Monday, January 31, 2011

Comfort Folder Instructions


CARDSTOCK:
27.5 x 21cm - Score at 10.5, 11.5, 22 and 23cms on the longest edge. Cut out the section at 22cm to score line and to edge
2.5 x 14cm - Scallop Punch on short edge, then measure 4cm from the edge of the scallop and cut off.
8.5 x 13cm - Whisper White or Very Vanilla for insert
Scrap of Whisper White or Very Vanilla for front sentiment, and also scrap of contrasting cardstock to cut back label die in Big Shot.
 15 x 8cm Designer paper for front of folder
INCIDENTALS:
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel, Sticky Strip, Snail, Scallop Border Edge Punch, Wide Oval Punch, Round Corner Tab Punch XL, Sponge for inking edge of card.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Score and cut cardstock where required. On the short edge that has the piece cut out of it, edge with the Scallop Edge Punch. Sponge this end with ink colour of choice. Punch one end of the 14 x 2.5cm cardstock using the same punch.
Using Jumbo So Swirly wheel and ink colour the same as cardstock, roll the whole sheet of cardstock, rolling the portion of the folder that folds up last so the imprint is very faint. Sticky strip the bottom portion that folds up at the ends, in the space that is measured at 10.5 and 11cm, and then at the edge where it has been cut away. This will form the pockets to hold the sachet and letter or insert.
On the right side attach Designer Paper, then the strip of contrasting card stock. Then attach the 4cm strip so it matches the other scallops.  Stamp sentiment and punch out using Wide Oval Punch, and then attach it to the largest label in the Lots of Labels sizzlet dies. Use snail on the portion of the tag that is going to sit on the main portion of the folder and have the balance of the tag sitting out over the small section of the folder. This small section of the folder will slip in under the tag to keep the folder closed.
Off stamp the So Swirly Wheel and then run it across the bottom of the insert. Punch a tab to pull the insert up (if using), fold tab over and attach to insert. Stamp sentiment of choice on insert or better still slip a letter in the pocket.

Comfort Folder

Last Friday at the class held in my home, the ladies revisited the spotlighting technique, and we also made what I call a Comfort Folder. It was very quick and very simple to make and there is a pocket on the inside of the folder to hold a tea, coffee, chocolate or even an Iced Tea Sachet. How lovely it would be to receive one of these in the mail, with a nice newsy letter tucked in its little pocket on one side and a sachet of the recipients favourite drink in the other! The ladies who attended the class this week are who I call my 'blue ladies', they love anything blue! We used Pacific Point Cardstock which was rolled with the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel using the ink of the same colour, thenone edge was punched using the scallop Border Punch and then all outside edges were sponged using Pacific Point Ink. A piece of the beautiful Blueberry Crisp DP was added and then a band of Crumb Cake was placed along the bottom portion of the folder. The small edge of the Crumb Cake was also punched on only one end. The ladies then used the Big Shot and the Lots of Tags Sizzlet Die and cut a tag from Baja Breeze Cardstock. The sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla using Chocolate Chip ink. We also made an insert for the folder in case they only wanted to put a small note in it, and it was made from Very Vanilla, with the corners rounded off and the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel rolled along the bottom of the insert after been 'off stamped' first. A tab was made using the XL Round Tab Punch to be placed at the top of the insert. The ladies had a lot of fun making this folder and I hope you like what I have done, I would love to hear, Bye for now, Gwen

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Howyagoinmate?

I decided to partake in a Challenge from Late Night Stampers this week, and the Challenge was to make a card depicting where you are from. The 26th January is Australia Day, and I thought that it was very appropriate that this was the challenge As soon as I saw this challenge I thought that I would like to particiapte and I knew which stamp set I would use and that  was Happy Christmas Mate. I used my markers to colour the outline of the stamp, omitting the obvious Christmas things, like presents and also Santa's Hat, beard and fairy lights on the board leg rope! I also freehanded the images to make them whole and added the joey in the Kangaroo pouch. SU watercolour pencils and the awuapainter were the obvious choices for me to olour the images. The sentiments of G'Day and Howyagoinmate? I printed off on the computer and punched out using the small oval and the word window punches. I used the RGB colours for Pacific Point for the writing and the Brush Strokes font. The card has been matted onto Garden Green and Daffodil Delight Cardstock to signify the Green and Gold of Australia. It was a lot of fun to do and I do hope you like it, pleas let me know what you think. Till Next time, Gwen

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Spotlight on Every Moment



The ladies that come to technique classes asked if we could revisit this lovely technique. I looked through the IBC and decided on the set Every Moment. I really havent used it much and it is a beautiful set with so much potential. I decided to have a look on SCC to see what others had done and came across Mary Brown's rendition of a sketch that she had used this set in. I changed it around slightly so that I could incorporate the layout and this is what I have come up with. I think the ladies will have a great time revisiting this technique and I will throw another technique in while we are at it. I hope you like what I have done with this set, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Bye for now, Gwen

How Sweet are these Sweet Peas?

I saw the very talented  Maria's tutorial on making these beautiful flowers, which are just quietly my favourite flower next to violets, and then saw the beautiful card my good friend and colleague Kris McIntosh made following Maria's tutorial. This really piqued my interest so I sat down and decided to 'have a go' as well. This tutorial was easy to follow there was no way they were going to fail!
 
 I swiped my Rich Razzleberry Base with the ink pad of the same colour to add some texture. I placed a piece of Whisper White cardstock that I had run through the Big Shot using the Petals a Plenty embossing folder onto a piece of Perfect Plum I decided though to use a Whisper White crimped middle sized oval, which sat on the large oval in Basic Black which I had cut using the Bigz Ovals Die. I also made my tendrils a lot finer as I didnt use stalks for the flowers and I thought it made it look too heavy. This is such a simple but effective card to make. The big decision now................who to give it to???? I hope you like what I have done with the sweet peas, bye for now. Gwen

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

My 'Another Day Box'

Today was a busy one, I was trying to prepare for an upcoming class, do the mundane things (like housework), get some washing on the line whilst we still had sunshine, and go to a funeral of a family friend. It was whilst doing the housework I remembered I hadnt made a Sympathy Card. Now, I know that I talk of my another day box in various posts, it is amazing what is actually inside that box. The mess looks huge when it is put out on the table, but really it does all fit in a clear shoe box! So I have decided to share my 'another day box' with you. In this box thre are pieces of stamped cardstock, cardstock which is stamped and cut out, puched shapes, embossed pieces, shapes that have been cut using the Big Shot from various materials. 
 I took a piece of More Mustard to use as my card base, then out of my 'another day box' came the piece of Always Artichoke which had already been stamped with Ink the same colour and then overstamped using the Whisper White Craft Ink Pad. I also found a piece of Whisper White cardstock that had been embossed with the Petals a Plenty embossing folder. the sentiment I stamped directly onto the Always Artichoke layer that sits on the card base. My friend never liked things to sit square so this is why I skewed the image. I added two pieces of Peach Parfait ribbon across the corners to finish it off. Not quite my style but I knew the recipient would know and appreciate what I had done.
Bye for now

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Black Magic Love Affair Continues


What is this I hear you say? Well not Black Magic in that sense. I am talking about the technique Black Magic! I decided to participate in a SUDSOL sketch challenge, and this is what I came up with. I really wanted to use Tangerine Tango, Old Olive and Basic Black, with the Black being the main colour on the top layer. Because this is what I wanted I decided to use the Black Magic Technique again. I am really loving this technique and I find myself looking at my stamp sets choosing those which I can use this technique with for the most stunning effect.  I decided to use Inspired By Nature, because of the big solid images. The colour I used in the chalks are yo yo yellow (retired) Pumpkin Pie, Real Red for the flowers and centres. For the Stems and leaves I blended both Garden Green and Old Olive to give depth and then gave a fine brushing of Chocolate Chip to to leaf tips.
The small flower from the stamp, I stamped on the tag by off stamping it twice on scrap before actually putting it to the cardstock. The Happy Birthday is from Vintage Labels. The Old Olive was retrieved from my 'another day' box and it was exactly what I was looking for as it had already been embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder. I do apologise for the qualoity of the picture, I think my old camera is well and truly past its use by date!
 I had such fun doing this card, I love the result and the way it 'pops'. Let me know what you think.
Bye for now

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Buttons, Buttons and More Buttons!

The Challenge at Sudsol was to design a card using Buttons and if you didnt have buttons you could use your embosslits. My button supply was exhausted and this is what I came up with. I was thinking flowers, but not how. In the end it took me all of10 minutes to put together. I punched 4 sets of leaves from the XL 2 Step Bird Punch, and the Ornament Punch for the vase. The Vintage wallpaper embossed card was from my 'another day' box as was the Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla Cardstock scrap and the embosslit buttons!  So as you can see I didnt really have to do much for this creation at all. I used Picture This for the sentiment and I also used shimmer ink on the black cardstock. It looks awesome in real life, but unfortunately doesnt show up too well in the pics. Hope you like what I have done, leave me a comment. Bye for now

Saturday, January 15, 2011

SUDSOL Sketch Challenge #66

I have also been able to take the time to enter a challenge on the SUDSOL website and it was a Sketch challenge. As soon as I saw it I thought "I know exactly what I want to do here", believe me that does not happen very often with me, I am such a procrastinator, and I become so annoyed with myself for being so!
 It was so simple. This is what I came up with. I used Whisper White Base and rolled it with the  Friendly Words Jumbo Wheel, using Bashful blue Ink, I then placed a strip of Petals a Plenty embossed Whisper White onto a slightly larger piece of Bashful Blue.
The main image I stamped using the Punch Bunch stamp set from the upcoming Sale-a-bration using Mariner Mist. Punched out the owl using the Two Step Owl Punch XL.I love the simplicity of this card and especially love how easily it came together! I hope you like it as much as I do. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.
Bye for now....





















Bye for now.....

Friday, January 14, 2011

On a lighter note...


Today  the weather finally decided that I woudl be able to hold my Black Magic Class. The ladies had a lovely time and finished with some beautiful creations. It amazes me constantly how a group of ladies can all be doing the same techinique, using the same tools etc etc and finish with something so totally different. Unfortunately I did not get to take any pics of their creations today, but I did manage to get a couple of them all working so hard! They all certainly enjoyed their cup of coffee when we were done! A special thanks to Kris who came up from Narangba to share in the  class with the local ladies. It was so lovely to have her come and do a class with us. Bye for now....

The Queensland Flood Disaster

My resolution for this year suffered a slight setback with all the rain that we have been inundated with. We suffered some water damage to the garage roof, but compared to what other folk have had to endure with loss of loved ones, and all their possessions it truly is small bananas. We all have tales of what has happened to loved ones and friends in this terrible disaster, my own nephew and family have lost everything, they were lucky enough to get out with the clothes on their backs and get their car to high ground. The emotional roller coaster that these people will be riding for months and years to come is unthinkable. It has been heartening in the midst of all this to see the mateship and comrady amongst friends, neighbours, complete strangers even as they console and work beside each other to try and put things together again. This is what Australia is built on and what we are renowned all over the world for, and that is to help our fellow man in times of distress and dire need, the only question asked "What can I do to help mate?" As Australians our strength and resilience will see us through, and we will come back better than ever. I know that you will all join with me and offer a prayer of hope and in some cases of condolence,
Bye for now

Monday, January 10, 2011

Any One for a Super Stylish Clipboard?

I have been wondering for quite some time how these were done, and lo and behold  Vicky posted one she did and it looked lovely. So confidence at a high I decided to have a go and am so glad that I did. I changed a few things to suit , and I am thrilled with the way it came together. So thrilled in fact that my ladies will be doing this in one of the February classes.
I dont know why but I always seem a bit reticant to break out the Designer Paper and use it with confidence, but this project has helped to push that aside and I am ready to take the Designer Paper head on! I love what other crafters have done when they use the it, and I think that is so beautiful, but when I would attempt it, I was never really happy.
'Be bold and be brave' is going to be my motto from now on when I wish to tackle a project using DSP! So thank you Vicky for getting me over this hump! Keep checking back to see the progress I will be making! Hope you like my offering for today, let me know what you think. Bye for now,
Gwen

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Friends Never Fade

This card uses the beautiful sets Friends Never Fade, Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and Perfect Punches which was used for the sentiment. It also uses the leaves from the 2 Step XL Bird Punch and the Scallop Trim Punch. It would have not been complete without the Pretty in Pink cardstock panel embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder in the Big Shot. The base cardstock used was Very Vanilla, just to soften the card. I felt that to use Whisper White would have made the card too stark. The flowers from the Friends Never Fade set were stamed using Pretty in Pink Classic Stampin Ink Pad, then cut out using the the paper snips leaving a small showing of the Very Vanilla around the edges. The Scallop Trim Edge was punched twice once on Very Vanilla and the other on Pretty in Pink. The Background was stamped using the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and Pretty in Pink ink. The leave are punched in Old Olive using the 2 Step XL Bird Punch. The sentiment was stamped using Soft Suede Ink then punched out using the Wide Oval Punch then attached to the card using dimensionals. The sentiment can be changed to suit any occasion

An Award for Me!!

You cannot imagine how thrilled and excited I was to receive this award from my mentor and good friend Kris McIntosh It is an honour to have this award bestowed upon you and there are several conditions tha need to be met upon accepting this award and they are:
  1. Thank the person who passed this award onto you - so a big  big thank you to Kris.
  2. Share 8 things about yourself,
  3. Pass the award onto 8 bloggers
  4. Contact them and tell them about the award
Good ness 8 things about myself that is so hard, ok here goes-
  • I have been married to a wonderful man for 35 years who continually offers encouragement in my endeavours.
  • We have 3 sons and 1 daughter and 9 grandchildren 3 girls and 6 boys
  • I have two fur babies who kindly allow me to live in MY house as long as I meet their every need (Lump and Twink)
  • I have been a SU Demonstrator for almost 2 years
  • I love to be able to entertain family and friends, there is nothing nicer than good company and good conversation
  • I was born and bred in Sydney, met the love of my life and moved to Parkes and Dubbo and then finally to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
  • I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters and 3 nephews and 3 neices and too many to count great neices and nephews
  • I love, love, love Stampin' Up! and anything to do with Paper Craft.
Now the very difficult part of this whole process and that is how do I choose just 8 of my favourite bloggers? Here goes
  1. Kris
  2. Jackie Topa
  3. Steph
  4. Vicky
  5. Shirley
  6. Gretchen
  7. Robbie
  8. Martha
I cannot tell you how hard that was just to pick 8! Please take the time to check out these websites and I am sure that you will love them as much as I do.
Well thats it for today
Take care
Gwen

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Something Different

My younger sister is a very talented paper crafter. She is also a wonderful artist. She talked me into trying this simple paper toile, this was admist my saying I dont think so, I wouldnt be very good at it etc etc. I duly cut out the pieces and started to shape them and place them. I found that I did  really enjoy doing this (although I dont think anything will overtake my love of stamping). I must admit that I didnt think it would be  as labour intensive as it was. I thought that I would share this just for something a little different, and to encourage others to try something that they are not familiar with - to step outside the square so to speak!
I hope you enjoyed seeing this 'creation' of mine. I think that I will probably stick to stamping and other forms of papercraft, as you really NEED A LOT OF PATIENCE to do paper toile and those of you out there that do this papercraft I tip my hat to you!
Till next time,
Bye for now and happy stampin'!

That old Black Magic..............

Next Friday's Technique Class will be Black Magic. No not the cast a spell kind, but the artistic kind. We will be creating these cards, but using three different Black Magic Techniques. The first, was a tutorial on  SCS and I followed the instructions using Watercolour pencils on the Whisper White Craft Ink after it has been dried with the heat tool,The second is uing chalks on the heat dried Craft Ink. The third was done by daubering colour onto the wet craft ink and carefully drying the ink off when it was completed. I looked at a lot of samples all over the web and took bits and pieces of ideas from different pictures I saw, so if you see a bit of your creation here or there, then thank you. To be honest, this was the very first time I had really 'used' my Stampin Pastels. The depth of colour that can be attained is amazing, and when I was finished it left me itching to do some more with the Stampin Pastels. I can see these wil lbe put to good use, and not just left to sit in the cupboard and think "I must use those one day" everytime I have to move them to get something else! I like the way they turned out I hope you do too!

Friday, January 7, 2011

SUDSOL Stamping Success Challenge

Twice in one day!
Trying to keep to my resolution I  have entered a challenge on SUDSOL. It is the Challenge from Stamping Success Magazine and THe challenge is to CASE the particular card. I tweeked mine a little by Distressing and sponging the edges of the Whisper White Cardstock (which I cut smaller than the original imag)fe with More Mustard Ink, When I stamped the main image I decided to do some Direct to Rubber Sponge Daubering. Firstly I inked the main image up in More Mustard, then took a Sponge Dauber and inked it up with Early Espresso. I then proceeded to dauber around the image until I had the effect that I wanted. I off stamped the 24-7 in Early Espresso, Punched out the word FRIENDS using the Modern Label Punch XL. The More Mustard Border was punched using the Scallop Border Edge Punch. The small flower was punched using the boho blossom punch. I then distressed and broke the fibres in these two flowers and when the fibres started to seperate, I pulled them apart an put a small brad in the centre, and to finish off the flower I rubbed the petals into the Blushing Bride ink pad. and attached to the card using a mini glue dot. The  word FRIENDS is attached with dimensonals. I also stamped the small butterfly image from the Stamp Set on the Blushing Bride Base Card. I am pleased at how the card turned out and I would love to hear your comments on it too. I apologise for the bad photography, I promise I will get better with the photography! I know the old saying a poor workman will always blame his tools, but my camera is so old and cumbersome that I think I am well in line for a new one!
Bye for now,  
Gwen

Happy New Year Everyone!

Happy New Year!
Ok everyone, New Year, New Resolutions. Here we go.
  • I will attempt to write on my blog EVERY day
  • I will share my creations with you
  • I am going to partake in challenges on a regular basis
  • I will endeavour to have at least 2 workshops per month.
  • I will share upcoming events and promotions on a much more regular basis
  • .I will try harder to understand all the computer gobbly gook and make my blog better! Why is it that I can read and re read instructions for the computer and still get hopelessly lost. Like a little of it will sink in and then it is like "nah, this isnt working" thing hits the brain and all is lost?Please feel free to say to me "whats happening on your blog?" at any time!
This card is what I made for my own personal Christmas cards. They are a direct case from the delightful Kris McInstosh, who without her encouragement, I am sure that I would not be creating at all. This was really the first time I had a good play with the Owl Punch, and he is so delightful to work with, Although I dont think I was saying that by the time I had made 25 of these cards in various festive colours!
As I said earlier I have been creating, I will post some more after this. I would love to know what you think of my creations,
Bye for now.


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