Birthday/Hostess gifts

Hi again (getting to be a habit now:)  )  I saw a card like this somewhere and thought it was lovely. When I needed a gift for a hostess who I knew liked to drink Tea I purchased a pack of Lipton something-or-other which was in a box. The box was a bit ordinary so I thought I would pretty it up and make it match the card. It turned out so well that I ended up making a few more for upcoming birthdays and another hostess. I was really happy with them and I thought they were lovely gifts.

I have tried to make this photo a bit arty-farty. Not so sure that it turned out so well.
Supplies here were Morning Cup stamp set, Warmest Regards stamps set (retired a long time ago), 5 petal punch, embossing folders, Designer series paper (neutrals) and an antique brad or pearl.
I apologise to whomever I have CASEd this from for not acknowledging. When I find it again I will be sure to add a link.
Thanks for popping in.

Vintage Birthday

I finally did things the right way and made a card in time to photograph before it was given. This card I CASed from  Karan Haman which you can find here. It uses the Aviary stamp set which I love but haven't used as much as I'd like. Lots of ideas, just little time.

The card is Crumb Cake with embossed Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette for the flowers (punched with the 5 petal flower punch) and Certainly Celery for the leaf (cut with the Little Leaves Sizzix die) and some designer paper (from the Neutrals collection). The ribbon and lace are from my stash. The setiment is from "Well Scripted"which is retired. I have used Early Espresso and Marina Mist ink.

Thanks for visiting.

Well looky here!

Well fancy this.
Chatting with a friend about her blog reminded me that I actually had one !!
I've done so many cards since I last posted so I should have lots to choose from to post but, of course, I didn't photograph most of them. I did find this set though that I made as a gift. I cased it from ambouth a member of splitcoast stampers. Here is her card that I really haven't changed much and here are my versions.




Pretty quick and simple cards which turned out OK I think.

I am off to see what else I managed to photograph and maybe you'll even see another post by the end of the year!

Cheers, Vicki


Supplies:
Stamps : French Foliage, Well Scripted (retired)
Cardstock: Kraft,Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, More Mustard
Inks: Cajun Craze matched with More Mustard and Old Olive matched with Always Artichoke
Added ribbon to match.

Butterflies

Don't fall down. I've managed to find time to post something. My daughter turned 20 (OMG!!!) the day before Christmas and I was quite pleased with the card I found to CASE for her. The original was from here on Splitcoast Stampers. I've used Early Espresso So Saffron, Regal Rose and Very Vanilla. The stamps are Butterfly Prints, Baroque Motifs and On your Birthday. A very pretty card I think. I am now teenager free for 1 year until my oldest boy turns 13 next Jan.

A Christmas Gift

Here's something I've been wanting to CASE since the Catalogue came out but I only just purchased the stamp set that I needed. It's the beautiful frame from page 141. As soon as I saw it I knew my mum would love it. I found the frame in the Reject Shop for $4.00 so, not including the stamp set purchase, it's a very cheap gift that doesn't look it !!

I was inspired then to try and come up with an 'original'. Not easy for me but I ended up with something I was fairly happy with.

They really didn't take any time to make and I think they will make lovely gifts.

Hope you are inspired to make some Christmas gifts for your family and friends.

Bye for now,

Vicki

So Much for Regular Posting

I really would like to know how people manage to blog every day. I cannot even manage once a month. It's been about 8 months since my last post. I have made quite alot of cards in that time most of which I have given without taking a picture (doh!). So I will start with some cards I have made over the last couple of days.


If you've seen the new Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue you may have seen the cute new owl punch. Well I've gone a little mad on him. I've trawled the web and come up with a whole stack of designs that I loved and so I have set about re-creating them.


This first I CASED from one here by bzimmer on Splitcoast Stampers. It uses the owl punch (obviously), the "little Leaves" Sizzix folder, Stampin' Up! eyelet border punch and the Woodgrain background stamp. Also the Oval and Scallop oval punches.

Hope you like this one and hope you are happy to see a few more owl cards which hopefully will appear before 2012.

See ya' Vicki

And yet another one

My sister-in-law also celebrates a birthday in January and I know she's into horses so I used the "Wanted" stamp set here with Creamy Carmel and black cardstock. I cut a circle and used temporary tape to put it on the white cardstock. I also put a piece of scrap paper along the bottom part. I brayered Tempting Turquoise ink onto the top two thirds of the white card and then some Brilliant blue, not covering all of the Turquoise. I took off the circle and the bottom scrap. This leaves you with a nice white circle and some 'ground' which I sponged with Creamy Caramel ink. I stamped the horse in black ink and then restamped another 2 times without reinking. I stamped some 'grass' using "Pocket Silhouettes". I used "Oval All" (retired) for the sentiment which I put into a Hodegpodge frame(also retired).

I added some flowers & bling and that's another birthday done. I'm working on another today so I can hopefully continue my run of posts.

See ya'

Another Birthday

Another birthday in our household. Nathan has just turned 11 and he definitely is one of a kind. This one uses a fish from "Just Beachy" and the sentiment from "One of a Kind". Cardstock is Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Baja Breeze and some Kraft stamped with "Itty Bitty Backgrounds" (retired). I've stamped the fish randomly, then masked them and sponged some Baja breeze ink around them. I stamped and cut out the extra coloured fish & it's on some dimensionals with some bling added (of course).

A bit of Baja ribbon, layer some punches for the sentiment, some stickers to personalise it (kids love that) and we're done. I'm happy and he's happy. YAY!

A New Year

Hi there. It's been a while since my last post but you know how it is. So I hope you all had a happy Christmas and that you saw the old year out safely. Let's look forward to a peaceful 2010.

I've made a couple of cards over the last few weeks that I've been very happy with. Again I've been inspired by Michelle Zindorf who makes some amazing pieces of artwork. Check her out here .

It was my mum's 70th birthday recently and here is the card I made for her.

I've used a flower from the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set, Kraft, Kiwi Kiss, Tempting Turquoise and Bronze cardstock. I had some chipboard numbers that I embossed with Copper embossing powder and I added a couple of green rhinestones and some non SU ribbon (um-ar). The flowers I coloured with turquoise ink and I sponged ink around the main piece of whisper white card.

I liked how it turned out and mum did too so it was all good.

I seem to be making alot of square cards lately. These measure a bit less than 15x15 because the envelopes I have are just a bit small for an exact 15x15. I plan to share a couple more with you over the next few days. I hope you like them.

Christmas is Coming !!!!

Ohhh Noooo. So much shopping and so little time. Stampin' Up! have put together a gift giving guide to make it a little easier. And there's a little gift for you too!

During November spend $85 or more on products from this guide (see it better here ) and you will receive a Square Scallop Punch as a free gift (rrp $30.95). E-mail me your order now and get things started. Dont' leave it too long it will be here before you know it!

Breast Cancer Awareness Offer

Special offer for joining Stampin' Up!

Now you too can become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and make a difference! For every person who joins the Stampin' Up! family between 1 October and 31 December 2009, Stampin' Up! will donate $5 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (AU) or The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation.
Plus, until 31 December 2009, you'll also receive a FREE pack of Raspberry Tart Designer Series paper and a Pretty in Pink Classic Stampin' Pad to help you get started!

The starter kit is already great value so this is the cherry on top ! If you'd like to talk about joining up just drop me an e-mail and we can chat.

I'm a Great-Aunt

Well my niece has had a lovely little baby girl called Ava. I'm looking forward to visiting tomorrow to have a cuddle. I managed to get this card done today at a monthly get together with stamping friends and borrowed a camera (and photographer-thanks Lee) to share it with you. I have cased it from a card created by a Canadian Stampin' Up! demonstrator Andrea Walford's (awesome blog, check it out)

I have used the Baroque motifs stamp set, Orchid Opulence and Old Olive ink & card along with oval & circle punches. The flowers are prima and of course I had to add a little bling. I was quite happy with my version. I hope it makes the new mum smile.

Spring Mini Up and Running

Stampin' Up! has released it's new Spring Mini Catalogue. You can click on the picture on the right to get a look or contact me and I will send one out to you. There are some lovely, fresh stamp sets and papers as well as some Christmas sets so we can make an early start on our cards and avoid the last minute panic to get them finished (wishful thinking on my part).

There were a couple of sets that took my eye straight away. Great Friend and Just Beachy were my first purchases along with Oval all and the Scallop Punch as well as the Walk in the Park papers (love these!).

I'm trying to post a couple of cards that I have made with these sets but my #!@! camera refuses to work. So I will wait till DH gets home and hopefully I can get it done tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting, Vicki.

Baby Boom -Part 2

Here's another baby card that, when I saw it, I had to make .

I have used Baja Breeze cardstock and Designer Series Paper along with Apricot Appeal cardstock and ribbon. The baby's face is just a circle that I drew a face on and his/her hair is a piece of frayed Chocolate Chip ribbon. The blanket is made with a scallop that I cut using a Nestabilities die in my cuttlebug. This one took no time at all and looks great I think.

Thanks for visiting. More soon.

Baby Boom

My niece is having a baby shower on Saturday and I needed a card. I don't have many baby stamps in my collection (something I need to fix I think ) so I went trawling the net to find some inspiration. Well I found dozens of card that I loved so I have made 3 and will decide which one I will give on the the day.

First off I have to show this one. How cute is this. It's called a gel card and you use a zip-lock bag with some hair gel in it. There is a tutorial here and the card I CASEd is here (but I must say I like mine better!).

I've used patterned paper from the Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper layered on Pink Pirouhette and Baja Breeze card. The flowers are Prima flowers from my pre-Stampin' Up! days.

I'm happy with how this one turned out. I'm sure it will make my niece smile.

I will share some more cards soon.

Happy Stamping.

More Cupcakes

Well I don't know what's going on with the calender but it sure does seem to be skipping days here & there. I think I just lost the whole of June !!!!

I have hardly had a chance to update here but I'm determined not to let it go completely. So let today be the start of the rest of the year.

Here is a card using the set called "Crazy for Cupcakes". I'm finding this set really useful for boys, girls and adults too.

I showed a card before using just the balloon stamp. This card is using the cupcake stand for a pretty girls card.

Colours used here are Apricot Appeal, Close to Cocoa and Pretty in Pink as well as Whisper white. I have used the Oval punches and some matching ribbons and I have added some glitter to the cupcake tops (I don't think that shows up too well in the photo).

Hope you like this one and hopefully I will have more to show you soon.

Inspirational Blog

Check this out!! There is a blog that I look at ALL the time.

This woman is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Her name is Michelle Zindorf and you can find her at
http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/

She posts detailed tuorials every couple of days on creating really special cards. Works of art. I finally decided to give one a go and I am so happy with the result.

It was challenging but well worth it.I can't wait to have a go at another one. As Molly Meldrum would say 'Do yourself a favour" and get over there and check out her blog. She has a tab at the top pointing to all of her tutorials.

What a generous woman.

This card uses the stamp set called "Voila" which is a chef with some different things to put on his platter. The colours are Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White cardstock with Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Always Artichoke & Basic Black inks.

Lots of sponging & inky fingers but good fun.

Happy Stamping.

Crazy For Cupcakes ?

This card is from a set called "Crazy for Cupcakes" It has, of course, got cupcake images which I will share with you later but for this one I have used the balloon.

I've stamped it twice onto Whisper White & coloured them in with some Bold Bright colours. I stamped, coloured & cut out another balloon. This one I mounted on the card with dimensionals, added some brads and layered it onto some matching coloured card. Didn't take too long and turned out quite nicely I think. Oh... the sentiment is from the same stamp set and I stamped it around the balloon making sure of where it went by using my Stamp-a-ma-jig (a tool I can hardly do without).

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Stamping !

First from New Catalogue

At last, time to share. This card is made using a new set from the brand new Idea Book and Catalogue called "Cheers to You". I have a few made with this set so I'll share more soon. You can't see in the picture but I have used some liquid applique on the beer froth which looks great (although I overheated the bottom one & burnt it a little - makes it more unique I think). Colours here are Night of Navy, More Mustard, Real Red and Garden Green. I've also stamped the background with "Sanded" and added a little Choc Chip ribbon. Hope you like it.

Retiring List is now up

Stampin' Up! have released the retirement list for 2009. How sad . Such a long list of things that we will not see in the next Idea Book & Catalogue.

Check it out here and if there is something you can't live without then e-mail or call me ASAP because these things go F-A-S-T and once they're gone they're gone.

I've just noticed that there are some sets that have been discounted . Check out the list and see

* denotes 25% off regular price
** denotes 50% off regular price
*** denotes 50% of the purchase price is being donated to the
Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal


I'm off to check it out over a coffee and to "make a list".

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.