Faux Nestie Tutorial

I had one of those light bulb moments this afternoon and I just couldn't wait to share - I have worked out how to get the look of nesties without having to buy them!

Please excuse the quality of the photo's, If I had to spend a couple of hours doing this I probably wouldn't bother! I have done the photography and editing on my i-Phone and it only took me a few minutes. Your feedback on this style of tutorial would be appreciated :-)

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree

Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Handsome Hunter, Basic Brown

Accessories: 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Sanding Block, Sponge Dauber, A Glass from my cupboard!

Sorry about the missing step, I have now added it.

Is it too early to think about Christmas cards?

I don't think it is ever too early to start, I hate last minute panics! A Flower For All Seasons is a great little stamp set, you can literally cover cards for every time of year and it watercolours beautifully!

Many Merry Messages takes care what words to stamp on your card, it covers everything Christmas and offers so many font styles and words for both the outside of your card and the inside.

Stamps: A flower For All Seasons, Many Merry Messages

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Old Olive, Watercolour Paper

Ink: Basic Black, Black StazOn

Accessories: Real Red, Old Olive and Sahara Sand Stamp Pads for colouring off the lid, Blender Pen, Scallop Border Punch

Card Carrier and Sneak Peak

I have been surfing over at Lauren Meaders blog again and found her tutorial for a Boxed Bag Holder, what an awesome little box! I thought it would make a cool card carrier for gifting handmade cards, so I adjusted the measurements and came up with this version that easily holds 8 cards and 8 C6 envelopes.

Click on the title for this post and it will take you straight to Laurens tutorial, she is such an inspiration.

The alterations I made were:

Cut 12 x 12 cardstock to 12 inches by 26cm, score on the 12 inch side at 3cm, 15cm, 18cm and 30 cm. Score on the 26cm side at 3cm, 20cm and 22 cm. Other than that just follow Lauren's tutorial and you will have a card carrier too!

One tip, you will only have a 0.5mm flap to adhere the box together at the side so I recommend you use Sticky Strip, if it overlaps a bit just fold the overlapped piece in on top of itself, Sticky Strip sticks anything to anything so I have complete faith in it holding my box together!

Now for the sneak peak details. The box is made with Parisian Breeze Speciality Designer "Paper" which is actually cardstock weight and textured, it is AWESOME and co-ordinates with Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip and Kraft card, look out for more 3D items made with this, I love it.

Did you notice the brad in the flower on the top right? It is a Jumbo Brad and is 5/16th of an inch across, they come in a mixed pack of 80, 20 each of Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Whisper White and Silver. I think you will be seeing a lot more of these too.

Stamps: Fresh Cuts

Cardstock: Parisian Breeze Speciality Designer Paper, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Brocade Blue

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/16" Chocolate Chip Jumbo Brad, Sticky Strip, Large Oval Punch

Pocket Tissue Box Cover

I am so excited, I have had the idea for this pocket tissue box cover swirling around in my head for a while and yesterday when I should have been prepping for a workshop it all came together in my head so I just had to try it out LOL.

I based it around a little soft pack of Sorbent Tissues and with a bit of fiddling I have come up with a printable template that uses one piece of A4 cardstock, this is a great way to use up scraps of designer paper and is so easy.

At the moment the template needs a bit of work, I can use it but it needs a bit of tweaking, when I get it tweeked I will post it here as a tutorial.

I ended up making three of these and used as door prizes at my workshop, the ladies loved them and I have promised to have a functioning template for them for their next workshop on the 26th of August so I have a definite deadline!

All three were made using the set Forest Friends in the mini catalogue being released on the 1st of August, so they were a sneak peak as well.

Stamps: Forest Friends

Cardstock: Kraft, Basic Grey, Bella Bleu designer paper

Ink: Basic Grey (stamped off once to soften it)

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon

Framed Pocket Silhouettes

I love the Pocket Silhouettes stamp set, it really is the ultimate
stamp set to "stamp and go" with.

The frame I have done on this looks complicated but is put together
solely with squares and small and large photo corners from the Photo
Corner punch.

I love it when cards come together quickly but have a real wow factor.

This is the make and take for a workshop I am doing tonight. I hope the ladies like it :-)

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Cardstock: Confetti White, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Old Olive, Basic Black

Accessories: Photo Corner Punch, Stamp Positioner

Pretty Petal Pocket - Large

OK, I can't help myself, I just had to keep playing LOL. This is the large version without the front petal. I used my Word Window Punch to make a hole to thread the strap through.

I am definitely in a purple mood today! I have had these large brads for a while but I have found them a bit heavy to use on cards, they are absolutely perfect here though because the extra weight helps to keep the bag closed.

Click on title for this post and it will take you straight to Lauren's Timeless Templates samples on her blog - totally awesome.

Stamps: So Swirly Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel

Cardstock: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst

Ink: Lovely Lilac

Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Designer Brad Large Flower, Scallop Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Pretty Petal Pocket © Timeless Template by Lauren Meader

Pretty Petal Pocket

How gorgeous is this little box!

Lauren Meader designed this gorgeous template as part of her Timeless Template line and it is awesome. If you aren't familiar with Lauren's templates click on the title of this post and you will shoot over to her blog and the projects she has made using her templates.

Her templates are so easy to use and her samples so inspiring they are well worth every cent.

This is the smaller of the two sizes for this template and it came together in no time. I can't believe I didn't stamp a thing.

Stamps: None!

Cardstock: Lovely Lilac, Tea Party DSP

Ink: Lovely Lilac

Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Scallop Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Pretty Petal Pocket Timeless Template

For Father 3

This is my favourite stamp in this set. I love the feelings it evokes.

For Father 2

How perfect is this card to say thank you to someone who has helped you out with some DIY. It can be so hard to make masculine cards sometimes but I think the secret is to keep the layout clean and simple.

I feel the watercolouring gives the card a lot of depth and shows that you have put time and thought into it without making it girly.

For Father 1

With school holidays I haven't had much of a chance to create but I have been going through some of my cards. I loved the stamp set For Father and was really sad when it didn't make it into the new catalogue.

I have three favourite cards I made with this set and haven't been able to part with. This is bordering on compulsive hording so I have decided to put them here so I can still look at them AND I can give the cards to some special people :-)

The image has been stamped in black StazOn on watercolour paper and coloured with stamp pad lids and a blender pen.