More Creative Elements ...

Anyone would think I like this stamp set!!!  Well I do, and best of all I haven't even shown you all the stamps in the set yet!  Creative Elements will be available in the next Idea Book & Catalogue which for us Aussie and New Zealanders comes out on 1st September, which the way this year is going, is not that far away.

For this card I used a Baja Breeze base card with some Peach Parfait scalloped edge peeping out the bottom.  I have used a masking technique on this one to create a sense of layering of the images.  The secret with this is to stamp the top image first and then work backward.  I have also used the Itty Bitty Button and matching punch to create an embellishment, I love that these little buttons are clear so you can match them to any project just by punching out a coordinating colour and layering it underneath.  Best of all they are still available to purchase in the Cary Over List right up until 31st August.  The Crochet Trim is also an item from the last mini catalogue that is carrying over and still available, here I have used something we were shown at Convention to coordinate it with my card.  You cut a very fine strip of card stock and thread it through the edges of the crochet trim - you may need to enlarge the picture by clicking on it to get a better look.

I hope you are enjoying my sneak peeks, I have certainly had fun making them

Happy Stamping

ESAD Summer Mini Blog Hop

Its time again for another Blog Hop from the lovely and talented ladies at ESAD.  What is ESAD? ESAD stands for Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators and it is an online group just for Australian and New Zealand demonstrators for Stampin’ Up!

We so love what we do and not only do we love to share it with our customers, friends, and wonderful blog visitors but we share our love for what we do with each other as Demonstrators. We run swaps, challenges, tutorials, product know how and cyberstamps and we are always there to help and support each other when its needed. So if you are a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand then please feel free to click here to join our wonderful group.  If you are interested in learning about the great benefits of becoming a demonstrator yourself please contact me gavnmon@internode.on.net

You might have started with my post, or you might have hopped over from looking at the wonderful creations that Kim Conway has over on her blog KC  CARDS.  The beauty of a blog hop is that it doesn't matter where you start you just keep hopping to the next blog by following the link at the bottom or each post.  Don't forget we all love to hear what you think of our creations, so please leave a comment as you hop around.

The new Summer Mini Catalogue is full of a variety of products to tempt you, Trims, Punches, Dies, DSP and of course Stamps.  One of the benefits of being a demonstrator is we get to pre-order from the catalogue so here are some of the things I have created using these great new products.

Firstly I thought I would share a scrapbook page, I haven't done a scrapbook page in about 8 years and have been promising myself I would get back to that side of paper crafting.  I was finally inspired to do one using this picture my mum sent me last week.  Can you spot the three new products I have used?

- Firstly is the Victoria Crochet Trim, this is such a delicate woven lace trim, it has a wonderfully vintage feel about it and is just great to use, on this I have backed it with a strip of Real Red card stock to bring out the colour in the flowers and to highlight the pattern of the lace.  

- Second new product is the "Wonderful Mother" stamp from the Well Scripted stamp set.  For this page I used a marker to stamp technique to just stamp the word Mother, rather than the whole image.  I love the swirly font the stamp set uses.

- Thirdly is the Pinking Hearts Border Punch, don't you just love the delicateness of this border, the tiny hearts sit perfectly in the "v" of the border.  Like the Scallop Trim Border Punch, this one also has a matching corner punch so you can make complete borders for card fronts and scrapbook pages.

Next on the list of creations I wanted to share is a simple but effective Easter card using a great technique for making the cross using the Scallop Trim Border Punch. 

I love this because it shows the versatility of the Stampin' Up! punches.  I saw this technique on another blog and can't for the life of me find the link, so please leave a comment if this is your creation and I will give you credit (or update my post when I find the link).  I have also used the Lattice Embossing Folder from the Summer Mini on this card. Its a great folder that just give a wonderful fine texture to the card.

My final project was inspired by my Secret Sister October gift.  I wanted to recreate the decorated bag and use some of the fun little gold paper bags that I have recently acquired (I think I did an OK job of it). The base of this bag is Basic Gray with a Blushing Bride Top Note, layered with a Very Vanilla Top Note that I pre-stamped with images front the Grunge Rock stamp set and then ran through the Lattice embossing folder.  Grunge Rock is such a fun set, and it goes really well with Extreme Elements. 

I wanted this bag to be have a vintage sort of feel so have topped it off with a Victoria Crochet Trim bow, I wanted to bring out the gold in the bag so secured the bow with one of the stunning Antique Brads from the Idea Book and Catalogue - these two products go so well together! 

The guitar from the Grunge Rock stamp set I have embossed in gold onto Basic Gray.  I showed this to my 15 year old daughter (my official Blingologist) and her comment was "Oh mum, that is sooooooo cute. Can I have it?" - a good sign that I hit the mark I was aiming for.  These would make nice gift bags either full of goodies for a birthday girl, or as treat bags for guests.

I hope you have enjoyed my creations, please hop on over to see what Kerryn Campbell has to tempt you with over on her blog Kerryn's Cards.

Just in case you get lost here are a list of all the demonstrators in the blog hop, just click on their name and you will jump right to thier blog ...

Jan McAnulty

Sharlene Torres

Gail Kirby

Nicole Derendorf

Vicki Were

Teresa Leggo

Sherylee Tutt
Kim Conway

** Monique Fielder **

Keryn Campbell

Steph Gray

Susan Joyce

Amy Buchanan

SS Inspired Part 3

Here is the final installment of my SS inspired items - all have been made from a single A4 sheet of Very Vanilla stamped with the Extreme Elements set.  This one came from a tutorial over at Papertreyink.

I love this sitting on my desk holding some of my frequently used "bling". I find if I have things close on hand I tend to use them more often.  The little bottles at the front (green and purple lids) are what hold my Shimmer Mist (Shimmer Paint added to Isocol Alcohol), I have replaced the TomBow glue with a small squeeze bottle of Crystal Effects mixed with White Shimmer Paint which I have read about but not yet used!  I wrapped some cardstock around my bone folder and adhered this to the inside of the front so that it doesn't wiggle around or fall over.  The other item in here is my newly acquired Paper Piercer which I am loving, so easy to use with its textured handle and tapered point.

I have added a bow of the Victoria Crochet Trim and secured it with one of the Vintage Brads from my SS.  I didn't want the holder to be overly decorated, so haven't added further stamps or embellishments.  I don't want to get too distracted!

SS Inspired Part 1

In my last post I got to show off some of the lovely things my Secret Sister had made for my October present, and mentioned how the colours had inspired me.  I made up a sheet of A4 Very Vanilla stamped with the Extreme Elements stamps and have used that on the project that I will post over the next few days.  I love making my own DSP, that way it matches the project I am doing perfectly both in colours and in content.  I do love the wonderful range from Stampin' Up! also and they can be easily combined with home made DSP as well, SS did it beautifully in her last gift to me! 

 Now onto the card.  On 1st December there is a new Mini Catalogue coming out and as a demonstrator we get a sneak peek and a chance to order some of the sets.  I have used one of them on this project, Grunge Rock.  Its a set of 6 stamps that include the Guitar, Sentiment and the Diamond shapes stamped on the base card.  I have also used the Music Notes wheel to go with the guitar.

 As you can see here the Diamonds have been stamped in Soft Suede onto Soft Suede cardstock, I used a stamping off technique so they were not too dark.  I stamped the sentiment onto Baja Breeze and then spritzed it with White Shimmer Paint (from my SS) mixed with isocol alcohol.  You can just make you the shimmer it gives.  I used some of the Victoria 5/8" Crochet Trim that is also featured in the new Mini Catalogue, this is a great addition to the already wonderful ribbon collection Stampin' Up! have on offer this year.  It adds to the vintage feel of the card I think.  I chose to use it like this as I wanted to frame the sentiment but didn't want to use more cardstock, and this fit perfectly.

This is a close up of the guitar, and you might just be able to see the shimmer paint I added to it to give it a nice subtle sparkel.  I love the swirls on the guitar, not easily seen on this card, but stay tuned, I will post another one soon that I have embossed with gold and you can really see the detail.  Click on the image for a bigger picture and you can see the shimmer more easily.

Great card for a teenage girl I think, I know my teen daughter loves it!