Christmas Stocking Stuffers

Hi everyone. Today I thought I'd share a little project from the catalogue launch party I had earlier this month. I know it seems too early to think about Christmas, but when I went shopping last night the Christmas decorations and candy were out in force! I guess it's because the retailers in New Zealand don't have to focus on Halloween and Thanksgiving.

These little boxes have just a few elements but would be  perfect for putting a little gift or candy in for stocking stuffers or add a ribbon loop and hang them from the tree! With just a few steps you can go from this...
to this....

The colour combo for this project is Wild Wasabi, Bravo Burgundy and Very Vanilla. This is a really elegant combo for Christmas, a little different from the usual bright red based combos.

The Pillow Box die cut is simply decorated with a strip of Wild Wasabi paper, some Bravo Burgundy Ribbon and a bird from the Two-Step Bird punch. The sentiment is from the new Contempo Christmas set - I love that sentiment!



Stamps: Contempo Christmas
Paper & Card: Bravo Burgundy, Wild Wasabi DP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Wild Wasabi
Punches: Two-Step Bird, SquareBig Shot: Pillow Box Die
Other: Bravo Burgundy Ribbon

Clear Sleeve Gift Box & Zippy Wallet

Hi everyone - I have a couple of fun things to share today, a great sewing tutorial link and a gift box! This is my last week hostessing the Project Tuesday challenges and it's been a blast. This week we're making my clear sleeve gift boxes - the basic instructions are in this post here. They are really simple though - I always make my base box then just wrap the acetate around the box to make the slip cover - no measuring required.

For my box today I kept it pretty simple. Ribbon bands around the edges of the slip cover and a label decorated with paper flowers.

The largest flower is simple Scalloped Circle punches from designer paper that I wet & scrunched up before moulding the flower shape. I sprayed the flower with Glimmermist to disguise the white edges. Once the flower dries it's nice and sturdy, perfect for decorating a box.

I was making this box specifically for the gift that's inside....

So I matched the colours to the little purse. I've used Crumb Cake (stamped with the old Linen background in Crumb Cake ink to match the linen fabric) Regal Rose and Rose Red. That's a Rose Red button on the purse - love those marbled buttons! 

The purse comes from this wonderful tutorial by Anna from Noodlehead. This is my fifth sewing project and the second of these little purses I've made - Anna's tutorials have been instrumental in my getting to grips with zips! (say that three times fast!)

The purse is fully lined which I love - it gives such a nice finished quality. I also pulled out the beading supplies and fashioned a little glass and Tibetan silver zipper pull for that extra bit of bling!

I hope you'll join me and the rest of the design team in making Clear Sleeve Gift Boxes for Project Tuesday this week!




Stamps: Afterthoughts (hostess), Linen Background
Paper & Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Rose Red
Ink: Crumb Cake, Regal Rose
Punches: Scalloped Circle Punch
Other: Regla Rose Ribbon, Soft Subtles Brads

Other: Prima Flowers, Nestabilities, Brads, Flower Button, Glimmermist

Colour Challenge!

Yippee - it's the weekend! My Saturday's over and done with almost, and it was a great one. Lots of time with DH, lots of sunshine, and milkshakes sitting by the sea - ever noticed how everything tastes SO much better at the beach?

My Friday was altogether quieter. I got to sit and read a book cover to cover in one sitting. BLISS! The book was "Still Missing" by Chevy Stevens - highly recommended. I love to read....and so you'll see why the card I've made for this week's OCC challenge was oh-so perfect for this week!

When this stamp set dropped into my mailbox this week I knew it would look great in today's OCC challenge colours. They are Marina Mist, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Early Espresso. The image was coloured with SU! Markers and a waterbrush on watercolour paper. I used the fine tip to add dot and stripe details. The Marina Mist circle was embossed then brayered on the negative side with Early Espresso ink.

I've kept the inside pretty simple. I loveeee the sentiments with this set, so true!

Head on over to OCC and see the wonderful design team creations and we hope you'll play along!



Paper & Card: Bella Bleu DP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla & Marina Mist cardstock.
Ink: Marina Mist & Early Espresso
Punches: Square punch
Other: Soft Suede Ribbon, Soft Subtles Buttons, Linen Thread, SU Markers, Brayer

Stamps: Well Read WTG - MFT Stamps
Other: Circle Nestabilies, Prima Flowers, Jamara Embossing Folder - Provocraft, Brads - Basic Grey

Creating....

....I've been doing lots of it! Not necessarily stamping though. This month I've been working on a wide range of projects. A little candlewicking, a crocheted spring scarf, some fun projects with the Big Shot and an awful lot of....well....here's a photo from this past weekend's shopping...

Yup. I might be addicted already. I have a sewing machine my darling husband bought me for Valentine's Day (best present ever!) back in 2002. It had been a few years since it saw use, and the desire to further my limited sewing skills sat on the backburner.

This month for my birthday I got some essential tools (like a rotary cutter - love cutting paper with scissors, hate using them on fabric!) I was needing to tackle some wonderful online tutorials I've been saving for years and ever since I've been on a total fabric kick.

I've conquered my fear of zippers (not so hard after all!) and I'm slowly picking up techniques and tips to further my skill set. When I stamp I'm very free form, just trying out whatever occurs to me - so it's nice to know I CAN follow a pattern and come out with something usable.

I've created a little sewing corner in my craft room, and found a mini ironing board fits perfectly on my stamping desk (I just have to keep it tidy- easier said than done!) I've gotta say, I'm way more inclined to bust out the iron when it comes to crafting!

I'm already falling asleep every night designing potential projects in my head, so this might be an addiction that sticks around awhile! I need to get on and take some photos of my finished items and will share the fun tutorials I've been following. If you have any favs, feel free to pass them on!

Tri-fold Pocket Card

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's been lovely and sunny here in Wellington today, makes a nice change from the windy days we've been having. It's been nice to get the housework done while the sun was streaming in and I could daydream about future crafty projects.

My challenge for the Project Tuesday crew this week was to make one of these awesome Tri-Fold Pocket cards. I love these - they're nice and flat for easy mailing and are perfect to slip a little gift card inside.

 
I used my fav paper again (Greenhouse Gala) this time to make a masculine birthday card. The bold prints on these sheets are great for guy cards - this pack seriously has something for everyone! The sentiment is from the new Afterthoughts hostess set. I love this stamp, it looks great blocked out in different colours like this.

I've left the insert blank for the moment. I love the new Pear Pizazz - you'll probably be seeing a lot of it!

Head on over to Project Tuesday to see the design team creations - we hope you'll play along!





Stamps: Afterthoughts
Paper & Card: Pear Pizazz, Chocolate Chip, Greenhouse Gala DP, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Pear Pizazz, Chocolate Chip
Punches: Corner Rounder, Round Tab punches
Other: Jumbo Brad, Choc Chip Ribbon, Markers

Sweetheart Sketch

Hi everyone! Here's the post I forgot to put up last night - oops! Shan and I finally went to see Inception, it was great.

This week's OCC challenge is a sketch. I got a big bunch of SU! goodies from Shanan for my birthday (including a Big Shot! yippee!) so it was fun to break out a bunch of new colours and stamps.

All the colours on this card are new....Pear Pizazz, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight and Marina Mist.

I used the new (here in NZ anyway!) Sweetheart stamp set and Heart Treat cups as well as new In Colour ribbon and a button from the Soft Subtles collection. Already I'm totally in love with Marina Mist - it may just come to surpass Baja Breeze as my favourite blue.

The Heart Treat cup is filled with M&M's, and there's a trapdoor on the inside of the card to easily access the candy.

Inside I used the left over punched out heart from the Cherry Cobbler layer and stamped the cute little bird from the set, also in Cherry Cobbler.

Head on over to see what the OCC team has cooked up this week!




Stamps: Sweetheart
Paper & Card: Pear Pizazz, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight & Marina Mist.
Ink: Pear Pizazz, Cherry Cobbler & Marina Mist.
Punches: Full Heart, Corner Rounder, Scalloped Edge, Scalloped & Large Oval Punches
Other: Pear Pizazz Ribbon, Soft Subtles Buttons, White Gel Pen, Heart Treat Cups E-mail me to purchase.

Window Treat Box

Hi everyone! This week my challenge for Project Tuesday is making this fun Window Treat Box. You can find a wonderful tutorial here. I love these boxes, they are a really nice size, perfect for filling with lots of goodies!

I used my favourite paper right now - Greenhouse Gala. I just love the colours in this pack! My base cardstock is Baja Breeze. I used a Lots of Tags die and the Wide Oval punch to make my tag. The sentiment is from the new level three hostess set, Occasional Quotes.

Head on over to Project Tuesday to see what the design team have come up with!





Stamps: Occasional Greetings
Paper & Card: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Whisper White, Greenhouse Gala DP
Ink: Real Red
Punches: Wide Oval, Eyelet Border
Big Shot: Lots of Tags
Other: Corduroy Button, Real Red Ribbon, Hemp Twine 

Gatefold Card

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. We had a lovely one celebrating my birthday, then a couple of crafty events kept me busy. This month I'm excited to be your hostess for the Project Tuesday challenges - this week we're making Gatefold Cards.

I needed a thank you card to go with a box of chocolates for some dear friends, this Pure Innocence set was perfect. I used markers for the colouring, and paper pieced the dress. The colour combo is Regal Rose, Wild Wasabi and Blue Bayou. The scalloped circle layer is attached to the oval layer so the card can open in the center.

I kept the inside nice and simple - just some more of that pretty paper and another sweet image.

Head on over to Project Tuesday to see what the design team has in store this week!





Paper & Card:  Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou, Whisper White
Ink: Wild Wasabi
Punches: Scalloped & Plain Circle punches
Other: Markers, Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Linen Thread, Paper Piercer

Stamps: Lollypop Girl, Apple For You, I Want Candy - MFT Stamps
Paper & Card: Two Scoops - Basic Grey
Other: Oval Nestabilities, Button, Jumbo Brads, Epoxy Stickers, Jumbo Scallop Die-namic - MFT

Merry Kissmas

We may have just welcomed Spring here in New Zealand, but I'm still loving making Christmas cards! This one might just be my fav of the bunch - I got a nice parcel from MFT recently and this little cutie was begging to be inked up.

Once again Jennifer has a great sketch for us, I always love the look of a circle inside a square, and those long panels are great for showing off some designer paper.

My colour combo for this card was Soft Sky, Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink and Kiwi Kiss. I used a bunch of techniques on the focal image, here's a close-up....

The colouring was done with Watercolour Wonder Crayons. Clothes were paper pieced. I used Liquid Applique for the fluffy trims, Two-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter added some sparkle to the snow. The edges were sponged with Soft Sky and the mistletoe got a coating of Crystal Effects.

Inside the card I've used more designer paper, this is from the Eskimo Kisses pack by Basic Grey. I love that dash of pink for a Christmas card! The sentiment is from the new Occasional Quotes hostess set.

Head on over to see the samples from the oh-so talented OCC Sketch team!




Stamps: Occasional Quotes
Paper & Card: Soft Sky, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Soft Sky
Punches: Circle Punches
Other: Crystal Effects, White Gel Pen, Two-Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Watercolour Wonder Crayons

Stamps: Merry KISSmas - MFT Stamps
Paper & Card: Eskimo Kisses - Basic Grey
Other: Liquid Applique, Jumbo Brads, Nestabilities