A Congratulations Card

I', having a little trouble with Photobucket tnight and can't seem to centre this image, but I htink youwill get the idea of how it looks ;)

I made this card to congratulate a lady who opened a gym near me. She has two personal trainers who work with her, and while the card is in no way showing these ladies as they are in real life, I think they appreciated the symbolism!!! Lol! The gym's colours are bright pink and black so what other colour would have been appropriate, I ask you?

I used the All in the Family stamp set from Stampin' Up!, and all the cardstock, Stampin' Write  markers and ribbon are all from the same supplier. I used some little pink crystals as well.

And yes, I joined the gym! I'm hoping it does wonders for me to go lift weights and do some cardio training three times a week :)

Teddy's First Layout

Tonight I completed my first layout of Teddy, my new puppy. He is adorable and very time consuming, and I am so glad I have him to brighten my days, though I think he is fast preferring the company of my outside dog Trixie! Lol!

Here I used a piece of Patterns Designer Series Paper Stack put together by Stampin' Up! in this year's new catalogue (p177), sponging it with some Bordering Blue ink. I cut the flowers (not the 3d ones) from another designer series pack called Greenhouse Gala. I used a doily and sponged it with more Bordering Blue ink to lay the photo on, then added some non SU! flowers and a cute little doggie sticker and alphas. I stamped some images and sayings from the D is for Dog stamp set, punched some tags with the largest Tag punch, sponged the edges with Bordering Blue before adding some journaling with the Bordering Blue Stampin' Write! marker and added then some linen thread, drawing the threads together with a non SU! flower. There are strips of the Greenhouse Gala paper and some non SU! lace on the page as well.

Thanks to Caz at Papercraft Addictions for the sketch inspiration!

Make a Matchbook

I wanted to make a cute little gift for a special friend. I had a little book of Post-It notes and thought of making a matchbook of them using my new French Script and All A Flutter stamps from Stampin' Up!

I hope she liked it!

It was fun and easy to make. When I write down the instructions, I will post them here by editing my post for tonight :)

Birthday Easel Card

When you need a card to really make an impact, one of the ways I have found to do this is to make a special Easel Card. Have you ever made one with a shaped front? I tried making one with a star shape I cut out myself and was so pleased with the result. You could use other shapes too of course but I wanted my hubby to feel as though he was a star this year :) so I chose the obvious shape for that! Lol! 

It was fun to make and you can make one like this to be much more elaborate. One day maybe I'll get round to making a more eleborate card, but masculine cards just don' lend themselves to lots of flowers and frills, do they. He he!

New puppy

Just thought you might like to meet our newest little pet :) We brought him home today and he is tiny. He weights only 605gm and is full of fun.

Lighthouses

Lighthouses have always fascinated me. They evoke strength, solitude, steadfastness and power to me. They have a job to do that is important, and people at sea who ignore them do so at their own peril. I was able to attend a card class this week and Jen had this lovely image as one of her card class cards. I missed out on this set when it was first offered by Stampin' Up! unfortunately. I had fun using water colour pencils to bring t to life though :)

New Ideas Book and Catalogue from Stampin' Up!

Stampin' Up! has a new Ideas Book and Catalogue! And you can order from it, beginning TODAY! Can you tell I am rather pleased about that? Lol! I have a wish list as long as my arm so will definitely be ordering soon. If you live in Australia and would like to place an order too just go to SusanSalutations and contact me to organise your own parcel of goodies to be sent straight to your door :)

You can browse the catalogue online too. Click on the catalogue picture in the side bar and you will be taken straight to the PDF so you can start making your Wish List right away. Enjoy!

Faux Suede Flower

Have you tried out the Faux Suede Technique? It is really easy to make some paper that looks and feels like soft suede! I made this flower and placed it on a card recently. It makes people want to touch it and find out how the technique works. So I made a tutorial for you to see just how to make your own faux suede. Let me know if you try it!

Acrylic Stamp Assembly

Are you new to acrylic stamps? I made a little video showing you how to assemble the Stampin' Up! ones if you would like to see it. Sometimes a visual is better than reading instructions, hey.

A Birthday Hedge Hog

Isn't this little hedgehog cute? I think he is just right for birthday cards and love to use him that way. He's from the 'Fun and Fast Notes' stamp set form Stampin' Up! and I have given you a small sneak peek at one of the new paper sets coming out in the new Ideas Book and Catalogue on September 1st (you can order one by contacting me via SusanSalutations of you live in Australia)

I hope you enjoyed seeing this cheerful little guy :)

Bon Voyage!

These days there seem to be more and more people joining the Armed Forces. I had a need to make a card for just such a person recently, so I customised it for the occasion. I have listed all the 'ingredients' for this card on PaperCraftCentral for you, should you care to step on over and find them :) You will also find another idea for a Bon Voyage card on the same page.

The Next Page

I managed to get another page of the Wedding album finished and thought I would show it to you. I made it a bling-y page :) I started with a piece of Stampin' Up! Real Red cardstock and added some pieces of designer paper from other companies as I wanted to go with the black white and red theme. The little ribbon rose in the top right corner was hand made from Stampin' Up! Real Red grossgrain ribbon, a bit of tulle from the wedding dress and a hat pin. I ran some more ribbon down two sides of the layout and added bling to the ribbon. After I placed the photos I added in more crystal bling in the corners of the main photo. The lettering was added last and I used a ruler to guide me to make it straight.

It was a fun page to make. Maybe I should have added a ladybug or two, but it looked finished at the time without so I didn't. What do you think?

Easel Card

Easel Cards are such a nice way to display photos for a friend or relative. I made a few of these recently and just thought I would share this one with you. They are great for special occasions where you have taken a group photo, a portrait photo, for displaying scenery or just about anything really!

I hope you like this one of a Magpie Lark perching on the verandah rail.

Wedding Scrapbook has begun!

I got some photos developed yesterday and decided not to wait anymore with making a scrapbook of my daughter's wedding. Today the picture that inspired me was this one. My dear sister made the dress for her and her Grandma found the shoes. I loved the contrast of her everyday shoes with the wedding ones!

I made the dress embellishment from her actual dress material. The main word in the title has been hand stamped, then cut out and glitzed before gluing down. The rest of the words were stamped and embossed. There's a hidden journalling tag behind the wedding shoes.

I sure am rusty! It took me all morning to do this one, between putting loads of washing on and hanging them out! Lol!

Wedding Day

You may have wondered why there were no posts here for a time. The pictures may explain. I was caught up in the wonderful, hectic, indescribable series of events that led to my sweet daughter's wedding. She married the loveliest man who has really been part of our world for the past eight years! They married on the shores of a lake, while the rain held off just long enough to allow us some wonderful light for the photos. Her black and red theme was unusual, yes, but it was beautiful. Her bouquet was made up of perfect red roses intertwined with grape vines and wired-in, shiny black rocks. The Reception venue was at the Lake as well and had originally been a hunting lodge, so there were statues of wild beasts to surprise us. It was a beautifully appointed venue and the staff there treated us well, serving very tasty and original dishes to us afterward.

The crowd of friends and family who gathered to witness the event were relaxed, friendly and happy to provide some of the entertainment at the Reception, as many of them had musical or theatre skills.

It was a perfect day, worth all the long distance planning and problem solving!

Congratulations, my dears. May your life together be a long, contented road of joy to lighten any sorrows that may cross your paths.

Kids Cards

And now for another change of scene! I found these cute cards on Wendy's blog and as two of my grand children were having birthdays this month (They are now age 1 and 2! How fast time flies!) I decided to make these cute little cards. They are so easy to make especially if you have the Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle die and Big Shot. Cut a double scallop circle without cutting all the way through at the top of the fold, and you will have a basic face done along with your card body.

You can see the features are (mostly) circle punches though I made the mouth circle. All you do is draw a circle on black cardstock and cut it in half, then shape the mouth a little :) The cookie was made with a circle and a scallop punch and I drew the chocolate chips in with my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marking pen, of course!

The cards were a hit with the grandies. And some of the adults liked them too :)

Happy Birthday to the babies!

You're Never More than a Thought Away!

When I was at the Stampin' Up! Convention in Sydney, Bonny showed us how to make cards with towers of little cups. I had fun making one of these cards today for a friend who has been facing challenge after challenge lately with family members and health issues. I hope she likes it and feels encouraged!

You just mask the little stamp off as you build your tower of course ;)

I used the Earth Elements range of inks plus Tangerine Tango, designer paper from Patterns Pack II, the Share a Cup stamp form the winter Mini catalogue, a sentiment from a stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration catty, some Soft Suede polka dot ribbon, Whisper White, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip cardstock. I used the Scallop border punch and the paper piercing tool and also fringed the bottom of the main image by hand.

If you would like step by step instructions for making this card, I have provided details at PaperCraftCentral.com

A sad event

What can you do when a friend's mother dies? It is often hard to find a useful thing to do, one that satisfies the desire to do something significant for your friend. Sometimes the little things mean so much. You can listen, and hug, and cry with the person. You can pray with them and for them. You can be there for them even when they can't talk straight because of the fatigue and strain of being with their loved one. You can bring them food and comfort in the form of little things done for them.

And you can make a card for them, with love.

Rest in peace, Joy.

A Birthday Card

It's always fun playing with a new stamp set :) I recently got 'Big Bold Birthday' from Stampin' Up! and I like the 'Make a Wish' sentiment. Here I stamped those words in Kraft ink. I punched the hearts out, tore a strip of Designer Paper to mount on Metallic Silver cardstock, added some Polka Dot Grosgrain Rich Razzleberry ribbon and a couple of clear crystals to a backing of Chocolate Chip cardstock, doodled around the edges with a white Signo pen and it was done!

Daisy Mae

Daisy Mae takes the stage as the Hearty Lady of the day. She's a farm girl, or maybe a Woman of the West, though I think real Women of the West would probably not dress in pink so much. It's a little impractical and they would probably choose denim.

I made some more Hearty Ladies and have uploaded them to my Etsy shop. They seem to be getting a little attention anyway! And they are a lot of fun to make. (I added blush to her face after I posted this).

PS: Somebody please stop me if I am delusional and these are not worth putting on Etsy!!

More Hearty Ladies

Guess what I've been doing? Populating my craft desk with Hearty Ladies! Lol! I made several today and simply have to share. This young lady was trying to tell me how shy she was, not showing both eyes and all, so I named her Coy Glance. What do you think? Is she shy, or just foolin'?

Remember you can see how I make these at PaperCraftCentral or, if you would like one, you can see them all at my Etsy Shop and pick and choose there.

I will add more, I am sure, so keep an eye out! (Like Miss Coy! Lol!)

Shady Hearty Lady

These little punch art ladies have my attention again tonight :) I made this new Hearty Lady with her sunglasses and pout and also made a tutorial for you if you would like to know how I made her.

Have you made some punch art characters? If you have I would love you to show them to me at PaperCraftCentral.com!

Hearty Lady

This demure young lady was made entirely from punched cardstock and Stampin' Write markers, plus a couple of little pearly accents :) I may show you more of these with different personalities in days to come. They are such fun to make!

Stampin' Up! Convention in Sydney!

I spent an enjoyable and excitement filled couple of days with a whole lot of Stampin' Up! demonstrators in Sydney at Convention recently. Here are some of us on one of the two false alarm fire drills we had at our Motel!! It was kind of cold on the streets at 3am! It made for a sleepy day following but the wonderful Stampin' Up! events managed to keep us awake :)

I met some lovely people on this trip, got lots of tips and techniques and also got to play with some stamp sets coming out in September (Shhh! They are secret till then! Lol!) I'll be making some projects with the new sets for you to see right away after September 1st, never fear!

In the meantime, I've given you a small peek at the little birdies I made as part of my team swap and a picture of us girls swapping. We sure had fun!

I'll be back soon :)

An update

Just a little update to let you know I am still around though I have not been on my blog much. It is with sadness that I tell you we lost my brother-in-law to leukemia a little over a week ago and we have been traveling to see the family and attend his funeral since then. He was one of my husband's brothers and it is very hard to lose him. He fought against the disease for six months before succumbing. We had traveled down to see him three times in the six months (he lived 12 hour's drive from us) and we are so glad we did that. I hope it encouraged hm and his family too to see us sometimes.

I wish you all well and will be back visiting your blogs again soon.

Peeling Paint!

I found out about a new way to make backgrounds over at the Artist Trading Club and was inspired to try it out. Here are the ATCs I made as a result. I really liked the technique which you can learn about at PaperCraftCentral.com

Chriss, four of these will be making their way over to you to be part of the May swap! I hope you like them :)

Where the Blog Are You?

Chriss from the Artist Trading Club, who lives in England, told me about "Where the Blog Are You?", and this is what they say. They are "a blog which connects Aussie bloggers to one another. By joining in you can meet new bloggers & be added to the blog indexes and have your blog featured! It's loads of fun!! Every 2 weeks we will feature a new blogger and get to know him/her. Hopefully we'll make new friends and add new blogs to our blogroll!"

So I joined!

Maybe you will want to join too.

Thank you for leading me to this site, Chriss. It looks like fun!

Michelle Jamieson's Class

Chelle ran a class for us the other night on WizIQ and it was a lot of fun :) I really enjoyed thinking about my layout in a different way to my usual style. I even used paint on this layout but I made sure my picture was matted so it was not touching the paint. I still don't trust paint on photos long term!!

I used Stampin' Up! Old Olive 12" x 12" cardstock, and Barely Banana, then I used up some Stampin' Up! designer paper scraps I had on my desk. I also used some Stampin' Up! Twill tape, some Very Vanilla cardstock, my white gel pen, my black journaling pen. some crystals and of course, all sorts of left over letters. I also got to use some beautiful hand made alpha negatives I've had in my stash for awhile, courtesy of Sandy and Kylie. Thank you, my friends.

Thank you for the inspiration too, Chelle!

Do You Need Ribbons to Match your Projects?

Have you ever wanted a piece of ribbon that exactly matched your project? If you haven't found out the secret to ribbon colouring, despair no more! Lol! Here's the secret for you :)

Making your own backgrounds

I played with making my own backgrounds for this series of ATCs. I used alcohol inks, watercolour crayons and words written by hand. I didn't want to over whelm the backgrounds so kept the subjects small. Many of them are stamped images though the little boy is from some advertising material I found and the duck is from some designer paper I was using for making a gift card :)

I'm entering these in Hel's competition fro blog candy. She is after 100 comments so go on over and add to her joy today!

Tissue Paper Craft

Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you dislike throwing out perfectly good durable plastic boxes like this Ferrero Roche box? On PaperCraftCentral I show you how to alter boxes like this with tissue paper and a few other items.

C'mon over!

Garden Fairies with chalks

At Chris' blog The Artist Trading Club the March challenge was to make some Garden Fairy ATCs to swap. This is my interpretation of the challenge. I dressed them all in Stampin' Up! pastel chalk dresses and gave them 3d Dragonfly wings from the Stampin' Up! Organic Grace stamp set. Torn and inked edges gave them a little ethereal quality, I thought.

You can see more of my ATCs at PaperCraftCentral.

Dotto!

I just found out how to make a background with Dotto. I plan to make one in the next day or so and will put it up here for you to see. In the meantime, find out how to make one yourself!

Looking after your paper craft tools

Have your scissors got adhesive on them and you're not sure how to remove it? Are your punches dull? How about your papaer guillotine?

Lots of people ask about these things so I put together a few tips and ideas for taking care of your paper crafting tools.

If you have any more ideas for how to maintain your tools in top condition, I'd love to hear about them and will incorporate them to share with other visitors to PaperCraftCentral.com ;)

Sticky Strip

Do you like to know about various adhesives and how they work in paper crafting? If you would like to know more about the virtues of Sticky Strip, it just so happens I wrote a bit about that last night so thought I would share it with you :) You may find this product can provide solutions for you that ordinary double-sided tape may not.

Happy Paper Crafting!

New Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue

I just have to tell you - there is a new Autumn/Winter mini catalogue available from Stampin' Up! Australia! Check out the new Big Shot machine and the new dies and folders, the new clear stamps (they are cheaper than wood mounted ones and so much easier to store) AND the new punches. They are so cute and you can now store them in a smaller space too as they can be stored locked down. I love the new stamp sets too.

I'd be happy to help you order something from the catalogue if you live in Australia. Feel free to contact me about that of I can enable you there. Lol!

Banksia Easter

I trust your Easter was a happy and holy one. For me Easter is a time of reflection, gratitude and remembrance of what Christ did for us all. Today is His resurrection day and the living banksia in this little card is a symbol for the eternal life He gives to believers. Here is information about how to get to heaven if you would like to know more.

To make my card I used Stampin' Up!

- cardstock - Bashful Blue and Kraft
- Chocolate Chip ink
- Bloom Away stamp set
- Linen thread

If you would like more detailed instructions for making this card you can find them on PaperCraftCentral.com.

Happy Easter!