Blog Hop - It's Nearly Christmas!

 
Hello

Welcome to another of our casual monthly Blog Hops, this month our theme is all things for Christmas. I can't believe that it is less than a month until the big day; where does the time go? You may have come from the blog of the lovely Di Dunk, but if not, you can start right here and follow the link at the bottom of the post to the next blog.

I thought I would make a set of tags and matching Christmas card using the special bundle that is currently available that includes the lovely Designer Series Paper 'Christmas Cocoa' and stamp set 'Welcome Christmas'.  This bundle is available until 30 November, so be quick to get yours. The matching colours for this DSP are Soft Suede and Real Red. I like the contemporary look it gives, but still really Christmassy. For the tags, I've used the 'Delightful Decorations' stamp set and matching Ornament punch with the DSP, ribbon and bling to create a set of 4 different designs.  The box is in Soft Suede with a clear acetate top and the sentiment is from the 'Welcome Christmas' stamp set. First off, here is the box of finished tags with the lid on.

 

 Here are the individual tag designs close up:

                        

                        

Each of the tags has been cut as a double layer on Whisper White with the punch just over the edge to create the opening at the top. The decorations have been added on the top layer; this makes them easy to stick to your parcel without having a string attached, but you could add them if you wish. This shows what I mean.

 

The box is simple to construct and I've created some dividers to keep the tags neat.  The height of the box is 1inch and this easily fits 6 tags. Here is the open box.

 

Now for the card, also using the same colours and the 'Welcome Christmas' stamp set. The wreath was stamped in Soft Suede and I've added some lovely red adhesive rhinestones, although they don't photograph very well. This has been popped up on the satin ribbon and Soft Suede print from the DSP. The rest is pretty straightforward.

 

Here are all the product details.  If you would like any further information on these projects, please contact me.

Card Details
Stamps	Delightful Decorations, Welcome Christmas
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Textured White, Real Red, Soft Suede, Christmas Cocoa DSP
Ink	Versamark, Soft Suede, Real Red,
Accessories	5/8" Real Red Satin Ribbon, 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Clear Adhesive Rhinestones, Small Red Adhesive Rhinestones (not SU)
Tools	Ornament Punch,  Scallop Trim Border, 3/4", 1" and 11/4" Circle punches,  Starburst punch (not SU), Itty Bitty Flower punch (New in Summer Mini), Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, White embossing powder, Gold Embossing powder, Heat gun

Well, if you made it this far, thanks for sticking with it!  The next stop on this blog hop is the lovely and talented Sue Madex and below is the list of other creative Stampin' Up! Demonstrators participating today.

Ros Davidson
http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com

Christine Blain
http://christineblain.blogspot.com/

Nikki Sadler
http://www.inkyart.com.au

Kristine Thompson
http://www.inkspotcreations.com

Tina Gillespie
http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com/

Di Dunk
http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com

Sue Madex
http://www.madexcreations.com/

Amy Buchanan
http://fashioninggreatimpressions.com

Gardenia Pepworth
http://alittlelessuseless.wordpress.com

Alisha Watson
http://ratherbstampin.typepad.com

Have a great weekend.

Another Thank You

Hello again

Today I have another thank you card for you. This one uses the main image from the 'Just Believe' stamp set, which I love, as a focus. It also uses one of my favourite colour combos - Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz  with some Rose Red for 'zing'.  This time I tried a rectangular frame with the scallop border punch, which was a little trickier than I thought it would be, so a bit more practice is needed, I think. The design is pretty self evident and the product details are below.

The details are as follows: 

Card Details
Stamps	Just Believe, Pocket Silhouettes (sentiment), Tiny Tags
Card stock & Papers	Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White, Blushing Bride DSP (Level 1 Hostess)
Ink	Versamark, Blushing Bride, Rose Red
Accessories	Certainly Celery Taffeta Ribbon, Basic Pearls
Tools	Beautiful Wings Die, Big Shot, Large Oval and Oval punches, Scallop Trim Border and corner punches,  Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, White embossing powder, Heat gun

Thanks for looking.

Mmmm.....Not Sure

Hi there

Despite my best efforts, life hasn't slowed down and my creative time has been suffering accordingly.  I still live in hope that I will get some more time shortly . I have spent some lovely time with my friend Fiona who has been visiting from WA for the last 5 days.  We managed to spend one day shopping, had 'afternoon high tea' and a couple of lovely evenings together.

I do have a card to show you though, but I'm not sure that it hits the mark.  I always find male cards a challenge and this time is no exception. I think I need to work on building up a stash of male cards so I can whip one out without any stress .  I've used the main image from 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set (stamped twice in Basic Gray and Sahara Sand) and some of the retired 'Urban Oasis' DSP. 

The details are as follows: 

Card Details
Stamps	Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Oasis DSP
Ink	Basic Gray, Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Accessories	Black brads
Tools	Corner punch, Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Back soon, hopefully .

It's been a while...

Hi there

It has been a long time between posts and yesterday was the first time I've sat at my craft desk for weeks. In between time I have spent a long weekend in Tasmania at the Tasmanian Craft Fair in Deloraine, which was a birthday surprise from my DH.  After that came a weekend spent replacing the lawn in our backyard.  Those DIY shows have a lot to answer for - the preparation and laying of lawn (not to mention digging out the old one, which we also did ourselves) is hard work. Every joint and muscle ached for days afterward, but we are happy with the result and the rain has been fabulous for helping it get established.  In between those busy weekends has been a manic period at work as we prepare for auditors to descend tomorrow for 8 days (can't imagine what they will find to do for all that time).

Anyway, I finally have a card for you which is a birthday thank you for a friend. A while ago I accidentally purchased some square envelopes from the IBC, instead of the usual ones, so this has spurred me into making some square cards, which I like a lot. I have also had the Scallop Trim corner punch for a while, so I decided to try punching a square frame as a background.  Some clever people have put together the dimensions that will assist in getting a good outcome (you can find these on the web), although other very clever people can manage to do it on the fly (not me!).  It still took me a couple of tries to get an outcome that I was happy with (being the anal perfectionist I am )- this is one where practice does make perfect. I've layered some lovely Marina Mist and 'Elegant Soiree' DSP on top of the frame and used some stamped images from the 'Just Believe' stamp set.  The lace (called Crochet Trim) at the bottom is coming soon in the Summer Mini Catalogue (starts on 1 December, 2010). The whole panel has been popped up on the Crumb Cake card base which is 12cm  x 12cm.  This is a nice size for a square card. 

 The details are as follows: 

Card Details
Stamps	Just Believe
Card stock & Papers	Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Elegant Soiree DSP
Ink	Soft Suede
Accessories	Basic Pearls, Crochet Trim (New)
Tools	Beautiful Wings Die, Big Shot, Stampin' Write Markers (Soft Suede, Marina Mist), Scallop Trim border and corner punches, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch (New), Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers

Hopefully, I will be back soon.