Grocery List Revamp

Like many people, Shanan and I keep a grocery list on the fridge. I used to have a super cute Rachel Hale notepad up there, but once that was used up I kept the fittings, and have been making my own the last couple of years.

Here's last years notepad. I just love that Raspberry Tart paper! But it was looking a little shabby, so rather than replace the notepad, I redid it completely. It was time for a new look anyway!

I was able to salvage all these peices - back into my Pretties Kit they went! The pencil holder and magnet are from the original notepad, if you don't have a pencil clip and want to make your own, you could use a loop of card or ribbon.

I started by cutting two large scallop squares using nestabilites and lightweight chipboard. I used leftover chipboard that came with some Stampin' Up! supplies - I have a stack of it for projects like this. I cut one end of each square and joined them together to create a long, wide rectangle.

I cut the same shapes out of patterned paper and covered the chipboard. This paper is from the retired Spring Break pack - I wanted a more modern look for my notepad this year. I've just used a little sellotape to join the squares, a strip on the back, and a bit on the front that will be covered as we go along.

I cut a Pumpkin Pie mat slightly larger than the notepad and distressed the edges. At this point I'm just trying to get a feel for the overall look. Because I design on the go, I often stop and see if what I'm doing is working so far! The pumpkin mat was stuck on using dimensionals.

These notepads are cheap, but they have an ugly red glue edge on them. I cover it up by making a topper out of card. Take a piece the same width as your notepad and score twice, leaving enough room that your notepad slips in easily.

I scalloped the edge of mine and glued it on using Tombow adhesive - I love this stuff!

Here's the topper all stuck on. I keep the flap free so it can be lifted up when you're ripping sheets off the notepad. This stops you getting all those leftover bits of paper scraps when you tear off a sheet. You can see the buttons in the background...a plan was forming!

I used Sticky Strip to stick the notepad onto the base. If you want something to really stick, this is the best! Three small strips did the trick.

I also used Sticky Strip to adhere the pencil holder. This did double duty and held the topper down in place once it was stuck on.

I covered the pencil with more Spring Break paper. I used Sticky Strip for this too - it works great.

Time to embellish! I kept it simple - a bit of Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, some felt flowers from the Flower Fusion pack and a button. I used Sticky Strip to adhere all these elements. Because this will be on the fridge and will inevitably see a bit of wear and tear, it's best to keep embellishment on the modest side so your notepad stays looking crisp for longer.

Lastly, adhere your magnet to the back of the notepad. Sticky Strip works again here - or use a strong glue if you have some around.

All done! Grocery night is tonight, so this has already had some use. I love using my paper crafting supplies to make things like this for the home, it's great to be able to customise things just the way you want them!



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Song of Spring

As I've mentioned before - one of my crafting goals this year is to work on colouring. So yesterday I pulled out an image I love - but one that had remained uninked because I had NO idea how to colour it! A quick google search gave me some colour ideas, and I jumped in. That's the beauty of stamping - if something goes wrong, you can scrap it and start again!

Don't you just love that hummingbird? I wish we had Hummingbirds in New Zealand. I think I'd fill my garden with whatever it is they like to visit!

This stamp is from the gorgeous Spring Song set (only $30.95!) as is the sentiment on the card. I used the watercolouring with inkpads technique on watercolour paper, and quite a long list of colours. I'll try and remember them all. Certainly Celery, Green Galore, Apricot Appeal, Marigold Morning, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink and Pink Passion. I think that's all!


Here's the finished card. I had the coloured image sitting on my desk when I saw the SCS colour challenge using Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink and Pink Passion - perfect! I've used paper from the Spring Fling pack, a textile embossing folder and ribbon from a discount store.

To cut my hummingbird like that I've used a coluzzle template and stopped short of cutting the wings. You could also trace around something and cut it by hand. The brads are actually Very Vanilla, but pick up on the pink tones well and become a pretty good match for Blush Blossom.

These jumbo brads, as well as the larger size, the Scallop Oval punch and White Stazon ink and cleaner are still available from the last Spring Mini Catalogue - you can place an order for these at any time by emailing me.

If you have a stamp in your collection you've been afraid to use I hope you'll pull it out and give it some inky love - practice makes perfect!

Have a wonderful day,


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Delightful Silhouette

When I saw the Colour Throwdown challenge for this week, I knew right away I wanted to do a silhouette card. Even better, the new sketch challenge at SCS worked for this card too!

So here's the card I just whipped up. To get the main image, I brayered and sponged Baja Breeze ink on glossy white card, using a circle punched post-it mask to leave a white area for the moon. This is perhaps the simplest of the masking techniques, and you can use it to make really interesting backgrounds too.

I stamped the grass image from Inspired by Nature in Elegant Eggplant, and after waiting for a few seconds, heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I waited for a reason - I wanted the ink to partially dry to give me this almost shadowy look - the embossing powder only stuck to the really wet areas. (You can click the photos to get a super duper huge version so you can see the details!

The Delightful sentiment from It's All Good (retired) was stamped in Elegant Eggplant on Whisper White and punched out with a 1" Circle punch. This was layered twice, an epoxy sticker was placed over top, and the whole thing was stuck to an Aluminum Circle tag.

The background paper is an old Certainly Celery piece from a 6x6 promotional pad. I used a ribbon slide from the Hodgepodge Hardware set on my Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon.

I really like these colours together - I think this is probably just masculine enough that you could give it to a guy.

Stay tuned tomorrow - I'll show you the other card I made today, which is definitely NOT masculine!



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Clean and Simple

Clean and Simple (CAS) design isn't my usual style of stamping (or not stamping - there are no stamps on this card, it just evolved that way!) but when I do it, the results always delight me. It's definitely my go-to secondary style.

Clean and Simple doesn't have a set-in-stone definition. Art is subjective! To me, 'Clean and Simple' means minimal layers, a clear focal point and an excess of white, or open space.

The CAS challenge at SCS this week was to use designer paper on a CAS card. I usually don't add patterned paper to my CAS cards, so this was fun and something I'll do more often.

I really like this one. The papers are from the retired Ginger Blossom pack. I've cut the layers with nestabilities. I've matted the papers on the same colour card, Ruby Red and Groovy Guava, to create a smooth transition from paper to card.

I used the slot punch to tie my ribbon onto the circle layer. A bit of tape in the back helps keep your ribbon steady when tying around shapes like this. I've been seeing a certain domestic goddesses butterfly punch everywhere lately - but found this die in my rather sizeable cuttlebug collection - it was perfect! I've cut it out of Whisper White and sprayed with pearl glimmermist before adding some pearls to the body. Hopefully you can see the shimmer in the close-up.

Don't you love that sentiment? It's a rub-on from the old Eastern Elegance pack.

I'm nice and organised today. It's time to go put some chilli in the crockpot to simmer away - so I can spend the day crafting!

Hope the sun is shining where you are,


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Whoo Loves You?

Hi, I'm Sarah -and I'm an Owl Stamp addict! I can't resist the big staring eyes, the puns, the overall cuteness of a good owl stamp! I don't think I should even tell you how many sets I have featuring owls (um, at least seven) and this one, Owl Together Now, is soooo much fun to stamp with.

I was SO pleased to see the Mojo sketch for today. I'd been planning on making some shaped cards this week (having noticed a bit of a theme in my stamping lately - too many rectangles!) so this was perfect for me. I decided to make a card for Shan - he's been super busy lately, so hopefully he's not reading this at work (hi honey?) and I can put it in his office to surprise him. This card would be perfect for Valentine's Day too.

I used Ski Slope paper for this card, and followed the colour scheme of Real Red, Choc Chip, Old Olive and Baja Breeze. Because I used Whisper White cardstock and not watercolour paper on this card, I've coloured using my Watercolour Wonder Crayons and a blender pen. You can NOT go wrong with these - I love them, and they glide over Whisper White beautifully.

I've accessorised with some White Grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive brads and button, and some linen thread. The owl is cut out and popped up on dimensionals, as are a couple of the layers.

I just had to have another owl - so have decorated the inside of this card too. I love those papers - if you have some Christmas themed papers in your stash I hope you'll try using them on other types of cards, the results can be gorgeous!



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Terrific Tens - Teal Friend

Hi everyone, hope you've had a wonderful weekend. Today is Wellington Anniversary day, so we've been enjoying a nice relaxing three day weekend. I haven't been stamping, but have been doing a spot of crochet.

I thought I'd share a card I made last week, this one is definitely a Terrific Ten (made in ten minutes or less) and I followed the conventions for the CAS challenge at SCS too - to use Teal, White and one other colour, Certainly Celery in my case.
Here's the rundown. I used the Colour Spritzer tool and a Certainly Celery marker to spray a light background. The image from Pocket Silhouettes was inked with Certainly Celery then a Taken with Teal marker. I punched it out with the largest square punch, and layered on a square of teal card. The sentiment was stamped with Taken with Teal, the image adhered with dimensionals and a piece of Certainly Celery ribbon was tied around the top of the card. That's it!

I like the slightly graduated effect I got by using the marker over the already inked stamp. Certainly Celery and Taken with Teal look great together - and I have to be honest, Teal isn't the easiest colour to pair up!

Just a reminder - Sale-A-Bration starts today!

See here for all the details including how to order, receive your free Sale-A-Bration stamp set, free shipping and enter the draw for a Bloomin' with Beauty stamp set and giftbox filled with goodies from me!


Some supplies available from Stampin' Up! Email me for purchasing details.

One Card: Two Ways - Get Well Soon!

It's been over a year and a half since my last One Card: Two Ways feature - so when I unfortunately needed two get well cards I thought it would be nice to bring it back!

One Card: Two Ways is simple - using the same layout or supplies I'll show a couple of cards that hopefully illustrate how different colour or stamp choices result in a very different card!

This time around I used the exact same layout and same size focal layer, but changed the papers and colour palette. I needed a masculine card and a feminine card - so also changed the little accents.

The first card uses papers from the Urban Garden pack. The stamp is from Pun Fun - this set makes GREAT "guy" cards! The layout is really simple, a couple of rectangles and a rounded focal layer. The base card and layering card is Basic Gray for both cards.

I rounded the corners of my stamped image using the small corner rounder - this isn't in your catalogue, but IS still available for purchase. Which is great! It's amazing what a difference simply rounding the corners on your project can make.

The image was watercoloured with Baja Breeze and Not Quite Navy inks. I added a little glitter to make the water sparkle. The accents on this card are two jumbo eyelets filled with Crystal Effects. I pre-make these embellishments, so might do a tutorial on how I do it soon.

The inside of the card is really simple, but effective. It's especially important to line your darker coloured cards - it makes writing in them so much easier. The sentiment is from an old hostess set called Warmest Regards.

Here's the second card. Same layout, different papers, image and accessories. This stamp is from Fun & Fast Notes - another great all purpose set.

The papers on this one are from the Tea Party pack. The image is watercoloured with Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink and Lovely Lilac.

I used grosgrain ribbon as an accent on this card and wrapped a flower brad around the flat knot for an extra something special.

I love using the Photo Corner punch with designer paper and base card like this - it's so nice to have your accent match the rest of your card.

Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns of designer paper on your creations. You'll find all the papers in a pack work so well together, you'll get a great vibrant effect.

Same interior layout for this card. Making two cards with the same layout really speeds up the process (although I like to take my time anyway!) and you'll find your cards look entirely different depending on your colour choices. I hope you'll try it soon.

Shanan and I took a drive out to Eastbourne and had cheeseburgers on the beach for dinner last night. It was lovely and peaceful - a great mid-week retreat.

Happy Stampin'


Some supplies available from Stampin' Up! Email me for purchasing details.

Just Add Ice Cream!

When our car suddenly and ungracefully gave out on us a couple of weeks ago, some friends lent us their car to go traipsing around the countryside looking for a new one. When they wouldn't let us refill the petrol tank (that's friendship folks - especially with these petrol prices!) I decided I'd make them a gift the whole family would love. So here it is - Ice cream sundaes in a box!
Well....almost! There's no ice cream in here but all the yummy toppings are there - just add ice cream!
This box is constructed exactly the same way as the base for my Clear Sleeve Gift Box. I started with a peice of 12x12 Baja Breeze card stock, sliced a couple of inches off one end, then scored at 3" all around. I covered the box with papers from the Walk in the Park pack, and the inside of the box is reinforced with Cameo Coral card stock.

I made a belly band using two strips of Cameo Coral card, punched with the Scallop Border punch and more of the lovely paper from that pack layered on top. My ribbon treatment was completely inspired by Joanne - I've used buttons on top of ribbon before, but love how she ties them on. All the ribbons on this project were discount store finds. The Baja Breeze Corduroy Button is tied on with linen thread.

The sweet label is from the Sweet Sampler set (retired). I have to admit I bought the set for that stamp alone, to use on all kinds of homemade goodies. But all the stamps in that set are so cute! I cut my image out and matted it using oval nestabilities, Baja Breeze card and dimensionals. It's attached to the box with more dimensionals.

That's it for the box - I kept it pretty simple knowing there would be lots of yummy things inside to look at.

Inside the box I've put a yummy bottle of chocolate orange topping, pink wafers, chocolate cream filled wafer straws, chocolate drops, chocolate hail (are you seeing a chocolate pattern here?) rainbow strands and mini marshmallows.

It's important to use food safe bags when creating a gift like this. I have lots on hand for chocolate making/gifting. Also please be aware of any possible food allergies - this wouldn't be a nice gift if one child couldn't participate!


I kept the bottle simple as well. I covered the rather garish label with designer paper, but it's not attached to the bottle itself so it can be slipped off and the information underneath is still accessible. I inked part of the Enjoy image from Sweet Sampler using a blender pen and my Baja Breeze inkpad (as there is no marker in this colour). I often ink stamps using In Colours like this and it works great!

The sentiment was punched out with the Small Oval punch, then layered with the Large Oval and Scalloped Oval punches. I punched a hole in the top, and attached it to the bow with more linen thread.

Of course I had to make a wee card to go in the box. This started with a Love Note and envelope. The sentiment is from Lovely Labels and is layered using the plain and Scalloped Circle punches. I used a white gel pen to dot around the scallops.

Tip: If you're having trouble getting a clear image from a bold stamp like this one - first try cleaning your stamp then reinking and stamping. Still having trouble? Ink your stamp with Versamark, stamp onto scrap paper a couple of times, then reink and stamp. Voila! You can also emboss using clear embossing powder and any colour of classic ink using this method!

Hopefully the family has as much fun making sundaes together as I think they will!

It's an exciting time for stampers here in New Zealand - Sale-a-bration starts next Monday! More about that soon, in the meantime, don't forget to check out my 'I Love You, Man' class.

Have a creative day,

Some supplies available from Stampin' Up! Email me for purchasing details.

Sparkle Little Butterfly

Today was one of those days that I just had to stamp before I did anything else. I was up late last night finishing a gift project that I can't wait to show you (later today probably) so I think it was leftover creative energy from that!
This card uses Mojo Monday Sketch 122. I kept the layers and embellishments pretty minimal (for me!) because I wanted the beautiful sentiment to shine. The colours are Chocolate Chip and Soft Sky. The papers are from the SU! Notebook pack (retired) and One Heart, One Mind.

I stamped the Verve sentiment in Chocolate Chip, but inked the butterfly with Soft Sky before tracing over it with a 2-way Glue Pen and adding glitter for a bit of sparkle. All the edges are sponged with Soft Sky and a dauber. I have been hoarding that chocolate ribbon forever! The Dew Drops are attached with Mini Glue dots.

I'm off to finish my giftbox project, then I guess I should have breakfast huh? It's a gorgeous day here in Wellington - beautiful blue sky, it's so nice to have the windows open!



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