Thursday, April 23, 2015

Hawaii Grand Vacation Blog Hop


Welcome to our Grand Vacation Hawaii Achievers Blog Hop! You may have landed here from Renee Kohnke.

This is my first ever Blog Hop so I'd love you to leave me a comment to let me know if you are visiting me for the first time :-)

I actually struggled  a bit to come up with something "Hawaii themed".... All I could think of was a fantastically perfect stamp set we had in our catalogue about 5 years ago called "Tropical Party" - it would have been ideal! But we don't have that anymore so I had to think of something else...

A punch art hula dancer was one thought I had but punch art is not really my forte and I didn't want to just copy someone else's clever idea.

Finally it dawned on me - carve my own stamps!! Yes!  I love the Undefined Carving Kit. Its just the perfect thing when you can't find a stamp to suit what you want.

I carved this hibiscus stamp because the hibiscus flower is one of the first thing that pops to my mind when I think of a tropical location like Hawaii.

Earning the Stampin' Up! Hawaii Grand Vacation was a big task for me and I couldn't have done it without the help and support of so many of my customers, friends, team members and family. I realised I'm going to need some thank you cards to thank some of those key people for their help. So here's what I came up with using my new hibiscus stamp:

I used the same stamp for the background as well as the focal point image.  I've sponged the coordinating inks around the edges of the card stock to create some depth and definition.
I hope you liked my card and stamp :-)  Enjoy the rest of the blog hop!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog




Sunday, April 19, 2015

Mother's Day Flower Pot Card

Here's my Mother's Day design for this year - a flower pot card! These cute flower pots were all the rage a few years ago but I never actually made one.  This year I finally got around to figuring it out.  They are actually super easy to make.  I did a web search for "flower pot card tutorials" and after looking at a few, I changed the measurements a bit to suit me and also to have it fit inside the Australian sized C6 envelopes we carry.



I've used the 2013-2015 In Colours which are about to retire.  Baked Brown Sugar is the flower pot base and the other four colours are in the flowers and leaves.  I also created a matching Petite Purse using the big shot die.

The measurements of the flowerpot base is 9 1/2" x 4".  Turn to landscape position and 
score at 1 1/2", then again at 5 1/2".  
Fold the smaller flap forward and the bigger part in the opposite direction to create the flowerpot.  Use the paper trimmer to cut off about 1 cm on the diagonal to create the shape.
The insert is 3" x 4 3/4"and the flowers are attached with dimensionals at the top so they sit nicely on the outside of the flowerpot rather than disappearing into it.


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Easter Printers Tray

Happy Easter! 
My kids and I decorated this printers tray for our little Easter display. Enjoy 😊

We used colours from the Subtles range and the stamp sets For Peeps Sake and Happy Easter Bunny.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Easter gifts for teachers

Whilst I was at my team craft retreat, I created some baskets and cards for my boys' teachers. 

Stamps: Happy Easter Bunny, For Peeps Sake
Inks: Staz-On Black, Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Crumb Cake
Paper: Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Best Year Ever DSP
Tools/Accessories: Berry Basket Die, Oval Framelits, Aquapinters