Washi Tape Butterflies

I was really happy when Stampin’ Up! brought out Washi Tape – it’s so much fun to play with!  How cute are these Washi butterflies?  They are just created with some Whisper white cardstock, with Gingham Garden Washi Tape stuck on it, and then the butterflies are punched out.  Simple!

I have made some Quick and Easy 3×3 (that’s inches!) Note Cards, to play along with this week’s challenge at Friday Mashup.  Lots of cool inspiration there this week for ways to use Washi Tape on your cards.
I have been getting some crafting time in today, so will have a few more things to share with you soon.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Wetlands Stamp-a-Stack

Here are the cards that we made at my Wetlands Stamp-a-Stack on Wed evening.  We all had a good time, lots of laughs, creativity and the lovely ladies went home with 6 cards each.

Keeping things short and sweet today, lots of “stuff” going on in my life at present, mostly to do with a new kitchen that is starting to take shape.  So crafting has taken a bit of a back seat for a while, but I assure that won’t continue for long!! 🙂  So keep checking back, I might even post some kitchen photos soon.

Happy stamping!
Chris

Soho Subway

This is one of my favourite patterned papers from this year’s Annual Catalogue, it’s great for those masculine projects.
So with Father’s Day fast approaching us here in Australia (1st September), I thought I would offer a class using the Soho Subway DSP, and we will make a card plus a holder for those store Gift Cards, or some other small gift.

Of course, you could use it for a birthday gift or any other special occasion.

You need to contact me to book into the class, which will be held at my place (hopefully with most of the major renovations completed by then!!) on Wed 28th August at 7.30pm, or Saturday 31st August at 2pm.  Please send me an email if you would like to come as places are limited.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Herringbone Cards

Last night I ran a class making some cards which used the Herringbone Technique, at the suggestion of one of my lovely stamping ladies.  I had so much fun, and really enjoyed playing with this new technique.
The first card we made used strips of patterned paper.  This one uses the gorgeous Venetian Romance.

 

I have kept the rest of the card as simple as possible to allow the background pattern to be the feature, and just used the Thanks a Bunch stamp from the Friendship Preserves stamp set, and the Window Frames Framelit Collection.
I made one using some retired papers to show how different the card could look, depending on which papers you used. It’s a great way to use up some of that stash of retired papers that you have sitting around!

The we used the same technique, only using Washi Tape instead of patterned papers, and made two cards using the two different sets of Washi Tape available in the Annual Catalogue (Page 171).  The first one is a lovely bright and cheery card using the gorgeous colours of the Gingham Garden Washi Tape.  And the second card using the Epic Day This and That Washi Tape to create a great masculine card.

 

 

 

The tutorial for this technique can be found here.
I hope you will give it a try, it is such an effective technique and heaps of fun!
Happy stamping!
Chris

Wildflower Meadow

I finally got some time over the last couple of days to do some stamping, we have so much going on at present that finding the time to stamp has not been easy.
I wanted to do something a little different with the the Wildflower Meadow embossing folder, and here is what I came up with.

Lots of sponging on this one, however I like the vintage look.  The colours I have used are Blushing Bride, Pistachio Pudding and Baked Brown Sugar.  The butterflies are from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and the greeting from the hostess set Banner Greetings.
Promise to be back soon with some more of my creations.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Date change for Stamp-a-Stack

Just a very quick update today, I have been unwell over the past few days and as a result will be changing the date of the Christmas in July Stamp-a-Stack.  Here are the details:

**Wed 24th July at 7.30pm** Please take note of the change of date!
Make 6 cards (3 of 2 designs).  This fun class will help you to get a head start on your Christmas cards this year!  $18 includes all materials except adhesives and envelopes.  Please bring your own adhesives or contact me in advance to purchase some.  Beginners most welcome!
Places are definitely limited, so book your seat by sending me an email or calling 0449976203.

Look forward to seeing you at the stamp-a-stack!
Happy stamping,
Chris

My Crafty Friends….

I was very honoured to be asked to participate in “My Crafty Friends Monday” with Josee Smuck at Stamping Jo.  Josee is a fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrator in Canada, and is highlighting some cards made using the Swallowtail stamp set.
You can see the card that Josee has featured on her blog here.   I thought I would also share another card using the Swallowtail stamp.  This is a card we made at a recent class using the Direct Ink to cardstock technique.

100_8905

We had heaps of fun in this class.  The background ink has been added using a back and forth motion with the ink pad directly on the Whisper White cardstock to create the swirly pattern.  The colours in the background are Wisteria Wonder and the now retired Pretty in Pink.  And the beautiful butterfly is inked in Elegant Eggplant.
If you live in Australia and would like to place an order for this gorgeous stamp, just pop on over to my site which is here.  The Wood Mount version is $30.95 (131943) and the Clear Mount version is $24.95 (129216)  – Page 71 of the catalogue.
If you live in Canberra, just send me an email or call me on 0449976203 to book in to some of the fun classes I run regularly.

Again, a huge thanks to the lovely Stamping Jo for asking me to join in the fun today.  Make sure you check out some of the other Swallowtail inspiration here.

 

Happy stamping!
Chris

 

New Trends

Banners, flags, arrows, grunge, splatters and washi tape.  Yes, they are all very trendy at the moment and heaps of fun to play with.  I am loving this look, although I still love my vintage cards too, but it’s nice to get into something a bit more modern too.

This card has a lot of those new trends.  It was a “Make and Take” that we received at the recent Stampin’ Up! Convention, which I have very slightly modified.
It is a single layer card (something which I am not good at!) and uses the Gorgeous Grunge and Hello,Lovely stamp sets, and a strip of Washi tape, as well as one of the gorgeous new Very Vintage Designer Buttons.

Hope you are having a crafty day.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Treat box and matching card

We used lots of goodies from the new Stampin’ Up! Annual Catalogue to create our Treat Boxes and matching cards at my catalogue launch.

The base cardstock is in the colour Soft Sky, isn’t it just so pretty?  We used some of the Gingham Garden papers (Page 153 Annual Catalogue)  to create the large gingham banner, which was layered over one our pretty Paper Doilies(Page 156).
The flower has been made using the Mosaic Madness stamp set, and matching Mosaic Punch, in Crisp Cantaloupe and Old Olive.  The cute little peg to hold the top of the box together is from the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit on Page 158.

This Treat Box is really simple, great for gifts, party favours, Christmas…..
Here is a masculine version which I have made from the Natural Composition Specialty papers (Page 150), which I have given a light sponge with Early Espresso ink to give it an aged look.

If you would like to order the products to make these, please click here, or send me an email.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Goodie Bags

I just wanted to pop up a quick post this evening to share the good bags that I made for my catalogue launch parties this week.  I love the way Stampin’ Up! co-ordinates things so beautifully.
I have used plain brown paper bags to put everyone’s catalogues and other goodies into, which I have then added some of the new patterned papers to, and a matching tag.

In this case I have used the gorgeous Eastern Elegance Designer Series Papers (Page 154 Annual Catalogue), with a strip of Crushed Curry cardstock.   The tag has been made using the Chalk Talk stamp set (Page 12) and matching Chalk Talk Framelits (Page 187), along with some of the gorgeous new Chevron Ribbon in Smokey Slate (Page 173).
The photo doesn’t do justice to the colours, we had rather a dull day here in Canberra today, so it was a bit difficult to take a better  photo.
Did you miss out?  I will post a photo tomorrow of the some of the projects we made.  Make sure you stay tuned, and also look out for more classes and stamping get togethers being announced soon.  All classes have a limited seating so please contact me to let me know that you are would like to come along.  I can cater for complete beginners in most of my classes.

Happy Stamping!
Chris