AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE

My BIL recently celebrated his birthday and I came up with this wee gem for him.  He is an ex-sailor, so I try as much as possible to do something related to water for him.  I gave him a lighthouse card last year so really had to get my thinking cap on so as not to repeat myself!

This card is done using the reflection technique and for those of you who attended my August class, you already know how I achieve this!  If you missed it, I can bring the class to you!  Just drop me a line and book in.

Stamps: Summer by the Sea, Basic Phrases
Card Stock: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Watercolour paper
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede, Basic Gray
Accessories: Acetate, Colour Spritzer, Aqua painters, Adhesive

STEP THIS WAY......

I love the different examples you can get out there in Netland of boxes that can be made.  This Stepper box is one I have had in my arsenal for quite sometime and have never had time to sit down and make.  Finally, had some time on Monday and made not one, but two to show you.  They look pretty complicated, but are surprisingly easy to make.

I also think they have a real WOW factor about them.  They look like an ordinary box when all closed up, but once the lid comes off and you open it up - WOW!

Just imagine this little beauty filled with Chocolate - YUM!  I have made the flower using the largest flower from the Boho Blossoms punch, punching three, and cutting each petal nearly to the centre, then curling with my bone folder.  I have added a matching brad to the centre to keep the layers together and adhered with a dimensional.  It looks almost like a Waterlily, don't you think?

I really love how the mini one turned out.  As usual I had to have a play to see what it looked like at only half the height!  It is really cute, and would look great with jewelry in it!

This would make a great class to have.  Why don't you contact me today and book yours!  These would look super under the Christmas tree for someone special!

GUEST ARTIST - NICKIE GEORGE

I am so lucky!  I get to meet all manner of people at the workshops I run.  I also get to meet some VERY talented artists too.  I met Nickie George yesterday and she makes the MOST amazing cakes!  While that is impressive by itself, what impressed me even more is that Nickie uses Stampin' Up! product to help with the decoration!!!!  Can you guess what she has used here?

It is the "Watercolour Vine" Stampin' Around Wheel!  Nickie has used the wheel to create the vines around the outside of the gorgeous castle cake.  How clever is she?!!  She told me that after checking the wheel was clean of all other product, she rolled it in icing sugar before rolling on fondant.  What a fantastic idea!  How versatile is Stampin' Up! that we can even use it on our baking, lol

Thank you so much for sharing this fabulous idea with us Nickie!  Please be sure to leave Nickie lots of comment love, won't you?!

CHOCOLATE ALBUM

I love making mini albums to put photo's in, so the JUST ADD INK colour challenge this week suited my project to a tee!  Here are the colours for JAI #31:

I love this colour combination.  I am a real "Earth" colours girl!  As soon as I saw the challenge I knew just what I wanted to do!

My Mother-in-law is a  gorgeous Lady who lives quite a way from us and she only has two grand children.  What better way for her to keep their photo's close at hand than a mini album?  I made this from old cardstock I had lying around (never throw anything away!), and covered it in Chocolate Chip designer paper.  Using Rub Ons from the soon to be retired Chit Chat range, I added a small but gorgeous sentiment to the front.  The inserts were made by using Cellophane bags I normally use to protect my cards.  I have handmade the roses on the front of the album, by punching circles out of card stock, cutting each into a spiral, then I used Crytsal Effects to secure into a rose shape and adhere them to the front of the album.  These little suckers are NOT coming off in a hurry!

 I have used the "Little Leaves" die cut in the Big Shot to create the leaves in Kraft (soon to be renamed Crumb Cake) and sponged very lightly in Old Olive.  The finishing touches are the gems and pearls I have added to the rose centres.

Mum can just slip the photo's she wants on hand into the sleeves of the album and leave the book nice and handy to look at.  I hope she likes it!

Pop on over to Just Add Ink to see all the gorgeous submissions for this great challenge.  The Deign Team have put up some gorgeous examples.  Cant wait to see what YOU come up with!

BIRTHDAY NO: 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a number of Birthdays coming up (non-family!) and I just love giving handmade cards.  This little cutie is an Easel Card.  They are fun to make and have a real WOW factor to them.  I have used the All a Flutter Butterfly, which is sold as a separate stamp from the Stampin' Up! A la Catre range.  At just $15.95, it is a great way to start your stamp collection.

I have added Dazzling Diamonds to the flight path and it really shimmers beautifully in the light.  A trio of brads holds the card open so it can be admired, but there is also room for a message behind them.  The sentiment is a sneak peak of a divine punch set coming out in the new catalogue which launches on the 1st of September.  Can't wait to show you more creations with new and exciting product!

Stamps:  Perfect Punches, All a Flutter
Card:  Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Piercing tool & mat, brads, adhesive, 2 way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Chocolate Chip Marker, Cutter Kit

TIME FOR RELECTION

For some reason, a lot of people I know were born in September!  I have been busy making Birthday Cards this week!  This is the first time in a long time, I have been able to sit down and actually create for me.  I have really enjoyed playing around in my craft room and using sets that don't get a big workout normally.  I am teaching a class this Saturday the Reflection technique.  If you have never tried it and would like to know how, drop me a line and join in!  I would love to show you this easy, but lovely technique.

I also realised that I haven't really done much sponging scenes lately either, so set myself a challenge to come up with a scene in this Birthday Card.  I have also used a different method to do the bow.  Doesn't it sit really well?

The sentiment I have used is a sneak peak of one of the new sets that will launch on the 1st of September.  There are so many beautiful new products to add to your wish list in the new Catalogue.  If you haven't already done so, reserve your copy with me!

JUST ADD WHEELS

This week at Just Add Ink we have been challenged to Just Add "Wheels" to out projects, in honour of Hudson and his family and the fundraising effort going on to get him a mobility walker.  You can support this cause too by purchasing Tutorials online at the Helping Hudson website.  If you haven't already done so, pop by and take a look!

I wanted to create a fun card for this challenge.  I have no stamps whatsoever that have wheels on them, so I opted to go the Punch Art route, which I haven't really tried before.  This turned out to be so much fun, I am definitely going to do more of them!  I have seen this cute little VW Beetle around on a number of sites and just had to have a go myself.  I love how this turned out!  Just so darn cute!

Why don't you rise to the challenge and submit a design.  Anything with Wheels goes, including Stampin' Around wheels, if, like me, you don't have any "wheel" images to play with.  Perhaps you would like to try some punch art yourself!  Visit Just Add Ink to see all the wonderful entries so far this week and get some inspiration!

TOTE FULL OF GOODIES!

I see so many fabulous designs out the in Netland and never have enough time in the day to make them.  I have seen this gorgeous Tote Bag recreated by so many Artists that I just had to make one myself.  You can buy this template from the very talented Adela at CreationsbyAR for just $5 USD.

Of course, you can also buy a whole bundle of tutorials at Helping Hudson and all money raised will be going back to Hudson and his family to improve his quality of life.  Click on the badge to go check out this "Wheelie" great cause.  These tutorials will only be available until the 22nd of August, so don't miss out on this fantastic offer or a chance to help little Hudson.

I hope you feel inspired by the Tote bag!  Of course, it is also a great way to package up yet more bathroom toiletries!

GUEST ARTIST - LISA DUNCAN

I love meeting new people through my job as Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  I love it even more when these ladies rise to a challenge!  Lisa recently purchased Stampin' Up! product from me and I challenged her to make a card using only SU products.  Lisa is a lover of all craft product!  Here is what she came up with............

Didn't she do a lovely job.  Thanks Lisa!!

DO YOU COLLECT?

I have a terrific habit of collecting!  ANYTHING! But especially things I can alter, use to embellish, or just dress up and give away.  JUST ADD INK have set another colour challenge this week and I decided to use some of the Hotel bottles of bathroom accessories I have collected in my travels!  They make an awesome wee travel gift!  I have given packs like this one today, to friends traveling away, but have also used them for friends going into hosiptal.  Such a handy little size, that doesn't take up much room.

I love the colour challenge the JAI girls have set this week, lovely earthy tones, which are my favourite:

 I also set myself a challenge to make a 3D item, rather than my usual card and I am really pleased with how it turned out!  I have seen these totes around on the net and don't know who originally created them, but THANK YOU, if it was you.  The size of the bottles dictated the size of the tote, so I had to get a little creative myself to come up with the right size design!  Thank goodness for a mountain of scrap cardstock!  Always good to tinker with, without using my Stampin' Up! stash.  Invariably, I have to make two or three before I get it right!

Notice the window in the tote?  I had left over punched circles in just the right colour-fancy that, so rather than putting them away to use on another project, I used them to create the roses on the front.  Not bad for a first attempt, eh?  The leaves were punched from the Two-step Bird Punch.  Here is a side view so you can see how everything looks once packaged:

I have threaded twine between the layers of the sentiment and threaded through two holes I punched in the top of the tote, so when you undo the bow at the back, you can pull it apart and open the tote completely.
Leave me a comment and tell me what YOU collect!
 

WILL YOU HELP HUDSON?

I am thrilled to be part of an effort to raise money for Hudson's new Kid Walker.  Stampin' Up! Demos from around the world have donated wonderful tutorials for you to purchase in bundles, and all proceeds will go towards helping Hudson become mobile.  Please take the time to read his story below, then pop on over to the Helping Hudson website to purchase these great tutorials bundles at a small fee.  There are also weekly challenges for you to participate in.  You can also go to the site by clicking on the "A Wheelie Great Cause" button on the right of my blog.  These tutorial bundles will only be available until August the 22nd, so don't delay!

Robert and Tina would like to share their son Hudson's story with you. 
   "We found out that Hudson’s brain hadn’t formed properly during an ultrasound at around 27 weeks into the pregnancy. We learned this is called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, which basically means the central part of his brain connecting the two halves is underdeveloped. We were shocked, as anyone would be, but were determined to give him the best life he could have.
   At around 12 weeks of age, we discovered that Hudson was legally blind. He has a condition called Optic Nerve Hypoplasia with Nystagmus. This is a damaged optic nerve, which means his brain finds it difficult to interpret what he sees.
   By 6 months it was apparent he was physically delayed. Hudson started Physiotherapy and Hydrotherapy before his 1st birthday, to strengthen his muscles. At this point in time he was found to have muscle tone issues. It took over a year for Hudson to be able to sit up on his own, and he was 20 months old before he started crawling.
   Hudson’s development progressed slowly but surely, until January 2010, when he had his first seizure. He had to be put on a ventilator to stop the seizure, and spent 3 days in hospital recovering. Hudson continues to have partial complex seizures, and is now considered to have epilepsy.
   Hudson was recently diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. This means that the part of his brain that controls movement and muscles is damaged. He will require ongoing extensive physiotherapy to manage his CP.We are increasingly seeing his frustration, as Hudson is unable to make his body do what he wants it to do. We are hoping to raise the $5000 required to purchase a Kid Walker, a mobility aid designed to help him learn to walk and progress towards independence.
  We have seen firsthand children that have used a Kid Walker to begin to learn how to walk - the joy on their face when they realise what they’ve achieved. We would love to see that same look of joy on Hudson’s face.