Something Just For Me ...

I have a mid year's resolution (like a new year's one but just 6 mths late!).  I want to be more organised and I knew I needed a tool or two to help me achieve my goal.  I love "To Do" lists but find that the paper variety just don't work for me, I jot down notes on them, they get messy as I cross jobs off.   A white board would work, but I don't have a handy wall to hang one on, not where I would see or easily reach it.  My solution was to make one out of a picture frame.

The Beau Château DSP has a sheet with a lovely flourish in the top corner and lines all down the page, perfect for the task at hand.  I used my paper trimmer to cut it to size, and then did some fancy cutting around the flourish.  I added another sheet of the Beau Château DSP behind this, choosing a soft pattern in Blushing Bride.  The "To Do" is done using the Junior Type Alphabet dies.  The glass in front makes a perfect surface to write my list on, and with a whiteboard pen the jobs I do wipe straight off - the pen sits in the Blushing Bride tube you can see attached to the front of the frame - no losing the pen now!  Best of all it sits near my desk nice and handy but not in the way.   

I decorated the front of the frame with three flowers, two made from the Fancy Flower punch and the larger one from the Blossom Punch.  On the inside of each is a single layer punched using the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.

It is really nice to make something just for me, and it was so easy to do I might even make myself another one for my work desk!

Happy Stamping

ESAD Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop

Today marks the release of the Sale-A-Bration promotion at Stampin' Up!  I have to say this is one of my favourite times of the year because Stampin' Up! give away FREE stamps, yep totally free when you purchase $100 in product.  The super exciting thing about Sale-A-Bration this year is that not only are there four great stamp sets to choose from but we also have the option of a full pack of 12'x12' Designer series paper, or a cute Brads and Ribbons bundle, so there really is something for everyone.  If you don't already have a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and are interested in learning more please contact me 0412 064 670.

The other exciting thing about Sale-A-Bration is that it is time for another ESAD Blog Hop, where you get to hop around and see what some of the ESAD girls have created with these great FREE products.  You might be starting here or you might have hopped on over from Pauline Bennetts' Blog

What is ESAD?  ESAD stands for "Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators" and it is an on-line group just for Australian and New Zealand Stampin Up demonstrators.  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 it is 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

Here is the first item I made for the blog hop, a DSP sampler to show off not only the beautiful DSP available but also can you see the little brad holding it together?  That is one of the brads from the Free Ribbon and Brad bundle.  Doesn't it go so well with the Blossom Boquet Triple Layer Punch!  I purposefully chose the colours for the front of the DSP sampler because they are the coordinating colours for the DSP, and that will help remind me!

I wanted to make a desk set with some of the exclusive SAB products, and had my first play with adhering DSP to chipboard and putting it through the Big Shot.  I then used my Crop-A-Dial to punch the holes in the chipboard and threaded them together with the Lucky Limeade Ribbon that comes in the Ribbon and Brad bundle.  To add some detail I wrapped some of the Calypso Coral ribbon around the corners of the Scallop Square.  I am loving this ribbon, it is so delicate and pretty it is the perfect addition to any project.  And I have to say the value in the Ribbon and Brad bundle is amazing - 2 rolls each containing 9.1m of ribbon and a pack of 30 brads with 5 different patterns on them!  Can you see the little butterfly brads that I have used to hold my calendar on with - they are so cute and match the little butterflies on the DSP perfectly.  

My final project was going to be a picture frame, but I decided to use it instead to hold one of the stamps from the Fresh Vintage set also available at SAB.  I used my markers to colour in the rubber and then stamped the image, you can just see how well the image on the stamp matches the pattern on the DSP.  I added some butterflies from the Beautiful Wings Embosslit Die, and of course some pearls to give it that something special.  You will see I have used the Curly Label Punch and cut slits in the corners to create photo corners for my frame, I just love how well these go with the Top Note Die.  Again this is DSP adhered to chipboard and run through the Big Shot, something that was demonstrated at our Regional Training day in Canberra. 

I hope you enjoy the Bog Hop, don't forget to follow the links at the bottom of each post to hop around all the blogs.  Next on your journey is the lovely and talented Bron Heslop, don't forget to leave some comments as you hop around so the ladies know how much you are enjoying the hop.

Happy Hoppy Stamping

Paper Lovin' Mojo

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and for those of you who get the whole week off I hope you are relaxing and enjoying whatever you are doing.  I have spent a lovely few days with my husband and daughter, eating Christmas food, and enjoying the time away from work. 

One of the things I do to relax is to create, and this week at Paper Lovin' Gals there is a great inspirational picture to help the creativity flow.  I think this picture is a great break away from the Christmas theme we have had for a few weeks, and a reminder that 2012 is just a few short days away.  The inspiration I have taken from this picture is the rosette and the colours - what will inspire you?  The layout, colours, theme ... it doesn't matter really because you can join in by creating anything that was inspired by this picture, a scrap page, card, 3D item or even something not paper craft related! So pop over and join in this week.

I also took inspiration from the Mojo Monday sketch this week.

I just love making rosettes, and this was no exception, this one is made using 2 pieces of 6" x 1" card stock which I scored at 1/8" and then fan-folded and joined.  The next part is a bit fiddly, you need to adhere the ends together to form one loop then wiggle it until you lay it flat.  I adhere mine to a 1" circle at the back to help me keep it in shape while the glue dries.  I added a Calypso Coral flower using the Triple Layer Blossom Bouquet.  Can you spot the two new products that will be part of the Sale-A-Bration rewards in January? The little brad and the Lucky Limeade Organdy ribbon that I have layered over some Calypso Coral ruffled ribbon and a small strip of white card stock.  I am loving the effect this gives.

Thanks for dropping by.

Happy Stamping

Paper Lovin' Gals

Knowing how I love my challenge blogs, imagine my excitement when I found out that there was a new one about to start up!  I found the link on my lovely friend Kasey's blog and was even more excited when I found out they are still looking for a few more Design Team members!  The challenge was to create a project taking inspiration from this picture ...

I quite like these types of challenges, they allow for lots of variation, you can take the colours, the layout, the theme, or anything really that inspires you.

I was inspired by the colours and by the lovely bright pink flowers.  I just knew I wanted to use my new Triple Layer Flower Punch for this one, and what better than yellow and orange brads to give them cute little centre.  I mixed it up a bit and used the blue of the jug as the inspiration for my Baja Blue background card and dsp, and the orange from the wall for my vase.  I made the vase out of the Ornament Punch with the bottom cut off and stamped with a small flourish from Tiny Tags stamp set.  Then it was simply layering the flowers in Rose Red and Melon Mambo.

I hope you like my creation, and entry into the design team, and are inspired to join in with this new challenge blog.  Pop over to Paper Lovin' Gals (don't you just love the name) and join in, or at the very least see what everyone else has created with this lively picture as inspiration.

Happy Stamping