercing Tool.

Which colour combination do you like?

If you have another combination that you have created this card in please leave me a comment with a link to check it out or if there is another combination you’d like to see let me know also by leaving a comment and I’ll see what I can do for you.

Crystal Inspired 1

2009-07-12T20:00:00.001+10:00

During June Makeesha Byl created a lovely card tutorial for Make It Monday #36. Makeesha used the Inspired by Nature stamp set and Crystal Effects.

I finally managed to make time to do the tutorial and CASE Makeesha’s lovely card. I did change one thing on my cards (can you pick it??) and I also created another using different colours.

Here is my version of Makeesha’s card:

and here’s a close up of the flowers so you can see the Crystal Effects:

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Inspired by Nature
Card: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip & Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers, Kiwi Kiss Inkpad, Stazon Black inkpad
Accessories: Real Red 1/2” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Crystal Effects, Bold Brights Brads, Mat Pack & Piercer.

I really liked this card but wondered how it would look in ………………..

Come back tomorrow and see what the other combination was I tried.

Another cupcake

2009-07-06T17:05:00.000+10:00

I told you that you would see more of this set ‘Crazy for Cupcakes’ over the next few weeks but you might not have thought it would be this soon. Seeing that I had stamped 2 images onto a sheet of watercolor paper I thought I may as well use the other one now too.

Today’s card was actually inspired but this card by justcrazy on SCS. I really like the Candy Lane DSP. Does that sound familiar? I guess that’s because I really like most of the DSP in the IB&C. Wait till you see the new DSP coming in the Spring Mini starting 1st August. To think only a few years ago I very very rarely used Scrapbooking papers in my stamping projects. What was I thinking?????

As mentioned I’ve used the Candy Lane DSP in this card which uses the following colours: Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla. I’ve used Whisper White for my sentiment though as the Watercolour paper is more white than vanilla too.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Crazy for Cupcakes, Short & Sweet
Card: Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Stazon Black, Going Gray
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Large & Small Oval, Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Kiwi Crazy

2009-07-06T09:26:00.001+10:00

I just looovveee Kiwi Kiss. This probably surprises you after my last post about Bold Bright colours but there’s just something about it.

Guess what else?

It looks really good with Real Red…lol. I did say I didn’t dislike the Bold Brights just that they weren’t my most used colour family. I like certain colours teamed with other colours from the remaining colour families and of course the In Colors. So today’s card is mainly Real Red & Kiwi Kiss.

The stamp set I’ve used, if you haven’t already guessed from the post title, is Crazy for Cupcakes. There’s a little story behind this too. I didn’t own this set a little while back and my downline did, so when we caught up she brought her set along so I could stamp some images. As she was leaving I told her if I didn’t have a ‘Crazy for Cupcakes’ card up on my blog within a week or two to say something to me. Well I didn’t and when I caught up with her again last week she mentioned this. So now I have finally used one of the images I stamped out from her set that day. I have also since purchased my own set so keep watch if you like Cupcakes as you will probably see a little more of it over the next few weeks.

Enough talk, I’m sure you all just want to see it, so here it is.

When I decided to make this card I knew I wanted to use some of the gorgeous Raspberry Tart DSP so that’s where my colours come from. The colours that coordinate with the Raspberry Tart DSP are Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Pretty In Pink & Kiwi Kiss. The only colour I haven’t used is Cameo Coral. To colour the image I used an Aqua Painter and inkpads. I’ve used my Nestabilities to cut out and layer the cupcakes which you might see a little more of on my cards as it’s pointless having them if I never use them just so I use only SU. After all I’m sure I’m not the only one that owns these, am I?

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Crazy for Cupcakes, On Your Birthday
Card: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Watercolor paper, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Kiwi Kiss, Real Red, Rose Red, Pretty In Pink
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Nestabilities Oval Plain & Scallop (non-SU)

Blog Candy Winner is…

2009-07-05T19:33:00.001+10:00

Only 6 comments (with one being a demo) so that brings it down to a 1 in 5 chance to win. So who is the winner you ask….

Here are the results from Random.org

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-07-05 09:28:41 UTC

Which means that Kathryn Mangelsdorf is the lucky winner.

Kathryn if you can please email me your snail mail address I’ll get your prize in the mail to you asap.

Thanks to everyone else who left a comment to.

A Bold Challenge

2009-07-05T15:55:00.001+10:00

What’s my least used colour family?

I’m sure some of you know.

If you answered ‘Bold Brights’ then you are correct.

Now it’s not that I don’t like the colours in Bold Brights but I much prefer Earth Elements, Rich Regals and Soft Subtles and tend to use these colours more often or a combination of them in my creations. Of course the In Colors are favourites too but I’m just talking about the regular colour families here.

So seeing I don’t often use Bold Brights but I do have them I issues myself a challenge and that was to create a card using only Bold Bright colours along with 1 neutral which was Whisper White.

I’m still unsure about these cards and would love all honest comments and/or suggestions regardless of whether you like them or not.

I had a few colours I wanted to try together so I went on over to the SU Color Combo site and selected those colours and searched for another colour. I ended up selecting 2 of the combinations that came back.

This is the first card made using Real Red, Yoyo Yellow, Pink Passion, Pixie Pink and Orchid Opulence.

I’ve used the ‘Priceless’ stamp set and ‘So Swirly’ jumbo wheel along with the white gel pen to add some highlights to the wheeled portion. The layout of this card was taken for a Mojo Monday Sketch and it is for Week 71.

For the second card I’ve used the same layout but on a standard size card, used the same stamp set but substituted Gable Green for the Orchid Opulence.

For the final card I have made so far I went with only 2 Bold Bright colours along with Whisper White and also changed the stamp set to ‘Flight of the Butterfly’.

The colours I’ve used on this next one is Real Red and Yoyo Yellow.

I’m thinking I like this one better. Even though it’s still bright I like the simplicity of the card along with just the 2 Bold Brights colours.

So what do you think? Do I do okay? Do you like one more than the others? Should I just stick with my comfort colours?

Sweet Always gifts

2009-07-03T14:31:00.001+10:00

My last post showed you a gift box made using some of the Sweet Always DSP and some Fresh-Cut Notes that were decorated with various papers and today I’m going to show you a few more things I made with the Sweet Always DSP.

I also mentioned in the last post that the gift was an overdue present for a family member. (I sure hope she isn’t reading this…..) Anyway it’s actually a late Mother’s Day gift for my Step-mother. I was running a little late with getting something off to her but when I phoned on Mother’s Day to wish her a lovely day I was informed that they (my dad and step-mother) were off on a lovely 3 1/2 week holiday to Italy and some surrounding areas the following Friday. Well I meant to get something made and to her before they left but it didn’t happen. Of course I should have made sure it was done and off to her so it would arrive a few days after they got home. But no, that didn’t happen either. My step-mother is a lovely lady who totally understands how busy things can get and I’m sure will enjoy the package I sent her today. Finally.

So enough of an explanation, here are the rest of the items I’ve sent to her.

Firstly her late Mother’s Day card.

I’ve inked the heart from the ‘Always’ stamp set with Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip markers. The Happy Mother’s Day was stamped with versamark and embossed with White EP.

Next is a Paper Block Holder which is one of Makeesha Byl’s wonderful tutorials.

And the final item is a Post-It Note holder (originally from Makeesha but I’ve adapted it to fit the longer Post-It notes).

The verse is from the ‘Dreams Du Jour’ stamp set which has been inked using Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip markers. I’ve used my Nestabilities to frame this.

This is the inside with a decorated pen. I’ve used the same DSP as the front cover.

While my dad and step-mother were away it was actually my birthday. My step-mother being the lovely organised person she is made sure my card arrived on time (no slacker like me) and then about a week after they arrived home I received a note card and a lovely Lorenzo Venuti bracelet all the way from Murano Italy. My gift doesn’t seem to compare but I hope she likes them and can put them to use.

Some old, some new and some Blog Candy

2009-06-29T08:00:00.001+10:00

Diane Barnes (a fellow Australian Demonstrator) posted a this lovely card to her blog on Friday which I just had to CASE. I also love her Bag in the same post but I didn’t need that just now.

I’m actually running late with a gift for a family member. Nothing out of the ordinary there for me unfortunately. I really need to get my act together.

After seeing Diane’s card I knew this was one of the items I wanted to make. I ended up making a set of 10 cards and matching envelopes using a combination of retired and new items. I then needed a gift box to put them all in.

This is my selection of cards:

I’ve used the Fresh-Cut Notes and envelopes to create these cards along with some polka dot print DSP in the following colours: Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Apricot Appeal, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Brilliant Blue. The papers are from the Sampler Pack II (which is a Level 1 Hostess selection in the current IB&C), Retired Prints DSP from last year or the Sampler Pack which was a promotion from last year. The lower edge was punched using the Scallop Edge punch. The buttons used are also another retired item which I have tied some crochet cotton through. Some of the cards have felt flowers from either Flower Fusions or Flower Fusions Too (both current) and those that didn’t have a coordinating felt flower I have punched a 5 petal flower from the retired Spring Bouquet Punch. The sentiment on the cards if from my favourite Level 1 Hostess set called ‘Best Yet’.I have stamped the vine image from the Fresh Cuts stamp set onto the envelopes using a coordinating colour.

Now for the gift box. Unfortunately apart from Basic Black there was no cardstock colour I could think of that would coordinate with all the colours I’ve used. Now I don’t dislike black but these cards look too soft to be placed in a black box……. Don’t you agree?? So what colour did I go for?

Rose Red & Regal Rose. How did I make my decision? That was easy. The Sweet Always DSP has a lovely polka dot print in Regal Rose. Even though it’s a smaller polka dot print to those used on the cards I still thought it fit and well I guess out of the standard colours Regal Rose is one of my favourites and definitely my favourite Pink.

I haven’t done a lot to the box. I wrapped some Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon around the lid and then dyed 2 of the flowers from the Pretties Kit (1 in Rose Red and the other in Regal Rose) and then added a large 1/2 backed pearl to the centre.

Obviously this is the box open with the cards inside. I’m sure it will be warmly received. Notice I’ve put the Regal Rose one on top…lol

Now for the blog candy.

While making these cards I realised I had some brand new packs of the Sampler Packs of DSP offered in May 2008 in the Palette O’ Prints Promotion. These packs contain 48 sheets of 6” x 6” double-sided Prints Designer Series Papers. There are 4 colours in the pack: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, So Saffron and Almost Amethyst. Each colour has 12 sheets, 2 of each print.

If you would like to win a pack then just leave me a comment on this post by 6pm Sunday 5th July and you will be in with a chance. I will use Random.org to pick a winner later that evening.

This offer is open to Australian residents only who are not Stampin’ Up demonstrators. Demonstrators are welcome to leave a comment just add that you are a demonstrator so I don’t include you in the drawing please.

Happy stamping,

Faux Silk Inspiration

2009-06-28T14:46:00.003+10:00

Last Thursday I went along to one of Marelle Taylor’s classes she put on for her demonstrators. The class was on Faux Silk and Faux Tiles. This was her technique class for June but she put an extra on for her downline.

Now I have done both these techniques in the past but it’s been a while and it’s always nice to see what others create and also to stamp with others. Marelle created a lovely card using the Faux Silk technique and the Inspired by Nature stamp set.

I won’t be showing you the actual card we made as I’m sure Marelle will share it with you soon on her blog but I came home and was inspired to make more. I needed to make some birthday cards that I’m late with and also to have some on hand for upcoming birthdays for some fellow stampers so on Friday night I made another 6 cards using the same colours Marelle chose and then decided to see what other combinations would look nice.

This is my first colour combination of Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Riding Hood Red. I also made 6 in this combination. This colour selection came from the SU Color Combos site along with the other 2 colour combinations I tried.

The next colour combination is Old Olive, So Saffron, Regal Rose & Rose Red.

For the final combination (I was getting a little tired of the technique by now seeing this last card was the 14th overall) I used Bravo Burgundy, Pretty In Pink, Rose Red and Certainly Celery.

Apart from changing the colours from those Marelle used I’ve also changed the sentiment. When you see Marelle’s card you will see how soft her colour combination is to those I’ve used. It is beautiful but I hope you like my choices too.

Supplies: (All 3 combined)
Stamp sets: Inspired by Nature, Sincere Salutations, Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel
Card: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss, Bravo Burgundy, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Old Olive, Pretty In Pink & Certainly Celery Markers, Mellow Moss, Riding Hood Red, Regal Rose, Bravo Burgundy, Kiwi Kiss & Certainly Celery inkpads
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped Ribbon, So Saffron Striped Ribbon, Bravo Burgundy Grosgrain, Punches: Wide Oval, Large Oval & Label, Glue Stick, Sponge Daubers, White Tissue Paper (non-SU)

Happy stamping,

Some challenges from me

2009-06-21T08:00:00.007+10:00

This week on Stampin’ Up in Oz (an Australian Yahoo group for anyone who loves Stampin’ Up!) I uploaded a Sketch Challenge and a colour challenge for members to participate in if they wish.

I thought I’d share them on here also and if you create something using both or either then please feel free to share your creation using Mr Linky (if I’ve managed to get it to work correctly) otherwise just leave a link in the comments.

This is the Sketch Challenge:

and this is the Colour Challenge:

This is my 1st sample. I’ve also used a new hostess set which hadn’t seen ink until now.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Live Like You Mean It, Sanded
Card: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White, Tea Party DSP
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Soft Subtle Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Stamp-a-ma-jig

For my second card I’ve turned the sketch on it’s side and made a small alteration. Again I’ve used both the colour and sketch together. This is also the first time I’ve used this set.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Flight of the Butterfly
Card: Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Regal Rose DSP (Hostess Pack)
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Ice Rhinestone Brad, Word Window Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals, White Gel Pen.

Happy stamping,

Step it Up!

2009-06-20T13:16:00.002+10:00

Over on Marelle Taylor’s Blog she has issued a challenge for June to make a card and then ‘Step it Up!’

I needed to make a birthday card this morning for a good friend of mine and decided to not only make her a card but participate in Marelle’s challenge. My friend is receiving the ‘stepped up’ card.

I chose to use the Haiku DSP as it’s a favourite of my friend and I teamed it with the Eastern Influence stamp set. I also used a SCS sketch, SC233, which I also used for my June 2-step stamping class. I’ll share those items at a later date.

This is my original card:

and here is the ‘Stepped Up’ version.

I’ve only made a few additions of some brads and also popped up the flower.

I might yet try to step this one up even more but for now this will do.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Eastern Influence, On Your Birthday
Card: So Saffron, Old Olive, Watercolour Paper, Haiku DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Old Olive, So Saffron, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Aqua Painiter, Earth Elements Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Happy stamping,

Cheep Talk

2009-06-15T08:00:00.000+10:00

I don’t tend to create a lot of ‘cute’ cards as you may have noticed and mainly use flowers in my cards. In March when demonstrators were given a few select items that we could order from the upcoming IB&C (now released IB&C) one of the sets included was Good Friends. Now I thought the bird was quite cute but seeing it was so large I didn’t think I would use it but I was hoping we’d get the smaller set called Cheep Talk in the full IB&C and of course we did. So yes I ordered it. (I also have Good Friends after using my downlines set and liking it. Surprise, Surprise…..)

At present I have a few sets on my stamp tables that I am making sure I use before going back to some others that have already seen a fair bit of ink. I’m determined not to have any uninked sets or minimally used sets in my collection from the current IB&C this time around. One of the sets on my table is Cheep Talk.

In the last couple of days in what little spare time I’ve had I’ve created 2 cards using this set.

For this first card I initially chose another Splitcoast Sketch Challenge #SC229 and for colours I went with those in the Good Morning Sunshine DSP I chose to use, but as I was sitting the layers on the card to see if I liked it before adhering, I decided to change it and also add some more DSP that I initially wasn’t going to use. The end result is this.

and for the inside of this card I’ve added a little matching dsp

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Cheep Talk
Card: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point, So Saffron
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon.

For card #2 I’ve used Splitcoast Sketch Challenge #SC183 and have used Windsor Knot DSP and coordinating colours.

and for the inside I’ve just stamped the bird.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Cheep Talk
Card: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Sage Shadow, Whisper White, Windsor Knot DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron, Sage Shadow
Accessories: Rhinestone Brads – Fire, Earth Elements Brads, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Piercing template & tool (Tool Kit)

My sunglasses card…

2009-06-14T10:00:00.000+10:00

I don’t mean that this card actually looks like sunglasses but you may wish to put some on before checking out the card……lol.

This is so not my colours that I would grab myself but following along from the last card in yesterday’s post I chose another Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and Colour Challenge.

The Sketch Challenge is #SC218 and I’ve teamed it with Colour Challenge #CC218. The colours for CC218 are Summer Sun, Only Orange and Kiwi Kiss. Now I looovvee Kiwi Kiss but Summer Sun and Only Orange are totally not colours I normally go for but a challenge is supposed to be just that.

I don’t totally dislike the card but as you will see it’s very different for me.

So are you ready. Do you have those sunglasses on??

Okay, here it is.

I haven’t decorated the inside yet as I’m still adjusting to the outside…

So do you see what I mean by it’s so not my normal??

Supplies:
Stamp set: Echoes of Kindness (Hostess), En Francais
Card: Summer Sun, Only Orange, Watercolor Paper, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Kiwi Kiss, Summer Sun, Only Orange
Accessories: Aqua Painter, Vintage Brads, Paper Piercing template & tool (Tool Kit).

Upsy Daisy Thanks

2009-06-13T14:20:00.001+10:00

Finally I’ve managed to allocate some time to photographing, editing and posting some more cards.

Recently I discovered Kim Badelt’s blog, thanks to Makeesha, and love the cards she creates but I especially like how she decorates the inside of the card too. It really finishes the card off nicely. I also attended one of Marelle’s classes last week and she did the same in one of her cards. I won’t share those with you yet though as it was her Stamp-A-Stack class for June so she will share them next month I’m sure and if she doesn’t show the inside I’ll post mine up then.

Today’s cards are using the Upsy Daisy stamp set and yes I’ve started decorating the inside of my cards now too.

This first card I’ve first stamped the Daisies in Baja Breeze onto Whisper White card and then I’ve stamped slightly to the right of the first image in Not Quite Navy. This gives a subtle shadow which creates a bit of depth to the image.

and this is the inside

I haven’t done a lot for the inside as I think the daisy image is enough on it’s own.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Upsy Daisy, Thank You Kindly
Card: Not Quite Navy, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Urban Garden DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Silver Hodgepodge, Corner Rounder Punch

For the second card I’ve used Stampin’ Write Markers to colour the daisies.

and for the inside I’ve just stamped the daisies in Not Quite Navy.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Upsy Daisy
Card: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss Patterns DSP
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy (inkpads & markers) [Kiwi Kiss marker has been made using Carol Dunstan’s tutorial]
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Corner Rounder Punch.

For my last Upsy Daisy card I’m going to share with you today I selected a Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge #SC215 and then used the Splitcoaststampers Colour Challenge #CC215. The colour challenge was Pink Pirouette, Rose Red and Basic Gray. I also threw in Very Vanilla.

and for the inside I’ve just stamped the daisies again but in Pink Pirouette.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Upsy Daisy
Card: Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray, Raspberry Tart DSP, Urban Garden DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Basic Gray
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Corner Rounder Punch.

Inspired Thanks.

2009-06-02T07:30:00.000+10:00

Taking a break from catty casing to show you a couple of quick cards I’ve made using the Inspired by Nature stamp set.

This first one I’ve used So Saffron, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss. I’ve inked up the stamp using sponge daubers and then very lightly spritzed with water before stamping onto Whisper White card stock. The word ‘Thanks’ is from the ‘Thank You Kindly’ stamp set (Kind Thanks stamp) and has been inked up with Tangerine Tango, stamped onto Whisper White, punched out with the small oval punch and the edges have been sponged with Kiwi Kiss using a sponge dauber.

I lovely how quick and easy this card was so decided to make another using a different colour scheme. This time I’ve used Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Close to Cocoa.

Have I mentioned before how much I’m lovin’ this years In Colors. I’m so glad they are staying around a little longer. An extra 5 months with these colours suit me just fine…….lol

Happy stamping,

Catty Casing Part 2

2009-06-01T07:00:00.000+10:00

Today I have another 2 catty CASES and 2 of my adaptations to share with you.

This first card is using the Eastern Influence stamp set and is on page 77 in the IB&C.

The colours used are So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Garden Green and Very Vanilla. This is such a pretty set and I can’t wait to play more with it.

For my adaptation I needed to increase the size of my card as I choose ‘A Rose is a Rose’ stamp set and the rose is much bigger than the one in Eastern Influence. The colour combination I went with is Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Basic Gray.

I left the button off this one as it just didn’t go. Well that’s my opinion anyway.

My next catty CASE is the lovely soft card on page 114 using ‘Three Little Words’. I like the colour combination in this one and it is a reasonably simple and quick card to recreate.

The colours used are Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Old Olive and Very Vanilla.

Using the same layout I choose the Bloomin’ With Beauty stamp set. New sets are wonderful but we can’t neglect our carry over sets either.

As I was making this card I wasn’t too sure about it. I much prefer to stamp this set on Watercolour paper and use my aqua painter to colour but I wanted a Vanilla not a White. I’ve stamped onto Very Vanilla using Basic Brown ink and then coloured using my Blender Pen and Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Kiwi Kiss inkpads. I almost stopped after mounting it onto the Chocolate Chip layer but thought once I had the base card done I’d make the decision before layering it on. I’m glad I kept going as I’m reasonably happy with the results. Might still recreate though with Watercolour paper and see how much different it looks.

Happy stamping,

Catty Casing….

2009-05-31T07:00:00.001+10:00

Friday night was stamp night and I was determined to make at least a few cards on the night. All too often I get chatting and eating and don’t end up making anything and considering we usually stamp for 5 – 6 hours that’s really not good.

I decided that I would CASE a card from the current IB&C and then recreate something using the same layout but different stamps, colours, etc.

The first card I decided to case is using a Level 1 Hostess set called Organic Grace. This card is on page 17 of the IB&C.

The colours used are Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Mellow Moss and Whisper White.

Sticking with the layout I decided to go with something more bold and came up with this.

The colours on this card are Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Pacific Point and Whisper White. I’ve used the Petal Pizzazz and On Your Birthday stamp sets.

The next card I decided to CASE from the IB&C is this one which is on page 54 and is using the Cheers to You stamp set.

The colours used her are Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip with the images stamped onto Watercolour Paper using Stazon Jet Black.

Again I stuck with the layout and created this card.

This card is using the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set along with Bashful Blue, Basic Gray, Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White.

I managed to CASE one other card from the IB&C but I’m still working on my alternative for you so hopefully I’ll have that and more to share with you over the next few days.

Happy stamping,

Post-It Note Holders

2009-05-30T12:15:00.000+10:00

Each month at my Stamp Club the ladies get to make a little something and this month it was a Post-It Note holder. This tutorial is from Splitcoaststampers and is by who other than Makeesha Byl. I’m sure you all know by now how much I love the projects Makeesha comes up with.

This is my first Post-It Note Holder I had made up to show the ladies. Yes I’ve used Fifth Avenue Floral again.

On the night I make one to demonstrate and the ladies work along with me. For this one I decided to use Washington Apple DSP and I’ve only just finished decorating the front using the Petal Pizzazz stamp set.

It’s amazing how many different colours and sizes the Post-It Notes come in these days. I won’t tell you how many I purchased in varying sizes and colours but keep checking back as I’ve altered the pattern for the holders to make some larger size ones which will hold a pen instead of a small pencil. I still need to finish decorating though so and will share soon. Some of the colours go lovely with Stampin’ Up’s Designer Series Papers.

Lovin’ the In-Colors

2009-05-29T08:30:00.000+10:00

I loved the first In-Colors we had, last years were even nicer but I have to say that I like this years even more and am so happy that we will have them till 31st August, 2010. It actually surprises me how much I like them as when I first saw them online after they were released in the US on the Incentive Cruise (I think it was then) I didn’t think much of them. Seeing them in person is so much different though.

I have 2 cards to share with you today and both of them contain some In-Colors and also some of the lovely coordinating DSP which is part of the May Promotion ending 31st May. Check out the details here.

This first card was my Secret Stamper card which is for a monthly swap on an online stamp group I’m in. I found this lovely card by Ilina Crouse on SCS and made a few alterations and came up with this.

Fifth Avenue Floral would have to be one of my favourite stamp sets in the new IB&C. Mind you there are a few favourites……lol. My favourite Hostess set would have to be the Level 1 set ‘Best Yet’. I just love the fonts used, the layout and words. It’s a very versatile set and was the one on my first order. The new eyelet border punch adds a lovely delicate touch to cards too and of course I can’t miss commenting on the gorgeous Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon (it’s Kiwi Kiss one side and Very Vanilla on the other).

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Fifth Avenue Floral, Best Yet
Card: Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Urban Oasis DSP
Inks: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Silver Hodgepodge Ribbon slide, Eyelet Border Punch.

This next card is using the Upsy Daisy stamp set. There are lots of variations and similar cards out there like this one. This card was made for my April GTKY (Getting To Know You) partner which is another monthly swap on the online stamping group.

I’ve stamped the daisies twice. First time in Baja Breeze and then the second time in Not Quite Navy which is slightly to the right of the first image to give a shadow effect. Unfortunately it’s not very visible in this photo but I’m sure you can imagine what it looks like up close.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Upsy Daisy
Card: Basic Gray, Very Vanilla, Urban Garden DSP
Inks: Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Convention Swap cards

2009-05-28T07:00:00.000+10:00

I had planned to share my swap cards with you as soon as I returned home from Convention. As I mentioned in my last post it’s been pretty hectic playing catch up and doing a few other things that had to come first.

This year I made 5 different card designs and a total of 120. I did manage to swap them all (I did give a couple away) but not until lunchtime on Saturday. That’s a first for me but seeing that we went down and checked in and did the Momento Mall thing at 7am we then went and had some breaky and didn’t get back early enough. A lot of demonstrators had already swapped all theirs out but I did manage to find some and even a few demos who were saving a card just for me. That was nice.

So here are the designs that I made.

I’ll list the card and supplies going clockwise from top left.

Thinking of You
Supplies:
Stamp sets: Thoughts & Prayers, Polka Dots
Card: Real Red, Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Kraft & Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Real Red & Bashful Blue
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon.

Rose
Supplies:
Stamp sets: A Rose is a Rose, Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel
Card: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Bird
Supplies:
Stamp sets: Always
Card: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Bashful Blue
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Paper Piercing template & tool

Flowers
Supplies:
Stamp set: Fifth Avenue Floral
Card: Real Red, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Paper Piercing template & tool.

True Friends
Supplies:
Stamp Set: Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel
Card: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon.

Candy Lane Dreams – Mojo Monday Week 88

2009-05-27T18:37:00.001+10:00

It’s been a while since my last post but life was hectic leading up to Convention and then it hasn’t changed much since. I have a few things to show you over the next few days, including my Convention Swaps, and hopefully I’ll be finding more time more frequently to stamp, create and share with you again.

It was Open Day at my youngest 3 girls school today but due to the poor weather we visited their classrooms and then the rest of the planned performances were rescheduled till later in the term as we don’t have a school hall yet. It’s on it’s way though. I was meant to be at our P & C display for the day also but we’ve rescheduled that too. Doing so allowed me to come home and play instead so I decided to make a card for the Mojo Monday Sketch.

It’s been a while since I’ve participated in the Mojo Monday sketches and to have it done so early in the week is just wonderful.

Here is the sketch:

and this is my creation.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Dreams du Jour
Card: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Very Vanilla, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Basic Brown, Versamark, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Round Tab Punch, 1/4” circle punch(retired), Blender Pen, Clear Embossing Powder, Crystal Effects.

I love using DSP (designer series paper) in my cards and this months promotion was wonderful to make use of and stock up on my dsp supplies. If you weren’t aware of the May Promotion you can check back on this post. The promotion ends 31st May so if you need to place an order please do so by 9pm Sunday 31st May by email or you can phone me on 02 9620 9092 or Mob: 0418 218 467.

It’s Party Time!!!!

2009-05-08T13:27:00.001+10:00

It’s Party Time at my house tonight with my 3rd daughter, Lauren, turning 9 years old today. We decided no big party this year but she was allowed to invite 2 friends to Pizza dinner and a DVD.

To make it a little more special I decided to make some of the lovely Handbags that the gorgeous Makeesha Byl demonstrated at Convention for her party/lolly bags.

Here’s a picture of one empty handbag.

Isn’t it gorgeous. Makeesha is such a clever lady and so generous to share her wonderful ideas and tutorials with us all and for FREE……. I’m not sure if this tutorial is on her website yet but if you haven’t seen her other ones then pop over to her website and check them out.

Now I needed to make 7 all up which is 1 each for her friends, her 3 sisters, our neighbour and my good friends little girl and of course for Lauren too.

I literally whipped up the 7 handbags last night and have just finished doing the contents. I’ve used retired DSP as they will appreciate them regardless and it helps get rid of some of my surplus……

Here are the 7 bags full with their goodies.

Don’t they look fantastic? Well I think so anyway.I’m not even sure which one is my favourite.

Would you like to see what’s in them?

Inside each handbag is a Lolly bag which I’ve made a matching bag topper for, a pen and mechanical pencil which has matching dsp inside and a glow stick bangle.

Now I better get a move on and finish cleaning the house and do some decorating before it’s time to pick my 4 girls up from school. I’d better make that Birthday card too…nothing like leaving things till the last minute now is there…..lol

May Promotions

2009-05-07T17:40:00.001+10:00

This month is National Scrapbooking Month and in honour of this Stampin' Up!'s promotions are all to do with scrapbooking.

There are 2 Promotions running this month with the first being the wonderful Designer Series Papers. During May you have the opportunity to purchase 3 Designer Series Packs for $16.95AUD each and receive a 4th for FREE.

Now if you're not a scrapbooker you can still benefit from this promotion. Designer Series Papers can be used in all kinds of projects from cards, boxes, bags and many other 3D items. I guarantee that once you use some in your projects you will be wanting more.

The packs you can select from are:

ITEM	PAGE	DESCRIPTION
112042	132	Urban Garden Designer Series Paper
112470	132	Haiku Designer Series Paper
113976	132	Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper
112468	132	Sweet Always Designer Series Paper
113992	133	Tea Party Designer Series Paper
113975	133	Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper
113966	134	Good Morning Sunshine Designer Series Paper
112469	134	Holiday Treasures Designer Series Paper
112041	134	Bella Rose Designer Series Paper
113974	134	Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper
113978	135	Urban Oasis Designer Series Paper
112461	135	Washington Apple Designer Series Paper
112039	135	Windsor Knot Designer Series Paper
113980	135	Candy Lane Designer Series Paper

The 2nd Promotion is for anyone thinking of joining Stampin' Up!. For a limited-time (till May 31st) you have the opportunity to join Stampin' Up! for only $150AUD with the Scrapbooking Starter Kit!.

In the Scrapbooking Starter Kit you will receive these items (you have the opportunity to change the colours/packs included)

On top of what is shown you will also receive all the usual business materials that are included with the standard Starter Kit which include:

Getting Started DVD

Getting Started Guide

Guest Invitation Postcards (100)

Idea Book & Catalogue (8)

To My Hostess Envelope (10)

Project Sample Sheet

Recruit Brochures (10)

Hostess Benefits Form (10)

Customer Order Form (50)

So for $150AUD you will receive approx. $186 worth of product + an additional $70 worth of business supplies. What more could you ask for???

Now of course if you would like to join you still have the option of the standard Starter Kit for $324AUS. If you join by the Scrapbooking Starter Kit or the standard Starter Kit you can purchase the additional Stampin' Memories Add-on Kit for $75AUD which you again have the option of changing the cardstock/simply scrappin' pack and stamp set.

Regardless of whether you join using the Scrapbooking Starter Kit or the standard Starter Kit you will receive the same access and information as all other demonstrators which include the demonstrator website (lots of information, samples, templates, etc) and the monthly Impressions Newsletters. You will also be able to attend Regional training and of course the Annual Convention. Next year it's in Sydney.

Joining Stampin' Up! doesn't mean you have to do workshops, classes, etc you might like to join just for a discount on your own purchases. Stampin' Up! welcomes and encourages all types of demonstrators. See below for a list of different types of demonstrators.

Stampin Up! ® needs all
Kinds of demonstrators!
……….what kind would you be?

DISCOUNT DEMONSTRATOR: Likes the idea of buying stamps for personal use at a discount and occasionally sells to friends and family.

SHORT-TERM DEMONSTRATOR: Sells for a short period of time to earn a specific amount of money and stops when the goal is reached.

HOBBY DEMONSTRATOR: Loves doing workshops and earning extra money when it is convenient, works for a lot some months and very little other months, likes to do workshops that are easy to book, doesn’t like to work too hard to book workshops.

CAREER DEMONSTRATOR: Views a Stampin’ Up! demonstratorship as a viable business with long-term career potential, pursues management and wants to move up the career ladder, loves attending Stampin’ Up! events and has developed close social relationships with other demonstrators, works at her business in a consistent and outgoing manner.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS A FLEXIBLE, FUN BUSINESS YOU CAN BUILD TO SUIT YOUR NEEDS AND DESIRES. MAKE IT FIT FOR YOU BY USING YOUR UNIQUE TALENTS AND STYLE.

For further details or an information pack to be mailed please contact me.

Nicole Stalker
Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator
Ph: (02) 9620 9092
Mob: 0418 218 467
nicole@nicolestalker.com.au

Convention Swaps

2009-05-07T16:05:00.001+10:00

I’ve been a little quiet again and most of that has to do with the 3rd Annual Stampin’ Up Convention that I attended last weekend in Canberra.

In the lead up to Convention I was busy making my swap cards. I ended up with 122 swaps in 5 different designs.

Would you like to see them?? Now this is only 1 of each design not the whole 122 of course. If I did that you might not have seen them clear enough……

Here is a list of what I’ve used starting back left and working clockwise:

Thinking of You card:
Stamp sets: Polka Dots background stamp, Thoughts & Prayers
Card: Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss and Kraft
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Real Red, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Eyelet Border Punch

Rose Card:
Stamp Sets: A Rose is a Rose, Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel
Card: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon

Bird Card:
Stamp Set: Always
Card: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool & Template

Flower Card:
Stamp Set: Fifth Avenue Floral
Card: Real Red, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool & Template

True Friends Card:
Stamp Sets: Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel
Card: Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon

Giant Craft Sale

2009-05-07T15:46:00.001+10:00

I’ve been lucky enough that some fellow SU demonstrators are allowing me to participate in their Giant Craft Sale. That might not sound like a big deal but it is to me as I’m not part of their team so I feel very privileged that they are allowing me to join them for the day. The other good thing is that it’s just around the corner from my house so not much travelling for me……

Now for some details:

When: Saturday 23rd May

Time: 10am – 2pm

Where: The Church Hall (Blacktown East Presbyterian Church) which is located on the corner of Heffron Road and Gallop Grove, Lalor Park

There will be rubber stamps (retired Stampin’ Up and other brands), Scrapbooking supplies, ribbons, embellishments, handmade cards & gifts, and lots more.

Everything will be priced to sell, so come along and grab a bargain. We’ll also have Lucky Door Prizes to be won.

Now all you need to do is mark this date and time out in your calendars and I’ll see you there.

Stamp Club + Birthday Cards

2009-04-18T18:58:00.001+10:00

Last night was Stamp Club and we all made the Paper Block Holders as I mentioned earlier this week but silly me forgot to snap a picture of everyone’s creations so that I could upload to share with you all. I do however have a picture of my 2nd and 3rd one I’ve now made.

This one is using some of the lovely Bella Rose DSP.

And this one is using some more of the yummy Raspberry Tart DSP.

As the ladies in my stamp club are also friends and we regularly stamp together every fortnight we continued on for the night, and a couple of us into the wee hours of the morning….hehehe. I managed to complete my 3rd set of 30 swap cards for the upcoming Stampin’ Up Convention which is taking place in a fortnight down in Canberra and I also made 2 of the 3 Birthday cards I needed for a luncheon with some online stamping friends today.

I decided I would make them all using the new set called ‘Upsy Daisy’ and just vary the colour combinations and technique/method of stamping on them.

The first card I made is using the colour combination of Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip. I stamped the image in Perfect Plum first and then stamped again in Pale Plum positioning the image just off skew to give a shadow effect.

For the 2nd card I have used the colour combination of Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Taken With Teal and Basic Black. The image has been coloured in with markers (I’ve made my own in colour markers following Carol Dunstan’s Tutorial).

This last card I made this morning after being inspired by this card Stephanie Pike made. I was thinking blues myself and then when I saw Steph’s card I knew this was the technique I was going to use along with Pacific Point, Baja Breeze and Whisper White.

I’m stamping again tonight with Meighan (my friend and neighbour) so hopefully I’ll have some more things to show you tomorrow too although I’m a little late with a few things I owe some members of Stampin’ Up in Oz so I must get those done and out first but won’t be able to share those until they have received them which I’m sure you’ll understand.

Raspberry Tart Paper Block Holder

2009-04-15T07:00:00.000+10:00

This project is another MIM (Make it Monday) from Makeesha. I look forward to Makeesha’s projects each week but don’t always get to make them straight away.

I start my first Stamp Club this Friday night and decided we would all make one of these each and use some new Designer Series Papers. I knew exactly which DSP pack I was going to use for my sample to show the ladies and that was the new gorgeous Raspberry Tart papers. I just love the colour combination used in this pack. It’s nice and bright, cheery and looks so yummy looking.

So would you like to see????

The hardest thing with this was to find some small pencils. I had no luck sourcing some so purchased full length ones and my darling hubby cut them into 2 for me.

If you would like to make one of these you will find the tutorial here.

I’ll share a photo next week of all the Paper Block Holders the ladies make at club so you can see some of the other DSP we used.

Fresh Cuts for you…..

2009-04-14T07:00:00.000+10:00

When the Fresh Cuts stamp set and matching cards came out in the US I loved them. I was so happy to see they finally made it to Australia. I haven’t had as much time to play with my new goodies as I would have liked but now that it’s school holidays I’m hoping to have a little more time to play.

This card I’m sharing with you today was another I made about a week or so ago and hadn’t managed to edit the photo so I could share. It’s done now so here it is.

The colour combination for this one was taken from the SU Color Combos site. I knew I wanted to use Pacific Point and Whisper White so I selected those 2 colours, hit search and then selected from the combinations. I chose the one with Whisper White, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze and Basic Gray.

I’ve stamped the Fresh Cuts collage image in Versamark onto Pacific Point cardstock and embossed in White. This was then layered behind the card. Next I stamped the small flower in Baja Breeze ink onto Baja Breeze cardstock and added a clear rhinestone brad to the centre. I then did some tearing down the right hand front side of the Fresh Cuts card, just enough to show the Baja Breeze cardstock. I’ve then added some Basic Gray Taffeta ribbon and stamped the ‘for you’ in Basic Gray ink.

Colour Challenge

2009-04-13T07:00:00.000+10:00

I gave this colour challenge on one of the yahoo groups that I run called Stampin’ Up in Oz earlier this month.

I created 2 cards a few days later but have only just edited the photos.

The first card I made I used a new stamp set called ‘Greetings Eight’.

I also used the Mojo Monday Week 80 Sketch on this card.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Greetings Eight, Polka Dots, Watercolor Vine Jumbo Wheel
Card: Taken with Teal, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Taken with Teal, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, 6mm Circle Punch (retired), Basic Black 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For my second card I used a new Hostess Level 2 set called ‘Echoes of Kindness’.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Echoes of Kindness, Polka Dots, Basic Phrases
Card: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Taken with Teal, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Stazon Black, Riding Hoold Red, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Basic Black 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Word Window Punch, Aqua Painter, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Which card do you like?? Why don’t you try out the colour challenge and share your creation with us. Post a link with your comment.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T18:30:00.001+10:00

I hope you have all had a lovely relaxing day today and also hope the Easter Bunny arrived at your house.

I’ve been relaxing while creating a few things. I now have a couple of days posts lined up with today’s creations and a few I made a week or so ago. I hadn’t made time to edit the photos and upload for you to see so I have done that today too.

My first creation I’m going to share is some Easter Baskets I made for my 4 girls and a friends little girl. My friend is also my neighbour so each year we have an Easter Hunt for our girls. We will be doing this tomorrow so I made these baskets as the final prize.

They have all been made using retired designer series papers as I have lots left. I’ve used Spring Fling, Summer Picnic and Love Notes along with coordinating cardstock, ribbon and brads.

These baskets are so quick and easy to make. The tutorial for these are by Makeesha Byl and can be found here on her website.

Designer Series Paper, Ribbon & Embellishment Shares

2009-04-11T10:51:00.001+10:00

I have the following shares available if you would like to try some of the new products (or a couple of older ones too) without having to go to the expense of purchasing a whole pack, set, kit yourself. Products will be ordered once share is full and I will let you know when they are ready.

If you would like to sign up for a share (or more) please email me with the name of the share you would like to join and to arrange payment. Payment methods I accept are: Cash, Direct Deposit, Cheque/Money Order or Credit Card. Prices do not include postage. I will post at the best possible price or if you are local you are welcome to pick them up.

If you don’t already have a new Idea Book & Catalogue 2009|2010 you can view it online here.

Designer Series Paper Shares
Designer Series paper are on pages 132 – 135

Pack 1 - $22 60 6”x 6” squares (6 6”x 6” squares from each of 10 paper packs)
Urban Garden, Haiku, Raspberry Tart, Bella Rose, Bella Bleu, Urban Oasis, Washington Apple, Sweet Always, Tea Party, Holiday Treasures.

Pack 2 - $18 48 6” x 6” squares (6 6”x 6” squares from each of 8 paper packs)
Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango

Ribbon Shares
Ribbons are on pages 150 - 151

In Color 5/8” Striped Grosgrain - $15
6 Colours – Approx. 1.7m of each colour (Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango & Kiwi Kiss)

Taffeta Ribbon - $20
Approx 1.5m of each colour (Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Basic Gray, Mellow Moss, Bashful Blue, Pretty In Pink, Riding Hood Red)

½” Striped Grosgrain - $15
Approx. 1.5m of each colour (Old Olive, Pretty In Pink, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red)

Embellishments Shares

Designer Brad Share - $11.80 (page148)
16 brads (2 of each style from Flower, Filigree, Circle & Star)

Clear Rhinestone Brad & Build-A-Brad - $15 (page 149)
21 Rhinestone Brads (7 each of 3 sizes) + 12 Build-A-Brads (6 each of Pewter & Antique Brass)

Hodgepodge Share - $12 (page 149)
40 pieces – 2 of each of 5 frames styles, 2 of each patterned brad, 2 ribbon slides + 20 plain brads.

Pretties Kit Share - $11.75 (page 149)
86 pieces – 10 flowers (2 each of 5 designs), White & Cream Halfback Pearls: 6 small, 4 medium, 2 large (in both colours), White & Cream Round Pearls with Centre Holes: 6 small, 5 large (in both colours), Clear Round Beads with Centre Hole: 2, Clear Round Beads with Side Hole: 2, Clear Teardrops: 4, Clear Round Rhinestone Brads: 4 small, 5 medium, 5 large, Hat Pins with Clutches: 2, Spacer Beads:6

Flower Fusion – $10.50 (page 144)
42 Felt Flowers (1 of each design in each colour) – Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Old Olive

Flower Fusion Too - $10.50 (page 144)
42 Felt Flowers (1 of each design in each colour) – Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

The 2009|2010 Idea Book & Catalogue is now live

2009-04-01T12:18:00.001+11:00

The new Idea Book & Catalogue is now online and orders can be placed.

If you would like to place an order please contact me via email nicole@nicolestalker.com.au or by phone on H: 02 9620 9092 or Mob: 0418 218 467. Orders can be shipped anywhere in Australia directly from Stampin’ Up.

Good Friend Sneak Peek

2009-03-18T17:24:00.001+11:00

As a demonstrator we have been given the opportunity to purchase a few select stamp sets, hostess sets and In Colour items as a sneak peek in preparation for the upcoming release of the 2009|2010 Idea Book & Catalogue.

Today I had a few friends over to play and one of them is also my downline. We purchased different things from the sneak peek and this card I’m going to show you is one she purchased called Good Friends. I haven’t purchased it as I wasn’t sure I’d use it enough as it is a little larger than I normally use but I’m really happy with the card I created and might just have to go and purchase this set now.

I have cheated a little and cased a card that Stampin’ Up gave us as a sample in our monthly newsletter but I didn’t have some of the things they have used (some weren’t on our sneak peek pre-order and the other I didn’t order as I didn’t order the stamp set) so it’s been changed very slightly.

I’ve used some of the ‘soon to be released’ In Colours in this card and they are just gorgeous. I’m going to miss the current ones but I think I’ll survive now that I have these.

So here’s my card:

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Good Friends
Card: Kiwi Kiss textured, Summer Sun, Whisper White
Ink: Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: 5/8” Chocolate Chip ribbon, Flower Brad, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Stamp Classes

2009-03-16T14:33:00.001+11:00

Next week I will be commencing my Monthly Stamp classes for the year. I was hoping to start them last month but I just haven’t been organised enough.

I will be holding my classes on the 4th Thursday evening of each month except for June which will be the 3rd Thursday evening of the month. Class times will be 7:30pm – 9:30pm and will be held in my home at Lalor Park, NSW.

I am able to do a daytime class during school hours if there is enough interest. If this would suit you better then email me with your preferred date and we’ll see what we can do.

At each class you will go home with 3 items. One will be a technique page complete with sample that you will create. You will also create a card, sometimes using the technique we have learnt that night and other times it will be something completely different. The third item will be a small box, bag or other 3D item.

This is what we will be making for the March Class:

Cost: $20 with all materials supplied (including the easter eggs for the Easter Goodie Bag Wrap).

Date: 26th March

Bookings are essential as space is limited. Please let me know by Tuesday 24th March if you would like to attend.

You can book your spot by email or phone on H: 9620 9092 or Mob: 0418 218 467

MIM – Goodie Bag Wrap

2009-03-16T14:30:00.001+11:00

Last week Makeesha shared her MIM Goodie Bag Wrap tutorial with us. You can view the tutorial here on Makeesha’s site.

This morning I was finally organised enough to sit down and make one.

I decided to use this as part of my Stamp Class for March so if you attend you can make one too, complete with Easter eggs. (Read my next post for further details or visit my website classes page)

This is very quick and easy to make so is ideal if you needed to make a nice small gift for many people.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Seasonal Wishes
Card: Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Prints DSP
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Regal Rose 5/8” grosgrain ribbon, Certainly Celery 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Large Oval Punch, Medium Cellophane Bag.

Eastern Blooms Birthday

2009-03-13T09:26:00.001+11:00

My youngest daughter has a Disco Birthday Party to go to tonight and I had no idea what to get her friend as it seems like they all have everything these days.

I decided to get a gift card and the Birthday Girl can get something she wants and will use. Sounds too easy but I know how hard it is selecting Birthday and Christmas presents for my own 4 girls let alone someone else’s that you are not sure what they like.

So to jazz up the gift card and make it a little more personal I decided I would make one of Makeesha’s MIM projects from a little while back and that is the Envelope Gift Card Holder.

My daughter told me the Birthday Girl’s favourite colour was blue so we went through my dsp’s and she selected the Bali Breeze paper so I added the Eastern Blooms set as well.

Here’s what we ended up with.

And here is the envelope open with the card.

My daughter was happy with it so let’s hope the Birthday Girl likes it too.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, It’s Your Birthday
Card: Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Very Vanilla, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Taken with Teal Markers
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Square Scallop Punch, 1 3/8” Square Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Ice Rhinestone brads.

After a bargain????

2009-03-13T00:27:00.001+11:00

I’ll be selling off all my retired/retiring sets come 1st April and have a list here that you can see. There are a few things from the 2007|2008 Idea Book & Catalogue too.

If there is something you are interested in then email me asap as it will be a first in first served basis.

I have listed the condition of the sets with the majority being in ‘as new’ condition. This isn’t always from lack of use just that I lacquer my wooden blocks before mounting and using my stamps as I like them in good condition. Those that have ink staining on a block/blocks are mentioned but most of these are also only slight.

Prices do not include postage but postage is explained on the page. If you live local however I’m happy for you to pick them up but remember I won’t be releasing any till 1st April.

Splitcoaststampers Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009

2009-03-12T08:13:00.001+11:00

Splitcoaststampers are holding a “non-raffle” to raise funds to be donated to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal through the Red Cross.

Through the generosity of demonstrators, stamping businesses and stampers wonderful donations have been given which you will be eligible to win just by donating. There are suggested donation links for $5 and $25 which can be made up till 25th March, 2009.

Donations can be made by credit/debit card or e-check (no Paypal account required) and prizes will be announced on 28th March.

To view the prize gallery visit here

To donate you can go here

To read full details either click on the link on the sidebar or click here

Another Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #5 card

2009-03-03T17:37:00.001+11:00

I’ve already shared 2 cards with you for Makeesha’s Sketch Challenge #5 here but after seeing Sarah-Jane’s gorgeous card (which you can check out here) she inspired me to make the card below which is for my best friends birthday tomorrow. I’m really hoping she doesn’t visit my blog before I pop over and see her tonight or I’ll have spoiled the surprise.

This is the sketch again from Makeesha

Now I already knew my friend likes the Le Jardin Designer Series Paper (don’t forget this is on the retirement list) and she already has the Carte Postale Stamp set (which is also on the retirement list) so I decided to use those for her card and this is what I came up with.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Carte Postale, Sincere Salutations
Card: River Rock, So Saffron textured, Very Vanilla, Le Jardin Designer Series Paper
Ink: River Rock & So Saffron inkpads & markers.
Accessories: River Rock double-stitched ribbon, Round Tab Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8” Circle Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Retired List update

2009-03-03T11:15:00.001+11:00

Don’t forget to check my website regularly for lastest update on products that are now unavailable or getting low.

There is a direct link on the <- sidebar under Retirement List or just bookmark this url www.nicolestalker.com.au

This list is growing quickly so don’t miss out.

Retired List update

2009-03-01T16:30:00.001+11:00

We will be updated daily till 31st of March on what has SOLD OUT or getting low. I will post this list here now but will be setting up on my website www.nicolestalker.com.au for the daily updates so as not to flood my blog with daily posts on this. If you wish to keep up with status please check there daily.

This is the current list of items SOLD OUT and no longer available.

Item Number	Product Description	Availability
107565	Flip Flops	Unavailable
109020	Wild Wasabi Classic Ink Refill	Unavailable
109015	Soft Sky Classic Stamin' Ink Refill	Unavailable
109016	River Rock Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Unavailable
109017	Purely Pomegranite Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Unavailable
100381	Earth Elements Eyelets	Unavailable
100378	Soft Subtle Eyelets	Unavailable
109019	Groovy Guava Classic Stampin' Ink Refill	Unavailable
108748	Best Friend Numbers	Unavailable
107212	Mateys Map	Unavailable
105320	Basic Eyelets	Unavailable

Don’t miss out. Order now.

Retirement List is out!!!!!

2009-03-01T10:10:00.001+11:00

The 2008|2009 Idea Book & Catalogue retirement list is out.

Some wonderful sets are going but of course that is expected. For the first year ever there are some discounts on items too. A lot of the Designer Series Paper is on special too.

All items on the list are available only till 31st March or until sold out. There are no backorders on any items. Don’t miss out, place your order with me now. I can ship anywhere in Australia direct from Stampin’ Up. To place an order call me on H: 02 9620 9092, M: 0418 218 467 or email: nicole@nicolestalker.com.au. Payment via Credit Card, Direct Deposit to my account or Cash.

To view the lists:

In Alphabetical Order

By Catalogue Page No.

Mojo Monday Week 75 + Kwernerdesign Color Inspiration #43

2009-02-28T07:00:00.000+11:00

Can you believe I actually managed 2 cards for Kristina’s Color Inspiration this week and I did them both the same day, just decided to spread the posts out.

This is the Mojo Monday Sketch Week 75

and here is the kwernerdesign color inspiration #43 in case you missed it yesterday

and here is my creation using both of these.

I really liked this sketch and can see me making some more cards using it. Hopefully I’ll also start participating in the Mojo Monday Sketches more often.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Priceless
Card: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Old Olive & Pumpkin Pie Prints DSP
Ink: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Rich Regal brads, Paper Piercing template & tool (Tool Kit), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

A Sketch Challenge and Kwernerdesign Color Inspiration #43

2009-02-27T17:07:00.001+11:00

I’ve managed to combine a recent Sketch Challenge I posted to Stampin’ Up in Oz this week

along with the latest Kwernerdesign Color Inspiration challenge #43

and this was only posted today. This must be a first for me.

So here is my creation using this sketch and colour combination.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Brocade Basics, Warm Words
Card: Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie Prints DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red
Accessories: Earth Elements buttons, Hemp Twine, Nestabilities (non-SU)

Sketch Challenge

2009-02-23T08:00:00.000+11:00

Here is the Sketch we were given this week by Makeesha on our demo group.

I’ve managed to make 2 cards with this sketch so far.

This first one is using the Eastern Blooms stamp set.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, Sincere Salutations, Sanded
Card: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Groovy Guava, Very Vanilla
Ink: Blue Bayou inkpad, Blue Bayou & Soft Sky Markers*
Accessories: Round Tab Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, District Ribbon Originals, Chunky Sprinkles, Mono Multi Purpose Adhesive, Paper Piercing Template & Tool (Tool Kit), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the second card I just had to use Embrace Life stamp set.

With this card I decided to scallop edge the bottom piece of layering. I also added a thin strip of dsp instead of ribbon on the second layer and I just left the flower on it’s own rather than layering it onto a circle. The flower has been stamped onto a piece of Ginger Blossom DSP using Ruby Red ink and a Very Vanilla 1/2 backed pearl added.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Embrace Life, Curvy Verses
Card: Groovy Guava, Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Ginger Blossom DSP
Ink: Ruby Red
Accessories: Very Vanilla 1/2 backed pearl (Pretties Kit), Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercing template & tool (Tool Kit), Mini Glue Dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Blue Embrace Life

2009-02-22T13:07:00.001+11:00

I’ve made this card before (or something very similar) in red shades so this time I thought I’d see how it looked in Blues. I’m also trying to use more In Colours before they retire to remind you to purchase them if you like them before they are gone and also so I don’t end up with loads of retired supplies when they are gone. I tell myself I’ll still use them but I know from past experience that I won’t use them all that often and if I have too much still around it just ends up taking up space and is forgotten about. Well enough rambling here is my card.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Embrace Life
Card: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Watercolor Paper, Spring Break DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Blue Bayou, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker
Accessories: Eastern Elegance Rub-ons (Spring Mini), White Gel Pen, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Whisper White 1/2 backed pearl (Pretties Kit), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

kwernerdesign Colour Inspiration #41

2009-02-14T17:42:00.001+11:00

I have not participate in one of Kristina’s Colour Challenges in ages but I needed something to get me going again. In my last post I used one of Taylored Expressions Sketches and Kristina’s colour challenge was another on my list to help kick start me again.

Here is the Colour Inspiration Challenge:

We don’t yet have Riding Hood Red available in Australia so I went with Ruby Red instead. I wasn’t sure what I was going to create with these colours at first and then decided I would CASE a card I created previously back in this post and incorporate the colours into it and of course make a few minor changes along the way.

This is what I came up with.

I’ve stamped the leaves in Stazon Black onto the Ruby Red cardstock and then coloured them in with my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker and then mounted to a Basic Black Card. I then randomly stamped the small flower branch using Basic Gray ink onto a piece of Basic Gray cardstock which I’ve layered onto a scallop edged piece of Whisper White card. This is then mounted to the card. The large flower has been stamped using Stazon Black onto Watercolor Paper. I’ve coloured using Watercolor Crayons. This is mounted to the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals and a Whisper White 1/2 back pearl has been added. Lastly I’ve added a Whisper White Rub-on from the Hidden Garden pack.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Embrace Life
Card: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Watercolor paper
Ink: Stazon Black, Basic Gray, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker
Accessories: Hidden Garden Rub-ons, Pretties Kit, Scallop Edge Punch.

Taylored Expressions Cupcake Challenge #54

2009-02-14T17:01:00.001+11:00

My mojo has been missing most of this week. I think my heart was elsewhere in Australia but today I finally managed to pick up some stamps again and decided to play with Taylor’s Cupcake Challenge sketch.

Here is the sketch:

Even though it’s called a Cupcake Challenge you are not required to use cupcakes. Of course if you have them it’s nice to use them but I don’t have many so I just used the sketch to create my cards.

For this first one I decided to use some more of the lovely Spring Silhouettes paper I used in my Stationery Box earlier this week.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Brocade Basics
Card: Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla, Spring Silhouettes DSP
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky
Accessories: Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon, 1 1/4” & 1 3/8” Circle Punches, Ice Rhinestones Brads.

The second card I kept with the same stamp set but used the Brocade Background DSP instead.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Brocade Basics
Card: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Brocade Background DSP
Ink: Old Olive, River Rock, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8” grosgrain ribbon, 1 1/4” & 1 3/8” Circle Punches, Pretties Kit.

For the last card using this sketch I decided to use Fabulous Flowers stamp set.

I’ve added a bit of sparkle to this card on the large flower and also the centre of the circle punch piece.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Fabulous Flowers
Card: Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink, Rose Red Prints DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Regal Rose, Rose Red, Pretty In Pink
Accessories: Fairy Tale Ribbon Originals, 2-Way Glue Pen, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds.

Bushfire Appeal

2009-02-12T09:16:00.001+11:00

Stampin’ Up have just announced a Bushfire Appeal. Details are below. Why not take advantage of this along with my Catalogue Party and really help contribute to this Appeal as I’m donating my commissions to the Appeal also. Don’t forget if you take advantage of my Catalogue Workshop you will receive a FREE Hostess set for each $100 order + you are entitled to 1 FREE Sale-A-bration set for every $100 order too. (Hostess sets are available to the first 10 $100 orders placed). As I am donating my commission to the appeal I will not be discounting the stamps as I have done in the past that way the Appeal will receive more.

Join with Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from around Australia and New Zealand in helping the victims of the Bushfire Tragedy.

You can help by purchasing select stamp sets from 12th February through 31st March, 2009 and Stampin’ Up! will donate 50% of the sales of these sets to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

ITEM #	PAGE #	STAMP SET	PRICE
108864	76	Looks Like Spring*	$58.95AUD
108934	27	The Snowflake Spot*	$39.95AUD
108756	80	Bodacious Bouquet*	$58.95AUD
110247	46	Polka Dots & Paisley*	$35.95AUD
111973	115	G’Day Mate*	$35.95AUD
108744	51	Be Happy*	$39.95AUD
112312	105	Priceless	$48.95AUD
108909	89	Seeing Spots	$29.95AUD
112380	98	Baroque Motifs	$39.95AUD
114261	3**	Live Your Dreams	$55.95AUD

* These sets will appear on the upcoming list of retiring products, so they’ll only be available while supplies last.

**From the Summer Mini Catalogue.

To place an order with me via email nicole@nicolestalker.com.au or phone. Home: 02 96209092 or Mobile: 0418 218 467. Orders can be shipped directly to you anywhere in Australia. Payment can be made by Credit Card, Paypal, direct credit to my bank account or Cash.

$1000 Catalogue Workshop Bonanza

2009-02-11T15:54:00.001+11:00

Originally I was holding this for my newsletter subscribers but I’ve decided to open it up to my Blog viewers too. I will be donating all my commission from this Bonanza along with any further orders for February to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal.

What I need is 10 people to place a $100 (before S&H) order each. This $100 order can be made up by one individual or a group of friends/family. You can also place a larger order and take up more places if you wish.

Now I'm sure you all know it's Sale-A-Bration time (unless you didn't read last month's Newsletter) so for your $100 order you can select 1 FREE Sale-A-Bration stamp set (that's 1 FREE SAB set for every $100 order) but on top of this I have my own offer.

Each person that participates in my Catalogue Workshop Bonanza will go into a draw for one of the following:

Level 2 Hostess set - Spring Solitude Bundle x 2
Level 2 Hostess set - In The Spotlight x 2
Level 1 Hostess set of your choice x 2
Level 1 Hostess set - A Little Bit of Happiness
Level 1 Hostess set - From the Garden
Level 1 Hostess set - Oh, So Lovely.
Level 1 Hostess set - Party Punch

That's 10 Hostess sets on offer.

So not only will you receive a FREE Sale-A-Bration set but also a FREE Hostess set. Names will be drawn before I place the order so those that need to select the Level 1 Hostess set of their choice can do so.

How do you participate?

You need to phone or email your order to me no later than 9pm Monday 16th February. If I don’t receive 10 orders (or $1000 in sales) I will still be processing orders received by the due date and any orders after this date for $100 or more will be entitled to a remaining hostess set until the 28th February. All commission will still be donated to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal.
Payment needs to be made upon placing your order. Payment can be made by cash, direct deposit or credit card. If paying by direct deposit funds will need to hit my bank account by Monday 16thFebruary (or before order is placed).

That's it. So now all that's left to do is for you to let me know you would like to participate and then select your items from the Idea Book & Catalogue 2008|2009 and/or Summer Mini Catalogue and place your order. Don't forget to let me know which Sale-A-Bration set you would like too.

To phone your order you can call me on either H: 02 9620 9092 or Mobile: 0418 218 467. To email your order send to nicole@nicolestalker.com.au

MY COMMISSION (20% OF SALES) FROM THIS CATALOGUE PARTLY AND ALL FURTHER ORDERS PLACED DURING FEBRUARY WILL BE DONATED TO THE VICTORIAN FIRE APPEAL.

Who said “Blue and Green” should never been seen……

2009-02-10T07:00:00.000+11:00

I remember being told as a child that “Blue and Green should never be seen unless there’s a colour in between” but that must have changed now or whoever said it hadn’t seen Wild Wasabi with Soft Sky.

I’ve been wanting to make one of Jackie Topa’s Stationery Boxes for a while so on Sunday night and Monday I finally did it. I wanted to adapted the measurements to fit Australian C6 envelopes & cards inside rather than the US size so this added to the time it took for me to complete the project but now that it’s done the next one will be a lot quicker. In the process I have also proven that Blue and Green can be seen together without having to have a colour in between. Well I think I have as I love the colour combination and even though there is Very Vanilla the Blue and Green are next to each other.

I’ve chosen to use the Spring Silhouettes DSP which coordinates with Wild Wasabi, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery and Very Vanilla. This picture doesn’t really show the true colours of Wild Wasabi and Soft Sky unfortunately. It’s a little brighter in real life.

Seeing how the lid is made using a lovely patterned paper I decided to leave the base plain.

Inside you will find cards and envelopes, love notes and envelopes, gift tags, pen, postage stamps and an address/note book.

There are 4 cards (2 of each sentiment), 4 love notes (2 of each sentiment) and 4 gift tags all with the same sentiment.

I’m sure I’ll be making some more of these. They will make great gifts for some of my non-stamping family members and friends.

Inkspiration Colour Challenge #4

2009-02-09T08:00:00.000+11:00

Yes it’s another of Makeesha’s Challenges. Here are the colours she gave us this week:

I’ve made 2 cards using this colour combination (well actually I made 4 but the last 2 are very similar to the 2nd one so I’m only going to show 2). I picked out some stamp sets I haven’t used in a while (flowers of course…) and here is what I came up with.

The first one I’ve used the Wild Rose stamp set.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Wild Rose
Card: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Sage Shadow, Whisper White, Rose Red Prints DSP
Ink: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Sage Shadow
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Photo Corner Punch, White Gel Pen, Cherished Memories Rub-ons, Paper Piercing template and tool (Tool Kit), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the second card I pulled out the Brocade Basics stamp set and created this.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Brocade Basics, Warm Words
Card: Regal Rose, Rose Red, Sage Shadow, Whisper White
Ink: Sage Shadow, Regal Rose, Rose Red
Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Piercing template & tool (Tool Kit), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Wanted…

2009-02-08T10:58:00.001+11:00

I pulled out my “Wanted” stamp set a few weeks back when Leonie & Carol came over with their children for the day as I was still yet to use it but didn’t make anything with it. Finally last night when I was stamping with another friend I did put it to use and this is what I created.

I think the struggle with this set is that I had no purpose to make a horse card. I love horses but haven’t been on one in donkey’s years, but none of the males in my family or that I know are horse people and to me this set and my creation is more masculine. I find any masculine card difficult as I don’t need to make many of them. There are definitely loads more girls in my family than boys. We have 8 males against 17 females and that’s just immediate family (parents, siblings, nieces & nephews). This probably explains why a lot of my creations are more feminine and I use lots of flower stamp sets.

I guess I need to give myself a few challenges. One would be to make some more masculine cards and the other would be to make something using the Wanted stamp set that I feel is more feminine or at least suitable for a female so I don’t upset anyone who things this set isn’t just a masculine set.

It might just be the darker/boyish colours and as I’m typing this I’ve just had an idea for a girly card so hopefully I’ll have another post soon with a girly horse card…….

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Wanted
Card: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Outlaw DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Metallic Brads, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Polka Dot Valentine

2009-02-04T09:58:00.001+11:00

I finally had some time to give last weeks “Make It Monday” Tutorial by Makeesha a go. I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before but not only does Makeesha share these great tutorials with other Australian Demonstrators via our demo group but she also shares them on her website for anyone that visits. If you would like to check out the Tutorial for this project I’m sharing with you today then you can view it here.

The first thing I decided I wanted to use to make my Rectangle Box was the Spring Break DSP. Can’t use new stuff all the time now can I? The coordinating colours for Spring Break are Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Soft Sky and Pumpkin Pie. I choose to use Blue Bayou as my main colour for the box so I followed the tutorial and did that.

Now when it came to selecting which print to use from the Spring Break DSP I ended up deciding to do something totally different to my initial idea, which I won’t tell you about as I may still make one up like that. I love the stripe print in the Spring Break pack and thought it would work great along with the Polka Dot Punches SAB set to create a masculine Valentine Gift Box.

So this is how it turned out.

This is the inside which will be filled with one of my hubby’s favourite choccies (either Bertie Bettles or those liquer bottle chocolates) closer to Valentine’s Day as it’s just way too hot to keep them around for another 10 days.

So do you think I pulled off a Masculine look???

Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #4

2009-02-02T08:00:00.000+11:00

This is the sketch challenge that Makeesha gave us for this week on our Demo group and she also posts it on her blog for anyone else interested in giving it a go.

This week I’ve created 2 cards using this sketch.

The first one is using the Summer By The Sea stamp set.

I’ve colour the image using Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, River Rock, Close to Cocoa, Tempting Turquoise and Blush Blossom markers with my aqua painter after stamping it onto watercolor paper using Stazon Black ink. The image has been layered onto a piece of Blue Bayou and then onto So Saffron. I’ve tied some Black Hemp Twine around the So Saffron and added 3 x 1/2” circles of Blue Bayou cardstock with Black brads in the centres using Stampin’ Dimensionals. This is all layered onto a Basic Black card.

For the next card I’ve used the Crab & Co stamp set. I purchased this when the Birthday Promotion was on but hadn’t used it yet. Now I have. One of my nieces has her 10th Birthday this month so this card will be ready for her.

The image has been stamped onto watercolor paper using Stazon Black in. I have then coloured using Real Red, Wild Wasabi & Sahara Sand inkpads and an aqua painter. I’ve also used my So Saffron marker for the circles & bow on the party hat. This is then layered onto some Real Read Cardstock and then onto So Saffron cardstock. The presents have been stamped onto watercolor paper using Stazon Black ink and punched out with the 1” Circle Punch. I have then coloured them using the Blue Bayou inkpad and an aqua painter along with Real Red, Wild Wasabi and So Saffron markers for the finer details. I have also sponged around the edges of the circles using a sponge dauber and Real Red inkpad. ‘Snappy Birthday’ is stamped onto watercolor paper using Stazon Black also and layered onto some Real Red cardstock. I have used the Speckled Jumbo Wheel and Blue Bayou inkpad over the Blue Bayou base card. Tied some Wild Wasabi double-stitched ribbon around the So Saffron and mounted to the card. The presents are adhered using Stampin’ Dimensionals and also the ‘snappy birthday!’

In Color Summer

2009-02-01T13:09:00.002+11:00

This continuous hot weather (not as bad in Sydney as it is in some other Australian States) is making me just want to sit inside in the cool. Yesterday I had to catch up on the ironing but today I’m creating. I have a few things on my agenda that I am hoping to get done so there should be some more posts this week.

Seeing how we are almost at the end of another Stampin’ Up Catalogue year, I’m planning on using some of my stamp sets that haven’t see ink in a while (or at all) along with lots of In Colour items, so I’m not as disappointed if/when they retire. Of course we all have our favourites that we wish would never retire but we also realize we need new things too.

Today’s card I’ve made using the Summer By The Sea stamp set. This is a wonderful set to Watercolour with.

For this card I have a Wild Wasabi base. I’ve then layered a piece of Soft Sky cardstock which has been stamped using Soft Sky ink and Sanded Background stamp. The edges have also been sponged with Soft Sky ink. I have a Groovy Guava photo corner which I’ve paper pierced using the template & tool from the Tool Kit. The main image and verse are both stamped on watercolor paper using Stazon Black. For the main image I’ve used Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, Almost Amethyst and Blush Blossom markers with my aqua painter.

And the winner is……

2009-01-29T13:48:00.001+11:00

After removing the few demonstrators who left me wonderful comments there were 19 entries. I used Random.org to pick a winner and the results were:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2009-01-29 02:45:21 UTC

So the winner with this comment is:

Hi Nikki

Wow lovely card set and matching wallet

If only I had the time to create something like this

Maybe I'll win it

LOL

Theresa Kamp

That’s right Theresa it’s you……

I’ll have them shipped off to you early next week. Enjoy.

The things you find when….. and some blog candy.

2009-01-23T09:27:00.002+11:00

While tidying up my craft room a little yesterday I came across this unfinished card wallet.

It really didn’t need a lot to finish it off. A handle and a closure should do it.

Then I realised what DSP pack I had used and had a brainwave. Well 2 actually. Don’t freak out I’m okay……….hahaha

Seeing that it is the East Coast Prep DSP and that’s what I used for this recent card (now shown with it’s coordinating envelope), my brainwave was to use the East Coast Prep DSP and the Ocean Commotion stamp set and create a set of 4 matching cards and envelopes for the Card Wallet. I decided to go with a Birthday theme as the colours are bright and cheery.

So this is obviously the first card so what others are there..

The main 4 colours used in the East Coast Prep DSP are Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and More Mustard so I decided I would make a base card from each of these. I already had the Tempting Turquoise so next is using Wild Wasabi.

First I stamped the seaweed image using Wild Wasabi down the right hand side of the card. I then scallop edged a piece of More Mustard card and then layered a piece of East Coast Prep DSP on top which I adhered to the card as shown. Using Tempting Turquoise inkpad I stamped the seahorse onto Whisper White card, trimmed and then layered onto a slightly larger piece of Real Red which has then been mounted to the card using stampin’ dimensionals. Finally I inked a stamp from So Many Sayings (Hostess set) using Real Red ink and punched out using the Word Window Punch and adhered to card.

With this card I stamped the main images first and worked from there.

I stamped the Angel Fish, starting from the top right hand side 3 times without reinking in Real Red and then reinked and stamped once onto a scrap piece of Whisper White which I then cut out. Next I stamped the seaweed using Tempting Turquoise randomly doing some as a second stamping before reinking to give a softer shadowy look. The Birthday sentiment is from the Cheer & Wishes stamp set and is stamped in Wild Wasabi. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to help with alignment.

This was then mounted to a slightly larger piece of More Mustard card.

Using my 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter I have added some sparkle to the seaweed which I hope you can see.

I then randomly stamped the shell image using Wild Wasabi ink onto Wild Wasabi Card. This is then mounted to the Real Red base card. The main image was then added and the final touch was to add the cut out Angel Fish using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

So that now leaves the More Mustard base card and here that is.

First off I cut a piece of East Coast Prep DSP and a piece of Whisper White 67mm x 67mm and 2 pieces of Wild Wasabi at 70mm x 70mm. I then adhered the East Coast Prep DSP to one of the Wild Wasabi pieces and tied Real Red striped ribbon around it and adhered to the card as shown.

Using More Mustard ink and the Angel Fish I stamped 4 times as shown reinking each time. Then I stamped the seaweed image twice using Wild Wasabi ink. I decided I wanted to add some sparkle so I used the new Chunky Glitter available in the Summer Mini. To do this I ran my Tombow Multi Adhesive Glue over parts of the seaweed image and then sprinkled on the Celery Chunky Sprinkles. This is then layered onto the second Wild Wasabi Piece and then mounted to the card as shown using Stampin’ Dimensionals. The last step was to add the ‘Make A Wish’ rub-on from the Eastern Elegance pack.

To finish up this set I needed to complete the last details for the card wallet and this is what I did.

I decided to keep it rather plain so I added a handle using some More Mustard 1/4” grosgrain ribbon and added a closure using the Birthday stamp from It’s Your Birthday along with the Scallop Square Punch.

Using the Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and Real Red Markers I inked the words as shown. This is stamped onto a scrap of Whisper White card and punched out using the 1 1/4” square punch. I then punched out a scallop square from More Mustard card. This image is mounted to the scallop square using Stampin’ Dimensionals. This is then adhered to the top flap of the card wallet but just the top half. I have then added a Velco Dot for a fastener.

So now to tell you about the second brainwave…… I assure you I’m okay.

This is where the Blog Candy comes in.

I have decided to offer this whole set as Blog Candy.

All you need to do is leave me a message on this post from now until Wednesday 28th January to be in the running to receive this Birthday Pack.

Only Australian residents are eligible to enter and no Stampin’ Up Demonstrators either sorry but please feel free to leave a comment if you wish just mention you are a demo or from overseas and therefore not entering. I will be using Random.org to select a winner on Thursday morning.

Envelope Gift Card Holder

2009-01-23T07:00:00.000+11:00

This week in our demonstrator group the wonderful Makeesha shared her tutorial for Envelope Gift Card Holders. You can see this tutorial and Makeesha’s samples here.

These are reasonably easy and quick to make once you have decided which beautiful Stampin’ Up Designer Series Paper Pack you are going to use along with a stamp set…..hehehe. I’m sure I’ll be making more of these.

Here’s a picture of the inside which fits the card in the back section and has room for the gift card (hence why they are called Envelope ‘Gift Card’ Holders).

To make these holders you need to have the Stampin’ Up 5-in-1 card cover template. Not only can you use the template to create personalised matching envelopes for your card creations but you can use it to make great little creations like this one.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, It’s Your Birthday
Card: Taken With Teal, Rose Red, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Bali Breeze DSP
Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive inkpads, Old Olive & Pumpkin Pies Markers
Accessories: 1 3/8” & 1 1/4” circle punches, Pumpkin Pie 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Square punch,Earth Elements brads, 5-in-1 card cover template, stampin’ dimensionals, velcro dot

Sassy Stems

2009-01-22T11:53:00.002+11:00

On our demonstrator group last Saturday Makeesha supplies up with this colour challenge.

Not a colour combination I’ve used before and new it would definitely be a challenge.

I wanted to use a stamp set I hadn’t used in a while and that’s where Sassy Stems comes into it.

Here is my card:

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Sassy Stems, Tres Chic
Card: Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla
Ink: Stazon Black, Ruby Red, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Silver Brads, Styled Silver Hodgepodge (ribbon buckle), stampin sponge, aqua painter, stampin’ dimensionals.

Ocean Sprinkles

2009-01-15T08:00:00.001+11:00

I haven’t used this set a great deal since purchasing it back in November and was still yet to use my new Chunky Sprinkles but after seeing a wonderful card made by Makeesha I just had to have a play. This is the card I made yesterday while my good friends Leonie & Carol were visiting with their children.

I decided I would use the East Coast Prep DSP so the colours that coordinate with that are More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Real Red and Tempting Turquoise.

I first stamped the swirly coral image using the Wild Wasabi inkpad. I then traced over some of the image with my Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive which I covered with the sprinkles.It gives a real 3D effect.

The Angel Fish was stamped in More Mustard and the Seahorse in Tempting Turquoise on Whisper White card, cut out and adhered to the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Ocean Commotion
Card: Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise, More Mustard
Accessories: Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon, Celery Chunky Sprinkles, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, Real Red brads (Bold Brights), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Thank You

2009-01-14T20:15:00.002+11:00

This card was made for a good friend and fellow demonstrator Leonie Schroder. I literally just finished this card this morning before Leonie arrived with her girls to spend the day, and I do mean just as I managed to get the Pearl affixed as my girls went out and welcomed them.

We had a great day. Another friend and her 2 children joined us also. All up there were 3 of us + 8 children (7 girls and only 1 boy). The children spent most of the day in the pool but no matter how much we told them to wear the sunscreen there will be a few sore children for the next few days. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter so I think it will be an inside day for sure.

The adults managed to have a bit of a play today. Mostly we chatted though but I did manage to make 1 card so will share that with you tomorrow. Leonie stamped and coloured some images from a stamp set she didn’t have so hopefully she will share those on her blog in a few days. I’ll keep reminding her……. If you haven’t seen Leonie’s blog you might like to check it out here.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Embrace Life, Short & Sweet
Card: Groovy Guava, Ruby Red, River Rock, Watercolor Paper, Ginger Blossom DSP.
Ink: Stazon Black, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red
Accessories: Sherbet Ribbon Originals, White Gel Pen, Pretties Kit.

I finally did it.......WooHoo

2009-01-13T08:00:00.002+11:00

Yes my share today is using another stamp set. Hopefully you're not all thinking .... finally.

My good friend and I decided we would stamp on Saturday night too seeing we had nothing else going on. On the Australian Demonstrator yahoo group I'm in the lovely Makeesha posted a new Sketch Challenge for us late Friday night so I wanted to play with that. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to use the new Embrace Life set from the current Summer Mini catalogue. So that's what I'm showing you today. I made one card using her sketch and another inspired by a card on SCS.

Here is the Sketch Challenge Makeesha gave us.

and here is what I came up with:

I don't use my Pretties Kit as often as I should so it was nice to put them to use in this card and just what it needed I think.

I have stamped the images onto Stampin' Up!s wonderful Watercolor Paper and used and Aqua Painter and inkpads to colour. I've use a White Gel Pen to colour the tips of the stamen on the main flower but not sure if you can see that too well here.

There's Groovey Guava in this card too......Well the DSP is Groovy Guava from the Afternoon Tea DSP pack and the main flower is watercoloured using Groovy Guava inkpad.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Embrace Life
Card: Ruby Red, River Rock, Watercolor Paper, Ginger Blossom DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, River Rock, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Groovy Guava
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Aqua Painter, Pretties Kit, River Rock double stitched ribbon, White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Now the second card I made was inspired (almost a CASE I guess) by this card created by Wendy Janson.

I have stamped the leaf print in Black Stazon 4 times using the stamp-a-ma-jog for placement. I then coloured in the leaves using the Black Stampin' Write Marker. The 'Make a Wish' sentiment is a Rub-on from the Eastern Elegance pack (retired Spring Mini Catalogue item). I cut a strip of DSP from the Afternoon Tea pack and layered onto a slightly wider piece of Basic Black card and then attached this to the card as shown. The flower was stamped on Watercolor Paper using Black Stazon and coloured using an Aqua Painter and Ruby Red inkpad. The centres of the stamen have been coloured using a White Gel Pen and I've attached a half backed white pearl from the Pretties Kit to the centre of the flower. This is mounted to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Embrace Life
Card: Basic Black, Ruby Red, Watercolor Paper, Ginger Blossom DSP
Ink: Stazon Black, Ruby Red, Basic Black Marker
Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Eastern Elegance Rub-ons, Aqua Painter, White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals.

So what do you think?

Nicole Stalker

My blog is moving…..

It’s on again!!!!

Embrace Life

Friends 24-7

Family Birthdays Part 3

Family Birthdays Part 2.

Family Birthdays Part 1

What did I receive…..September Part 3

What did I receive……September Part 2

What did I receive…..September Part 1

What did I receive….August Part 2

What did I receive….August Part 1

What did I receive…..July Part 2

What did I receive…..July Part 1

September Part 2

September Part 1

August Part 2

July Card 2

August Part 1

You may have guessed….

Bored Children???

Christmas Ornaments

World Card Making Day

Mmmm….Chocolate…..

The Birthdays have started.

Another Bella but more SU

*mwah*…..

Look who’s turning…..

Urban Garden & Upsy Daisy

Kiwi Fancy

Baja Thanks

Fun & Fast Notes

hey there!

Something a little different

Tri-Shutter Cards

July Class

Yet another Cupcake….

Crystal Inspired 2

Crystal Inspired 1

Another cupcake

Kiwi Crazy

Blog Candy Winner is…

Random Integer Generator

A Bold Challenge

Sweet Always gifts

Some old, some new and some Blog Candy

Now for the blog candy.

Faux Silk Inspiration

Some challenges from me

Step it Up!

Cheep Talk

My sunglasses card…

Upsy Daisy Thanks

Inspired Thanks.

Catty Casing Part 2

Catty Casing….

Post-It Note Holders

Lovin’ the In-Colors

Convention Swap cards

Candy Lane Dreams – Mojo Monday Week 88

It’s Party Time!!!!

May Promotions

Convention Swaps

Giant Craft Sale

Stamp Club + Birthday Cards

Raspberry Tart Paper Block Holder

Fresh Cuts for you…..

Colour Challenge

Happy Easter

Designer Series Paper, Ribbon & Embellishment Shares

The 2009|2010 Idea Book & Catalogue is now live

Good Friend Sneak Peek

Stamp Classes

MIM – Goodie Bag Wrap

Eastern Blooms Birthday

After a bargain????

Splitcoaststampers Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009

Another Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #5 card

Retired List update

mwah…..