"GO TO" BOOK

It is my good friend Rhonda's birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHONDA!  I needed to make a Birthday card for her, but time hasn't been my own for a few weeks now that the silly season is upon us.  I desperately needed some help to get a card made in time for her special day, and what better tool do I have for inspiration than the Stampin' Up! catalogue!

I have CASE'd this card directly from the catalogue and you can see the original on page 10.  Of course I didn't have all the same items or colours available in my own stash, so changed things up a bit and made do with what I had.  Thats the great thing about the Stampin' Up! catalogue!  You don't have to have exactly the same items, but the basic ideas are all there to use.

Stamps: Bring on the Cake, Simply Soft
Inks: Craft White, Old Olive, More Mustard, Early Espresso
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, More Mustard
Accessories: Very Vanilla Seam Binding, Old Olive Brad, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Extra large Oval Punch, Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaer Embossing Folder, Scoring Tool, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals

LETS GET COZY!!

I promised another fabric project I have been working on, and here it is!

If you are anything like me, you LOVE fresh made Coffee and often stop for one on a trip into town.  The thing I hate most, is HOT Latte.  It should always be made to drink straight away and not scalding, but some Barrista's have not learnt that yet!  I get sick of burning my fingers, so have made a Coffe Cozy that I can pop in my handbag!  No more burnt fingers - woohoo!

This is another pattern I stumbled across while surfing the net.  It is by the very talented Jeni Baker, who has kindly done a free tutorial.  You can see her tutorial at Skip To My Lou.  Again, I have used Stampin' Up!'s fabulous Designer Fabrics to make them.  Add elastic and a button and you are good to go.

I have a stall at the Artisan's Christmas Market in the Mall on the 3rd of December.  Be sure to pop by and say "Hi" as I have been making tonnes of Christmas goodies for you to give!

NEVER SAY NEVER!

Hope you are all sitting down!!  I have been playing with my SEWING MACHINE!!  OMG!  I didn't think I would see the day that I would be hunched over that piece of equipment for hours at a time - but I have been!  Here's what I have been making:

Little Tissue holders for your handbag!  These are super cute and so handy to have.  Just pop a small packet of tissues inside and you are good to go.  Of course, that meant I had to get super friendly with my Iron as well.  I normally consider that piece of equipment a four letter word of the worst kind, lol.  But if you are going to go to all this effort, an iron is your best friend and so worth the chore!

Stampin' Up! have a wonderful selection of fabrics (of which my prototype is not).  But once I knew what I was doing I just had to use them!  The photo above is a  sneak peek of the fabric available in the soon to be released Summer Mini catalogue.  Aren't the colours divine?!

These two are made using the Deck the Halls designer fabric, which is available in the main IB & C.

I must say the fabrics have set me a new challenge - learn to sew properly!  It also meant I needed to know a bit more about my sewing machine than just "plug in and go!!"  Thank you Vicki, for taking the time to show me how to service my machine and that it actually needs oil!  You ROCK!!

I found a great tutorial on Pinterest that got me started on this sewing lark.  If you haven't checked out this site - you should!  So many wonderful ideas on there.  Be prepared to spend hours just looking!  I will be back soon with another project I have been working on too!

SURPRISE!!

For me or for you - I am not too sure!  I can't believe I have not blogged for TWO weeks!  I have so much going on that I just have not been able to create for myself recently.  It is such a busy time of year with Christmas just 6 weeks away!  Lots of Craft fairs, Stamp Clubs and workshops to prepare for.  I am so lucky I get to do something I truly love!

I thought I would share just a quick post this morning.  This is the Thank You card I whipped up yesterday morning for my Stamp Club Ladies, to pop in their orders.  Nothing like leaving something to the last minute!
A very simple sponged card, just what the Doctor ordered!