Thursday 31 December 2015

Awesomely Artistic- Classes in the Mail

I have recently been getting asked the question "Do you do classes by mail?".  I thought about this and decided that this is something that I could easily do with a bit of organisation.

So here goes, the first Class in the Mail.  If you are interested just click here and all the information about the classes is provided, including the cost, what is provided and what you will need to supply.

This class uses the Awesomely Artistic stamp set with a colour scheme of Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White, Mossy Meadow and Basic Black with a little bit of bling.


Sorry about the shadows in the picture, but it is not easy trying to get a photo of 5 cards at once.


Wednesday 30 December 2015

Adventurebound...

The latest challenge at Just Add Ink is to create a Gift Card Holder.

I have used the passbook style to create my Gift Card Holder (I have put the measurements and instructions at the bottom of this post).  The theme I have gone with is journey, which I thought would be perfect if you were wanting to give a little something to someone special in your life who is off on a great adventure (lucky them).  Instead of a gift card you could slip some cash into the little pocket for their trip.


When I went searching for just the right stamps I was amazed at how many stamps there are in various sets that suited the journey theme.  They are "Enjoy the Little Things", "Going Global", "Traveler", "Remember This" and "Sky Is the Limit".  The heading "Adventurebound" was created using the Project Life "Remember This" stamps set and the Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits.


I created a little pocket on the inside for a gift card (or money).   The Designer Series Paper that I have used is from the "Going Places" Designer Series Paper Stack, it coordinated perfectly with the journey theme.


The last page has a small panel where you can write your message to the lucky adventurer.

How to make the Passport Style Card

Cut a piece of cardstock 14.8cm x 18.5cm - Score on the long edge at 8cm, turn and score on the short edge at 5cm to the 8cm scoreline that you just created.  Cut away the top small rectangle that you just created to form the front and back of the card.

Cut a piece of cardstock 15cm x 12cm -  Score on the long edge at 5cm, this creates a 5cm strip that you adhere to the inside left margin of the back page thus creating the middle page (make sure you line the bottom of the pages up).  The pages are cover with Designer Series Paper which covers the join.

BEFORE JOINING IT ALL TOGETHER MAKE SURE THAT YOU ROUND THE CORNERS.

To cover the pages you will need to cut some Designer Series Paper:

1 piece at 10cm x 14.3cm
2 pieces at 9.5cm x 11.5cm
2 pieces at 7.5cm x 9.3cm
1 piece at 7.5cm x 5cm (for gift card pocket)

Make sure that you round the corners of the Designer Series Paper before you stick it down.

Decorate as you like.

If you have any trouble just CONTACT ME.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

World's Best Dad

I went a little bit crazy creating this card, stampin', spongin' and spritzin',  The stamp set "Going Gobal" is quickly becoming one of my favourites.  Not long now with the Occasions Catalogue available on 5 January, 2016.  Want one of these stamp sets, then on the 5 January put your order in here.


I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock and embossed the stamped images with Black Stampin' Emboss Powder.  Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and Tip Top Taupe ink was then sponged on randomly.  Using the Happy Patterns Decorative Masks, the card was spritzed with a mix of Tip Top Taupe and Isocol Rubbing Alcohol in a Stampin' Spritz bottle. 

The piece now needs to dry, but being the person with the most patience in the world (not) I helped the drying process along up by using the heat gun.  The Happy Patterns Decorative Masks was then repositioned on the card and Early Espresso ink was sponged on (this is randomly done as you do not want the entire card covered).  The World Map image was second generation stamped using Tip Tip Top Taupe ink.  I distressed the edges of the Kraft card mat, the sentiment and the 1" circle, these were also inked on the edges with Tip Top Taupe.

Portion of a Spider Web Doily was adhere to the left bottom corner of the card (I used this in response to the Stampin' Up Challenge for other uses for the Spider Web Doilies) and some Linen Thread wrapped around the card front. A serrated edged circle was created using the Baker's Box Thinlits dies and a 1" circle was added with an Antique Brad to create an embellishment for my card.  A little bit of Gold Sequin Trim was added along with the sentiment panel.  A Basic Black paperclip was created using the Project Life Paper Clips Framelits and added to the top right of the card (just a little more embellishment).  3 gold stars from the Metallic Sequins Assortment pack were added to finish.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Tuesday 29 December 2015

A Little Dear..

With the temperature at 41.6 degrees yesterday (even the ants went underground) it was too hot to get out and about.  What an excuse to so some stamping.  I had received an email recently from the Paper Craft Crew advising of their latest challenge, so I cruised on over to their website and checked out the challenge.  Yeah, it is a Tic Ta Toe Challenge (I love these).


As I am playing along after Christmas I really did not want to make a Christmas Card, so the top line of Deer/Reindeer, Silver Thread and Designer Series Paper was what I decided to use for my card.


I created the subtle striped background using the Dots & Stripes Decorative Masks,  Stampin' Spritzer, Pink Pirouette Reinker and Isocol Rubbing Alcohol.  I kept the design quite simple, adding some Designer Series Paper as a circle and creating another circle using the striped banner stamp from the Amazing Birthday stamp set and the 1 3/8" circle punch.

The little deer image is from the Made With Love stamp set which I coloured using Sahara Sand and Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pads and a blender pen.  This was punched out using the 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch and then layered onto a 2" Pink Pirouette circle.

The cardstock used was Shimmery White, Whisper White and Pink Pirouette.  Finishing touches of Silver Metallic Thread and silver sequins from the Metallic Sequins Assortment Pack.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn


Sunday 27 December 2015

Beautiful Gold Metallic Flower

Hi everyone, just sharing my card for the Can You Case It sketch challenge.   When I saw the post by Sharon Burkert showcasing the beautiful gold metallic flower that I have cased for my card I knew that the sketch was just perfect.  Sharon's card is absolutely amazing so go and check it out.


I thought that this card would be great for a wedding or a special celebration.


How fabulous is this flower, made using Gold Foil Sheet, Gold Glimmer Paper, Iced Rhinestones and the Botanical Builder Framelits.  The sentiment is from the "Timeless Love" stamp set and the I used the Botanical Gardens Designer Vellum Pack layered over the Gold Foil Sheet for the centre panel.


Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Saturday 26 December 2015

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone, hope you had a Merry Christmas.  I had a really great day with my family, having lunch at about 1.30pm before everyone departed at about 4pm to have dinner with their in-laws.  We will be eating leftovers for the next few days but as everything was delish this is no hardship.

I woke up this morning and looked at my clean table, I mean there was absolutely nothing on it, and it was a dismal site.  As I had planned a quiet day at home, I soon sorted this out and I have now managed to get cardstock, paper, framelits, stamps, inks and all the other bits and bobs you need to create spread all over.

This is the card I made using the Mojo Monday sketch along with some of the new products available on 5 January 2016.


I have used the stamp set "A Nice Cuppa", "Cups & Kettles" Framelits, "Have a Cuppa" Designer Series Paper Stack, Bermuda Bay 1/8" stitched ribbon, "Have a Cuppa" embellishments.  I matched these items with products from the Annual Catalogue, Basic Black cardstock, Crushed Curry cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Metallic Foil Doilies, Silver Metallic Thread, Project Life Grid Cards, Project Life Corner Rounder along with Circle Punches 2" and 1 1/4".

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Wednesday 23 December 2015

Going Places

I went a bit on the grunge side for my card today, using the Going Global stamp set and Going Places Designer Series Paper Stack which will be available on 5 January 2016 in the Occasions Catalogue.


I slipped a last card in before getting started on all the preparation for Christmas Day.  I had this idea and I just had to make it otherwise I would be thinking about it all the time, redesigning it about 50 times over, so it was best to just make it and then I could relax.


For the centre panel I stamped the background onto Kraft Cardstock, distressed the edges and then sponged Soft Suede ink.  The compass was stamped twice onto Kraft Cardstock, I coloured it with Soft Suede, Marina Mist and Lost Lagoon Stampin' Write Markers.  I layered it up with dimensionals and added an Antique brad for the centre.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Monday 21 December 2015

Time for Coffee ...

You know when you have an idea in your head but it does not seem to come together, well this is what happened to me recently.  I purchased a box of Robert Timms Coffee Bags intending to design gift packaging to put them in.  Well I just never seemed to find the right stamps or design.  You can imagine my squeal when I opened the new Occasions Catalogue and found the Cups and Kettles Framelits dies and the stamp sets Timeless Textures and Balloon Celebrations.  Oh what bliss!


The gold embossing did not show up very well in the photo, but it looks great against the Early Espresso Cardstock.  I have put the measurements for the coffee folder at the end of this post, they are for the Robert Timms Coffee Bags available in Australia. I am not sure if they are the same size in the big wide world, so you may need to adjust your measurements to suit.  I cased the Occasions Catalogue on page 29 for the stamping, I just changed the tea cup for the coffee cup.


I made a matching 3"x 3" gift card, carrying on the wording from the coffee folder.  I also made a small envelope to fit the card, using the Envelope Punch Board


The inside of the card is very simple with the sentiment Happy Birthday.


Measurements for the Coffee Folder

Early Espresso Cardstock 12cm x 26cm
Gold Satin Ribbon 45cm
Gold Foil Sheet 8cm x 11.5cm (for front)
Crumb Cake Cardstock 7.5cm x 11cm (to be stamped for front)

Score the Early Espresso Cardstock on the 26cm edge at 4cm, 12.5cm, 13.5cm and 22cm.  Fold and burnish all score lines.

Add tape to the top and bottom (on the inside) of the 4cm flaps, when adhered down these create the pockets for the Coffee Bags on the inside of the folder.

Add the ribbon to the folder, and then do the stamping and adhere this piece to the Gold Foil Sheet mat and then adhere this to the front over the ribbon.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn


Sunday 20 December 2015

Birthday Bouquet

How great is the "Birthday Bouquet" Designer Series Paper Pack which is available from 5 January 2016 in the new Occasions Catalogue.  I am sharing another sneak peak with you, using some of this beautiful paper.


The card I have kept quite simple as I did not want to hide the beautiful floral design in the paper, it is too pretty to hide.  The sentiment is from another stamp set "Greatest Greetings" also coming your way on the 5 January 2016.

The paper was just so pretty that I just had to make a matching little gift bag, adding some gold sequin trim, gold corded trim, gold 1/8" ribbon and a little tag made using the "Tags and Labels" Framelits, finishing with a gold metallic peg.


Are you interested in holding a demonstration at your home, inviting your friends, with the chance to earn some Stampin' Rewards points to spend on product, then please CONTACT me. 

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Saturday 19 December 2015

you are Tea-riffic

Hi everyone, sharing a sneak peak from the Occasions Catalogue available 5 January 2016.  I have used the stamp set "A Nice Cuppa" and the coordinating Framelits "Cup & Kettle" which I thought went perfectly with the apron style card.


The paper is from the "Have a Cuppa" Designer Series Paper Stack and did you notice the Bermuda Bay 1/8" stitched ribbon.  What about the little cupcakes along the bottom of the card I hear you say, well they were made using the "Party Wishes" stamp set and the cupcake punch from the "Party Punch Pack". 

If you are interested in having a workshop and inviting some of your friends please CONTACT me.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn

Sky is the Limit...

How great is the "Sky is the Limit" stamp set from the Sale-a-Bration promotion.  You have the opportunity to get this stamp set for free when you purchase $90 of product in the Sale-a-bration promotion starting 5 January 2016.  Watch this space for more information.


I based my card on the Mojo Monday Challenge sketch using some of the new products available 5 January 2016.  The pattern paper is from the Going Places Designer Series Paper Stack and the stamp set is "Sky is the Limit".

To go with my card I decided to make a little gift box to fit a packet of playing cards.  We always seem to make pretty gift packaging for the ladies so I decided to make a little gift box for the men.


Measurements for the little gift box:

Box Base

4 7/8" x 3 5/8", score on all sides at 5/8".

Box Lid

4 15/16" x 3 11/16"

The construction is just for a basic box.  The mat for the top is 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" and the Pattern Paper is 2 1/8" x 3 3/8".  Wrap a piece of cardstock 1" wide around the box to create the belly band.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog


Friday 18 December 2015

Beautiful Bunch...

The parcel delivery man arrived from Australia Post this morning, I am one happy stamper.  I put my order in on the 3 December and I have been waiting for it to arrive ever since.  Apparently there was a freight train derailment on the 4 December about 350 km east of Kalgoorlie and it was only fixed on the 11 December, so all the parcels from the Eastern States were backed up on the freight trains waiting to get across the Nullabor.  I feel sorry for the Australia Post workers who now have to sort and deliver the backlog of thousands of parcels.

I was lucky enough to win the "Grateful Bunch" stamp set in a Prize Patrol at the On-Stage Local Event held in Perth on 15 November.  I ordered the coordinating Blossoms Bunch Punch as part of my Occasions Catalogue pre-order and this is what I have been waiting for.  I went a little crazy stamping and punching and would like to share with you two of the cards I made.

The first card is using the "Faux Silk" background technique in a classic Basic Black and Whisper White colour scheme.  I cased the background idea from Alison Okamitsu  who is a member of the 2015/16 Stampin' Up Artisans Team.   The Artisans Team posted their first projects yesterday, so if you have not had a chance to do the Blog Hop check it out.  There is some great inspiration.


The second card is using a colour scheme of Elegant Eggplant and Whisper White.  The flowers were stamped in Elegant Eggplant and Dazzling Diamods added to great some bling.


The flowers do not show up as pretty in the photo, but they are all sparkling and catch the light when you move the card onto different angles, so pretty.


Now off to dig into my box of goodies to see what else I can play with this afternoon.  I have a holiday from work today, so I am doing absolutely nothing but stamping and creating.  What fun.

Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog


Thursday 17 December 2015

Celebration!!

With the Year-End Sale on I decided that I would show case some of the great products on offer.  I selected the "Celebration Basics Kit" as you can create your party decor using this kit as a base.  It is on sale for the terrific price of just $10.38.

The Kit includes banner pieces: 15 Kraft pennants; die-cut letters that spell "Celebrate"; jute twine; 10 printed goodie bags; 1 sheet of bag closures; 10 round printed tags and 20 perforated tags.



The banner is quite easy to put together and looks great when displayed.  The other pieces in the kit are great for making party favours and name place cards. 



Another great use is to make cards or you can use the pieces on a scrapbook layout.



Thank you for visiting.

Carolyn


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tuesday 15 December 2015

Silver and Blue Happy Birthday to You!

With all the excitement surrounding the new Occasions Catalogue I thought some of the older stamp sets and product in the Annual Catalogue might have been feeling a bit left out so I got them out to create a little gift box and a matching card.  I am going to give this little gift box and card to a friend who has a birthday this coming Thursday, hopefully she likes it.



I went with a colour scheme of Soft Sky, Silver and Whisper White.


The little gift box was made using the Envelope Punch Board.  There are a lot of tutorials on Youtube that show various methods and sizes.  I used a piece of Soft Sky cardstock 8" x 8", punching and scoring at 3".  The belly band was made using a piece of Designer Series Paper 2.5" x 12" and a piece of Silver Fancy Foil Designer Vellum 1.5" x 12".  I used the Silver Sequin Trim, Silver Corded Trim, Silver 1/8" ribbon, Silver Metallic Peg and a some star trim I made using the small star punch in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and Silver Metallic Thread to decorate the box along with the banners created using the Amazing Birthday stamp set and the Banners framelits.


The card was a standard A2 card base with a mat of Whisper White and Soft Sky Designer Series Paper.  I kept the card quite simple using various sized circles punched from the Designer Series Paper, stamped images and Silver Foil to match the colour scheme. 

Thank you for visiting

Carolyn
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday 13 December 2015

Glittering Dragonflies ...

Hi everyone, just sharing my card for the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.


My card is not quite like the sketch, but I wanted to try out the sponging and dragonflies that Cynthia Millan show cased on her three window card, so I took a little artistic licence.  Cynthia made a beautiful one layered card, my card has more layers and embellishments and the layout is completely different, but I did case the dragonflies in the squares from Cynthia.


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Saturday 12 December 2015

A bit of Pink and some Bling!

Do you have a stash of Designer Series Paper and never seem to use it?  I do, so I made a concerted effort to use some when I was cardmaking this afternoon.


I used the Blushing Bride paper from the Subtles Designer Series Paper pack and the woodgrain sheet from Farmers Market Designer Series Paper pack.  I sponged Blushing Bride on the bottom of the woodgrain paper, graduating from dark to light.  The flowers were made using the new Botanical Builder Framelits that are available 5 January 2016.  A bit of bling was added with sequins, rhinestones and Botanical Garden Jewels Embellishments.  I use the stamp sets "Bloomin' Love" and "and Many More" to create the sentiment.   The finishing touch was the Silver Metallic Thread.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Friday 11 December 2015

Do you like a "Year-End Sale", check it out!

Stampin' Up's Year-End sale is finally here.  Check it out, the Year-End sale runs from 10 December 2015 to 4 January 2016 and there are some terrific products that have been discounted, including some Holiday Catalogue retiring items.

Also, for one week only, get discounts up to 50% off select annual catalogue product.  These products are only available from 10-17 December as a limited time offering, so don't miss out put your order in before the 17 December 2015.

Products in the Year-End sale are only available while supplies last.


Monday 7 December 2015

A little gift for Christmas

Hi everyone, sharing a little Christmas gift I made for my work colleagues.  I made 26 of these little gifts so I now figure that I am an expert on putting them together.  I have used the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits and the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Stack to create the bag.  I have had the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits since it became available but have not used it until this week, how bad is that.  I just love the great little bags that can be made and decorated, the only limitation is your imagination.


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday 6 December 2015

A Little Bit of Thanks

I have been playing with the Happy Patterns Decorative Masks to create the background for my card.

I sponge Versamark ink through the mask onto a piece of Kraft cardstock, I then added black embossing powder and heat set.  I then sponged on Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie and Cajun Craze, graduating the colours across the card from lightest to darkest. I then stamped the random dots from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp in Black Archival ink.  The edges were sponged with Early Espresso ink.

The leaves were created using the Vintage Leaves stamp set and the coordinating Leaflets Framelits. The images were stamped in Black Archival and then Crushed Curry was sponged on one half the leaf and then Old Olive was sponged on the other half.  After the leaves were cut out the edges were sponged with Cajun Craze.  I created a tag using the leaves for the front of my card.


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Saturday 5 December 2015

... it's in the air

Hi everyone, I have been playing with the Love Blossoms suite from the new Occasions Catalogue, designing a class for January and also trying out water colouring with an embossed background.

The embellishment kit, designer series paper and stamp set in the suite are perfect for making cards and gift packaging.

I make my own soap so the little muslin bags from Stampin' Up with a little bit of stamping and a tag make a beautiful little gift.   This is the class that I have designed for January.


This is the card made using the embossed background and the water colour technique.  It created a terrific background to the gold heart and other embellishments from the kit.  I have added some Blushing Bride sequin trim which coordinated perfectly with the embellishment kit.




Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog