Count down til Christmas

I finally finished my advent house! I worked on this one for a couple of weeks and I did get it done in time to count down.... if you don't count the first three days! This is a wooden kit by Twiddleybitz and it comes with a box template to make the cute little boxes. I used the gorgeous Kaisercraft Dear Santa pattern paper. MAN do I love those colours! In my opinion it is the best Christmas range that Kaisercraft have brought out yet!
The numbers are stamped and I cut them out using a craft knife. It took about an hour and seemed like a good idea until I realised how many numbers I would have to do. They do look great in person so I wouldn't change them now given that I now know exactly how many numbers there are! I also put some Glossy Accents on the numbers to give them some shine and so they stand out nicely.
I put some metallic rubons on the filigree top. I was dying to cover it with paper but realised early on (unlike with the numbers) that I would be there until next Christmas working on that bit!

If you would like an advent calendar, there is still one available at Stampin' Stuff and it's 30% off at the moment! BARGAIN!

Remember, there is currently up to
30% off Christmas themed products
at Stampin' Stuff

Anyone for some sweets before Christmas?? (Closed)

The winner is..... Rihani!

It's candy time! Do I hear cheers? Do you want some CANDY for Christmas?!

Here's what could be yours!

• High Hopes Rubber Stamps - Monkey Mike
• Two Flower Soft Toppers
  
• Flower Soft - Polar White (for the toppers!)
  
• Flower Soft - Nut Brown (for Mike!)
• Monday's Metal - Scrap Metal Squares (look great with rubons)
• Green Tara Paper Flowers
• Green Tara Wire Heart
  
• Moss Green Eyelets
• Bullet Brads
  

What do I have to do you say? Just leave a comment! Sing me a song... babble about the weather... talk about craft.... I don't mind what you say... all you have to do is leave a comment and you will be in the running.

If you would like two entries into the draw, put a link to this post on your blog and you can increase your chances of giving Mike a home this Christmas!

Entries close on Wednesday 10 December 2009!

Juliette!

Jeanette has made a sketch for this weeks High Hopes Challenge! You can find the sketch on the High Hopes Blog. This week I used Juliette's Leap of Faith. She is a funny one, Juliette. I always have a chuckle when I colour her because for a hippo, she is doing a great job at sky diving!

Jeanette's sketch was really fun this week. It took all of the thinking out of making the card so I was really pleased to knock this one over in a few hours. Watercolouring is still the longest bit! It takes me FOREVER!

If you participate in this weeks challenge, swing by the High Hopes Blog and put a link to your card using Mr. Linky. Then you will be in the draw to the win Ashley & Jan's Pillow Fun stamp.

Skiing Santa

Everybody panic! The small lens for my camera is in a critical condition! I had to send of off for repair and I miss the little guy already! I had to use my big lens to take a photo of this card which meant standing a few meters away from it. Talk about difficult! I attempted a close up to show the watercolouring a bit better but ended up giving up... it wouldn't even focus.

Well to the card! This is Skiing Santa and he is the star of my card for the High Hopes Challenge this week. Michelle would like us to make Christmas cards which is a great one seeing as I have barely even started my cardmaking for this year. I used some cute Artful Collage Holly Leaves and Kaisercraft pearls to make the holly in the corner. Sadly Skiing Santa has sold out at Stampin' Stuff but the other Santa's are still calling out for new homes before Christmas!

Remember, if you join in the High Hopes Challenge you will go into the draw to win Snowlady Surprise!

Merry Christmas!

This is a 3D Flower Soft Topper! Isn't it cute? These toppers have a main image and then come with a die cut sheet of little components that you pop out and assemble in the order they have shown on the sheet. There are heaps of layers but it doesn't end there! You can also apply some glue with a fine little paint brush (I thought I was some sort of genius when I figured that out! ) then sprinkle over your flower soft, tap it off and you have even more dimension! These little bears go up to five layers high in some areas!

I used Christmas Green and Polar White on the tree behind the Festive Teddies.

Did you know Stampin' Stuff now has every Flower Soft colour available in Australia? That's 28 colours!

ETA - A question was asked in the comments - Do I ship overseas? YES! I ship worldwide. If you would like a shipping quote before you send payment (by PayPal only please) please let me know and I will estimate it for you. Otherwise you can choose the free shipping option of your order is over $60 AUD or the $5.70 parcel option and I will amend your invoice if it works out to be more or less!


Blog Candy Alert!
My friend Veronica has started a blog and she is offering some CANDY! So off you go... go get in that draw to win!

Happy Birthday to You

This card is for my brother's birthday in a couple days... I still haven't posted it though... I'm really bad at that. It has to go to Melbourne so hopefully it will arrive in time. Kelly, what is his address again?? EVERY SINGLE time there is a birthday in our family Jason sms's either me or my sister (sometimes both) to ask their address. It really is quite funny and we just expect it is a matter of time before the message comes. I'm just as bad. Every time I have to send Jason something I message my sister for his address so really, I'm no better! To tell you the truth right now... I'm going to publish this post and then go and email Kelly for the address. I won't lie. There really is no point!

For this card I used a stamp called Whimsy Owl. I have them in stock at Stampin' Stuff if you would like it new and there is also one in the pre-loved section too. The sentiment is by Amuse Art Stamps.

Dragons!

The latest issue of Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft (Vol. 15 No. 07 ) will be out really soon (already if you are lucky enough to be a subscriber) and it is full of fantastic tutorials, hints, tips and techniques! I was asked to do a watercolouring/shading tutorial and I am so stunned at how well it turned out. I love it! Here is a pic of the cards I made to go along with it!

I used Lenny's Love Me Nots, First Ride and Ace. Unfortunately they have already sold out at Stampin' Stuff but there is a pre-order on at the moment that ends on Saturday 14 November if you would like me to get them in for you!

Waddle I Do Without You

I made this card WAAAY back in June for Crissy. It turns out it took about two or three months to actually get to Canada and in that time I completely forgot about it. So! Here it is!

I used Dunno Ducky and even though he is only two colours I thoroughly enjoyed colouring him. I was so happy with the result. I am still not too sure what I was thinking with the colour combo but it's nice to have a change once in a while right? So anyway Crissy... I hope you liked it!

I

Cairns Christmas Craft Fair

Are you local to the Cairns area? If you are you will know we certainly don't get craft fairs often so grab the chance while it's there!

Stampin' Stuff will be at the Cairns Christmas Craft Fair this year on November 8 so come on by and say HI!

You can click on the picture to see the details a bit larger. Where you don't need go, go gadget eyes!

Together Forever

Look at this... I have barely started on Christmas yet I am starting on Valentines... hmmm... great to see I have my priorities in order hey! This is Lily & Billy Sweethearts and it is an adorable set from Pink Cat Studio. I used some paper I have had sitting around for a little while now and some Prima flowers. Lily and Billy have been coloured using ink and my ever fabulous Twinkling H2O's!

Just a reminder (I've been getting quite a few emails lately!) if you haven't seen my watercolouring tutorial yet, click here and you can check it out!

If you like this Lily & Billy Sweetheart set I have now listed it in my pre-loved section of Stampin' Stuff.

Popcorn the Bear is BACK!

Popcorn sold out very quickly last time but he is back in stock now. You can check out the stamp sets available here! There is also a new category called Cute Companions and there are some adorable Christmas and Easter sets there too!

Now, on to the card! The card base is 5 x 5" so these stamps are huge! I wasn't too sure about what I could do with the room left around the image but came up with this anyway. I mentioned a pastel and VersaMark technique a few weeks ago and got a few comments about how it is done. It is a very simple technique where you stamp in VersaMark and then lightly rub pastel or chalk over the top to give it a subtle colour. It comes out looking quite soft so it isn't as harsh as stamping in coloured ink. You can barely see it in the photograph but I did the same technique on the blue card base.

ETA: If you look at the card blue card base you can see some brown on it. That is where I do the VersaMark technique. Not on my image... that is just done with ink and an aqua painter.

The stamp set used for this card is called 'Someone Special'

Going Green!

The High Hopes challenge this week is 'Let's Go Green'! Lacey has posted a couple of suggestions on what you could recycle for this challenge - buttons from a shirt, lace from a skirt or do what I did and go outside and find a few things that nature provided to add to your card!

I have been working on this card for a few days now. It is serving two purposes... it is this weeks challenge card and it is also my dad's birthday card for this Wednesday (shhhh). Dad has taken prospecting up in the last year or two so I thought this stamp would be great for his card. You can't really see them but I coloured some of the scattered rocks in gold Twinkling H2O too.

Santa Galore!

If you have seen this month's Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft (Vol 15 No 5), you may have seen Woodland Santa on the cover! There is also a three page spread of the happy little Santa's inside. As you can imaging I was pretty pleased to see Santa made it to the cover. I didn't receive a contributors copy so I hadn't seen the issue and my friend emailed me to say he was famous!

If you are after these Santas, they are back in stock at Stampin' Stuff!

These are my photos of the cards close up:

Twinkling H2O's In Stock!

They have been out of stock in Australia for a while now but they are BACK! My love for H2O's goes above and beyond! I use them on every single
card I make and I don't think my papercrafting life would ever be the same without them!

Are you wondering what you can do with Twinkling H2O's? Wonder no more... check out my watercolouring tutorial!

Twinkling H2O's add a little shimmer to your project. They are a small tub similar to paint only it is completely solid. Just add a drop of water to activate then colour with an aqua brush for rich, vibrant colour!

As the water dries they go solid again and store for next time! These little pots will last forever! A little bit goes a long way!

Click here to see the sets available!

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Kimmie released her very own line of gorgeous rubber stamps today and they are now in stock at Stampin' Stuff! This is the sweet little Charlotte & Doll and I whipped this card up tonight because I really wanted to show her off! If you want to see the rest of Kimmie's Moonlight Whispers range, click here!

I really am hooked on the whole pastel on VersaMark background at the moment and I really like the effect!

Merry Christmas

This weeks High Hopes Challenge is Lotsa Layers! I'm hosting this one and I always need to push myself to put more layers of paper on cards. The stamp is Skiing Santa and I got the idea for the holly from an Australian blog I saw a few weeks ago. If you have seen this blog, let me know I simply just can't find it or remember the name. I do remember leaving a gushing comment on the idea!! I drew some holly leaves, stamped them in En Francais then rubbed some brown pastel over it. The red rhinestone brads were my idea and in person they look really cute!

There are some great Christmas stamps up for grabs for being the random winner in this weeks challenge so visit the High Hopes Challenge Blog for more info!

ANNOUNCING…..

THE STAMPIN' STUFF DESIGN TEAM!

The DT call seemed to run forever but really it was just over a month! I got SO many applications I was so stunned and didn't know where to begin! After hours of pouring through my folder of applications I finally came to the excruciatingly hard decision of two lovely, paper craftin' ladies!

MEET... MICHELLE!

Michelle's blog is called Colour on Cards and she has just become a guest High Hopes Design Diva! I'm pretty excited about that... more High Hopes for us little Aussies... sometimes we seem so far away from the action! Michelle has a talent for colouring and uses different mediums... all so well! So, check out Michelle's blog to see her wonderful creations!


MEET VICKI!

Vicki's blog is called Creative Considerations and she is great at doing what I have trouble with... layering... basically just putting everything together and making it look AWESOME! I am just stunned by the amount of detail she goes into for every piece of art! Vicki's style is just stunning so pop on over to her blog, say 'hi' and check out her fantastic work!

Popcorn the Bear

If you haven't been by Stampin' Stuff lately, hop on over because Popcorn the Bear is in town!! Isn't he the sweetest with the little heart on his ear?? This set is called Bunches of Love. I made this card last weekend. It is a 5 x 5" card so the stamp is HUGE! All of the Popcorn stamps are! I actually got quite a shock.

Anyway, I loved the colouring they showed on Popcorn's packet so much I decided to go with those colours myself and I am rather proud that I broke away from the blender pen and used an aqua painter to colour him. The areas were a bit big for a blender... they are quite dry. My next hurdle was to make the card around the stamped image. It was just 5mm too big for my biggest Nestabilities circle. At the end of the day though, his little face is so cute he doesn't need much fancy stuff around him to make him cuter!

Happy Birthday To Ye!

Happy Birthday High Hopes Challenge Blog! It has already been one whole year since we started our weekly challenges. Gee it has gone so FAST! This week we are celebrating with birthday cards. There is also some great rubber to give away a random winner so head on over and link your entry to the comments section!

So, to my card. This is Oberto and his treasure chest! I stamped the treasure map on the base of the card and used my pastels to make the VersaMark darker. I liked the look so much I can see it becoming a bit of a must-do for me until I move on to my next phase!!

That's Amore!

This weeks High Hopes Challenge is 'Playing Favourites' hosted by the lovely Jeanne. I haven't made many cards using the chef but he is one of my many favouites. He makes me smile every time. My other favouite thing to do is create a little scene. I haven't been doing that much lately and I really think I should get back into it. The background is done using post it notes to mask off the different areas and a lot of brayering and sponging! The sentiment is white Heidi Swapp rubons and the stars are made using white acrylic ink.

Pop on over to the High Hopes Challenge blog for more info and don't forget to link your card there if you play along. You could be the random winner of some High Hopes Rubber!