Masculine Traveller

Hi Friends

Well this will be my last post for this week, as I am going away for the weekend so remember to pop back next week to see what I have to show you, or subscribe via email to my blog then you will never miss another post again.

I CASEd this card from Jan Tink, you can find her card here.

One of the very few guys at work has invited us all out to lunch yesterday to help him celebrate his birthday.  I really like Cliffy he has always been very kind and generous to the payroll team and shows his appreciation for all we do.  Which, to be honest, is a really nice change, as most of our customers never show their appreciation for all we do for them week from week.

Anyway, as I have said in the past masculine cards are always a difficult thing, I think I may not be alone in this thinking.  I found this card by Jan Tink on Pinterest and decided it was soooo good I just had to case it.  The only thing that is different between my card and Jan’s is that I think I added a couple of extra mats of Basic Black card stock.

The card base and the first mat is Basic Black card stock, I then stamped the now retired World Map background stamp onto Whisper White card stock with Black StazOn ink.  I think wrapped some retired ribbon around this mat.  Again Basic Black and Whisper White card stock were used for the two smaller mats and the boat from another retired (sorry :() stampe set called Traveller was stamped in Basic Black Classic ink.  The technique used to make this image is called the Reflection Technique and although it can be a bit fiddly it really is effective.  All you do is stamp your image onto your card stock, then stamp the image again onto a piece of acetate, turn it over and line up the image on the acetate with the stamped image and press firmly to transfer the ink from the acetate onto the card stock.  Hint** Make sure your inkpad is really well inked up so when doing the reflection image you get a good transfer.  It took me several attempts before I was happy with it.

I then used my Blender Pen to “smudge” the black ink to make it look like water and then used my white Gel Pen to make the wake.  It looks really effective once it’s done and dries a bit.

I kept the inside nice and clean so there is lots of room for everyone to write their birthday greeting.  The stamped greeting inside is the Guy Greetings stamp set.

If you would like to learn how to make a card using the Reflection Technique, contact me today and we can arrange an in-house workshop where I can teach you and a 2-3 friends how to do it.  All products that aren’t retired can be purchased from my Stampin’ Up! shop by either clicking on the links within this post or the shopping trolley to the left hand side.

Happy stamping!!

Tina xo

You’ve Got This Thank You

Hi Friends

So my up upline Shannean has put out a challenge to the team to create a card using the brand new You’ve Got This #139572  stamp set but with a twist.

If you search for images of this stamp set on Pinterest you will see lots and lots of gorgeous cards but I feel they are all so very similiar.  Some stamp sets are just like that, everyone seems to have the same idea of how to use it, and therefore all the cards you see made with the stamp set seem to be so very similiar to each other.

Well we were having this discussion last weekend and it prompted Shani to put out this challenge to us all.  I always love a challenge and really who wouldn’t miss an oportunity to craft if you get handed one.  So I sat down at my craft table and tried to come up with something different.

I know what type of card I wanted to make, that was the easy part, it was the “twist” that was a bit difficult.  When I first made this card I thought “Yep I have made something with a “twist”, however, the more I look at it I realize it really isn’t that much different to what I have seen on Pinterest.

I made an easel card, a style of card I just love, that learnt to make from the fabulous Bronwyn Eastley’s blog.  I was lucky enough to actually meet Bronwyn at last year’s Stampin’ Up! Convention, which was a huge thrill to me.  She is such a lovely lady.

As I needed to make a thank-you card I thought I would combine it with this challenge.  This is what I came up with.

I got the idea of doing the multi-coloured background from a post I saw on Facebook.  Such a cute way to mix it up a bit.  The flower was stamped onto the background stamp in Black StazOn ink and then I cut the flower out a couple of times and added several layers on top of each other for dimension.  Dimensionals are great for doing this and make it so quick and easy.

The colours I used for the background are Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Tempting Turquoise & Soft Sky ink pads.

The card is made with Night of Navy card stock, with a mat of Soft Sky card stock  and Whisper White card stock.

The greeting is from a retired stamp set, but as I have said previously you could always swap it out for a greeting from one of our gorgeous current greeting stamp sets.  As always I added some bling with some Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  The absolute last thing I did was coat the flower with Crystal Effects to make it look shiny and pop.

As I said this is an easel card, do you want to see what it looks like when it’s open?

I love how this type of card looks when it’s open.  They are so very easy to make, if you would like to learn how to make an easel card contact me today and I can arrange to come to your house and hold a demonstration with you and a couple of friends and show you how easy they really are.

I love hearing your comments so please leave me your thoughts by clicking on the little red love heart in top right hand corner.

I’m going away this weekend so I won’t get a chance to craft so all going well I will make a couple between now and the weekend.

Happy stamping!!

Tina xo

Stippled Blossoms for Mum

Hi Friends

I hope you are enjoying me getting back to regular posting.  I try to post on a regular basis but as we all know sometimes life can interfer with our best intentions.

Do you like my new method of writing my posts?  I thought it might be more user friendly for you if I not only provide item numbers for the current products that I used to make my cards but also provide links directly to my Stampin’ Up! shop for that particular product, just in case you want to get your own.

I love this card that I made for my mum for her birthday this month.  My mum and our grand-baby celebrate their birthday’s on exactly the same day so it gives me the opportunity to make two very different cards at the same time.

My mum just loves the colour PINK so I always make her a pink themed card.  I also decided to use one of my most favourite stamp sets for this card…the gorgeous but sadly retired Stippled Blossoms.

Again, this is another card that I found on Pinterest and CASED.

Whisper White card stock #106549 was again used for both the card base and the mat.  The stamp set is what we call at Stampin’ Up! as a “Two-Step” stamp set.  Which means you have a base solid stamp and a more detailed partial stamp of the image.

The flowers are stamped in Blushing Bride ink #131172 and Rose Red ink #126954 and I stamped the leaves in Pear Pizzazz ink #131180 and Old Olive ink #126953.

I to make the leaves look like they are behind the flowers I firstly stamped both layers of the flowers and then stamped the flower image onto a Post-It Note (remember to stamp your image up the top of the Post-It Note so you have the sticky bit) and stuck it over the stamped flowers, I then stamped the leaves in both colours.  If you have never used Two-Step stamps remember you always stamp the solid stamp first in a light colour then stamp the more detailed stamp in a darker colour of the top.

Of course if you used Stampin’ Up! wood mount stamps you will most definitely need a Stamp-a-ma-jig #101049 it is a must-have for any stamper. Helps you position stamped images exactly where you want, every time. Instructions are included and its perfect for alphabet sets.  It is an invalulable crafting tool that I think is sometimes overlooked.  If you love wood mount stamps like I do then you definitely need one of these!

The butterflies on this card are punched out with two seperate punches, the larger butterfly is punched out with the Elegant Butterfly punch #127526 and the smaller butterfly is the Bitty Butterfly punch #129406.  Both butterflies have been embossed with another retired embossing folder….sorry about that 😦

This gorgeous greeting is unfortunately also retired but was stamped in Old Olive ink too.  If you look really carefully (you can click on the image to make it larger) you will see some Pearl Basic Jewels #119247 in the middle of the butterfly.

Please leave me your comments by clicking on the little red love heart in the top right hand corner of this post, I always love to hear your thoughts.

Happy stamping!

Tina xo

 

* Sturdy plastic construction
* Nonskid base

 

Sprinkles of Life

Hi Friends

Have you checked out the new Stampin’ Up! catalogue yet?  If not either click on this link or the photo of the latest catalogue on the left hand side of my page.

I always love it when a new cattie is released it is so exciting to see all the fabulous new products Stampin’ Up! have added.

Every year Stampin’ Up! have one special stamp set which is usually at the very back of the catalogue and it is released specifically to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) keeps families together and surrounded by love when their children are receiving medical treatment far from home.  By purchasing this year’s stamp set called Sprinkles of Life, Stampin’ Up! will donate $3.00AUD/$$3.50NZ to RMHC.

To date Stampin’ Up! have contributed over $1,000,000 to RMHC and thier network of local RMHC chapters, you can learn more about how you can help by visiting www.stampinup.com/giving_au or www.stampinup.com/giving_nz.

I must admit in previous years I have usually overlooked this stamp set, and not purchased it.  However, this year at convention we were shown some fantastic ways to use this stamp set and saw some gorgeous card samples.  As a result I purchased the Sprinkles of Life stamp set #139971 $37.00.

With this stamp set you can sprinkle positive thoughts wherever you want. This set is chock-full of positivity that you’ll want to share with everyone.

Our top-quality photopolymer stamps have just enough give to create a perfectly stamped image every time. They’re entirely transparent for perfect image placement, and they adhere well to our clear blocks. You’ll only need one set of blocks for all your photopolymer stamps (blocks sold separately). The stamps come packaged in cases with images on the spine for easy storage and quick reference.

Quantity: 22 photopolymer stamps

Suggested clear blocks (sold separately): a, c, g

Well with a stamp set this cute I just had to use it for my grand-baby’s 7th birthday this month.  Our darling little Holly is growing so quickly and unfortunately we see her so infrequently what with us living at the other end of the country.  However, she knows that Poppy and Nanny Tina are always thinking of her and we always send her something lovely for her birthday.  This year’s presents were a collection of reading books to help her advance her reading skills at school.  Of course with a nanny who likes to make hand-made cards she always receives a special card just for her.

This is a card I found on Pinterest and just loved the simplicity of it so I had to CASE (copy and share everything) it.

Cute hey?  I used A4 Whisper White card stock #106549 as the base and the top mat, and added a mat of A4 Melon Mango card stock #119980 in between which was embossed with the now retired Argyle Embossing Folder.  The ice-cream cones are stamped on Whisper White card stock with retired Baked Brown Sugar ink and then fussy cut out.  The ice-cream is stamped in Daffodil Delight ink #126944 and punched out with the new Tree Builder Punch #138295.  The sprinkles on top are stamped with Melon Mambo ink and the “cherry” on top are Melon Mambo Candy Dots #130931.  The greeting, also from the stamp set Sprinkles of Life is stamped in Melon Mambo ink #126948 and finally I wrapped a piece of Baked Brown Sugar Thick Bakers Twine which is now also retired around the top mat.

I have added links directly to my Stampin’ Up! shop for all the current products mentioned in this post to make it just that little bit easier for you to purchase your own.

I would love to hear your comments and always get such joy from reading them so please leave me your thoughts just by clicking on the little red love heart in the top right hand corner of this post.

Happy stamping!!

Tina xoxo

Robbo’s Birthday Card

Hi Friends

Yes I am still trying to show you all the cards I have made in the past few months.  I am finally starting to get to the end of the backlog… 🙂

Today’s card is one I made back in May for a friend of ours.  If you follow my blog you would know that my husband is the secretary for a very legal, very community minded, militiary motorbike club, called The Patriots MC.

Robbo is the only life-member we have in out chapter up here in Cairns and it was recently his birthday.  As it turned out his birthday fell on a weekend that we were all away on a ride.  So after we had all set up camp and settled in to our motel rooms at Innot Hot Springs I managed to get everyone from the club to sign the card so our president Coops could present it to Robbo.

Obviously as we are a motorbike club the theme of the card wasn’t a real brain bender.  I bought this now retired motorbike stamp several years ago and it really has been worth the money.

I found a card similiar to this on my friend Vicki Burdick’s website, and used her card as my inspiration.

I used Island Indigo card stock for the card base and added a mat of Basic Black card stock and another mat of retired DSP.  The three banners in Basic Black are die cut using SU Banners Framelits and then embossed with a retired embossing folder.  The large Island Indigo scalloped circle was die cut using our Circle Framelits as was the Whisper White circle.

The motorbike is stamped with Black StazOn ink as is the greeting.  I used dimensionals to pop up the large scalloped circle too.

This is a really simple card but I am loving all the layers.

Remember you can always leave me a comment about my posts just by clicking on the little red love heart in the top right hand corner of each post.  I love reading your comments and hearing you thoughts.

If you would like to make a similiar card you can, just by popping on over to my Stampin’ Up! shop and purchasing some supplies.  I know some of these products are retired but you can always purchase a different embossing folder and DSP to make your own individual project.  That’s the beauty of papercrafting if you see something you love and want to CASE (copy and share everything) it, if the original card was made from now retired products you can always just use one of the current items instead and mix it up a bit.

Don’t you just love papercrafting?  I know I do.

Stay tuned for more projects coming soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Tina xo

Butterfly Basics….Just because

Hi Friends

You know sometimes I just create a card just for the sake of it and not for a specific purpose.

That is exactly how this next card come to life.

Again, it’s another one I made in the early months of this year.  If I remember correctly I think I was just sitting at my craft desk and wanted to create something pretty.

The new Butterfly Basics stamp set had just been realised in the Ocassions Catalogue and I had been seeing lots and lots of gorgeous cards and decided I wanted to try to make my own gorgeous creation.

This is what I came up with….

As you can see this isn’t your normal size card, I decided to make a long card.  I started with Blushing Bride card stock and embossed the co-ordinating mat and distressed the edges.

I wrapped some Sahara Sand Lace Trim around the mat and the cut a smaller mat in Blushing Bride card stock, which has a piece of Very Vanilla card stock that I stamped with the stunning flower from the Butterfly Basics stamp set.  I used my Stampin’ Write markers to color in the flower with Pink Pirouette and Garden Green.  The strip down the right hand side has been stamped in Crumb Cake ink.

As a final touch I added a Vintage Faceted Designer Button and stuck a Pearl Basic Jewel in the centre.  If you look really closely you will also see on in top right hand corner too.

The stamped image on this card was actually a scrap piece of paper I had lying around after making my cousin Vanessa’s birthday card last year.  Although I didn’t use this image I thought it was just too pretty to throw in the trash so it has been floating around my craft desk for months before I found something to use it on.

All products mentioned are available in the brand new Annual Catalogue so pop on over to my Stampin’ Up! shop and purchase your very own online.

Thanks for visiting.

Tina xo

Petal Potpourri

Hi Friends

I have a feeling that today’s post is going to be a bit on the short side.

Why?

Well, because I made this card way back in March/April and for the life of me I can’t remember why I made it.  I have a vague recollection that I may have made it to say thank-you to someone in regards to my job but I really can’t pin down the exact reason or the person it was made for.

Guess that will teach me to post more regularly and not wait so long after making a card before I post it.

Anyway, the why of this card isn’t really that important in the scheme of things.  I used the beautiful but now retired Petal Potpourri stamp set for the flower and the gorgeous Butterfly Basics stamp set for the fern leaves and butterfly.

All images have been embossed onto vellum and then either punched or fussy cut out.

This is a really fun way of making your images a little bit transparent.  Did you notice the background of this card?  It is the honeycomb stamp that has been stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  A few Rhinestone Basic Jewels add a little bit of sparkle too.

This card is made with the brand new Kraft card stock and has a band of White Jute Ribbobn.

If you have been to my blog before or follow me via email you will know that I like to decorate the inside of my cards.  I kept the inside of this one really simple so there was lots of room for everyone to write their message.

Your comments are always welcome so please leave me you thoughts on my card.  As always unless an item is retired all the products used in this card are available from my Stampin’ Up! shop. Click on the shopping trolley on the left hand side and get your’s today!!!

I look forward to showing you my next creation very soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Tina xo

 

Yes I have been crafting….

Hi Friends

Yes I know it seems like forever since I have showed you what I have been creating.  I have been crafting but it has been pretty sparse these past couple of months.

These cards are ones that I made a couple of months ago at my upline Michelle’s monthly class.  I can’t remember if we made these cards in March….I think 🙂  Michelle decided for this class she was going to teach us how to make “fancy fold” cards.

This is what we made….

This “pocket card” is made using the Crazy About You stamp set.  The card & pocket is made from Vellum and the Mini Treat Bag Thinlits.

This is a really simple, but individual way to make a “card” with a difference.

 

This second card is a bit more tricky and definitely something you need to concentrate on while you are making it.  Probably not the sort of card a beginner would attempt without assistance.  Although this card was challenging it was lots of fun and looks fabulous when completed.

Can you see how this card opens, it is quick tricky really.  The stamp set used for this card is now retired Balloon Bash.

I love how this card looks when it’s open.

Our third and final “fancy fold” card is called a Tent Card.  We used the Love is Kindness stamp set and embossed the front and back of the card for some lovely texture.

This was another card that was fiddly and complicated.

 

These cute little tags slip into the pocket on the back of the card.

Don’t forget to pop back again real soon to seeh what else I have made these past couple of months.

Thanks for visiting.

Tina xo