6 x 6 Desk Calendar Swap - February

I recently joined a 6 x 6 Calendar swap on Stampin' Discuss...the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator Forum in Australia. Twelve participants were assigned one month each. I got February, and this is my page.



I've used Designer Series Double-Sided Paper (DSP) from the Loves Me range, which is in our current Summer Mini Catalogue. I've also used Chocolate Chip, Whisper White and Regal Rose cardstock, and Taken With Teal and Pretty in Pink Classic Ink. The large heart is from the Simply Said stamp set, the small pink heart is from the Small Sayings stamp set in the Summer Mini catalogue and February is stamped with Tidy Alphabet stamps.

I have also used some Teal Velvet from the Flirty Ribbon Originals in the Summer Mini Catalogue, four silver brads and the White Gel Pen. I hope the other swappers like it :-).

Sam.

New Nesties Today!

I am so amazed that they arrived so quickly...my Nestabilities dies, from Papertrey Ink. It only took about a week and a half for them to arrive from the US. Happy Christmas to me, Happy Christmas to me.....lalalalalalalalalalalala.

So...I had to have a play tonight...and here is where I need to thank someone profusely! Tracy...you are a champ. Poor girl has had to spoon feed me the instructions for making the correct Cuttlebug sandwiches for the Nesties...not once, BUT TWICE. I still managed to cut a hole in my magnetic mat (absolutely nothing to do with Tracy's instructions..they were crystal...my head on the other hand...is not). Insert shaking-head and rolling-eyes smilies here!!!

Not a prize-winning card by any means...but that's what you get when you are too busy playing with a new toy to notice whether the colours go together, right? The colours are: Ruby Red, Marigold Morning, Basic Black and Whisper White. The muy lindo pinguino is from the Wild About You stamp set, and is stamped in Basic Black on Whisper White. There has been lots of Nestie and Cuttlebug Embossing going on...and the ribbon is Black Gingham. There are dimensionals (it goes without saying ;-), glue dots and SNAIL...all secretly tucked away behind the scenes.

Nighty night stampers!
Sam.

In the Wild - Thanks!

Hubby recently asked me for a card to give to one of his work colleagues. I made this one last night, and even in the cold hard light of day, I'm pretty pleased with it. It has been given the tick of approval by he who ordered it too ;-).

The cardstock colours are: Bravo Burgundy, Basic Black, Buckaroo Blue, Sahara Sand and Whisper White. The Sahara Sand layer has been Cuttlebugged...it kind of looks like animal hide pattern to me. The ribbon over the Sahara Sand layer is from the Prep School Ribbon Originals. The hardware is Pewter Hodge Podge, and the 'thanks' is from the Everyday Flexible Phrases and is stamped in Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock.

The small Basic Black layer is raised on Dimensionals. The eye-less elephant (this does trouble me somewhat..but I tried adding an eye with a pen, and it did NOT work at all...so eye-less he will remain!) is from the In the Wild stamp set, and has been stamped in Sahara Sand Classic Ink on Whisper White cardstock.

...and again ;-)

Just another little Valentine's card. I was thinking we'd make it at an upcoming workshop, but I've changed my mind...'cause I can!

The cardstock colours are Rose Red, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose. I've used the Love Matters stamps, the crimper, Certainly Celery 5/8' Grosgrain, watercolour paper, Basic Brown and Rose Red Classic Ink, Aquapainter, large square punch, small square punch, dimensionals and Crystal Effects.

More Love Matters for Valentine's Day!

This card is a CASE of a pretty card by Chris LaMore, that I found on Splitcoaststampers...here. I have changed a few things, but it is still the same overall design as Chris'.



The colours on my version are: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip. I have stamped the Wild Hearts background stamp in Versamark on the Cameo Coral layer. The small Ruby Red layer has been crimped and is mounted on Dimensionals. I have wrapped a piece of Certainly Celery 5/8' Grosgrain around the Chcolate Chip cardstock.

The two hearts, from the Love Matters set, are stamped in Basic Brown ink on Watercolour paper, punched using the small square punch and coloured using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink. They are stuck on large squares of Ruby Red, which are mounted on Dimensionals above the Certainly Celery ribbon.

The love sentiment is also stamped in Basic Brown ink on Watercolour paper and coloured using an Aquapainter. It is mounted on a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. The bow is also 5/8' Certainly Celery Grosgrain and is mounted on a Glue Dot. Both hearts and the word love have been highlighted using Crystal Effects.

Baby Girl

The colours are: Regal Rose (stock up before I buy it all ;-), Very Vanilla and Pretty in Pink. I've distressed the edges of the Pretty in Pink layer. If I was making this card again, I would either Cuttlebug the Pretty in Pink layer, or spritzer it, or Versamark it. It could definitely use a lift of some sort.

The babies are from the Baby Firsts stamp set and are stamped in Stazon on Watercolour paper and coloured using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink. They are mounted up on Dimensionals. The 'Celebrate' sentiment is from Everyday Flexible Phrases and is stamped in Regal Rose on Very Vanilla and punched using the small oval punch. The layer beneath is Regal Rose, and that has been punched with the large oval punch, and mounted on Dimensionals.

The ribbon is my attempt at a ribbon blossom. I know...I failed, but hey, a girls gotta try...right? The tutorial for these can be found on Pam's blog, Indigo Studio. As you can see...she doesn't fail when she does them, Pam's are stunning. I will try again...one day, when I feel brave again ;-). Mine is mounted on the card using Glue Dots, instead of tying...which I thought might be tricky given my double line of ribbons.

Au Chocolat

I guess this card came about because I was thinking of a really useful post (nothing to do with Thomas the Tank Engine, I promise) that I read on Corie's blog...a list of uses for Stampin' Up!'s Wire Works. Corie's Tip Sheets for this, and for other things such as Versamark, Glossy Cardstock, Crystal Effects and Brayers, are a great resource. Thanks Corie!

The background cardstock is Choclate Chip...no secrets there ;-). The Designer Series Double-Sided Paper (DSP) is from the Au Chocolat range, in the Summer Mini Catalogue. The small mat underneath the flower is mounted on Dimensionals, and is comprised of Choclate Chip and Very Vanilla cardstock. I've run the Very Vanilla through the Cuttlebug...I couldn't help myself!

The flower stem is Wire Works, and I have anchored it at the bottom with some sticky tape (at the back), and underneath the flower with a glue dot. The flower petals are also Au Chocolat DSP, punched using Stampin' Up!'s large oval punch and folded. I've attached the petals using SNAIL.

The flower centre is two circles of cardstock anchored using three brads from the Vintage collection. The 'Note of Love' sentiment is from the Sale-A-Bration 2008 set, Lots of Thoughts, and has been stamped in Choclate Chip Classic Ink.

Bee Happy...

This beautiful little card was sent to me by the lovely Tracy at Enchantasy. She also sent me a whole bunch of blank images on watercolour paper for me to play with. How cool is that? Thanks Tracy :-)! So this morning, while it has been drizzling away in the ACT...reminding me of a cold rainy New Year we spent in Edinburgh in 1995 (it is nearly as cold as that time too) I have been colouring one in. The picture below shows the final product.



The colours are Elegant Eggplant, Summer Sun, Regal Rose (OF COURSE ;-) and Rose Red. I have used the Love Swirls wheel in Elegant Eggplant ink on the background cardstock. The next layer is Velum Cardstock, and I have used some of the brads from the Earth Elements selection on the corners. The next Elegant Eggplant layers is mounted up on Dimensionals. The next layer is Summer Sun and it has been run through the crimper. The smallest Elegant Eggplant layer has also been mounted up on Dimensionals. I have coloured Tracy's stamped image using Classic Inks and an Aquapainter.

I am finally getting the hang of using the light-tent and OTT light (that I got for Christmas) to take photos of my cards...they are very useful, especially given it is so grey here today. I shine my OTT light into the tent from the front, and the result is pretty good. The image could do with being a bit brighter IMO...but I can always tweak that in Photoshop.

Happy Birthday!

We have a special little friend whose birthday is coming up soon, and this is the card that I have made for her.

I'm having a great deal of difficulty getting away from beautiful Regal Rose at the moment...I'm going through TONNES of it! My apologies if you are over it.

The background on this card is Chocolate Chip. I've used the Gel Pen to place the dots down the side. The next layer is Designer Series Double-Sided Paper (DSP) from the 'Loves Me' pack. I don't know about Loves Me...but I LOVE IT ;-). I have stamped her name on the card using Whimsical Lower in Chocolate Chip ink and used a blue, square rhinestone brad for the dot.

The next layer is Chocolate Chip, then Whisper White, then Regal Rose (sigh!). I've stamped the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment from the SAB 2008 set - Birthday Whimsy on the Regal Rose layer, in Regal Rose Classic Ink. The ribbon is Chocolate Chip Grosgrain.

The number three is from the On Board Simon Lower chipboard set and I have covered it in Loves Me paper, which I glued on using Crystal Effects. I then used a craft knife to cut away the excess DSP, and sanded the edges using various tools in the AWESOME Basic Grey Precision File Set (This is a MUST HAVE...no more nail files, or other bits that don't quite get into the corner). I have painted Crystal Effects over the top of the papered 3 using a paintbrush, and mounted it on the card using dimensionals.

When I started making this card, I was actually going to CASE this card from Claire Daly, whose work I find VERY inspirational, not to mention beautiful! I somehow got sidetracked though.....pretty much because I had some previously layered cardstock on my desk that I wanted to incorporate.

So there you go :-).

Sparkly Heart Valentine

I made this Valentine's Day card last night. I actually made the sparkly heart a while ago, and didn't really know what to do with it, but with Valentine's Day coming up it seemed an ideal time to get it off my desk ;-). You can see a tutorial on how to make these sparklies on Fleurie's blog Forever Young. The heart is from the On Board Accents chipboard set. I coloured my heart with Rose Red Classic Ink, using a Sponge Dauber, before I applied the Heat and Stick Powder and Dazzling Diamonds.

The colours used on the card are: Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red and Whisper White. The light pink paper is from the Loves Me Double-Sided Designer Series Paper collection. The pink ribbon is from the Flirty Ribbon Originals collection. Both the Loves Me papers and the Flirty ribbons are from the Summer Mini Catalogue.

I have done some faux stitching around the edge of the small Rose Red layer. The bottom Rose Red layer, the small Elegant Eggplant layer, and the Heart are all mounted up on Dimensionals. The 'LOVE' sentiment is from the All About You stamp set, and has been stamped on Whisper White cardstock in Elegant Eggplant. I have punched it out using the Stampin' Up! small oval punch. The piece underneath is Elegant Eggplant, and has been punched out using the large oval punch.

And that's all there is to it,
Sam.

Its nearly Valentine's Day, and Love Matters!

Here is a little card that I made last night. I was mucking about in my cardstock folder last week and these colours came together. They have been sitting on my desk, ready to work with since then. I just bought Love Matters, from our Summer Mini catalogue, last week (I'd been waiting for Sale-A-Bration to start ;-), and with Valentine's Day coming up...I thought I'd see if I could dream up an appropriate card or two.

The colours are: Bordering Blue, Whisper White, Ruby Red and Summer Sun. I think most of it speaks for itself. I have coloured some of the hearts on the background, using an Aquapainter and Bordering Blue Classic Ink. There is at least a quarter of a sheet of Dimensionals holding the three elevated layers up! I have tried to replicate a Ticket Corner punch effect using my slit punch....but if you look carefully you can see that these are a bit wonky. Fingers crossed for the ticket punch in our next catty ;-).

The 'Love' sentiment has been stamped in Stazon on Watercolour Paper and coloured using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink (I am enjoying doing it this way far more often than using the Watercolour Wonder Crayons as it gives a much more vibrant finish IMO). I have also used some Jumbo Eyelets that were a gift from a friend in the US. She sent me a whole bunch of bits and pieces in a little container...and of course last night (working by the light of my brand new, Christmas present OTT light (ooops), but with my brain on auto-pilot) I didn't realise there were two different colours of these eyelets, Antique Brass and Pewter...so if you have a sharp eye you will see that I have accidently used one of each colour on this card....hmmmmm (actually, looking back at the photo...which was taken in the cold hard light of day mind you...It is bleeding obvious that they are different colours...double-Hmmmmm).

I couldn't see any way of getting it out once I had hammered it down...so now it is a FEATURE, ok? (I am going to work on the premise that the recipient will be so over-awed and stunned by the beauty of my fabulous colouring that they won't notice the mismatched eyelets...yeah, right! ;-). Good thing I do this for fun eh?

Have a great day,
Sam.

More Little Bees...

Not sure where I was headed with this card...but I like it, and find it kind of quirky :o).

The colours are: Basic Black and So Saffron. The stamps are from the SAB 2008 set Merci. I've watercoloured the bees on Watercolour Paper, using Watercolour Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. The flowers in the background are stamped in Very Vanilla Craft Ink. The ribbon is Very Vanilla 5/8 inch Grosgrain and Black Gingham. There are Dimensionals under the small Basic Black layer.

Easy Elegance

Easy MY FOOT! I don't find card design all that easy! I find it quite HARD!! But anyway, this is what I came up with when I sat down to play with Easy Elegance...easy or not.



The cardstock colours are: Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White and Lovely Lilac, and the stamps are all from Easy Elegance in the current Summer Mini Catalogue. The larger Whisper White layer and the small Elegant Eggplant layer are both mounted up on Dimensionals.

I have coloured the flowers in the centre-piece using Stampin' Write Markers, in Rose Red, Regal Rose, Lavender Lace and Certainly Celery. I didn't realise that the cardstock was Lovely Lilac and not Lavender Lace until I took it outside to photograph...that'll teach me to sit in the semi-darkness making cards ;-)...it doesn't look too odd though.

Did you notice that I managed to stick some ribbon on it? Its Certainly Celery 5/8 inch Grosgrain. It was harder to tie in a bow than the thin stuff, and I ended up sticking down the ends using some glue dots...to give it a bit nicer shape.

Dandelion Puffs...

This card was inspired by one I recently saw on Kerri Hunter's blog here. I love what she has done with the Stem Silhouttes stamp, and when I saw it, I knew I'd have to CASE it soon :-).



My colours are: Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Pumpkin Pie and Naturals Ivory. I have spritzered (my spell-checker is trying to tell me this isn't a word...but as of now...IT IS ;-) Chocolate Chip around the edges of the Chocolate Chip background. The Always Artichoke layer is mounted up on Dimensionals. The next layer is Mellow Moss, and I have stamped one of the Stem Silhouttes stamps on it in Mellow Moss Classic ink, and then I have distressed it. The next layer is Pumpkin Pie, and it has been run through the crimper and mounted up on Dimensionals (yes, I do go through a tonne of these ;-).

Last, but certainly not least, is the Naturals Ivory layer. I have stamped the Stem Silhouettes stamp in Basic Brown ink. Then I have used a sponge Dauber to dab a daub of Always Artichoke Classic Ink on the ends. I've then over-stamped this in Versamark, sprinkled on clear emboss powder and heated using the heat tool. You can't see the embossing, but it is kind of speckledy...just like you would expect a Dandelion Puff to be, it looks cool (IMHO). I have then spritzered the cardstock using Always Artichoke ink, and inked the edges in the same colour. This layer is also mounted up on Dimensionals (I do use up all the scrappy bits around the edge of the sheets...makes 'em go a bit further ;-).

The 'Many Thanks' sentiment is from the SAB 2008 Lots of Thoughts stamp set. It is a very versatile set! I've stamped in Chocolate Chip ink (I inked the individual line on the stamp using a Choc Chip Stampin' Write Marker), and stamped on Choc Chip cardstock. This has been mounted in a piece of Antique Brass Hodge Podge, and secured with brads.

Again, I tried to squeeze in some ribbon, but alas I couldn't make it work. I hope I am not developing some sort of ribbon-a-phobia. That would be TRAGIC!

See ya,
Sam.

Hello Little Bees...

My cardmaking mojo has decided to take a small vacation. It has gone to Venice. I believe that it is currently gondola-ing around the Grand Canal, licking a strawberry gelato, and listening to its gondolier serenade it. Lucky thing! I am, however, not in Venice. I don't even have any strawberry gelato on hand that I could pretend with. Spaghetti Bolognaise for dinner may well be the closest I will get to Italy for the next decade or so...woe is me ;-).

Anyway, left mojo-less...this card is all I could come up with.



I'm not pleased. It is the second card today, and the first was even less inspiring to me. What gives? I do wish that I had the SU photo corner punch. I am convinced that this is what the card needs, some photo corners on the Brocade Blue layer. But who knows? My mojo would...when I find out what name it is travelling under (not mine because my passport is still here), I am going to track it down, call it up, and give it a darn good speaking to! AND, if it is staying at the Gritti Palace on my Credit Card it is going to get a walloping when it gets home.

The colours are: Chocolate Chip, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie. The stamp set is the SAB 2008 set Merci. The background has been stamped using Versamark and one of the dotty stamps from...Itty Bitty Backgrounds. The flowers on the Brocade Blue layer have been stamped in Brocade Blue and coloured in using an Aquapainter and more Brocade Blue ink. I've used the white gel pen to make some flower centres. This layer is mounted on Dimensionals, and has been distressed along the edges.

The Very Vanilla layer is also mounted on Dimensionals. The brads are the brass coloured ones in the vintage set. The large chocolate chip squares are mounted on Dimensionals, and were punched out using the large square punch. The bees have been stamped using Stazon, on squares of Watercolour Paper, punched out using the small square punch. I've coloured in the bees using and Aquapainter and Classic ink, picked up from the lid, in Pumpkin Pie and Basic Brown.

I desperately wanted to use some ribbon, ribbon is my friend! I had seven rolls out on the desk by the end, all in various stages of disarray, but do you think I could find anything that worked? Nope, nothing, nada! So there you have it...Hello Little Bees!

Sam.

With Sympathy

Not a card you want to have to be making many of. I wish that I did not have to make this one :-(. The inspiration for this card came from one I recently saw by Claire Daly, on Splitcoaststampers.

The colours are Vintage Violet, Whisper White and Cool Caribbean. The stamps are the Linen background stamp, Big Blooms and Warmest Regards. I've used a tag from the On Board Accents range, some Blue Bayou Double-Stitched ribbon, and a Not Quite Navy button from the Fresh Favourites I range. The Cool Caribbean layer has been run through the Cuttlebug...obviously.

More Merci...

We watched The Bourne Ultimatum on DVD last night, by the time it was finished it was only about an hour or so to go until the midnight fireworks were televised from Sydney Harbour (my old home town). So, I decided to stay up and watch them, and to make a card while I was waiting. It sounded like the rest of southern Canberra was awake and some were up to mischief too. I heard at least three very loud detonations...that did not sound like fireworks to me!

But I digress. This is the card that I made:



The colours are Chocolate Chip, Marigold Morning and Rose Red. The stamps are from Merci, a Sale-A-Bration 2008 set. I have also used the Happy Birthday from the Warmest Regards Level 1 Hostess set and the Paisley background stamp.

The smallest Rose Red layer is mounted on Dimensionals, as is the smallest Marigold Morning layer and the Watercolour paper. I have stamped the butterfly in Basic Brown ink on the Watercolour paper and then coloured using Classic Ink and an Aquapainter. The Basic Brown ink did not run at all! Again, the ribbon and brads are a gift from a friend in the US...and are not available here.

I am really pleased with how this one turned out...and have an upcoming birthday that it will do very nicely for :-).

Happy New Year

:-).....