New Meets Old

Here I am back from chilly Melbourne! I had a wonderful few days with DD21; we did a river cruise to Williamstown, browsed the Prahran markets, heard some live swing music and had lots of fun in each other's company. It was hard to come back home again but nice to be back with DD15 and in my own bed! Here's a snap taken on my iphone of DD at Southbank, waiting for our boat ride.

Anyway, on to cards! For this week's class I am introducing my ladies to the new in colours, combining them with existing stamp sets.

First up some Crisp Cantaloupe:

Materials used:

• stamps - Fabulous Florets, Field Flowers
• card - crisp cantaloupe, whisper white, basic grey
• inks - basic grey, crisp cantaloupe, pistachio pudding
• other - basic grey satin ribbon, dimensionals, sponge daubers

Next comes Pistachio Pudding:

Materials used:

• stamps - Doily, Elements of Style
• card - pistachio pudding, whisper white, crumb cake
• inks - crumb cake, pistachio pudding, crisp cantaloupe
• other - white embossing powder, heat tool, dimensionals, blender pen, sponge daubers, 1 1/4" square punch

And last but not least a touch of Strawberry Slush and Coastal Cabana (this one is the favourite of both my girls). I'm not too good at photographing white cards, so just trust me that it looks better in real life!

Materials used:

• stamps - Field Flowers, Gingham wheel
• card - white linen (non SU), whisper white, non SU polka dot dsp
• inks - strawberry slush, coastal cabana
• other - honeycomb E/F, Big Shot, window framelits, 1" square punch, dimensionals, designer frames E/F, sponge dauber

I didn't use the fifth in colour, Baked Brown Sugar, but I'm sure my ladies won't mind. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Holiday Mode

It's the school holidays here in NSW and I did not much of anything for the first week! It seems I was more in need of just relaxing than I realised ...

But this week I have to get busy finalising things for the Artfest craft show coming up and also get sorted planning a few things for Stamp Camp - yeah, I know it's not until November, but you all know those months will just fly by and Nov will be here before we know it! As there's such a lot of planning to do, Rob and I are getting an early start.

I've also been asked to be a guest designer for the Inky Fingers Club in May, so there's a project to be created for that too. I think it's just as well I had a quiet week last week!

Anyway, here's a couple of cards I made over the weekend when I wasn't being completely lazy.

Sorry my photography skills just aren't up to scratch - this card is so much more gorgeous in real life!

Materials used:

• stamps - Field Flowers, Elements of Style, Afterthoughts (retired hostess)
• card - perfect plum, elegant eggplant, watercolour, very vanilla
• other - aqua painter, large oval punch, Big Shot, matchbox die
• non SU - nestabilities Fleur de Lis squares die

The second card was inspired by a few different cards I've seen around and is the first time this stamp set has seen ink. I really like it, though, so I'm going to have to find time to use it more.

Materials used:

• stamps - Million Dollar Moments (hostess), Field Flowers
• card - whisper white, primrose petals
• other - fancy fan E/F, Big Shot, ovals die
• non SU - white organza ribbon

If you are on holidays too, I hope you are having a fun time. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Technique Tuesday ... and Sunday

In classes this week we are having a play with techniques. Here are the cards I came up with for my lovely ladies:

Firstly cracked glass technique.

Materials used:

• stamps - French Foliage, Elements of Style
• card - bravo burgundy, old olive, very vanilla, gloss
• inks - bravo burgundy, old olive, always artichoke, crumb cake, Versamark
• other - old olive satin ribbon, designer frames E/F, markers, dimensionals, UTEE clear, square lattice E/F, Big Shot

Secondly some emboss resist with a layout inspired by Nikki Spencer/Kathy Tanner. How gorgeous is this colour combo? Yum!

Materials used:

• stamps - Fresh Vintage, Word Play
• card - island indigo, calypso coral, whisper white
• inks - island indigo, calypso coral, basic black, Versamark
• other - white embossing powder, heat tool, sponges, tissues, markers, dimensionals

And lastly some two-step stamping on a card inspired by Tui Nathan.

Materials used:

• stamps - Field Flowers
• card - rich razzleberry, wild wasabi, whisper white, RR patterns paper
• inks - rich razzleberry, wild wasabi
• other - rich razzleberry satin ribbon, dimensionals, pearls, MFT die

And a big THANK YOU to whomever sent us some sunshine - MUCH appreciated! Mind you, apparently we are forecast to have 21 days of rain out of the 29 days of this month :(   Now we've had 2 of our 8 sunny ones!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Dispatches

Sympathy cards are by their very nature the most difficult to make I think. We all have trouble knowing what to say to someone who has lost a loved one. From my experience, it's not the actual words that are said that helps, but the knowledge that someone cares.

I don't like anything too gushy, so keep the sentiments on my cards simple and hope the recipient knows they come from the heart. For design you can't go wrong with nature, whether your card is for a man or woman.

(cased from Christine Z)

Materials used:

• Stamps - Elements of Style, Thoughts and Prayers
• Card - Baja breeze, whisper white, basic black
• Other - non SU embossing folder, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

For this one I stamped the leaves on watercolour paper using the different coloured inks, then "smooshed" over them with a clean, wet aquapainter to add that little touch of watercoloured look to them. First time I've tried it and I like how it turned out, so I'll be sure to give that another go sometime.

Materials used:

• stamps - French Foliage, Thoughts and Prayers
• card - cajun craze, more mustard, early espresso, watercolour
• inks - more mustard, cajun craze, cherry cobbler, tangerine tango, early espresso
• other - dimensionals, aquapainter

Hope my Hatches, Matches and Dispatches have inspired you. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Matches

I don't often have a call for wedding cards, although I'm sure that will change as my girls get older! However, it is always handy to have a couple ready for when such occasions arise and I'm sure my customers feel the same.

I always think that when you can't tailor-make the card to suit the happy couple, you're best sticking with classic colours and sentiments, so that's what I've done for my two samples today. The first uses some of the gorgeous new Mocha Morning speciality DSP teamed with matching stamp set Elements of Style.

And for classic you can't look past a black/white or black/cream combo - and you know how much I looooooove black and cream! - so on my second card I've used new set Forever Young. The first time I saw this set, this style of card came to mind, so I've finally gotten around to making it. This could also be used as an engagement or anniversary card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

PS I've used nestabilities dies for both shapes.

Merry And Bright

Here's the Christmas cards we'll be making at this month's stamp-a-stack classes.

Plenty of subtle glitter on the first one as I mixed dazzling diamonds with white embossing powder. We stamp the trees with Versamark ink, add my concoction and voila! wintery white trees with sparkle.

Materials used:

• stamps - SU Lovely as a Tree, Verve sentiment
• card - night of navy, whisper white, Sahara sand
• other - dazzling diamonds, sponge dauber, dimensionals

The second card includes some watercolouring - you know how much I love it! - together with a few of my favourite colours. The embossing on the background ties in with the holly and swirls on the main panel and also stops the vanilla from being too plain.

Materials used:

• stamps - Bells and Boughs, Elements of Style
• card - crumb cake, very vanilla, cherry cobbler, watercolour paper
• inks and markers - daffodil delight, more mustard, marina mist, always artichoke, cherry cobbler, crumb cake
• other - dimensionals, aquapainter, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Are you starting to feel all Christmassy? 

Cheers

Kez

Rollercoasters and Diggers

I have been riding such a rollercoaster of emotions since the earthquake in Christchurch last week. Some days life is normal; other days I feel so depressed and tears are never far beneath the surface. I can't read a newspaper article or see photos of Chch without crying. I found an article recently describing life post-quake in a suburban street - and was amazed to discover it was the street where we lived. It's here if you're interested in reading it. I simply can't imagine how the people who are living through this are coping emotionally and as for those who have lost loved ones ... well, I just don't know the words to adequately express my sorrow.

One thing that does help is the support and fellowship of friends, and I sincerely thank all of you who have left kind messages. Keeping busy is another help of course, and this week I have been finalising preparations for another Special Event for Australian troops serving in combat zones such as Afganistan, etc. You may remember that my wonderful customers and friends made over 350 Christmas cards for the troops last year; on Sunday we will be making Mother's Day cards to send so our Diggers can send them home.

Here are the cards I've prepared. They have been kept simple as we are making them like a Stamp-a-Stack and I'm hoping we'll get 200 completed. Most of the materials were generously donated by Stampin' Up!

I'm looking forward to a fun day for a very worthy cause.

I'll be back later today with the winners of the blog candy. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

JAI Challenge 57

(second post today; scroll down for vintage birthday cards)

The colours for this week's challenge over at Just Add Ink were picked by Danielle and apparently came from the colour coach. With Cherry Cobbler in the mix, there was no way I was going to miss this one! LOL. They certainly were a challenge for me, though - I had to think long and hard about how to combine these:

Much as I like Daffodil Delight, it is a real "in your face" kind of colour, so often needs to be used in small doses only! I originally had in mind ribbon, a bow, a pin ... but in the end that would have been WAY too busy, so I've gone for simplicity and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. Here's what I eventually came up with:

Materials used (all SU):

• stamps - Elements of Style, Baby Blossoms, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
• card - river rock, cherry cobbler, very vanilla, daffodil delight, river rock DSP
• punches - 2 step bird punch, scallop trim border punch, 35mm circle punch, scallop circle punch
• other - dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Vintage Flowers

DD12 and I were in an Austen frame of mind yesterday, so we watched 'Emma' - the Gwyneth Paltrow version - and then 'Lost in Austen'. LIA had us cracking up in places (especially where she gets Mr Darcy to get wet in the pond!!! LOL!) but happily the ending is soooooooo romantic.

As a result, this morning when I woke up I was in a vintage kind of mood, so I got up and made today's card. However, you mustn't look too closely at the watercolouring, as I broke my reading glasses last night and so couldn't really see details very well!

Materials used:

• stamps - A Sense of Time, Elements of Style
• card - cherry cobbler, very vanilla, crumb cake, watercolour paper
• other - dimensionals, old olive satin ribbon, pearls, decorative label punch, sponges, vintage wallpaper embossing folder

Thanks for dropping in today.

Cheers

Kez

I Love You Cherry Cobbler

DH and I really don't "do" Valentines Day at all and it's a rare occasion when we get anything, but I really loved a Verve card I saw by Teresa Kline and wanted to reproduce it using SU stamps. Maybe I'll give someone a surprise this Feb 14!

Here's my take: (click on photo to see more detail)

I clear embossed Bella Toile on the background cherry cobbler piece. On my circle the sentiment comes from Three Little Words and the swirls from Elements of Style. I also stamped the swirls on the hearts before punching them out and spraying them with Champagne shimmer mist. Of course, a "Teneale" bow finishes it off beautifully!

I am entering this in the Southern Girls Challenge for this week, which is All Loved Up.

Thanks for calling in today. I hope all our demos and families in QLD are safe and dry.

Cheers
Kez

Kraft Renaissance

Back before Kraft became Crumb Cake, I hardly ever touched it. Not sure why, just oversight I guess, but I find myself reaching for it more and more these days. I love how it goes with just about any other colour and I am especially loving the vintage look it gives when teamed with black and vanilla.

Here are a few cards I've made recently in that style.

The first one I had in my head ever since I saw A Little Treat in the December Frenzy and I'm quite pleased with how it all came together.

Next I have broken out my Elements of Style set. This is one I loved from the moment I saw it and was thrilled to see it in our new catalogue. The hint of colour is Baja breeze.

Lastly I've combined Elements of Style with Sense of Time. I have seen some really gorgeous cards using this combo in various forms, so I have no doubt I'll be trying out some more of these myself.

Tomorrow: my first UStamp project. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Dusky Pink

I love it when you can make a Wow! card very easily and simply - well, who wouldn't? Today's card I especially love because I've used watercolouring (which you all know I just adore) and not much else!

Elements of Style is the stamp set used, which I don't have yet but a friend let me stamp some of hers to tide me over until I can call it my own! This is a great image for beginner watercolourers, I reckon, because the detail on the stamp is so good that the shading part is pretty much foolproof!

I have tried Blushing Bride for the first time and as I've always been partial to dusky pinks, this is one I can see me using quite a bit. I teamed it with Pear Pizzazz and Very Vanilla and of course the beautiful scallop trim border punch (love it!). The sentiment comes from Teeny Tiny Sentiments, a very versatile set.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back at the weekend with the cards for my beginners class.

Cheers
Kez