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

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.

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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

Introducing Mosaic Madness

Ok, yes it has been a while since my last post, not quite sure where the time has gone…… anyway, I am sure you have been getting your inspiration elsewhere, and you may have noticed just how popular anything and everything mosaic is right now.  As always, Stampin’ Up! are onto this trend and in the new catalogue which is only a week away from release, includes the fantastic Mosaic Madness stamp set.

My card features the Mosaic Madness stamp set, the matching punch, and also the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder.  You might also notice that the colour is not a familiar one…. this is Pistachio Pudding, one of the gorgeous range of new In Colours.

Talking about all the new goodies from the new catalogue, you can come along to my Catalogue Launch dates, Thursday 4th July at 7.30pm or Sun 7th July at 2pm.  Send me an email for more details.

I think I might just be able to squeeze this card in for the current challenge with the girls over at Freshly Made Sketches, and I promise to be back with more ideas and projects for you soon.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

More Triple Time Stamping!

I thought I would show you the cards we made last week in the Triple Time Stamping classes, I really enjoyed making these as did those who attended.  So pay attention if you missed out, you could have come along and made these too!! 🙂

We started off making a Christmas card……  yes, Christmas… it’s never too early to start your collection of lovely handmade Christmas cards.

This one uses the stamp set Lovely as a Tree, and the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Sentiments.  It could, of course be a masculine birthday card rather than a Christmas card, but in any case the idea was to introduce the Triple Stamping technique with just two layers of stamped cardstock to see how it all goes together.

The second card uses the gorgeous Swallowtail stamp, combined with Papillon Potpourri, and the colours Pool Party and Island Indigo. 

And last but not least, a masculine card which uses The Open Sea stamp set, and in the background some patterned paper from the Sunshine and Sprinkles Designer Series Papers, and the Cloudy Day embossing folder.

This is such a great technique and creates gorgeous and unusual cards.  I have a couple more that I have made as samples that I will share with you soon.
Happy stamping!
Chris