I’m still here….

Posted in Cards, Clear Mount Stamps, Cottage Garden, Tiny Tags by

…..really I am!  And just to prove it, I am going to post a card!

There, you see, I have been doing some stamping.  But only a little.
I made this card for a workshop which I did a couple of weeks ago, during one of the few days when I have not been ill over the past few months.  I managed to get the workshop done and order in etc just in time to come down with the next bout of illness.  But I feel as though I am on the mend and am looking forward to getting back into stamping and running classes and workshops.
Unfortunately I missed out on this year’s Stampin’ Up! convention because my lovely boy, Jamie, had pneumonia and was very sick.  And as it turns out, I had a very bad throat infection that weekend and couldn’t speak for two days, so it was probably just as well that I couldn’t get there.
Anyway, this card was a nice simple one, perfect for one of my beginners workshops.  The girls also got to use some of the new clear mount blocks and stamps, so that they could feel how lovely they are to use, as well as sampling those gorgeous new colours. And I demonstrated to the workshop guests, how to dress that same card up, and make it just a bit more exciting and interesting.  So here is the “upgraded” version.

Stamp Sets: Cottage Garden, Tiny Tags.

Cardstock: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive, Whisper White.

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Old Olive.

Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool and Mat Pack, White Gel Pen, Paper Snips, Scallop Edge Punch, Medium Jewelry Tag Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Melon Mambo Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Clips Assortment.

Aren’t those colours just gorgeous! 
I am currently in the process of working out dates for my upcoming classes, so make sure you check back over the next day or so to see what exciting things I have in store for you.  Most of them will use some new stamps, punches and accessories from the current mini catalogue.
I will also come back with some exciting news from Stampin’ Up!
In the meantime, happy stamping,
Chris

Fundraising and some time out

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Wow, look at this box full of Stampin’ Up! goodies that arrived on my doorstep last week.  This box is full to overflowing with product which was donated by Stampin’ Up! for my fundraising night.  What an incredible, and very generous company.

How can you get your hands on some of these goodies? 
You could come along to my Cancer Council fundraising night which will be held on Friday 7th May at 7.30pm.  Each person will pay a $10 entry fee which will go straight to the cancer council, and for your $10 you will get to make some cards to take home, and also get a bag of goodies to take with you.  There will also be prizes, raffles, auctions, tea, coffee and nibblies, and lots of stamping fun!   If you have never stamped before, you are still most welcome, you can have a go and I will be there to help everyone out.

And for those of you interstate or who can’t make it on the night, all you need to do is to make a donation online, and I will send you a thank you pack in the mail! 
But please start putting your donations through, otherwise I am going to have a huge amount of work all at once! 🙂

And on that note, I have decided that I need to take a little more time out.  The past five years have been full of incredibly stressful events for us, with both of my parents diagnosed with cancer at around the same time, my Mum spent 5 months in hospital, my Dad was having Chemo and then radiation during this time.  A few months later, Jamie was born, and then five months after that my Dad passed away from the lung cancer that was a very aggresssive form.  Following that my Mum had a fall and a hip replacement, then she moved house, we moved house twice, and then of course in the last six months or so, I have been caring for Mum through another bought of cancer which took her life. 
So through all of this I have had little, if any, time for me, and my health both physically and mentally, as well as many other parts of our personal lives, are in great need of some TLC!
So I have decided that all classes will be on hold until the start of June.  This will give me a chance to recharge the batteries and get some inspiration back.
I will continue to try to post some of my new creations, and will also bring you news and new ideas from the Stampin’ Up! convention which is happening at the end of May. 
I will be taking bookings for workshops now for the start of June and into the rest of the year, so get in quick if you are interested in earning FREE Stampin’ Up! products, workshops are heaps of fun, and always very popular, and I will be limiting the number of workshops I do each month.  Just contact me if you want to know more, or check out the Host a Workshop page.
I will also be taking orders during this time, so if you need to place orders just give me a call or email.
So, happy stamping for the time being,
Chris

Pendant Park Swap

Posted in Big Shot, Cards, Pendant Park by

Pendant Park is one of the new stamp sets from the Autumn / Winter Mini Catalogue, and one that I thought would have a lot of use and that I could do a lot with.  And I have used it to make some swaps that I recently took part in with other members of the ESAD group.
I have done a lot of sponging with this one.  You could use a brayer to do the background, but I prefer the more subtle look of the sponging.

Stamp Set: Pendant Park

Cardstock: Whisper White, Soft Suede.

Inks: Versamark, Soft Suede, Baja Breeze, Basic Grey, Mellow Moss, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust.

Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Word Window Punch, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Sponges.

It’s something a little different to my usual style, but I enjoyed it, and will definitely be doing more like it.

Don’t forget to check out my “Classes” page for some new classes coming up.
Keep stamping
Chris

Sympathy Cards

Posted in Cards by

Sympathy cards are really difficult to make, but, I have been lucky enough to receive quite a number of beautiful handmade sympathy cards over the past few weeks, and wanted to share them with you, and to give the creators a huge thank you.  I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me that each of you put the effort into making and sending such lovely cards.  And I wanted you also to see, that sympathy cards don’t have to be done in certain colours or styles, they don’t have to be anything in particular, and these are all different, but gorgeous!

This first card was made by the very talented Debbie Fearns.  I am lucky enough to have Debbie in my downline, and very grateful to have her and her family as close friends.  Debbie has used her Big Shot and the new Top Note Die for this card.

This one is from Carolyn MacPherson, again Carolyn has used the Big Shot, this time with an embossing folder:

From Annette MacMillan:

This next one is from a friend who, as far as I know, has never done any classes in card making, and tells me that I inspired her to make her own cards.  She has hand drawn the tree and this card is just stunning in real life.  Thank you Carly, for the effort that went into this card.

From Carly Clough:

From my Secret Sister: – love this colour combination – it uses Soft Suede, one of the new In Colours, in combination with Baja Breeze.

From Kerri Donsky, a fellow demonstrator in Queensland:

And from Paula Allcock, also a demonstrator:

I am having some problems formatting this page, so my apologies if it comes out looking a bit odd!  But I am sure you can decipher it!

Happy Sunday Stamping! 🙂
Chris

Cinema Saturday Challenge

Posted in Big Shot, Cards, On Your Birthday, Vintage Vogue by

In recent times I have really been struggling to find my “mojo”.  It’s not surprising, I suppose, with everything that has been going on, but stamping has just become a struggle rather than something that I love to do.  So, it was definitely time to get back into some of those challenges that I enjoy doing, in the hope that things might start to pick up a little.
And what better way than to go back to one of my favourite challenges, Cinema Saturday Creative Challenges.  And it just so happens that this week’s movie is Sense and Sensibility, which is a movie that I just adore.  I am totally into period movies and books, but this one is definitely a favourite.
The challenge is to create a card, inspired by the movie, and which is a CAS Card, meaning Clean and Simple. Here is what I came up with.

I have used some plain Whisper White cardstock for the base, stamped the greeting in the yummy new Soft Suede ink, then run it through the Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, just to give the background a nice subtle texture.  The heart is Bashful Blue cardsock, punched out with the large Heart Punch, and then stamped using the Vintage Vogue stamp set from the new mini catalogue, in Old Olive ink. I have stamped the small flower also from Vintage Vogue onto white cardstock with Bashful Blue ink, cut out the flower, and then sponged around both the flower and heart using daubers and Soft Suede ink.  The button is from the Playground buttons from the previous mini (ie retired) and has a tiny piece of white cardstock threaded through, just to give that finishing touch.
It was quite a quick and easy card to make but I know just who to send this one to!  Thanks for stopping by.  I will be posting some of the items that we will be making at tonight’s catalogue launch, so make sure you come back and have a look at those.
Happy stamping
Chris

My Sad News

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**Thank you to all of you have left such wonderful messages and emails of love and support, your thoughts are very much appreciated.**

I just wanted to let you all know that I won’t be blogging for a little while, as my beautiful and beloved Mum passed away at 4am this morning, only 8 days before her 80th birthday.
She will be sorely missed.
This photo of Mum with Jamie was taken on Christmas Day.  It is a bit hard to believe that was only three months ago.  How quickly things can change.
So if you are lucky enough to still have a Mum, make sure you call her and tell her just how much she means to you. 

I will resume classes again in a few weeks time, but in the meantime, happy stamping!

Chris

Cards for our Aussie Troops

Posted in Cards by

I recently came across an amazing lady, Karen Cummings, who last year collected hundreds of handmade cards to send to our Australian troops overseas, so that they could send cards home to their families for Christmas. 

She is currently collecting cards for Mother’s Day, so I am putting the call out there to all of you cardmakers, lets show our support for our fabulous armed forces.

As a former serving member myself , (although I wasn’t lucky enough to serve overseas), I know just how difficult it is to be isolated and away from family and loved ones for long periods of time.  I also understand just how hard it is for the families left back at home, and how much the correspondence means to both parties.
So, lets see how many we can make.  They don’t have to be complicated, just a nice handmade card that someone can send home to their Mum for Mother’s Day. 

I will be collecting cards until Friday 26th March, so please, if you can put aside 10 minutes a week over the next couple of weeks, it will mean so much to someone’s Mum!
If you would prefer to send them straight to Karen, just click on the link above and email her for her address. And please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Thanks in advance,
Chris

Matching Card

Posted in Big Shot, Cards, On Your Birthday by

There, I told you I would be back today with the card that matches the box from yesterday’s post.  But only a very short post today, as I have a busy day.  It is my lovely husband’s birthday today!

Anyway, here is the card, using the wonderful new Cottage Garden stamp set, which comes in both wood mount and clear mount.  I have the clear mount version. And I have used the colours of the Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper, which are Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, the new Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, and of course a little bit of white embossing for the greeting and some dazzling diamonds for the centres of the flowers.
And, I must not forget the all important Big Shot and Top Note Die, which I have used to cut out the white layer.  Both the Big Shot and Top Note Die will be available through me from Stampin’ Up! from 1st April – how exciting is that??? 🙂
Hope you have a lovely day! Chris

Birthday Boxes

Posted in 3D, A Rose is a Rose, Boxes by

Yesterday was a public holiday here in Canberra, and was also my lovely sister’s birthday.  She was very, very lucky because I used some of my new goodies from the Autumn / Winter catalogue to make her card and gift box.
This first box is one I made for the gift from my Mum to my sister, and it matches the Tri-Shutter card from this post.  It uses Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red cardstock and inks, as well as Kiwi Kiss Ink, and features A Rose is a Rose Stamp Set.  The ribbons are not Stampin’ Up! but are from my large stash!

The second box I made to hold a photo frame.  The frame was from one of the $2 shops and cost me…. $2! But shhhhhh don’t tell my sister that.  I have used the Planter Box Rub-ons to decorate it and am quite pleased with how it came out.  I did try to take a photo of it out of the box but it didn’t turn out very well, but you get the idea.
And the box is made from Orchid Opulence cardstock for the base, clear acetate for the lid, and the belly band is made from the absolutely divine Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper.  I have also used the Cottage Garden Stamp Set for the three little flowers that decorate it.  And don’t forget, you can order these both from 1st April, although personally, I don’t know how you can stand to wait that long! 🙂

There is a matching card to go with this box as well, but I thought I might keep you in suspense a little and save it until tomorrow!!

So until then, happy stamping,
Chris