Friday 25 December 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Weeks 11 & 12 Gift Box & Bags




MERRY CHRISTMAS from the speckled sparrow! 

This is totally what our Christmas looks like today! Hot, sunny & beaches surrounding us.  I am truly lucky to live here in Torquay!  Ok, so I either can't count or I have missed a week somewhere in my 12 weeks of Christmas posts!  To make up for my error, I am posting 2 projects using similar products.

I have been making gifts galore this week & I needed some packaging for them.  Firstly I made a big batch of shortbread with the kids & I needed to house them in something pretty.   My trusty festive flower punch came in handy for all of these projects today.  I didn't have time to stamp my flowers & guess what? They still look great.  I needed flowers in a hurry!  These are so easy to build.   I used tombow glue, but you could use a hot glue gun.


Stampin' Up! sell the best cafe bags! They are lined with plastic so they were perfect for my shortbread gifts. This prevents the butter from the shortbread soaking through the bags.  

Project 2 is a cute little box I made using the retired gift boxes on sale on the Clearance rack.  I have created a little belly band & added my pretty poinsettia to the top.  I needed a special box for a very special gift.  I'm sure my niece Indiah will love what's inside! 


Today marks the end of my 12 weeks of Christmas projects. I am taking a few weeks off from blogging & will see you all again for some special Sale-A-Bration posts very soon! 
Thanks so much for visiting my little blog & I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy & Joyous New Year.  

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 




Friday 18 December 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas Week 10: A Winter Wonderland Ornament

Hello, & welcome back to my 12 weeks of Christmas posts.  Today I am sharing my Week 10 project.
My friend Lisa came over for a paper play date last week & she brought with her a photo of an ornament she wanted to make.  She found it on Facebook & wanted to give it a try & since I had all the ingredients we made one up.  The one we were CASEing came from Jamie from Gettin' Crafty Stampin'  If you follow that link she has an easy to follow tutorial on how to make your very own pretty paper ornament.  While these look hard, they are really super easy.


Here is my version hanging on my small tree:


Here is the ornament laid out on the table to get a better view.  I have used the Winter Wonderland Specialty DSP & Winter Wonderland Vellum with the pretty Snowflake Elements for a centrepiece.



I know Lisa has made a heap of different ones since we made this one. I can't show you all of them as they are going to be given as presents.  Here is one she shared with me yesterday.  Isn't it pretty!

Lisa's Pear Pizzazz Ornament
I have plans to make a few of these as present myself now that school has finally finished for the year & I can relax a bit. The best thing is all the ingredients for this ornament are on sale in the Year End close out sale!  If you click on the pictures below it will take you to my online shop where you can order these at a discounted price right up until January 4th, but remember these items are While Stocks Last!  

Be sure to check back here next Friday for my Week 11 project.

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 



Sunday 13 December 2015

CTC 60 CASE-ing Simone


Hello & welcome to a very special CTC blog hop where all the team members CASE each other.  How fun!  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!  You will have hopefully hopped here from Jess's blog where she has CASED me!  Today I am CASE-ing Simone Bartrum.  Simone is my Upline "grandma" so to speak, so CASEing her was a little bit daunting!

I loved what Simone did with the Wonderland stamp set recently, so I decided this would be the one to CASE. To refresh your memory here are Simone's cards.



I just love this stamp set & if you follow my blog you will see I have used it lots.  For this project, I wanted to try the Northern Lights technique.  I have always wanted to go see the northern lights, however, I absolutely loathe the cold - so nope, I shall have to love them from afar.   

For my first card, I used sponges & swiped my Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise & Rich Razzleberry inks over the white cardstock randomly.  Then I rubbed Island Indigo ink all around to soften & blend the sky.  Next I stamped the trees in our Basic Black Archival Ink.  This ink is seriously the best black ink I have ever used! Then I added snow with the white gel pen to give it a really wintery feel.  You can see I have added a snowflake element just like Simone did too! 



I then decided I would like to try brayering to see if I could get a similar look. I used Island indigo, Daffodil delight & Rich Razzleberry inks to achieve the lit up night sky.  Well, I was a little out of practice & had to have about 4 tries before I got it just right. Trust me my hands were rather colourful by the end of it!  


As you can see, I used 2 different techniques to achieve a similar effect, but I like them both. 
Next stop on the blog hop is Simone's blog.  I hope she likes my CASE of her lovely cards.  I bet she has something fun to share!  If you get lost on your hop just stop in at the CTC blog to get back on track.  




Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 


Thursday 10 December 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 9 Punch Art Reindeer Gift Bag


Welcome to week 9 of my 12 Weeks Of Christmas Posts.  This week I am sharing a little gift bag I made for each fo my stamp club ladies.  Each one has a little present inside from me to thank them for such a lovely & fun year.

I am unsure of who originally posted this cute reindeer however, I'm sure if you look on Pinterest or google you will see lots!  I have certainly seen him pop up lots & I am pretty sure I CASED him from Dena at thecreativitycave.com



When it comes to Christmas it is always good to have a few little punch art reindeer or Santas to add to tags, cards or gift bags. I whipped up 20 of these little fellas using scraps left over from other projects so I am super happy about that too!  Be sure to check back next week for my Week 10 project.  

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 


Friday 4 December 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 8 Corner Window Card

Hi & welcome to Week 8 of my 12 Weeks Of Christmas series.  This week I am sharing a project we made in stamp club last month.  It is a 3d window card & the best thing is it folds flat & can be mailed in a business envelope.

I originally saw this card at Paperific way back in August, where Janine Rawlins had made up her version as a sample for the stand.   She had made hers using the White Christmas stamp set. I had a few customers asking to make a version of this card & I finally sat down last month & made this one.

I found a great sample on Pinterest by Fiona at Oakfieldcrafts & figured it was perfect as I had all the ingredients for us all to make one. When there are 16 ladies to cater for I need to have enough supplies to go around!


I have changed a few tiny things, but I loved the general look of it.   I love the warm Christmassy feel of the Merry Moments DSP stack wallpaper & the festive baubles hanging on the window.  Both the stamp set "Happy Scenes" & the Home & Hearth framelits can be purchased as a bundle for 15%off, making this a great value set. 

I used a sentiment from Lots Of Joy stamp set in the annual catalogue as it seemed to work for my little mat.  It is hard to see in the photo, but there is glittery snow outside on the ground & trees.  My Dazzling Diamonds gets a real workout at Christmas time! 

The base is made from an 8" x 8" sheet of Thick Whisper White card stock.  It's then scored at 4" up & 4" across.   All you need to do then is cut up to the centre of one line.  Here is a sample showing the measurements & cutting guide.



Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 


Sunday 29 November 2015

CTC 58 Snowflake Banner

Welcome back to another CASE-ing the catty Blog Hop.  Today I am sharing a 3d/home decor item I made many months ago for a craft show.  I make a banner every year & as soon as I saw this set I knew I would use it for my banner this Christmas.

My stamp club ladies are making this banner as part of their Christmas projects next month as well, so I have a lot of cutting & preparation to do before then!


Ugh! Banners are so hard to photograph.  I actually made the word Christmas into a banner too, but I just can't get it all in a photograph! 


I have used the Flurry Of Wishes stamp set & stamped the snowflake images all over the Whisper white card stock in Pool Party. 


I then used White embossing powder & embossed the larger snowflake on Kraft Cardstock & punched it out using the Medallion Punch.  I love that this punch coordinates with this set too. 
You can see in the next photo I have also punched out Gold Glimmer paper & layered it behind snowflake elements to create a little embellishment for the corner.



 I really enjoyed making this.  Even though we don't get snow here I just love decorating with snowflakes.  The Snowflake Elements are so delicate & pretty & the gold looks lovely as a highlight behind them. It is really sparkly in real life but a bit hard to capture in photos.

Next up is Kathryn , click on the next button to continue on the hop.  I know she has something very special to share today.  I totally love it & I know you will too!



Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 




Friday 27 November 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 7 Centre Step Peaceful Pines Card

Here we are at week 7 & I have a quick & easy centre step card to share with you.  I have used a favourite colour combo for this card - Soft Sky, Lost Lagoon & Pear Pizzazz. It is so easy you could whip up 10 in the one sitting.

I swore I wasnt buying the Peaceful Pines stamp set, but I secumbed to its lovely images & cute trees a week ago.  This comes as a bundle too so you can save 15% buying it that way.  The images lend themselves to a bit of bling or sparkle quite nicely.  I let the stars do all the shining on this card though.


To make the base centre step card you need to follow a bit of a tutorial.  I could write up one & share it here, but why go to all that trouble when there are plenty out there already.   I just googled centre step cards & heaps of different instructions came up.  I have used Di Barne's one for this card, but you could use whichever suits your project.  I love that Di's instructions allow for a half sheet of A4 card stock, which means I can make twice as many of these cards!  She has a printable instruction sheet on her blog & lots of other ideas too.

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 



Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Sunday 15 November 2015

CTC 56 My Favourite Holiday Catty Bundle



Welcome to the CASE-ing The Catty Blog Hop.  today we ae showcasing our favourite bundle from the Holiday Catalogue.

How do I choose just one?  There are so many I just love & I am finding it impossible to choose.  One of the very first bundles I purchased was the Snow Flurry bundle & I have made lots of projects with this bundle.  I hear you saying "SNOWFLAKES? But we don't have snow here in Australia!" Well no, we don't but I just love them so much I couldn't help myself & had to have it.



  The participants of my Create Your Christmas day recently got to make a snowflake pillow box as part of their day.  I have CASED the pillow box from page 41 as seen in the catalogue however, I wanted to use the Snowflake bundle so have added that instead of the snowflake element.

I really liked this project because I got to showcase 2 bundles!   The Snow Flurry bundle & the Pillow Box bundle.  Here is my pillow box.  Lots of punching & stamping in this project.  I love how the snowflake punch, punches out the images perfectly. The Winter Wonderland Embellishments are really lovely also.



I embossed the little stars in silver on vellum for the window cut out.  Bit hard to see in the photo above but perhaps easier to see in this one.



This little box is perfect for a little gift of jewellery or money even.  It is a good size for treats or lollies also, making this the perfect little box for so many occasions.  I have to admit I bought this bundle to make a banner to decorate my house for Christmas, but just couldn't stop using it!  I will be sharing my banner in a few weeks time so stay tuned for that.

Now for the good news, the snowflake punch is on sale this week in the weekly deals for just $23.25!
Next on the blog hop is Allison.   Be sure to click the next button to see what she has created for you.




Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 



Wednesday 11 November 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 6 Wonderland Jolly Deer

Here we are at Week 6 of my 12 weeks of Christmas series.  Halfway there! Once again I am continuing my love affair with the Wonderland Suite.

I am a few days early with this post as I am off to the Stampin' Up! Onstage event in Melbourne this weekend.  Yay, can't wait!  We get to see the Occasions Catalogue products as well as the Sale-A-Bration ones too.

 This card is a friend to my Wonderland shaker card from an older post which you can see here.  I have been playing around with different ways to use the antler DSP from the Wonderland DSP & today I have used it on a monochrome card featuring my good friend the reindeer from Jolly Christmas!


I based this card layout on one by Allison Okamitsu.  It seems she may love this cute deer too!
When I was stamping the deer in Stazon the image was a bit sketchy, so I coloured in the extra bits using Soft Suede which gave it a lovely furry feel. The jolly is heat embossed in gold & snipped out & raised on dimensionals.  

Be sure to come back next week for my next instalment. 

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia 



Thursday 5 November 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 5 Wonderland Glitter technique

Welcome back to Week 5 of my 12 weeks of Christmas series.  Oooh, it is getting close now can you believe how fast this year is going?!

For stamp club recently I was asked to teach the glitter technique.  It is a class I run every year as it has such a pretty effect.  Mind you I always run out of glitter!

Here is my card.  I used Wonderland & generation stamped in Mossy Meadow.


Here is a close up of the glittered panel.  It is very sparkly & pretty in real life, it's a bit hard to see in this photo.


To do this technique:
1) Stamp your images & leave to dry
2) Cover the whole image in versermark
3) Sprinkle heat & stick powder all over & heat with heat gun until powder is melted & sticky.
4) Sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds glitter all over & heat again.  Ensure the image is heated all over so the glitter sets.

This technique looks lovely on ornaments, most Christmas stamps & anything snowy.  Why not give it a try? Trust me, you'll love it!

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia

Friday 30 October 2015

12 weeks Of Christmas: Week 4 Season Of Cheer Mini Gift Bags

Welcome to Week 4 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas series.  Today I am sharing some little gift bags I made as gifts for attendees of my Create Your Christmas event I held recently.

I was looking everywhere for my Mini Treat bag die, but alas it is hiding somewhere.  So instead I got out the Gift Bag punch board & as I only had a short amount of time to prepare these.  It was the perfect choice & I managed to make 15 of these in an hour.  A pack of Season of Cheer DSP & some fast fuse later I had me a nice little bunch of thank you gifts for my customers.


Here they are all lined up ready for the guests.  I used the Note Tag punch for the little label to the front.  I just punched both ends with the arch.  These bags are the SMALL size on the punch board. The great thing about the punch board is it has directions for each size.   This small bag is a good size for lollies or treats, jewellery & even cash.  



 

If you are using paper that has a direction, remember to punch it upside down, as the board makes the bottom part of the box at the top of the board.  I made a few upside down ornament ones before I figured that one out! 

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia

Sunday 25 October 2015

CTC53 Happy Haunting


Welcome back to the CASE-ing the Catty blog hop.  This week we are focusing on pages 46-49 of the Stampin' Up! Holiday catalogue.  This week it's the Halloween section, YAY what fun!

We don't celebrate Halloween here in Australia, however, the estate where I live does get involved, so we are busy decorating & getting ready for the trick or treaters.  I couldn't help myself this week & made 2 fun cards celebrating Halloween.


For my 1st card I've used the fun Happy Haunting DSP & have teamed it with the stamp set "I Think You're Great" from the annual catalogue & the hostess set "Six Sayings". 


For my second card, I have used the same DSP but have added a cute spider web doily & the trick or treat stamp from "A little something".  This stamp set is super versatile as it has a bit of everything for this time of year in it! 

After looking at these projects, I still wasn't happy.  I needed something to hold the treats in so I created a little goodie bag using the same ingredients as the trick or treat card above. I used the Gift Bag Punch Board to whip up a quick bag.  This one is medium sized which is perfect for chocolates & treats. 





I hope you have enjoyed my projects.  Next stop on the hop is Alison.  Click on the next button to hop on over to her blog now.  Remember if you get lost you can always go to the CTC blog & see the full list of participants. 




Thanks for stopping by
Tricia


Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog
Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Friday 23 October 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas Week 3: Among The Branches Gift Bags & Card

Here we are again for the week 3 installment of my 12 Weeks of Christmas series.  Every year around this time I hold a Create Your Christmas event for my customers where they get to make lots of cards to hand out to family & friends.  I try to use as many new Holiday products as I can at these events & always provide their kits in a pretty gift bag.

My Gift bags need to hold lots of goodies, but also need to be pretty.  Today I am sharing my gift bag design using "Among (or Amoung if you are Australian) the Branches stamp set & the Woodland embossing folder.  I saw something similar to this on Pinterest recently by Julie Davison & I just loved it so much I decided to make my gift bags for my Create Your Christmas day to match it.

Here are my gift bags:


And here is my stepped up version made into a card.  I like to design my gift bags so that my customers can create a card out of the decoration on the front each year.  I then display a card I have made with it so they can go home & make it.  It's all about recycling here!


I just love these blues & silvers together.  Just a hint...you will be seeing these colours again this Christmas!  Be sure to check back next Friday for my Week 4 Project.

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia

Friday 16 October 2015

12 Weeks Of Christmas: Week 2 Snowflake Baker's Box


  Welcome to Week 2 of my 12 weeks of Christmas series.  Today I am sharing a really cute & simple project you can whip up in 10 mins.  I know because I did just that!  

I needed a little box to hold a scented candle I am giving a friend & this Bakers Box is the perfect size.  I wanted a wintery feel as this is travelling overseas shortly & they will be having a White Christmas.  The Season Of Cheer DSP has a really lovely soft snowflake design that was perfect for my project.


 To make this box, you need to cut out 2 of the Bakers Box die cuts using any DSP or cardstock you like & then glue them together. Easy peasy!  I have added some bling in the way of a silver glimmer banner, some sequin trim & two rhinestones.


See the little tag on the front.  Well, that was super simple to make also.  The Bakers Box die comes with lots of small shapes to cut along with your box.  I used the circle behind the largest tag & I chose a sentiment from  "A little Something" stamp set as it works perfectly for little gifts.  Although you might not be able to see them, I stamped the tiny snowflakes stamp (from the same stamp set) on the background of the white tag in Soft Sky to add some colour.





Here is a link to the Stampin' Up! YouTube video on making the Baker's Box.



Thanks for stopping by
Tricia

Sunday 11 October 2015

CTC 51 - Winter Wonderland



Welcome to the CASEing the Catty blog hop for this week.  Today we are creating using the very lush suite, Winter Wonderland on pages 22-27 in the Holiday Catalogue.   This is one of my absolute favourite suites & was the one I was drawn to the first time I looked through the catalogue.  I think most of my preorder consisted of everything in this suite!

I have created lots & lots of projects from this section & will be sharing them later on in my 12 weeks of Christmas posts commencing on the 9th of October, going right through until Christmas eve.


This week I have chosen to CASE the shaker card on page 22 of the Holiday Catalogue.



I loved the crisp black, white & gold feel this card has, plus I wanted to try out a shaker card.  I chose to use the Winter Wonderland Specialty DSP.  Now this DSP is REALLY lush with gold, black & white.  It is a shiny thin paper, which makes it feel expensive & extra special! 


Here is a side view.  I quite like a square card, but this one will need an envelope made as its quite large at 15cm x 15cms.  I have added a sheet of the Winter Wonderland Vellum stack.  Oh my, this stack is stunning.  If you love vellum you will love these gorgeous prints.


The deer to the right corner is from the stamp set Jolly Christmas, which is also in this section of the catalogue.   


The other thing you will notice is the metallic sequins in the shaker section. They match this DSP perfectly & are from the annual catalogue. I cut out the middle of a doily & made a mini one for an added embellishment behind the deer. 

I hope you have enjoyed my shaker card today.  It's now time to continue the hop to Judy's blog.  To see her project just click on her name or the next blog button below.  Remember if you get lost you can always head on over to CTC blog to see the full list of participants.





Thanks for stopping by
Tricia



Friday 9 October 2015

12 Weeks of Christmas: Week 1 Joy Card

Welcome to my annual 12 weeks of Christmas posts.  Every year I run this popular series where each week I make something to inspire your Christmas creating.  I make all kinds of things from 3D, gift projects & also cards.  I think it's time I got all my Christmas decorations down from the garage.  Time to start thinking Christmas... not long now!

To start us off I have created a Joy card using the Berry Merry bundle from page 30 of the Stampin' Up!  holiday catalogue.   We created this card last month for one of our stamp club projects.  I love a bit of Pear Pizazz & Early Espresso for Christmas.



Those demonstrators amoungst us might recognise this card from one of the US convention stage presentations, but I have changed it up a bit to suit what I had.   I love this Boughs & Berries embossing folder that comes with the Berry Merry bundle & have made a few creations with this folder, so make sure you check back in for those. 

For those of you who love the CTC blog hops, we have changed to Sunday night now, so come back then for my next blog hop post.  I have created a Christmas shaker card, especially for the hop. 

Thanks for stopping by
Tricia