Life's A Breeze!

After yesterday I might have to agree with this sentiment as YAH summer has finally arrived, blue skies, sun & most importantly no wind! So I suppose for me life's NOT a breeze is great.

Our latest demo swap was to create a 6x6" layout. These are so easy, just a few embellishments & viola done. I am a lazy scrap booker at the the best of times & in this digital age maybe just a few prize shots are a reflection of the day.

Here's my swap using the Life's A Breeze stamp set (13 stamps for $66.95, also contains jandals, shells, sunglasses, watermelon & a really cute boat - awesome value).

Stamp sets: Life's A Breeze, Something Fishy (jumbo wheel), Sandy Shells (wheel)
Card stock: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Creamy Caramel, Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Creamy Caramel, Ruby Red, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Dimensionals

Count down to the summer Mini

Only 3 days to go to the launch of the Summer Mini catalogue, a few of us have swapped cards to show some made samples at our open home. This was my demo swap - really easy & I can not believe how well the colours work together. This colour combo is the same colours as the designer paper that co-ordinates with the stamp set & wow is all I can say.


Stamp set: Eastern Blooms
Ink: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper white
Card Stock: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Scallop edge punch, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

UPDATE: Debbie has asked me how I made this card, so as follows, very easy apart from the cutting but again really easy flowers to cut out.

• Take a piece of A5 card stock - tempting turquoise here, fold in half & I stamped a sentiment in whisper white in the bottom right hand corner.
• Stamp on whisper white card stock various flowers - large & small & cut out and put aside for now.
• To a small strip of old olive using the new scallop edge punch punch out a wee border- cut evenly between the scallops - this decided the size of my rose red cardstock which I've randomly stamped the spray of flowers over with rose red Ink. Looks like designer paper doesn't it but not.
• Attach the old olive scalloped border & wrap an old olive ribbon around.
• Place on card where it looks right with dimensionals & then attach the flowers with dimensionals - though one attached directly to the rose red mat.
• Colours are the same as in the Bali Breeze DSP which is where my inspiration came from.

Thanks for asking.

How to watercolour with markers

Had some lovely responses to my girl's water colouring check out this VIDEO to see how to do it - trust me it's really easy with the markers and don't forget they are available singly for the first time ever at $5.95 each; plus SU! has extended the promotion to December 14.

Watercolouring With Markers Class Part 2

Just wanted to share what the card I created in the actual class looked like. The Pretties flower worked much better this time as it was "white" to start off with.

SBS Challenge 7

The latest challenge from Janet was to create a card using light blue, light pink, light green & light yellow. I'm slowly assembling my new Summer Mini catalogue stamps in anticipation of an open home on Sunday, so thought I'd a make a quickie with In The Stars & a few punches.


Stamp set: In the Stars
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, whisper White
Card stock: Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White
Other: Scallop edge punch, large star punch, star punch, white Signo gel pen, dimensionals

Yes a real quickie but the colours work well - thanks Janet for pushing us outside our comfort zone.

Yet another lovely tree

Yet another great swap but unfortunately I don't know the demo that created this lovely card (if they read my blog contact me & I can let everyone know).

It uses the versatile Lovely As A Tree stamp set plus Solemn Stillness - the saying matches the majestic tree perfectly.

A chocolate chip marker plus some glitter - MAGIC!

UPDATE: It's thought that this was created by Chloe from Cambridge - sure we'll track her down to claim her kudos.

Why choose Whisper White?

As they say a picture tells a 1000 words. Both Whisper White & Very Vanilla are ultra smooth card stock & as such are perfect for stamping solid stamp images on, also they are incredibly great value at $16.25 for 40 sheets of A4 cardstock or approx. 40c/sheet.

Yes Whisper White is on the RHS - what a difference!

Tracy's Crazy For Christmas

This is also a swap I received from another demo in my team: Tracy Marshall from Hillsborough.

I love how quick & easy this card is - as much as w'ed love to spend more time on them; reality is they have to be quick & easy & this card is that but it is lovely with a bit of wow. She's used Crazy for Christmas stamp set, a spritzer on the plain card stock & this season's colours Always Artichoke & Rose Red

Watercolouring Part 2

I've already done a post showing this delightful wee girl (she's one of my favourites) coloured up on water colour paper using markers. She does work really well. Tonight's class was inspired by a left over Pretties flower that I was going to use for my BLING card but it was too big. I'm a great believer in waste not want not. So it's a bit dark as it started off white - then coloured up to Blue Bayou - then coloured up with Almost Amethyst & yes now a lovely cornflower blue.

Class attendees were shown the easy peasy way that Tracee Jones from Waihi showed us how to colour up the Pretties. Tracee's technique is:

• place your hand inside a small self-sealing bag
• turn inside out with hand hidden inside like a glove
• rub bag on ink pad that you want to colour the flower up with
• turn bag inside out again (so ink now inside the bag)
  
• spray a few times with a water mister
• throw in the Pretties flower
• seal & scrunch it all around till the dye is even

Yes Tracee is right - really even colouring, clean & dries fast

Stamp sets: Summer By The Sea, Looks Like Spring,Think Happy Thoughts
Ink pads: Black Stazon, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Card stock: Water colour paper, Almost Amethyst, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery Prints DSP
Other: Markers (Soft Subtles, Earth Elements), Pretties Flower, 1-1/4" circle punch, Spring Flower Bouquet Punch, Dimensionals, Silver brad

Blooming Beautiful!

I've always loved my water colour crayons but WOW the effect when you use them on water colour paper is amazing. I really enjoyed painting my petunias up & think they look stunning IRL.


Stamp set: Bloomin' with Beauty
Ink: Black Stazon, River Rock, Always Artichoke
Card stock: Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Natural Ivory, Water Colour Paper
Other: Aqua painter, Water Colour Crayons (I used rose red, regal rose, bravo burgundy for the flowers, always artichoke for the leaves, creamy caramel for the pot), Dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, sponge dauber, artichoke grosgrain ribbon

I've used a mask for the large vase to stamp lightly in River Rock around it. I've also lightly water coloured the background flower with Regal Rose very carefully as River Rock is not a water proof ink & then used a dauber to sponge the edges with River Rock.

Tis' the Season

Tis' the Season courtesy of Anne-Marie

NOTE: a few of the stamp sets used to create this suspension card are now retired but you just got to love Anne Marie's clean lines & colours. She's my team's suspension card queen but you can view a great tutorial HERE.

Thanks for popping in & I should have a card or two to share after my water colouring class tomorrow night.

Tracee's incredibly lovely tree

Tracee Jones from Waihi has made this absolutely lovely Christmas card which I was the very lucky recipient of at our Regional training. It's just perfect for Christmas & has certainly received lots of ohhs at workshops lately when I bring it out.

I just read somewhere recently, that Lovely As a Tree is Stampin' Up!'s no. 1 stamp set & I agree it is extremely versatile stamp set to own & create with.

BLING Time

This was the latest challenge from my SBS sister Janet but surprisingly I found it hard! Guess I'm just not a bling girl. I used a "reject" from an Always Stamp Class that I attended. My original card I gave away to my dear friend Judy & SBS sister who also struggled with this challenge. You can see it HERE.

I've used the soon to be released Live Your Dream flower & butterfly to make the background (I love these wee stamps).

My bling is a rhinestone brad from my Stylised Silver Hodgepodge, & also coloured up one of the Pretties flowers with Blue Bayou ink & Kindy Glitzed the other to make sparkly. It does look really pretty IRL.

Stamp sets: Always, Live Your Dream, Occasional Greetings
Ink: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel
Card stock: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Whisper white
Other: Pretties kit, Stylised Silver, Kindy Glitz (Derivan)

Leanne's Season of Joy

My upline has challenged us to blog every day in November & hopefully I will have a bit to share later in the week as I have a class & a few birthdays this week. In the interim I'll share a few cards from Regional Training I received from demos that don't have a blog as there's some great ideas amongst them all.

The first one is created by Leanne Masters from Hamilton & uses everybody's favourite stamp set Season of Joy & the Holiday Harmony Designer Series paper. Both these items are in our current Spring Mini Catalogue & will not be available after November 30. Great value at $60.95 (8 stamps) & $13.95 (12 sheets of 12x12"). So contact a SU! demonstrator ASAP if you wish to order these.

Inside the card:

I just love how simple & clean this card is but so classy - well done Leanne!

Just a quick post

Discovered this video of Stampin' Up! CEO & co-founder Shelli Gardner making place setting's for different celebrations. Check it out but for those of us outside the USA we may feel a bit deprived not having a Big Shot!

Click HERE to see.

Happy birthday mum

My mum Noleen is 73 today & it's been a rough year for her (& us) with at times more being in hospital than out, but at the moment she's a box of birds - touch wood & I do hope you enjoy your special day.

Mum loves butterflies & I've never created a Garden Whimsy card combining the tulip with the butterfly or the snail for that matter. This card's colours were inspired by the colour wheel & believe or not I've used ruby red on the tulip again - I did try a couple of other combos see the wee snap shot but settled on cameo coral & ruby red & handsome hunter (colour wheel combo) as it was the brightest. This was a good show case for colouring on stamps with markers - don't forget for the first time ever we can buy them separately for $5.95 until Nov 30th. More details click HERE.

The card was inspired by Jayne Mercer & I love her colour combo but "not my mum". I've stamped the blush blossom card stock with the wee ladybird but not sure if it will show in the photo.


Stamp sets: Garden Whimsy, Occasional Greetings
Card Stock: Ruby Red, Handsome Hunter, Whisper White, Blush Blossom
Ink: Creamy Caramel, Apricot Appeal, Blush Blossom
Markers: Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Handsome Hunter
Other: Cutter tool (distressing), dimensionals, 2-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds glitter, Ivory organza (retired)

Rejected colours (not bright enough):

LHS: So Saffron, More Mustard, Old Olive
RHS: Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery

Have a great weekend all!

well it's been one week to the day since ...

the mum & daughter's evening at my local community house. As promised earlier here's the pictures of the happy children - including a dad & a son. To see the original concept click HERE.

Please note all stamped images etc are Copyright Stampin' Up! - too many to place a watermark on!

Enjoy & hope to see you all again with the 3 J's

SBS Challenge 2 winner

yes me!

My dear wonderful SBS sister Janet who has already sent me my first card of my new favourite set to be (Embrace Life) also sent me all these goodies - isn't she the best SBS sister ever.

Thanks heaps & the gold star brads are going to come in real useful for Christmas xox

Colour Challenge 30

Kristina's Colour Challenge was actually a challenge as I didn't have any Sahara Sand so I used Kraft instead but in my scan it almost looks Sahara Sand. I love this duvet she's taken the colours from as I love greens as they're so soothing - so hope my card inspires the same sentiment.

Stamp sets: Bud Basics, Outline jumbo wheel, Sweet Shapes
Ink: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Whisper White Craft
Card stock: Kraft, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Other: Corner rounder punch (can't wait for my pre-order to get my scallop edge punch!), white EP, wide Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, mini glue dots, white Signo gel pen

Thanks for looking