The First Challenge for the New Year

It's already 2019 in New Zealand - Happy New Year. I hope all of your dreams (and mine) come true this year.

For Christmas I gave my boss a bottle of wine and I wanted to jazz it up a little.  I created a simple card/cover for it. I basically used scraps to make it and it turned out quite sweet.  My boss can reuse the label for any bottle of wine that she gives during the holiday season.

Here's a close up

I am entering this project in the latest challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Materials:
Border Punch: EK Success
Bird Punch: Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Paper Smooches
Embossing Ink - Versamark
Embossing Powder: Stamp Effects
Cardstock: assorted from my scrap pile.

SSS Wrap It Up

It's the time of year for gift giving so I've been making some pouches to fill with chocolates for small gifts.  I pulled out some DCWV christmas paper because I couldn't find my Bazill Basics red paper pad - time for a clean up in the craft space maybe?  I used the WRMK pillow box punch board to make the pouches.  I finished the pouches off with some Stampin' Up! silver twine and tags cut with a old Sizzix steel rule die (that's how old it is!). 

The latest challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is - Wrap It Up .  These pouches fit the bill perfectly.  I'm off to eat the left over chocolate now.....

Materials:
Paper - DCWV
Twine - Stampin' Up!
Tag Die - Sizzix
Punch Board - WRMK

For the Love of Play - SSS Anything But a Card

Little things like work really get in the way of crafting, don't they? Unfortunately, we need to work to pay for all the pretties we like to play with. That's what the Bank Manager tells me, anyway.  I've managed to catch up on my memory dex cards for June to August.  June was all about Creative Adventure Downunder and my August card covered the Celine Dion concert in NZ.

Not much happened in July so I had a play with some new products and some older items from my stash:

I put my new Nuvo embellishment mousse through an older stencil then layered on stickers, coloured twine and punches.  Lastly I finished it off with some tiny, matching pearl drops.  I'm really happy how my creative play turned out.

 I am entering this project over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything But A Card
It's definitely not a card - I'm not sending it away. It's gone straight to the memory Dex box. Or 'straight to the pool room' as we say in NZ and Australia.

Materials:
Memory Dex Card - Heidi Swapp (AC)
Stencil - The Crafters Workshop
Embellishment Mousse: Nuvo (Tonic)
Stickers - Simple Stories, Amy Tangerine (AC)
Punch - Stampin' Up!
Perfect Pearls - Ranger
Other - twine coloured with Colour Shine by Heidi Swapp

Simon Says: Pop It Up

At this time of year I need a few birthday cards. I was planning on using my new Lawn Fawn die from Simon Says Stamp for gift cards as I knew I was giving a gift card to one person.  I was happy to see that the latest challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is Pop It Up .  It works in perfectly with my new die and crafting plans. I love how easy this die is to jazz up the inside of your cards when you give a gift card.

I went a totally different style for my card. I used some new, from Simon Says Stamp, rose gold texture paste from Vicki Boutin through a Prima stencil (which I had never used!). I was inspired by using that Prima stencil from my stash so I pulled out some lovely unopened Prima canvas pieces to use as well. I coloured the canvas pieces and some white string with Heidi Swapp colour shine. Last up was using a new 'birthday' die from Paper Roses (also available from Simon Says Stamp). Here's the front of the card:

Here's the inside pop up piece that holds a gift card:

Materials:
Prima: stencil and canvas pieces
American Crafts: Vicki Boutin rose gold texture paste, Heidi Swapp colour shine,
Paper Roses: birthday die
Lawn Fawn: pop up die
Kikki-K: number stickers
Other: card base, string, green packaging (used to cut birthday)

SSS Anything Goes Challenge - Father's Day

There's a few crafty projects going on at the moment. I'm busy making cards, catching up in my memory planner and trying to finish past projects - don't we all have a few unfinished projects?!?

It is Father's Day in New Zealand today so of course I made my dad a card:

Here's the inside using new American Crafts sticker books:

I am entering this card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes. The link is here.

Materials:
Card Base: 4x6 pocket style card by Studio Calico folded in half
Dies: unknown
Stamp: Kaisercraft (I cut the phrase to fit my die cut shape)
Ink: Ranger Archival
Gold tape: Kikki-K
Stickers: American Crafts
Other: vellum envelope, scrap paper

SSS Use a Die and/or a Punch Challenge

It's been a long while since I've been able to participate in a challenge at Simon Says Stamp. It feels good to stretch my creative muscles again. This week the challenge at SSS Wednesday Challenge is use a die and/or punch . I made a birthday card for a 6 year old.

Now this card doesn't look like your average card for a 6 year old but I was feeling inspired by Terhi from our classes at CAD. I decided to go with her style and I could hear her voice saying: more is more! So I layered more and more on it.

The super cool thing about this card is the new Lawn Fawn pop-up pivot die that arrived recently from Simon Says Stamp. I couldn't wait to try it out so I made the inside first and then did the front last. I've never done things in that order before.

As previously mentioned, I am entering this card at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: use a die and/or punch here. I used dies on the front and inside of the card.

Materials
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Tim Holtz
Stamp: Her Arts
Ink: Ranger Archival
Spray: Heidi Swapp
Thicker: American Crafts
Washi tape: Heidi Swapp
Green card: Hero Arts
Ephemera: Rosie's Studio, Grace Taylor
Corner Chomper: WRMK
Other: thread

Creative Adventure Downunder 2018

Not much crafting is going on around here, but all that will change next weekend! The BFF and I are off to Creative Adventure Downunder in Auckland. 2.5 days of crafting - it's going to be full on!

Heidi has taught at CAD before and I loved her classes (but they started an addiction to Heidi stuff!). It is Terhi's first time teaching at CAD and I am looking forward to her gorgeous creations which are so different to my plainer style.

I'm off to pack: the craft items, wine and snacks are already sorted #priorities

May Round Up

It was interNational Scrapbooking Day (NSD) earlier this month and I managed to participate in a few challenges.

Over at Big Picture Classes I did a few of the free NSD lessons. One of the lessons was on making and decorating TNs.  Here are two I made after work one day - easy and cute!  I managed to win two gift certificates from my entries - thanks BPC!

For challenges over at Studio Calico I used memory dex cards. It meant I could create quick projects and get up to date at the same time! 

Front 

Back

That's enough crafting for me for now.

Materials:
Enamel Embellishments - My Minds Eye (Memory Dex)
Studio Calico: stamps, documentor kit, labels, washi strips, stickers (Memory Dex)
Simple Stories: Stickers and Dot Paper (TNs)
Heidi Swapp: Memory Dex Punch, Colour Shine (TN), Butterfly (TN)
Other: bakers twine, jewelry piece (TN butterfly)

Simon Says: Sparkle and Shine

The latest challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is Sparkle & Shine . I love a bit of bling and sparkle so this challenge is right up my alley!

For this card I cheated a wee bit. I am giving a gift card for a birthday present this week, the gift cards come in a card - how convenient. I chose one which I could alter easily. With sparkle and shine in mind, I decided to die cut 'happy birthday' from a piece of paper covered in silver washi.  For added shimmer I covered the card front with kaleidoscope embossing powder (covering up the middle portion so it would be plain). Lastly I added a bling drop - mostly because my matching die cut dot for the 'i' in birthday went missing! 🤣

Here's a close up to show the gorgeous shimmer on the background.

Here's the link to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Sparkle & Shine

Materials:
Ranger Kaleidoscope embossing powder
Kikki-K silver washi
Sizzix/Tim Holtz word dies
K&Co blue bling
Ranger embossing ink
Peel-Off silver trim stickers

Simon Says: Anything Goes 2

Another entry in  the latest challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

The next Memory Dex card I made is for my One Little Word (OLW) for 2018 which is: Light

Love the simplicity of this card:

The background just reminds me of the Bokeh effect - perfect for the theme!

There are a few details on the back just to remind me what to focus on.

Materials:
Memory Dex: Heidi Swapp
3x4 Card: Heidi Swapp
Stickers: Simple Stories
Alphas: American Crafts
Ephemera: Pinkfresh, Heidi Swapp
Gold Pen: Sharpie
Corner Rounder: WRMK
Memory Dex Punch: Heidi Swapp

Simon Says: Anything Goes 1

Crafty things have been going on but I can't share all the projects just yet!  At the beginning of March I attended Pretty Rustic which was creating 20 layouts over 2 days. I only completed 5 layouts on Day 1 and 6 layouts on Day 2. I am slowly completing the remaining 9 layouts! As this event is being run throughout the country, I can't share the projects until all venues have completed the creative weekend.

A project, or two, that I can share is my 2018 title page for my Heidi Swapp Memory Dex box.  Last year, I decided to complete a card for every month of the year. It could involve photos or freestyle crafting. I am going to continue with this project until my box is full!

This is the title page I created for the front of the Memory Dex box (until next year):

FYI: Light is my One Little Word for this year which is why I stamped the phrase on the title page.

The challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is Anything Goes so I am entering this memory dex card in the challenge.

Materials:
Memory Dex: Heidi Swapp
3x4 Card: Kaisercraft
Stamp: Heidi Swapp
Ink: Ranger Embossing
Stickers: The Craft Stall, Peelcraft (numbers)
Embossing Powder: unknown
Memory Dex Punch: Heidi Swapp

[Inter] National Craft Month

March is National Craft Month in USA but I'm turning it into International Craft Month so I can join in!

Recently I was inspired by a box that something my mum purchased came in. The box had a lovely paper-tole look and feel to it. The colours were lovely too.  I just couldn't put it in the recycling!  So I set to the box with my scissors and created a scrapbook layout with it. It came together really quickly as the box was the main design piece:

It is very different for me to use just one tiny photo and a lot of decoration but it's good to step out of your comfort zone every now and then.  Here's a close-up on the photo #someofmysquad and for you to see the paper-tole design on the card.

I am entering this layout over at Simon Says Stamp National Craft Month Giveaway. They are giving away a $100 gift certificate. Can you imagine winning that?!?

Materials:
Cardstock: Bazill
Stickers: American Crafts (Jen Hadfield)
Bling: K & Co and Ranger liquid pearls (coral)
Punch: EK Success
Distresser: Tim Holtz for Tonic
Wood Veneer: Studio Calico
Ink: Versamagic
Other: box, gold ribbon

February: Love Is In The Air

It's February, so of course Love is in the Air.  Do you have that song in your head now?

Both of the challenges over at Simon Says Stamp involve Love this week
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Love is in the Air
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is It Must be Love

This gave me the opportunity to pull out my new Kaisercraft die set - yay. It was on clearance down to $7 then they had an extra 30% off craft clearance. Sweet! So it came home with me. I used it in the Travelers Notebook that I am using to document a trip to Australia last year. We went over to celebrate a dear friend's 30th birthday. I have already documented her birthday elsewhere but I still wanted to keep it in the trip notebook as well.

The details will be added later to protect her privacy. I'm using a Pocket Page Notebook from The Stamp Spot. I was excited to turn the pocket page into a shaker page - my first one!  I may have been too keen as I melted/cut the top in some places instead of sealing it. I ended up adding the washi strip on the top to try and keep it all together.

Here's the next page:

I am enjoying using smaller photos to document events. The Travelers Notebook is perfect for both standard and small photos. I'm only 2/3 the way through and my notebook is already FAT! I like big notebooks and I can not lie 😂

Materials:
Dies: Kaisercraft, Tim Holtz/Sizzix
Punch: EK Success
Stickers: Kikki-K
Stamps: Pink & Main, Citrus Twist Kits
Ink: Ranger Archival
Washi: Simple Stories
Paper: Scenic Route (grid), Teresa Collins (time flies)
Other: sequins, scrap paper,

The First SSS Challenge for the Year

This year seems to be humming along creatively. I hope that bodes well for the rest of the year still to come.

This week's theme at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is: Add A Sentiment. I needed a birthday card for the bff so I knew I could Add A Sentiment to her card.  It's her birthday today! (NZ Time)  I made the card in the weekend but I didn't want to load it before her special day in case she checked my blog!  Here's what I came up with:

I really don't know what is happening with my heat embossing lately. That's two cards I've made recently that haven't embossed well. It was a new stamp set so maybe I should've 'primed' it? I also did the right thing by using my Misti but it still double stamped a little off, which is one of the reasons the embossing didn't turn out perfectly.

I did learn a lesson though: don't cut your strip for stamping before using the Misti! The stamps left no room for the magnets to hold it in place! My fix-it was to adhere my stamping piece to a bigger piece of scrap paper so that I somewhere to put the magnets. (Another reason the embossing smooshed?).

Materials:
Stamp: Studio Calico
Inks: Versamark, Studio Calico
Embossing Powder: Ranger
Embossing Folder: Sizzix
Cream Card: Stampin' Up!
Corner Chomper: WRMK
Other: Sequins, scrap paper, card base

Hello 2018!

How's 2018 treating you so far?

Today I'm loading a layout I scraplifted from @meldarcy over at Studio Calico. Scraplifting isn't something I do regularly but the design called to me (instax style photos with washi trims) and the very same kit she used arrived on my doorstep this week. How serendipitous!

The layout has been submitted to the Studio Calico January LOAW #1 challenge. The original blog post is here. The challenge is to document goals. My layout ties in to the theme because it documents one of my goals for this year (#bemoresocial) and I got 5 photos scrapped which fits another goal - craft more (#morecrafttimeplease).

Materials:
Studio Calico: Silver Lake Lodge Scrapbook kit, Goals stamp set, washi strips, planner stickers, glass slipper pigment ink.
Heidi Swapp Colour Shine (blush)
Ink: Stampin' Up! , Tim Holtz
Glitter Paper: DCWV
Punch: McGill
Word Strips: Cocoa Vanilla