New Web Site and Christmas Tutorials

Hi there
I would like to announce that i have a new website. This is a Stampin' Up! website where i can upload tutorials and you can view specials and the like. So it doesn't replace my blog which i will still be updating but it does have a few different things on there such as projects, class calendar as well as information on monthly specials and hosting your very own workshops and links to the current catalogues.
Check it out at here
I will be posting tutorials on there at least every month so make sure you check it on a regular basis for new and exciting things to make.
At the moment i have posted a tutorial on my snow swirled snow globe. Lots of lovely ladies got to make this snow globe at the Girl's Night In Stampin' Fiesta last weekend, however this is the jazzed up version using the heat and stick powder and glitter. The tutorial gives you step by step instructions on how to make it.
I also have a tutorial on how to make my reindeer boxes which have been very popular and i will be making a bunch of these in the upcoming weeks for Tyson and Alyssa's daycare. They are also cute for place settings.
So i think that completes my christmas idea for the week, i know i still owe you one from last week so i will give you two next week!
Enjoy!

Girl's Night In Stampin' Fiesta

Thank you so much to all of you who came to the Girl's Night In Stampin' Fiesta. We managed to raise $2035 to help support Women's cancer, so it was a great effort by all involved.

Here are the cards that we made on the night. We also had some really beautiful stepped up versions made on display on the night but i don't have copies of those.

Covered Note Book

Those who know me, know that i have this little note book that i carry everywhere. I write my ideas, my to do list and any other notes in it. It used to be a lovely covered book with Designer Series Paper and ribbon and i recieved it as a gift from my upline Merryl Blacker last year at Christmas, however now it is more of a well loved ratty tatty look.
So the pages have run out and it was time to get myself a new one.

I covered this notebook using the Rasberry Tart Designer Series Paper, co ordinating Rose Red cardstock and Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon. Do you see how the paper fits perfectly in the bindings of the book, this was achieved used my Spiral Punch. I was thrilled with the colours and look.... so pretty.
I then wanted to experiment with the On Board Loads of Letters Chipboard. So i used crystal effects to glue on some pink Fine Supernova Glitter. When that was dry i covered the glitter with a layer of Crystal Effects to give it a smooth finish. So i now have a personalised notebook that looks divine and was really quick and easy to boot.

5th Avenue Floral Candle

A workshop i held recently had a group of lovely ladies who have been to a couple of workshops now. I try to show people new things all the time, so i took the opportunity to show these ladies how to stamp on a candle.

I used the 5th Avenue Floral set (yet again because you just can't go wrong) and the colours Basic Grey, Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze. I finished the candle off with some Baja Breeze Double Stitched Grossgrain Ribbon. Now this will make a cute gift for somebody i think!

Thomas the Tank Engine Scrapbook Page - Choo Choo

My nephew Mason, recently had his 2nd Birthday Party at the Trainshed at Vicarey's Winery. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine and so i made this scrapbook layout to give to his parents to remember the day.

I have chosen the Bold Brights Colour Family with Yo Yo Yellow as the 12x12 base cardstock. I have mounted the photos on Brilliant Blue and Real Red cardstock.
I have rolled the Right On Track wheel along the bottom of the page. Did you notice that i have rolled it across the whole length of at 12x12. You can only do this using an ink cartridge and i have used a Basic Black one in this page. I have then stamped on images from the Choo Choo set on the tracks using Real Red and Brilliant Blue Classic Ink Pads. Did you know this wheel and stamp set are only available until the end of November! That is when we say goodbye to our Spring Mini Catalogue. I will be really sad to see this set go as having a little boy myself, it was one of my favourites.
The Thomas the Tank Engine has been made exclusively from Stampin' Up! punches, could you tell? It's pretty awesome isn't it?
I have stamped my Mason's name using the Big Deal Alphabet in Real Red Ink. I use this alphabet set alot and for $79.95 you know you will never run out of A's or T's.

Bright Delights Rub On Card

This is a super quick card that i made using the Bright Delights Rub Ons. It uses Tangerine Tango card stock and Tangerine Tango Double Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. I love these trees, They are similar to the trees in the Trendy Trees stamp set.
Anyway i just rubbed the rub ons onto Whisper White card stock, mounted it on Tangerine Tango and then again one Whisper White. It took less than 2 minutes to make. Great huh?
Sorry for the absense of my weekly christmas card post. I still don't have internet at my house and so have been unable to upload any new picutres other than those i had already scheduled. I will show you two projects next week to make up for it!

Sweet sticky Cuts with Supernova Glitter

It was my cousins wedding a couple of weeks ago and although i had made a card a month or so ago i decided i wanted to make another one.
I love the 'electric' look that the combination of Pacific Point cardstock gives with our Brushed Metallic Silver cardstock. Did you actually know that Stampin' Up! sells Metallic cardstock? Well we do, it comes in a pack of gold, bronze and silver, 12 sheets (4 ea. of 3 colours). You can get this Brushed Metallic cardstock for just $17.25 (+ P&H). It is on page 130 of the 2009-2010 Idea's Book and Catalogue.

I have used our Sweet and Sticky Cuts with the Fine Supernova Glitter for the card feature and have mounted these on Whisper White cardstock. Although you can't see it in this photo, i have popped the white layer up on Dimensionals and added some Pretty In Pink Tafetta Ribbon and some of the Square Ice Rhinestone Brads to embellish the card.

5th Avenue Floral Embossed

So can you guess what my favourite set is at the moment?
Yes it is 5th Avenue Floral. Anything you make with this set turns out absolutely beautiful, you just can't stamp it wrong.

This is a card i made at a recent workshop as a make and take with a group of ladies that are starting to become seasoned stampers with a few workshops under their belt. These ladies also regularly get together for card making nights, lucky things!

In this card i have used a Basic Black as the base cardstock with a Sahara Sand Mat. I have stamped the flowers using Versamark ink and then embossed with black embossing powder on the rose and silver embossing powder on the other flower. I have sponged the edges of the Whisper White card stock with Sahara Sand ink using the Stampin' Sponges. I find that Sahara Sand is such a nice neutral colour it goes with everything and just adds a touch of class.

The greeting is also from the 5th Ave Floral stamp set and it is embossed with Versamark and black embossing powder and framed with Sahara Sand and Basic Black card stock.
I have used the Double Rectangle Punch and the Kraft Tafetta Ribbon to make a faux bow.

Hope you like the card.

2010 Calendars

I have started my 2010 calendars already. I will be making some magnetic calendars as well as some desk top calendars.
This is a magnetic calendar i have made for the fridge. It is super easy!
I have used the 6x6 Designer Series Paper Patterns Pack that you can earn as a Level 1 Hostess Reward. I have used Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette card stock as the matting for the photo and stamped some images from the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set on Whisper White card stock with co-ordinating ink (Pink Pirouette and Regal Rose). I have then cut the butterflies out and popped them up using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Moving.......

Many of you already know that i am currently moving house. Not far just 10 minutes from my current location. We are moving to Beaumont Hills and are just upsizing a little and moving closer to where my kids will go to school in the future.
A lovely family with 2 young children very similar in age to mine have bought our current house and i made this card to leave here for them (along with all the instructions on the appliances and the keys etc etc).

I have used the Neighbourhood Jumbo Wheel which i have inked up with Staz On Black and rolled onto Watercolour Paper. I have tried a few different watercolour papers now and agree with alot of the other people that Stampin' Up's is the best quality. You just can't make watercolouring look anything but good on this paper!
I have used my watercolour pencils and coloured in the houses. If you look really closely you can see that on the bushes i have actually punched out some Old Olive cardstock with my Boho Blossoms punch and stuck them on with dimensionals.
I have used the car from the Loads of Love stamp set and the furniture from the Loads of Love Accessories, these have also been watercoloured. The greeting is from the accessories set and i have used the 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches and popped it up on Dimensionals.

I have used some different colours this time. Not Quite Navy is the card base. It is one of my favourite colours but i don't use it as often as i should. It is teamed with Old Olive and Basic Grey is the colour of the road base.
I hope the people in this new house enjoy it as much as we did. I'm a little sad but my husband keeps telling me to see it as a new beginning not an ending.... we will see!

2nd Weekly Christmas Card - A Fresh Cut Notes Spin

This christmas card was inspired by one my fellow Creative Stampers team member Michelle Le Breton made. I thought her idea of using the die cut petals from the Fresh Cut Notes set as flames on candles was ingenious. I don't know how many of these i threw away before i saw Michelle's card!!!

So i have used a sponge dauber with Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie ink to colour the die cuts to look like a flame. The rest of the card was made using scraps from the I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit.
The candle was are just some of the Designer Series Paper off cuts that i have coated with Crystal Effects to give it that waxy look. The bottom border are some of the offcuts from the die cut stickers in the Simply Scrappin' Kit. How good do they look for scraps?
The greeting is from the very versatile Best Yet hostess set. I have punched the sentiment out with the Designer Label Punch which fits perfectly inside the Silver Hodgepodge. I just love Silver Hodgepodge! It gives things a touch of class in my opinion.
And of course the whole card is mounted on one of my favourite colours for all seasons - Old Olive.

Thougts and Prayers Sympathy Card

It is never nice when we have occassion to make a Sympathy card, however it is nice to know that you can let those you care about know that you are thinking of them.
I recentley made this very simple card using the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set and the Parisian Breeze Papers. I was very happy with the stunning simplicity of the card.

To recreate this card here is the card recipe:
Parisian Breeze Designer Series Paper
Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White card stock
Chocolate Chip Ink
Stampin' Sponges
Eyelet Border Punch
Flower Brads

Forest Friends Baby Gift Box

Can you believe that this cute little set Forest Friends is soon going to be unavailable? That is right. The Spring Mini Catalogue ends on the 30th November and with it goes this set.
I think that the cute little animals are just perfect for baby cards and gifts. My best friend has announced that she is having her 2nd baby and i am so excited for her. So i made this little box with a couple of jumpsuits in it for her mum to take over to Seattle (where my best friend lives).
I can't wait till December when she will be in Australia with her little girl and we can spend some time together!
Back to the box! I have used So Saffron Textured Cardstock and Certainly Celery Cardstock. The animals have been stamped on Whisper White cardstock with Close to Cocoa ink and the tree has been coloured in with Close to Cocoa and Certainly Celery Stampin' Write Markers.

I loved the first box i made so i decided to duplicate it when another friend of mine had a gorgeous little girl a couple of weeks ago. I had made a card for them using the Nursery Necessities stamp set so i thought it would be nice if i used the same stamp set on the box. This time the colour scheme is Elegant Eggplant and Pretty in Pink. Again i have used Textured Cardstock, this is because i think it just adds a touch of class to the box.

Hope you liked them!

1st Weekly Christmas Card - Christmas Classics

I have decided that from October i am going to post a christmas card each week. This will give you lots of ideas in the lead up to christmas. So this is the first one.

This is one of the cards we made at my Christmas Stamp A Stack on thursday night. It was a card i designed at the Inklings Weekend Away in July and as part of a sketch challenge.
I love the Christmas Classics Set so much and this is what i have used here with Riding Hood Red and Old Olive colour scheme.

Have you ever noticed how the Stampin' Up! punches not only co-ordinate with many of the stamps in our range but also with each other? I have used the Scallop circle punch and the 1 3/8" circle punch in this card and popped the christmas bauble up on dimensionals. The greetings have been coloured in using Stampin' Write Markers.
I am really happy that i am getting a handle on my christmas cards this year. I will only be offering two more Stamp-A-Stacks before the end of the year so if you would like to attend make sure you email me at Christies_stamps@yahoo.com.au

Make a Difference with Stampin' Up!

Ever thought of starting your own business or joining Stampin' Up! to support your hobby? I did this just over 12 months ago and have never looked back. You can all see how far i have come and how much i love it just by what i share on this blog.

Stampin' Up! has helped women make a difference in the lives of others by simply doing what they love to do—sharing creativity. If you become a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator between 1 October and 31 December 2009 you can start making a difference! For every person who joins, Stampin’ Up! will donate $5 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (AU).

Plus, until 31 December 2009, they will also give you a free pack of Raspberry Tart Designer Series paper and a Pretty in Pink Classic Stampin’ Pad® to help you get started!

Contact me today to learn more about sharing your papercrafting with those around you. You can call me on 041 111 0348 or email me at Christies_stamps@yahoo.com.au