HB2U! HB2U!

My younger son Devon, turned 4 today & here's the card I made for him. I covered chipboard letters with DSP, but the "2" is actually just DSP with dimensionals (foam dots) behind. I used a stencil to trace it as I didn't have a chipboard "2". I also didn't have any Tempting Turquoise ribbon to match so coloured white ribbon using my TT marker. He just loved the card. Oh, and we did give him presents too!The background music stamp is from Penny Black. Stampin' Up! don't have anything like it at the moment, but having been a pianist in my past life, just had to buy it.Because the card base is black, inside I attached Whisper White and stamped lines using the long skinny stamp from Big Bold Birthday.Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, East Coast Prep DSP (Retired)
Ink: Basic Grey, Tempting Turquoise
Accessories: Whisper White Ribbon, Photo Corner Punch, Chipboard Letters

Feed Your Scrapping Addiction!

For people with Sky TV, the Living Channel has a wonderful programme called "DIY Scrapbooking", Monday mornings, 9.30am. It's well worth a look!

You Tube is also a wealth of information when it comes to all things stamping and scrapbooking. Stampin' Up! even have their own channel here.

Sneak Peek - Big Bold Birthday

It's not too late if you'd still like to come to my workshop tomorrow. We're celebrating birthdays with the Big Bold Birthday stamp set - 4 projects for $15, including a scrapbook page. Here's a sneak peak of a card. I found the inspiration for this project from here.Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Hemp Twine, Dimensionals

Jargon Dictionary

Here's a dictionary of jargon and abbreviations you might see on this and other blogs. I'll update it as needed and if you need to refer to it, just click "Jargon" on the label bar.

SU = Stampin' Up!
DSP = Designer Series Paper
SCS = Split Coast Stampers
Upline = Person which I signed up under (Hi Tracee!)
Downline = People which sign up under me
Scraplift = "Borrowing" someone else's layout/ideas
LO = Layout

Product Showcase - Photo Corner Punch

Stampin' Up have a great range of punches, and as a scrapbooker myself, the Photo Corner Punch is one of the first I bought. Today I'll show you a few different ways to use it.

This layout which I scraplifted from Arlene Mantle on SplitCoastStampers uses the punch in the traditional way, but also with some patchwork elements. I dabble in patchwork and quilting myself and being able to combine both is great. Think "flying geese" for this one.
Here's another one scraplifted from Arlene Mantle with a border along the same lines:
I've also used the corners as arrows above and below:
Created a frame:
And last but not least, another feature is how the punch cuts 2 different sized corners which you can then layer:
The Photo Corner punch is $35.95, email me to order.

Lessons in Scrapbooking - Layout

I LOVE scrapbooking! And I LOVE talking about it and teaching other people how to do it! On this blog I would like to share some techniques and ideas which I've learnt since I started scrapbooking 4 years ago. Today I'm going to talk about Layouts.

This refers to the placement of titles, photos, accents and journaling on the scrapbook page. Remember that you don’t need to include all of your photos in your scrapbook – choose the best which “tell the story” so to speak. Before you adhere anything, experiment with the placement of your photos and title until you find a pleasing arrangement. Journaling and accents will add balance and interest to your layout. It's a good idea to choose one photo as a focal point and make it stand out by framing, adding additional mats or using accents to draw attention to it.

TIP – Sketches are great for creativity. Checkout www.pagemaps.com, www.stickersnfun.com or just google “scrapbooking sketches”. You can also gain inspirations from scrapbooking magazines and books or by visiting layout galleries at websites such as www.splitcoaststampers.com, www.scrapjazz.com or www.scrapbook.com.

Here's a double layout I completed today.

I haven't yet got the hang of putting photos side by side yet but bear with me!

I started off using this sketch from PageMaps but then steered a little off course:

But that's the great thing about sketches, you can follow them close or just use them to get started. The "Welcome" title was a chipboard word which I had bought at Spotlight at least 10 years ago (I had some plan to make a Welcome Friends sign with a sheep in the middle). Soooo glad I kept it now (I knew I'd use it someday, ha). It was coloured by pushing into Brilliant Blue stamp pad but then I decided to make it black. Crystal Effects were then added over the top and the final effect ended up being midnight blue. I planned it that way, NOT!

For the banner, I popped the designer paper through a crimper then used my 1 3/8" square punch to cut a nice straight, even triangle out.

I was really happy with the final effect!

Cardstock: Bashful Blue
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Basic Black
Accessories: 1 3/8" Square Punch, Patterns Pack II Designer Series Paper, Crystal Effects, Crew Kids - Girl Simply Scrappin' Kit (Retired), Crew Kids - Boy Simply Scrappin' Kit (Retired)

My First Handmade Album

This was actually my first attempt at making a handmade album, the album in my last post was my second attempt. This one had cardstock throughout without the 6x6 page protectors. I will continue to use the protectors in the future though as I think the pages may get a little grubby over time. I was very happy with this though as a first attempt!

I also want to say a big thank you to my upline, Tracee Jones (blog). Just one year ago, I couldn't ever have imagined making something as cute as this, and now, I want to make something for everyone! Being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator has certainly opened my eyes to how wonderful handmade gifts really are. Thanks Tracee!

And here's the quick and easy card to match:
Album
Stamps: Schoolbook Serif Alphabet, Big Blossom, Frames with a Flourish, Life Definitions.
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Tea Party Designer Series Paper, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Grey
Accessories: Lots of punches, Jumbo Eyelets, Ribbon/Fibre, Hodgepodge Hardware

Card
Stamps: For A Friend (Retired Hostess)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Tea Party Designer Series Paper
Ink: Basic Grey
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Edge Punch

A is for Always...

Another friend of mine, Cheryl, gave birth to a 10lb 8oz (cringe) boy recently so I created a handmade album for her to store his first photos in.

The overall size of the album is approx 7 1/2" x 6" and I used 6x6 page protectors inside. On the inside front and back covers I glued a mini envelope to store extra train and journalling embellishments.
Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track (wheel), Schoolbook Serif Alphabet, Life Definitions, Frames with a Flourish, Office Accoutrement (retired, on journalling tags)
Cardstock: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turqoise, East Coast Prep Designer Series Paper (Retired), Whisper White
Ink: Black
Accessories: Lots of different Punches, Jumbo Eyelets, Ribbon/Fibres, 6x6 Page Protectors

And here's the card to match using colours from the Soft Subtles range. I made this card for my last workshop for the Spring Mini Catalogue launch.Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track (wheel), For A Friend (Retired Hostess), Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink, Perfect Plum, Basic Grey
Accessories: Dazzling Diamonds, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Current Promotion

When you spend $120 and/or host a $700 workshop during September, you'll receive an exclusive ribbon bundle!

Ribbon bundle includes 9.1 metres each Certainly Celery 5/8" poly-twill ribbon and So Saffron 5/8" grosgrain ribbon. This has a value of $35!

Double Trouble

My friend invited me to her twin girls 3 year birthday party which was held on Saturday. She said not to worry about presents but I didn't want to turn up empty handed. The waterfall card on it's side is a very cute way to use the Choo Choo stamp set (I got the idea from this blog). Who said girls don't like trains? I had also previously done a 6x6 scrapbook page for a class I held in May so I whipped up another to complement it so she had a pair. 6x6 pages are easy to turn into 12x12 layouts using the Progressive Page technique but as my friend doesn't scrapbook I suggested she could frame/photo album/display them. She was rapt.

Card
Stamps: Choo Choo, Right on Track (wheel), For A Friend (Retired Hostess)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Patterns Pack II Designer Series Paper (Hostess)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Basic Grey Marker
Accessories: Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon, Stapler, Brown Eyelets

6x6 Pages
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Priceless, Frames with a Flourish
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper
Ink: Basic Black, Cameo Coral, Real Red
Accessories: 5 Petal Flower Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Buttons

Catalogue Supply List & Corrections

If you're looking through your catalogue (contact me for one) wondering which colours or product THAT is made with, check out the supply list with photos or here for text only.

Corrections and Write-Ins are found here.

The Supply List for the Spring Mini-Catalogue is found here.

That's my housekeeping for the day.

My First Post

Welcome to my blog! I thought it was about time I did something about this as I have admired many blogs over the past few months and have been wanting to join in the fun. I hope you enjoy my creations as much as I have making them.

I will endeavour to use Stampin' Up! product in my creations, but I do have a large stockpile of "other" papercraft stuff so you may see the odd thing pop up!

I enjoyed going to the Craft Show in Hamilton last Friday and meeting Jacque Petersen (blog), Ria Kaire (blog) and Patrice Halliday-Larsen for the first time.