Giggle Layout

Here's a fun way to use little scraps of patterend paper in your layouts. I used the 2 larger sqare punches and some clear buttons to create these embellishments. I used the largest punch to punch 3 squares from So Saffron cardstock and then the slightly smaller punch for the designer paper squares. This paper is from the "Sarah" collection. I tied some linen thread through the buttons and put a glue dot on the back to adhere the buttons to the page. I did exactly the same technique for the circles on the second page.

The colour combination for this layout also came from the designer paper. The colours are Certainly Celey, So Saffron and Brocade Blue.

The crocodile comes from the Wild About You stamp set. I stamped him onto Whisper White and stamped the little birdie on top. I then cut him out with my paper snips and adhered him to the page with SNAIL adhesive.

The edges of the Giggle square have been distressed with the tool from the cutter kit.



Stamps: A is for Adorable, Classic Alphabet, Wild About You
Inks: Certainly Celey, So Saffron and Brocade Blue
Papers: Certainly Celey, So Saffron, Brocade Blue, Whisper White, Sarah Designer Papers
Accessories: Clear Buttons, Linen thread
Tools: 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 Circle and Square punches, Stamp-a-ma-jig, cutter kit (distressing tool)

Love Layout

The colours for this layout came from the Colour Coach. It's a great little tool to have on hand when you're stuck for colour ideas. Quite often I look at the combo suggestions on it thinking "That looks like a weird combination" but they always turn out great.



Another great product used on this layout was the metal edged tag. I used a circle punch the get the Close to Cocoa circle and stuck it on with SNAIL adhesive. I stamped the solid heart from Simply Said in Blush Blossom ink onto Whisper White cardstock. I then used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to position the floral heart over the top and stamped it with Not Quite Navy ink. I then cut it out with my Paper Snips and adhered it to the tag using Dimensionals. I punched a small hole near the top and tied the ribbon through. The ribbon matched the Not Quite Navy and comes from the Ribbon Originals packs.

Stamps:Big Deal Alphabet, A is for Adorable, Simply Said
Papers: Not Quite Navy, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White
Inks: Not Quite Navy, Blush Blossom, Close to Cocoa
Accessories:Metal Edged Tags, Dimensional Adhesives, Ribbon Originals
Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Snips, Circle punches

Dream Layout

I used some non-Stampin' Up! background paper and ribbon on this layout - again some old stuff that needed using up and it worked well for this album.

I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig when stamping the SLEEP title to keep my letters straight. I don't know how I lived without it before!

When attaching the ribbon you need to make sure you don't put adhesive where the photos need to slip underneath, just put the adhesive on the back of the photo mat and attach the ribbon there.



Please click on the photo for a bigger view - looks much better in close-up.

Stamps: Pure and Simple Alphabet, A is for Adorable
Inks: Bashful Blue
Papers: non-stampin up spotty paper, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Accessories: non-stampin up spotty ribbon
Tools: Stamp-a-ma-jig

Adorable Layout

I got the colour combination for this layout from a colour chart on the Stampin' Up! Website. If you have the In-Colours and would like a copy of the colour chart, please contact me and I'll email it to you.

This layout was super simple. I'm a big fan now of simple scrapbooking. You can get so much more done when you keep it simple and it's very economical - scrapbooking can be an expensive hobby if you throw a lot of embellisments on every page.



Please click on the photo for a closer look.

Stamps: A is for Adorable
Inks: Buckaroo Blue, More Mustard, Old Olive
Paper: Buckaroo Blue, More Mustard, Old Olive, Naturals Ivory
Accessories: nil
Tools: paper piercer and mat pack, round tab punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig (stamp positioner)

Cherish Layout

This layout was really easy (as are all the layouts in this album!). I started with Almost Amethyst cardstock and ink and stamped a heart (from the "Simply Said" stamp set) randomly all over both pages.

I wanted to use brushed silver cardstock but since I didn't have any I used silver embossing powder around the edges of some Whisper White. This was actually my husband's idea! We were chatting on the phone and I was telling him what I was trying to do but had no silver cardstock. He said "why don't you do that embossing stuff on some plain paper, you know, where you use that powdery stuff and and heat tool?"
Gee, he HAS been paying attention to my stamping sessions!

I stamped the Cherish stamp in Elegant Eggplant ink on vellum cardstock. I then stamped various words from the "Everyday Flexible Phrases" set, also in Elegant Eggplant ink. The vellum carstock was attached to the page with silver brads.



Please click on the photo for a close up view.

Stamps: A is for Adorable, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Simply Said
Inks: Almost Amethyst, Elegant Eggplant, Versamark
Paper: Almost Amethyst, Whisper White, Vellum Cardstock
Accessories: Silver Brads, Silver Detail Embossing Powder
Tools: Heat Tool

First Page

Ok, so this page doesn't really use any Stampin' Up! products (shhh, don't tell anyone!) but I have a few bits and pieces laying around in my stamping space from my pre-Stampin' Up! days that need using up.

I used some Bazzill Basics cardstock and a pack of stickers I'd bought years ago at a scrapbboking shop. I snipped the corners off the photo with the 1/2 inch circle punch (by Stampin' Up!) and popped in some white brads. And that's about it for this page really.

Finally! Some Scrapbooking!

So I've shown you lots and lots of cards on my blog - that's what I do the most - but I haven't shown you any scrapbooking until now.

Over the next few days I'll be posting pictures and recipes for the pages I made to put in an album for my nephew Julian for Christmas. The album is 8x8 (which Stampin' Up! don't sell at the moment so I had to buy the album from Spotlight) and I have found this a fantastic size to work with. It's perfect for putting 1 standard size 6x4 photo on each page with plenty of room for embellishmants and journalling.

I created the layouts in the album for Ray and Bell (Julian's parents) to add their own photos and journalling to later. Try to imagine the layouts with photos on so that there is only 1/8th inch of the photo mat showing.

Here is the front of the album and the stamp set I used as my "theme" or "motif" throught out the album to tie it all together. This stamp set is a Level 2 Hostess set from the current catalogue. It is called "A is for Adorable".

Seems I've been tagged...

Debbi left this comment under my last post, tagging me.

You've been tagged:
The rules of the game:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok, this is my first time being tagged on my blog so here goes:

1. I met my husband in a marching band - he plays the drums and I play the clarinet

2. I'm not artistic at all - can't draw or paint - but I really enjoy crafts because I get to do artistic things without actually having artistic talent!

3. I am writing this post sitting on the couch with my little boy who is watching Elmo on TV - he is addicted to Elmo and boy are his Daddy and I sick of watching it! He he he.

4. I have been married for almost 7 years.

5. I have 2 younger sisters and a younger brother.

6. I'm a bit of an emotional person (my star sign is Cancer) and my feeling can get hurt easily.

7. I am having another baby in April or May (depends whether you go by my dates or the ultrasound dates!)

The 7 people I'm tagging are:

1. Liz

2. Julie

3. Gemma

4. Carol

5. Ursula

6. Chrissie

7. Marelle

Gift card holders

Here's another little item I've been making as Christmas gifts over the last few weeks. These gift card wallets are really easy to make and you can make 4 from one sheet of 12x12 designer paper.

I got the idea and instructions HERE.



Paper: Holdiay Thyme
Accessories: Buttons

Christmas Boxes

Well once again it has been a few weeks since I last posted anything on my blog - sorry everyone!

I have actually been stamping things, I just haven't had a chance to take photos and write up descriptions until now.



Here are some cute little explosion boxes I made with the Holiday Thyme papers Stampin' Up! recently had on sale. You can find a tutorial for these boxes HERE at the Splitcoast site.

Stamps: Terrific Tags (hostess only)
Inks: Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy
Paper/Cardstock: Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, Holiday Thyme papers
Accessories: Wine grosgrain ribbon, olive organdy ribbon
Tools: Horizontal slot punch, Fiskars paper trimmer with scoring blade

Googly-eyed Elephant

Just a quick post to show off a card that my friend Kristy and I made for her brother's birthday. This one was a team effort - isn't it cute? We didn't use strictly Stampin' Up! products but we did get the general idea for the card from SplitcoastStampers.

Natural Beauty Card Folio

Here's another one of my card folios. This time I've stamped using an outline stamp set and coloured in with an aquapainter and my Watercolour Wonder crayons. It took a little longer than the other "one-sheet wonder" style cards but was still pretty quick really. You can be pretty haphazard with watercolouring if you want to - it doesn't have to be precise if that's the look you're going for. It's very easy to get different shades of colour just by adding a little more colour to make it darker or a little more water to lighten it up and spread the colour out. This set used a total of 4 sheets of cardstock!

Stamps: Natural Beauty, Curvy Verses
Inks: Whisper White, Staz-On black
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Always Artichoke, Night of Navy
Accessories: Watercolour Wonder Crayons (Rich Regals), Navy Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Aquapainter

Requests...

Hi everyone,
What would you like to see more of or less of on my blog? What kind of projects and tutorials would you like to see? Please leave a comment under this post with your suggestions. I think a little prize might be in order for the person with the best suggestion!
Thanks in advance...

Nathan's birthday card

This is the card I gave to my brother-in-law Nathan recently. I actually made this card quite a while ago as part of a set from a Simply Scrappin' Kit. My lovely upline Liz created a set of instructions on how to make 20 cards from the Simply Scrappin' Kit Party Pieces. I'm happy to give a copy of these instructions to anyone who purchases the kit from me. They are fun and easy to make. The kit coordinates perfectly with the stamp set "Eat Cake" which is what I used to decorate the envelope.

Stamps: Eat Cake & Classic Alphabet (envelope), All Year Cheer
Inks: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise
Paper: Simply Scrappin' Kit
Accessories: Hemp Twine, Earth Element Eyelets
Tools: Slit Punch, Eyelet setter

Birthday Bird for Betty

This is the card I made for my lovely mother-in-law Betty. Her birthday is on Halloween and so is my sister's husband Nathan's birthday.
This card is totally CASEd from SplitcoastStampers - I doubt I would ever come up with this on my own!
It turned out quite well but I'd like to have another go at it. I couldn't find my watercolour paper and I had lent my Staz-On to a friend so I used Basic Black ink on Naturals Ivory cardstock. I think it would have been better on the watercolour paper. I definitely need more practice watercolouring. I'm slowly getting the hang of it but I'm not as controlled with the Aquapainter as I would like to be. The good thing about watercolouring is that it looks pretty good anyway even if you're not too good at it!

Stamps: Artfully Asian (branches and sentiment), Natural Beauty (bird)

Inks: Basic Black, Cranberry Crisp, Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Bordering Blue, Going Grey, Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa.

Paper: Naturals Ivory, Always Artichoke, Recollections Designer Paper

Accessories: Hodge Podge Hardware (Antique Brass), Wine Grosgrain Ribbon

Tools: Aquapainter, Cutter Kit (distressing tool)

Sweet baby girl

This card was made for my friend Carmel and her family. I know Carmel from my mothers group and she now has a new baby as well as an 18 month old. I whipped this one up fairly quickly but I'm pretty happy with how it came out. I would have like to try the Paisley background stamp on it but I didn't have time to borrow it from Mum! So I used the little paisley stamp from the Polka Dots & Paisley set. This set is only available until the end of November in the Spring Mini Catalogue.

The elephant was stamped again on a spare piece of white so I could cut out the ear and stick it on top of the main image to give a 3D feel. The flower was inked with Certainly Celery and Regal Rose. The Certainly Celery layer has faux stitching. This involves piercing all around the edge and joining the holes with a white gel pen. (Easier for me than dragging out the actual sewing machine which is hidden away in the garage somewhere!)

Stamps: Wild About You, Polka Dots & Paisley, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Inks: Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Acessories: Soft Subtles Brads, White Gel Pen
Tools: Paper Piercer and Mat pack, Large and Small Oval Punches

Peace~Joy~Love

Another one from the Christmas Stamp-a-stack. You don’t even need an actual Christmas stamp set for this one!

Stamps: Greetings galore (tree), All Year Cheer (words)
Inks: Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme
Card stock: Cranberry Crisp, True Thyme, Confetti Cream
Accessories: Moss gingham ribbon
Tools: Paper piercer and mat pack,

Crazy for Christmas

Another quick and easy Christmas card.

Stamps: Crazy For Christmas
Inks: Old Olive, Basic Black, Stampin’ Pastels
Card stock: Old Olive, Bravo Burgundy, Whisper White
Accessories: none
Tools: Blender Pen

Merry Mellow Moss

This is a card I used at my Christmas in July Stamp-a-stack. It’s quick and easy and you can get 4 from a 12x12 piece of cardstock.



Stamps: Holiday Spirit, Only Ornaments wheel
Inks: Mellow Moss, Ruby Red
Card stock: Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla
Accessories: none
Tools: Stampin’ around handle, distressing tool

All In The Family

Some of you may already know that our Australian General Manager for Stampin' Up! passed away last month due to a rare blood disorder. Stampin' Up! are such a family oriented company that they are selling this stamp set for the month of Novemeber and giving the ENTIRE amount to Dave's wife and three children. I am also giving up my 20% discount on this stamp set so that more of you can afford to contribute to this wonderful fund. If you do not wish to purchase the stamp set but would like to make a contribution, please contact me and I will give you the details.

Holiday Thyme Promotion

From the 1st Nov to the 15th December you can purchase these gorgeous double-sided 12x12 papers for only $14.95. Contact me for more information or to place an order.

Snowflake Joy

I borrowed the gorgeous ‘The Snowflake Spot’ stamp set from my friend Sheridan a little while ago and this is what I came up with.

I stamped some of the smaller snowflakes as a background by stamping off once or twice first to get a very pale colour and then stamped some in “full strength”. I stamped the large snowflake with Vintage Violet stamping off once first. The JOY was stamped “full strength. I actually fluked getting it dead centre but you can always use your stamp-a-ma-jig to get it just right.
The ribbon is white grsograin that has been coloured with Almost Amethyst chalk. I used the sponge dauber to wipe the chalk along the ribbon. I added some Dazzling Diamonds to the centre of the snowflakes.

Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Inks: Almost Amethyst, Vintage Vioet
Card stock: Whisper White, Vintage Violet
Accessories: White Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampn’ Pastels (chalks), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Tools: Sponge Dauber

Daughter

I water-coloured this image a while ago when I borrowed the gorgeous Seaside Sketches stamp set from my lovely friend Robyn. I used my Watercolour Wonder Crayons and an Aquapainter. I stamped the image with Black Staz-On ink onto Stampin’ Up’s watercolour paper. Staz-On is the one to reach for when you are water-colouring like this. I broke out the Hodge Podge Hardware and used my oval punch which fits the frames perfectly!

Stamps: Seaside Sketches, Everyday Flexible Phrases
Inks: Black Staz-On, Brocade Blue, Watercolour Wonder Crayons (Earth Elements and Rich Regals)
Card stock: Close to Cocoa, Basic Black, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla (oval), Watercolour Paper
Accessories: Hodge Podge Harware
Tools: Aquapainter

Another Card Folio - Petal Prints

So here's another version of the card folio. This time I've used colours from the Soft Subtles colour family and the Petal Prints stamp set. Instead of the 10 card one sheet wonder I've used an idea I saw on Marelle Taylor's blog (check it out HERE - she does beautiful work!)

There are 4 cards inside the folder and they were sooooo quick and easy to make. I simply stamped 1 A4 sheet of Whisper White all over with the Petal Prints stamps and then cut it into 4. I then folded up 4 coloured card bases, tore off part of the front, added some ribbon and a stamp and then attached the stamped white cardstock underneath. 4 quick cards using hardly any cardstock! Cool!

Stamps: Petal Prints, Warmest Regards (hostess only)
Inks: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Pretty In Pink, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke
Card stock: Whisper White, Pale Plum, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss
Accessories: Olive Ogandy, Ivory Organdy and Moss Ginham Ribbons
Tools: Paper trimmer with scoring blade for folder, horizontal slot punch to feed ribbon through

Card Folio

Mum and I have been playing around with making our own template for a card folio and here is what we've come up with:


This little folder is made from one sheet of A4 cardstock and holds about 5 or 6 cards and envelopes as long as they don't have too many embellishments on them. You could probably fit more if you did "no layer" style cards.

I made 2 of these folders and a set of 10 cards to split between them so each folder has 5 cards and envelopes. The 10 cards were made using a "one sheet wonder" template. This means you stamp one sheet of A4 cardstock with a pattern/deisgn of your choice and then chop it up to use on 10 cards. It's a very quick and easy way to make a lot of cards with minimal supplies. You could use a lot more embellishments if you wanted to but they might not fit in the folder so I put a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the centre of all the flowers. It doesn't show well in the photos but just gives the cards a little "bling factor".



I think this would make a really great class so if I get enough interest I will set a date and run a workshop where you can make the folder and all the cards too. Let me know if you'd be interested!!!

Stamps: Seeing Spots, It's Your Birthday, Warmest Regards (hostess only), Curvy Verses, All Year Cheer, Terrific Tags (hostess only), Big Deal Alphabet
Inks: Bravo Burgundy, Night of Navy, More Mustard, Whisper White
Card Stock: Kraft (folder) Bravo Burgundy, Night of Navy, More Mustard, Whisper White
Accessories: Navy and Wine Grosgrain Ribbon, Brads, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter
Tools: Oval Punch, Tag Punch, Circle Punches and most importantly the Fiskars Paper Trimmer with scoring blade to make the folders.

Like it a latte!

This card was sent to me by a lovely lady in the U.S. with whom I did a swap. She has a great blog so check it out HERE

Easy Thank You Cards

This card was very easy to make and I made quite a few of them at once so I would have some on hand when needed. The image is from Greetings Galore stamped in Basic Black and coloured with pastels and a blender pen. I simply cut the Whisper White cardstock to be just a little larger than the wood block of the stamp. It’s really easy then to position the stamp directly over the card stock and centre the image. I then cut some Bordering Blue a little larger again for the layer. The card base is 1/4 of and A4 sheet. This way you get four cute little cards, just big enough for a thank you note.

Stamps: Greetings Galore
Inks: Basic Black, Stampin’ Pastels (chalks)
Card stock: Whisper White, Orchid Opulence and Bordering Blue
Accessories: None!
Tools: Blender Pen




This card was also very easy to make and has no layers so it’s very economical as far as using your card stock. The elephant and flower are from Wild About You and the Thank You stamp is from a hostess set called Warmest Regards. I inked the elephant in Going Grey and then pressed him up against my Weathered background stamp to create some texture. I was trying to get him to look wrinkled. I think it worked out ok. Each time I stamped the elephant he looked a little different which was pretty neat! I inked the flower with Bold Brights markers and stamped it over the trunk. I stamped the thank you in Real Red ink.

Stamps: Wild About You, Warmest Regards, Weathered
Inks: Going Grey, Real Red, Bold Brights Markers
Card stock: Whisper White
Accessories: None
Tools:None

I'm back...kinda...

Hi everyone,
I'm so sorry this blog has been so neglected. I have the best of intentions but...I have been really sick for the last few weeks. I am suffering a bad case of pregnancy nausea! (Yay but not yay at the same time)
I hope to be well enough soon to stamp something to put on the blog for you all. At the moment I'm just focussing on getting through this Saturday at the big Christmas workshop at Carina.
Here's a sneak peak of some of the cards we'll be doing that day. Perhaps I'll be able to post the instructions for them later as a tutorial. Should be lots of fun!


These 2 cards above were designed by my wonderful upline Liz.

This card was CASEd from "stamptramp72's" gallery on SplitcoastStampers.

Gemma's blog

If you have a chance, check out the link to my sister Gemma's food blog she recently started here. Cracks me up!

takin' a break

Hi everyone. I must apologise for my unannounced "break" from blogging. No excuse really other than I haven't had the enthusiasm and/or time to stamp anything much lately for the blog. At one point I was working on some place cards for a wedding and have now managed to stamp a few things in the last few days that I will post on here ASAP. Just need to get my chief photographer on the job to take some nice piccies for me!
Thanks for your patience and I promise to be a better blogger!
Bec.

Ray's birthday

Just a quick post to show you the birthday card I stamped for my brother-in-law's birthday. My hubby Matt actually "designed" the card by telling me what he wanted me to do. Ray's nickname is Hopper so we went with the grasshopper stamp from "Bugs & Kisses" and used the Hoppy Birthday sentiment from ""Unfrogettable". The grass along the bottom is the "Daisy Field" stampin' around wheel.



Stamps: Bugs & Kisses, Unfrogettable, Daisy Field
Inks: Old Olive, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue
Papers: Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Sponge

Hodge Podge Hardware Special

For the month of September, anyone who signs up to purchase the starter kit will receive a FREE set of Hodge Podge Hardware! (RRP $52.95)

Sweet Baby Boy

I made this card to send to my friend Margaret and her husband David to celebrate the birth of baby Jaxson.


Stamps: Wild About You, Everyday Flexible Phrases, Canvas
Inks: Craft White, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue
Cardstock: Whisper White, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Hodge Podge Hardware, Blue Gingham, Corner Rounder punch

I also made a similar one today for the birth of my first nephew baby Julian. I don't have a picture of that card but here is a photo of the gorgeous little man.

And a photo of me being a doting aunty.

More Birthday Cards...

I don't think I have posted these ones yet...forgive me if I have.

This one was from my Mum.


This one was from my friend Mel.

Easy Father's Day Cards

A few nights ago I popped over next door to stamp with my neighbour Kristy and friends Sheridan and Ainsley. We mainly worked on Father's Day cards and male birthday cards. Here are my 2 Father's Day cards for my dad and father-in-law. I have just completed hubby's card today but have not taken a pic yet...
You can find the instructions for the shirt fold on Cambria Turnbow's blog HERE

Cards That Move - photos

So here are some photos of the cards we made at my "Cards that Move" class on Saturday.

Pop Up card - pull both ends and the message pops up.



Spinner Card - Tilt and the little blue bug spins and rolls across the card.



Slider Card - pull one end and two pieces slide out to reveal your messages.