Sketch Challenge

I have been enjoying doing some colouring in the last few days, I find colouring very relaxing!  So I thought I would make a card for this week’s Freshly Made Sketches Challenge.
Here is the sketch:

I have used my Blendabilities to colour the Sweetbriar Rose which I stamped with Black Memento Ink.

I wanted this card to be nice and colourful, so I have borrowed the colour combination from the Sweet Taffy DSP – Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, and Rich Razzleberry.  The piece of yellow striped paper is, of course, from Sweet Taffy DSP, and just some white baker’s twine and button, and some yellow candy dots to finish it off.

Happy stamping!
Chris

August Stamps in Your Letterbox

The feature stamp set for the month of August and for Stamps in Your Letterbox is Kinda Eclectic (Page 164 of the Catalogue). This is a really versatile stamp set and heaps of fun to use, so for those of you who are signed up for Stamps in Your Letterbox, you are in for a treat this month!

Today I am sharing a pouch card which I have made using not only Kinda Eclectic, but also the Envelope Punch Board.  The card fits into one of our standard size envelopes so that you can send it in the mail.

 

The card itself is a flat card, like a post card, but there is plenty of room for writing on it, and it slides into a decorated pouch made using the Envelope Punch Board.

 

I have used some of the bright and cheery papers from the Sweet Taffy Designer Series Papers (Page 186), and the “Birthday Greetings” comes from the Four You Stamp Set.  They are a little hard to see in the photo, but I have added a little bling with some Sequins (Page 208) on the butterflies, along with some Thick Baker’s Twine (Page 207) around the top of the card to make it easier to pull the card out of the pouch.

It’s not too late to take part in Stamps in Your Letterbox for August, just contact me to sign up, and you can find out more information here.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

CCC06

Creative Challenge Club‘s challenge No 6 this week, is a colour challenge to use the colours Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Basic Black and one other colour.

I have chosen Melon Mambo for my extra colour, only because I wanted to use my Blendabilities 🙂 well, ok, not the only reason, I also like the bright summery colours – winter is a bit dull here in Australia at present.

The gorgeous flowers on this card from one of the current Hostess Sets called I Like You (on page 237 of the Catalogue).  They are an outline stamp, so perfect for colouring!

On the note of Blendabilities, the remainder of the colours will be available to order this coming Friday (1st August 2014), so contact me if you would like to get some, or all of the gorgeous colours to play with! 🙂

Happy stamping!
Chris

Blooom with Hope

I have had such a busy week or so, and I promise that I will share some of what we have been doing, and not just stamping and crafting!  We are just loving our new home and having heaps of fun exploring the area. Some photos will follow soon. 🙂

I made this set of cards as a thank you to a lovely hostess for all her work in getting a group of ladies organised for a morning of stamping recently, and have used the gorgeous new hostess set (available 1st July with the new catalogue) called Bloom with Hope.  And of course I had to have another play with my Blendabilities!
The colours are not great as I was taking the photos at night. The cards are actually made with Whisper White Cardstock!

There are six cards in all, using different images from the stamp set and different colours of Blendabilities.

I have also used some pieces of a new stack of patterned papers called Moonlight DSP – gorgeous combination of colours!

 

We are having a bit of a joke at our house at the moment, my response to doing anything other than stamping involves me speaking like a petulant child and saying “but I want to colour in!”  🙂
Blendabilities are so much fun!  Can’t take life too seriously. 🙂
And last but definitely not least…. Mr Pumpkin Head!  Now, I know it is not Halloween, but it is winter here in Australia and we decided to have fun with a pumpkin and make a Jack o Lantern.  Not bad for our first try. He looks fabulous all lit up at night.

If you live in Cooma, NSW or the surrounding area and would like to find out more about my stamping classes and parties, please feel free to contact me.  Leave a comment, or send me an email and I’ll get back to you.  And yes, I am still doing parties and classes in Canberra as well.

Hope you are having a crafty day!
Happy stamping!
Chris

Blendabilities are beautiful!

Blendabilities are the newest and hottest product to arrive from Stampin’ Up!  I love the fact that, as a demonstrator, I get to pre-order lots of goodies from the new catalogue.
Blendabilities are an alcohol based marker, a little like Copics (only better!) and I was so excited when I heard that Stampin’ Up! were bringing these out.
I have had a quick play with a set, and just wanted to share with you my first attempt.  So, here is a bit of sneak peek of some new products that will be available to you soon.

 

The stamp is called Blended Bloom, isn’t it gorgeous?  And it’s fantastic for learning to use the Blendabilities.
Not sure if you would consider this to be Watercolouring, it is like watercolouring only with alcohol based ink.  So I am going to add my card to this week’s challenge with the girls at Just Add Ink.  Hope they don’t mind that I did Alcohol Colouring!
Well, I am off to play with my new toys! 🙂
Happy Stamping!
Chris

 

 

 

Petite Petals

I have a few new goodies to play with and share with you, from the current Occasions catalogue, and my card today uses some of them.  I have used the Petite Petals stamp set and matching punch.

 

The card was inspired by this week’s sketch from Lesley at Always Playing with Paper.
The colour combination is Rich Razzleberry, Pistachio Pudding and Smoky Slate, and I have used some of that gorgeous Silver Baker’s Twine. There is a little bit of background splattering which is from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, and the sentiment from the Four You stamp set.

Happy stamping!
Chris

Mojo Monday 336

I am enjoying taking part in some different challenges at the moment, it is definitely helping to get the mojo flowing!
This week’s Mojo Monday sketch has inspired a few ideas, so I might just be making a couple of cards for this one.
Here is the sketch:

 

My card uses the lovely Simply Sketched Hostess stamp set, and I have just kept the image really simple so that the shapes in the layout of the card become more of a feature.  I have also used the Needlepoint Border Embossing folder to create the horizontal feature lines, and the Circles Collection Framelits to cut out the two circles.

This is such a versatile sketch, you could do so many things with it.  Why don’t you have a go too? 🙂
Happy stamping!
Chris

Time to share…..

My computer was out of action for such a long time that I have quite a few photos here of things to share with you, so I will post up a few now, and perhaps some more in another post tomorrow.

This is a really pretty project I made using the Envelope Punch Board – I’m not sure what you would call it, an Envelope Card perhaps…..


Anyway, it’s just making the envelope and then putting a flat piece of stamped cardstock into the centre, then making a belly band to go around to hold the envelope part closed.

I have used the Gingham Garden papers, the Mixed Bunch and  Morning Meadow (Hostess set) stamp sets.
I love how bright and cheery this card is, especially now that the cooler Autumn weather has arrived here.  Still, it’s a good excuse to stay out of the chilly wind and do some crafting!

I am entering this card in this week’s challenge at The Paper Players – they are looking for a clean and simple card celebrating spring!
Happy stamping!
Chris

Freshly Made Sketch #126

Yes I am still here….. I have had a few other things to deal with recently with all of us in our household coming down with the dreaded cold bug that is around in Canberra at present.  We are all on the mend, and getting back to “normal” – not sure that “normal” really describes our familyin any way……
I think my computer also came down with it, I had to take it to the doctor to get it fixed too.
Anyway, yes I have done some stamping! Yay…. 🙂
I love this week’s card sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, and just had to have a go.

I have used the gorgeous Watercolour Wonder papers along with the Springtime Hello stamp set.  Lots of layers in this one, and of course some faux stitching as a finishing touch.  I just love the different angles of the layers in this sketch, they really create some interesting lines. The card may look crooked in this photo, but it’s not…. not really 🙂
What do you think?  I enjoyed using some different colours for this card, yellows and oranges are not colours I use a lot, but I felt like something bright and cheerful!
Happy Canberra Day for those of us in the nation’s capital, it has been a glorious autumn day, but definitely feels like summer is still here.
Until next time, Happy Stamping!
Chris

Sweet Sorbet

Using more of the Sweet Sorbet Designer Series Paper today, and of course my fabulous Envelope Punch Board, to create another cute gift set.

The card also features the Love You More stamp set (#131853 Clear, #131850 Wood), which is available during the “Whole Lot of Love” promotion until the 27th January 2014 or until sold out.  And while this set is a Valentine‘s set, I think this particular one has a whole lot of other uses! 🙂

And I have lined one of the standard white Stampin’ Up! envelopes with the papers to match the set.

This cute little pouch can be made in a number of different sizes using the same sized piece of patterned paper, just changing where the punches are made to create the different sizes and shapes.  It just uses a belly band around to keep the pouch closed, but is so quick and easy to make – perfect for those last minute gifts.

 

The idea came from a fellow demonstrator from the UK Michelle Last, you can see her blog and video on how to make the pouches here.  Thanks for sharing Michelle, love how simple and easy your instructions are.

Hope you are celebrating the holiday season with some crafting time too!
Happy stamping!
Chris