Hello Everyone,

Hope you've spent time with your near and dear over Christmas.  We had a lovely afternoon with my side of the family Christmas Eve, topped off by a yummy seafood dinner, mmmmmm!  Then back to our house to quickly go to sleep before Santa arrived.  Christmas Day John's side of the family gathered at our place for a day of more delicious food and catching up.   For me Christmas is a time for family and it was so nice to be able to see most of our immediate families this year.  The kids loved playing with their cousins too.   Hosting this year means the added bonus that now our house is tidier than ever!  Aaah, bliss.

I've got a few Christmas bits and pieces left to share so thought I'd catch up on those today before a nice break from reds and greens and snowflakes!

I had a few panels left from my Christmas cards so made some giant gift tags with them.   I ran a few short so was most pleased to come across these faux silk panels I'd made ages ago when I finally got to the bottom of the giant pile of assorted junk that had accumulated on our bar.   (In the midst of doing a year's worth of housework in 2 days - hee hee!)

At the other end of the gift tag spectrum I whipped these quick and easy ones up Christmas Eve when we needed a few extras.  Cardstock, stamp, ink and punch - super easy. I punched a hole with my cropadile too after this pic.

Do you ever do those home style gift vouchers?  With mum and dad's gift I wanted to include a 'Susan voucher' for a photo shoot session of them and the kids, with me and my camera.  I wrote the details onto cardstock then grabbed Fifth Avenue Floral to pretty it up a little and popped it in a nice frame. 

And lastly, a way to dress up a cash gift.  I've used one of our little Love Notes and Envelopes.  It was for a nephew so needed a masculine version.

Pull the ribbon and out comes the money holder.

Anyway - back to relaxing for me.  Hope you've got some end of year relaxation happening too. 

My desk is all tidy and I'm looking forward to doing a bit of creating just for fun over the next few days.

Cheers, Sue
 

I've been in mass production mode over the last week making Christmas cards.  (Yep I do remember saying I was going to start them in July! Maybe next year.  Hmmm - maybe next decade.)

That's all my doves getting a coating of crystal effects and sitting out to dry!

Here's the finished card ...
My first prototype is on the left then I tweaked it a bit for the finished version .....

Those little finished touches can make quite a difference. 

Here was my first red panel with the greeting stamped in White Craft Ink ...

I thought it needed a bit more oomph so I stamped some snowflakes in the background, sponged some Riding Hood Red ink round the edge and embossed the greeting in white.  I used my mat pack template to do the pierced hole pattern in the top right for a bit of balance.

The base card is Sahara Sand and I've used Wish For Peace and Snow Swirled - my two favourite Christmas stamp sets.  Whisper White ink for the background snowflakes.  Sahara Sand ink for the dove.

 
  
Now for my relatives and family friends I usually include a pic of the kids on the card.  Got the Santa Hat out and snapped 70 zillion photos until I got a 'wow' shot.  (Sending up a thank you for digital cameras!!??)

I decided to use my squares layout.  Have used this design for heaps of cards this year and it always seems to work.  Plus I love punches when you're doing a lot of something!

Here's the green squares in production ...

And my little teeny table all set up for assembling in front of the telly!   I resized my kids pics and put 6 onto a 4" x 6" file using photoshop, then got them printed at Harvey Norman.  Perfect size to fit in the square punch.

And here's the finished product ....

I have a few Christmas gift packages to finish then looking forward to doing some 'non Christmas' stamping!  I've cleaned up my study (shock, gasp!) and my desk is looking all gorgeous and just BEGGING to be created on!   
 

Well, things to do.  Cuppa is finished.  Better get moving!

Hope you are getting some moments of peace and quiet amidst all the pre Christmas hustle and bustle.

Cheers, Sue
 

Way back in November (seems like ages ago!) we did Sparkly Christmas Cards at classes.  I've been checking my photo folders and have a couple more to show you.

This one is based very closely on one I found in a Christmas Card Gallery on Claire Daly's blog.   We used heat and stick powder and some of Stampin' Up's gorgeous fine glitter for the lettering since it was a sparkle class. 

I also discovered how much I like Bravo Burgundy as a colour with some matching ink sponged around the edge. Will have to dust off the rest of the pack and use it more often!

Here's another view where you get a touch more of the sparkle.  The letters are popped up on dimensionals.

Tip:  Now the trick with heat and stick powder is to watch it carefully when you're heating it and stop as soon as it changes.  (Thanks Sue Bayliss, glitter queen, for the tip!) You'll see it will look 'wet' then you know its all tacky and you can add your glitter.  Another quick burst with the heat tool seems to 'set' the glitter.   

Stamp Sets:  Lovely Letters and Baroque Motifs

Colours: Bravo Burgundy, Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand, Very Vanilla

Other: Circle punches and Rhinestone brads, Heat and Stick Powder, Versamark, Fine Glitter and Heat Tool.

One of the other cards we made at Sparkly Christmas Card Class was this one.

I liked the tweak Denise gave the design and she was kind enough to let me take a pic to share with you guys.

Special Guest Card Maker:  Denise

Here's a close up of the rhinestone brad in the centre - it really sets off the card.

Thanks Denise for letting me share your card with the ladies in blogland.

Well, can you tell I'm in housework avoidance mode!! 

Better get back to my 'to do before Christmas' list. 

:-)

Cheers, Sue

I've been having fun playing with the newest tool in my tool kit - Circle Scissors.   It's a great tool for cutting circles and I love that you can cut rings with it as well.  

Circle Scissors Tips: I had to play with it for a little while to get the feel of it.  Some tips from other demonstrators were terrific - attach your cardstock to the  glass mat using Dotto repositionable adhesive (pg 154), and use a light touch.  I found keeping my grip light and going round a few times worked the best - when I gripped the blade holder more firmly I'd move the tool slightly.

I ended up with quite a pile of circles and rings on my craft desk so grabbed a handful to make a scrapbook layout.  You can see it here at StampAMemory website.  Here's a sneak peek.

While you're there, check out the groovy new header Tanja created and all the great scrapbooking inspiration from the other girls on the design team. 

If you're after a holiday project, Miriam has a great Mini Album Tutorial available for just $10.  Find the details here.  You'll need a Simply Scrappin' Kit and some basic supplies from your stash to complete the project. 

Have a great weekend.

Cheers, Sue

Have you seen the little sweet treat cups in the new Summer Mini?  They're great for adding a bit of 3D wow to a card.  I've filled one with a mixture of chunky glitter for this bright and colourful kid's card.

The stamps for the flower petals, the greeting and the heart are all from Something Sweet stamp set on pg 9 of the Australian Summer Mini.   You can find the Sweet Treat cups on pg 8.  You get 12 for $6.50.  Just peel off the backing tape and stick them to your card.  The 1 3/4" Circle Punch(also on pg 8) is perfectly sized to fit the cups. 

I've used my Bold Brights Markers direct to rubber to colour all the stamps for this card.

I also used my trusty markers to colour a length of white taffeta ribbon, turning it into a bright colourful rainbow ribbon that coordinates perfectly with the cardstock and stamping.  (Leave to dry before attaching to your project, or give it a bit of a rub with some paper towel to remove any excess ink.)

If you're interested in a fabulous marker club, check here for details.  2 spots left, starting in Jan 2010.

I figure once the little girl who receives this card is done with it, she can use the glitter to add a bit of sparkle to a craft project herself.

Speaking of little girls, my daughter is beckoning.  She's been making plaster fridge magnets and wants to paint them now, so I'd better go help her get set up.  Jack is napping.  Which is just as well because I was rather tempted to tie a bow around Mr Mischief today and pop him under the Christmas tree!

Before I go though I thought I'd quickly show you the Christmas cards Hannah made for some of her friends and her teacher this year.  She designed them all herself, deciding to opt for purple rather than traditional Christmas reds and greens.   She picked out Christmas Classics stamp set and used some of her Stampin' Write markers to colour the trees. She also decided to go for 'open from the left' designs too (not sure if that was by accident or on purpose!)

She worked hard to make quite a pile and was very proud of herself.  It is a nice feeling to look at a craft creation you've put time and love into isn't it. 

Happy stamping.

Cheers, Sue

Off to play with Hannah and recharge the patience levels before my little man wakes up again!

Who me???

:-)  

I had some small pieces of the new Designer Series Paper 'Tall Tales' left over.  Here's a simple way of using some offcuts for a quick card.  I love the funky look of this paper.

I've used coordinating markers to colour direct to rubber for the Wild About You greeting and my Word Window Punch.  Base cards are Choc Chip and Old Olive.

Just a quick post from me today.  Time to get stuck into some cleaning here to 'de tornado' the house.  The kids keep telling me how many days it is until Christmas - aagghh! 

Wish me luck!   Cheers, Sue

Click here for details about Australia's huge Inventory Clearance Sale.

Nature's Nest is one of those stamp sets that I am liking more each time I ink it up.  I love the detailed lines on the 5 different nature images.  I tried the turtle first using Close To Cocoa and Old Olive markers.

I kept this card nice and simple.  I used the same two markers to colour the 'Wild About You' greeting (from the Wild About You stamp set) and punched it with the word window punch.  I added 3 scored lines for a little extra interest at the top.  You can see them a little better in this pic.

 

Back to the dining table for me.  I'm in the middle of Christmas card creating (yes in mid December instead of in August when I should probably have finished them!)  Finished 20 of one design yesterday, on to a new design today.  (I'll show you later when they're posted.) 

Cheers, Sue

Ooh exciting news just released from Stampin' Up! Australia.

They're having their first ever Inventory Clearance Sale.

Lots of square cut stamp sets at discounted prices, and a few other bits and pieces too!  

Click here for the full list.

Sale starts Tuesday 15th December and runs until 24th January, but only while stocks last.

If you'd like to take a break from Christmas/New Year preparations and festivities ☺to place an order, get in touch and I'd be happy to help.

Phone: 0417 377 057 or 03 9325 4913

Email: smadex@bigpond.com

Cheers, Sue

Better not dash off without a picture!  Here's a card using Seeing Spots which is one of the sets on the Clearance Sale list. 

Time to show you some Summer Mini creations.  Here's one using the Butterfly Prints stamp set and Butterfly Punch in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum.

The background is done using En Francais background stamp (in Perfect Plum ink on Pale Plum cardstock.)  It looked a little distracting so to soften it I added a layer of vellum cardstock over the top.  I've used the Photo Corners Punch too.  For these butterflies I used half pearls from the Pretties Kit attached with those handy Glue Dots.  The darker butterfly has a layer of Crystal Effects too for some added shine.   I'm loving that butterfly punch so looks like you'll be seeing lots of butterflies in this patch of blogland!

Thanks and a big hello to all the ladies who came along to my Summer Mini Launch last Sunday and last night.  Its always fun to share some of the excitement of new catalogue time with other people who share a love of Stampin' Up products and creating.  Congratulations to Maria (Sunday) and Susan (Thursday) who won the prize draws.   

If you couldn't make it to the launch but would like me to send you a Summer Mini catalogue to browse, please email or phone me with your details and I'll pop one in the post.

Ph: 03 9325 4913    Email: smadex@bigpond.com

Back soon with some more Summer Mini inspiration. 

Cheers, Sue

A quick hello!  We're all set here for my Summer Mini Launch tomorrow evening. 

 Thurs 10th, 7.30pm, Avondale Heights.   Phone or email for the address if you'd like to join us.

Still room for a couple more people if you've got a sudden desire to try out some of the great new things in the new mini, to pick up your copy and see lots of Summer Mini creations.

You'll get to try lots of our new products and make a gift card to take home. 

Plus a glass of bubbly and some nibblies to toast to 2009.   

(For those ladies that joined me here on Sunday's launch, the recipe for that Black Forest Cheesecake Slice can be found on this post.  Making another batch for tomorrow Thursday ladies!) 

Order some products at the launch and go in the prize draw.

 Entry:  Free!  

And I'll be back in blogland after Launch Day with lots of Summer Mini creations to share with you over the coming weeks.  Stop by if you're scooting around blogs taking a break from Christmas preparations and parties!

Cheers, Sue