Boxed Chain Drop Earrings

Happy Monday (or Sunday!) It's a quiet day at our house on the hill, Shanan is home sick today poor thing, so I'm going to curl up in my favourite chair and study a little while keeping him company.

I thought I'd pop on and share a little project from the past week. I made these earrings and pillow box to go with my Mother-in-law's birthday present - I'm so glad she liked them!

It was so fun to pull out my jewellery making supplies - I haven't made a lot recently and it was a nice change of pace. These are simple chain drops featuring wire wrapped mauve pearls, crystal and those gorgeous silver filigree beads.
 

 

I wanted a simple and elegant gift box for the earrings, and turned to my trusty pillow box die - just the right size for jewellery! The box is cut from vellum. That's it from me, I have a card I'll share tomorrow!

Colour Combo: Basic Black, Lavender Lace Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments (SU) Dies: Pillow Box (SU) Punches: Modern Label, Word Window (SU) Other:Black Satin Ribbon, Silver Cord (SU) Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Distress to De-Stress!

Hi everyone - I hope you're having a good weekend. I have to say, I made my OCC card at the very last minute this week, but the challenge couldn't have been more perfect. 

 

This week my challenge is for you to distress to de-stress using the provided sketch (below). So rip and sponge edges, crumple flowers or use your favourite distressing technique to work away a little stress while stamping!

 

I made this card for my Mother-in-law's birthday. I also used CTD #130 for my colour combo and the CCEE challenge to use a distressing tool.

 I stamped my image on watercolour paper and coloured it using markers. My edges are sponged with Crumb Cake ink and distressed using the cutter kit tool.

The inside is nice and simple with lots of room for a personal message.

Head on over to Our Creative Corner and see the design team samples - I hope you'll play along this week!

 Colour Combo: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Pretty in Pink & So Saffron Stamps: Because I Care, Warmest Regards, Wonderful Words (SU) Paper: Candy Lane & So Saffron DSP (SU) Dies: Butterfly Embosslits (SU) Punches: Corner Rounder (SU) Other: Pearls, Mat Pack, Cutter Kit, Button, Choc Chip Ribbon, PIP Ribbon, Markers, Piercing Tool (SU)

Love is in the Air

Happy Saturday everyone, I've got today's OCC challenge to share. This week Wendy has challenged us to make a 3D Valentine project.

I'm sharing this little box, it's empty at the moment but I think I'll fill it with some sweet treats for Shanan.
 

The box is made from two Box #2 (SU) diecuts glued together. I've used paper and ribbon as a band around the box and gone to town with lots of decoration.

Head on over to Our Creative Corner to see the wonderful design team creations and link up your project!

Colour Combo: Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise  Stamps: A Happy Heart (SU) Paper: Raspberry Tart (SU) Dies: Box #2 (SU) Punches: Scallop Edge, Circles (SU) Other: Real Red Ribbon, Linen Thread, Markers, Button, Dimensionals (SU) Rhinestones (Kaisercraft)

Sneak Peak!

Soooo, yesterday I came home to a BIG box of goodies sitting on my doorstep....next month we get a new mini catalogue here in NZ, and this is my fav one EVER!

There are so many new goodies that I've been dying to get....let's take a look at a few shall we?! *grin* (don't forget you can click photos to make them huge!)

I made this card for my lovely and talented friend Beverley (how fun is it making cards for people who love crafting?) - believe it or not, this is a totally Stampin' Up! only card. Big scallop circle, yum - huge scallop square, yummier - cute little birds in cages, adorable!

Even that prima looking flower is totally Stampin' Up! (let me know if you want to know how I made it!)

I LOVE the new Square Lattice embossing folder - you'll see this one a lot folks!

 Inside I used a sentiment from Heard from the Heart and cut out another cute cage.

I'm linking this one up to C4C62 - square cards - I'm so glad SU! have square envelopes now!

And because birthdays (and Beverley) are so special, I had to decorate the envelope too!

Keep an eye out for more new product sneak peaks on my upcoming cards/projects - the new mini launches December 1st (right in time for you to splurge on a Christmas pressie for yourself!)



Stamps: Aviary, Heard from the Heart, Short & Sweet, On Your Birthday
Paper & Card: Jolly Holiday Designer Paper, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
Punches: XL Scallop Circle, Word Window, Modern Label, SlitBig Shot: Floral Fusian, Scallop Square dies, Square Lattice embossing folder
Other: Black Satin Ribbon, Neutrals Buttons, Linen Thread, Black Brads, Cutter Kit, Dimensionals E-mail me to purchase.

Cute Christmas

I warned you - lots of of Christmas projects coming up! I got a huge box of goodies last week, and the very first thing I sat down to make was this adorable Mini Milk Carton using the Big Shot die and products from one of the Dressing up Christmas bundles (email if you're in NZ and want to snag one!)

Cute right?! I have a fun idea for these little cuties I'll show in a few weeks. I couldn't resist putting the oversized tag on the itty box. I know butterflies aren't really traditional for Christmas, but I'd just got the embosslits die and HAD to give it a workout! The ribbon is one of the free ones you can get this month - it's the Taffeta from the Mistletoe pack and it's so so so lovely to work with!



Stamps: Gifted
Paper & Card: Jolly Holiday DP, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
Punches: Circle punches Big Shot: Mini Milk Carton die, Embosslits Beautiful Wings die
Other: Mistletoe Ribbon (free!), Metal Edge Tag (retired), Silver Cord (retired) E-mail me to purchase.

Bouncing Birdie Box

Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween certainly isn't as big a deal here in New Zealand as it is elsewhere - but I'll take any excuse to do some cute crafting!

Along with the Big Shot Shanan bought me for my birthday, I got the Box #2 die - which I love. Here I've used it to create what I call my Bouncing Birdie Box!

I stamped the box with a small polka dot stamp from the Sweet Sampler set. I've used Peach Parfait as my background colour for a slightly less bright Halloween colour combo. I added some white dots with a gel pen around the polka dots.

The birds were stamped, punched out then layered with another punched bird with a length of craft wire between them. The wire is twisted around a pencil to create a spring, which is punched through the top of the box (and secured on the underside with tape) Add a gorgeous satin bow and a sentiment and you're done!



Stamps: Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Sweet Sampler, Punch Potpourri
Paper & Card: Peach Parfait, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Punches: Word Window, Modern Label, Two-Step BirdBig Shot: Box #2
Other: Black Satin Ribbon, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals

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

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 

OCC Sketch #17

Hi everyone - long time no blog! I've had a completely offline week, filled with good books, snuggling, lots of crochet, baking and getting things done around the house, it's been lovely and quiet. The weather here has been very cold and wet - great weather for relaxing by the fire!

This week's OCC Sketch got me back into my stamping room and creating - this is a great sketch that you can dress up with lots of embellishments, or keep it simple like I did.

 

I've used the Stampin' Royalty colours for this week - Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery & Pretty in Pink. Soft Summer must be my all-time favourite two-step stamping set I think - it just looks so pretty in any number of colour combos.

I kept the inside of this one really simple - I used the Top Note die to cut my layer, and added a sentiment from the Best Yet hostess set.

Head on over to the OCC Sketch blog to see the wonderful design team creations!



Stamps: Soft Summer, Best Yet
Paper & Card: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry & Certainly Celery
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rich Razzleberry & Certainly Celery
Punches: Lg & Scalloped Oval, Curly Label punchesBig Shot: Top Note Die
Other: Piercing Tool, Soft Subtles Brads E-mail me to purchase.
Other: Circle Nestabilities, Satin Ribbon

Hummingbird Birthday

Hi everyone, I'm happy to report things are getting back to normal here - well, as normal as they get, I DID spend all day yesterday thinking it was Tuesday!

I was SO inspired when I saw the colours for the Color Throwdown this week - Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Old Olive & Kraft. I find the best thing to do with a colour challenge is to pull a sheet of each colour cardstock and see if they "speak" to you! This combo is so bright and fresh when you see the colours all together.

Right away I knew the colours would be great for colouring this image from the Spring Song stamp set. I wanted to create a shaped flap on one side of my card, so I cut the image apart and layered it together to give it a shape that would better fit in a circle.

I needed to fill some of that blank space - the Little Leaves die cut was perfect. I added a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Sentiments - yup, it's my fav set at the moment, I love how it works with the Word Window punch. Birthday cards are the challenge at Allsorts this week!

By going over and over my image with an ink loaded aquapainter I got these really rich tones of Old Olive & Baja Breeze. The Baja circle is heavily sponged to match this intensity.

Inside I used a sentiment from my much loved On Your Birthday set. I hope your week has started well - I'll have a post set-up tonight for this week's FUN Project Tuesday challenge!



Stamps:  On Your Birthday, Spring Song, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper & Card: Baja Breeze & Kraft card.Walk in the Park & So Saffron DP
Ink: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Old Olive & Black Punches: Word Window punchBig Shot: Little Leaves die
Other: Piercing Tool, Circle Scissor Plus, Sponge Daubers, Aquapainter, Dimensionals E-mail me to purchase.

Catching up on some Housekeeping!

Hi everyone! I have a post made up of lots of bits and bobs today...lots of things to catch-up on!

First - over the weekend I bypassed the 100,000 hit mark - wooohoo! Thank you SO much for all your visits, being able to share my creative pursuits is so much fun, and it's lovely to read your comments, they always make me smile! I'll definitely be putting together some blog candy (hint: you might want to be one of my followers!) soon, but it probably won't be this week by the time I get around to it :-)

I was so excited to be one of Taylor's Top Crops with my 'Hi Cupcake!' card! I LOVE Taylor's work, it's always so bright and cheerful.  

It must be blog award season again - last week I receive a big bunch of them - thanks so much everyone! Rather than spend a few hours fufilling all the very detailed requirements, I'm going to cheat and share three of my daily craft reads. I love Dawn's stamping - she has that cool, clean but embellished style I love. Drew has my favourite recipe blog - lots of step-by-step photos, and unlike a lot of bloggers - makes everything from scratch and is always VERY honest about the results! Planet June is where I taught myself to crochet, she has some very cute free patterns and her tutorials are fantastic!

I didn't get chance to make a Project Tuesday sample this week - but head on over to find the very cool paper fortune cookie project and to see the wonderful design team creations!  

I better leave you with some eye candy right? I made my Mum this crocheted brooch as part of her Mother's Day gift - I love these for brightening a winter coat or top. I so loved the red and cream, that I made her card and a box filled with chocolate kisses to match....

I made the matching flower with the Scalloped Circle punch. A little embossing with the Manhattan Flower folder, some pleated ribbon and a gorgeous sentiment finished off this clean and simple card. For the Pillow Box, I used the Pillow Box die then ran the resulting die cut through the embossing folder. Simple and elegant!

Lastly, congrats to my Mum who received her New Zealand citizenship yesterday! Mum was born in Wales and got to have a lovely reception with the mayor, and a day off work - that's always good!

Stamps: Occasional Greetings, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper & Card: Very Vanilla
Ink: Real Red
Punches: Word Window & Scalloped Circle punches
Big Shot: Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder, Pillow Box Die E-mail me to purchase.
Other: Satin Ribbon, Button