Ink Inclinations

WooooHOOOO!!!

2011-11-27T09:59:00.005+11:00

Hellooo! Long time no post, I know. (Yes it is a post Brownwyn Eastley!)

I FINALLY find my mojo creeping back after an exremely long and frustrating absence, so I have a cute project to share with you.

Interestingly it also fits in beautifully with the Bah Humbug challenge over at Just Add Ink, so I am going to be doubly brave and enter that too!

The challenge was to make a Christmas project that does not use Christmas stamps or papers. A Christmas sentiment was allowed though.

My card was inspired by some of the wonderful creations shared on Holiday Card Boot Camp, by Jennifer Mc Guire and Kristina Werner. If you haven't checked out their online classes and you are in need of inspiration, I highly recommend you have a look.

Sooo, drum roll please.... Here it is, my first card posted in 18 months!

I made two different versions using two equally yummy patterned papers from Stampin' Up! The first uses the Mocha Morning Specialty Papers and the second the Spice Cake Papers from the upcoming mini catalogue. You can't see it in the pic but the circles are all shimmery and sparkly - sooo pretty. I think I like the Mocha one best - what do you think??

Supplies used: (all from Stampin' Up!)

Mocha Morning and Spice Cake DSP

Crumb Cake and Pear Pizzaz cardstock for card bases

Merry and Type Stamp Set for sentiments

Parlour Prints background stamp

Crumb Cake Seam binding ribbon and Chantilly Crochet Trim, Hemp Twine

Pearl Basic Jewels

Hope you like my cards, and I hope to be back a little more often now. :)

Thanks for stopping by.

It's finally here!!

2010-07-24T07:23:00.012+10:00

Hooray, after weeks of planning, the ESAD Christmas in July blog hop is finally going live.

I hope you're ready for the ESAD Christmas in July Blog hop!

What is ESAD?

ESAD stands for Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators and it is an online group just for Australian and New Zealand demonstrators for Stampin' Up!

We so love what we do, and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends and wonderful blog visitors, but we share out love for what we do with each other as demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know how and cyberstamps and we are always there to help and support each other when it is needed.

So if you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand, then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.

You may have come to my blog from the super talented Paula Fuller or you may be starting with me. Either way WELCOME! I hope you enjoy the project I have to share. To continue on your way, just click on the link at the end of my post.

There are 25 very talented ladies on this hop, so grab yourself a cuppa, settle in and prepare to be inspired by wonderful cards, 3d projects and gift ideas. You will be so filled with inspiration that you will be dying to get started early on those Christmas projects.

The project I have to share with you today was a huge hit with my "Christmas Club" ladies last year - waving to you girls! It makes a perfect $5 KrisKringle gift for a workmate (or a gift for your child's teacher) and can be personalised to suit their tastes.

This idea came from a very talented US Stampin' Up! Demo - Amy Rysavy. You start with a clear glass bauble (they can be purchased from any large craft supplies store) and customise it using Stampin' Up! re-inkers and glitter. For my baubles I have used Chocolate Chip ink with the Chocolate Supernova glitter, Riding Hood Red ink with Dazzling Diamonds glitter and Kiwi Kiss ink with the Olive Supernova glitter. Don't they look gorgeous sparkling in the sunlight?

To complete the gift and make it easy to present, I needed a box. I discovered that the too clever and sooo easy to make 7's box, designed by the incredibly talented Marelle Taylor, (you can find the directions here). Fits these baubles beautifully! I have used Chocolate Chip cardstock and decorated it with DSP from the Bella Rose paper pack.

Here it is open:

And closed - ready to give as a gift:

I hope you liked the project I shared with you today. Pop back in the next few days and I will share a tutorial on how to customise the baubles. Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Now on to the creative musings of the inspiring Shelly Stewart. Enjoy the rest of the hop!

Cheers

Claire

Too cute!

2010-07-18T15:24:00.006+10:00

Hello! A really cute project to share with you today.

I needed a special thank you gift for a freind that I stayed with in Sydney a little while back (waving to you Gerry!). I wanted the gift to be very special so it has taken me a fair while to decide what to do and then to put it all together. This friend of mine has a beautiful wee lad who will turn one later in the year. So I decided that an assortment of cards for little people may be the go!

I purchased Andrea Walford's gorgeous stationery purse class here. Then spent a fair bit of time customising it to suit Aussie card sizes. (These things do not come easily to someone as numerically challenged as I am - lol!) Then of course I had to decide on colours and stamps etc. Eventually I decided to use some of the leftovers from the flip flop album I made for my Secret Sister. (See my previous post) So I ended up using the too cute Hoppy Memories Simply Scrappin' kit and the gorgeous Fox and Friends stamp set. I am thrilled with the results and I hope that Gerry will like it too!

Here is the purse closed:

And here, fully opened out:

Inside there are two little pockets on either end, one for gift tags

and one for gift cards or little 3x3 love notes

The colours used in the Hoppy Memories Simply Scrappin' kit are Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red and Kiwi Kiss. I threw a little Melon Mambo in there so some of the cards etc would have a more "girly" feel.

The two centre pockets contain full sized cards and envelopes:

I love that this project is so bright and cheerful. I hope you like it too... Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Claire

More Secret Sister Gifts

2010-07-04T15:03:00.014+10:00

My Secret Sister Linda had a birthday in April, so I made her a special card. I had seen lots of quilted top notes around, so I made my own version using the Cottage Wall Designer Series Papers (DSP) and the too cute new Bird Punch from the SU Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue. I also used a couple of the Designer Buttons I made from the same DSP. If you are interested in how I did this, there is a fab tutorial on Danielle Daws' blog - here

I also made and sent these gifts to Linda:
Linda loves to bake so I wrapped her gifts in these gorgeous tea towels for extra protection in the post, and also as useful wrapping paper! The card is inspired by a series of Heather Summers' from her Simply Stamping online classes. It uses the Friends 24-7 stamp set.

Inside the tea towels were a personalised mini album for each of her children.

Archie's uses the Hoppy Memories Simply Scrappin' Kit and is a Flip Flop album, again designed by the oh so talented Heather Summers. Sophia's is a Paper Bag Album designed by the awesome Jan Tink (you can purchase the instructions here) and uses the Sunny Day Simply Scrappin' Kit from the Autumn/Winter mini.

Here is a pic of the inside of Archie's album. The centre flap and the left hand flap flip upwards to reveal more pages that flip downwards. It is very cool!

Here is the inside of Sophia's album - unfortunately the pic insists on turning itself sideways when I upload it (I have no idea why!!) but you get the idea lol!

I hope you like these projects, I certainly had a ball creating them. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Cheers

Claire

Secret Sisters Round 3

2010-06-26T17:21:00.006+10:00

Well as you know from the few bits I have posted of the lovely gifts I received from the gorgeous Gardenia (check out her blog here), I have been taking part in a Secret Sister Swap with some other Aussie Stampin' Up! demos. The rules are that we need to make 2 cards and a small gift for our sister for the first 2 months, then in the 3rd month, two cards and a larger gift. Most of the items are to be Stampin' Up! related. So, whilst I was receiving all of the wonderful items Gardenia made for me, I was busily making gifts for Linda Craven. I was really lucky and got to meet Linda at convention and give her last gift in person. Here is a pic of us together at the Awards Dinner. (Linda is the gorgeous blonde on the left!)

Anyhoo, I thought I should share with you some of the projects that I made for Linda (I had so much fun doing this swap - you have no idea!)

This is the first card I made, using the fab Razzle Dazzle stamp set from the Summer mini, i sooo hope this one makes it into the new catty come September! My apologies for the photos, it was a *very* sunny day in Tassie, the day I took these pics... Roll on warmer weather I say!

This next card was one I made for Linda's son, as he turned 4 during the swap, so I got to ink up my brand new Lots of Bots and make a card for him. Again, the photo is not so great but there is lots of masking and embossing going on here!

I hope you like these projects. I know they were received with genuine delight, which makes it all worth while. I will be back again soon with some more of the goodies I received from Gardenia, and some more of the pressies I sent. Thanks for dropping by, leave a comment and let me know you were here!

Cheers

Claire

Convention Swaps Part 1

2010-05-30T12:53:00.012+10:00

Helloooo! Here I am at last, back from convention and with piccys to share. I do have to say that I have been trying to write this post since last Sunday, but for some reason blogger was refusing to upload my pictures - and let's face it, what's a card blog if it doesn't have pictures of yummy cards on it? Before that, I had not had a second to blog as life has rather smacked me in the face since I got home from convention, but you know, it happens sometimes...

So, as variously requested by quite a few of you - here are the swap cards that I made for the Stampin' Up! convention in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. The first one (above) uses the Echoes of Kindness hostess stamp set and Baroque Motifs. The background was made by dragging Pretty in Pink and Sahara Sand ink pads across the cardstock and the flowers were coloured with a White Gel pen. I just love the effect it creates. I was really chuffed as this one ended up on a display board at convention too!

This next one has a really opulent feel IRL (in real life). The stamps from Asian Artistry are embossed in gold and then coloured with reinkers that have been mixed with Crystal Effects. The overall effect is a bit like stained glass.

This card uses the emerging colour technique. The Medallion background stamp was stamped first, then I clear embossed the solid image from Organic Outlines over the top, then brayered basic grey over the whole thing. This card was inspired by some bed linen I wanted to buy from a friend's linen party (hi Tracey!) but I couldn't afford to buy it and go to Sydney! So I made this card instead...

This one is my tribute to the vintage style, and uses the Very Vintage wheel and Vintage Vogue stamp set from the Autumn mini catalogue. There was lots of sponging and distressing to do for this one!

Finally, and I have to say I was losing the will to live after creating 20 each of the previous 4 styles, I had a go at a clean and simple card. This one is my prototype - I can assure you that the ones I gave out at convention were more evenly spaced and straight! (lol!)

OK, so those were my swap cards. I hope you like them. If you would like any more details, or if you would like me to demonstrate one of these cards at a workshop for you and your friends and family email me , I would be glad to help!

I will be back soon with pics of the swaps I received and also of some of the wonderful people I met. Until then take care, and thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Time Flies... and blog awards

2010-05-06T08:49:00.008+10:00

Well here I am, finally back to chat to you after a whole month away from my blog - terrible blogging, my apologies. I have been flat out making things I can't share with you - gifts for my secret sister, I can't show you those until we have the "big reveal"later this month and swaps for Stampin' Up! convention in Sydney in a couple of weeks. However, it seems you love me still even when I neglect you for so long... In my inbox this week I have been delighted to receive not one but TWO blog awards - how excitement! But before I talk about those, I should probably show you the one thing I have made lately that is NOT a secret.

This is a photo of my little guy when he was about 18 months. We had some pics taken by a professional photographer who was looking for images for greeting cards. I loved this one, and it has only taken me 10 years to scrap it! The layout is a pagemaps sketch a wonderful source of inspiration, and the whole thing came together really quickly at the girls scrap night I try to get to each month (thanks for the inspiration lovely ladies!) I had trouble getting a good pic of it but hopefully you get the idea.

In this layout I have used a combination of the Urban Oasis, Sweet Slumber and Washington Apple Designer Series Papers, I also used the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and the Life Definitions stamp set. It's a really simple layout but I am thrilled with how it came together - as I say, the photo does not really do it justice. But I hope you like it.

Now onto the blog awards. The first one I received was a Beautiful Blog award

from my upline Mae Collins - thanks Mae. In accepting this award I need to nominate 10 other beautiful blogs and tell you ten things about myself. OK so here are 10 of my fave blogs to stalk for inspiration:

Tanya Kitto - Stamp n' Chat
Marelle Taylor
Nicole Derendorf - Stam ping Down Under
Kirrily Matthews - KM Designs
Gardenia Pepworth - A Little Less Useless
Stamping with Steph
Rainbows by Robin
Bronwyn Eastley - add INKtive designs
Creating Cards with Andrea
Lynda Moss - StampINKins

Phew! That list took a while to compile. Now 10 things about myself hmmm

I am married to a chef I met whilst travelling in the UK
I have one brother.
I have one son.
My fave things to do include having lunch with my girlfriends, craft time with girlfriends and having lunch and/or crafting with my mum!
I LOVE elephants!
My husband thinks my elephant collection may eventually overrun the house and leave us nowhere to sit/sleep/etc (lol!)
The best thing about joining Stampin' Up! for me has been the wonderful people I have met both face to face and on line.
I am going to my first Stampin' Up! convention in 2 weeks!
I spent several months of my 20's backpacking overland from Kathmandu to London.
I have a pet dog called Snoopy.

Now the other award I received was from the lovely Leah click on her name to check out her gorgeous blog.

I need to nominate some recipients for this blog too - and link to their blogs so here we go:

Andrea Lowcock - EnchantInk
Stampin with Sonia
Susan Hogan - Time to Play
Ann Wills - Crafty Squirrel

Leonie Schroder - Stamp A Latte

Thanks to all of those listed above for the wonderful inspiration they share on their blogs. When my mojo a- go-gos, these are the places I head to so my creative ideas start to flow again!

Hopefully it won't be so long between posts this time - but I'm not promising!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Claire

ESAD Autumn/Winter Mini Blog Hop

2010-03-31T19:26:00.010+11:00

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are ready for the ESAD Blog Hop! Better go grab yourself a cuppa as you'll be hopping for a while. You may have come to me from the blog of the super talented Charmaine Black if so Welcome. If you are starting with me, follow the link at the end of this post, and that will take you hopping merrily on your way.

What is ESAD you say?

ESAD stands for Extra Special Australian (and New Zealand) Demonstrators and it is an online group just for Australian and New Zealand demonstrators for Stampin' Up!

We so love what we do and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends and wonderful blog visitors, we share our love for what we do with each other as Demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know how and cyberstamps and we are always there to help and support each other when it is needed.

So if you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand, then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.

So what goodies do I have to share with you today? I have to confess, since it arrived I have had eyes only for my bigshot. It has been wonderful playing with it and working out what it can do! My projects today focus on the Bigshot Movers and Shapers Dies and also a card showcasing the Manhattan Flower Embossing folder.

This card is a Z fold card using the ornament from the Movers and Shapers Dies. The DSP is also from the new mini, Cottage Wall, it is soooo yummy!

Another card using the Movers and Shapers ornament die, this time I have cut two, but slightly offset, to create the focal point of the card. The sentiment is from Heard from the Heart, a new stamp set in the mini. I purchased the clear mount option for this set and it just makes positioning sentiments soooo easy!

OK, at this point you could be forgiven for thinking that I am a little mad, designing Christmas Cards in March/April. However, my sideline and I have a lovely group of ladies who join us to make Christmas cards once per month (waving to you girls!) so I am always on the lookout for ideas to share with them... For this card I used the dove from the Movers and Shapers and an idea I saw on Stamp with Heather for using up ribbon scraps. It makes a great Christmas card, but in different colours and with another sentiment, it could easily become a sympathy card.

OK, the last card I have to share with you uses once again the gorgeous Cottage Wall dsp, but this time I have teamed it with the Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder to create a different kind of look. The stamp is also from the new mini, Share a cup.

I hope you like the creations I have shared with you today. I know that the blog hop will provide a great deal of inspiration to anyone looking for projects to create with the wonderful items available in the new Stampin' Up! Autumn/Winter mini catalogue. If you don't yet have one of these minis email me and I will send you one!

We are again offering Blog Candy for our Blog Hop. What you need to do is complete the blog hop until you get back to me. Once you've visited and commented on every blog then you will need to email Sharlene at stampwithsharlene@hotmail.com who will then put your name into the draw for the blog candy. There will be one winner from New Zealand and one winner from Australia.

So start hoppin by going to the next blog, the unique and fabulous stylings of Corinna Buchanan at PinkFlowers and Bling!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the hop!

Claire

Testing!

2010-03-31T18:00:00.001+11:00

Hi all,

Back again. The purpose of this post is to check and see if I can actually make a scheduled posting work! I have tried unsuccessfully in the past. Sooo, anyway, so that this post is not completely boring for you my lovely visitors. Here is a picture of the beautiful set of 3 cards I received from my lovely secret sister last week. There is a sneak preview of some of the gorgeous products from the upcoming Autumn/Winter mini in her cards, check out the fab new stamp set Cottage Garden, the scrumptious new colour Rich Razzleberry and the new to die for DSP, Cottage Wall.

Now if this preview whets your appetite for more deliciousness from the new Stampin' Up! mini catalogue, be sure and check back tomorrow. From tomorrow you can order these great new products and to showcase them all, there will be another ESAD bog hop! So come back tomorrow, check out my offerings and bunny hop around some treats for Easter that won't cause you to put on weight (lol!)

Thanks for dropping by, hope to hear from you tomorrow!

Claire

HAPPY DANCE!!

2010-03-14T14:38:00.011+11:00

Hello again. Well as the post title suggests there was one day this week that called for a Happy Dance! I arrived home Wednesday to once again be disappointed that my pre-order of goodies from the new Stampin' Up! Autumn/Winter min had failed to appear. I consoled myself by getting on line and booking my spot at Stampin' Up! convention this year. Whilst I have been a demo for 3 years now, this is the first time I have been to convention and I am very much looking forward to it :)

So, whilst I am on the computer, there is a knock at the door and my parcel postie arrives with 2 big boxes of pre-order YAY! (He must have been working overtime this week). Perched on top of the two big boxes is an express post package - what could it be?

Master 11 insists that we open this one first and inside I find a completely gorgeous set of goodies from my new Secret Sister! Here is what I received:

Two gorgeous cards, this one using very clever masking and sponging

and this one using my absolute favourite Stampin' Up! colours, Chocolate Chip and Riding Hood Red and my favourite elephant from the Animal Stories stamp set. (I will be very sad when this one retires at the end of the month, I hope it will be ressurected in the new catalogue come September!)

There was also a beautiful pull out box (again decorated with elephants!) containing a box of curry for me to try - I looove a good curry!

closed ....
and open

But wait! That's not all! And I think by now you may notice the trend that is emerging here... There was also a too cute trinket box, decorated with... you guessed it - elephants!! I think my Secret sister took me seriously when I mentioned in my questionnaire
that " a girl can never have too many elephants"! Here it is closed, check out the fabulous rouched ribbons. And another pic with it open, inside you can see my secret sister's thoughtful gift of Jumbo rivets, jumbo eyelets, Twill tape and buttons.

So thanks so much Secret Sister for making an already fab day into an extra special Happy Dance day!

Thanks for stopping by. Till next time.

Claire

Just Add Ink 7 Re-Run!

2010-03-08T09:08:00.006+11:00

Ok, so I had all the stuff on my desk still from yesterday's entry into the Just Add Ink colour challenge see here to enter. I wasn't completely happy with yesterday's effort, so I thought I would continue to play with the same sketch (Mojo Monday 128) and colours and see what I could come up with. So here is plan B (lol!)

The colours just "work" a little better for me this time.

Sorry the photo is not so great, it is bucketing rain here in Tassie today, after a very hot weekend, so I had to take the pic indoors with a flash. But you get the idea ...

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Razzle Dazzle (Summer mini)

Inks: Pink Passion, Versa Mark

Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion, Whisper White

Other: So Saffron ribbon, White Gel Pen, Markers

OK, so, leave me a comment and let me know which one you prefer!

Till next time, thanks for dropping by.

Claire

Out of my comfort zone!

2010-03-07T19:24:00.007+11:00

Hello again! Making the most of the long weekend to grab a little extra crafty time. Today I pushed the envelope a little and took on this week's Just Add Ink 7 Challenge. It is a colour challenge, and the colours are definitely ones I find *scary*! See what you think, you can enter and check out the other entries here.

I just couldn't get my head around them. So I went looking for a sketch to inspire me, and happened upon the Mojo Monday sketch for this week 128. It's an incredibly popular challenge and you can check out the entries and challenge yourself here.

I love the Mojo sketches because they are so very detailed.

So, armed with my sketch and my colour scheme, it was then quite a simple task to choose an appropriate stamp set and come up with a card. Here it is - still a bit afraid of the colours, I keep wanting to reach for my sunnies lol! But then it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy...

I would love to know whether you think I was successful in my trip into the "colour twilight zone" and my use of the sketch.

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Embrace Life

Inks: Basic Brown, Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Whisper White, Versa Mark

Cardstock: Green Galore, Pink Passion, Kraft, Tempting Turquoise, Windsor Knot DSP

Other: White Gel Pen, Aquapainter, Circle Scissor Plus (how easy is that thing to use!!), Bold Brights Brads

Technique: Watercolouring

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time!

Claire

Candy Lane Creation

2010-03-06T19:37:00.008+11:00

Hiya! Back at last - where did that month go to?

I am in a fever of anticipation at the moment as my pre-order of products (including the wonderful bigshot) has left the Stampin' Up! warehouse in Sydney and is wending it's way painfully slowly (in my opinion, lol) to Tassie. For the first time in my life I am actually disappointed it is a public holiday on Monday (no mail - torture!)

Anyway, I have been keeping myself busy in the meantime so I have a too cute little box to share with you today. The inspiration for this box was provided by a fellow SU demo Sonia Garbutt, you can check out her fab creation here, don't forget to check out the rest of her creations whilst you are visiting. Sonia was also kind enough to provide a link to the instructions, so if you would like to try one of these gorgeous boxes yourself, visit Andrea Lowcock here and print out her template.

Here 'tis closed

And open

And a close up of the gorgeous Candy Lane Designer Series Paper flower on the belly band.

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Razzle Dazzle, Fresh Cuts

Inks: Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette

Other: Candy Lane DSP, Circle Fire Rhinestone Brad, Curly Label Punch

Hope you like my pretty little box. Leave me a comment, it's always great to know who stopped by.

Until next time,

Claire

A challenging latte

2010-02-09T08:22:00.006+11:00

Don't faint! I'm back again...

I just had to scoot back and share with you a card I made for a challenge. I have been enjoying watching the growth of a brand new Aussie challenge blog Just Add Ink. They have an amazing design team - many of whom were already in my blog favourites. The best part (for me) is that two of the DT are Tassie girls - go Tassie! It's great to see girls from our little island attracting national and international attention.

I had a few thank you cards to make so I figured I would push myself a little and try this weeks's challenge in my card design. It is a sketch challenge, my favourite kind. I also went with a softer more girly colour combo than I do usually.

Here is my entry for JAI3

Project Recipe: (All items used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated)

Stamps: Sip by Sip

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Inks: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Versa Mark

Accessories: Clear Embossing Powder, Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Button Latte button, Hemp Twine, Sponge Daubers

Non SU: Versa Marker

Technique: Emboss Resist

Don't forget to get on over to Just Add Ink and check out the challenge yourself if you would like to enter. Otherwise soak up the inspiration on offer.

Thanks for stopping by, I would love to know what you think of my entry.

Cheers

Claire

A Fantastic Tall Tale!

2010-02-08T17:36:00.007+11:00

Hi again.

I've just popped back to share the project that I made at a Workshop on Saturday - waving to you Christine! Christine and her pals have been with Stampin' Up! longer than I have, and I was so lucky they chose to find a local demo again, when theirs moved to Queensland. We have had some great fun crafting together in the last couple of years, so when Christine booked another workshop I knew I had to find something a little bit challenging for them to do!

I searched through my favourite resources and came across this box by Stampin' Terri, which I have been meaning to make for ages. I downloaded her fab tutorial and had a go, replacing her chipboard panels with ones cut from the heavy card you find in the backs of packs of Stampin' Up!'s designer series papers - waste nothing!

Here is the one I made with the ladies on Saturday. The first one I made I filled with goodies and gave to Christine as a hostess gift.

The inside

The outside

Project recipe: (All products used are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated)

Stamps: Polka Dot background

Inks: Rose Red

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Rose Red Textured

Other: Tall Tales DSP, brad

Non SU: Tissue paper for flower embellishment on box top

Well, thanks for stopping by. If you like my Fantasy Box leave me a comment and let me know!

Cheers Claire

Inkydivas are BACK for 2010

2010-02-08T08:21:00.008+11:00

Hello everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog - between computer troubles and school holidays there hasn't been a lot going on here!

I've just called in to let you know that, due to poplular demand, my friend and colleague Lynda Moss and I will again be running our Inkydivas classes this year. Here is what we have in store:

Technique Junkies Club

A group for those who wish to learn how to extend the use of their stamps and inks. Each week we will demonstrate two new techniques, participants will receive full instructions to place in their techniques book and create a sample and a project using the techniques. Last year we looked at techniques such as Emboss Resist, Faux Metal, Fossil Stone etc.

When: First Friday of each Month (except February, the first class will be Friday February 12th)

Where: Lyndas home in Tolmans Hill, Tasmania (full details provided upon registration)

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

Cost: $15 per week (plus $10 at the first class if you require a Techniques Booklet)

Bring: A basic craft tool kit, i.e. double sided tape and/or tape runner, pencil, ruler, scissors and a plate of supper to share. An email will be sent out before each class of any special requirements.

Christmas Club

Get a head start on your Christmas Cards this year! Be prepared early and take the stress out of November. This club allows you to do just that. Each month we will create 4 Christmas Cards, 2 each of 2 different designs, or occasionally a packaging or gift idea.

When: Third Friday of each month commencing Friday 19th February

Where: Lynda's home in Tolmans Hill (full details will be provided upon registration)

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

Cost: $15

Bring: A basic craft tool kit i.e. a tape runner and or/double sided tape, pencil, ruler, scissors and a plate of supper to share. An email will be sent out before each class of any special requirements.

Stamp-a-StacK

Once again we are starting our Stamp Camp schedule with a "New Year's Resolution Stamp-a stacK". Did you promise yourself that this year you would be organised and not buy any Birthday or Occasion cards? Then this event is for you, come along and stamp a pile of gorgeous handmade greeting cards that you can put away to pull out when you need one.

When: There will be two sessions (both the same) Saturday 20th February and Sunday 21st February 2010

Where: Lynda's home in Tolmans Hill Tasmania (full details will be provided on registration and receipt of payment)

What: Create 12 gorgeous hand stamped cards, 3 each (in different colour ways) of male, female, boy and girl

Cost: $40 (This includes all supplies needed to create all 12 cards except adhesive, and afternoon tea)

Time: 1.30pm sharp

What to bring: A basic craft kit - scissors, adhesive (i.e. snail and/or double sided tape) ruler, pencil etc and your own mug.

Here is a sneak peek at some of what we have designed for you!

Boy

Female

All of these classes were incredibly popular last year, so if you are in Southern Tassie and would like to attend book early to avoid disappointment!

To register: Contact your Inkydiva Claire or Lynda as soon as possible, places are strictly limited and will only be confirmed on receipt of payment.

We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers

Claire

Thank you Secret Stampin' Santa!!

2009-12-29T10:00:00.002+11:00

Back again - as promised, to share with you the wonderful treats I received from my ESAD Secret Stampin' Santa. This swap was amongst a group of Aussie Stampin' Up! demos who all belong to the ESAD forum. We committed to secretly sending a parcel of goodies to our sister demo, it was to contain handmade goodies and a gift to a set value. We then had to guess who our Secret Santa was - a very tricky proposition!

I was thoroughly spoilt by my Secret Santa - it was so exciting opening the wonderful box of goodies she sent me! Here are some pics of my gifts.

My goodies as they arrived - all co-ordinated beautifully using the Pink Flamingo DSP - so stunningly bright and breezy.

Inside the large parcel was a Pretties Kit! This has been on my wish list for sooo long, but never quite made it to the top. I am absolutely thrilled to have one and can't wait to make some gorgeous projects with it! I think the first one will be a thank you card to my Secret Santa!

Inside the box was a container of Yummy Chocolate - I have had to hide this one from hubby and Number 1 son!

A close up of the lunch pail - inside there are recipe cards, my Secret Santa even took the time and trouble to write a few of her own for me! It is beautifully decorated with some of the Styled Silver Hodge Podge (also on my wish list!) and the gorgeous red polka dot ribbon from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

Thanks again Secret Santa - I had a ball opening my goodies and will enjoy using them in the months to come.

Cheers

Claire

Merry and Bright

2009-12-28T22:31:00.012+11:00

Hello and Merry Christmas and best wishes for a wonderful New Year! It has actually been Merry and Bright here in Tassie for once, the best Christmas Day weather we have had for years, and it continues to improve! New Year's Eve promises to be quite hot, which will be a real treat. I thought I would stop in and share with you some of the fabulous Happy Mail I have received in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

One of the great things that has happened since I became a Stampin' Up! Demo is that the number of hand made cards I receive at Christmas has increased hugely. Here are the wonderful creations that I have been grateful to recieve. Thank you so much to the people who took the time to create them.

From Barbara and from Christine

From Kirsty and from Lisa K

From Lou and from My Mum!

From Sarah

I hope you like them as much as I do, why not leave a comment and let these lovely ladies know that you appreciate their inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back soon to share the wonderful Christmas gift I received from my Secret Stampin' Santa. A busy few days coming up though with Number 1 son's 11th birthday and a big New Year's bash to attend, so I will get back when I can!

Cheers

Claire

A new obsession!

2009-12-12T17:02:00.009+11:00

Hi all! I am here today to share a guilty secret with you - I have a new crafting obsession! No, don't panic, I have not abandoned my Stampin' Up! - I have just discovered a new way to use the supplies I already own. You gotta love that!

My new obsession began out of a Splitcoast Stampers Technique Lovers Challenge, which involved creating buttons out of cardstock and Designer Series Papers. If you would like to know how this is done, visit this thread here It is a fab way to use up your scraps of cardstock and DSP. As a result I have been feverishly punching, layering and Crystal Effecting (I know that's not a real word!!) every spare moment. I now have a great stash of gorgeous buttons - all different shapes and sizes to use on cards and scrapbook pages. For me this is the real beauty of this technique - you can ALWAYS have a button that matches your page!

Here are a couple of cards I have made with my new buttons.

First a Christmas Card

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Ski Slope DSP (retired)

Inks: Old Olive

Stamps: Warm Words

Technique: Faux Buttons

Accessories: Heat and Stick Powder, Green Supernova Glitter. Red Cord (from my stash, for tying on buttons)

All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated

The second card, is a birthday card, again using a star shaped button, the rockets were coloured using an AquaPainter and markers.

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour Paper, Washington Apple DSP

Inks: Stazon Black

Stamps: Pun Fun

Technique: Faux Buttons, Watercolouring

Accessories: White Gel Pen, Earth Elements Brads

All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! unless otherwise stated

I hope you like my Faux Button cards - why not give them a try yourself, they are so easy and great fun to use on your projects. If you do, leave me a comment with a link to your card - I would love to see what you have created! If not leave a comment anyway - it's always fab to know who has stopped by.

Cheers

Claire

Happy Mail!

2009-12-08T16:02:00.004+11:00

Hi all!

Since I joined ESAD (mentioned in my previous post), I have had the chance to join some really cool activities. One of them is a Secret Stampin' Sister Swap. I have been given a fellow Aussie demo to spoil - now I can't show you what I have sent her yet, we have not revealed who we are to our secret sisters. But I can show you the gorgeous happy mail I received in my letter box the other day.

My very clever Secret Sister made this beautiful Advent calendar for me, in my fave colours (choc chip and red). How gorgeous is this?! There is so much work and detail here, I am so spoiled. Inside the drawers (I have opened a few now), there are some sweet treats and fab Stampin' Up! goodies. So far I have found some Styled Silver Hodgepodge (from my wishlist), build-a-brads and other brads. It is very exciting looking to see what is in there each day!

She also made me this beautiful card.

I can't wait to find out who she is, so that I can thank her properly and get the instructions for this fab Advent Calendar. Soon I will go back and share the other lovely goodies I have received.

Thanks for dropping by. Leave me a comment and let me know how jealous you are that I have such a fab secret sister!!

Claire

ESAD-SU Blog Hop!

2009-12-01T06:00:00.002+11:00

Hello Hoppers! For those who are visiting my blog for the first time WELCOME! I hope you like the fun projects that I have to share. To those loyal blog surfers who check back regularly to see if I am here THANKS! I'm back and hope to be a reformed blogger from now on ...

Welcome to the ESAD-SU Summer Mini Blog hop. ESAD-SU is a great forum for Aussie Stampin' Up! Demos and of course our lovely Kiwi cousins. It is a wonderful place to go for advice and inspiration, there are regular challenges and lots of sharing of ideas. If you are a Stampin' Up! Demo in Australia or New Zealand and would like to join this awesome group click here.

The purpose of this Blog Hop is to share the creations we have made with the incredibly yummy range of goodies in Stampin' Up's new Summer Mini catalogue. If you would like me to send you a copy of the new mini catalogue contact me and I will send you one.

So, enough chit chat here is the main event! The projects I am sharing were made with the gorgeous Animal Stories stamp set and the Tall Tales Designer Series Papers.

This project is a double scrapbook layout featuring the adorable new baby elephant at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney - Luk Chai. On the day we were visiting we watched the elephants come out for play time, whilst the older elephants were showing off their skills, Luk Chai stole the show, and the hearts of the crowd, by nicking the soccer ball from the bigger elephants, dribbling it out from under their feet with his head. Here is my layout "Luk Chai steals the show!"

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Play Ball (Retired) Calendar Alphabet and Numbers

Cardstock: Old Olive, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip

Inks: So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, White Craft Ink

Accessories: Tall Tales DSP (Summer Mini catalogue) Jumbo Grommets (Summer Mini) On Board Timeless Type Chipboard Letters, Chololate Chip Double Stitched Ribbon, Signo White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Chocolate Chip Marker

All Stamped Images are copyright Stampin' Up!

The next project is this adorable box with matching 3x3" gift cards and DSP envelopes.

Project Recipe:

Stamps: Animal Stories (Summer Mini Catalogue), Really Retro (Ideas Book and Catalogue)

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White, So Saffron, Brilliant Blue, Old Olive

Inks: Old Olive, Rose Red, Brilliant Blue, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Tall Tales DSP (Summer Mini Catalogue) White Gel Pen, So Saffron Marker, Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool, Build-a-brad, Flower Designer Brad, Playground Designer Buttons, Brilliant Blue brads, Stampin' Dimensionals.

All stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up!

As an extra special treat - there is blog candy to be won! Anyone who visits every blog in the ESAD-SU Summer Mini blog hop and comments on each one (there are 30!) will have their name put in the draw to win some delicious Stampin' Up! blog candy. You have until midnight on Wednesday AEDST to comment and then email leonie@stamp-a-latte.com to get in the draw. So get that comment love happening and get your name in the draw!!

Now to move on to the next delectable offering in this feast of Stampin' Up! Summer Mini treats, click on the link to head over to the exceptionally talented and incredibly creative Corinna Buchan at her blog pinkflowersandbling

Thanks for dropping by, enjoy the rest of the hop.

Cheers

Claire

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T23:15:00.007+10:00

Hi everyone, I hope you haven't all abandoned me during my long absence - things have been a bit hectic lately... If this is your first time here then "Hello and Welcome!"

Easter is here and I have finally had a little time to pull out my stamps and play. I have been creating over the last couple of weeks, but finding time to sit at the computer to share with you has been more difficult - I will catch you up with what I have been doing soon!

For now I would like to show you some of my "new rubber" YAY!! from the new 2009-2010 Stampin' Up! Ideas Book and Catalogue. It arrived on Thursday, but I did not get home in time to collect it from the post office :( so had to wait until Saturday. Thank goodness our local postoffice doubles as a Newsagent, or I would have been waiting until Wednesday!!

The colours in this card are this week's Kristina Werener Colour Inspiration - a little out of my comfort zone, but fun and funky in feel - I just had to give it a try. You can check out the other entries here.

Here is my card:

When I saw the flowers on the fabric swatch, I just knew I wanted to use my new Circle Circus Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! However, once I had embossed them onto the black cardstock, they looked a bit formal for the kind of card I was going for, so I used my white gel pen to add the doodled frames around the embossed images. (Aren't you proud of me Sarah?) That made them more casual and fun, I like the effect. I hope you do too, please leave a comment and let me know what you think, it is always great to hear from visitors to my blog.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Circle Circus, Really Retro

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Black

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss Hand Drawn Designer Series Paper (Hostess level 3), Rose Red

Accessories: White EP, White Gel Pen, Ribbon, Flower Designer Brad

Cheers!

Claire.

Out with the old ... In with the NEW

2009-03-24T20:52:00.007+11:00

Hello! Good news everyone! (Futurama fans will recognise that one). My mojo has returned with a vengance with the arrival of my pre-order and my new catalogues. A couple of bits and pieces to share with you today, incuding a sneak peek from the new Ideas Book and Catalogue. Can't wait for this one to go "live" there are some really great new stamp sets that I am dying to get my hands on! Not to mention the new brads, buttons, in colours ....

The first card I would like to share is a farewell tribute to my beloved Paisley background stamp. One of my first SU purchases ever - before I became a demo even, it has seen good service and been embossed, kissed with, "Josephed" and generally stamped extremely well. So here is it's last "official" outing before it disappears into my private stash forever. Not really sure about this one, it's a bit "fussy" for me - what do you think?

The Paisley was embossed in Basic Grey and then elements coloured with Regal Rose and Rose Red Markers. The inspiration for the colour scheme came from a shirt that I tried on the other day (I didn't buy it - it did nothing for me! But I loved the design). The sketch is Keesh's sketch challenge #6. You can check out the other fab entries here.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Paisley Background (retiring)

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Grey

Accessories: Ribbon, Markers, Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Eastern Elegance Rubons (retired)

Technique: Coloured Embossing

The next card I would like to share with you is a blend of old and new. I made it for a friend's 40th birthday. I wanted it to reflect her personality, bright, bubbly and fun. I used the retiring Bali Breeze DSP together with the new Cheers to You stamp set (available from the 1st April), thanks Lynda for the loan!

The cocktails are coloured directly with the markers for a more vibrant feel, then covered with Crystal Effects to enhance the "glassy" effect, then I added some Dazzling Diamonds whilst the Crystal Effects was still wet, to give it some shimmer and bling. I think you can just see a little of the sparkle in the photo.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Cheers to You (new)

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Bali Breeze DSP (retiring)

Inks: Stazon Black

Accessories: Crystal Effects, Markers, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Scallop Punch, 1 3/4" circle punch, White Gel Pen.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Would love to hear your thoughts on my creations, it is always great to know who has been here.

Claire

Mojo-a-gogo!

2009-03-22T17:44:00.005+11:00

Goodness, I have just realised it has been 3 weeks since my last post! How terribly slack of me, my apologies to those of you that check in on me regularly to see what I have been up to. The answer to that question is of course - not much! Well not much crafting to be more precise. I have come to the conclusion that since becoming a Stampin' Up! Demo, I hate the month of March! There is so much hype around the retiring list and the new Ideas Book and Catalogue arriving, that my crafting mojo goes into hiding. I have sat down at my desk a few times in the last week or so, but with images of stamp sets yet to come looming large in my head, suddenly the old ones don't seem so inspiring.

Anyway, rather than disappear of the face of the earth entirely, I thought I would share with you some swap cards that I made. These swaps were made to send to a sister demo in Canada. The idea was to make 3 complete cards (preferably from sets that they don't have in their catalogue) and post them to your swap partner. I received three gorgeous cards from Cathy Jonstone a very talented SU demo in Canada, you can check out her blog, here. I will post them later in another post, it is too dark and gloomy today to get good pics.

Here are the three I made to send to Cathy (thanks to Lynda for the loan of the All Aboriginal and Happy Christmas Mate stamp sets!). I can post them here now, as Cathy has received them.

Card Recipe:

Stamps; Ocean Commotion, Baroque Motifs

Cardstock; Ballet Blue, Gable Green, Ruby Red, So Saffron

Inks; Whisper White, Gable Green, So Saffron

Acessories; Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware, Crystal Effects, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card Recipe:

Stamps; Happy Christmas Mate

Cardstock; River Rock, Real Red, Dashing DSP, Watercolour paper

Inks; Stazon Black, Old Olive

Techniques; Markers direct to watercolour paper

Accessories; Markers, Aquapainter, Corner Rounder punch, Double Slot punch, non SU circle cutter, Ribbon

Card Recipe:

Stamps; All Aboriginal

Cardstock; Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Spring Break DSP

Inks; Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue

Techniques; Emboss Resist

Sketch: Makeesha's Sketch Challenge No. 5

Accessories; Markers, Clear EP, White Gel Pen

Hope you like them. Please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by. It's alway nice to know who has visited. My preorder of goodies from the new catalogue has finally arrived, so I will have some new creations to share with you soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Claire

A Challenge combo

2009-03-01T23:18:00.012+11:00

Hello, me again. Just recovering from the *shock* of the enormity of the Stampin' Up! retired list this year. My stamp collection is officially decimated! I will be particularly sad to say goodbye to my Paisley background stamp, I think I will have to keep that one for "personal use" lol! Looking forward to the new catalogue though, I can't wait to see what wonderful goodies they have replaced my old favourites with.

Now, to the real reason for this post. A challenge combo. For this card I have used Makeesha's Inkspirations sketch challenge no. 5 (to check out the other fab entries go here), along with Kristina's colour inspiration for this week. (Play along with Kristina's challenge here).

Kristina's colour challenge reminded me of some photos my Mum took on a trip through central Australia last year, lots of earthy desert colours combined with the green of the sparse vegetation and the blue of the sky. That inspired me to make this card with a set I borrowed from a friend to make some swaps. (Thanks Lynda!)

Not the greatest pic (it's late) but you get the idea! I used some of the masking and sponging techniques I learned doing Michelle Zindorf's chef tutorial (see this post) and have to say I am really pleased with the way this one turned out!

Card recipe:

Stamps: All Aboriginal, Polka Dots and Petals, Live your Dream

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Brocade Blue, Old Olive, Spring Break DSP

Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark, Ruby Red, Old Olive

Accessories: Markers, White Gel Pen, Stampin' Dimensionals

Techniques: Emboss resist, Masking

Hope you like it. Please leave a comment, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Quick n' cute!

2009-02-25T22:06:00.004+11:00

Hello, me again! Two posts in one week, I must be having a sudden rush of blood to the head. Just a quick post to share a mega cute card with you. I have been playing around trying to devise a card suitable for both boys and girls for our upcoming Inkydivas Stamp-a-stacK. (You can find the details here if you are interested). Anyway I was inspired by the incredibly talented Heather (Stamp with Heather) to have a go at this too cute little monkey she created with punches. You can see Heather's video tutorial here.

I had to adapt a little as we don't have the three hearts punch here in Oz yet, so I used the 3 flower punch and trimmed one for the hands and feet instead. What do you think? Is it too fiddly for a Stamp-a-stacK group? Would love to hear your thoughts, please leave a comment and let me know you stopped by.

Claire

Two for you ...

2009-02-23T20:44:00.005+11:00

Hey there everybody. Too busy for Kristina's colour challenge this week. We had our first Christmas Club on Friday night. It was a great success, really fun and casual, everyone went home with four cards they were very pleased with. We still have a couple of spots remaining, so if you live in southern Tassie, and you would like to come along each 3rd Friday of the month to hang out with a great bunch of ladies and make some gorgeous projects - email me. candpharrison@activ8.net.au

The first thing I have to share today is the first scrapping layout I have done in a *very* long time. I just seem to be caught up in making cards all the time these days, since I became an SU demo. So, in a bid to revive my scrapping mojo I have embarked on an online journalling course. Awesome, amazing and incredibly inspirational would be the words I would use to describe it, four weeks in. The course is called Journalling 101, if you would like to check it out, go here.

Here is my layout for the week 1 assignment, a bit late, but - better late than never! We were challenged to create a layout that told the story of a regular event, the ordinary story. I chose to scrap my little guy's 10th birthday, which happened recently.

Project recipe:

Stamps: Non SU Foam Alphabet Stamps, Short and Sweet

Inks: Real Red

Cardstock: Brilliant Blue 12x12 textured, East Coast Prep DSP, Real Red, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi and More Mustard

Accessories: On Board Lots of Letters, Sponges, Stamp & Write Journaller. Markers, Star Punches, 1/4 " circle punch, Eastern Blooms rub-ons (retired) other rubons.

The second project I have to share was inspired by a tutorial by Michelle Zindorf - you can try the tutorial yourself here . I love my Voila stamp set, but it hasn't seen ink for a while. I went back to Michelle's tutorials to refresh myself on another technique and saw her card. I just *had* to make one! Here's my version;

Project recipe:

Stamps: Voila and Voila a la carte

Inks: Basic Black, So Saffron, Old Olive, Always Artichoke

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumkin Pie

Accessories: sponges, brayer, markers, ribbon, brads

Techniques: Masking

Thanks so much for dropping by. Please leave a comment, it is so nice to know who has visited.

Claire

Victorian Bushfire Appeal

2009-02-18T06:31:00.003+11:00

So many people have been affected by the tragic bushfires that hit Victoria (Australia) last week. Living in a country where the climate can be so harsh, bushfires are a constant danger, but no-one could have anticipated the horror of the weekend before last. With such a small national population, most of us know someone who has been directly affected by the disaster. Everyone wants to help, and the fundraising to date has been both awe inspiring and incredibly humbling. But there is still more work to be done.

As a company with heart, Stampin' Up! is doing it's part in the fundraising effort. We, the stamping, scrapping and papercrafting community can do something to help, by supporting SU's fundraising campaign. SU is helping the Australian Red Cross in their efforts to support those affected as they pick up the pieces and begin again.

Here's how you can contribute:

From now until 31 March 2009, Stampin' Up! will donate 50% of the retail value of all sales from a select group of 10 stamp sets to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal. I will also add my 20% commission to the donation.

This means that 70% of the purchase price (not just the profit) of the stamp sets listed below, will go directly to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfires 2009 Appeal.

Here is a list of the bushfire appeal stamp sets.

Stamp Set, Item Number, Pg in Catalogue, Price

Priceless, 112312, 105, $48.95

Seeing Spots, 112380, 89, $39.95

Baroque Motifs, 112380, 98, $39.95

Live Your Dream, 114261, 3, $55.95

(summer mini catalogue)

Looks Like Spring* , 108864, 76, $58.95

The Snowflake Spot*, 108934, 27, $39.95

Bodacious Boquet*, 108756, 80, $58.95

Polka Dots and Paisley*, 110247, 46, $35.95

G'day Mate,* 111937, 115, $35.95

Be Happy*, 108744, 51, $39.95

*The sets in blue will appear on the upcoming list of retiring products, so they will only be available for a the Bushfire Appeal, while supplies last. These are expected to be very popular.

If you would like to support this worthy appeal, please email me at candpharrison@activ8.net.au

Unfortunately I am not able to sell stamp sets to the international visitors to my blog, if you have seen the footage on TV. If these people's plights have touched your hearts, please click on the link here, to donate directly, on line to the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

For those of you who would still like to do more, please visit Rainbows by Robin, for links to card appeals, and thank you cards for the CFA (community fire fighters).

Thank you for your support.

Claire

Always Valentines

2009-02-14T16:00:00.008+11:00

Hello! A couple of new projects to share with you. Both use Kristina Werner's colour inspiration for this week, though the first was a fluke! (I had to substitute Real Red for Riding Hood Red as we don't have it here in Oz – yet!)

I recently caught up with an old friend. (We have known each other since pre-school. He's more like a brother than a friend, we seem to spend a lot of time just stirring each other up!) He has just returned from a stint living in Scotland with his Scottish partner (whom he met in Sydney). Anyway, whilst they were away, they decided to get married at beautiful Loch Ness (who wouldn't if the opportunity presented itself?!) Unfortunately Nessie has not made an appearance in any of the wedding photos L. To cut a long story short, the beautiful bride was admiring the wine glass charms I made for my Mum a few years ago. So I decided to make her some as a little, and belated, wedding gift. Here is the box,

and on the inside,

By fluke they used this week's Kristina Werner colour inspiration! Having made this little project, I decided that I loved the colour combo, and the way the hearts from the Always stamp set look when they are embossed in black. So I made a Valentine/Anniversary card for my hubby. (Yes our wedding anniversary is on Valentine's Day – how romantic!) Here it is.

Project Recipes:

Stamps: Always, Paisley Background, So Many Sayings (hostess)

Cardstock: Real Red, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White

Inks: Versa Mark, Basic Black, Real Red Marker

Accessories: Ribbon, Buttons, Word Window punch, Embossing Powders – white, black and clear, White Gel pen, non SU wine charm wires, beads and charms

Techniques: Embossing, Out of the box (on the card)

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment, I would love to hear what you think.
Claire

Puppy Love

2009-02-07T15:24:00.006+11:00

Another Kristina Werner colour inspiration to share with you, using these colours.

It's been a couple of weeks since I have been able to play along, and once again my card took on a life of its own! I sat down with my stamps thinking that these colours might work well for the generic child card I need to design for our upcoming Stamp-a-stacK. (You can find the details here). However, thanks to the inspiration provided by Stamphappy1650 on Splitcoast Stampers, the card evolved into something far too elaborate for a Stamp-a-stacK! I really like the principle though and may modify it for the Christmas Club group. I used paper piecing on the ute, I haven't done this much but I think I will experiment with it some more!

Card Recipe: (All products are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise mentioned)

Stamps: Loads of Love, Greetings Galore, So Many Sayings (Level 1 Hostess set)

Cardstock: More Mustard, Spring Showers DSP, Taken with Teal, Whisper White, East Coast Prep DSP, Bali Breeze DSP

Accessories: Markers, Blender Pen, Stamp-a-majig, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 ¼ circle punch, Jumbo Eyelet, Old Olive Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by. Would love to hear what you think!

Claire

Inkydivas Class Schedule 2009

2009-02-03T20:33:00.005+11:00

Inkydivas 2009

Hello, we're back for 2009.

I bet you were wondering when we were going to get our act together. Well with school heading back soon, and quality family time under our belts, we are feeling rested and relaxed and ready to STAMP! We hope you are too.

Our class formats are undergoing a few changes this year, after some constructive feedback from some wonderful stampers last year.

Christmas Club

So you thought you would be ready for Christmas last year? Cards all stamped and ready to send by the end of November – NOT!!! Well, this year we are here for you, this year we will help you have all your Christmas craft projects prepared well ahead of time. Join our Christmas Club and create 2 projects each month, from February to November – now that's organized!!

When: Every third Friday of the month, commencing Friday 20^th February

Where: Lynda's house in Tolmans Hill (details provided on registration). Refreshments provided, please bring a plate of supper to share.

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

What: 2 Christmas projects. This month we will be making four Christmas cards, 2 each of 2 designs.

Cost: $15 per session payable one month in advance. A full refund will be given for cancellations with 2 weeks notice. After this time, cancelled places will receive project packs to complete at home.

To join our Christmas Club please contact Lynda or Claire, by February 10^th 2009. Samples of our projects for February will be posted on http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/ Places are strictly limited so get your name down FAST!

Technique Junkies Club

Love learning new techniques? Like to extend the versatility of your stamps? Technique Junkies is for you. Join this club and learn two new techniques every month. You will create a Techniques booklet, with detailed instructions for each technique with a sample, and also create a project using that technique. By the end of the year you will have built up a wonderful resource to keep and use over and over again.

Membership of this club will cost $10 to cover the cost of creating your Techniques booklet.

When: Every first Friday of the month, commencing March 6^th

Where: Lynda's home in Tolmans Hill (details provided upon registration). Refreshments provided, please bring a plate of supper to share.

Time: 7pm for a 7.30pm start

What: Learn two new techniques, with detailed instructions and a sample for your book. Cement your learning by creating a project using each of your new techniques.

Cost: $10 membership fee (once only). $15 per Techniques Junkies class, payable one month in advance. A full refund will be given with 2 weeks notice. After this date, project packs will be provided to complete at home.

Spaces are strictly limited, so contact Claire or Lynda, by 20^th February 2009 to book your spot! Check our blog for samples of some of the techniques we will be teaching, http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/

But wait! There's more ...

Every six weeks, or so, we are hoping to offer a full day Stamp Camp course. These stamp camps will sometimes cover techniques, 3d projects and other items of interest. On these days there will (usually) be four projects to create and take home, with detailed instructions.

The first Stamp Camp for 2009 will take place on 7^th or 8^th of March 2009 (to be confirmed) and will take the form of a NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION STAMP-A-STACK. Start the New Year as you mean to continue it, with a gorgeous batch of hand stamped cards to wow your friends and family, and show them how much you care. You will create 12 cards, 3 each of 4 different designs, such as Male, Child, Female etc

When: 7^th or 8^th March 2009 (to be confirmed)

Where: Lynda's house in Tolmans Hill (details provided on registration). Refreshments and morning or afternoon tea provided.

What: New Year's Resolution Stamp-a-StacK. 12 cards, 3 each of 4 different designs

Time: We anticipate the projects will take up to 2 ½ hours to complete. There will be two start times available 9.30am and 2pm.

Cost: $25 payable on registration. Registrations close on 20^th February. Cancellations after this date will receive project kits to complete at home.

Don't forget to check out our blog http://inkydivas.blogspot.com/ for more information and samples of the projects on offer.

To book a place in one of our Clubs or for the Stamp-a-StacK, please contact your demonstrator:

Claire Harrison: candpharrison@activ8.net.au

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

PS The Inkydivas gratefully acknowledge the work of other stampers who share their work on the web. We hope that you will see it as a compliment if we CASE your work for our classes. Thanks!

A CASE card

2009-02-01T07:51:00.005+11:00

Hello again,

Back at work last week, so not much time to create. However, as my collaboration with Lynda Moss (StampInkins) is about to kick off for 2009, I have spent a bit of time combing the web looking for ideas for class cards. Keep an eye out here, or on our Inkydivas blog for class details, if you are living in Southern Tasmania.

One of the classes we will be running regularly throughout the year is a Christmas Club, so that our club members can build up their supply of handmade cards and gifts gradually, instead of in a big rush in November, December. You can contact us via links from our Inkydivas blog, if you are interested in joining up.

Whilst looking for ideas for this class, I came across this card, and I just had to CASE it.

Here is my version.

I am sooo hoping that the Season of Joy set is in the new catty in April! The next couple of months are going to be very busy I think, with Inkydivas up and running again, the retired list coming out in March, and of course a brand new catalogue to drool over in April! Lots to look forward to… lots to share!

Card recipe: (All products used are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise stated)

Stamps: Season of Joy (Spring Mini)

Cardstock: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Whisper White, Vellum

Ink: Real Red, Wild Wasabi

Acessories: Jumbo eyelets, Ice Rhinestone brads

Thanks for dropping by. I love to hear your comments.

Claire

More Good News (and some pics)

2009-01-26T21:16:00.008+11:00

Hello again,

Happy Australia Day!

I am just back from a good ole Aussie BBQ with friends to celebrate Australia's nationhood. The stereotypic way to spend a beautiful day here in Tassie.

Actually I have spent most of the day doing the washing after our week long jaunt to Bruny Island - there was masses of it!! Thank you so much to my poor long suffering Mum who let me use her washing machine as mine has decided to give up the ghost after 10 years of hard service.

Whilst waiting for the machine to run its course I decided to make a card (of course! What else do you do when the washing is washing??) A dear friend of mine had a baby boy whilst we were on Bruny, soooo having been craft deprived for a whole week GASP, I made a new baby card for them. Here it is:

The sketch is Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge 212, I also tried a new technique Faux Mosaic, which was the Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast this week. (The Faux Mosaic is the thin panel that the lion is popped up on, you can find a tutorial here). Give it a go, it's fiddly but fun!

Card Recipe: (all products are Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Wild About You, Warm Words

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Spring Break DSP

Inks: Versa Mark, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: White EP (embossing powder), Clear EP, Sticky Strip, Lg & Sml Oval Punches, Scallop Punch, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Thanks to Tracey Old (A Stampers Touch) for the idea of layering up the segments of the Lion for a 3d effect. (I embossed him with clear EP to give him a bit of shine and to make him stronger to cut out - his tail is a bit fiddly)

Anyway, as promised here are a few pics from our week on Bruny. For those of you who aren't Tasmanians, a little geography... Hobart, Tassie's capital city is on the River Derwent. Bruny Island is in the mouth of the River Derwent, and can only be reached by Ferry. It is a wonderful place to be because, even though you are only 50 mins away from the city centre (Ferry permitting!) you feel like you are light years away from anything!

This year for the first time my little guy took a friend to Bruny for the first few days. They had a ball, here they are fishing in my Dad's boat. (My little guy is the one on the left, he looks so grown up and moody in this pic lol!).

Here is some of their catch! A beautiful Flathead and a really nice Cod. Thanks for catching dinner fellas!

And here toasting Marshmellows on the rocky beach in front of the shack.

As you can see we had a ball!

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment I love to hear your thoughts. Back to work tomorrow :(

Claire

I'm baaaack!!

2009-01-25T16:45:00.003+11:00

Yay! Back from a very mellow week of fun in the sun and sea. Well actually the weather has left a bit to be desired over the last few days - gale force winds on Thursday left us with no power for most of the day. Since then it has been too rough to get the boat in the water. However, hanging with the family is never a hardship and we have had a nice relaxing time. I will share some piccys soon!

Anyway, how excitement! I came home to find I had been nominated for a blog award! Never had one of those before. Thanks Tracey for nominating me.

The rules for this award are as follows;

Add the award to your blog

Link the person who nominated you

Nominate several other people

Leave a message on their blogs to let them know

My nominees for this award are ... drum roll pleeeease!

Lynda Moss Stampinkins

Ann Wills CraftySquirrel

Donna Centamore Butternutsage Designs

Tracey Old A Stampers Touch

Sarah O'Halloran If Only I had Chocolate

They are all incredibly inspiring in many different ways. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

Thanks for dropping in - I have some cards to make, so I will be back soon!

Claire

Nothing to share

2009-01-18T09:00:00.003+11:00

Nothing to share today. Just letting you know that we are off to Bruny Island for a week of fun in the sun. Lots of swimming, fishing and relaxing, Tassie's notoriously fickle weather permitting! Will share some photos when we get back after Australia Day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Evolution of a card KW CI 38

2009-01-16T11:03:00.007+11:00

Wow! This was so not the card I set out to make for this Colour Inspiration challenge!
I have been racking my brains since Kristina posted CI 38 about how on earth I was going to successfully combine them. Eventually I decided that maybe they would work for a "brayered sky" type of thing. So I set off to Michelle Zindorf's wonderful blog tutorials to refresh myself with the finer points of the technique. I often find my brayer more than a little challenging! Anyway, whilst browsing I happened upon this tutorial, and decided to give it a go in the inspiration colours. I am really surprised and pleased with the way it turned out! It actually reminds me of the enormous Emperor Bush moths we get down here in Tassie.

Card recipe:

Stamps: Natural Beauty, Carte Postale, Baroque Motifs

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Inks: Ruby Red, Pretty In Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Versa Marker, Stamp and Write Markers, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, White Gel Pen, Jumbo Eyelet, Ribbon

Technique: Emboss resist

Hope you like it. I would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Claire

Bright and Breezy

2009-01-15T14:55:00.006+11:00

Hello, just taking some time out from designing cards to update my display board. (It desperately needs a revamp as I have my first workshop for 2009 on Saturday! These ladies are lovely "regulars" and deserve to see something new and exciting on display) As I am on holidays, I am enjoying the opportunity to play with my stuff, in between trips to the beach and other fun family things.

Anyway, I am loving the new Bali Breeze DSP (designer series paper) from the Summer Mini. The colours are so bright and cheerful. Perfect for our Aussie summer. So, I have made a little set of 10cm square notecards to showcase the DSP and the Eastern Blooms Stamp set, also from the Summer mini. Here they are.

I will make a little box and some envelopes for them and share those later.

Card Recipe: (All products are Stampin Up! unless otherwise stated)

Cardstock: RoseRed, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White

Inks: Rose Red, Taken with Teal Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Accessories: Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Ribbon.

I also have another challenging colour scheme to take on. This one is even tougher than the last one! Thanks Kristina. You can check out the challenge here.

Please leave a comment, I really like hearing what you think. Thanks for dropping by.

Claire

A challenging colour combo

2009-01-09T22:49:00.007+11:00

Well, as promised here is my entry for Kristina Werner's Colour Inspiration #37. Oops! I have just realized that I posted the wrong challenge at the end of my last post. THIS

is the right one!

I have decided to have a crack at Kristina's challenge as a part of my New Year's Resolution to really try and broaden my horizons with my colour combos. The challenge is a great one, and seems to attract some very talented card makers each week. (I have been stalking it for quite a while now). For those who are not familiar with it, you can check it out HERE. Basically Kristina posts a colour combo, you design a card or scrapbook page using the colours and link it to Kristina's blog, within a given time frame. Kristina then chooses her fave 10-15 submissions.

So, without further ado – here is my entry. Apologies for the crappy photo, but I'm not sure when exactly the challenge closes as it is in US time. So, I will post now, and retake and replace the pic in the morning! (Edited to add: I have replaced the pic, the colours show a little better in daylight, and at least this one is not blurry!)

Card Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Eastern Blooms (Summer mini) Paisley Background

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Soft Sky (as we don't have Baja Blue in Oz yet) Whisper White, Bali Breeze DSP

Inks: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: White Gel Pen, Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Technique: Emerging Colour

Sketch: Sketch Challenge 196 Splitcoast Stampers

Would love to know what you think, leave a comment and let me know! Really appreciate you stopping by.

Claire

Embrace Watercolouring

2009-01-09T07:20:00.007+11:00

Hello again! I seem to have the "blogbug" at the moment, and feel the need to upload another new creation to share with you. After my recent disasters with the Embrace Life Stamp set I felt the need to have another go with it, and try and create something that I actually like! Anyway I was visiting my girlfriend Lynda recently and drooling over these images that she had coloured with Copic Markers. She was also kind enough to show me how to use them. Anyway, not owning any of these cool but very expensive pens, I blurfed (blog surfed) around a bit until I came across this tutorial for getting similar results with SU markers and watercolour paper. I have had a pack of watercolour paper in my stash for a while now, but it was very dusty, so I decided to pull it out and give it a go.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Embrace Life (Summer Mini)

Cardstock: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Bali Breeze DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour

Inks: Basic Black Ink Pad, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery and Old Olive Markers

Accessories: Rose Red 1" Double Stitched Ribbon (Summer Mini)

Technique: Watercolouring

Sketch: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge SC 207

What do you think? I like the intensity of the colours you get with this technique. Unfortunately I have misplaced my Stazon black ink in the hurley burley of Christmas stamping, and my basic black bled a little. However, overall it looks OK I think. Would love to know what you think, leave a comment, it would be great to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

PS You might want to check back later. In line with my resolution to be more adventurous with my colour schemes, I am going to try and attempt some of Kristina Werner's Colour Inspiration Challenges. This is the one for this week. Stop by later and see what I have done with it.

Worst Card Ever ...

2009-01-04T19:49:00.008+11:00

Probably my last post for a few days, as I am back to work tomorrow L. Thought you might get a giggle out of seeing possibly the UGLIEST card ever made! I did it for an, SU demo only, challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. The challenge was in three parts. First a colour combo, Baja Breeze (which we don't have in the Aussie catalogue yet, so I substituted Blue Bayou), Blush Blossom, and Cameo Coral. Now those of you that know me, will know that I cannot bear the colour Cameo Coral and studiously avoid using it – ever! As for Blush Blossom, I have 3 pristine , untouched sheets, that have been sitting in my stash since I first bought a pack of mixed soft subtles 18 months ago! So obviously the colour combo alone was going to test me out.

The second part of the challenge was a sketch. This sketch:

No probs, sketches are very useful starting points for cards when you need an inspiration boost. There are literally hundreds of card sketches on Splitcoast Stampers You can check them out here.

The third part of the challenge is a technique, this month it is Sparkly Stained Glass. Again, no prob, I love checking out new techniques and this was one I hadn't tried before. However, between the colours, the sketch and the technique, somehow my card became very busy and soooo not me! Anyway TA DAAAA

What do YOU think?! Fill in the poll and let me know. Lynda (Stampinkins) says she has made one worse – but I don't believe her … At least I am living up to my New Year's resolution, to be more adventurous with my colour choices!

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Last Chance to Play

2009-01-03T14:21:00.006+11:00

Back to work on Monday L. So I'm using today as my last chance to have a play with my new stuff from the Summer Mini. Today I have been having a go at Colour Blocking. I have used this technique before in my scrapping but had not thought about using it for a card, until I stumbled across a whole gallery of them on Splitcoast Stampers! It was quite inspiring, here are my attempts.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Live Your Dream

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Basic Grey, Old Olive, Whisper White, Orchid Opulence

Inks: Soft Sky, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive.

Technique: Colour Blocking

Accessories: Vintage Brads, White Gel Pen, Sponge, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Eastern Blooms

Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Not Quite Navy

Inks: Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Eastern Elegance Rubons, White Gel Pen, Sponge, Stamp n Write Markers

Technique: Colour Blocking, Marker direct to Stamp

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Ocean Commotion, Polka Dots and Paisley

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou

Inks: Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi

Acessories: Sponge, White Gel Pen, Ribbon, Crystal Effects

Technique: Colour Blocking, Masking

I have made a New Year's resolution to try and move out of my comfort zone when it comes to colour choices and combinations. I have tried some new combos with these cards – no Gruesome Guava (sorry Groovy Guava) or Cameo Coral just yet. I'm building up to it!! Keep checking back to see if I have managed it! Would love to know what you think. Thanks for dropping by.

Claire

Frantically Festive!

2009-01-01T17:14:00.008+11:00

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everybody! I hope you all had a fun and fabulous festive season. For me here, every day since Christmas Eve there has been an event to go to, or friends and family to catch up with. It certainly has been a social whirl and lots of fun! Just a little exhausting though …

Not much time for crafting I'm afraid, though I did find time to make a birthday card for my DH (darling husband) who celebrated his birthday on Christmas Eve. Here it is:

It is a double challenge combo, as it combines the Faux Silk Pop , technique lovers challenge and the sketch challenge number 188, on Splitcoast Stampers. It was VERY nice to have a break from Christmas projects!

Card recipe:

Stamp sets: Ocean Commotion (from the new Summer Mini), Polka Dots and Paisley
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Mellow Moss, Really Rust
Inks: Bordering Blue, Mellow Moss and Really Rust
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals
Techniques: Faux Silk Pop and Masking.

I also wanted to share with you some of the gorgeous handmade Christmas cards I received from some of the wonderful people I have spent time with this year, in my capacity as a Stampin' Up! Demo. It was really lovely to receive these in the mail, thank you so much to the people who took the time to create them and send them to me. I really love them! Here they are:

Finally, I would like you to meet one of the new members of our family. My little guy received a Fish Tank for Christmas. So, for his birthday (30^th December, I told you we had been busy around here!!) he received some fish to go into it. Here is one of the new additions – his name is Felix. Felix had three other companions in the tank, unfortunately the move was too much for Whizzer and he joined the big aquarium in the sky this afternoon. The others are still going strong, and in a week or two they will hopefully have some brightly coloured companions!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a wonderful time over the festive season. I'm looking forward to sharing more crafty ideas with you in 2009.

Claire

So many ways to Count the days!

2008-12-14T20:28:00.007+11:00

I must be really losing the plot now! I am waxing poetic… Too much to do before Christmas and not enough time to do it in! Just popping in to share my latest project with you. My gorgeous girlfriend bought this craft wood tree from a Scrapping shop, it comes complete with the little tiles to count down the days until Christmas and the hooks to hang them on. My little guy and I have decorated it to give to his class teacher. Here it is …

We decorated both the tree and the tiles with the Stampin' Up! Dashing DSP. Projects like this are sooo easy with SU because everything co-ordinates so well, the inks, ribbons, papers etc. I didn't have to spend hours searching for just the right colour cardstock etc. The numbers on the tiles are from the On Board Lots of Letters, and are triple embossed with Gold EP. The star was from the On Board Trimmings that were in the Spring Mini catalogue, it is triple embossed with a rhinestone brad in the centre. "Days until Christmas" was stamped, using the retired Tidy Alphabet, in Versa Mark on co-ordinating cardstock and embossed with gold EP. Then cut out, remounted on a contrasting colour and cut out again. Finally we tied some gold and red cord through matching buttons and popped them up on dimensionals as "decorations" on our tree. I also made a little box (adapting the gift box from "Mainly Flowers") to keep the tiles in when they are not in use, as they will not all fit on the hooks at once.

Hope you like it, would love to know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by...

Claire

Christmas Candy!!

2008-12-09T20:12:00.007+11:00

Hi again,

Yet another Christmas project to share with you! These are the little gifts my son and I made for his classmates at school. I have to say the idea is not mine, a friend made these with her boys a year or two ago, and the idea just stuck with me (TFS Lynda!)

We used the retired Merry Minis set and watercoloured the images to match the Designer Series Paper (DSP) we chose. Here are some pics for you.

A close up!

Project Recipe:

Fold a 16cm x 5cm piece of DSP in half and stick together near the open ends. We used Dashing, Wintergreen and Ginger Blossom. Punch at the open ends with the Scallop Edge punch (A great new punch available in the Summer Mini).

Push the folded edge of the DSP as far as it will go into the Double Slot or Double Circle punch, centre it, edge to edge and punch.

Stamp your image on scrap cardstock and colour as desired, here I used an Aqua Painter and Ink pads to colour.

Punch out your image with the 1 ¾ " circle punch, and mount on a piece of co-ordinating card stock. Here I punched the co-ordinating cardstock with the Scallop Circle punch.

Adhere to your DSP.

Slide the candy cane inside the folded edge of your DSP. Take an 8cm length of co-ordinating ribbon and feed through the holes from top to bottom with both ends. Cross over and feed back up through the opposite hole to form your bow. This will hold the candy cane firmly in place.

Too easy!!!

Hope you like them. Thanks for stopping by.

'Til next time …

Claire

Just Made It!!!!

2008-11-29T10:52:00.007+11:00

Phew! Finished just in time! After 3 weeks spending every spare moment on this project, I just managed to finish it in time for my little guy to use it. His comment was "Wow that's Awesome Mum!" So, I thought I would share all that hard work with you.

This is my Advent Calandar. It was inspired by this one I saw on Butternut Sage Designs. There is even a video tutorial, if you would like to check it out. Obviously I had to make a few alterations, as we don't yet have the Bigshot here in our Australian Stampin' Up! catalogue. So here is a pic of mine, made using items we do have!

A bit closer

A close up of one of the boxes

A close up of the Faux Metal Star

Project Recipe: (All products used were Stampin' Up! except where stated)

Pre-stretched artist canvas from a discount shop (Chickenfeed for those of you in Tassie)

Craft boxes with lids from a discount shop (they have ovals and circles in Chickenfeed). I attached these to the canvas using Velcro dots so that I can remove them after Christmas and pack them away carefully

Oval cutters (I used Creative Memories ones) to cut the Designer Series paper for the lids, then glazed the lids with Crystal Effects (hopefully this will prevent the DSP from peeling off in the future)

Dashing Designer Series Paper, plus Old Olive, Real Red, Very Vanilla, River Rock and Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Chocolate Chip 5/8" ribbon, Real Red ¼" ribbon, Very Vanilla ¼" ribbon, Real Red striped Grosgrain ribbon, Chocolate Chip ¼" ribbon

Simple Serif Mini Alphabet and Numbers, to stamp the days until Christmas (thanks for lending them to me Lynda!) Merry Merry, Baroque Motifs and Seasons of Joy Stamp sets to decorate the boxes and for the faux metal embossing on the Star and the letters C and S of Christmas

Assorted punches, Rhinestone Brads and Hodgepodge Hardware for decorating the lids and displaying the numbers

On Board Loads of Letters and On Board Trimmings. The letters of "Days until" were painted with Real Red re-inker and a paintbrush then triple embossed with a mixture of White and Clear Embossing powders. The letters of "Christmas" were triple embossed with Gold Embossing powder.

Hope you like it, I would love to know what you think! Thanks for stopping by,

Claire

Another One for Christmas!

2008-11-16T19:30:00.005+11:00

Hi again,

Thanks for stopping by to see what I have been up to. I found these pics on the blog of a very talented UK Stampin' Up! Demo, Crafty Squirrel. I had a go at recreating the box myself, but could not get the dimensions of the triangle quite right – I have always been spacially challenged, ask any of my maths teachers! Imagine my delight when Crafty Sqirrel posted the link to the templates. You can find them here along with heaps of others on Sara Sandberg's great site.

So, here is my attempt.

Project Recipe: (All products used are, of course, Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Season of Joy (Spring Mini Catalogue), Illuminated (Standard Wheel)

Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Very Vanilla, River Rock and Dashing Designer Series Paper

Inks: Real Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla (Craft Ink), Versa Mark

Acessories: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Fire Rhinestone Brads, 1 3/8 " and 1 ¼ " circle punches, Eyelets, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat tool, Stampin' Dimensionals

The red ponsiettas on the cover of the box were made by inking the stamp first in Versa Mark and then in Real Red ink. I then embossed them with clear embossing powder and cut them out. They are mounted on a dimensional with a red rhinestone brad through the centre, and then onto a circle of Old Olive cardstock.

I love this box because it is big enough to place a gift inside, such as jewellery or gourmet chocolates, but pretty enough to hang on the Christmas Tree. Hope you like it as much as I do. Let me know what you think!

Claire

Spinning into Christmas!

2008-11-08T14:16:00.003+11:00

Hello!

Back again, thought you'd never hear from me again, didn't you! I just wanted to share a card with you that I have CASE'd from a couple of others that I saw whilst cruising for inspiration on the net. Apologies to the people I cased from, I can't remember where I saw them.
This is a spinner card, the little disc at the bottom spins around when you tilt the card from side to side. It can be quite mesmerizing!

Card Recipe: (All products used, are of course from Stampin' Up!

Stamps: All About Christmas Jumbo Wheel

Cardstock: Old Olive, Real Red, Very Vanilla, Gold Metallic

Inks: Old Olive, Real Red and Certainly Celery, Versa Mark (for embossing)

Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Small Star Punch

After I embossed the All About Christmas design on my Very Vanilla Cardstock, I used sticky post it notes to mask of sections of the design. Once I had masked of a section I sponged ink into it, to create the mosaic type look.

Hope you like it. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

A special Thank you

2008-09-07T21:00:00.005+10:00

H i there.
I needed to make a thank you card for my son's soccer Coach, as it was their end of season bbq yesterday. Their coach is a great guy, endlessly patient, and always with a good word for each of the kids, whatever their ability. Whilst I was mulling it over, this card popped into my head fully formed! I just love it when that happens! Unfortunately I didn't have the stamp sets I needed to execute the card, so, a few frantic text messages and a couple of phone calls later, I had the set that I needed on Friday night. Thanks so much for lending it to me Lynda! (Check out Lynda's gorgeous blog at Stampinkins).
I used masking to create the pile of soccer balls and to cluster the team together. The Stamp-a-majig saved my sanity when trying to line up all the arms and legs and heads! The kids are all wearing their soccer strip, which I watercoloured with ink pads and an aqua painter. Their coach is wearing the colours of his beloved Brisbane Lions AFL team – a touch he seemed to appreciate. The best thing about it was the kids all recognized themselves in the card! The goalies by their shirts, the girls by their hairdo's etc. It really was a fun card to make. I hope you like it. Thanks for looking.

Claire.

A cased condolence

2008-09-02T14:45:00.005+10:00

Back again. At last… I am just popping in to share a card that I totally "cased" from a stamp artist calling herself cmsuto on Splitcoast Stampers. I don't normally completely "case" cards, but this card had the most beautiful dreamy quality about it. I just had to try and recreate it. As it happens, I had need of a condolence card recently and this card seemed the right one to make.
I used the "spray, ink and smash" technique to create the backround on glossy cardstock. If you would like to try it, click here for a tutorial from "Markie's Mom". The re-inker colours I used were Going Grey, Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant. To create the moon I used reverse masking and Whisper White craft ink, sponged again with Going Grey and Elegant Eggplant classic inks. Then I stamped the flowers from the sadly retired Stem Silhouettes and the butterfly from Natural Beauty in black Staz-on Ink. (Those of you with sharp eyes for detail will notice that I masked the border around the butterfly to prevent it stamping!) The butterflies were coloured with Elegant Eggplant, Brocade Blue and Regal Rose markers. I finished by matting my feature panel on Perfect Plum and making the base card Basic Grey.

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think.

Claire

Bandanna Technique

2008-08-09T15:40:00.005+10:00

Wow! Two posts in one day! Well, there was something else I wanted to share with you because it is so cool and so easy.

I was mooching around on the web looking for some inspiration for my new stamps from the Spring Mini Catalogue, from Stampin' Up! I happened across this card by Barbara Hardeman on Splitcoast Stampers. The card was made using a technique I had not come across before – the Bandanna Technique. The stamp set Barbara has used, True Friend, lends itself perfectly to the "bandanna look" and happened to be one of my new sets!

I decided to use this as inspiration for my card to pop in with my Spring Mini Catalogue mail out. So I searched the web to find instructions on the Bandana Technique. It is actually very easy. Ink your stamps with black ink, I used Staz on, stamp your stamps on Whisper White cardstock. Sponge over the colours of your choice. Then highlight areas of the design with a white gel pen. Too easy! Anyway, for the sample, I have made here, I decided to go with a more traditional bandanna look and just use Real Red, so I brayered over my colour instead of sponging it.

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think.

Thanks for dropping by, Claire.

Too Many Boxes!

2008-08-09T13:55:00.006+10:00

Hello, again! Long time between posts even for me! Life rips along at it's usual pace and as usual I seem to have to peddle twice as fast as anyone else just to keep up, let alone get ahead of the game.

Today I have some cute little boxes to share with you. My Stampin' Up! upline, Mae, kindly shared a link she had found to a blog showing the directions for making these gorgeous boxes. You can find Shelly's blog by clicking here.

My gorgeous girlfriend had a sparkly party for her 5 year old coming up. Having only a son I rarely get the chance to play with girly stuff. So I offered to make these as party boxes for the guests. I re-sized Shelly's original template to fit in party goodies. They were a very big hit!

The little girl's boxes were made using the Perfect Princess stamp set (thanks Lynda for lending it to me!), colours from the Soft Subtles colour family and, of course, lots of glitter. The little boy's boxes were made using Stampin Up!'s East Coast Prep designer series paper and the co-ordinating cardstock colours Real Red, More Mustard and Wild Wasabi. For the three older children attending (2 big brothers and an older cousin) I used the Outlaw designer series paper, the Wanted stamp set and Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla co-ordinating cardstock. Hope you like them. Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Craft Fair and Gift Cards

2008-06-08T13:58:00.006+10:00

Hi again. Well I have been flat chat getting ready for the Craft and Quilt Fair here in Hobart at the end of the month. My colleague and friend Lynda Moss and I have decided to run a Stampin' Up! stall at the fair. As Lynda is in the UK at the moment, I have been flying blind and missing her usual input as my "sounding board". Very glad she will be home soon!

At the Craft and Quilt fair Lynda and I will be running two classes each day. We hope that all our local Stampin' Up! friends will show us some support and come and join a class! You can register on the day to join a class, there will be one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It would be lovely to have some familiar faces there for some moral support! Drop by our stall and say Hi too, we would love to see you.

Anyway, as a break from the tons of One Sheet Wonders I have been making so that we have some stock on the stall and samples to show. Yesterday I decided to play with another of the Splitcoast Stamper's Challenges. This one was a Technique lover's challenge. We had to make 3, 3inch x 3inch cards, then use the templates provided to make co-ordinating envelopes and a little box to present them in. Here is a picture of mine.

I used the Wild About You stamp set primarily. With sentiments from the All Year Cheer 1 stamp set. So sad it has retired, it is such a useful set! I also used the new Dashing designer series paper, which I just love. The cardstock is in co-ordinating colours, Real Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla.

I really like this little collection and I think I will have to make some more to use as Hostess gifts. So, if you would like a little box of gift cards and you live in Southern Tassie, why not contact me – candpharrison@activ8.net.au – and you could receive one, along with all the other fabulous hostess benefits Stampin' Up! has to offer!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by.

Inspirations Strikes!

2008-06-01T12:46:00.006+10:00

Me again! As usual, longer between posts than I would like. This card just goes to show that inspiration can strike anywhere. I seem to be suffering from an illness which has been mentioned by several SU demos – I am starting to see the world in SU cardstock colours! I was walking from work to the bank the other day and a shop sign caught my eye. It was for a local beauty salon - not the sort of place I would usually give a second glance (lol!). However the sign was very pretty and feminine, and my brain just went "Going Grey and Pretty in Pink. Scary huh? I have been wanting to try a technique called "Retiform" (you can find Beate's great tutorial by clicking here) and I thought that it would give me the lovely soft look that I wanted for this card. I have used the Spring Solitude level 2 Hostess set and the colours Going Grey and Pretty in Pink in both inks and cardstock. I stamped the bird and the heart in Regal Rose to make them a little stronger. The central image is matted on Basic Grey and Regal Rose and popped up on dimensional, and the card is finished with some Pretty in Pink brads. Hope you like it! Very different for me. Thanks for stopping by.

2008-05-21T20:37:00.003+10:00

Back to Kindergarten

Hello! It's me again. Longer between posts than I would have liked, but there you go … I have had the usual combo of work and home life to deal with and my little guy has been sick this week with a nasty infection – so all up, not much time to play!

Anyway, the card for this post is one that I designed for a challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. They have this great forum for SU demos where we can try ideas and techniques and share business info etc. It's a really great resource and subscribed to by demos all over the world so there are lots of ideas out there, as you can imagine. They have a challenge weekly where you are given a particular idea, to design a card that you could demonstrate in a workshop situation.

Last week's challenge was to incorporate paper weaving into your card. I just had to have a go at this one! It took me straight back to kinder, where I remember making, and proudly presenting to Mum and Dad, woven placemats. We used them on the dinner table until they fell apart! (My poor long suffering Mum!)

This card kind of took on a life of its' own and kind of designed itself as I went along! It has ended up being a lot more elaborate than my original concept and is probably now too fiddly to demonstrate in a workshop. But I was pleased with the overall look of it, so thought I would share it with you anyway!

I used Whisper White cardstock for the weaving. I chose to use the Fishy Friends stamp set. Then I embossed my fish with clear embossing powder, having first inked my stamp in both Versa Mark and Tempting Turquoise Inks. The weaving was then sponged with Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore Ink. To make my fish stand out from the sponging a little, I lightly blended the sponged colours with an aquapainter. (Thanks to Lynda – Stampinkins for that tip!) The edges of my weaving were a little (a lot actually lol!) messy so I made a border with strips of Tempting Turquoise cardstock and added Faux stitching with a white gel pen. The seaweed at the bottom of the main card was done using the tentacles of the jellyfish from the same stamp set, using white craft ink. I finished the card with a sentiment from the Warm Words stamped in white craft ink.

Hope you like it. Thanks for dropping in. See you next time.

2008-05-13T11:57:00.005+10:00

More cards more techniques …

Well here we are again. Some new cards, experimenting with some more techniques! This first one was made for a friend and former neighbor for her birthday. This friend has recently been creating a black and white scrapbooking album for her daughter. It was a real challenge but the results have been spectacular! Anyway inspired by this thought I checked out the Split Negative Technique on Split Coast Stampers. You can check out the tutorial here. I created this card using black and white cardstock and embossing powder with the Baroque Motifs SU stamp set. I couldn't do just black and white though, so I caved in and added some touches of real red.

Next was another go at Split Negative. This time I used the Voila and Voila ala carte Stamp sets teamed once again with black and white cardstock and embossing powder. Once again I felt compelled to add a touch of real red and the whole thing is matted on some of the gorgeous new basic grey SU textured cardstock. So, I have a chef with a "dark side"… Gordon Ramsay perhaps?! That being said, it begs the question "What is under the lid?!!"

The third card I created for a recent workshop hostess. As I had demonstrated the Spotlighting technique at her workshop, I thought it would be fun to create her card using the Reverse Spotlighting Technique. For this card I used an Almost Amethyst cardstock base, stamped with the little flowers from the Polka Dots and Petals SU stamp set. Then I used the Paisley from Polka Dots and Paisley for the reverse spotlighting stamped on So Saffron and Close to Cocoa. I really like this colour combo. I finished the card by dying a piece of white ribbon with So Saffron ink and stamped my sentiment on a So Saffron scrap in Close to Cocoa ink and punched it out with my oval punch.

Thanks for dropping by!

2008-05-11T19:47:00.005+10:00

Another Special Card!

Another special card for a special person. This one is a card I made for my Mum for Mother's Day today. For this card I thought I would have a go at the tiling technique as I have seen some beautiful cards made using this technique lately. I scored the cardstock using an embossing tool and a ruler to make 1 1/2cm squares, you can also use a "score pal" or the scoring tool on your paper trimmer, which would be a lot easier! I then inked up my "From the Garden" background stamp. A level one hostess stamp from Stampin' Up!. I used versa-mark ink, then inked it again in Purely Pomegranate, so that I could then emboss a coloured image with clear embossing powder. I wanted the flower to stand out a little against the leaves, so I very lightly watercoloured it using an Aqua-painter and the Purely Pomegranate ink pad. It was then layered on Purely Pomegranate cardstock, with the main card being Night of Navy cardstock. Mum really loved the colour combo! I finished the card with the sentiment from "Infinte Goodness" and a piece of the (sadly) discontinued navy organza ribbon. Very happy with the overall effect.

2008-05-11T19:01:00.006+10:00

Special Cards for Special People!

Well, a busy week or two it has been!! What with a workshop and a Stamp-a-stack, as well as my "normal" job, things have been a little frantic lately! Still there have been a few special people in my life that I have needed to make cards for, so, a good excuse to take some "me" time when the family are asleep and play with some new stamp sets and some new techniques!

This first card was made for my gorgeous girlfriend for her birthday. We all need a friend like this one, you know, the one you call when you need some-one to mind the kids for an hour or two, the one you call for a quick chat and are still on the phone an hour or two later …! The one who knows not to say anything, just to listen when you are being totally irrational!

The idea of combining the polished stone and faux metal techniques came from a UK demonstrator I have had the great fortune to meet and share craft time with – Ann Wills – you can check out her wonderful blog by clicking here .

The colour scheme was dictated, of course, by my girlfriend's favourites, purple and green. As I had a piece of the polished stone cardstock I demoed at a recent stamp camp left over, I used this as a basis for the card and took the other colours from there. I was so sad to see Vintage Violet go from the Stampin' Up! Catalogue, especially as I have now discovered it works so well with Sage Shadow! However, I am quickly falling in love with the new "in colours" particularly Purely Pomegranite and Blue Bayou. The stamp set used was "Infinite Goodness" a level 2 hostess set from the 2008-2009 Stampin' Up! Ideas book and catalogue – for this particular friend it just had to be a dragonfly. So here is the result.

2008-04-26T13:11:00.002+10:00

Time to Play!

Well now that stamp camp is over, I have finally had a bit of time to mount and play with some of the stamps from the new catalogue! Thought you might be interested in what I have been up to…

This first one was actually one I put together before stamp camp. As my colleague Lynda was teaching the brayered sky technique on the day, I thought I should have a go and make sure I could do it too!! Here is my attempt, using the new "Wanted" set from Stampin' Up!.

The next one is using a technique created by a very talented artist called Laura Fredrickson, whose blog "Scrapnextras" I regularly visit. You can check out Laura's blog by clicking here
For this card I wanted to play with the new Stampin' Up! "In colours" for 2008, so I used Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou together with So Saffron and a touch of Real Red. The stamps were the Star Studded standard wheel and the new Classic Stars jumbo wheel. I thought this would make a nice boy card.

Finally this one is using the new sets Voila and Voila a la carte. As my DH is a chef, I am really familiar with where their whites get dirty when the creative genius is upon them. I wanted to reflect that in my card. I really liked the effect, I did the water colouring with stamp n' write markers and an aqua painter.

Fossil Stone Technique

2008-04-24T22:57:00.002+10:00

Well, here we go, deep breath … my very first blog entry. And what a way to start! Talk about jumping off the deep end! I am going to make my very first blog entry a tutorial! I must be mad. Ask Lynda, I'm sure she would agree.

So, you may be wondering why such an adventurous first blog? Well, I have a workshop coming up soon and I was cruising the net for inspiration (as you do) and I came across a tutorial by Julie Buhler for a technique called Fossil Stone. Some of you will know that I am a bit of a technique junkie, so if I see something I like, I just have to try it. Anyway this technique involves the use of a brayer. Having just completed the brayering Stamp Camp with Lynda, you would have been justified in thinking that I would retire my brayer for quite some time after all the preparation and so on. However I saw this technique and thought "the stamp camp ladies would like that". You see how dedicated I am (lol!) The best part is you don't even get your brayer dirty!!

Anyway, here goes … Please excuse my dodgy photography, hopefully it will improve with practice.

Fossil Stone Technique

You will need:

An A4 plastic sheet protector
2 coordinating ink colours (I used Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou)
2 pieces of glossy card stock
A brayer
Stamps of your choice

Step 1.

Cut the bottom and side off your sheet protector so you can open it flat. Smudge your first ink colour onto one side of the plastic.

Step 2.

Smudge your second ink colour onto the other side of the plastic.

Step 3.

Close the sheet protector and rub it with your hand to create air bubbles.

Step 4.

Insert your two pieces of glossy card stock, back to back,
with the glossy side of each facing outward.
Lay them in your sheet protector and close it over them.

Step 5.

Brayer over the cardstock (on the outside of the sheet protector) until the cardstock has a good coverage of ink.

Remove your cardstock and let it dry.

The finished cardstock!

And my card - Fishy Fossil!

Stamped images are copyright Stampin' Up! 1986-2008.
I hope you like this technique and have fun playing with it. Let me know what you think of my first tutorial!!

Claire