Monthly Archives: July 2009

Good Cheer

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Good Cheer by

Another card to have a look at today, using another new stamp set from the Spring Mini Catalogue.  Only a couple more days to wait until you can order these.  Sorry for the very short post, but I have rather a lot on my plate at the moment, with the Snow Swirled Christmas Stamp Extravaganza happening this coming Saturday, and my mini catalogue launch party the following weekend.  Don’t forget to contact me if you would like to come along and see more of the mini catalogue products or if you would like me to send one of the catalogues out to you.

Stamp Set: Good Cheer (available 1st August 2009).

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Real Red, Glorious Green.

Inks: Real Red, Glorious Green, Basic Black, Close to Cocoa.

Accessories: Markers, Colour Spritzer Tool, Cutter Kit, Bold Brights Brads, Real Red 1.27cm Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990-2009 Stampin’ Up!

New Designer Series Papers

Posted in Cards, Designer Series Paper, Flower Fusion, On Your Birthday, Rub-ons by

Here is the next in the series of sneak peeks from the Spring Mini Catalogue which is being released this coming Saturday, 1st August 2009.  This card features the gorgeous new DSP called Parisian Breeze, and which I made for Larisa‘s birthday.  I’m sure she won’t mind me sharing it with you all 🙂

The Parisian Breeze Designer Series Paper is another which is printed on textured, cover-weight cardstock, which makes it ideal not just for cardmaking but is also fantastic for scrapbooking.  I will have to try to come up with a scrapbook page using it very soon!

Stamp Set: On your Birthday.

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Parisian Breeze DSP, Urban Garden DSP.

Ink: Chocolate Chip.

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Sponge Dauber, Paper Piercing tool and Mat Pack, Paper Snips, Chocolate Chip 2.5cm Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Laughter and Love Rub ons, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Flower Fusion Too.

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990-2009 Stampin’ Up!

It’s nearly time….

Posted in Designer Series Paper, Great Friend, Rub-ons, Scrap Pages by

for the release of the Spring Mini Catalogue, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you are in for a treat!  There are lots and lots of gorgeous new goodies to be had, heaps of fantastic stamp sets and lots of new accessories, including some new papers.  If you would like one of the mini catalogues, feel free to contact me with your postal details and I will send one out to you.  But remember, you can’t order from it until the 1st August 2009.

However, those of us who are lucky enough to be Stampin’ Up! demonstrators are able to pre-order the products so I have been able to have a play and thought I would give you a bit of a sneak peek.  I have made a few different things and will show you some of them over the next week or so.  But you won’t get to see it all, I will be saving some for my mini catalogue launch party on the 8th August.  Make sure you contact me to book in for that one, it is a good way for you to try out some of the new stamps and accessories before you buy.

So, the first one is a scrap page.  It is a CASE (copy and share exactly) – except this one is not exactly the same (which seems to happen most of the time when I case something)…. anyway, it started out being a CASE of the scrap page on Page 4 of the mini catalogue, and uses some of the new Designer Series Paper and also the new stamp set called “Great Friend”.

The photos are of our beautiful cat Shadow, who passed away nearly 12 months ago, and who we miss heaps!  She was a sweet natured girl, who purred all the time and loved our company as much as we loved hers.  You may recognise her, she has pride of place on the home page of this blog! 🙂  Doing some scrapbooking of the photos of Shadow has been quite difficult and emotional for us all, but therapeutic in a way, and to me, that is exactly what scrapbooking is all about.  It helps us to evaluate and deal with the bad and the good that happens in our every day lives, helping us to put those memories down on paper, rather than hiding them away in the corners of our own minds.

Stamp Set: Great Friend (Available 1st August 2009)

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper (available 1st August 2009).

Inks: Baja Breeze, Basic Grey.

Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Basic Grey Taffeta Ribbon, Laughter and Love Rub ons, Urban West Rub ons (retired), Paper snips, Piercing tool and Mat Pack.

Images copyright 1990-2009 Stampin’ Up!

Bella Bleu Card

Posted in Baroque Motifs, Cards, Designer Series Paper, Pocket Silhouette by

The Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper is another which I just adore but have hardly used, so again, I thought it was time I used some instead of admiring it 🙂  I tried to make a card in a vintage style, since I think this paper lends itself particularly well to vintage, and also because I don’t do a lot in this style.  I’m not really sure if I succeeded, but I like the end result anyway.  Hope you do, too.

Sorry this is such a short post, but it has been a busy day (again), but I will be back soon with more cards.

Chris

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Pocket Silhouettes.

Cardstock: Kraft, Not Quite Navy, Bella Bleu DSP.

Inks: Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Sponge Dauber, Vintage Brads, Kraft Tafetta Ribbon.

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990 – 2009 Stampin’ Up!

Double Layout Scrapbook Page

Posted in Designer Series Paper, Fifth Avenue Floral, Scrap Pages by

Another scrapbook “challenge” from one of the stamping yahoo groups I belong to, this challenge was a double page layout sketch.  And again, I really enjoyed completing this challenge, it fell into place really easily, and I have spent a very relaxing couple of hours today completing it.

The photos are again from our trip to Fiji in 2004.  I like to leave out the journalling when I put my scrapbook pages up here, as I like to keep some things private 🙂 but I do generally go back and add the journalling in at some stage.  However, I often don’t use a lot of journalling on my pages, sometimes just the date and place of the photos, and other times I feel there is a need for more information.  But like all things in scrapbooking, there are no rules, so do what you want to do with your scrapbook pages!

I have been doing quite a lot of stamping in the past few days, so I will post again tomorrow with some cards.  Until then, happy stamping!

Chris

Stamp Set: Fifth Avenue Floral

Cardstock: Bordering Blue Textured, Basic Grey Textured, Whisper White, Urban Oasis Designer Series Paper.

Inks: Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Basic Grey marker

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack, Paper Snips, Blender Pen, Marker.

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990-2009 Stampin’ Up!

Watercolour Blooms

Posted in Bloom Away, Cards, Designer Series Paper by

These cold wintery days in Canberra are good for one thing, and one thing only….. stamping! 🙂 The weather here has been bitterly cold and miserable, and I am looking forward to seeing more and more flowers starting to bloom.  We have some beautiful Camelia’s in bloom in our garden and there is gorgeous yellow wattles starting to show themselves, which is a sure sign that spring isn’t all that far away.  Today I have really enjoyed watercolouring some of the Australian native flower stamps from the Bloom Away set.  I am holding a class in August where we will be making this card, along with three others using the Bloom Away set.  Go to my Upcoming Events page to find out more details, and make sure you contact me to book in.

Stamp Set: Bloom Away

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Watercolour paper, Bella Rose Designer Series Paper.

Inks: Black Stazon, Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke.

Accessories: Chocolate Chip Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread, Scallop Edge Punch, Sponge Daubers, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack.

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990 – 2009 Stampin’ Up!

Some Family Time and a Hostess Gift

Posted in 3D, Baroque Motifs, Great Friend by

My blog posts have been few and far between recently, so I do apologise to those of you who are regular visitors.  I have been spending a little more time with my family and doing things together as a family, which has been lots of fun.  This is one of the reasons I just love being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator – I decide how much time I want to put into my business and when.  It is good to know that I have that flexibility but can still earn an income while I stay at home with Jamie.  Yesterday the three of us went for a bit of an excursion up to Black Mountain Tower.  For those of you who do not live in the Canberra area, this tower sits on top of Black Mountain which is quite central in Canberra and the views across the whole of Canberra are just amazing.  We can see the tower from parts of our house and Jamie is always asking about it so we thought it was time to go and have a look up close.  Here are some photos taken from the tower. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did however, hold a workshop on Saturday afternoon, and just thought I would share with you the Gift that I gave to my hostess, Debbie.  I did have fun making this, as it is a little different!  The design on the outside of the container is embossed with silver embossing powder, and heated, as you normally would when embossing on cardstock.  Be aware though, if you want to try it at home, the versamark on metal can be very slippery so it is easy to slide the stamp around creating a blurred image.  And the metal gets quite hot when you heat the powder!  Not necessarily a bad thing in this cold winter weather 🙂  And I did, of course, fill it with chocolates before I gave it away.  Can’t have a container without chocolates!  Hope you enjoy them, Debbie, and thanks for an enjoyable afternoon of stamping.

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs, Great Friend (available 1st August 2009).

Inks: Versamark

Accessories: Silver Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Kiwi Kiss/Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon

Artwork copyright Chris Parker-Barnes

Images copyright 1990-2009 Stampin’ Up!