My two munchkins are off to a much better start than I am on this year's Christmas cards so I'm handing over to them for today's blog post!

They browsed through my stash of Christmas stamps on the weekend and chose a couple (Dasher and Snow Swirled were their favourites.)  I suggested a one sheet wonder type of design with the snow flakes so they each picked 3 colours and got stamping.

Next up was stamping a bunch of Dashers and cutting them out.  They chose a colour for the base cards and got the production line happening.  Jack's production line petered out after 2 .....

.... One for each kinder teacher.  We might have another go another day for his lovely Gymbaroo teachers.  He was very keen to have some yellow on his card.  Daffodil Delight is such a happy colour I think!  Goes with his nice sunny smile.

Hannah has finished about a dozen so far plus borrowed an idea from the lovely Nikki Sadler from our recent Christmas Blog Hop to make the little chocolate gold coin yummy embellishments to pop on the envelopes for her class mates.

Me - I'm still trying to decide on a design and trawl through photos to find a pic of the kids to include.  :-)  How are you going?  Making cards or gifts this year?? 

I headed off to Highpoint on Sunday to get gifts for teachers but it was so hustly and bustly there I gave up after one shop!  On Monday I headed along to my favourite Keilor gift shop - Red Bird.  (Arabin St, Keilor.)  We got a park right out the front, had a lovely browse in the peace and quiet and found our 5 teacher gifts in no time.   And she even gift wrapped them.  Aaahhh.   I think I can manage a few matching cards.  :-)

Now pop back tomorrow if you are interested in some exciting December news from Stampin' Up - our new Summer Mini catalogue is officially launched and there's a rather exciting special to tell you about too.  I'll have all the details at 6am (or later in the day for anyone not up with the sparrows!) 

PS While I'm talking about my kids - Hannah had her calisthenics concert on Saturday.  She looked so graceful.  It's funny isn't it when you have those moments when you get a glimpse of the teen or adult ahead. 

I loved this funky pink wig!  Rather suits Hannah I think!

 
 
Hope there's lots of colour in your week this week.

Cheers, Sue

It is that time of year isn't it.  The carols are playing at the shopping centres, the decorations are out, the preparations are underway (hmmm or on the mind for those of us not quite so organised!)  

Christmas Blog Hop

Today a group of my stamping pals and I have a Christmas Blog Hop for you.  Grab a cuppa and have a hop around our blogs if you'd like some ideas for festive themed projects. 

You may have come from Judy May's  lovely Christmas project (I do so love her stunning cards), or perhaps you are starting your hop here.  There are 11 stops this month.   Have fun!

My card features one of the designs from the Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper packs (DSP).  Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Very Vanilla are the coordinating colours I've used in my card, plus I've included some Crumb Cake with embossed dots using the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder. 

A little sponging is useful when you're using DSP as it covers the white core that shows sometimes on the cut edge.  I've used a sponge dauber with some Old Olive ink.

Did you notice the ruffled ribbon?  This is a trick I learnt at Stampin' Up Melbourne regional training day recently.  You rough up the end of your ribbon (this is Vanilla Taffeta) to fray the threads.  Then find the middle thread and give it a tug.  This is a little fiddly but once you have the centre thread pulled, it is easy then to use this to gather the ribbon.  Once you've gathered the length that will fit on your card, just adhere the 2 ends to the reverse side of the card. 

I used a couple of glue dots to secure the ribbon at the front so it didn't droop.  Remember not to pull your thread ALL the way through or you'll lose your gathers.

A nice easy way to add a little texture and dimension to your card.

I used some of the 5/8" Vanilla satin ribbon too - it has such a gorgeous lustre.  It looked a little bumpy placed over my dotty embossed cardstock so I added a trim using the Scallop Trim Border Punch and some Cherry Cobbler offcuts.   And of course, some pearls are always a lovely finishing touch. 

And that's it from me.  Thanks for stopping by.

Next Stop on the hop .......

is Amy Buchanan  who always has such creative cards and projects on her blog. 

Have fun on the rest of the Christmas Themed blog tour and have a great weekend. Perhaps by the end of the hop you'll be right in the mood for some Christmas card making!

Cheers, Sue

PS Just in case there's any glitches along the way, the other stops on the hop are Gardenia, Alisha,  Ros,   Christine,  Nikki,  Kristine,   Tina,   Di,  Judy,   then you're back to me and have done a full lap. 

Just a quick hello to let you know that I've just sent out my rather late November newsletter.  It's a long one so if you are on my newsletter list, grab a cuppa and check your inbox.  If you'd like to join the fun, fill in your email address at the top right there and a copy will come through to you each month.

Here's a little peek at our Step By Step card this month.

Cheers,  Sue

Jack (4) had his first birthday party invitation from a kinder friend for this weekend.  He's been to family parties and tagged along to some of Hannah's but this was his first friend's party.  He was soooo excited.  

I managed to leave myself with rather a short time to make a birthday card.   I grabbed out Celebrations Designer Series Patterned Paper (pg 125), some matching cardstock and my Big Shot and Timeless Type Alphabet sizzlits.  Here's what I came up with. 

 
I used my 1 1/4" square punch to punch a bunch of squares of the DSP, glued the letters for Alix's name onto some matching cardstock squares, sponged the edges in Pacific Point so they'd stand out on the Bashful Blue base card and stuck everything down with Snail.  Quick and easy.  I used my crimper for a little extra texture.

Jack looked after the inside of the card for us .....

...and we used one of his gazillion paintings for the present wrapping paper.    Here's one excited boy about to head off to the party.  He told me afterwards, "That was the best day EVER mum." 

Hope you're having the best day ever too.  :-)

Cheers, Sue

I teamed up a few of my favourite festive craft supplies to make this quick and easy card, another take on this design. 

The Recipe

Papers/Cardstock:  Riding Hood Red, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Jolly Holiday DSP

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, plus Champagne Mist shimmer paint and Cherry Cobbler reinker

Punches:  Scallop Square and Ornament punches

Stamp Set:  Delightful Decorations

Other:  Basic Pearls - went to town with these and added quite a few!

 

Well it has been another quiet week in this part of blog land, but busy and fun filled at home.   Last Friday we joined lots of other families and took part in the Junior Masterchef Cookalong.  Hannah and Jack had fun making the yummy chocolate desserts while they watched the show for the instructions.   I should have taken a photo afterwards - I'm sure we used EVERY dish in the house! 

Must confess - we left the dishes that night and John and the kids did them on Saturday while I was off at the Melbourne Stampin' Up training day.  What a fun day.  I presented some ideas on holding a catalogue launch.  (Which reminds me - my Summer Mini launch is coming up soon.  You'll find dates and some details here:  Launch Details.)    Once that was done I could relax!   I caught up with quite a few of my Think Ink team members plus lots of other stampin' up demonstrator friends, learnt some new tips and techniques, and got a TON of inspiration.   Here's one little peek.

Lots of ideas to try out.  I'm sure half the audience went home to stock up on Shimmer Paint after seeing lots of great techniques for using it.  I sure popped some extra bottles on my weekend order.  Stay tuned for lots of shimmery creations.   I'm still working on my newsletter - it is taking me a while but is jammed packed full of ideas so hopefully it'll be worth the wait. 

Have a lovely week,

Cheers, Sue

In the mood for a card making class this month?  I've got space left this Wednesday 7.30pm, 1 spot left Thursday 7.30pm, and some spots left next Wed and Thurs if you'd like to catch a class. 

We'll be trying 2 techniques using the gorgeous Shimmer Paint and you'll go home with 3 Christmas cards and matching envelopes.  $20.  Phone or email  to book your spot.

Unloading the Camera

I've been taking a few pics ready today for my presentation at the Stampin' Up Melbourne training day this Saturday.  (Wish me luck - I am RATHER nervous!)  While I was unloading my camera I came across these 2 pics I thought I'd share.

Jack (4) and his 2 cousins found a nice use for the brown paper packaging that comes in those lovely Stampin' Up boxes .... 

 

And in completely unstamping related news, look who I found on the couch a few minutes ago when I emerged from the laundry.  Just so cute I had to share ....

Now while he's off in the land of zzzzzs for a rare nap, I'd best be off getting tomorrow night's class things in order. 

Hope your week has started well.   Cheers, Sue

I came across this card on my friend Anita Meade's blog and just had to go try a Christmas version.

My card features the Christmas paper from the Dressing Up Christmas special - it is from the Welcome Christmas Bundle which  includes the Welcome Christmas stamp set (the greeting on the card is from this set) plus the limited edition Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper.   This paper is just lovely and includes 2 designs with a lovely velvety finish.  Mmmmmm!

Here's a pic of a few of the designs from this pack.  That top red/white one is one of the ones with the flocked finish.

 
This card was quick and easy to put together.  I just punched some designs from the DSP pack using the scallop square punch and grabbed some coordinating cardstock.  I've used Sahara Sand, Riding Hood Red and Kraft.  An antique brad just finishes it off.  I LOVE these and am on about my third pack I think!

The greeting 'Joy' is stamped on my Sahara Sand base card using Crumb Cake (Kraft) ink.

While I had my things out, I tried a few other colour variations.  Watch out in the next few days for my November newsletter for those ones.  Coming to your inbox soon.  (There's a sign up box at the top right if you'd like to join my newsletter crew.)

Have a wonderful weekend.  Hannah gets back from her first school camp this afternoon so I'm looking forward to hearing all her news.  Then it is a big day of face painting for me!  Let's hope the weather smiles on us.

Cheers, Sue

Our first marker club is underway.  I thought you might like a peek before I pop these packages in the post today.

A marker club is a great way to build your collection of Stampin' Write Markers over 8 months.  You receive half a colour collection each month - here's one package ready to go with half the Subtles collection.

Can you see the ribbon?  That's this month's marker club 'bonus gift.'  Each month you get a little surprise in your parcel to use for your craft projects.  This time round it is some ribbon lengths.  It is nice to have some ribbon that coordinates with your marker collection.

For one of the 8 months you are the hostess and that's the month you get a BIG box in the post with the handy carry case, the In Colour Markers, the Blush Blossom marker, a Level 1 hostess set of your choice plus $80 of goodies from the Stampin' Up catalogue.  Here's what my first hostess selected.  (Plus an owl punch which must have been a bit shy and fluttered away when the photo was being taken!)

On top of that, each month in your email inbox you'll receive a tutorial for a marker technique.  Your tutorial has step by step instructions, plus lots of step by step photos for something you can do with your marker collection.  Here's a little peek at our first tutorial.

Sound good??   It is not too late to join the fun.  If you'd like to join my marker club, get in touch by phone or email and I'll send through some more info and get you started. 

Busy Busy

Been a busy patch lately with not much time at my craft desk.   I'm rather missing my card making gear!  I did get a nice quick and simple Christmas card made last night so pop back tomorrow for a look at that one.

We've been busy with birthdays in our house.  Hannah had a ball at her Tiny Chef party with the girls in her class,  and Jack of course.  They cooked pizzas, biscuits and made milkshakes then ate it all for the party feast.

And I've been busy practising my face painting technique.  I put my hand up to do face painting all day at the school fete this weekend.  Wish me luck!!  

I do hope to get a bit more time at my papercrafts in the next month so hopefully there'll be a little more action in this patch of blogland.    Happy stamping!

Cheers, Sue