Thursday, January 28

Life Is Measured In Moments

I made this mini album earlier this month using a selection of papers and embellishments from my stash.  Most of the papers are from Prima and the coloured die cuts are from Kaisercraft... with the odd snippet and scrap thrown in from my offcut basket.



Each pair of pages has a pocket that holds a large tag. 







Friday, January 22

New Release: Thinking of You Set

Last time we visited the U.S. we were lucky enough to travel from Oregon through the absolutely gorgeous north-western states and into Yellowstone National Park. Naturally, I took hundreds of photos of everything we saw - which provides me with lots of inspiration when I'm back at home in my studio.  Of the many wild flowers that were growing in the region, these blanket flowers were so numerous and so showy that I just had to design a stamp set around them.

Thinking of You Set


Karin's Card

Petra's Card

AJ's Card

Two cards from Anesha

Carla's Card

Christine's Card

Judy's Card

Friday, January 15

New Release: Happy Anniversary Set

This one is for all those wonderful couples who find time to enjoy the little things in life that make the ride worthwhile.

Happy Anniversary Set

Judy's Card

Karin's Card

Petra's Card

AJ's Card

Anesha's Card

Carla's Card

Christine's Card

Monday, January 11

Mini Album - "Cherish"

As part of our recent Christmas celebration, our stamp club gave each of us a gorgeous paper pack from MME.  We were then challenged to use it to create something to share at the January meeting.  Since all the papers were from one line and worked beautifully together, I decided to use it all on a mini album full of pull out tags, flaps and fold out sections.

FRONT COVER
I used some quirky little letter stamps to add words and phrases throughout the album. I bought them at one of the craft shows last year and just love how informal and fun they are.

The tags all slide out from pockets and from behind photo mats.  I used an SU punch to add matching pull tabs on all the tags and fold out sections.



I was lucky enough to find a few matching buttons in my stash and then just glued them in place with some glossy accents.



Friday, January 8

New Release: Chicken Run Set

Silhouette are perfect for printing over fabulous hand-made backgrounds, colourful patterned paper or paints, inks and markers.  Don't forget that you can change the colour of the silhouette in your photo editing software before you print!

Chicken Run Set

Take a look at what my fabulous designers have been creating with this set, I'm sure you'll be inspired by what they have come up with.  Don't forget to visit their personal blogs to see lots more of their work!

Christine's country-inspired card

Judy's beautiful monochrome creation

Karin's bright and cheerful card

Two fabulous farm-inspired cards from Petra

AJ's beautiful hand painted card

Anesha's Card...
... and gorgeous hand-painted bag!!


Carla created a card and a fabulous decorated jar!


These new images are available at

Wednesday, January 6

Tutorial - Swing Cards


Everyone loves a little bit of pizzazz on special occasions, and these swing cards are just the thing to spice up your gift-giving.  They are relatively easy to make and amazingly versatile when it comes to sizes and shapes.... you can even buy dies that will cut your entire swing card, fancy shapes and all! Today, though, I'm just going to show you how to do-it-yourself with a basic rectangular swing panel on a square shaped card.


SWING CARD TEMPLATE

1. Start with a piece of cardstock measuring 51/2" x 71/2". 



2.  READ THIS INSTRUCTION CAREFULLY FIRST, THEN FOLLOW THE TEMPLATE ABOVE...
Place the cardstock horizontally on your score board.  You will be making four individual score lines - two at the top that are 1" apart, and two at the bottom that are also 1" apart.  Each score line needs to be 11/2" long.  As you can see in the photo below, I use a ruler as a guide so I know where to stop the score line.
Start by scoring your first line at 31/4".  It should only be 11/2" long measuring from the top of the cardstock.  Now make another line in the same way at 41/4".



3.  To make the bottom two score lines you will need to do the same thing, but measure 11/2" up from the bottom of the cardstock.  Make your third score line at 31/4", and your fourth score line at 41/4".  Refer to the template above. 



4.  Use a craft knife or trimmer to cut the swing panel.  (Refer to the template for placement and length of cuts.)  The first vertical cut is 21/2" long and starts 13/4" from the left hand side of the card and 11/2" from the top.  The second vertical cut is 21/2" long and starts 43/4" from the left hand side of the card and 11/2" from the top.  Now you need to cut horizontally from the top of the first vertical cut to the top of the second vertical cut WITHOUT cutting between the score lines.  Do the same for the bottom section remembering not to cut between the score lines.  Your card should now look like the photo below.



5.  Fold and crease along the score lines.  The card base is now complete and the centre panel should swing as it is opened and closed. 



6.  To decorate, cut some patterned papers for the inside of the card, removing the sections around the flip panel.  You'll also need two panels for the swinging section of the card... one for the front and one for inside. 



7.  Stamp and colour the two image panels as desired. 



8.  Now adhere all the papers and panels in place.  Remember to fully OPEN the card to place the inside panel.



9.  Close the card and adhere the front panel in place.



10.  Add any additional embellishments as desired.


Stamps: