SO MANY BIRTHDAY'S, SO LITTLE TIME

I have FOUR birthday's in October - what is with that?!!  Sometimes I can go couple of months without any, then BAM!!  All at once.  You would think, being a card maker, that I would be organised and have a stash - but no!  I leave it all to the last minute and have a mild panic when I realise I have to pop one in the post!

I have just invested in a colour that has been in the SU range for years, but that I hardly ever use.  Perfect Plum is gorgeous now that I have it and I wonder what took me so long to use it! 

I think, once I teamed it with Black and Vanilla, it has a certain elegance about it.  Perfect for a female birthday.  My sponges haven't had much of a workout lately, so I pulled them out too!  The tag has been made with the scallop square punch and I have cut the ends off on the diagonal.  Punches have so many uses and this one leands itself to a tag, among other uses.

Stamps: Autumn Days
Card Stock: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla
Ink: Basic Black, Perfect Plum
Accessories: Ribbon, dimensionals, Scallop Square Punch, Sponges, Glue Dots, adhesive

CHERRY CHRISTMAS

I am so in love with the new colours in the Stampin'Up! Colour Families!  My favourite by far is Cherry Cobbler.  Such a deep, rich red, full of body like a fine red wine!  I had to use it as a base for this cute Christmas card.  Teamed with Very Vanilla, I think it is a striking combination.  What do you think?

I have used this lovely combination of colour to do a Glitter window in the card.  This is such a fun and easy technique to do, but really effective.  I love anything shiny!  I have used the big bauble from the Tree Trimmings stamp set behind the glitter window.  So pretty!  Teamed with the Top Note die, I think this card has a real Old World feel about it.  Here is a close up of the glitter window:

 If you would like to know how to do this technique, I would be happy to bring a class to you.  Just use the "Contact Me" button on the right to drop me a line!

KIWI INGENUITY

I just LOVE the Owl punch at the moment, although I have yet to share any of my projects with you!  That is coming, I promise.  BUT, there is one small problem.  Actually, make that two!  The wee pupils of the owl are so tiny to pick up!  I have seen on a couple of overseas sites, a handy little tool that looks like a pen, but is sticky on the end.  It allows you to pick up those niggling little pieces!  I don't know what it is called or where to get one, but it did get me thinking.  I decided to make a home made version and I would like to share it with you, my friends!

YOU WILL NEED:

Tombow Multi Glue and a wooden skewer.

Card Stock and Owl Punch

Put a drop of glue on the end of your skewer and leave it to dry.  

 Because Tombow is repositional when dry, this will enable you to pick up those pesky little pieces.

I put another drop of glue on the "pupil" once I have picked it up with my skewer and stick down on my project using the end of a pair of tweezers to "detach" the "pupil" from the end of my skewer!

I hope you find this tutorial really handy!  Let me know what you think, your thoughts are always welcome!

DAFFODIL DELIGHT

I have seen some many Daffodils around lately and I honestly thought that meant summer was coming!  You should have seen the snow on the hills this morning!  I haven't seen it that low for a couple of years.  This weather bomb is creating havoc!  So while creating in my craft space yesterday, I thought I would do a bright and cheery card to remind me what summer actually is!!

I have used Garden Green and Daffodil Delight to gather the colours of summer around.  I have also used the crayon resist technique, which I haven't done for quite some time.  I really like this technique because I don't have to get out my heat gun, but the result is very similar to emboss resist.  Of course, this technique means I get to sponge!!
I hope I have inspired you to break out your white crayons and have a go too!

Stamps:  Every Moment, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Basic Black, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight
Card:  Basic Black, Garden Green, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla
Accessories: White Crayon, Sponges, Brads, Post-it-note (for masking the sun)

GUEST ARTIST - MARION TEPANIA

I have such a wonderful group of Ladies I get to craft with and I would like to introduce Marion Tepania's work to you all.  Marion is a fairly new friend, who has started attending my classes.  Marion, like me, loves sponging!  I just had to share two of her latest creations with you.

Marion is certainly not afraid to use colour to good effect and I think, giving me a run for my money!.  Look at these gorgeous scenes she has created!  Leave Marion some comment love if you appreciate her work like I do!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful work with us Marion!

HOSTESS APPRECIATION

Since joining Stampin' Up! just over a year ago, I have had the most amazing journey!  I get to share what I love to do with amazing friends.  Last Sautrday was my opportunity to give that back to the wonderful Ladies that have supported me, in the form of a Hostess Appreciation Workshop.

 We had a fantastic turn out, even thought the weather was atrocious!  But what better way to spend an afternoon, than crafting with friends!

Everyone got to make two Make & Takes using some of the gorgeous new product from our 2010/2011 Catalogue.  The Big Shot machine got a really good workout that afternoon!

We had a lovely Sausage sizzle for lunch, thanks to my darling husband!  Not a crumb was left for the birds!  The ladies really needed to keep up their strength while pouring over the new Catalogue and checking out the huge display I had set up for them to look at.

I made sure that everyone was kept busy and had plenty of give aways for them to enjoy too. 

A BIG Congratulations to Tina for winning the Grand Prize draw.  I hope you find plenty of things in the basket to inspire you Tina!

Thank you to everyone who came along for the afternoon!  I thoroughly enjoyed the day and the company.  You guys all ROCK!!

BOW TUTORIAL #2

Well, I thought I had manged to lose all my tutorial photo's!  BUT, thank goodness, I managed to locate them again - whew!!  So here is the second tutorial in the set of three I promised you:

Using a pair of long nosed tweezers, make a loop with your choice of ribbon, with the small tail underneath the long tail.

"Wrap" the long tail around the loop and the tweezers. 

You should see the long tail of ribbon behind the loop you have just made.

 Holding the two loops secure, pull the long tail through the last loop you made with your tweezers. 

 

 

This will form the other side of the bow.

Holding the two ribbon tails, pull the knot tight and adjust the tails until you have the bow size you require for your project.

I have to admit, that this is my preferred method of bow tying.  While it takes a bit of practice, it is well worth it in the end.  It doesn't matter what type or size of ribbon you use, this method will always give a great result.  I have used wide organza through to slim satin and always had the perfect bow after a bit of tweaking!  I hope you like this method as much as I do.  ENJOY!

JUST ADD SYMPATHY

No one likes to make Sympathy cards, and next to cards for Men, I find these the hardest.  If you want some great ideas to strike just the right note, then head over to JUST ADD INK this week for some lovely, but sympathetic ideas in challenge #35!

I have used a gorgeous new Stamp set called "Every Moment" for my card.  This was originally a line art stamp, but I have used my markers to colour it in and make it a silhouette instead.  I think it sets just the right tone against my sponged background.  I have kept the colours muted but you could really use any colour you wanted.  For a bit of added interest, I decided to lay the bow on it's side and use that as the only embellishment.  I am really pleased with the over all effect.  What do you think?

WHOOOOO LOVES YA, BABY?

My good friend Diane Taylor has been kind enough to lend me some of her goodies to play with.  I hope she doesn't need them in a hurry, as I have half her craft room at my house, lol!!  One of the sets I lent is called "Forest Friends".  It is not a stamp set I would normally play with, but I needed a sample, so off I went.  This is the card I came up with:

I am really pleased with how this turned out!  Believe it or not, I actually brayered this card background, not a sponge in sight!  I have always been a bit scared to try the brayer, but now?  What a handy tool to have in your arsenal.  You can apply colour so quickly to a plain bakground and the colours are just so vibrant.  I can see I am going to be pulling out my brayer a lot more now!

MR & MRS CLAUS

I don't normally do the Punch Art thing, although I have seen many wonderful and very clever examples around on the net. However, I purchased the fabulous tutorials that were up for grabs during the Helping Hudson cause - and I am glad I did.  This one is by the divine and very talented Gretchen Barron and I really just had to make them when I saw them.  Stop by Gretchens site for a look at the gorgeous tutorials you can purchase and make yourself.

I am going to fill them with candy canes for all the Christmas Stalls coming up.  Don't you think they will put a smile on peoples faces when they see them?!  If you ever needed a reason (who does?) to purchase the Big Shot and Top Note Die, well you have one now!  These boxes are irresitable!

HAPPY 21ST

My family and I recently went to a 21st Birthday for a friends daughter and I wanted to make a really special 21st birthday card for Megan.  Megan is a very popular girl and well respected by her friends (and she had loads of them there!), caring and very thoughtful, but also a real Girl.  So wanted something that would reflect all those aspects of her and here is what I came up with:

The Chocloate Chip and Pink Pirouette go so well together and I think, are very feminine.  Of course there had to be bows and bling on there somewhere too, but chose to do something muted and not over the top.  The stamped key is from Artistic Ectchings.  I also stamped the same inmage on the envelope to match.  Just perfect for a 21st birthday image!  Hope you had a fantastic night Megan!

IS WINTER OVER YET?

I really thought Spring had begun with a few beautiful days in a row at the beginning of September, but no, it hasn't!  We are back to winter again.  So I thought I would share a card I taught a class a couple of weeks ago.  I have called it Winter Reflection, because that is the technique I taught to my girls.  What do you think?

While I have gently sponged the sky and water in Bashful Blue, I created the banks of the river by flicking the edge of my ink pad along the Whisper White cardstock.  It gets the image a completely diffent look than if I had masked it instead.

I have also been lucky enough to recieve a Blog Award from the lovely Lyn Fox - Thanks Lyn!  Pop on over to Lyn's blog and check out her gorgeous work.  I was lucky enough to meet Lyn when I went to Australia in May for the Stampin; Up! Convention.

 Part of this award is to share it with 5 other blogs I love to visit.  Really hard for me to narrow this down to just 5, there are so many gorgeous blogs I visit on a regular basis.   Here they are in no particular order:

1.  Leslee Holston
2. Just Add Ink
3. Debi Ryan
4. Bron Heslop
5. Delys Cram

If you are after inspiration, I definitely recommend having a look at the artwork available on these gorgeous blogs!

TOP NOTE HANDBAG

I just love all the cool things you can make with the Big Shot Top Note Die!  I recently demonstrated how easy this cool little handbag is to make with the Top Note.  Serah booked a workshop so she and her fiends can make it themselves!

 I also demonstrated the flower on this bag using the faux Suede technique.  Such an easy technique to do, but gives the flower such a lovely texture.

The gorgeous colours I have used are Rose Red, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive.  Hope you like it as much as I do!

BOW TUTORIAL #1

It is amazing the amount of clients I get asking me how I tie my Bows.  Well, to be honest, I have different methods depending on how I want the end result to look.  So I thought I would share a few with you.  This first tutorial is such a neat way to make a quick and easy Bow, and it all depends on the item width you use, as to the size of the finished bow.  Read on:

Choose your ribbon and a pen or glue stick.  What you choose to use will determine the size of your bow.

Tie a single knot in your ribbon and pull the tails along the length of your tool.

Tie another knot pulling the tails away from your tool, as shown.

Slide your ribbon off the tool.

You will now have a loop in the middle of your ribbon.

 Slide your scissors into the loop and cut straight down the middle.

Viola!  A Bow to add to your project!

Please leave me your comments, I appreciate ALL feed back.  Did you find this helpful and easy to follow?  I would love to know what you think.   

JAI #33

This week at JUST ADD INK we are playing with this super sketch:

I had another Birthday card to make for a friends daughter who celebrated turning 18 at the end of August.  A real Girlie girl!  So I kept the colours very feminine and flipped the sketch on it's side.

I love Organza and just had to make a big gauzy bow!  Not to mention adding a bit of bling!  I have used the Sentiment from a new set called "Perfect Punches". 

Why not join in this week's challenge and upload your creation to the JAI site?  While you are there you can grab a few more ideas from the fabulous entries from other Artists!