Wrapped Up In Christmas

This is one of the cards I did for my Christmas stamp a stack. It was a definite favourite - everyone loved that it was a "different" Christmas card, easy to make yet still very Christmassy.

• Stamps: Hung Up on the Holidays, Loads of Love
• Card: Whisper White and Basic Black
• Ink: Summer Sun, Real Red and Handsome Hunter
• Accessories: Spiral Punch and Gold Cord
  

Nice and Easy Scrapbooking

Here is the first page that I put together of our weekend away. My son was being silly and pulling faces and poses so I just kept snapping away - I love the expressions that I caught and I wanted to scrap a simple layout that kept the emphasis on him and I am thrilled with the way it came out!

• Stamps: Pure and Simple Alphabet Upper
• Ink: Brilliant Blue pad and Brilliant Blue Stampin' Write Marker
• Card: Brilliant Blue, Basic Black, Notations Double Sided Designer Paper
• Accessories: Crystal Effects (I used it to glue everything down and to add water drop accents), Spiral Punch (a must have for me), Bread and Butter Plate (my circle template).
  

Next Years Diary

I got an On Board Art Journal with the intention of using it for next years diary. As usual I couldn't bear to touch it in case I messed it up! I told myself I just had to suck it up and do it and this is the result - it is exactly what I want and I am thrilled with how it came out.


How did I get started? I decided I wanted neutral tones so I picked up my Basic Brown pad and a sponge dauber and started sponging around the outside of the cover, by the time I had finished that I had found my confidence and went hunting in my stash with bits to dress it up. Somehow I felt that once the sponging was there it was no longer perfect so I gave myself permission to play - go figure :-)


I played with my On Board Accents (once again stashed because they were too precious to use - I really have to get over this), designer paper, hodgepodge hardware, ribbon I had previously dyed using a basic brown reinker and a sanding block to name a few. I stuck everything down with Crystal Effects - darn I love that stuff - and glazed the On Board Accents with it to protect them, the outside was done (or maybe a work in progress. there is still plenty of room to add more treasures) and the effect was great!

To do the diary pages I made a universal calendar template in word and printed it out, trimmed it and stuck it to the inside page with Crystal Effects. I then wrote the dates in, stamped the month and generally had a blast stamping everything else, the second page I just ruled and stamped. I will be using this primarily for workshop bookings so the 10 blocks are ample (I never intend doing more than 10 workshops a month).

To use my diary I just write the name of the person hosting the workshop on the main calendar, write the date at the top of one of the rectangles on the second page followed by their details - simple to follow and I can see at a glance where I can slot people in. Best of all I can also block out days that I can't work for personal reasons (such as my sons birthday).

I think I will be able to fit a few years worth in this journal and love that I create each and every month the way I want to! If I need an extra page for some reason it won't be a problem to insert using the spiral punch.

Looks Like Spring

How appropriate - it is spring here in New Zealand (although at the moment it doesn't feel a lot different to winter!). I decided I needed some bright spring like cards and also set myself two challenges, the first is to use up scraps from my ever growing stash and the second to use yellow, a colour I tend to have difficulty with. These two cards are the result:

• Stamps: Looks Like Spring
• Card: Green Galore, Brilliant Blue, Real Red and Whisper White
• Ink: Summer Sun and Real Red
• Accessories: Corner Rounder, Mat Pack, White Gel Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Spring Bouquet Flower Punch

• Stamps: Looks Like Spring
• Card: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Green Galore, Only Orange, Whisper White
• Ink: Summer Sun, Green Galore, Real Red , Only Orange
• Accessories: Spiral Punch, Corner Rounder Punch and Dazzling Diamonds, Spring Bouquet Flower Punch