Making Merry Monday # 9

Wow nine Christmas cards already made and it is not even September yet ... that is a definite record for me!  Are you playing along?  If you are let me know and I'll add your cards to my gallery ... if you're not why not?  Still plenty of time before the usual festive madness that descends over us all in December. 

Today's card is another using the Season of Joy set.  Inspired by Sue Madex and her incentive card swap (take a look here).  I loved the different design for the card layout.

Now just in case you are wondering ... the little paperclip thingy at the bottom of the card isn't part of the design (although it is a Stampin' Up! clip).  It is there to keep the card closed so that I could photograph it for you!

And here it is without the clip ...

Made from Baja Breeze, Real Red and Whisper White it's a great combination, even for a traditional girl like me!  I've stamped the image twice, once in Baja Breeze and then in Real Red. I've then cut out the accents from the Real Red image and adhered them with Stampin' Dimensionals to the Baja Breeze image.  The DSP is Ski Slope from the Spring Mini.  

I've been making Christmas cards all evening ... I'm on a roll with this stamp set ... and I am in stampers heaven ... up to my eyeballs in ink, ribbon, paper and cardstock.

Right off to tidy up the kitchen table ... and then to get ready for a great special offer from Stampin' Up! that I can only tell you about on Tuesday.

Be sure to check back here then ... you'll not want to miss out on this one!

Merry Monday and happy stampin!

Love Nikki

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Happy Birthday Emma

It is a special day today ... it is my niece's birthday - Happy Birthday to you Emma.  All of my nieces live in England (well actually all of my family live in England :( )and I miss them very much, Emma is the oldest and the one that writes lovely emails to me ... have a super douper day sweetheart, we are thinking of you.

I love this card, Priceless stamp set with pastels, Think Happy Thoughts (that just pit perfectly with the 1 3/8th circle punch and plenty of scallops and pearls.

Hope that the postie gets this card to you in good time Emma, have a great day.

Big hugs and kisses to both you and your sister (oh and my brother and his lovely wife too)

Love Auntie Nikki

x

Petal Party

I've been having a play with the Petal Party scrapbooking kit.  I decided to scrapbook the first black and white photo that I found in my stash using this set.  This is Olivia at the tender age of 3, at that age she really didn't mind wearing my old hat with some paper flowers attached ... all she was interested in was eating her chocolate frog - she even made the front page of the local paper (now at nearly 14 she wouldn't be seen dead wearing anything that belongs to me)!

I've used a couple of flowers from the Accents and Elements set and a little bit of ribbon, but the rest is from the Petal Party kit.  

Happy stampin!

Nikki

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Making Merry Monday # 8

I love this card .... okay so yes it is Old Olive and Real Red ... I did tell you I was a traditional girl at heart!

I've used the new Tree Trimmings from the Spring Mini, a glue pen with Dazzling Diamonds, the wording from the Level One Hostess set Best Yet set which fits perfectly inside the tag punch (which I then matted with yummy Real Red).  I've used the little flower from the Season Of Joy set but if you don't have this set then any little flower or sparkle will do.

This is my new Christmas card for the September classes - these are filling up fast so if you want to make an early start on your cards call me now to book your place.

Yes He Did It!

He was a star and now remembers that YES he does like scuba diving after all!  Paul had an awesome time and wants to do the open water course ... oh dear what have I started?  I can see diving being quite an expensive hobby ... hummmm perhaps that isn't a bad idea after all ... we work on a credit system ... so if Sads buys something, I get the same value as a credit.  Unfortunately my passion for scrapbooking and card making has always meant that I have negative credits - LOL

Checking out a friendly stingray!

Paul and the kids!

We've had a busy weekend - after a birthday dinner celebration on Friday night Olivia was performing at the Melbourne School Bands Festival (she plays the flute in the school band form and hates it - she gets to give it up at the end of the year!) - she wasn't impressed with the 8.15am start on a Saturday!  

And then Sunday morning was spent watching KP play soccer ... he said before we left 'Mum I am going to score a hat-trick' ... and guess what ... he did just that!  The team won 4-0.

Just look at his face - he's the one in orange!

I love watching the team play - we have only two matches left for the season and I'm going to miss the Sunday morning catch-up with all other mums and dads - we are one enthusiastic bunch - Go the Aspendale Stingrays!

Off to do the ironing now ... groan boring groan!

Back tomorrow with Making Merry Monday.

Love Nikki

x

Happy Birthday Sads

It's my husband's birthday today (we call him Sads for short - our surname being Sadler) - and we are very excited.  Well the kids and I are!  My husband has everything he needs (and if he doesn't he tends to buy it anyway) so it is hard to come up with a unique and exciting present for him.  This year we've bought him a dive with the sharks in Melbourne Aquarium as a present!  We thought it would be a good idea but when Paul found out his response didn't match ours!  But I am sure he will have a good time!  It's happening tomorrow so I'll be back with photographic evidence!  Lets hope that they have actually fed the sharks this week :o)

Now for his card ... well it is a cased from Marelle Taylor (who is one very clever SU lady currently enjoying an incentive trip in Noosa with all the other clever SU ladies of Australia) - loved this card when I saw it on her blog and thought it was perfect for a male card (I find male cards very hard to create ... find it difficult to steer clear of the sparkles and ribbon - although I have managed to include a brad and some hemp thread!).

I am sure that Paul will love it - and the kids and I have written little messages inside.  This card is made with Party Hearty - a new set in my collection.  My daughter has already spotted the cupcake stamp ... guess we will be stamping over the weekend!

Back with more very soon.

Happy Birthday Paul xxx

Love Nikki

x

Scrapbooking Workshop

On Saturday I held a workshop for a lovely bunch of ladies (hi girls) who wanted to complete a scrapbooking page. Whilst I worried that this would be hard to please everyone with colours and design, I managed to put something together that I think suited everyone.

Sorry about the terrible photo - the Melbourne weather wasn't conducive to photography today (or soccer but that's another story!).  

You may recognise the Great Friend pastel strip from a card of last week - Versamark and pastels are a wonderful thing!  I managed to forget the stamp set for this workshop which almost set me in a spin until the lovely hostess Tammy produced Priceless from her stash and hey presto ... I now NEED to buy Priceless too!  So the ladies used some of the many stamps from that set (I can't believe that I have never noticed that set - 11 stamps for $48.95 - now that is a bargain - and Tammy lent me the set so I can have a play) ....

 

The flowers are from the One of a Kind set ... the flowers fit perfectly with the Boho Blossoms punch - which the ladies loved.  Colours are Baji Breeze, Basic Grey, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White.

The photo is of Olivia and I in Paris earlier this year; the grimace on my face is because I was frozen ... it was -4 degrees!  After the photo was taken Olivia and I wrapped our scarves over our heads and faces ... such a good look in the fashion capital of the world!

Back soon with more cards and scrapbooking pages.  

Happy Stampin!

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday # 7

Well I've done it ... yes it was a struggle ... but now I have a Christmas card combining Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise and Lovely Lilac ... eeeek!  (I wonder whose job it is to think up the names for the colours ...  now that sounds like a fun job to me!).

It was challenging (to say the least) to use these colours and I wasn't sure that I'd use them again but my family like it so I am hoping that you do too :o)

I've used the new Tree Trimmings set from the Spring Mini - such a great set ($24.95) and I love the way the embossing stands out - beautiful stamp set.  The wording is from the Hostess Level 1 set Best Yet.  Of course, I lined up the 'thread' bit with the Stampamajig ... perfectly placed.

Back in a couple of days with some scrapbooking and a couple more cards ... been very creative this weekend!

Have a lovely week and happy stampin!

Nikki

Special Friends

I bought myself some pastels and I am really loving them ... should have bought them ages ago.  If you ever feel that you want something of every colour to stamp with, then these are the answer.  I've only tried this technique of using a Versamark ink pad and a dauber so far, but I am impressed.  I am going to learn some new techniques so watch this space! 

I was making a scrapbooking page for a workshop next weekend and am using this technique instead of patterned paper.  Once I've glued all the bits into place I'll show you the end result in a few days and try and find the project that I used for inspiration too.

I made this card for a very special friend of mine, Tracy.  We hit it off from the very first day that our daughters met at school and have remained best mates ever since (although I do have to confess that I did spend the first few months of our relationship calling her by another name - I am hopeless with names - and she is so lovely she didn't know how to tell me!).

Every so often we send each other cards and it has been a long time since I last sent her one ... our families are intertwined and it is often easily forgotten that our relationship started just six years ago.

So my lovely friend, thank you for all of your support and encouragement; and remember you really can put off some things until tomorrow ... except coming to see me!

Back soon with some scrapbooking.

Happy stampin.

Nikki

x

Sponging And Brayering

Technique Sheets

SPONGING AND BRAYERING

Cut a 1 3/8 inch circle from a post it note (include some of the sticky bit) and stick on the card as a mask for the moon.

Sponge over with Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze.  To blend the ink a little better you can sponge and then use a circular motion with the sponge – or use a dauber.  Blend the colours to give a gradual darkening.  I’ve also inked the edges with the sponge too to create shading.

 

When you have finished sponging, remove the post it note circle and swipe Not Quite Navy over the moon (to look like clouds) – Sponging is also good – it is just to ‘knock’ the white off a little.

Tear some scrap paper to create a jagged edge and use this as a mask for the ground. Sponge or brayer Basic Black ink to make the ground. 

 

Create ‘hills’ by moving your jagged edge and using the residual ink left on the brayer to create paler areas.

 

Stamp your images in Basic Black – here I have used the Lovely As a Tree set – other sets which look great are Upsy Daisy and Pocket Silhouettes. This looks best if a part of the image overlaps the moon.

 

I’ve stamped once as you normally would and then stamped again just slightly to the right without re-inking to produce a fainter image – this gives the trees depth.

 

I’ve used this technique many times, have a play and see what you come up with.  Each one will be different.  How about changing the colours to reds or oranges to reflect a sunrise or sunset … the possibilities are endless.  

Making Merry Monday # 6

Another quick and easy card (Christmas cards need to be quick and easy don't they as there are usually a whole heap to make at Christmas time) .. this one is using the Curly Punch set and some paper from the I Wish Scrapbooking kit - my favourite Old Olive card stock and ribbons and a little bit of Baji Breeze and Real Red.  

I keep my off cuts in a box so that when I am needing just a little bit of 'something' to finish off a card I can use up my scraps .... love using up the scraps and turning them into something pretty!  The Merry Christmas sparkly bit was an off cut of Whisper White which was just about big enough for the stamp and punch ... makes for a very economical card!

I really love the sparkle effect when using the versamark ink pad and dazzling diamonds - so glittery!

I am a very traditional girl at heart ... cards just have to be red and green, gold and silver ... but I do love the Chocolate Chip and Baji Breeze .... I could be converted this year.  

I've got a great idea for next week's card using the new Tree Trimmings stamp set from the Spring Mini ... and I am going to move outside my comfort zone and choose some rich non-traditional colours  .... now just to find the time to put ink to card stock ...

On that note I'm off ... happy stampin!

Love Nikki

x

Stamp A Stacks

     

With only 141 days until Christmas (still seems a big enough number to not start panicking just yet doesn't it!), and I have added two new dates for the Christmas Stamp A Stacks.

The dates are as follows:

Friday 14 August - full

Friday 28 August - Birthday cards (just to make it a bit exciting!) spaces left

Thursday 3 September - spaces left

Thursday 17 September - full

If you'd like to know more then check out the details here

If none of these dates suit why not arrange for five friends (including yourself) to have a Stamp a Stack at your home - call me to arrange a date. 

I'll be back before the end of August with new ideas for October classes.

Email or call to book your place - 0428 254 952.

Back soon with more cards.

Happy Stampin

Nikki

Spring Mini Is Here!

Finally you get to see what the fuss is all about!  Click here to view a copy on line ... so many yummy new things.  There are so many hot favourites that I am having trouble working out what to make first so that I can show you all the lovely things.  

From new Christmas papers to individual stamps and corduroy buttons ... so many beautiful things.

I'll be back again in a few days with more to show you and news of some product shares (product shares for those of you new to Stampin! Up are a great way to get a little bits of things without the big investment of buying a whole set - perfect for brads, buttons, ribbon, etc).

Back soon and if you want your own copy of the new mini call me on 0428 254 952 (or email) and I'll pop one in the post for you ... they are FREE!

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday # 5

Morning ... another Monday and another Christmas card.

This is the second of the two designs for the August / September card making classes.

Lovely as a Tree is a really beautiful set and this little tree looks great embossed in silver.  A lovely bright and crisp card - I plan to make some more of these for a swap I've organised with some other Stampin Up! demonstrators. The words are from the Seasons of Joy set.

One tool I am finding I can't live without is the Stamp-a-ma-jig - I just love it and it has help save my sanity.  

You see having almost finished a card ... I often place the stamp in the wrong place ... or worse still it's crooked (looking at this photo it does look a bit crooked but I promise it isn't!). 

The Stamp-a-ma-jig stops this from happening ... 'use the stamp positioner for precise stamp alignment every time' the catalogue says .... it has definitely saved me from having to 'fix up' some dodgy stamping mistakes.  It's a stamp positioner and wipe clean transparent sheet - best $22.95 I've spent and if you want a demo or to place an order for one just let me know.

Back next Monday with another Christmas card - I've got quite a stash happening now :o)

Happy stampin

Love Nikki

x

Happy Birthday Kathy

These are the girls I scrapbook with, Tina, Aris and Kathy (we missed you Tammy) - how much scrapbooking and card making do we actually do?  Hummm .... honestly ... well ... not a great deal but we do a lot of talking about card making and scrapbooking so it kinda counts ... doesn't it!  

It's Kathy's birthday today - so Happy Birthday Kath!  I hope you have a great day.

And here's Kathy's birthday card - made using the 'Live Like You Mean It' hostess level one set - when I was thinking of a card to make for Kathy I remembered this set - this is Kathy ... she is doing just this - and I admire her for it.  We have some great chats and she has opened my eyes to so many things ... thank you Kath.

Using the two step stamping technique and a nifty little bow using the Double Rectangle punch (you just thread the ribbon through the two holes and hey presto ... one cute little bow), it was a quick card to make.

Back tomorrow with Making Merry Monday.

Happy stampin

Love Nikki

x

Great Friend

Just a quick card for today from the set Great Friend.

This set is in the new Spring Mini - which launches today!  There are so many great products including the scallop oval punch and a matching stamp set called Oval All - a lovely train stamp called Choo Choo and some beautiful new papers.

Chocolate chip, Baja Breeze and the new Parisian Breeze paper this card was very quick to put together.  Set is called Good Friend and includes a beautiful butterfly.

Hope you like it.  If you'd like a copy of the new Spring Mini just let me know and I'll pop one in the post - they are FREE!

Happy Stampin

Nikki

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