Masculine birthday card with 'Nature Walk'

I made this vintagey-looking card for my dad for his birthday last year, and had thought I'd posted about it already, but no?
It uses the beautiful "Nature Walk" stamp set, which has a great selection of images for layering and collage work, although I think it is versatile enough to make a clean and simple style card as well.  It's priced from $41.95 in clear (121997) or $51.95 in woodmount (123559) for a set of 7 stamps, which I think is pretty good value.
OK - card layers"
The base is Crumb Cake, stamped with Woodgrain background, $33.95 (121588)
Next layer is First Edition Specialty Designer series paper $24.95 for 24 double sided sheets  - extra big pack, slightly lighter weigh paper (121878)
Next layer is crumpled Early Espresso cardstock, sprayed with Shimmer Paint DIY glimmer spray in Champagne mist.  You can visit the tutorial on making the spray here, the paint is $11.50 (116806)
Next layer - must have been channelling the amazing Teneale Williams here) - um, where are we up to? Old Olive!
Image layer - Confetti Cream - I love this cardstock ($17.25 for 40 sheets, 106558) because of it's heavy weight, antique style fleck, and handmade paper surface.  It suits watercolouring and vintage style very well.

I've used every stamp in the set, along with the small script background  and water splash from French Foliage, (a set that co-ordinates perfectly with Nature Walk - $39.95 in wood, 123557).  Colours used included several browns, olive, mustard, and a touch of Cajun Craze for a bit of autumnal brightness.  The birdy is stamped twice, once onto the base layer and again onto a scrap, where I could cut him out and pop him up on Stampin' Dimensionals.  I did the same with the little bee behind the Bevelled Window Pane ($16.95 for 12 assorted sizes, 121881), and I've attached that with Old Olive narrow taffeta ribbon and some linen thread.  Before attaching birdy layer #2, I sponged the area around him with some Early Espresso ink, to make him pop even more.

What do you think?  Really, really going to work on that assignment now...

French Foliage and some Rock n Roll

Well, not exactly rock n roll for the recipient, he's just turned 80, but I did use the technique on the card here to achieve a multicoloured autumnal effect on the leaves.  I started by pulling out the Cajun Craze, More Mustard, and every shade of brown in the caddy from Sahara Sand to Early Espresso.  Starting with the palest colours of each, I then daubered or rolled the stamps onto the other colours to add highlights.  The base is Crumb Cake with the fantastically useful water splodge stamp, followed by a Confetti Cream layer stamped with the script background.  This is shredded a bit with the Cutter Kit distressing tool.  Next after that there is a scrunched up and shimmer-misted piece of Early Espresso and then a layer of Very Vanilla for the stamped panel.  A bit of hemp twine and Early Espresso grosgrain finish it off, along with a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments on a Modern Label punchie.  Some layers of the stamped panel have been popped up as a second layer with Stampin' Dimensionals and I have also added some drips of Crystal Effects on the leaves to give the effect of water droplets but these are a bit hard to see!

Off to find the other SD card with more pics on it - why do they have to make those things so gosh-darn small !  It's on my desk, somewhere!  I do need to declutter away the research papers on dyslexia and metamemory, having submitted the last of my assignments for the year (woohoo!) - just 2 exams to go and then from the beginning of next year I'll be on prac placement (watch out kids!) so maybe I'll uncover it shortly...

As I have a little time a little free-er than usual, I am hosting a "Get Ready for Christmas" Stamp-a-Stack event at my house on Saturday 22nd October.

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM  (AET)

 Mega Christmas Preparation Event!
A great opportunity to get started on your stash of Christmas cards for the year with much of the hard work done for you. You'll make 12 cards, 6 each in two different designs, and a set of 12 gift tags.
Everything is provided for you - pre-cut cardstock, all materials and embellishments, adhesive and envelopes for the cards.
The class will be set up so you can construct the cards in an assembly-line format, with full instructions to create more later if you wish.
The class runs for the whole day, so you can choose to come in the morning or the afternoon, or stay all day and make more Christmas projects of your choice.
The cost of the class is $25 and places are limited to ensure individual attention. Please give me a call if you'd like to book a seat, on 9484 9447 or 0403 175 790, or email me.

There are one or two spots free, please  ASAP call if you'd like to nab one!

More motorbikes - Father's Day Card

Another motorbike stamp, another one just retired!!  I hope all of you who liked it managed to order one before the end of the Autumn/Winter mini, because I'll not be parting with mine!

This is a card I made for my dad, who enjoys rebuilding and riding vintage motorcycles.  His favoured bikes are a bit more European in style than this one, but we can make do! His favourite colour is green, so I've used Wild Wasabi as the card base, stamped with the Woodgrain background.  Getting inspiration from the colour combination in the Just add cake DSP, I've paired it with Baja Breeze, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie.  These panels have been run through my crimping tool several times, in both horizontal and vertical directions to get a waffle look, and then torn and the layers separated.  You can see the waffle texture best in the Baja Breeze strip at the bottom, where I have highlighted the bumps with a skimming of ink from a sponge block.

The main image was stamped in Stazon Black, and coloured with markers and some silver Shimmer Paint applied with a Blender Pen.  The halo-like splodgy background was made by scribbling patches of colour onto a damp acetate sheet, masking off the final stamped image, then pressing the acetate over the top to transfer the ink.  I secured the panels with the mini library clips, because they are both cute and blokey!  The sentiment is from the JUST GOTTA HAVE IT set, Teeny Tiny Sentiments  (I use this set so often I've considered setting up a keyboard shortcut :p )

Hope you like - back to assignments! 

On that note, if there is anyone out there with a diagnosis of dyslexia who would like to give me a sentence or comment about what it meant to them as a child at school (or as an adult), I'd love to receive them via email at michelle.dyson@bigpond.com  

You won't be identified, but your quote might make it to my mini movie about Inclusive Education practices.

Thanks!

Time is running out - Sale-a-brate with the Summer Mini

There are just  a few short days left to order items from the current Summer Mini catalogue - it ends on March 31st.  I'm driving to South Australia to teach a stamping workshop at a fabulous retreat, leaving next Wednesday morning 30th, but I'll be able to access my email on the way, and my mobile is 0403 175 790  - text messages will be best, as coverage is patchy in lots of areas along the way.  Sale-a-bration also ends on the same date, 31st March, so check out the great selection of free sets with each $100 you spend, from any catalogue, mini or main.  

The card above is made from one of the sets in the mini, "Grunge Rock" , 122055, just $35.95 in woodmount even!  It didn't grab me at first, but then I kept seeing great cards being made with it, especially for men and teenagers  - two of the hardest groups of recipients, for many cardmakers at least. The purchase price is about 6 or 7 cards from the shop, so it will pay for itself in no time!!  This one started out as a straight CASE of one of the cards that leapt off the page for me while browsing the gallery for this set over on Splitcoast stampers.  Imagine my surprise and pleasure to see it was made by Rachel Capps , another demonstrator on the Inklings team.  I see Rachel has the quote "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" on her blog header, while grabbing the link, so I hope she likes my version of her beautiful card.  Since I am on a grungy bent at the moment, I couldn't help but get out the distresser tool and do some ripping and rolling, and add some linen thread that I roughed up.  I added a second guitar, mainly because I couldn't decide which colour to go with....

Another item I've used on this card from the mini is the MUST HAVE!! Square Lattice embossing folder for the Big Shot.  This is, without doubt, one of the folders I have found to be most useful of all the designs I own (and there are lots, trust me!!)  It looks great for male, female, vintage, clean and simple, works fabulously with the inking technique and more.    Just $15.95, 119976, page 17. 

So, don't delay, have a little retail therapy session, and cross a few things off your wishlist!

Grungy Boy Birthday Card with Extreme Elements

I had masses of fun with this one!!  Some people say they struggle with boy cards, but I find them quite refreshing to do.  Must be channelling my inner tomboy... :P

Here is a card I made for a little school friend of my daughter, turning just 6, but past the teddies and trains stage for sure.  I love the "Extreme Elements" set, with the co-ordinating single stamps available, here I have used "Extreme Guitar".  The messy background style stamps make it easy to create a masculine look.

I started with a base of Early Espresso cardstock, and used the new "Wonderfully Worn" background stamp with matching ink.  After that, I have stamped the smaller backgrounds from the set onto a piece of Marina Mist, again with matching ink.  Then I scrunched and distressed it.  Just think of a scrap of paper that has been kicking around the base of a kid's school bag for a few weeks.  I'm familiar with that look, I have a boy turning TEN this year!!!!  This layer was deliberately stuck down skew-whiff.  Think pasted in homework sheets there. 

To brighten it up, I used the yummy new "Daffodil Delight" yellow - so much of an improvement in the useability stakes than the old bright Yoyo Yellow!!  Again, this is stamped with background stamps and torn and distressed.

For the stamped image panel, there is first a layer of Very Vanilla, stamped win Marina Mist ink with the splodgy background stamp, and stamped again with the "Extreme Guitar" bloke in Early Espresso ink.  I deliberately smudged the stamp sideways to get an impression of movement - to do this you need to ink the stamp really well, and make a sharp deliberate movement to one side as soon as the stamp hits the cardstock.  It helps to practice first on a scrap, as it may be easier to slide in one direction than another.  Over this, I inked up the bloke stamp again, this time with daubers to get a patchy tie-dye look.  I carefully trimmed around this second image and mounted it over the base smudged image.

To finish and personalise, I used a large star punchie with  the distressed crown from the "Extreme Elements" set, with an alphabet monogram from "Just Perfect Alpha" Embellishments can sometimes be tricky for boy cards, but these mini library clips are fabbo!

Hope you like, the recipient did, perhaps not as much as the contents of his parcel though, a Nerf Super Soaker water gun :D

Special masculine birthday card with Medallion

This one is a square card for a change, and I've been making a few of them lately and I've enjoyed the change in proportion.
I love, love LOVE the Medallion stamp, it can be used in so many ways for so many occasions.

Here it has a textured Very Vanilla base, 10" x 5" folded, followed by a Basic Black layer with distressed edges.  Tying the colours all together is a piece of the wonderfully useful "Newsprint" Designer Series Paper.  I've really ripped into this layer, tearing and rolling to give a distressed appearance.  The image layer is Confetti Cream, and I started the Medallion image by inking up with River Rock.  I then daubered a small amount of Basic Black ink  around the edges of the "branches" before stamping.  I repeated the image on a second piece of Confetti Cream, this time using Sahara Sand and Basic Black.  I trimmed the centre circular motif  and distressed the edges with the Cutter Kit distresser tool, mounting it over the base layer circle, with Stampin' Dimensionals for a bit of  'pop'  The finishing touch is a pewter "build-a-brad" with s 1/2" punched circle of Newsprint paper under the epoxy dome.  Now that I've shown you my little trick with the "Dog Bone" punch below, you'll know how I created the double layered Modern Label punch.  I used the "Party This Way" stamp set for the greeting, it's my current "go to" birthday sentiment.  All done, and the recipient was happy too :)  It's been CASE'd a few times by my regular crafting ladies, so I hope you like it too!

A Father's Day flashback

Another sign that I haven't posted in far too long (and that my Septembers are far too busy!) is that I haven't shown the Father's Day card I made for my dad at the recent Team Weekend away.  It was a quick and easy one, using a set I love but have neglected for quite a while - All in the Family.  My dad has a loving tribe of four dogs, Tully, Wally, Nola and Brownie (shown in this card from left to right).  They follow him everywhere, so the stamped image is pretty much autobiographical.    The nuts and bolts stamp is from the Lots of Bots set, and the oddly unattached hardware at the top is a reference to the numerous bits of metal usually found about Dad's person.  The card base is Old Olive, and the stamped panel is Confetti Cream.  There's a slip of Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip to bring out the colours in the stamped image, authentically roughed up with some paper piercing and the distressing tool from the Cutter Kit. All done, and he liked it.  Hope you do too!

Seaworthy for Masculine cards

Here's another blokey card for you - I seem to be on a distressed theme with my cards at the moment, so the design for this one came easily to mind.  It uses the "Seaworthy" set, which has 3 image stamps - a sailboat, a motor cruiser and a surfing dude, with a great quote as well.

The card base is Kraft, stamped with the "Sanded" Background in Soft Suede ink.  The next layer is Soft Suede, and has been crumpled up, edge distressed with the Cutter Kit, inked direct to paper from the Soft Suede pad, and the Spiral Punch used on the bottom edge.  I've stamped the sail boat image using Stazon Black ink onto Confetti Cream cardstock, and added some colour using the blender pen and inkpad puddle method.  The quote is stamped in Soft Suede ink onto a separate panel of Confetti Cream.  To finish I added a couple of snips of ribbon, stapled to the side - a piece of Polka Dot Soft Suede ribbon and a piece of twill tape.

There's not much time left to get your orders in for this week's "Deal of the Week" - Certainly Celery 5/8" ribbon, Bashful Blue double stitched 1" ribbon, and selected coloured rhinestone packs (see the next post down for full details)  Call or email ASAP to place your order!

INKLINGS Team Blog Hop - Masculine Ideas Galore!!

Welcome to The INKlings’ Team’s first ever blog hop. You may have arrived here from Joanna Wassens blog or just be visiting my blog, whichever way once you’ve checked out my creations you can continue the hop through the link at the end of this post to the next team member, Christie Wallace who has some cool 'manly' BigShot projects to show us.


What style of cards do we frequently get asked for inspiration for? More often than not it’s masculine cards, be it little boys or grandfathers everyone seems to struggle with cards for the males in our lives. So as a team we thought we’d help you out by providing you with 20 team members’ fantastic blogs that you can hop through and get lots of creative inspiration from. Be sure to bookmark your faves, or add us to your "follow" list so you can come back and visit us again!


Want to win some Blog Candy? Simply leave a comment on each blog and then email Michelle Dyson (yes, that's me, I'm co-ordinating this bit) and let her know you’ve done so and you’ll be in the running for a fantastic prize of 20 handmade cards and other goodies.

Sorry,  Blog Candy prize not available to SU! demonstrators. But everyone is most welcome to leave a comment! 


So, what have I created to show you? I think I must be a bit strange, because I enjoy creating 'blokey' cards, probably because I can easily conjure up a grungy, messy style. Neat and elegant - not so much!

My dad was the inspiration behind this card, as he is a Boilermaker by trade, welding and making interesting stuff with metal. And, I've recently run a class on Heat Embossing techniques, where one of the techniques we learned about was "Faux Metal". I made some metal-look embellishments by stamping the "Totally Tool" stamp set images into a puddle of molten silver embossing powder, and then trimmed around the tools. They really do look like they are made from pressed tin!

For the rest of the card, I chose Basic Gray cardstock, which happens to be pretty much "Overall Gray" too. I've used the "Sanded" background on the top section of the card, with Basic Gray ink, and the nuts and bolt stamp from the "Lots of Bots" Autumn/Winter mini stamp set to stamp the lower section, in honour of the various screws, split pins and bolts that would come out of the washing machine with the (cleaner) grey overalls. I have taken a layer of Brushed Silver metallic cardstock, and used the "Spiral" punch along one edge.

 Next came the fun bit - scrunching it up and distressing the edges. Since one of my enduring memories of childhood was greasy smudges, I used a great 'blokey' tool, the "Spritzer" and my Basic Gray marker to squirt random inky splodges over the background and metallic layer.   Over this, I have put a 'rivetted' panel, stamped many times with the "Sanded" background to darken the Basic Gray panel.  I then ran it through another great tool for masculine cards, the Crimper, giving it a corrugated iron effect.  I matted this piece on a distressed Basic Black panel and attached the layers with some Antique Pewter Jumbo Eyelets with my Crop-a-dile.  Yes, they are very slightly wonky, but I think it adds to the effect.. (that's my excuse anyway).  I mounted the faux metal using Pop Up Glue dots, which are a great choice for adding dimension when you don't want white foam to show.  At the bottom of the card, I added a sentiment from "Teeny Tiny Sentiments" on a spritzed piece of Whisper White, punched out with the large oval, mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals Then I added a row of Pewter brads and Jumbo Eyelet.  Now, I don't think my dad is ever going to actually retire, but at least he might have more time to muck about in his workshop these days!

My second project was designed to co-ordinate with the card.  Again, inspired by my dad, who always, always has a notebook with him to jot down important measurements, sizes, contact details etc.   I have taken an Office One spiral bound notebook from KMart, which happens to have the same coil spacing as our Spiral punch, and punched along the side of a piece of Basic Gray Designer Prints paper, before sticking down onto the notebook cover.  I stamped the nuts and bolts again, as above, and sponged the edges to give them a 'pre-smudged' look.  Down the spine I have tied some short ribbon lengths, in black gingham, black grosgrain and Basic Gray Taffeta.  A second piece of Designer Prints paper was matted on a distressed Basic Black panel, and layered with two more faux metal tools and a silver embossed monogram rivetted on with some more Jumbo eyelets.

Well that’s all from me. Next stop on the INKlings’ Team Blog Hop is Christie Wallace
for a clever gift card holder and Big Shot card. Have fun and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog to win some great Blog Candy.  Did you add me to your Bloglines/follow list/bookmarks yet? 

List of participants - in case you get lost or something gets broken along the way, you can hop back here and find the next Blog in the chain to visit. The names of the girls are the bloghop posts, and the URLs are their blog home addresses, to make this useful for people who want to do the hop further down the track...

1. Clare McIllhatton http://craftycowcreations.blogspot.com/
2. Janice Spencer http://www.janicespencer.blogspot.com/
3. Dani Holland http://www.daniholland.wordpress.com/
4. Kylie Swain http://kraftykylie.typepad.com/blossom_designs/
5. Amy Anderson http://amyandersonsblog.blogspot.com/
6. Kari Hughes http://www.karigail.wordpress.com/
7. Jayne Mercer http://www.jaynemercer.com/blogs
8. Joanna Wassens http://www.joannawassens.com/
9. Michelle Dyson http://stampinkpaper.blogspot.com/
10. Christie Wallace http://christiescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
11. Ryn Gibbs http://rynscraps.blogspot.com/
12. Fiona Brown http://www.fionajanestamping.blogspot.com/
13. Beth Stewart http://www.elisabethstewart.com/
14. Nicky Adamson http:/nickyadamson.blogspot.com
15. Dani Fender http://danifender.blogspot.com/
16. Michelle Frost-Stevenson http://stampinground.wordpress.com/
17. Rachel Jackson http://havefunstamping.blogspot.com/
18. Rachel Capps http://rachelcapps.wordpress.com/
19. Carolyn Campbell-McLean http://carolyncampbell-mclean.blogspot.com/
20. Michelle Le Breton http://www.michellescraftclasses.blogspot.com/

Robots, Robots, Everywhere. Lots of Bots Get Well Soon Card

I *love* this new set!! it's in the Autumn/Winter Mini catalogue, and I purchased this one in the Clear Mount version to give it a good test. It's called "Lots of Bots" and is a versatile set, with options for Get Well Soon, Birthday and Sorry. And it's just right for cards for boys! (although Lillian has set me a challenge to make her a very pink robot card also). This one uses a Whisper White textured cardstock base, and I have stamped the nuts and bolts down the right edge. Being clear mount, with the index sticker showing through the block, it was dead easy to stamp this freehand, without the need for a Stamp-a-ma-jig. The mat is Baja Breeze, sponged on the edges to give a slightly 'grimy' look, and there is a piece of the beautiful Baja Breeze designer series paper over this, also swiped with ink. I stamped the broken robot in Stazon Black onto Whisper White cardstock, and coloured him with a combo of Baja Breeze, Going Grey and Bordering Blue ink, using a blender pen to give depth to some areas. A piece of Baja Breeze striped ribbon is knotted and layered behind the stamped panel, and a large Circles Designer Brad flanked by two plain silver brads finishes it off. Very quick, very easy, and I think it is very effective! The clear mounted stamps also passed my challenge of being able to be cleaned on the Stampin' Scrub to remove the Stazon ink, without coming off the block, they stuck so well. Certainly, for anyone who a) has storage limitations or b) would like to expand their stamp collection less conspicuously , then clear mount is the way to go!

Window Dressing and watercolouring

This is a card I made for a special birthday boy recently. The set I have used is called "Window Dressing" which is a stamp set available exclusively to hostesses. I have also used one of the cute little characters from the "All in the Family" stamp set to fill the window, although the set does come with several choices to put in the window including a kitty cat, flowers and a sweet little girl. The background layer is Real Red, and I have stamped it with the retired "Linen" background, in Real Red ink, and the next Night of Navy layer is also stamped in Night of Navy ink with "Linen". The window image has been stamped in Stazon black ink on Watercolour paper, and I used Watercolour pencils and blender pens to add colour. The soccer ball is from the Family Favourites accessories set, and I stamped it separately and popped it up on some Stampin' Dimensionals. The entire window is also raised up on Dimensionals. The ribbon is Real Red Polka Dot ribbon from the Summer Mini, but tied upside down so just the stitching edge can be seen. The greeting is stamped in Whisper White Craft ink using a stamp from the "On your Birthday" stamp set, and some coloured brads added to frame it. Lots of fun, contact me if you would like to find out how you could earn the "Window Dressing" Hostess set for free!

Natures Nest turtle, isn't he cute!

Here is another in the series of cards I made with the Natures Nest set of stamps from the Summer Mini catalogue. As with the Shell card, I stamped onto Watercolor paper using Stazon black ink and then used a selection of markers and a blender pen to build up colours, mixing and layering them to achieve a look of depth and reality. There's Really Rust, Sage Shadow, Mellow Moss, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand. More maybe, I lost count! I ruffled up the edges with the Edge Distressing tool from the Cutter Kit, and then matted it onto a piece of Kraft cardstock. Then we have a sponged layer of Mellow Moss that I have punched with the Spiral punch and distressed a bit to make it look like a torn page from a notebook. The base layer is Chocolate Chip, stamped with the "Sanded" background in Chocolate Chip ink. To finish, I used a piece of Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon, and tied short lengths of Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla taffeta around it. The greeting is from the exclusive Hostess set, Best Yet. Want it? It's easy! Give me a call and book your workshop, and take advantage of the great Sale-a-bration promotion too for even more benefits.

Tangerine Tango with a bit of Curly Label

Here is a card I made a while ago, duly photographed, and then didn't post for some reason!

It's a card I made for my son's birthday, when he turned 8 in September. His all-time-fave colour is orange, so I broke out the brighter In Colors for this year's catalogue to see what I could come up with.

The card base is Tangerine Tango, stamped with Tangerine Tango ink using the Polka Dot background stamp. Then I have a vertical band of Pacific Point striped grosgrain ribbon. Over this I placed a grunged up piece of Kiwi Kiss cardstock, punched with the Spiral Punch, and distressed with the Cutter Kit distressing tool.

The image is from Fun and Fast Notes, and I have custom mounted this set so the Happy Birthday greeting and image can be used separately id desired. I coloured the image using my blender pens and markers, and inkpads for the In Colors. I have used Stampin' Up!'s lovely watercolor paper to stamp on, in Stazon ink, as it really makes it so easy to achieve a pleasing result.

I matted it onto a piece of Pacific Point cardstock, using staples to give it a masculine touch. The sentiment panel is stamped in Pacific Point using the Fun and Fast Notes set, and the frame is from the Cute n Curly stamp set that comes with the Curly Label Punch Bundle.

What?? You don't recall seeing a plain frame in that set? Well, there's not, but by the magic of marker omission, I often leave out the (useful but not what I wanted this time) "thank you" and ink up just the border. That means I can take my punch template book and peruse my sentiment stamp collection to see what fits in the cute n curly box. Ta da!! Gotta love the flexibility that Stampin' Up! offer with their products!

I used my trusty Paper Snips to cut around the framed image, which then meant I could use the Curly Label punch to mat the sentiment.

All done! He thought it was cool, so that's the whole point really.

So, what's all the Bold and Green stuff about? Well, this card uses several of the items listed on the Christmas Extravaganza flyer, more than enough to score a FREE punch, either the Scallop Square or the Boho Blossoms punch, each worth $30.95.

In fact, add a pack of Whisper White cardstock to those items, and some co-ordinating ribbon Pigtails Ribbon originals and you can choose BOTH of the punches, free, worth almost $62 .

This promotion is detailed a bit further down, so make sure to check it for must-have items, and get your order in before December 14th!

Parisian Breeze - yummy, don't miss it!

What could be better than textured, double sided cardstock? Printed even! That's our gorgeous specialty cardstocks, Slumber Party in the main IB&C and Parisian Breeze in the Spring Mini ENDING SOON! While some of the stamps may make an encore appearance in a future catalogue, we won't see Parisian Breeze in the versatile colourway of choc, cocoa, baja and white ever again after the 30th November. And the designs are just so use-able! There's spots, stripes, floral, damask.... It comes as a pack of 12 sheets, for $22.95, so it's great value for such a heavy weight textured printed cardstock.

Here are some projects I have made with it:

At the top we have some calendar panels made with a Close to Cocoa base, Parisian Breeze paper, and the Eyelet border punch. The stamp set I have used is "Dreams Du Jour" and I have inked the circular stamp first in Baja Breeze, before adding some Close to Cocoa highlights over the top. The ribbon is wide stitched grosgrain in Baja Breeze. The little calendar panels are available from school supply shops, but your could also add a photo here. I hope to sell these, amongst other goodies at a market to be held at Normanhurst West Public School, on November 22nd. Do stop by if you're around the area!

The next is a card I made for my husband's birthday, using the On Your Birthday set for the greeting and the dandelion from A Happy Heart for the image. This card also features the oh-so-must-have Corduroy buttons/brads, also in the Spring Mini, and matching Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon (from the main catalogue) He liked it, and I was pleased with it, the paper and the colourway are so versatile.

I have made sure that I have an extra pack of this paper put away for 'the future' - remembering of course that there is no such thing as too much paper!! Don't miss it, I'll be placing my last order for the Spring Mini catalogue on 30th November, so call me!

Masculine and Feminine Birthday cards

September is a big month in our house for birthdays, and it seems to be a popular month amongst our friends and their children too!

For the weekend just gone, there were two cards to make, one for a preschool friend of my daughter, the gorgeous Charlotte, and one for my own dad, who turned the BIG 70 yesterday! Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad's card uses Lovely As A Tree (please, please Stampin' Up, don't retire this set, ever!) I have coloured the image using markers in Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke for the leaves and Chocolate Chip for the trunks and ground. It is stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla.

I used the same colours for the card base (Mellow Moss) and matting (Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip , Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke (textured), and added some brass Jumbo Eyelets and hemp twine, through a tag made from large and small tag punches. The greeting is from On Your Birthday.

The card for Charlotte uses the Window Dressing hostess set, and Candy Lane Designer Series papers. I have stamped the image in Stazon onto Watercolor paper, and used the ink pad puddle technique and blender pens to colour in. Colours used are Riding Hood Red, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, So Saffron and Pretty in Pink. I cut around the stamped image and then matted it onto a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock, before cutting out again. Because of the hand-drawn style of the stamp, this was pretty easy to do (ie, perfection not required!!)

The card base is Close to Cocoa, then there is a thin mat of Pink Pirouette. Over this is a piece of Candy Lane DSP. It is so easy to choose colours when the paper is there, already decided for you! I have inked the edges for definition.

To finish, I made a scallop oval punch out of Riding Hood Red cardstock, and used the co-ordinating large oval punch to punch out "Happy Birthday" from the Family Phrases set. I popped it up on Stampin Dimensionals and then added a tie of Vanilla tafetta ribbon.

Fathers Day - belatedly!

I saw my own dad today, and gave him his Father's day gift. So, I thought I should get around to posting the cards that I made for the event. The first card is a quick and simple one, but proved to be a big success with the several groups that made it with me. It uses a Kraft cardstock base, stamped with Not Quite Navy ink using the Sanded background. Next up we have a hand-cut pocket template in Not Quite Navy, stamped the same way. I made a chipboard template for these pockets to help with mass production.

Next I cut a length of twill tape and frayed the ends a little before attaching to the front of the card. The pocket was applied over this, and a white gel pen faux stitching effect was added.

For the greeting, I have used the Happy Fathers Day stamp from the Occasional Greetings set, stamped in Not Quite Navy onto Confetti Cream cardstock. I cut around this and matted on a piece of Kraft cardstock, and popped it up using Stampin Dimensionals.

Very quick, very easy!

The second card was a little more involved, and combines paper piecing techniques with the cute "Just Beachy" stamp set from the Spring Mini. The card base is Whisper White, and I have used strips of Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss to form the grass, sea and sky. A thin scalloped edge of Pacific Point cardstock goes between the grass and the sea to form some waves.

In addition to the Just Beachy set which provided the car and sun images, I also used the "dear dad" stamp from the Occasionally set. You can find this set on page 30of the IBC, and it's packed with 28 stamps to cover everything from mothers day, christmas, babies, love, easter, weddings and lots more. You might also be able to recognise another set I have used, although not in its usual form. If you'd like to be the recipient of a RAK goodie bag, just be the first to post a comment here identifying the set.

I stamped the car and sun images onto watercolor paper using Stazon Black ink, and coloured them using Earth Elements Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a Blender Pen. I added some gloss using Crystal Effects in the centre of the sun and the car windows. The top edge of the grass panel is distressed with the cutter kit distressing tool.

To finish, I added a snippet of Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon and attached it with a large brad from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge kit.

Hope you like them :)

Happy Mothers Day

I hope all the Mums out there a peaceful and relaxing day, whether you are spending it with your own mums, your children, or just treating yourself to some well deserved special attention. I am lucky to have a supportive family, and was presented with my favourite breakfast in bed, pikelets with butter and plum jam, and hot chocolate, yum! My son chose well from the School Mothers Day stall, and presented me with a mug filled with a bookmark and mobile phone charm. I also got a cute little gift from my 4yo, made with care at Preschool with paper plates, paint and wool. In the pocket of this hand-made treasure was a Pandora box containing a "tree of life" bead that I have been desiring for a while. All good!

Here are two cards, one made for me by my husband Andrew, with layers this time (constructive comments from a previous creation were taken on board!) He even used the colour wheel to select a combination pleasing to the eye. Cute hey! I've put it under the "masculine cards" label, since it was made by one!

The other is one I made for my own mum, who's favourite colour has always been red - Riding Hood Red would be her favourite kind of red, so that's what I picked. I made it a gatefold card using my Scorpal, and added a panel across the front (attached at the left side only) The other colours are Very Vanilla and Kraft. I sponged the edges also for definition. The panel is stamped with Upsy Daisy, a silhouette image - entirely appropriate as mum is a keen gardener. It has been stamped first in Sahara Sand and then the Stamp a ma jig has been used to offset the second image, to create a shadow effect. A piece of Vanilla taffeta ribbon is adhered under the panel, so the opening can be secured at the side. Both cards use the mothers day stamp from the Occasional Greetings set - probably one of the most useful sets to own - check it out on page 112 of the Idea Book and Catalogue.

A gorgeous card by a Blog Visitor

This is a card made by a regular visitor to my blog, and the winner of a past RAK, Lynda Shrimpton. She was waiting for the right occasion to use some of the Hodgepodge Hardware in her RAK, and she came up with this great card for a close friend, turning the big 40. He loved it, and I think it's great! Lynda's original inspiration came from a card on Splitcoast, with a similar neutral colour scheme, and the multi-layered panels. Lynda has used River Rock, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla, with Baroque motifs. Thanks for sharing Lynda, and I am going to apply the same panel idea to a card with Baroque background, when I get a moment! So many ideas, so little time...

NICE Australian stamps! Bloom Away #1

This year, we got the first set of stamps designed especially for us that I personally really like! It is called "Bloom Away" and it's a bargain MUST HAVE at just $31.95! There is a Waratah, Gum Blossom and Banksia bottlebrush flower stamp, all drawn in the style of botanic art. Here I have made a card with the Banksia stamp. The base is More Mustard, with a scallop edge backed with a strip of Kiwi Kiss. Then I have added some Old Olive Prints Designer Series paper and some Chocolate Chip scallops to make it stand out. On the More Mustard base I have used my Spritzer tool and Chocolate Chip marker to create a speckled background. The greeting is from the now retired "Live your dreams" set - I love this quote and will miss it!

Now to the image - it is stamped in Stazon black onto Naturals Ivory cardstock, and I have used my Watercolour Wonder Crayons and Aquapainter brush to blend the colours. I love the crayons, as you can build layers of creamy blendable colour, bys scribbling directly onto the stamped image before applying water with the brush. I was pleased with how easy it was to achieve a realistic Banksia colouration. I have mounted it on Summer Sun, then Kiwi Kiss, then Chocolate Chip to make it stand out. Hope you like it! Waratah and Gum Blossom cards to come...

Enjoy your Easter weekend everyone, stay safe if you are travelling!

Fresh Cuts and Emboss Resist

These two cards were CASED from a gorgeous card I saw in the November/December issue of Papercrafts magazine (a US publication) It was created by Alison Manning, and was a winner in the Heat Embossing section of their "Stamping Royalty" awards. I had to make minor changes because we don't have coloured pigment ink here, and I changed a layer from torn to using the scallop edge punch. When I saw it, I knew I had to recreate it for myself! I have made it in two versions, one portrait and one landscape. There would be lots of other colour combinations that would work nicely, and I'll give some soft pretty colours a go next time. This is an earthy masculine colour scheme, and would make a great card for a bloke!

The base is Chocolate Chip, stamped with En Francais in Chocolate Chip ink. Next there is a layer of Confetti Cream, with distressed and inked edges. Over this is a layer of Old Olive with a scalloped edge. The panel is Glossy White cardstock, and I used Basic Brown ink to stamp the square block. I quickly added clear embossing powder, and heat embossed to give the raised glossy look. I had tried with Chocolate Chip dye ink, but it dries too fast to get a good coating of powder. I might try next time the technique of combining Versamark and dye ink and embossing that.
I then used sponges to add a mix of Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Really Rust and Close to Cocoa ink over the background. I matted this layer on Naturals Ivory with more distressed edges, and then on Chocolate Chip.
One card has an oval bookplate from the sadly retired Antique Copper Hodgepodge and the other uses a picture hanger tied with narrow grosgrain snips. The 'for you' is also from the Fresh Cuts set, and 'thinking of you' is from the Three Little Words set, also new to the catalogue this year.

I hope you like them! This set is probably my favourite from the new catalogue and I look forward to playing with it and the co-ordinating Fresh Cut Notes