Great day for stamping....

~~ Warning - long post!! ~~
Late this morning the weather in Auckland was terrible... thunder and lightening and torrential rain... wasn't I glad to be inside at Sandie's place for our stamping group!!!!!  Nice and cosy.  We had the wonderful Jacque come and demonstrate some of the new products from Stampin' Up!  We did this amazing make and take

I really liked the set we used called Vintage Vogue that I ordered it!!!!  So some more of these will be made. 

After a wonderful lunch... lovely hot veggie soup from Sandie and other goodies from the rest of us.... we got on with more stamping.  Today there were a total of 8 of us.  So lots of sharing, talking and card making.    I started with a card using my new Tim Holtz birdcage die.

I started by cutting out the cage and bird in cream card stock and sponging with distress ink,  I then stamped the bird with Antique Brocade in the Shabby Shutters ink.  My PP was a piece of some of the Peachy Keen paper by Gina K that I had printed out a few weeks ago.  The sentiment is from a set by Three Bugs in a Rug.

My next card came about as I had really liked the owls I did last weekend, but didn't want to buy the die set... so I thought about what I had that would work instead.  I remembered having an Owl in an Inkadinkado set I got at Stamp Camp a couple of weeks ago.  So hunted him out and this is what I finished up with.

I was pleased with the result.  Janet, Helen and Sue all stamped him off as well, so more owls around Auckland!!!!!

My next card for the day was inspired entirely by the amazing Nancy from her post on her blog.  She is teaching a class this weekend and had showed the card she was going to do with the Hero Arts Poppy Background stamp - here -  and this is what I did

I stamped the Poppy background onto white card with Garden Green Ink ( from the wonderful Oz)  I punched out 3 pieces from the stamped piece and matted with black card.  I stamped the Antique Background - 2nd generation to get a very light look- on the right side of the Olive base card.  Then finished with the sentiment - similar to Nancy's card.

and this is what Helen came up with

Sue also did one but I didn't get a photo of it. In her one she cut one strip of the matting and put all three pieces of the green poppy straight onto it rather then individually matting.  She used a white base and added the word " Happiness" in Kiwi Kiss green ink at the bottom.  So, one inspirational card and 3 different takes on it.  Many thanks to Nancy for the inspiration.   

I even managed to make a start on another card... more Poppies... I just LOVE that stamp!!!! ( almost as much as my butterfly stamps!!!!)

thanks for visiting me today... Hope your Saturday was as much fun as mine.....  next weekend  - NO STAMPING GROUPS - but lots of housework to catch up on after 4 Saturdays in a row of cardmaking!!!!

You Hoo... Birthday Owls

At Stamp Group on Saturday our make and take was the three owls - They were cut with a new die by EZ Cut. We cut three owls out of 3 different card, pulled them apart and mixed up the colours to put them back together, We also cut the branch with another EZ Cut die. I put mine on a piece of pp that had been spritzed with Walnut stain ink solution. It was my first time using the spray bottle and I got a few splotches... but that made it look cool. I layered it on black and then olive card stock on a white base. My little owls were pop dotted for dimension. I then stamped the words "you hoo" in top and bottom corners

I really like these dies by EZ Cut - so ordered some... two different borders - and one that embosses and cuts a square out of the top part of the card. Really different. I picked them up today. So lookout for some embossed cards coming up.  Just to find some time to do some crafting.... maybe Saturday as I'm off for my fourth Saturday in a row - stamping.... going to a Stampin' Up! demo and stamping at Sandie's place....

Thanks for stopping by... I appreciate it.

Something a bit different.

I found this wonderful blog yesterday - while surfing and blog hopping with TiddlyInks.... Valita had this amazing template for an Iris fold dress.  I decided to give it a go and ended up making this card for my niece's 21st ( previous card now back in the pile!!!)  This one is so pretty I am really pleased with it.

The silver is a very shiny slippery piece of Christmas wrapping paper - but it gives such an awesome look.  I used the same Inkadinkado stamp that Valita used on her card.   ( Note - yet another Purple card!!!!!) 

Tonight I quickly made a Thanks card for the woman I sit beside at work.  Jasmine came in this morning with a pile of old stamps she had and doesn't use any more.... All of them by a company called All Night Media.  One of them was a lovely Spring Bouquet and I used it to make this card.... following one of the Caardvarks sketches for this months challenge.

I coloured in the image with my water colour pencils and cut it out with Label 4 ( just arrived today) and used some of the Kaisercraft paper and die cuts that also arrived today - part of my prize from Paula for the Cuttlebug challenge last month.... Thanks Paula.... ( will blog Em's card once I get a good photo of it!!)   The top scallop is cut with a new border die from Spellbinders. 

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day... dinner out with the kids and their partners was just lovely last night, a lovely finish to a wonderful day.  Have a great week.... and thanks for visiting.

Stampin' Saturday

For the 3rd Saturday in a row I have spent all day stamping... this week it was our monthly group at Stamp'n'create.  We had a full house today... 10 of us.  I had in mind that I would make my card for May Card chain challenge.... using the sketch Deborah put up here...but got a bit waylaid.... Judi had some new Hero Arts stamps in and I just couldn't resist the Poppy Background Cling...  it is just amazingly versatile....

 

Three times used and three different looks.
For the first card I stamped with Versamark and used white embossing powder then rubbed red Brilliance ink over the lot.  Matted on black and then onto Bazzil.  Not sure what sentiment I'll put on this one.
Number two, I stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and used water colour pencils and watered down Liquid Pearls to colour it in. Matted onto purple and then the white base card with a bit of sheer ribbon.
The final piece is still to be made up - but it so beautiful.  I stamped with Versamark on black card and embossed with a powder called Winter Illusion.  As the card is moved, the colour changes from pink to green.  I have captured a little of the look on the photo.  I'll probably matt onto white then onto black base card... maybe add a bit of ribbon or scallop the bottom....

That kept me a bit busy for the day.... but I did manage to get the card made that is going to Deborah in Canada.  Her blog is very inspirational and has a lot of tutorials. 

Here's just a wee sneak peek at the card I did for her.


We also had a demo on making a step card.... however my measuring must have been off as I couldn't get the card to sit straight!!!!  Still good practise.  Less haste more speed next time!!!  And we did a make and take that involved using new die cuts of an owl and piecing them together... I got the owls finished but not the card.  Will need to finish it during the week.


Tomorrow is Mothers Day so to all my readers who are Mum's - have a great day and enjoy your families...  I'm going out to dinner to celebrate both Mothers Day and Emma's birthday... double celebrations at her favourite restaurant...Gaku Teppan Yaki...
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Happy Birthday darling.....

Today is my daughter's 24th birthday.. I'm sitting here wondering where all the years have gone!!!!  It only seems like yesterday that my darling Emma Jayne was born.... ( That means I'm getting older too!!!!)

Last week she saw one of my monochromatic butterfly cards are mentioned she would like a Flutterby on her card!!!!  So I came up with this

it caused me no end of trouble..... First version - the mask moved and my sponging went wonky... next one got it right but then ended up with inky marks over it... 3rd time perfect.... except it was upside down on the card!!!!  At least I was able to selvage that one - cut it down and put it on the olive card base.... finally got it how I envisioned it in the first place.... I used Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters distress ink on a very light cream card.  The background was a HA Cling stamp - Antique Background - and the butterfly was stamped from the same stamp... I made the mask by cutting the oval out with the nestie and using the negative like a stencil.  Really pleased with the result.

My son (Kieran) also got me to make a card for Emma as well.... I chose her favourite colour - Purple- to make a monochromatic card as well.... based on the easel card I made in the weekend at Stamp Camp.

I used HA Silhouette Grass with Dusty Concord distress ink to make the background.  I used an Kaisercraft stamp of a dragonfly and stamped it twice on acetate.  One layer I coloured with a Copic and the other layer I smeared Kindyglitz over.  Cut out and layered together.   As Kieran has not yet given her this... I have told her she is not allowed to read this post, till she gets it!!!!! So it will be a surprize...  We are all going out as a family for dinner on Sunday to celebrate her birthday and Mother's Day...

So to my darling daughter... Happy Birthday!!!

You're the Bestest!!!

My new Penny Black stamp is called this!!!.  When I got home on Sunday evening, Yvonne, the leader of our Family Group through church was on the phone to hubby.... she was just letting us know one of our members, Pam, had had a mild heart attack ( she's in her 80's) and Yvonne asked me to make her a card.... so I broke out the new stamp and made a get well card

 

 Isn't it just the cutest istamp!!!  I coloured it with my watercolour pencils, used a nestie to cut it out and then layered on the yellow and cut round it.  The sentiment is from Hero Aets and inside I stamped " feel better soon" from an American Crafts set.  I dropped it round and popped it in Pam's letterbox on my way to work yesterday morning.

It's my daughter's 24th birthday this week ( Thursday)  I can't believe that it was 24 years ago she was born!!!!  Time seems to have gotten away on me.  I have been busy making her a card - so will post after she has had her birthday. It was a bit of a mission as I kept getting ink in the wrong places and having to redo it!!!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Stamp Camp 2010 - Day 2

Well I arrived home at 4.45pm today - totally shattered!!!!!  Another full on day...
this is what our table looked like mid way through the day -

Stuff everywhere!!!!  No wonder I kept misplacing things~~

 We did a number of projects - starting off by putting together our Jacob's Ladder mini album - still not finished though as I have to put some photos on it... then moved onto making a hanging ribbon that fits in a little round container.  It was using several different techniques - water spritzing and using reinkers to colour an embossed flower - one of which used a reverse stamp to make a mirror image - so when we sandwiched the ribbon between the tow pieces were identical.  We also used a smashed paint technique with Twinkling H2O's and acetate and glossy card to make a lovely background to stamp butterflies on.

 
After morning tea it was onto a rather complicated card that involved sponging, stamping and making some mini books by sewing paper together ...

Took a while... and I stuffed up as I didn't realise that I had to leave tails of the thread we used to sew the books together so I could put beads on them!!!  so again I didn't get this one finished.
After lunch it was onto what was called an Exercise Block - 'cause there was a little note to go with the project that said:  "place this block on the ground, walk round it twice and then go relax... congratulations as you've just been round the block - twice!!!"

This one was fun... We made the box as well as the canvas block.  The stamping was done onto tissue and then with Mod Podge it was put onto the canvas.  The dragonflies were stamped on acetate and then had Kindyglitz added, cut out and popped on to the canvas.

We followed this one with a lovely Easel card.  I misplaced the ovals to make the greeting so another one to finish this week.  This one used one of the newer Hero Arts stamps which I really think I need now!!!

The butterfly on this was stamped with Stazon on acetate twice, once coloured with Copics and the second one with Kindyglitz.  They were then layered together and added to the card with a "w" piece of acetate so they seem to float...
and our final project was a Book mark card... where the bookmark was part of the card and could be removed. 

By the end of the day, I think we were all very tired and pleased to be heading home to relax. 

All in all, a very productive and fun weekend... lots of new techniques learnt, friends made and in my case a few new stamps and products made there way into my craft bag...

Hope your weekend was a great as mine...

Stamp Camp 2010 - Day 1

PS  this is a long post.... like the day was!!!
Whew... what a day.  We started at 9.00am this morning and our table looked like this:

but I can tell you did not look this tidy at the end of the day.  Our table of four had a great day... Angela, Bernie, Jax and I had a fabulous time.  We started the day with Kay giving us our kits for a mini Jacobs Ladder album that we will do tomorrow.

Our task for the day ( and homework if we didn't get it done) was to prepare all the pages.  Our group managed to get them done through out the day.
Next was to prepare a cover for the Technique's folder we were all given.  It involved stamping on cold laminate, turning it over and adding gold leaf and PearlEx powder and then added that to Jac paper and surrounding it with crumpled up and inked tissue paper, mesh,leaves and flowers.  Unfortunately the weather turned a bit nasty and I didn't get to go outside and get some photos.  Will try again tomorrow or Monday to get some good photos.
Onto the next project- a broach.... under the tuition of Sue.  This one involved stamping and shrinky-dink.... I have to admit to failure of one of my pieces :-(  It curled up into a ball and nothing would persuade it to behave!!  Still got there in the end

Next card caused me some issues as well....It was an amazing Zig Zag card... you cut a piece out of the middle of a long piece of card, folded in a concertina and added another piece in the middle... sounds complicated but once I get the photo up - you'll understand what I mean....

 It took a couple of goes to get the inside the right way!!!!
 
Next was a card shaped like a box.... needed accurate cutting of pieces the right way round.... luckily we were given plenty of patterned paper-  ( photo tomorrow or Monday as I haven't quite finished it!!!)

then onto a simple flower card - just lots of layering of the flower... Stamped 5 times and sponged then layered.

Back to Sue for the next card - one using strips of card and a hot glue gun!!!  We made our own patterned card by stamping on green and cream card with gold and red and green inks... cut into strips.  Once the strips were all put together we used a hot glue gun to make patterns on the card.  Once they were dry, we rubbed metallic paste onto the glue.  Very effective

Made one more card before heading home for the day... it involved using a Spellbinders flourish ( 11 pieces) all stuck together to form a circle.  It also used some Perfect Pearls so it was still wet at home time so that will have to wait till tomorrow to view....

So you can see that it was really a full on day - tomorrow 9.00 until 4.00pm... so will be one tired but happy stamper!!!

Thanks for taking the time to view this...
Cheers and happy stamping.....

PS- forgot to say I arrived home to TWO parcels... stamps and inks ordered this week!!! so even more fun for next week..new stamps to play with!!!! .(together with new stuff from camp)