12 Weeks of Christmas #9 - Welcome Christmas Swing Card

Ok, I know I have missed a week.  These weeks are coming and going so fast and I am struggling to keep up with all there is to do.  Two weeks of School left, Teacher's Presents to organise not to mention the family and getting things ready for Christmas for us.

Today I have a card that I made as a special treat for my mum.  Its called a swing card and when it closes the middle piece swings back on itself and folds up into the size of a normal card.  You can find a wonderful tutorial at Splitcoaststampers by clicking here. 

I've used the music wheel to add a bit of interest to the background and added a couple of embossed corners to create texture.  In the middle piece I have gone quite elaborate and cut out both the Wreath and the word Joy and mounted them up on Dimensionals.  I have put two thicknesses behind the "O" to keep it at the same height as the "J" and "Y".  I also clear embossed the word Joy and added Crystal Effects to the small berries on the wreath.

The glittery gold looking cardstock was made using Soft Suede this time and my Trusty Champagne Shimmer Paint spread over the edges using a dauber to create a gold glimmer paper.  This card looks so good in real life.  Definately not one you throw together in 15 minutes but the effort you put in sure is worth it when it's finished.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look.



12 Weeks of Christmas #8 - Dasher

Hello everyone.  This week I have a Christmas Card for you made with the gorgeous "Dasher" stamp.  You can't believe how excited I was when I discovered that this stamp was in the Idea Book and Catalogue from Stampin Up.  It is probably my most favourite Christmas Stamp ever.

This card is one from a recent Stamp-a-Stack I held.  The colours are Very Vanilla, River Rock, Cherry Cobbler and Dasher is Chocolate Chip.  I have also used one quarter of the "Medallion" stamp.  It is also a favourite of mine, fantastic background stamp.

If you take a closer look of the card you might see that I have sprinkled just a little of the Champagne Fine Glitter amongst Dasher's gorgeous antlers.  Just adds a little bit of bling without overdoing it.  The sentiment is from the Four Seasons Stamp Set and I added a little bit of Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding to finish it off.

Thanks for looking :)

WOW Presentation at Brisbane Regionals for Stampin Up

 Yesterday I was asked by Stampin Up to present a WOW demonstration at Brisbane Regionals.   I don't know if this technique has a name but I decided to show the technique of inking up the inside of your embossing folder which accentuates the embossed pattern after it is run through the Big Shot Machine.

For those wanting to give it a go here are the steps I follow to achieve the best results:-

You will need:

• cardstock of your choice which is smaller than the embossing folder itself.
• Ink Pad
• Embossing folder
• Brayer
• Dotto (repositionable glue tape)
• Big Shot and plates

1. First thing to do is ink up your brayer with the ink pad making sure it is well covered.
2. Run the inked Brayer back and forwards over the inside of the embossing folder (the recessed side only) till the ink is well and evenly distributed.
3. Run a bit of Dotto on the back of your piece of cardstock so that when you place it on the other side of the folder it will stick down in place and not move making it easier to assemble the big shot sandwich without the cardstock shifting and rubbing ink where you don't want it.
4. Close the folder up and place it on the multipurpose platform with only tab 1 open between the cutting plates an run it through the big shot slowly.  It might be a tight squeeze but it ensures that the ink touches all parts of the background embossed image.
5. Open the folder and Vwala (is that a word).

To clean my folder and Brayer I just run them under a cold tap till they are clean and pat dry with a piece of paper towel.

 I demonstrated the JOY card from my previous Post but also showed some other examples using different coloured inks and other embossing folders and the effects you can get.

Here I used the striped embossing folder and I ran it through twice, reinking the folder to make the impression darker and then running it through again after turning the cardstock 90 degrees to achieve the checkered pattern.  This would make a great man's card.  I used Cajun Craze ink on  More Mustard cardstock and Early Espresso for the greeting.

The next card I used the Finiel flowers folder with Crumb Cake Ink on Naturals Ivory Cardstock.  I was really happy with this card.   This is the new Kindness Matters stamp set which I just love and it's only $19.95. 

This was a favourite of mine also, the Petals a Plenty Folder using Pool Party Ink on Whisper White Cardstock.   This looks so pretty in real life.  I added a bit of ruffled ribbon and added the flower which is the spiky flower cut twice from the Blossom Party Big Shot Die. I spritzed it with Frost White shimmer paint in a spray bottle mixed with rubbing Alcohol giving it a couple of goes for maximum effect.  A relatively easy card for a workshop I think.

Hope you can follow my instructions but if you have any questions, feel free to email me and I'd be happy to help you out.

12 Weeks of Christmas #7- Welcome Christmas

Hi Everyone, today I have another Christmas card for you using the Welcome Christmas Stamp Set from Stampin Up together with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder and the new Champagne Glass Glitter.  I have embossed the word Joy using the new Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder and I have used Soft Suede Ink to highlight the pattern in the embossing folder.

I demonstrated this card yesterday for my WOW presentation at the Brisbane Regional Seminar for Stampin Up.  I was asked to present a WOW technique in 5 Minutes.  I decided to show how to ink up the inside of your embossing folders which helps accentuate the pattern of the folder once you run it through the Big Shot.  We all know the technique of rubbing a sponge dauber or piece of sponge over the raised impression but I thought I would highlight the background "Recessed" part by inking it in a different or similar colour to the cardstock.  In my next post I will describe how I achieve this technique and show you the other cards I had to display at Regionals.  Stay tuned.........