Criss Cross Christmas

Hi there

It has been a lovely spring day in Melbourne today, what a change from last week. I've been out fertilising and mulching my garden today - lots of aches to show for it, but the garden looks great too.

I spent a very enjoyable day on Saturday with stamping friends at the Stampin' Up! Regional Training day. We got to chat and make some great projects using one of the new stamp sets coming in the Summer Mini Catalogue on 1 December 2009 - can't say any more, but it is really cute! As we have just 6 weeks left of the current Spring Mini Catalogue, I thought I would show you some projects in the next few weeks using the great products in this catalogue.

One of my favourites  from the Spring Mini has been the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper. I love the combination of traditional and contemporary colours.  If you are after something a little bit different or a little bit special for your Christmas cards this year, this one might be for you - it is the Criss Cross Card. The card uses a sheet of A4 card stock and a smallish rectangle of Designer Series Paper, so is still reasonably economical. The instructions can be found here on Splitcoast.  If like me, all of your cutting tools are metric, you will need to convert the measurements provided. I would suggest (from experience) that you leave the cutting of the DSP rectangle until after you have put the body of the card together as it only takes a few millimetres from rounding your measurements to put this out. Just measure the length and width of the assembled card and take 5mm off each measurement and you will get a good result. When you cut the rectangle of DSP into 2 triangles, you automatically get both sides of the DSP cut to the appropriate shape.  Here is the first photo, so you can see what I'm going on about.

 
The card has an insert that pulls out with the tab that I have decorated with the small star burst from the Snow Swirled stamp set made into a brad using 'Build a Brad'. The belly band around the card is really for decorative purposes, as you don't need to take it off to access the card. I've used the gorgeous 1" Baja Breeze double stitched grosgrain, but you could also use card stock of similar width and a narrower ribbon over it. The motif on the belly band is also from Snow Swirled, mounted with Dimensionals onto Baja Breeze and then onto the red scallop circle.  In the centre I have put a small light blue rhinestone brad to finish it. I love how easy it is to coordinate all of the Stampin' Up! products. Here is another photo showing the insert. I've rounded all the corners and sponged around the edges in Baja Breeze ink and stamped the greeting from Snow Swirled. This card would look great with any of the Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper for a special occasion card or even for an invitation or birth announcement.

The good news is that this card still fits into a standard C6 envelope.  However with the two brads on it, I would use a small padded bag to post it otherwise you risk your receiver getting a card shredded by Australia Post's sorting equipment which is very disappointing for both parties (this happened with a card I sent to my MIL)! Here are the details.

 

Card Details
Stamps	Snow Swirled
Cardstock & Papers	Baja Breeze, Real Red, Ski Slope DSP
Ink	Baja Breeze, Real Red
Accessories	1” Baja Breeze Double Stitched Grosgrain, Rhinestone brad, Build a Brad
Tools	Circle punches, Scallop circle punch, Round Tab punch, Corner Rounder punch, Dimensionals, Sticky strip

Enjoy your week.

Judy.

Christmas Treasures

Hello

I have finally surfaced after CraftExpo last weekend.  I've spent the last few weeks preparing for the craft show, designing and making up card and paper kits. It was a great day and I met lots of people who enjoy the quality and diversity of Stampin' Up! products as well as many who were hearing about them for the first time. I'm hoping to get back to a more relaxing mode in the next few weeks. I have some birthday cards to make for relatives and friends, but I thought I 'd show you this Christmas card made with the Holiday Treasures Designer Series Paper. The colours are quite traditional, but I've picked out the pink from the DSP to give it a bit of a twist. The base card is Pink Pirouette with the Ruby Red on top. The details are below.

Card Details
Stamps	Season of Joy, Snow Swirled
Cardstock & Papers	Pink Pirouette, Ruby Red, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Holiday Treasures DSP
Ink	Versamark, Ruby Red, Old Olive
Accessories	Dazzling Diamonds glitter
Tools	Eyelet Border punch, Scallop Oval punch, Wide Oval punch, Regal Rose marker, Dimensionals

The next card I have to show you is for a male birthday, which I always find very challenging. It uses mostly Stampin' Up! products, but the tree stamp isn't. The 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set is on my WIsh List and I hope Santa remembers to bring it! 

 

Card Details
Stamps	Touch of Nature (Retired), Curly Labels, PSX Tree
Cardstock & Papers	Kraft, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures DSP
Ink	Versamark, Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Accessories	1” Double Stitched Grosgrain, HodgePodge Hardware
Tools	Copper embossing powder (not SU), Curly Label Punch, Dimensionals

Enjoy your week. 

Judy.

Bird in the Park

Hi there

It has been a while since I have posted - life has been busy generally and I have been preparing for Craftfest.  If you haven’t heard about Craft Expo (click on the link for details about times, transport and tickets), it is a craft show that is on from 8 – 11 October at the Royal Exhibition Buildings in Melbourne. Stampin’ Up! will have a stall at the show with three Independent Demonstrators available each day to talk to you about the products and to conduct demonstrations. The Stampin' Up Idea Book & Catalogue will be available for sale, special offers on Stampin’ Up products, paper craft kits to buy and even better, the chance to win a bundle of great Stampin’ Up! products for FREE! I will be at Craftfest on Friday 9 October, so come along, have a chat and check it all out.

On a creative note, I have a card for you made with the lovely ‘Walk in the Park’ Designer Series Paper from the current Spring Mini Catalogue (products available until 30 November 2009). I have used the Mojo Monday Week # 105 sketch – this is one that I’m sure I will use again.  The base card is Cameo Coral, which unfortunately shows as more orange in the photo than it really is. The ‘scallops’ have been cut with the 13/8” circle punch and they fit perfectly across the width of the card. The centre panel has been stamped with the bird from the Friends 24-7 stamp set – this is such a classic image. I have stamped a second bird, cut it out and mounted it for depth. The centre band was created with the crimper (and I actually managed to keep it straight!). It adds texture but the corrugations are still quite soft looking.  A little paper piercing in the corners finish it off.  I debated (with myself!) about adding a sentiment in the bottom right corner and didn’t in the end.  Here it is and the details are below.

Card Details
Stamps	Friends 24-7,
Cardstock & Papers	Cameo Coral, Whisper White, Basic Gray, 'Walk in the Park' Designer Series Paper
Ink	Basic Gray, Baja Breeze
Accessories	White Taffeta ribbon
Tools	13/8" circle punch, crimper, paper piercer, mat pack, dimensionals

Have a great day.

Judy.