A Subtle Summer Splash

Hi there, thank you for stopping by.  I entered another challenge this week. This time from the talented crew over at Just Add Ink. Their challenge this week was to use some lovely soft and subtle colours. You can find out more information in the link I added.

Here is what I came up with to participate in their challenge:

A Subtle Summer Splash

The colours we were challenged to use were: Pool Party, Wisteria Wonder, Certainly Celery and So Saffron. I must say they look stunning together. I used the surfboard stamp from “Summer Splash” and a word stamp from “Word Play”.  I love the embossing folder Framed Tulips and cut the center of it out so this looked like a picture frame and  found the white was a bit to stark on its own so I spritzed with Certainly Celery. There is not much time to enter this challenge, so if you would like to have a go, pop over using the link above.

For me, I am going out to meet a friend for coffee this morning, then I am home to make more creations. Just pop back later in the week to see more of my creations. I have a head full of ideas and almost passed on the coffee date to stay home. I think I could do with a little break especially where there is coffee involved.

Have a great day

“May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

Faux Silk – A new challenge and a new technique.

Hi and welcome. Each week I look forward to participating in the challenge set down by the lovely ladies at Sunny Challenges and Creations. You will find all the information about this weeks challenge here. The Faux Silk is a technique that I have never tried before. Here is what I came up with:

Friends Never Fade - Faux Silk Technique

The idea for this card woke me up very early this morning. Far too early in fact. So I rolled over and went back to sleep for a while, 45 minutes later, I couldn’t sleep anymore so off to crafting I went. I will be honest, I did ‘dummy’ run first. My biggest tip when trying this very easy but very effective technique is to always make sure your tissue paper is larger than the area you want to cover. My first run is binned, I didn’t have enough tissue paper scrunched to cover the area of the card. After I worked that little bit out, it was smooth sailing. I didn’t ‘faux silk’ the sentiment, as when I did, you couldn’t see the sentiment. I haven’t used this stamp in quite a long time and figured that it needed to see the light of day again.

Why not join in the challenge this week and see what you come up with. Its so much fun!!

Just a short and sweet post today.

Thank you once again for stopping by………….. “May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

A Delicate Doily Day

Hi, I hope you are all feeling creative today.

Although the IBC has been out since September, I have only recently purchased this stamp set. It has been on my wish list for ages. So here are a couple of cards that I made today:

A Doily Thank You

I just love the monochromatic look of this card.

Here is another I made. I love the colour combination of the “Spice Cake” Suite from the Mini Catalogue. Spice Cake would have to be one of my most favourite suites.

Sympathy Doily Card

Last but not in the slightest least:

Thinking of you Doily

I have “spiced” this up with a small sliver from the Spice Cake DSP. The colours I have used are Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede and of course Very Vanilla.

Just a quick post today, thank you for stopping by.

“May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

Invite Samples

Last week, with not much of a brief, I sat and fiddled with wedding invitations. My brief, not a big budget, blue, white and black colours. Here are a couple of samples I came up with.

Seaside C6 with Marina Mist

Yes a very old stamp set and the post it note doesnt look great with my hand writing but its a general idea.

C6 Marina Mist - Seaside Spritzed

Here is a Gate Fold card

Creative Elements Gate Fold invite with bride and groom initials.

I enjoyed working with this colour scheme.

Thank You for stopping by for a peak. Please feel free to comment. My work can only get better with help from my friends.

“May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

A new week, a new challenge!!

Hi and welcome back!!

Another week has just flown past and I have such a busy week. After the last 2 weeks of participating in the Sunny Challenge, I am going to try to commit to doing this. It has really helped stretch my imagination. Here is this weeks sketch and details if you would like to participate.

I decided to use Calypso Coral with Basic Black and Whisper White, a colour I rarely use. I came up with this card, after receiving my new stamp set “Lovely as a Tree”, nothing like combining a challenge with a new stamp set!

SC 027 /12 Entry - Lovely as a Tree

This wasn’t the only card that I made while playing today!! I had too many elements out on the desk to create just one card, it just wouldn’t all fit one one card!! So here is another quite simple card. The colours work so well together and I love “Perfectly Penned” stamp set. The writing is just so,                         well “perfect”.

A "Perfectly Penned" Happy Birthday

This wasn’t the challenge sketch though and this is the 2nd card I made today:

Faux Embossed Card

II am so pleased that I have already finished the challenge and made 3 cards. Here they are all together

3 Lovely Cards

I have so many more ideas to move along with so why not join in the fun of the Sunny Challenges and call back later in the week as I am sure that I will have more creations here.

Thank you for stopping by,

“May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

 

Unfinished Objects (UFOs)

Well what a week it has been!! I have a lot of bits and pieces laying around unfinished!!

I want to be a bit more organised with my Stampin’ Up! I start to dig through and first I find the 2011 Regioanl Training Make & Takes, still in their shrink wrap. Time to get them done, with my creativeness running at an all time low, I started! I find following a recipe or tutorial especially these kits we receive for attending, helps sometimes with refueling me for other projects! Here is a group photo of what we all made at Regional training in 2011.

2011 - Regional Training Make and Takes

A close up of the cute little 'card cart' and some of the 3 x 3 cards

You can see more here

Next onto another lot of UFOs. These ones from the 2011 Melbourne Convention. Having to fly to Melbourne, I thought it may have been a good idea to keep all of the Make and Takes in their shrink wrap kits, nice and flat. Here a couple of the projects we made while there:

Grouped Shot of the Melbourne Convention Make & Takes

A Close up of part of the Mini Banner we made

More Melbourne Convention 2011 Make and Takes

I know you are probably thinking right now, that I ought to be ashamed of myself and I admit it, I am! Here is another confession, there was something not finished from the make and takes from my first ever convention. This was in Sydney 2010!! The Group shot and the offending UFO!

Group Shot of the Make and Takes

The Matchbox Album that I finally finished this week!!!

More Sydney Convention pics

I found, the most UFO  after going through the unfinished Stampin’ Up! Event Make and Takes, the main thing I hadn’t completed were the little scrap book pages. This is mainly due to the whole thing being a secret until we get there. Its always such a great suprise to get new and unknown things, especially at Convention, as this happens in May and we have to keep it all a secret until the new Idea Book and  Catalogue is launched in September!! Such a long time to keep a secret from our customers!! Just another of the fantastic things that I enjoy through being a Stampin’ Up Demonstrator. If you are interested have a look, join now and there are more benefits for becoming a Demonstrator like me, until the 31st of March 2012!

I am so glad I have completed these now for pictures you could have a look at my albums on my Facebook Page

That’s my UFO journey for the week. Thank you for stopping by. Until next time….

“May the Stamps be with you”

xxTessxx

A Wedding Card!!

Hi there!! My Mojo is slowly but surely coming back. I have finally finished the Make and Takes from Regional training late last year. I will upload these pictures in another post so that you get to see the wonderful projects we get to make when attending.

I had another look over at Sunny Challenges this week to see what the challenge was. I loved the simplicity of the sketch and its always handy to have a couple of wedding cards laying around for when we get invited to weddings or just want to send a card. So after finishing one particular Regional Make and Take, I combined the sketch with the card. This is what I have come up with for the Challenge this week.

Congratulations - Gate Fold Card

I have always seemed to struggle to make my own Gate Fold cards, they either never met in the middle or they overlapped and I dont like either look.  Here it is again partially opened.

Congratulations - Gate Fold Card - opened

I felt it needed a bit of bling, so added the cute Itty Bitty flower from the Itty Bitty punch set and some Rhinestones.

Thats it for now, a short and sweet post.

Thank you for stopping by

“May the Stamps be with you”

xx Tess xx

A Big Welcome to 2012!

Hi there, after being a slouch for over a month. Gosh has it been over a month? I decided that I needed to get back into the swing of things. I went to sit down and start creating and couldnt come up with a thing. Nada, nothing. Ho hummm the Mojo was gone. The best way for me to get my mojo back usually, is to thoroughly clean up and then in my mind, I have to make my crafty space messy again!! This did not help me this time, I liked the way my things looked all neat and tidy and packed away!!! What to do? I jumped over to Sunny Challenges and my prayers are answered.

Here is what I came up with:

SC 025/12 - Zoo Review

I am so pleased with the way this card came together. Our challenge was to follow a sketch and use the lovely but subtle Pink Pirouette and a favourite of mine Early Esspresso. Hopefully this may get my creative juices going again. I haven’t made the most of the gorgeous Designer Frames embossing folders and have seen the technique on other blogs and decided to give this a go. As usual, I didnt have a coordinating button so made a button from the Buttons Embosslit and made a few so I could layer together and tied a thin strip of leftover Pink Pirouette cardstock in the button holes.

I  have just found the packet of make and takes that I didn’t finish from Regional training in Brisbane late last year and have decided to finish them off today. So check back to see what we made at the last training we did. Once that avenue has been exhausted, I expect my Mojo will return.

Thankyou for stopping by

“May the Stamps be with you”

Tess

Seed Packet Folder

Hello and Happy Christmas!!!

Here is one of the gifts that has been found this morning for Christmas. I made this for my sister in law after my husband drew her in the Schirmer Family Kris Kringle. He wanted to get her an unusual present and came up with the fresh herb idea for her Kitchen. He came home with packets of seeds, the gorgeous pot and some gardening gloves. So different to what he first came up with before he went out.

Wrap these please and off he went to work again. So I hope she really likes this. Not generally her colours at all but I had to make the folder to go with the pot.

So here are some pictures:

Outside of the seed packet folder

I made my prototype with photocopy paper and could have used that as it turned out quite well too. Here below is what the inside looks like:

This is what is inside the folder.

I have seen coffee bags and tea bag holders done very similarly to this but I enjoyed making my own one up for this. Here it is with the gorgeous pot that hubby came home with for her. I love the colour and the shape of the pot!

Seed Folder with the pot - folder closed.

And again with the Folder opened:

Seed folder with the pot - Folder Opened

I took extra time to write down instructions and as soon as I can after Christmas I will get them up on here.

Thank you again for stopping by and to you and your family, have a wonderful Christmas and see you in the New Year. Although if more creativeness strikes I will post those ideas too.

“May the Stamps be with you”

Tess

Happy Christmas, Mate!

Hi there and Thank you for dropping by so close to Christmas. I have been so busy making presents for family and friends and I am still going. I love that I am going to see some of the faces of the ones that I have made gifts for. It just makes me so happy when they love them as much as I enjoyed creating them. I am happy with myself as I had an idea for a Christmas Card thats a bit different to send to family and friends.

Here is what I come up with:

Happy Christmas Mate! Cards for Family and Friends

I first masked the images so it appears that the Kangaroo and the Candy Cane Koala are in the surf too. These were stamped with Staz On then watercoloured with stamp pads, markers and crayons. It was a relaxing couple of days watercolouring all the images. They are finally in the post which is quite novel for me to send Christmas Cards before Christmas, although most probably wont receive them till after Christmas.

Another picture close up of the Crumb Cake based card.

Happy Christmas Mate - Crumb Cake

This morning I made a lovely gift  for my sister in law. I am going to schedule a post for Christmas Day so that I can show off what I came up with, and so that she doesnt see it before the big day!!

I would like to take the opportunity to wish all you a special Happy Christmas!  Love, health and happiness for 2012.

Until next time….. “May the Stamps be with you!”