Fresh Cuts ~ SU Fall-Winter 2008 Catalog Sneak Peak

SU! Have released a sneak peak set from their upcoming Fall-Winter Catalog! I love this set, it's called 'Fresh Cuts' and is available from June 1st-June 30th for $21.95. If you purchase the set, you qualify to buy the 4"x4" laser cut notecards for just an additional $5 ~ well worth it! Look at how lovely they are!

I made 3 samples for you to take a look at. Top left card is made with the laser cut notecard and a piece of Barely Banana cardstock behind the opening. The Banana is stamped with Craft White and then a small button is added to the centre. The middle card is made with Rose Red and Not Quite Navy and the final card (my favourite!) is made with Mellow Moss and So Saffron.

Honey Bees

I was playing with my new Honey Bees set from Papertrey Ink yesterday. There was a sketch challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers so I came up with this simple design. I really like the black and yellow combination with lots of crip white. I used a couple of the little flower stamps from the set for the background, then I added a strip of black c/stock and mounted the main image using my Nestabilities scallop square. Very simple again!

Colour Challenge

The colour challenge today over on SCS was to use Very Vanilla, Sage Shadow and Chocolate Chip. I love all these colours together and so decided to make a traditional, elegant card using a retired SU! set called 'Gentler Times'. I created a background with one of the stamps by just repeating and reversing the pattern. Then I added a layered focal image with the heart stamp topped off with some chocolate chip SU! 5/8" grosgrain ribbon. Nothing too fancy or difficult but quite a nice, elegant card!

Recipe:

Chocolate Chip c/stock 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

Very Vanilla c/stock 4 1/8" x 5 3/8"

Sage Shadow/Chocolate Chip/Very Vanilla c/stock 2 3/4" x 2 1/2" layered 1/8" apart

Gentler Times SU Retired Stamp Set

5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon

For Mummy

My mum called from England this morning to tell me she was very bored with my blog! She shamed me into posting again. I try very hard to do the challenges over on Splitcoaststampers each day and I don't like to post those projects here because of the duplication! However, if mum's bored, then I think I shall have to! LOL!

I'm holding a tile class on June 7th and these are the samples I've put together. I think they're lovely! This type of tile used glassy glaze enamel to create a fired look. Here's how:

Stamp a background image onto your tile, I used SU's sanded. The trick is to use craft ink which is much 'wetter' and will stay on the tile until it's time to load on the Glassy Glaze. The other good thing about craft ink is it washes right off the tile if you make a mistake (ask me how I know! LOL). Once the background is done, stamp your main image. The denser the stamp, the better the results because the glaze will only stick to the ink ... so if the image isn't dense, then the glaze won't be on the finished tile. Here I used SU's Blossoms Abound in Perfect Plum. The stem is Chocolate Chip and the leaves are layered with Old Olive and Garden Green. Finally I used the word 'Friendship' from the set 'Wonderful Words' stamped in Perfect Plum. To really finish the project off, I dabbed Garden Green craft ink around the edges of the tile, it really does make a difference! Finally I poured a whole container of Glassy Glaze over the tile and dumped the excess into my tray to save for another go! To 'fire' the tile, place it in a 350'F oven and bake for 10 mins, or until the Glassy Glaze has melted. Leave to cool and hey presto!

Just a note of importance, your tile should NOT be the highly glazed type which is practically impossible not to smudge! I chose a tile from Lowe's called 'Rialto White'. They have 6"x6" and 3"x3" so I have made a set of 4 mug coasters and one large coaster for a tea pot to stand on! Have a go, it's a lot of fun!

Post It Note Wallet Tutorial

Today's challenge over at Splitcoaststampers is to make a project/card WITHOUT using stamps ... yikes! I decided to make this little post-it note wallet and decorate it with Primas instead of a stamped image. Here are instructions on how it's made:


Step 1 ~ cut your c/stock to measure 8.5" x 3.5". Score on the long edge at 4"/4.5"/5". Fold as shown in the following photograph.

Step 2 ~ Now that the folds are made you're going to make 2 snips to make the slot for the pen to slide into. Fold both the front and the back sections back on themselves, leaving the centre fold exposed. Mark at 1.25" and 2.25" and snip up to the 2nd score line. That makes no sense in words so maybe the following photograph will help to clarify!
Step 3 ~ Now you need to fold the front and back covers back into place and push the centre piece outwards to make the channel for the pen. Stick the top and bottom sections to the back (which is the longer 4" section) with sticky strip (again, the photograph might make better sense) and adhere the post-it note to the back. I used sticky strip to make sure it stays in place.

Step 4 ~ When you close the wallet, the front should measure 3.5" x 3.5". You can decorate as you wish. Today I layered a piece of SU's close-to-cocoa measuring 3 3/8" square onto the wallet with a 3.25" square piece of certainly celery DSP on the top. Due to today's LSC challenge on Splitcoast, I added primas and a SU rhinestone brad!

The pens I used were in a 3-pack from Staples ... here's a photo if you'd like to find the same ones.


This is my first ever photo-tutorial and I'm sure it's not very clear ... amazing how hard it is to put instructions down on paper! Feeback would be greatly appreciated please for next time.

Bar Mitzvah Card

One of Sarah's school friends had his Bar Mitzvah this weekend so we made a card which I thought I'd share with you. I always find boys' cards quite difficult to do ... so I started by deciding to use blues. The matting is Blue Bayou and Bordering Blue which I think look great together. I used the congratulations star from Stampin' Up's 'Fun & Fast Notes' and mounted it on dimensionals over a double strip of the 2 blues. The Blue Bayou strip was run through the cuttlebug for some extra texture. I added a little Bordering Blue Marker on the star too.

Off to lunch at a friend's house now ... have a great Tuesday!

Spring Craft Fair

Apologies for the delay in posting! I've been working on projects to sell at a Spring Craft Fair held at a local Country Club this w/end. I thought you might like to see some examples of the things I made. This is a desk-set made from SU's Afternoon Tea DSP.

The Post-It Note Holder is a clear acrylic 6"x4" photo frame. I inserted 2 layers of A/Noon Tea DSP into the frame and then stuck half a post-it pad to the front using the red double-sided tape. I then cut a strip of the same paper and inserted it into the barrel of an RSVP pen. The giant paper clip is from Staples, I used my cuttlebug die cut flowers and some thin chipboard to make the topper, again using the same DSP. Last but not least is the binder clip (I love these!) which is so simple, Afternoon Tea DSP and 2 primas with a pearl in the middle. All the ribbon is Soft Sky's Double Stitched Ribbon which coordinates with the DSP.

I also made tiles, candles, photo frames, lots of binder clips and paper clip bookmarks, lots of the acrylic frame post-it holders with matching pens. Fun! So that's why I haven't been posting ... now the craft fair is another story!!! Let's just say that once I'd finished all my bits and pieces and got myself over there, I was barred from attending due to my clothing attire. No, I wasn't in a white mini-skirt and bikini top ... it was just my jeans they objected to ... and they sent me away, totally humiliated I might add! Still, at least I have a basement full of goodies to sell if I ever pluck up courage to do another craft fair!!!