Teacher's Gifts

Morning all!!

 

Yes, please do not adjust any visual aides or computer screens...it is ME...back from the techno wasteland that has been my house. The upside of having NO INTERNET connection for a week is that I got to craft heaps!

 

Today I am going to share with you the gifts I did for my children's teachers this year. My son had the same teacher last year (nuts) so I could not drag out the old staples for her! Both teachers received a pizza box filled with handmade gift tags. This is what they looked like.....

 

 

 

My son's teacher received a gift that I have seen around the blog traps a bit in the form of an altered picture frame that is made into a whiteboard. This one was an 8 x 10 inch frame. My son told me she loved blue hues, so that was my starting point.......

 

 

The new Blossom Party Originals die really got a work out!! I continued the swirly flourish under the glass by giving the old faithful Baroque Motifs an airing. It was one of the very first SU sets I purchased...and it worked OK I think??

 

My daughter's teacher received my old Christmas standby....stamped candles. I think they make such a delightful gift and have a wonderful wow factor. I found a GORJUS decorative reindeer stamp in my local craft hangout and could not pass it by. This was the result.....

 

             Front      
                                                                                                       

 

...and how pretty is this reindeer???

 

 

I have some more Christmas things to share with you. Thanks for popping by.

 

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Pizza Boxes -Real Red, Old Olive, Holiday Treasures and Holiday Harmony DSP's (ret)

               Picture Frame - Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Summer Sun and  Pear Pizzaz (ret)

Ink: (SU) P.Box - Real Red, Old Olive

                P.Frame - Not Quite Navy, Bashful Blue, Pear Pizzaz

                Candles - Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi

Stamps: (SU) P.Box - Ornament Keepsakes, Tags Til Christmas, and many other Christmas stamps

                       P.Frame - Lovely Letters Alphabet, Baroque Motifs

                       Candles - Merry Minis (SU), Kaszzaz Christmas Greetings, Reindeer stamp fm LSS

Punches, dies and framelits: (SU) Holiday Ornament dies, Window Framelit dies, Large and Small tag, Large scallop Circle, 1 3-8" circle, 1 3/4" circle,  Boho Blossom Punch, Blossom Party Originals die, LOTS of other SU dies and frames, MFT Fancy Flourish die

Other Bits: SU Cherry Cobbler Tuelle ribbon, Lg gold and pearl brads fm stash, Dimensionals

 

Lynda xx

 

Techno Glitch Christmas

Morning all.

Firstly, belated Christmas wishes. I hope all of you out there had a magical festive season and that your time spent with family and friends made many wonderful memories.

Once again....I have been thwarted by technology!!! I got back onto my e mail the Friday before Christmas only to then get home and discover that our MODEM had gone on the schpitz!!! No internet....NADA.

Given that this is our first working day back" since the Christmas break, I have all things crossed that the techo folks will fix our modem line and that I can start posting again. I still have a couple of Christmas things to share with you if you will kindly tolerate Christmas stuff beyond the event!!??

Stay safe and I will be back soon.

Lynda xx

From a Topper to........

Afternoon all,

 

Last year here I had some fun with some punch art. This year I thought I would put these cute guys on some Christmas cards. I also gave wee Rudolph a makeover and updated his antlers. I used the Snow Flurry die and used 2 of the "arms" of the snowflake for the antlers. Here is what I came up with.....

 

 

These (I think anyhow) are really cute. Each of them have a bit of bling as seen here.....

 

 

.....and here.....

 

 

The punch art critters are sitting on a WW matt and vellum overlay with "Merry Christmas" in various fonts, hence no need for a sentiment. A really easy card. A little texture on the large white matt and all done and dusted.

 

The "stuff used" for the punches is basically the same with the exception of the reindeer antlers.

 

Thanks for popping by.

 

E mail update....still NO ACCESS....turns out Microsoft were sending access codes to the e mail of the blocked account....DER!!!!!! So...once again I wait 3-5 working days...which PS will be Christmas...and I am really not overly confident. To all those blogs of whom I subscribe, I promise to comment really soon!!!

 

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Real Red, Handsome Hunter (ret), Whisper White, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip. Red, White, Green Glimmer CS and Merry Christmas Vellum all fm Alice's.

Punches: See linked post at beginning, plus Snow Flurry Bigz Die (SU), Carla Craft 3/16" circle punch

Other Bits: Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Embossing Folders: (SU) Fancy Fan EF, Cuttlebug Wicker Weave and African Weave EFs

 

Lynda xx

 

 

Since it's nearing Christmas and all........

Hi there!

Once again I find myself apologising for the infrequency of my posts. On the 7th Dec, I lost my e mail account and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO frustrated trying to get the thing back up and running. I can only imagine the amount of e mails that are going to be waiting for me when I eventually gain access to it again. For those blogs that I regularly comment on.....I promise I will be back....soon!!

Anyhow....onto today's effort. I thought I'd share with you some of the Christmas cards I have made. As usual, after promising myself that I would start earlier...it is once again LAST minute creations, so they are very CAS!!! I found a GORJUS card by Penny Smiley here. I decided to do a few colour combinations on both WW and VV.

Very Vanilla Versions

 

Whisper White Versions

 

 

I used basically the same colour combo on both sets. Here are the Elegant Eggplant and Melon Mambo ornaments up close.....





The sentiment is from "Delightful Decorations". It is amazing what you can find when you rummage around you stamp collection....isn't it??

I hope you like these CAS cards. I have more to share, because whilst I have had no e mail, the upside is that I have had more time to create!!

Thanks for popping by.

Stuff used:
CS: (SU) Whisper White, Very Vanilla
Ink: (SU) Night of Navy, Pool Party, Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo, Raspberry Ripple, Lucky Limeade
Stamps: (SU) Ornament Keepsakes, Delightful Decorations
Dies, Embossing and Punches: (SU) Holiday Ornament Dies, Designer Frames EF, Carla Craft 1/2 inch circle punch
Other bits:Dimensionals, Gold and Silver elastic cord fm Alice's, Clear Rhinestones from stash

Lynda xx

The Blues at 60

Morning all.

Now the title is not as morbid as you may think. Our beautiful Practice Manager Turned 60 last week and her favourite hues are blues. Therefore I did not have to go far to come up with a colour palate for her card. The problem arose when I had done a special card from me, and then work asked me to make one that all of them could sign!!! OOoooooooooookkkkkkkkkkk...thinking cap on.......

The one I made for her from the practice was a square card. I think there is something very elegant about blue and silver together. This is what I came up with......

 

I used Vintage Vogue for the flowers and a little fussy cutting. I teamed the flowers with the Fancy Flourish Die from MFT. The curls sat on petals, it was such a pretty effect.

 

 

The "60" perhaps was a little obvious in silver glitter card stock, but hey.....whatcha gunna do??

 

My card was a standard size and I (yup) still went with blue flowers. I found this card by Dawn Olchefske here and thought it'd look OK in blues too. This was my version of Dawn's card......

 

 

As you can see I changed up the sentiment, textured the main background but still used the beautiful Springtime Vintage DSP, which sadly we did not get out here (sniff). The "60" this time was cut in a beautiful sky blue glitter CS from Alice's. I also love the distressed flowers. I had not tried these before, but seriously, they are REALLY easy-peasy. The flowers are cut, spritzed with water and then crumpled, uncrumpled and then let to dry naturally and layered. The affect is magical.

 

 

 

Thanks for popping by again. I hope you liked my blue cards. I will list the "stuff used" separately for these cards as there is both a bit in them.

 

Stuff Used:

Square Card:

CS: (SU) Night of Navy, Whisper White, Soft Sky (ret), Bazzil textured white, Stardream Silver paper and Silver Glitter CS fm Alice's

Ink: (SU) Night Of Navy, Bashful Blue, Island Indigo (stamped off)

Stamps: (SU) Vintage Vogue

Dies: (SU) Window Framelit Dies, Simple Type Alphabet Numbers Dies (ret), MFT Fancy Flourish Die

Other Bits: Dimensionals, Clear Rhinestones fm stash

 

Standard Card

CS: (SU) Very Vanilla, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Springtime Vintage DSP, Sky Blue Glitter CS fm Alice's 

Ink: NONE!!!

Dies and Punches: (SU) Fun Flowers Bigz L Die, Lots of Tags Sizzlits Dies, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Wide Oval Punch, Nestabilities Classic Circles Dies

Other Stuff: Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet, SU Fancy Fan EF, Dimensionals, Lace fm stash, Brads fm Reject Shop

 

Lynda xx

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

Morning all.

If you are anywhere around the east coast of Australia, I hope you are tolerating the heat. Saturday (1st day of Summer here) did not fail to impress with the mercury hitting 36.9 degs C (which for those who are Fahrenheit fluent is 98 degs F!!!)

As you may have read, I was lucky enough to attend the recent SU Heartfelt convention in Sydney with Angela Sargeant. She drove me in, showed me around and in general was the perfect hostess. Angela also generously lent me the stamp set that helped create my Diwali cards here and here.

Now I am the kind of gal who believes in saying the 2 small words "thank you" when needed and often. So I made a little something to thank Angela for her generosity and kindness. Now as most of you know, I love to tinker with all things 3D, so this is where I started. I was inspired by a fab tutorial here to make these gorjus wee beauties.

This is what I made Angela, they are lumieres for her Christmas table......

 

They hold a faux (or flameless) teal light candle and the light flickers through the vellum stamped windows. I got mine from the Reject Shop and I am guessing that they are a little easier to get than they have been in previous years. This is it lit up......

 

 

The "holly" was achieved by using the leaf from the XL Bird Punch and 1/4" circle.

 

 

I fashioned a "matching" card by keeping the same colour scheme and using one of the flowers from the Mixed bunch set.

 

 

Here is the lot together.....

 

 

Thanks for popping by. I have more Christmas fun and 3D items to share soon.

 

Stuff Used:

CS: (SU) Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, vellum from Alice's

Ink: (SU) Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green

Stamps: (SU) Daydream Medallions, Mixed Bunch, Curly Cute, Build-A-Blossom

Dies and Punches: (SU) Window Framelit Dies, XL Bird Punch, Blossom Punch, Blossom petals Builder Punch, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Carla Craft 1/4 inch circle punch

Other bits: SU Chevron EF, Dimensionals, Double sided tape, Dk red 1/2 pearls fm stash, flameless tea light candle

 

Lynda xx

 

 

 

Angry Bird for Pre Teen!!!

Morning all.

 

FINALLY....with much patience I have rectified my issue with Picasa. I have (sadly) deleted a lot of earlier pictures from my blog. If you go to find something and the picture you seek is not there, Please do not hesitate to leave me a comment or drop me a line and I can forward the picture to you. All the information and "Stuff used" is still all there.

 

Now for today's contribution......

 

Master 12 was off to a laser tag birthday party not that long ago. The birthday boy was one of his baseball team mates. Now whilst I am at my son's game, I am known for having my craft bag not that far from me and am always putting something together. The birthday boy caught a glimpse of my previous Angry Birds cards and thought they were "cool". From a near 12yom that is high praise indeed. I got the inspiration for his card from here by the very talented Andi Potler. This is my version of her card......

 

 

It is so very simple. The road is just strips of black and white CS, a yellow sign and a punched angry bird and there you go!! Now the birthday boy is also an avid reader, so naturally I made him a matching bookmark to go with the books we bought him as a gift. I got the idea for the bookmarks here.

 

 

Here are the card and bookmark together......

 

 

I procrastinated over whether to put his name on the bookmark, but glad I did. Apparently it is not too dorky (phew).

 

Thanks for popping by and for your patience during the whole picture debacle. I promise to share some Festive fun very soon.

 

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Gumball Green, Whisper White, Basic Black, Poppy Parade (ret), Peach Parfait (ret), Yellow textured Bazzil

Ink: (SU) Poppy Parade (ret)

Stamps: Clear generic happy birthday fm stash

Punches and Dies: (SU) 2 Tags Die, 1 3/4 inch circle, Scallop Circle Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, XL Owl Punch (eyes), CM 1 3/8 circle Punch, Carla Craft CP2 Daisy punch, 1/4 inch circle, Cuttlebug Olivia Alphabet

 

Lynda xx

 

 

 

 

Picasa Pandemonium!!!!

Hi all.

Sorry about the gap in posting. I have been trying to work out WTF Blogger/Google/Picasa is doing to me. Apparently I have reached my "limit" in pics on this blog site for the year/ever. I went into what I thought were irrelevant pics and deleted a whole heap of photos...but alas...no joy. (Don't know if it takes 24 hrs or so to reset free space??)

If anyone is blogger literate out there and can help me, please comment and point me in the right direction!!

Thanks

Lynda xx

Expanding My Cultural Horizons - Diwali II

Morning all.

Today I am sharing the 2nd design of cards I made for Diwali. Again, they use a lot of bright colours, but this time these cards are based around the small candles and the beautiful shapes they come in.

The first cards - well...sometimes it pays to be a hoarder!!! Many years ago (2009 I think) SU had a DSP called Bali Breeze. One of the designs reminded me of the wisps of smoke coming off a flame, so I went with it. So glad I did.....

 

 

The bases are Wide Oval Punches and then the DSP is punched with a Butterfly Punch to make the curves!! The flames were another "accidental" find. I used the "flame" shaped die from the Holiday Ornaments Die set and then double die cut it...does that make sense? The red part of the flame is the heel from the Stocking Builder Punch. Aren't punches wonderful?? I also sponged all the flame edges.







The 2nd card was based around the same layout, but one was in portrait and the other in landscape. I also had another light bulb "flame" idea. For these I used the Daydream Medallion stamp set and Floral Frames Framelits. I cut the stamped and die cut images in half. On the Poppy one, it reminds me of a chandelier.

 

They are so pretty layered all together.

 

 

 

 

Now for that light bulb....the flames were this time done with the Blossom Petals Builder Punch. The end result was a beautiful elongated flame with a delicate tip.

 

 

 

The candle bases were basically the same as the ones above, except this time I tried to do one with the top of a heart punch and the other was part of 2 circles cut into the oval.

 

            Heart                                                                                                                     Circles

 

 

Here are the last batch of cards all together.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this out-of-my-comfort zone Diwali cards. I learnt so much whilst reaching these cards. Both ladies that these cards were for were over the moon with the cards and have sent them home to India to their families to let them know they are also celebrating here in Australia.

 

Also...I must also say a BIG thank you to Angela Sargeant again for lending me this wonderful stamp set!!

 

Thanks again for popping by.

 

Stuff Used:

CS: (SU) Tempting Turquoise, Poppy Parade (ret), Summer Starfruit, Whisper White, Rose Red, So Saffron,  Bali Breeze DSP (LONG ret....LOL!!)

Ink: (SU) Tempting Turquoise, Summer Starfruit, Poppy Parade (ret), Wild Wasabi, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie (sponging flame)

Stamps: (SU) Daydream Medallions

Punches and Dies: (SU) Holiday Ornament Die Set, Floral Frames Framelits, Window Framelits,Blossom Petals Builder Punch, Stocking Builder Punch, Butterfly Punch (ret), Carla Craft CP2 1" Circle Punch, Carla Craft CP21 Heart Punch

Embossing Folder: SU Fancy Fan Folder

Other Bits: Dimensionals, Sponging, Clear Rhinestones fm stash

 

Lynda xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expanding My Cultural Horizons - Diwali I

Morning all.

I am always stunned and amazed as to where the world of crafting takes you. I am blessed through this blog and my blog friends/followers to have come into contact with fellow crafters from all over the world. The next couple of posts is an example of crafting cultural expansions.

The school that my children go to (like most) is a vast melting pot of cultures, religions and faces. It is wonderful. I was approached by one of the Mums in the playground not so long ago and asked if I could make some cards for her and her friends that they could send back home to India for Diwali. (Insert thought......who or what is Diwali???......see here for the answer). Of course I could not turn down a card making opportunity, so I said yes.

Needless to say, Google copped quite a beating that morning. I was given the brief of bright colours, flowers and candles. Cogs began to clunk!! I found some images here and here of candles. I also recalled a tutorial by Mary Fish here on flower shaped cards. I set to work.

I had seen some magical cards around blog land done with the Fancy Floral Framelits and the co-ordinationg set Daydream Medallions. One small problem.....I did not own the stamp set. Slightly crest-fallen, I sent a "distress" e mail to the GORJUS Angela Sargeant. Low and behold...she had it and was prepared to lend it to me....yippee!!!!

I sort inspiration from these cards here and here and this is the result......

 

 

 

As you can see, they are not exactly the same, but are bright and colourful. My SU brights palate really copped a beating!! Here they are close up....(click on the image to make it larger).

The detail in the Daydream Medallions stamp set is stunning. For me anyhow, it fitted a slightly Indian feel. I also embossed the Tangerine cards.

Thanks for popping by. Yes, there were a lot of pictures today, but I hope you enjoyed them. To those readers out there who celebrate Diwali, I hope you have a magical festival.

Stuff used:
CS: (SU) Old Olive, Summer Starfruit, Poppy Parade (ret), Tangerine Tango, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: (SU) Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rose Red, Tangerine Tango, Poppy Parade (ret), Summer Starfruit
Stamps: (SU) Daydream Medallions
Dies: (SU) Fancy Floral Framelits
Other Bits: (lots of) dimensionals, 12mm faceted 1/2 rhinestones fm stash, Floral Fusion Felt Flowers (SU ret), Clear rhinestones fm stash.

Lynda xx

 

 

 

Heartfelt with Stampin' Up in Sydney

Morning all.

A bonus post of sorts.......

Yesterday I attended the Heartfelt Stampin' Up event at Darling Harbour with Angela Sargeant. I had heard much about such gatherings and read many blogs extolling the wonder of Conventions and the like, but this was my first real experience with SU at this level.

First perk.....I met a couple of blog pals, many of whom I have "known" (ie read and e mailed...some for nearly 3 years!!!!). A big shout out to Nicole Derendorf, Leonie Schroder and (by no means least) Jenny Hayward. Jenny and I took the opportunity to have a memento picture to mark the event....I am on the left!!!

 

Second perk....free stamps!!! ( I will share the make and takes and the stamps used very soon!!

 

The next task was to put something on the Inspiration Board. These are display boards where soooooo many ideas are and you can take pictures of the ones that appeal to you (dah hence the name inspiration board I guess!!) This is the card I made for the occasion.....

 

 

Something a little different, but I was sooooooooo happy that the ideas I had bouncing around my head came out nearly the same on paper. The card was inspired by combining 2 cards I had seen. The first is by the uber talented Ellen Kemper and her card seen here. The second card was if you like an adaptation of an inspiration that Diane Giarrusso received at Convention in the USA as a swap seen here. I went back to my pre-stamping roots for a bit and did some punch art. Here is a close up of the lady....

 

 

The "garden" was stamped and sponged to create a feel of looking out of a window. The scene was stamped off twice and three times to give a little depth and the sky was sponged using my very well used acetate cloud template!!

 

 

I had so much fun adding dry embossing to bits and pieces. I am always blown away by what punches can do and deeply admire those out there who can see a shape and use it for something else soooo out-of-the-box!!

 

Third perk......I was sooooooo inspired by what I saw and learnt today it was beyond belief. I was surrounded by such creativity and inspiration....I loved every minute of it. Thanks so much to Angela for taking me and sharing such an awesome day.

 

Thanks for popping by. There will be some new posts fairly soon in conjunction with Diwali, so please drop by again.

 

Stuff Used:

CS: (SU) Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Primrose Petals, Soft Suede, Sahara Sand, Blush Blossom (ret)

Ink: (SU) Baja Breeze, Bashful Blue, Primrose Petals, Lucky Limeade, Gumball Green, Wisteria Wonder, Summer Starfruit

Stamps: (SU) Summer Silhouettes, Pennant Parade

Punches: (SU) Pennant Builder, Butterfly (ret), Scallop Oval, Large Oval, 1" circle, 1/2" circle, Eyelet Border, Carla Craft CP2 Heart Punch

Embossing Folders: (SU) Tulip Border, Square Lattice, Fancy Fan

Dies: (SU) Beautiful Wings Embosslit

Other Bits: 3mm white satin Ribbon fm stash, Dimensionals

 

Lynda xx