Ducking in today to show you a quick and easy boy's birthday card.  This one is for Ben who we've known since mum's group days when he and Hannah were bubs.  We car pool together now for school. 

I love Lots Of Bots stamp set for those male cards.  Think I might use it for my brother too - he turns 31 today, and Jack turns 4 in "ONE MORE SLEEP MUM!" so busy week in the card making department!   Be back to show you those ones in a few days.

The robot comes up quite well embossed in white on black card.  The nuts and bolts stamp from this set make a nice background - in Versamark here on Basic Gray cardstock.  Some crimped silver and a touch of Real Red and DSP to finish off.

A quick stamp on the envelope to match makes a nice quick and easy finishing touch too.

Happy middle of the week to you!

Cheers, Sue
  

It was birthday week in our house last week which means I've been busy 'birthdaying' but also means I have a couple of cards to share this week.  John's turn last Wednesday and Hannah turned 7 last Thursday.

Here's John's card.  A simple but I hope elegant one.  (No no no - nothing to do with the fact that I'd only left myself with a short window of time to put it together!)  :-)

I really love the silver from our Metallics Pack (pg130) teamed with Basic Gray and Black for cards for guys.  The Basic Gray patterned paper panel is from the pad of 6" x 6" patterned paper in the Hostess set on page 18. 

Love the corduroy buttons too for male cards ....

I punched two slots with the slot punch to thread the Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon through, then added the button with a glue dot. 

And another favourite for this card is the greeting.  It is from 'On Your Birthday' (pg 113) and I love the message.  Came up well embossed in black.

Now from very masculine greys we move to pinks and get the glitter out for Hannah's card.  Back another day with that one.  (And a very pink cake too while we're in birthday mode.) 

Thursday night is booked out but there's still 4 spots left for Wednesday night's class if you'd like to try Stained Glass technique and an array of colouring tools to use on your cards.  Lots of fun and you go home with 3 cards!  Give me a buzz or shoot through an email if you'd like to grab one of the last seats.

Details here.

Cheers,  Sue 

A quick card first.  This one was for my brother's 30th recently. 

Silver (from the Metallics pack) and Basic Gray were my chosen colours for this one.

Finally got my corduroy buttons (Spring Mini pg 4) out too after hoarding them for a bit!  I crimped the piece of Urban Oasis patterned paper for some added texture.

The tag has a stamp from Circle Circus stamped off once as a background, with a birthday greeting stamp from On Your Birthday.  I've used my neutrals markers for those, and punched it with my wide oval punch.

If you're interested in joining a marker club, I'm taking names for my next group - commencing October 2009.  Details here.  There are a few spots left if you'd like to join us.

And now time for those prize draw results.  Drum roll please ......

Hostess Prize Draw:

* Carla won a Level 1 hostess set and chose Best Yet

* Karen won $30 to spend and chose the Scallop Circle Punch

* Melinda and Amy won the Colour Sampler Cards

* Lisa and Cathy won the Embellishment Packs

Not So Local Prize Draw

* Patricia and Olivia won the Colour Sampler Cards

* Mary and Shelley won the Embellishment Packs

Congratulations ladies.  I'll pop your prizes in with your orders once they arrive.  For the 'Not So Local' prize winners, your prizes will be in the post later this week. 

And that's it from me for a few days.  We're off to Ballarat for some school holiday fun with the kids.  Normal transmission will resume midweek! 

In the meantime though there will be lots of scrapbooking gorgeousness to look at over at StampAMemory so check in there for your dose of Stampin' Up! inspiration.

Click here for the StampAMemory blog

Cheers,

Sue

 Cards for guys always seem to present a little bit of a challenge.  Perhaps because so many of my stamps, papers and embellishments are floral and feminine!

With some birthdays approaching for some fellas in the family I got creative today.

The Recipe:

Stamp Set:  Cheers For You

Cardstock and Ink Colours: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Other: Windsor Knot DSP, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Vintage Brads, and my newest toy - a crimper!

I was also tackling two different team challenges with my card making today - a product challenge set by Ros Oakes.  The July challenge is to use as many different designs from one pack of DSP on a creation.  And a sketch challenge set this month by Genna Gifford.  Here's the sketch.

While I had everything out I made a second one, tweaking the design a little.

I am really loving my new crimper and crimping everything in sight! 

You just cut your cardstock piece or paper piece, then feed it through the crimper.  You can adjust the 'crimps' a little by how firmly you squeeze the handle.  Quite a nifty tool for adding a little texture I think.  Page 155 if you're looking for it.  $37.95

So do you have a favourite?? 

The kids and I are  just back from a few days R and R with my parents in Seymour.  We had a lovely time away.  Always nice to have a change of scenery.

Some highlights to share ....

The kids had fun cooking with Maddy .......

(and I had fun eating the results!)

Morning tea out in the pergola ....

Mum showing Hannah some family heritage items and telling stories about her mother ....

Gardening with Poppy ....

And my favourite pic from this trip - the kids checking out the frost .....

OK enough family snaps - be back with some more cards and creations tomorrow!

Cheers,  Sue

Two of my nephews recently celebrated birthdays so it was time to get my card making gear out. 

James turned 4 and his card features 3 of the new In Colour striped ribbons. 

The Recipe:

Stamp Sets: On Your Birthday (pg 113 for the 2 birthday greetings,) Sprinkles (pg 92 -handy for backgrounds,)  Wild About You (pg 60 for the lion) and Schoolbook Serif Alphabet (pg 121 for the J.)

Colours: Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point

Other: Tag punch and a brad, plus the In Colour striped ribbons.

I stamped the lion on scrap paper first so that the orange was a little fainter then stamped the birthday greeting and j over the top.  Flip the punch over to check how it's all lined up and punch last.

Looks quite cute with a matching envelope I think.   You can find envelopes on page 131.  $10.95 for 40 of either whisper white or very vanilla.

If you'd like to get 1m of each of the 6 In Colour striped ribbons(6 metres in total) - I have a ribbon share happening at present.  $10.50 per share plus $2.50 postage.  Email or phone if you'd like a share or two to add to your stash.

Here's the birthday boy with his cake. 

Happy birthday James!

And on the right the other birthday boy, William, celebrating his first birthday.

Happy birthday William!

Didn't that year fly by!

Now I can just give you a sneak peek at William's card as it is featuring in my Marker Tutorial for my Marker Club girls. 

I thought Washington Apple Designer Series Paper was perfect for this card, and used Wild About You, the alphabet and my trusty tag punch again. Plus some more of that spunky ribbon and my Stampin' Write markers.

(If you're in Australia and you'd like to join a marker club you can find all the details here.  My second group is due to start in June and there are spaces left if you'd like to join us.)

We had fun at the boys' party.  Jack (2) enjoyed playing golf with his dad.

And Hannah found somewhere to hang upside down so she was happy too! 

She spends most of her recess and lunch time at school upside down on the monkey bars I gather and from after school chats it seems to be the current highlight of the day!

What did you do at school today?

I played on the bars.

I mean what did you learn at school today?

I learnt to do flip overs on the bars.

Yep - A++ in bars!

Hope you've learnt a few new tricks this week! 

Cheers, Sue

Now why do I always find these a challenge?  Perhaps its because many of the stamp sets I like most seem to feature flowers or are feminine in design. 

I sat down recently to make a card for my dad's birthday and this is what I came up with.  I quite like the simple layout and use of white space.

The Recipe

Stamp Set:  Best Friend's Alphabet Upper

Ink:  Black Stazon

Paper:  A textured white base card (non SU) and Pumpkin Pie Patterned Paper pack (pg 136)

Other: Pumpkin Pie Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (pg 146) and a slot punch to make a slit to pass it through.  Black Stampin Write marker for the doodled border.

I'd been meaning to try some doodling, use patterned paper and a stapler on a card or layout so this one ticked all those boxes. 

Now shall I make a confession - hmmmm. 

Shhhh - I somehow missed making my dad a Fathers' Day card this year so this card doubles as a belated one of those. 

Yes - if you lift the B (for Birthday) you will find an F (for Fathers' Day.)  Two for one.  I know, I know - how could I not make my super dad a Fathers' Day card on time!  Sorry dad - but I guess better late than never.

Wasn't finished with my doodling experiment yet.  I decided to make a doodled shape and cut it out for the inside of the card.  What do you think??

OK that's it for me for today.  Off for some more school holiday fun!  The kids and I are enjoying the relaxed, 'stay in our jammies half the morning' days.  The weather has been smiling and it has been lovely catching up with friends and family. Speaking of which - Hannah, Jack and I are off to mum and dad's for a few days next week so my newsletter will be a day or so later than usual.  (Once I return to my trusty computer!)  Keep an eye out for it late next week. 

See you all again soon with some more creations.

Cheers, Sue

Last week it was my brother's birthday too.  He turned 29.  Happy birthday Brendan!  He is 10 years younger than me so we both have big birthdays ahead next year!   I think in my mind he is still 15 - can't quite get my head around having a younger brother not too far off turning 30!

Here is his card.  I seem to have lots of stamps with flowers and love hearts and all that girly stuff that is not too useful for masculine cards.  Had a flick through my stash and decided some patterned paper and my trusty Best Friends Alphabet set would do the trick.

The Recipe:

Stamp Sets:  Best Friends Alphabet Upper and Eat Cake

Ink: Whisper White Craft Ink     Tip: Don't forget to leave it a while to dry

Cardstock/Papers: Sage Shadow, Basic Gray and Wintergreen Patterned Paper

Other: Some brads from my tin of silver Hodgepodge (from the Spring Mini)

Happy birthday Brendan.

Cheers, Sue     Susan

(I'm Susan to my family and oldest friends.  Morphed into a Sue sometime in my 20s!) 

Oh, before I go - I'm putting the finishing touches on Madex Creations September newsletter and tutorial.  Here is a sneak peek at one of the cards from this month's edition.  There are also a heap of tips for using Stampin' Around Wheels, information about specials plus class details.   Hopefully something there that comes in handy for you.

Cheers, Sue

 July is a big month in our family for birthdays so I thought it was time to get creating and make a few birthday cards.  One coming up soon is my brother in law.  I looked through my stamp collection and realised how many girly, flowery sets I have!  Hmmm. 

Decided the Outlaw Double Sided Patterned Paper would be just the thing for a masculine card.  What else did I have that wasn't too fine and delicate in the way of embellishments?  Aha - jumbo pewter eyelets.  Just the thing.  This is what I whipped up.

Stamp Set: For A Friend Hostess Set

Cardstock: Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust and Outlaw patterned paper

Ink: Chocolate Chip (for the greeting and sponging - I'm sponging ink on the edges of everything at the moment, I think it is my new favourite technique!)

Accessories: Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, Jumbo pewter eyelets, cropadile

Now just in case you are wondering how I got that row of raised dots at the bottom there, I took a few snaps while I was doing them.

TUTORIAL:   DRY EMBOSSING WITH A CROPADILE

1. Grab your cropadile and set it to A2.

2. Grab your mat pack (pg 145) and take out the paper piercing template.  Line up the large eyelet section with the edge of your cardstock.

3. Line up the cropadile with one of the holes and squeeze.  Practise on some scraps until you are happy with the amount of pressure to use. 

4. Move your paper piercing template along until you have finished the row.  Voila - a nice straight row of dots.  (And no pencil marks to rub out!)

Now who is next on my birthday list!      Happy Stamping!

Cheers, Sue