SC 055/12: NEW STAMPIN' UP! CHRISTMAS GOODIES

Today is my final post as a Guest Designer for Sunny Challenges & Creations - a bit sad!  I've really enjoyed being part of the Design Team for the month of August, and would like to thank Vicky, Kris and Gwen for having me on the team.

This week's sketch challenge is to be used to make a Christmas card.

It just so happens that I have a few new Christmas products in my stash, thanks to Stampin' Up! allowing us demonstrators to order items in advance of their release on 1st September.  I really love the "Be of Good Cheer" Designer Series Paper, so that forms the basis of my card.  The fun sentiment is from a new stamp set called Wacky Wishes (which is free with an order over $300).  Gumball Green, one of the five scrumptious new In Colors coming on 1st September, also features heavily on my card.

Stamps: Snow Swirled, Wacky Wishes (available 1st September)

Card: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Gumball Green

DSP: Be of Good Cheer Designer Series Paper

Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green stampin' pads

Other: Labels Collections Framelits die, Regals brads, Gumball Green stitched satin ribbon, Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool, Dotted Scallop Ribbon border punch, Stampin' Dimensionals, mini glue dots

We'd love to have you join us for this Christmas challenge.  Make sure you check out the rest of the Design Team's samples for inspiration!



MERRY MONDAY CHALLENGE #21: STAMPIN' UP!'S SNOW SWIRLED

**  This is my second post for today ..... if you're following the blog hop, please scroll down to the next post.  Thanks!**



I am loving Lesley's sketches for the Merry Monday challenge, to kickstart my creative juices when it comes to Christmas cards.  Here's this week's sketch:

I have opted for a bit of an unusual colour combination, including black on this Christmas card.  I black-embossed the gorgeous Christmas tree from Snow Swirled onto the oval panel, and adhered some Cherry Cobbler Itty Bitty punched flowers as accents.  The sentiment was stamped in Always Artichoke (satisfies my husband's idea that there must be green on a Christmas card!), as I felt there was enough black already!

Stamps: Snow Swirled, For My Family

Card: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke and Whisper White stampin' pads

Other: Scallop Trim border punch, Whisper White satin ribbon, Modern Label punch, sponge daubers, Oval dies (not SU!), Itty Bitty shapes punch, Basic Rhinestones, mini glue dots

Thanks, Lesley, for such a great sketch - love it!

CHRISTMAS BLOG HOP

Today I am taking part in a blog hop, with 10 friends, to show you some projects with a CHRISTMAS theme.  You may have come here from Ros Davidson's blog, but if not, don't worry - you can continue in a loop and visit all 11 blogs by clicking on the link at the end of each blog post.  I'm sure you'll get some great ideas, visiting everyone's blogs.

I'd like to share with you a few Christmas cards I've chosen to make in non-traditional colours.

This first card is my favourite, but I would love to hear which one appeals most to you; they're all quite different.  Please leave a comment, and let me know you've been to visit!

Stamps: Friends 24-7, Contempo Christmas, Delightful Decorations

Card: Poppy Parade, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise (textured)

Ink: Poppy Parade and Tempting Turquoise stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-on inkpad

Other: Poppy Parade poly-stitched ribbon, Ornament Punch, Basic Rhinestones, stampin' dimensionals, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Scallop Edge border punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, mini glue dots

Next up is a less bright card; for this one, I've used another of Stampin' Up!'s "in colours", Peach Parfait, teamed with Basic Gray and Very Vanilla.

Stamps: Dasher, Snow Swirled

Card: Very Vanilla, Basic Gray

DSP: Peach Parfait Patterns Designer Series Paper (hostess pack)

Ink: Basic Gray and Peach Parfait stampin' pads

Other: Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Wide Oval Punch, Peach Parfait poly-stitched ribbon, sponge dauber, Eyelet Trim border punch, Basic Pearls

My last card uses green and purple, with cream, and I love it!  (Since I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I don't think I've referred to colours as "green and purple, with cream"!!  That was a BIG step for me, to not use their SU! names, ha ha). 

Stamps: Tree Trimmings, Snow Swirled, En Francais

Card: Wild Wasabi (textured), Perfect Plum, Naturals Ivory

DSP: Wild Wasabi and Perfect Plum Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum and River Rock stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-on inkpad

Other: Very Vanilla satin ribbon, Wide Oval Punch, sponge dauber, Eyelet Border punch, paper snips, mini glue dots

Next stop on today's blog hop is the blog of my friend Nikki Sadler.  We hope you'll visit all 11 blogs, and check out everyone's creations.  Here is a list of everyone participating in the blog hop; if you lose your way, just check back in here!

Ros Davidson

http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com/


Christine Blain (that's me!)
http://christineblain.blogspot.com/


Nikki Sadler
http://www.inkyart.com.au/


Kristine Thompson
http://www.inkspotcreations.com/


Tina Gillespie
http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com/


Di Dunk
http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com/


Judy May
http://www.judymay.typepad.com/


Sue Madex
http://www.madexcreations.com/


Amy Buchanan
http://fashioninggreatimpressions.com/


Gardenia Pepworth
http://alittlelessuseless.wordpress.com/


Alisha Watson
http://ratherbstampin.typepad.com/

I hope you have a great day; I will - we're off to a wedding, and my boys will both be in suits!  What fun.  Will share photos later!

CHRISTMAS CARD CLASS

This morning I held a class, in which we made four Christmas cards using new Stampin' Up! products.  I've committed to holding one Christmas class a month (since July) until at least November, in an effort to be more organised than I'm prone to being!

The first card we made was so I could show how beautifully the new Cherry Cobbler ink, cardstock and papers match.  We used "Jolly Holiday" Designer Series Papers, which have a beautiful array of patterns (lots of circles and polka dots, so I'm happy!).  It's a simple card, but I think it's quite elegant, with the addition of some scrumptious new Old Olive 5/8" satin ribbon, and a single rhinestone.  What do you think?

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Occasional Greetings

Card: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

DSP: Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper

Ink: Cherry Cobbler stampin' pad

Other: Ornament XL punch, Old Olive 5/8" satin ribbon, Basic Rhinestone, Stamp-a-ma-jig, mini glue dots

We again used the "Delightful Decorations" stamp set, and co-ordinating Ornament punch, using the same colours but with a very different result.  The pattern in the punched-out squares on this next card was made by stamping the beautiful ornate Christmas tree, from "Snow Swirled", then punching out portions of the image.  I love it, and was quite pleased with myself for coming up with that idea - I wanted something 'swirly', to go with the pattern on the ornament, and the background of the card.

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Snow Swirled, Short & Sweet, So Swirly jumbo wheel

Card: Old Olive, Very Vanilla

Ink: Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: Ornament XL punch, Word Window punch, 1 1/4" large square punch, 1 3/8" XL square punch, stampin' around jumbo handle, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Very Vanilla 3/8" taffeta ribbon, sponge daubers, Stampin' Dimensionals, mini glue dots

I'll be back tomorrow with the second instalment of today's Christmas card class.

You can expect a few posts from me in coming days, as on Saturday 25th I will be taking part with some friends in a blog hop.  Hope you come back to visit, and join us all, to get some ideas on how to use lots of new products from Stampin' Up!

"CHRISTMAS IN JULY"

Welcome to the first post on my new, improved, blog!

I'm holding a few "Christmas in July" classes at my place in Mount Evelyn this month -  a couple focussing on cards, and stamping on candles, and the other two with a focus on making gift tags and boxes.

If you live in Melbourne's outer east, and would like to kick-start your Christmas projects, why not join in on the fun?  The class fee is $20.00, which includes all materials and refreshments for a 3-hour class.  Can you think of any better way to spend a few hours than crafting with like-minded friends??!!  I'd love to have you join us, so here are the details of the two remaining classes in which I have a few spots available:


Wednesday 28th July
Cards & Candles
10.00am - 1.00pm


Saturday 31st July
Gift Tags & Boxes
1.00pm - 4.00pm

Email me if you'd like to take one or more of the spots available.  I'd love to see you!

Here is one of the cards we'll be making in the Wednesday class:

"CHRISTMAS IN JULY" BLOG HOP

Hi everyone!

Being the first Saturday of the month, it's time once again for our "Art With Heart" team blog hop. 

This month our theme is "Christmas in July".  Now is a great time to kick-start your Christmas cards (if, like me, you can't even entertain the idea of starting any earlier!) and other projects.  We hope to inspire you with the creations we're sharing today.

The "Art With Heart" team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators comprises over 90 women, spread across Australia, and is led by Claire Daly (based in Melbourne).  We have a very active online team forum, that is a great source of inspiration, support, and friendship.  If you'd like to join us, there is no better time - Stampin' Up! in Australia has a fantastic special offer on the Starter Kit, until the end of July.  Whether you'd like to join up as a hobby demonstrator (to get discounts every day on every product), or are interested in starting up a low-risk, rewarding home-based business, you can't beat being able to sign up for only $259!  (The retail value of the Starter Kit is $580.)  The fabulous Starter Kit contains lots of stamps, ink pads, cardstock, and business supplies - plenty to 'get you started', and there's lots of continuing support available.  If this sounds like something that suits you 'to a T', please email me; I'd love to have you join our friendly team. 

As with each of our blog hops, we offer blog candy - a little prize for one person who visits all of the participating blogs, leaves a comment, then emails Nikki Sadler to confirm that all blog posts have been commented on.  The offer for the blog candy is valid only for 72 hours from the launch of our blog hop; so, to be in to win, make sure you email Nikki by 6.00am AEST Tuesday 6th July.  Blog candy cannot be won by Stampin' Up! demonstrators, but we would dearly love for you all to visit our blogs and leave comments anyway!  

Today there are 12 of us taking part in the blog hop.  You may have come from Kathryn Mangelsdorf's blog; however, if you are starting here, that's fine.  When you've finished looking at my blog post, just click on the link below to go on to Kristine Thompson's blog. You can start at any of the blogs along the way; you'll do a 'circuit', and cover all 12, as long as you follow the links on each blog.


Right, enough of the formalities, and onto my projects.  I have chosen to make a little gift set, using the "I Wish" Simply Scrappin' kit, that's on page 137 of the Stampin' Up! catalogue.  Be sure to take a look at the kit; it is seriously good value for your Christmas projects.  The kit costs $36.95, and contains enough textured cardstock, co-ordinating Designer Series Papers, and self-adhesive die cuts to make numerous scrapbook pages, or DOZENS of cards! 


Here is the card I made:




I thought it was way past time I gave a bit of love to my Two-Step Bird Punch.  For these projects, I've used both sides of some Designer Series Paper from the "I Wish" Kit.  The key colours are Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Real Red; yummy, don't you think?!  The patterns on the paper co-ordinate with the Snow Swirled stamp set; the Build-A-Brad just above the bird was created by stamping a snowflake onto Designer Series Paper, punching it out with a 1/2" circle punch, and adhering it to the brad base, before topping it off with an epoxy sticker (that comes in the Build-A-Brad set).  I LOVE being able to make co-ordinating embellishments.


To go with this Christmas card, I made a darling (if I may say so myself) little gift box:




The photo's a bit fuzzy - sorry.  There's a clearer one coming up!  I've made these little pillow boxes before only using cardstock, but I LOVE the result using paper.  I'm totally in love with how cute this is!


Next, I made some tiny little gift tags, to go inside the pillow box:




I got a little carried away and made 10 tags, but by the time I'd added a couple of layers to the tags, they wouldn't all fit inside the gift box!  The pillow box will hold 6 of these tags.


Here are all my projects together, followed by a list of Stampin' Up! products used to make them:





Stamps: Snow Swirled, Spotlight on Christmas, Tiny Tags, Weathered

Card: Kraft, Chocolate Chip textured, Old Olive

Ink: Chocolate Chip stampin' pad and marker, Old Olive stampin' pad, Versamark inkpad

Other: "I Wish" Simply Scrappin' Kit, Build-A-Brad, 1/2" Circle Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Star Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Crop-a-dile, Linen Thread, Pillow Box and Top Note Dies (used in the Big Shot), XL Two-Step Bird Punch, sponge daubers, Sticky Strip, dimensionals



Thanks for taking the time to visit my little corner of the world today.  Next up on the blog hop is the gorgeous and creative Kristine Thompson; please go see what she has made, and enjoy the rest of the tour!  Don't forget to leave a comment for each of us, then email Nikki Sadler, if you'd like to go into the draw for this month's blog candy.



In case you need a bit of help, here's a complete list of all my team members taking part in the blog hop:

Ros Davidson http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com Di Dunk http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com Kathryn Mangelsdorf http://www.klm55.blogspot.com/ Christine Blain http://www.christineblain.typepad.com Kristine Thompson http://www.inkspotcreations.com/ Nikki Sadler http://www.inkyart.com.au/ Erica Boxall http://www.ericaboxall.com/ Kathryn Ruddick http://www.katlodesigns.com/ Sue Madex http://www.madexcreations.com

Claire Daly

http://www.clairedaly.typepad.com/

Judy May http://www.judymay.typepad.com Alisha Watson http://www.ratherbstampin.typepad.com/

"I WISH" SIMPLY SCRAPPIN' KIT .... CARDS PART 2

After a really lovely Stampin' Up! workshop on Saturday, I was inspired to play a little more with the "I Wish" Simply Scrappin' Kit featured in my last post - hence the rather unimaginative title of my post today!  We creative types can't be creative ALL the time!!

The first card I have to show you, is using the Designer Series Paper from the kit, that co-ordinates beautifully with the Snow Swirled stamp set.  I have stamped (in Versamark ink) a few large snowflakes at the bottom of the card, to subtly tie in with the pattern on the paper.  The main image is simply a stamped sentiment, punched out with a circle punch, matted on some red card and overlaid with a scalloped die-cut sticker from the wonderful kit.  Too easy!



Stamps: Best Yet (Hostess Set), Snow Swirled

Card: Old Olive, Real Red textured

Ink: Real Red stampin' pad, Versamark ink pad

Other: "I Wish" Simply Scrappin' Kit, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, scallop edge punch, white gel pen, 1 3/8" circle punch, sponge dauber



I decided to use Kraft as the base colour for my next card; this alone pretty much guaranteed it'd be a favourite!  Kraft is my 'go-to' colour, for those of you who don't know me so well.  I LOVE how this card turned out; the papers and sticker strips in the kit are so beautiful, and make very easy work of putting together a lovely card.  The only stamping on this card is the sentiment, using a Cute & Curly stamp (from the Curly Label Punch bundle - check that out on the Christmas Extravaganza promotion I told you about, a couple of posts back; it's so cute).  I stamped it in Real Red, on whisper white card, then sponged the edges of the punched-out piece with Sahara Sand ink - complements the kraft colour beautifully.



Stamps: Cute & Curly

Card: Kraft, Real Red textured

Ink: Real Red, Sahara Sand, Old Olive

Other: "I Wish" Simply Scrappin' Kit, Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive brad, Real Red brads, sponge daubers, stampin' dimensionals

I hope those of you living in the southern states of Australia are surviving this heatwave; thankfully in Melbourne today it's a little cloudy to start the day - so nice to feel some coolness in the air!

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the world today. 

Christine  :)

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS

I am having a HEAP of trouble with Typepad, and have tried numerous times over the last few days to post, only to be thrown out repeatedly.  I had a rather lengthy post saved, and it has disappeared into oblivion, so today I am feeling just a bit grumpy!!  (Alright, a lot grumpy.)

I've been playing with my gorgeous new Christmas Classics stamp set (LOVE the crisp images it produces), and have a couple of cards to share, if only the uploading of images is successful, on my 247th attempt.  Here goes ..... 

Oh, wait, I just remembered I promised my sister, Lynda, that I'd post a photo of the birthday cards she and I made for Ethan recently.  Lynda and I are twins on one day of the year (she was born the day before my first birthday); for the other 364 days we do share thoughts, ideas and colour-choices in clothing.  It's a bit uncanny sometimes.  This year Lynda was super-organised and had made my little man a birthday card early.  Foolishly, I didn't think to check with her as to what colours and stamp set she used (you'd think that after 40+ years of 'twin-like' behaviour, I'd know better).  This was the result - Lynda's card on the left, mine on the right:



Now for the Christmas cards I have to show you - both using Christmas Classics stamp set and Ski Slope Designer Series Paper, from Stampin' Up!  I have tried several times to upload these photos, and add all the 'ingredients' used, and such is my frustration at failing repeatedly that I am going to try ONE MORE TIME to just get the pictures up.  I'll skip all the extra explanations - if you need any details, just email me!  Here's what I came up with:


How cute are those baubles?  Here's the next one (my favourite) - let me know which one you prefer!  I know some of my friends need no prompting to let me know, but I'm interested to see your feedback :)




Well, hallelujah, I've successfully uploaded 3 photos, and even managed to add some text -what progress!  I'm going to sign off here (don't want to push my luck).  Fingers crossed my next post will be smooth sailing, and will take less than 4 days to complete!  

SNOW SWIRLED ..........the blue series

Whilst I still have the Snow Swirled stamp set on loan, I am trying to come up with a few different cards.  I haven't used silver for a loooooong time, but decided to combine a bit of silver embossing, with Whisper White, and Bashful Blue - I think the result is really lovely, and soft. 

My photo of this first card is a bit blurry (sorry), but I was pleased with the 'clean' result.  I started off with a Whisper White card base, and attached a panel of Bashful Blue card on which I had randomly stamped the large snowflake from the set, using Versamark ink to create a subtle background.  I distressed the top and bottom edges of this panel.  On the main panel, I stamped the large snowflake in Versamark on Whisper White, then used Silver embossing powder - how striking does that look?  I added a blue rhinestone brad to the centre of the snowflake, and stamped the sentiment in Bashful Blue ink.  A bit more edge distressing and use of punches finished off that part.  I rounded the bottom corners of the two panels, and did a bit of paper piercing to complement the pattern of the eyelet border punch.  Is this too much waffle?  Should I just show you what I made?  Okay, here it is ...



Stamps: Snow Swirled

Card: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver

Ink: Bashful Blue stampin' pad, Versamark ink pad

Other: Silver embossing powder (& heat gun), Eyelet Border Punch, corner rounder punch, piercing tool, edge distresser, Bashful Blue taffeta ribbon, blue rhinestone brad (from Ice Circles selection), stampin' dimensionals


While I had all the supplies out, I made a card that appealed much more to my husband's symmetrical brain.  To create the white panel on the bottom part of the card, I inked up the large snowflake stamp in Bashful Blue ink, then stamped the image off twice onto scrap paper before stamping the image on Whisper White card - love the soft result of this.  I did the same on the white panel on which I then overstamped the sentiment, in Basic Gray ink.  For the square snowflake panels, I white-embossed the snowflakes onto Brushed Silver card, which I think looks beautiful.  Here's the card, followed by all the details:



Stamps: Snow Swirled, Occasional Greetings

Card: Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver, Whisper White

Ink: Bashful Blue and Basic Gray stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: White embossing powder (& heat gun), sponge daubers, stampin' dimensionals, Bashful Blue 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch, 2-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds (glitter)



Right, lastly (hope you're not too saturated by blue-hued Snow Swirled cards yet!) I would like to share my personal favourite of the series.  Not surprisingly, Andrew (darling husband) doesn't like it.  I don't think six brads on one card is over-embellishing - do you?? 



Stamps: Snow Swirled, Short & Sweet

Card: Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue, Sahara Sand

DSP: Bella Bleu

Ink: Brocade Blue and Sahara Sand stampin' pads

Other: Sponge daubers, Word Window Punch, Ice Circles Rhinestone brad (blue), Clear Rhinestone brads, stampin' dimensionals.



I'm having so much fun with this set, I don't think I'll give it back to its rightful owner!  I have a super-busy week at work coming up, so may not get to create and/or blog for a little while, but I'll be back soon.  Thanks for visiting my little corner of blogland. :)

SNOW SWIRLED

My friend Anita posts a new Christmas card design on her blog every Monday, but, despite my best intentions, I can't keep up with the challenge!  I know it's Tuesday, and Anita is encouraging Making Merry Mondays, but I thought I'd share a card with you anyway. 

This card is inspired by the pretty, girly creations that Anita has come up with lately.  I have used only one stamp set, called Snow Swirled - I think this is a 'must have' Christmas set.  Unfortunately, I don't have it - I've borrowed it!  Not sure if you can see the detail, but I started off stamping one of the set's snowflake images in Versamark (clear) ink on the bottom half of the kraft card.  I stamped the same snowflake on the Pink Pirouette card, using Pink Pirouette ink.  The tree image is white-embossed on kraft, and the sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink on kraft card.  This was a quick card to make, but I hope you agree it's a pretty one.



Stamps: Snow Swirled

Card: Kraft, Whisper White, Pink Pirouette

Ink: Versamark, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip

Other: White Embossing Powder, Eyelet Border Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Pink Pirouette striped grosgrain ribbon, Kraft taffeta ribbon, stampin' dimensionals, sponge dauber