Merry Christmas!!

Hello all! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas!! :) Mine was awesome, spent with family and with lots of food. Mmmm. And big news!!! I bought myself a Cricut Expression and have been busy spending time with it. Happy birthday and Merry Christmas to meeeee!!!

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the past month, but I was frantically finishing off Christmas cards and making Christmas presents. I made cards of two sizes this year with the smaller 10cm × 10cm card given to those I don't know as well (such as my colleagues) but still wanted to give cards to. This year's card was inspired by this card (about half-way down the post) created by Nichole Heady who is the awesome co-owner/creator of my fave craft store, Papertrey ink. Seriously, I think I mention PTI in every single post. :) The smaller tree was punched out using a Martha Stewart punch. I dragged out my mother's sewing machine and taught myself to use it (the user manual is great!) and I think sewing on cards can get quite addictive!



And this is what a pile of ~46 odd Old Olive die-cut trees looks like. That's a lot of crankin' through the Big Shot!



I also made calendars for my friends using PTI's calendar page die, which also meant more cranking through the Big Shot. 6 calendars (including one for myself) and one cover for each = 78 calendar pages. I was really, really bored by the time I finished die-cutting them! Here's what they look like, all bound with my Bind-it-all! The one at the end was the prototype, hence the wonky-ness. All subsequent calendars (and the original) were reinforced using re-purposed cereal boxes. :D I love how they turned out. Well worth the time spent stamping and trying to figure out stuff. I haven't made mine, though. Ran out of time. :)







I used the same stamps for each calendar, but mixed up the order so no two calendars are identical. I also embossed half the pages and nearly toasted my fingers in the process! I still haven't started on my own calendar yet as I ran out of time, so hopefully I have it done before 2011 rolls around. :D

I have yet more photos of cards etc., but I'll leave them for the next post. Before I go, I'll share this photo I took of 60 (of the 78) die-cut calendar pages, arranged by month. So pretty!



Thanks for stopping by!!

FTL 117

It's really warming up here in Adelaide, with the temperature today at 32 degrees. Here comes summer! Anyway, here is the latest Clean & Simple sketch.

I used some of the fabulous PTI vintage cream felt for the flowers and what makes PTI felt awesome is it's so thick, soft and velvety. *swoon* I've been hoarding my stash of PTI felt, but it's high time I used some. Still, it did hurt a bit when I cut into the roll. ;)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #47

Makeesha has another great sketch challenge up on her brand new challenge blog!





I flipped the sketch and made a card for a friend who is taking her driving test next Sunday. It's a bit early, I know, but I'm confident she can do it! It was also a perfect opportunity to use my brand new Enjoy the Ride set from PTI. :) I tried colouring in a bit of shadow under the car to stop it "floating", but I didn't too well. I also grabbed the wrong marker at one point, which is why there is a darker grey blob on the left. Anyway, I really love this stamp set, it's so cute!! Thanks for stopping by!

FTL #113

It's been ages since I took part in a Clean & Simple sketch challenge! Apologies for the crummy photo, I haven't the time to take another until later in the week but I'll try for a better one.





The flowers were stamped in Whisper White ink and coloured in using copics, an idea that came from Nichole Heady (3rd card down). I originally planned on using PTI's Linen & Canvas impression plate, but accidentally used one that was already on the Big Shot from a previous card. I only realized it was the wrong plate when it was about half-way through! D'oh! There wasn't time to make another, so I stuck with it. Thanks for stopping by!

One layer card

Hello everyone! Apologies for not updating the blog for a while, I've been a bit lazy! However, I've made lots of stuff, and I'll slowly start posting them.

I absolutely LOVE some of the new Stampin' Up! colours, notably Daffodil Delight and Peach Parfait. I still think the names are corny, though. :) I teamed Daffodil and Peach with Pumpkin Pie to make my first ever one layer card. Go me! This is the 4th (or 5th?) version of this card, and I really like how simple it is. And did I mention I love the colours?



Let me just say that I found the stamp-a-ma-jig absolutely essential! I tried stamping without it, and it was a disaster! I'd really like to try this with more colours, but I have to sit down and figure out which monotone colours go well together. Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch challenge #41

Makeesha has designed another awesome sketch, and with Christmas coming soon I decided to try and make a Christmas card.





I wanted to add a touch of colour with copics, but the cheapie acrylic stamp didn't take memento ink well. And I completely forgot to emboss the base with the polka dot folder, even though I had everything out and ready to go. Oops. Anyway, thanks for taking a look! :)

Welcome, baby

A friend has just had a baby boy (Congrats, Julia!) and I had to make a little baby card using PTI's Night Night Moon paired up with Card Patterns Sketch #65.



I've just started using the sewing machine to stitch on cards, and I'm in love! I'm still learning though, and the stitching on this card went slightly wonky on both sides. Thankfully, the stamped panel hides the odd-looking parts, but I really need to figure out how to keep the cardstock straight! And perhaps get a smaller needle. Thaqnks for looking!