I'm back at last

I'm sorry it has been such a long time between posts - I'm not sure why - I have been making lots of cards and projects for Christmas and Birthdays. . . maybe I just didn't know where to begin and what to show you. I might have to back track a little bit to before Christmas to show you a fantastic project that one of the girls in the Art With Heart Team that I belong to demonstrated at our team day in November. I decided to have a go at making one for my Baby Brother's 33rd Birthday in December. It's called Card in a Box:

It was quite easy to make and the sides flip up and it folds flat for posting/delivery. There is a panel on the back for you to write your message on. I also made a Christmas one, but I have put it somewhere for safe-keeping and now I can't find it. When it turns up I will post a picture.
The above card uses the Birthday Basics DSP (Designer Series Paper) which I love as it uses some of my favourite colours. I also like it because it is good to use in male cards which I find  bit harder to make (they are so boring, but that might be a lack of interesting "male" stamps and papers on my behalf)

Project Details
Stamps	Label Love, Birthday Candles Wheel
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Summer Starfruit, Birthday Basics DSP
Ink	Raspberry Ripple, Bermuda Bay, Gumball Green, Crisp Cantaloupe
Accessories	Dimensionals
Tools	Artisan Label Punch, Scissors, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Stampin' Trimmer

If you would like to learn how to make one of these cards, please contact me to join one of my classes.

Until next time. . . 

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

Just Add Ink Challenge

Had a quiet afternoon at home today and had no urgent cards to make, so I decided to check out some challenge sites for inspiration. I had just missed the deadline on a couple, but found this one at Just Add Ink Sketch Challenge 187

On first glance it looked quite simple, but sometimes simple is actually quite difficult and I spent a bit of time just looking at a blank page. I finally remembered a technique I wanted to try using one of the stamps from the Mosaic Madness set. I also used two of my favourite In Colours - Pistachio Pudding and Coastal Cabana. Here is my card:

Project Details
Stamps	Mosaic Madness, Sassy Salutations
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, In Colour DSP Paper Stack
Ink	Coastal Cabana and Pistachio Pudding Ink and Markers
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones, Ruffle Stretch Trim, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip
Tools	Mosaic Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

I hope you like my card

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

More Birthdays

We seem to celebrate birthdays every other week in our family, so I am constantly making cards to give to family and friends. . . . luckily I enjoy card making!!
The first card is one I made for my gorgeous niece Jasmine May's 1st Birthday - I wanted to have a go at stitching on a card - it was a bit tricky to keep the card straight, but I am happy with the effect. I then used water colour pencils and an aqua painter to colour the image in. . . .  I hope she likes her card.

Project Recipe
Stamps	Two by Two (retired)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Silver Glimmer
Ink	StazOn Black
Accessories	Two-way Glue Pen, Aqua Painter, Watercolour Pencils
Tools	Big Shot, Typeset Alphabet Bigz, Wallflower Alphabet (non SU), Sewing Machine

The second card was for my darling Mum's Birthday (I won't say which one - birthday, not Mum - I only have one of those!!) featuring the Shop Around Wheel and the gorgeous Ruffle Stretch Trim which I love using. Mum always keeps her cards on display for ages and then has her favourites on a board in her study, so I like to make something special so I can be on the board.

Project Recipe
Stamps	Shop Around Wheel, Postage Collection (Hostess)
Card stock & Papers	Very Vanilla, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake
Ink	Crumb Cake
Accessories	Dimensionals, Strawberry Slush Ruffle Stretch Trim, Basic Pearls
Tools	Postage Stamp Punch, Square Punch (Non SU)

As always I hope you like what I have made and you can contact me to order any of these fantastic products or join a class.

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

Christmas Banner

I have been home all week with the flu and although I always thought it would be great to have some time with nothing to do, it gets boring very quickly. I did have a chance to play with the new Stampin Up Build a Banner Simply Created Kit. This is an awesome kit that comes with 18 blank canvas pennants, twine, pattern and alphabet stencils and spritzer bottles. You can also order a kit which has just the pennants and twine for creating more wonderful banners. They are really fun to make (if you don't mind getting a bit messy). Here is my first creation. . . .

Project Details
Stamps	Blissful Bird (retired), Calm Christmas
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Bermuda Bay, Winter Frost DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink	Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana, Island Indigo, Pool Party, Basic Grey
Accessories	Simply Created Build a Banner Kit, Ribbon, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons
Tools	Scallop Circle Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Glue Gun, Stocking Punch (retired), Scissors, Snowflake Die (non SU), Big Shot, Daubers

Yes, I do know the photos of the banners are out of order, but after spending 40 minutes trying to re-order them I decided it wasn't that important and you would forgive me.
I found the best way to get the patterns on the banners was with a dauber as the spritzers made the canvas very wet and the ink ran a lot. I had a lot more control using the daubers and was able to keep the colour just where I wanted it. The ink also dried a lot faster and I was able to put the pattern and the letters on at the same time, rather than waiting for ink to dry.

Stay tuned for more projects using the Build a Banner Kit and other wonderful new Stampin Up! products.

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

Just Add Ink Challenge

While Jessica was making a card for Fathers Day, I thought I would try another challenge site at Just Add Ink. I met some of the girls on the team there at Convention in Brisbane this year and I am very inspired by what they do each week with the challenges. Here is this week's sketch . . .

I decided to get a head start on my Christmas cards with this challenge. I was checking out some blogs recently and a lot of people make one Christmas card every week throughout the year, so when they get to Christmas, they have a pile already done. I think I have left my run a little late, but better late than never. Here is my card . . .

Project Recipe
Stamps	Tag It, Gorgeous Grunge
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Smoky Slate, Island Indigo, Winter Frost DSP
Ink	Island Indigo
Accessories	White Embossing Powder
Tools	Heat Tool, Scissors

Hope you like what I have done

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

I'm On A Roll

I decided while I was at it I would have a go at another Challenge Site. This one is called Dynamic Duos and the challenge this week was to make a card using Pool Party and Basic Black.
Here is the Challenge . . .

And here is my card . . .

Project Recipe
Stamps	Postage Collection (Hostess), Best Dad Ever (Retired)
Card stock & Papers	Basic Black, Pool Party
Ink	Basic Black
Accessories	Pool Party Brads
Tools	Postage Stamp Punch, 1-1/2" Square Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

I like the clean and simple look of this card and I just hope that my Dad doesn't look at my blog before Father's Day (not likely really). If you love the look of this stamp set, contact me to host a party and you could get it for free!

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen

First Challenge Post

I have decided to try one of the Challenge Sites that a few friends have talked about as a way of trying out some new styles of cards. The first one I have attempted is for a site called Mojo Monday #307 where they post a sketch of a card and you make up the card in your own colours, card-stock and DSP.
Here is the sketch . . .

And here is my card. . . .

Project Recipe
Stamps	Sketched Birthday
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, Island Indigo, Crumb Cake, Raspberry Ripple, Birds Of A Feather DSP (Retired)
Ink	Strawberry Slush
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones
Tools	1-3/4 Scallop Circle Punch, 2-3/8 Scallop Circle Punch

I really enjoyed creating this card and putting my own stamp on it, so to speak. Why don't you gave it a try too?

Happy Stampin'

Kayleen