Making Merry Monday and Cards for the Defence

Yay .... on the right day for a change LOL

The new In Colour Concorde Crush is one of my favourites - it looks so vibrant when teamed with Real Red and Whisper White.

This Season Of Joy stamp set was the first set that I owned from Stampin' Up! - this set has so much to answer for!  

To create the sparkly panel, I stamped the image in Concrode Crush, then pressed a Versamark pad over the entire piece of cardstock ... covering it completely, then applied a liberal covering of Heat and Stick power and melted that with the heat gun.  I then tipped some Dazzling Diamonds over the card ... tapped off and just 'set' the sparkle by giving it a quick once over with the heat gun again ... not too much but just enough.

I'm still making extra cards for lovely Tracey Hanshaw and Karen Cummings to distribute to our defence personnel who are serving overseas.  They are well on their way to collecting 1000 cards ... but need more so if you have a few Christmas cards to spare either send them directly to Tracey or pass them on to me and I'll post them for you.

There is nothing like receiving a handmade card and just one card will give two people a feeling of being loved and remembered ... the defence person who is overseas and is able to write and send the card .... and the person who receives the card ... receives their personal message from their loved ones and knows that card makers around Australia are thinking of their loved ones whilst they go about their day to day work.  

A couple of pieces of cardstock, a little bit of ribbon, a stamp or two and a little of your time will mean so much - you really can make a difference and bring a smile to someone's face!

 

 

ESAD Christmas In July Blog Hop

I hope you’re ready for the ESAD Christmas in July Blog Hop!  I love Christmas and I love that in Australia I get to celebrate it twice :)

You have arrived from Sharlene Torres site (Sharlene is the lovely lady who puts all of the ESAD hops together for us - thank you), but if you haven't, don't worry - a hop is a circle so there is no beginning or end, hop on here and enjoy the ride.  So firstly I need to let you know what ESAD is all about.  Well 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 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 its 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.

 

Regulars to my blog will know I am a scrapbooker so whenever we have these hops I use it as an 'excuse' to get another page done LOL.  So this page is of Christmas day in 2006 - I'm still in 'scrapbooking catch-up mode' and when I complete a page like this I am so pleased .... another momentous day captured!

I've used Baja Breeze textured card stock for the base as it matched Olivia's dress perfectly, and Rose Red for the accent colour to match Olivia's PJs. 

The ribbon detail has been made using the double rectangle punch - I've just punched it several times along the bottom edge - just using the edge of the punch as a guide to keep it 'evenly-ished' spaced and then I've threaded a piece of 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain ribbon through.

Stamp sets used are Season of Joy and Punch Pals, which I have stamped using the marker pens in Basic Grey and Rose Red, and I've added some little snowflakes along the top using a Versamark pad.  The Tag and Scallop Circle punches make these really easy little embellishments to make - the flowers of course of hand cut.

The sparkly letters are of course, the Timeless Type Big Shot Alphabet - an absolute must for a scrapbooker ... I love being able to create any title that comes to mind without have to worry that I don't have all the letters.  I've then used the Two Way Glue pen and some Dazzling Diamonds to add some Christmas sparkle.

Journaling has been written freehand with a white Signo pen - I think handwriting is so important on our scrapbooking pages - in years to come my children and grandchildren will have heaps of examples of my handwriting ... so no matter how much you hate your writing ... you just have to include some on a page every so often.  And the Journaling reads:

Big smiles, young faces ...

Skinny 'ribbins' and transfer tattoos ...

Laptop, PSP, camera, fish tanks, Guinness Book of Records and lollies!

So there you have it - hope it inspires you to grab some Christmas photos and record the moment.  Now's the time to hop along to Clare Mcilhatton I've just found her site - yes by linking it here (and spent half an hour just having a little look around - Clare has made some beautiful things) ...

So thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.

 

Making Merry Monday # 12

Another Season of Joy sample ... Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Old Olive ... with the soon to be gone (well in November ... and I'll be sad to see it go) ... Ski Slope paper.

I can't believe that I have made 12 cards already ... and a few more during the classes when I am demonstrating ... this is great ... at this rate everyone will have their card on time this year ... no last minute panics.

Well I am off to make some more ... feeling that I need to move away from this set ... now is that a great excuse to buy a new one?  Perhaps ... but I've seen a few cards made with 'non festive' sets that I want to have a go at .... of course adding the 'InkyArt' touch ... so off to play and watch this space!

Merry Monday and happy stampin!

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday # 10

Morning morning how are you?

Time again for another Christmas card ... is it just me or are the weeks flying by?

This is a card I have made for a team swap .... using Season of Joy, Ski Slope DSP, Chocolate Chip card stock, Real Red ribbon and a wee Old Olive brad.

The little bow is made using the double rectangle punch - I had planned a few little photos of how to do that for you for today but unfortunately a trip to Marysville on Saturday and a soccer match and presentation afternoon on Sunday took priority ... so it's still on my list of things to do!

Have a great day and happy stampin!

Nikki

x

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

x

Making Merry Monday # 4

I was at a Ladies Night at my son's school this week and this card was very popular.  Big hello to all the lovely ladies that I met on the night - was so much fun to meet so many crafty people and if you booked into a class here is a little reminder of what we will be making.

Using punches, Season's of Joy and Dazzling Diamonds this card is easy peasy - photo doesn't show that you can see a stamped image through the little sparkly window.

The classes are proving very popular; there are still a couple of places left on the following dates:

Friday 14 August - 7.00pm - two places left

Thursday 3 September - 7.00pm - three places left

Cost is $18 and you make and take six cards ... three of this design and three of a Christmas Lovely as a Tree card ... which I'll show you next week.  We will be using the new Christmas paper from the Spring mini; Ski Slope.

Call or email if you'd like to book one of the remaining places.

Lots more classes and cards to come over the next couple of months .... and if you'd like a copy of the new Spring mini just let me know and I'll get one into the post for you. 

Have a great week and happy Stampin.

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday # 2

Back again for another Making Merry Monday.

Another one using the Seasons Of Joy stamp set.  

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Season Of Joy

Card Stock: Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Pattern Paper: I Wish scrapbooking kit

Ribbon: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon

Other: 1 3/8" Circle punch, Little sparkle from my stash

I love this card, I think I will be making some more like this. The inked edges on the white cards stock really add to the finished look.

For those of you who are new to Stampin Up! many of the punches and stamps have been made to be used together - so the little snowflake was a quick and easy addition to the card, as it fits perfectly with the 1 3/8" Circle punch.  I keep an eye out for punches that have matching punches - just makes cards and scrapbooking embellishments so easy and quick to rustle up.

Back next Monday with another one ... let me know if you are joining in and send me photos of your cards so I can post them here for everyone to see.

Happy stampin!

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday #1

I'm joining in with Anita Meades' Making Merry Monday, a new Christmas card published every Monday - how cool is that! No last minute panics for me this year ... oh how I love to be organised :o) 

Christmas cards were the real eye opener for me with Stampin Up!  I have been making cards for about 15 years now; I make about 40 festive cards every year; not a big number but still enough to make me panic every November as I searched for inspiration, I like to make about four different designs (I like variety) and I like them to be different each year; so I generally don't use the same stamp sets.  

Last year I bought the Season of Joy set from the Spring Mini which is now in the main catalogue (and which I still love and will be breaking a habit of a lifetime and using again this year!), two packs of cardstock, two matching blender pens and one roll of ribbon - I then made so many different cards that I had trouble stopping at 40! 

That's when it clicked - Stampin Up was for me! - The stamp sets and papers just work together beautifully ... the cardstock colours, ribbons and inks all match ...it isn't rocket science (and my goodness when you are time poor we need all the help we can get don't we)  .... all the hard work of 'what goes with what' is done for you - no matter what I did with the set of stamps every card was coordinated and beautiful.   

They were the easiest and quickest 40 cards I had ever made and I received so many compliments that I decided I would trade in all my old stuff and stick with Stampin Up! - I've started with the trade-in (read 'sell on eBay' here) but I have to confess I've probably sold less than I've replaced with new goodies from SU - ssshhh don't tell my husband ... he'll never cotton on if we keep quiet about it!

So, as this is my favourite festive set I've started with Season of Joy first:

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Season Of Joy, Many Merry Messages

Card Stock: Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, VersaMark

Pattern Paper: I Wish scrapbooking kit

Ribbon: Old Olive 5/8" (1.6cm) Grosgrain Ribbon

Other: Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds

Really easy to do the 'sparkly' bit.  After stamping the image, just VersaMark the whole piece of white cardstock, dip into Heat and Stick powder and warm with heat tool, then sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds over the top, shake off excess and 'set' with heat tool once more.  The effect is amazing - a lot more sparkly in real life than in the photo - try it you'll like it!

I'll be doing some Stamp A Stack Christmas card classes starting in August and I think this will be one of the designs - if you want to come along and stamp a few of these for your family and friends just let me know.

Have a great Monday and happy stampin!

Love N

x