Hey Peeps,

Finally got the chance to get back to you all! My dear little Mali has Gastro, the poor lil’ poppett. Now we are just waiting for it to hit the rest of us….meaning me!  If there is gastro going around I get it without fail, but I am popping my pro-biotics and praying that I don’t get it!

Now onto something far more flavoursome that gastro, my exciting news that I was going to share yesterday!

I had a pleasant surprise, recently when I was asked to write another tutorial for Splitcoast Stampers, this time for their Holiday Blitz in preparations for Christmas! The catch was that I also needed to do a You Tube video of the tutorial……ummm sure that would be fine  (gives me the opportunity to work out the whole You Tube experience!)

Well let me tell you, that was QUITE the experience! Not one I would rather repeat, as I had the worst time trying to work out Photoshop Premiere Elements….that thing is written for Einstein’s!!! I wouldn’t like to call myself stubborn but boy oh boy, persistence certainly was the key to getting this project off the ground. Poor Beate had to put up with my panicked emails, and phone calls to her ( it was rather wonderful chatting to her personally though!)

But in the end perseverance won out, and I got that video uploaded and ready to watch……so you want to watch it? - I do confess to cringing everytime I hear my voice and intro on the video, but I suppose the whole purpose was to actually teach you how to make the Scrapbook Wallet I designed, and that is what I achieved in the end.

So for you out of country viewers, have a good ol laugh at this Aussie’s accent! LOL!

If you want to view the step by step photos, you can check them out at the following link:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/scrapbookwallet 

Please tell me what you think, and hey if you want to see more videos on here too! Since I now know how to do them, it might be a great way to share my tutorials

Hope you are having a great week! 

 Hey there everyone!

I hope you are all well. Life here is busy! I am enjoying the school holidays, but it has been a hive of activity. I had this tute all sorted yesterday, then had company drop in and stay…..and then off to do my monthly Stamp club, and well it was a tad bit late to upload last night when i got home.

Then today it is my son Malakai’s 6th birthday! So we have been baking cupcakes, set up race tracks, and having guests as well. All great fun

So here it is for you all……this weeks Make it Monday, which is what I call a Matchbook gift set.

Materials required:

• Cardstock
• Bone scorer
• Stapler
• Slit punch
• Scissors
• DSP
• Ribbon
• Stamps for decoration

Step 1:

Cut a rectangle of cardstock which measures 7cm’s by 19cm’s long.

Step 2:

Score from the left 1.5cms from the end, and then again at 9cm’s, followed by another score line 1/2 cm to create the spine. You will be left with 7cm’s at the end.

Step 3:

Fold up the end at the scored line and staple it in the centre.

Step 4:

Cut a piece of cardstock, measuring 6.5cm’s wide by 8.5cm’s long. Then take your slit punch and push it in as far as it will go and punch on one side, and then the left hand side as well. You should have two slits lined up alongside each other.

Step 5:

Place in your goodies. I have added hairclips, but you can also use decorated paper clips as well.

Step 6:

Fold over the front panel which will tuck in just under the strip that sits up with the stample. Then decorate the front with cardstock, dsp, and ribbon.

These are fun and very easy!

Enjoy!

 Hi everyone!

I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend! Ours was pretty great, apart from me having one of my mega headaches, that just don’t want to budge! Yesterday I was really down and out, and ended up taking my space cadet medication and slept most of the day.

Now I have come down with what feels like an ear infection! I haven’t had this kind of pain for many years, and boy it aint pleasant.

But I really don’t want to come and whinge, but rather apologize for the lack of inspiration this weeks Make it Monday will provide. Not having a lot of energy or a clear head today, I decided to just show you something that I have made recently at one of our technique stamp clubs, using markers and Crystal effects.

I have had lots of people email or ask about crystal effects, so this should show you how easy it is to use and how great it looks.

Materials required:

• Cardstock
• Stampin’ write markers
• Crystal effects
• Stamps
• Scissors
• Adhesive
• Brads
• Ribbon
• Stazon
• Stamp-a-majig

Step 1:

Ink up your stamp using the brush end of your Stampin’ write markers from Stampin’Up.l I have used Real red, Chocolate chip, and Old olive as the colours on my Inspired by nature stamp set by Stampin’Up.

Step 2:

Breath onto your stamp where you have inked it up before you stamp it. This adds some condensation to your ink, so it will stamp nicely. Then stamp it onto your cardstock. I have stamped it onto the whisper white cardstock, which I have already stamped with the reeds from the Inspired by nature stamp with Kiwi kiss ink.

Step 3:

Put your card together. I have mounted it onto Kiwi kiss cardstock, and then Real red for the base. I also added red brads, red ribbon, and the greeting which I stamped with Stazon ink, with a Stamp-a-majig to align it perfectly.

Step 4:

When you have a new bottle of Crystal effects, cut the tiniest bit off the top of the bottle. Then you lightly squeeze the bottle to allow the crystal effects to come out over your image. Use the end of the bottle to help you spread the Crytal effects around. I have done it to the tops of each flower.

Final product:

Here is the finished card. I can’t stand it up to photograph as the Crytal effects will run, until it is set, which usually takes about 1-2 hours depending on how thick it is. It just gives your creation that extra WOW feature and it goes a long way and last a long time too!

Hope that was a little interesting even though it was brief ~ I promise to do something 3-D for you next week!

 Hey everyone!

I hope you are all having a great Monday! I have, and also managed to get lots done today, the washing,  cleaning, baking, clean cupboards, ……..Ah it feels great to achieve lots at the start of the week. Let’s see how the rest of the week goes! Hopefully it will be a little more settled than last week!

Now a little while ago, I did say that I planned to mix the Make it Mondays up a bit with some technique tutorials as well. This way I don’t have to rack my brain for 3-D ideas all the time, as well as I can then show you some amazing stamping techniques as well.

The first technique I am going to show you is Bleaching. It is a real WOW technique, and so easy to do as well!

Materials required:

• Household bleach
• Dark cardstock
• Paper towels
• Plate
• Stamps
• Aquapainter
• Water colour wonder crayons
• Ribbon

Step 1:

Place your paper towel sheets (about 4) onto your plate and pour a moderate amount of Bleach onto the paper towels. It will absorb the bleach to create a kind of stamp pad.

Step 2:

Place your stamp into the paper towel to load it with bleach

Step 3:

Stamp your image onto dark cardstock. Be sure to make sure it is open or the bleach will bleed into the other side of cardstock as well.

Step 4:

Wait for the magic to happen.

Step 5:

Colour up some of your image with your watercolour crayons. Here I have used the Barely banana, Pretty in pink, and Rose red crayons.

Step 6:

Blend the crayon with your Aquapainter.

Final product:

Here I have added some Pretty in pink taffeta ribbon and a greeting from the Best yet, stamp set from Stampin’Up.

 Hi Ya……

I hope you are all having a great Monday! It is beautiful here today with the sun shining. What a great way to start the week.

SO here is the Make it Monday for this week…..enjoy!

Envelope Gift card holder  

Materials required:

·        Envelope

·        DSP

·        Bone folder

·        Scissors

·        Ribbon

·        Cardstock

·        Stamps

·        Stamp pads

·        Punches

·        Markers

Step 1:

Fold your envelope in half

Step 2:

Cut the top flap in the centre and then again over 1 ml, cut down so you have a small gap in the centre.

Step 3:

Seal down the top flap on the left hand side.

Seal 4:

Cut a piece of DSP to fit the front of the envelope and attach.

Step 5:

Add DSP on the two inside panels.

Step 6:

Stamp the front panel of the envelope when folded down.

Step 7:

Make a belly band that will fit around the envelope.

Step 8:

Place the gift card into the slot and close envelope. Place the belly band around the centre with the closed envelope.

Finished product: