Tag-A-Delic - Tags! I'm it!

I've been tagged by Elisabeth Stewart of Bethinking fame. Thanks for the honour! *grin* The rules are...

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'd like to post a picture of a tag to accompany this post but I'm too afraid that Beth's other tag-ees will snaffle the blogs that I am intending to link to whilst I am making one! So, I will add a picture soon...

As for the seven facts, you can blame Beth for unleashing the following:

1. I attended my first two years of primary school in Malaysia. The teachers had a knack for cruel and unusual punishments including making you run in your underwear when you forgot to bring your sports briefs. I still remember mine were made of pink mesh with white polka dots (accompanied by a couple of holes) and it was a cold and foggy morning - I only forgot once.


2. I met my hubby through ballroom dancing - his mother and I were students at the same studio. When I first saw him, I thought he was his mother's brother. What can I say? He was bald and it was dark! Of course, now, I think he is the cutest.


3. I loved a cartoon called Mission: Magic when I was a child and I loved the main character, Rick Springfield, even more. I remember dedicating wishes on birthdays to making him real. I was completely blown away when "Jessie's Girl" was released since I found out that he was! Now that I'm an adult, I wonder:
   (a) why did I waste those wishes on something so unnecessary?
   (b) what was I thinking as the age difference would have been such a huge hurdle, anyway?
   Weird in more ways than one, huh?


4. I collect miniature perfumes - I have over a thousand in storage.


5. I used to collect shoes. My favourite designer is Giuseppe Zanotti and some of his shoes are so beautiful that I can't bring myself to wear them since they look their best when they are pristine.
   To the right is a picture of one of a pair of Zanottis that I actually wore, quite possibly, twice. Each shoe has a highly reflective silver heel with a gorgeous rhinestone butterfly on the vamp.
   Now, I'm too poor to buy designer shoes so I collect patterned paper instead.


6. I have a girly voice which is made even higher-pitched by recording devices and phones. I often get telemarketers asking to speak to my mummy or daddy.


7. When I play RPGs (Role Playing Games), I usually take the role of a monk (if they can channel chi) or a mage (since they get to wear cool robes and rely on their intelligence for magical abilities). I can be such a wannabe!

There were a few blogs that I wanted to tag but were tagged previously. So, my select list of blogs (I'm three short of the requisite seven) that I regularly visit (and that, as far as I know, have not been tagged before) are:

• Belle
• Michelle Dyson
• Dani Fender
• Susan

Have a great read!

OTT + UTEE + fer mi! = FREE! TOUT TIME

I love pale pink, perhaps not as passionately as purple, but pale pink is the colour of pretty, epitomises the sweet creaminess of strawberry ice-cream, and evokes the blush of youth and femininity. So, imagine my delight when my free OTT-lite arrived, only days after extending my subscription to Stamping and Papercraft, in PALE PINK. Too pretty and so useful ... no more nights cursing the orangey hue cast by our red fabric covered lamp on coloured cardstock and asking, "Is this Barely Banana or Apricot Appeal?" or actually believing that Pink Passion and Summer Sun make a lovely subdued combination in the light of day.

I suspect that the OTT in OTT-Lite really does mean "Over The Top". After all, how many mere mortals would be prepared to hand over $59 for a light bulb? Anyway, I only have to cross that bridge after 10,000 hours of use since did I mention that I got it FREE! If you are a fan of the magazine and considering a subscription, the lamp comes free along with two additional copies of the magazine if you act by June 9, 2008 [offer code: SP365b].*

To celebrate my OTT-lite, I made the following card using Pretty in Pink and UTEE (since it rhymes with free):

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Pretty in Pink

Stamps:
Artfully Asian set
Canvas background
Greetings Galore set

Paper:
Certainly Celery Prints DSP
Pretty in Pink CS
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware
Certainly Celery Grosgrain
Scallop Punch
Whisper White Grosgrain


A Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirl folder was used for the embossed Whisper White.

I know the title of the post is a little obscure but the "fer mi" is supposed to sound like "for me" with the first half in a Scottish brogue and the second half in really bad Spanish - hey, it's difficult coming up with good blog entry titles! Especially anagram ones...

Stampin' Up! Australia is running out of stock of the Prints DSP sampler pads so put your orders in soon!

---

* No demonstrators were hurt or paid in the production of this blog entry.

Gettin' made

I had been putting the finishing touches on my workshop preparations (read: Aaarrgh! What am I going to demonstrate?! *panic*), when a stray sheet of striped So Saffron Prints Designer Series Paper Sampler strayed on to a stray sheet of Blue Bayou cardstock ... I know there's a lot of strays and straying going on but it's my euphemistic way of letting you know that my workspace is a little (read: a lot) chaotic. When I noticed this lovely harmony of light and dark and complementary colours, I thought "Ooooh! That's nice!" and resumed my workshop panicking planning. Or so I thought...

The idea of bringing these two sheets together in a card just niggled incessantly at me the whole time I was trying to create a couple more projects. I mean, in the midst of all that panicking and planning, for the niggle to register, it had to be pretty insistent! I tried chastising the cardstock with "Stop pestering me you...Blue Bayou..you!" Needless to say, it just looked at me dolefully (after all, it is always blue). I tried turning over the sheet of striped So Saffron DSP but it didn't help as it was double-sided! When I couldn't stand the distraction any longer, I decided a card just had to be made.

So, here it is, a marriage of Blue Bayou and So Saffron. May their bond last long and true - a testament to Stampin' Up! glue:
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Glorious Green
Purely Pomegranate
So Saffron
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Heartfelt Thanks set
Paisley background

Paper:
Blue Bayou CS
So Saffron Prints DSP
Whisper White

Accessories:
Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Grosgrain
Mat Pack
Stampin' Dimensionals
Phew! Now I can get back to my panicking, undisturbed.

Container challenge

Continuing on the INKlings May cyberstamp, the third challenge was a One Sheet Box by the inventive Beate Johns. Just to confuse things, I made this project second. Actually, the reason I left the first challenge for last is that I still have to find some photos for a scrapbook layout. Anyway, here's my attempt:
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Close to Cocoa
Purely Pomegranate

Stamps:
Artfully Asian set
Boho Backgrounds set
Carte Postale set
En Français background

Cardstock:
Close to Cocoa
Purely Pomegranate
River Rock
Very Vanilla

Accessories:
Antique Brass Hodgepodge
Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Grosgrain
Scallop Punch
Very Vanilla Grosgrain

The real challenge, imho, is in coming up with an appropriate name for this container. I mean, is it a box or a bag? Since it seems to be a cross between the two, should it called a bax or a bog? Well, since bog is already taken, I bags¹ bax. But bax sounds like "backs" and could lead to confusing craft conversations such as -

Lin Mei: Hey, how did you make your bax?
Buffy: Huh? I only have one back and I certainly didn't make it.

Lin Mei: Excuse me, would you please pass my red bax from over there?
Miss Muffet: Are you nuts? I'm not touching any spiders², especially poisonous ones!

Lin Mei: Holy aadvark snacks, Batman! There are ants all over your bax!
Batman & Robin: *trying to look at backs whilst flicking off imagined insects* Wha...where?

Lin Mei: Oooh, girlfriend! Your bax side is just amazing.
Beyoncé: *slap* Stop that, you perv!

I think I'll just stick to calling it a container for the moment.

---

1. Bags - Australian and British slang for laying claim to something first.
2. Redbacks - Dangerous spiders native to Australia. Scary looking too! Although their colour combination is particularly striking...

Spicy sandy soup

The INKlings (you can look at the door but you can't come in...read here for membership) had a cybercrop night last Thursday, which I begged out of due to impending virushood. But, since there's no real due date, I hobbled to the bandwagon and crawled on. Boy was I glad that this bandwagon moves slowly. *play violin*

Based on Kwerner Design Color Inspiration #6 and Beverly Todd's Card Map (bottom right on the linked page), I was happily translating the colour scheme into a spicy pumpkin soup recipe until I reached Sahara Sand. Blergh! Best left for something non-edible...
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Pumpkin Pie
So Saffron
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Artfully Asian set
So Many Sayings set

Paper:
Pumpkin Pie CS
Sahara Sand CS
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Wild Wasabi CS

Accessories:
Mat Pack
Rich Regals Brads
Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched

This card probably has more Wasabi than Ms Kwerner had originally outlined but I like things spicy! Helps clear the nose too...

Speaking of pumpkin soup recipes, you may want to try out Jane's - she recently posted a comment, which always makes me feel like sharing.

There's always a catch...

I was just sitting on the train platform with my loved ones doing what I imagine most people do on the platform, which is waiting for the train...when along came a trio of cute little children. Wide-eyed, fidgety, runny-nosed but endearing, nonetheless, they were accompanied by their harried mother, who would throw apologetic glances at us whenever one of them made their presence felt. Of course, one can't help but engage with them with an intermittent smile, funny face or gentle touch on a baby hand or foot. How sweet a way to pass the time!

A few days later, I found out what the catch was ... a cold! Yes, I caught more than just the train that day - I caught a cold and have now incubated that little something passed from the kiddies to me. Here's a card I made in honour of the experience:
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Purely Pomegranate
Stamps:
Boho Backgrounds set
So Many Sayings set
Paper:
Prints DSP Sampler
Very Vanilla CS
Accessories:
Mat Pack
Scallop Punch
Stampin' Dimensionals
Very Vanilla Grosgrain

This is a surprisingly tricky card to make, due to the precision required in cutting the rectangles of patterned paper such that the continuity of the swirls is preserved. Reaching for a tissue every 20 seconds increases the difficulty rating by a notch. A really good guillotine is a must. If all fails, embellish the joins!

For those of you interested in trying the Prints DSP Sampler, we are already mid-way through May...so please remember to put your orders in before the promotion ends.

UPDATE: 19 May 2008

Check out Marcia's lovely palette 'o prints interpretation. I love the layered middle which reminds me of the waistband on a Japanese kimono.

Greeting tag - you're it!

I know a few mothers who would really like to make cards to give on special events but ... well, with feeding the baby, being attentive to kiddies hyper-powered on renewable energy (can't someone harness that energy into something that they could sell to the rest of us?), picking up after hubby, and, on top of all of that, some are holding down stressful jobs - making cards must seem like a luxury. So, being the pragmatic problem solvers that they are, some of them have subscribed to the notion that a gift tag is all that is needed. A snazzy tag with a pithy greeting accompanied by the identity of the gift-giver and it is done! And I suspect that the really great aspect for these mothers is that there is so little room on the tag that no-one can seriously expect them to write much on it. Zero composition time! Hmmm...I wonder if I can come up with a blog on a tag...
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black
Groovy Guava
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Canvas background
Greetings Galore set

Cardstock:
Groovy Guava
Whisper White
Wild Wasabi

Accessories:
Apple Green Grosgrain
Silver Brad
Watercolor Crayons in Bold Brights
Watercolor Pencils
White Gel Pen


Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black
Soft Sky
VersaMark

Stamps:
Canvas background
Greetings Galore set

Cardstock:
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Soft Sky
Whisper White

Accessories:
Gold Brad
Taupe Grosgrain
Watercolor Pencils




Again, Cuttlebug to the rescue for the tag blank (Tag Alongs) and the cute photo corner was cut using a Quickutz die.

Hubby's first kissCASE

I'm very excited to announce this blog's first guest surprise crafter! He is a guest surprise crafter, as opposed to the surprise guest crafter I had intimated previously, because I'm really surprised that he's crafting. Of course, he is none other than my beloved hubby. As he commented on the Mum and PoPs post, he tried CASEing that card and his mum was understandably thrilled with the result. Without further ado:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Groovy Guava
VersaMark

Stamps:
Bud Basics set
Occasional Greetings set

Paper:
Groovy Guava cardstock
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Tempting Turquoise cardstock
Whisper White cardstock

Accessories:
Scallop punch
White Grosgrain ribbon




Hubby also likes my Cuttlebug and he used it with a Stylized Flowers embossing folder and a Quickutz Flower Arrangements die. Lovely, isn't it? Well done, sweetie!

Now the thing I really want to know is this: he made his first card ever for his mother - should I be:
a. worried,
b. jealous,
c. insecure, or
d. all of the above.

The following card is one that I made for my wonderful long-suffering aunt, who has to put up with hubby and me on a daily basis. Thank goodness she has bingo to keep her sane!
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Groovy Guava
Stamp Sets:
Friendship Blooms
Occasional Greetings
Paper:
Groovy Guava CS
So Saffron Prints DSP Sampler
Whisper White CS
Accessories:
Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon

A Fiskars Elegant Fountain Embossing Border Punch was responsible for the pretty border.

No photo op on the mother of all occasions

Happy Mother's Day, Mum! *kiss kiss hug* And Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there. May it be a carefree day filled with relaxation, appreciation for what you do and who you are, and lots of love!

I was hoping to post a couple of Mother's Day cards today but hubby ran off with the camera to visit his mum and family. OK...I have to admit that when I took pictures of one of the cards, I didn't download them before handing the camera to him BUT it's still all his fault! *pout* Hmmmm...typing this out makes it all rather obvious that I'm the one to blame...*sigh* Sorry hubby!

Have a joyful day, everyone! And you can expect a couple of cards on the blog tomorrow - one from a surprise guest crafter...

Mounting: a challenge

One of the selling points of Stampin' Up! stamps is that you get to mount them however you wish. In the majority of cases, this means that you either stick the rubber in the middle of the wooden block or flush with a side/corner (the latter is a must for Stamp-A-Ma-Jig hold outs unless they really don't care where the image lands - in which case I say "Don't tell me! I don't want to know!" *fingers in ears and eyes tightly shut*). If you purchase one of the stamps sets that includes one wooden block per combined image and sentiment such as Fun & Fast Notes and Greetings Galore, you can separate the sentiment from the image and mount the sentiment on the top side of the block (for Stamp-A-Ma-Jiggers). This makes it really easy to ink and stamp a background just using the image or to use the sentiment only.

And then came the Level 1 Hostess Set So Many Sayings. 34 lines, three blocks...one huge headache. Call me lazy, but I much prefer to ink with a pad in the same way that I stamp - move hand over target and apply downward pressure. That's easy! The thought of using markers or carefully inking a section in the block of tightly spaced lines just did not appeal to me. So, I formulated a set of rules:
1. Group sayings into categories such as love, friends, kiddies, thanks, and holidays on to the one wooden block where possible.
2. Put the lines most likely to be used separately at the top or bottom of the wooden block for easy inking. This included most of the motifs for me as well as birthday wishes.
3. For lines that will be used together, centre horizontally and even out the vertical spacing. Stamp the block of lines to check.
4. Maximise the space between unrelated groups of sayings to make inking easier.
5. Make sure that nothing gets in the way of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.
6. Why on earth would "a little something" not be with "from me to you"?

The resulting mounting configuration:
As you can see from the picture, the lines mounted on the side of the wooden block are mounted upside down. The reason for this is that I want to see the labels the right way up when using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I like to press the longer part of the wooden block against the longest wall of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig for greater stability.

Is that making a mounting out of a molehill, or what? For some smart thinking, check out how Alana mounted hers. Please post your creative mounting configurations (er, for stamps only)...or just post a comment to say Hi!

Mums and PoPs

My five sampler pads of Palette O' Prints arrived recently. Yay! After hoarding the customary three, I have some left over to actually use. Double yay! And I thought what better way of putting the PoP to work than to make a Mother's Day card. Oh! Mum, this card isn't for you...well, um, maybe...Don't look!

Whilst there's not much stamping this time, I did use the Mother's Day sentiment from the Occasional Greetings set which was borrowed from the very gracious Michelle Dyson with the Purely Pomegranate ink courtesy of my talented upline Jayne. Since I had no Rose Red ribbon, I sponged some ink on to white grosgrain ribbon, used my heat tool to set the ink and repeated the two steps to increase the quality and intensity of the colour. The heart set into the scalloped Designer Series Paper (DSP) was die cut through Quickutz. A Diamonds in the Rough embossing folder also came in handy.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Purely Pomegranate
Rose Red

Stamps:
Occasional Greetings set

Paper:
Rose Red cardstock
Rose Red Prints DSP
Whisper White cardstock

Accessories:
Scallop punch
Sponge daubers
Stampin' Dimensionals
White Grosgrain ribbon

Overcoming the tendency to hoard pretty paper

I don't know about you but I have an awful time using scrapbooking supplies. I mean, how ironic is it, that some of the most beautiful paper available to humankind is for "scrapping"?! OK...it is just a terminology thing...after all, what we scrap we are meant to keep. *boggle*

Anyway, I have a gorgeous collection of Basic Grey paper in storage because I know that I'll never use it - not because I don't want to, but because I can't bring myself to cut the paper up and not have the potential of using it for something else more worthy. I took to buying three sheets of everything, in all available colour combinations, so that the option of doing a two page colour co-ordinated layout and having a little extra for embellishments was always there. I now have a mountain of scrapping material ready for that momentous life changing event that requires two-and-a-half pieces of patterned paper that I have luckily already bought...the only problem is that I don't know which patterned paper that is and, so, I have to keep all of it unused and in pristine condition...just in case.

Thank goodness I've now discovered the freedom that comes with making my own patterned paper. I never have to worry about hoarding three copies of everything since I can make extra whenever the need arises. And, if it turns out that I need more for a matching tag, altered pencil tin and covered gift box...no problem! I'll whip out my stamps, ink, daubers and what-not and ... voilà! ... a perfect quantity of matching patterned paper. Needless to say, hubby must be ecstatic that he's no longer crowded out of the house by encroaching hordes of pretty paper. From now on, it will be just the odd incursion, since who can stop buying the stuff altogether?

This is the final post for my blog declared Patterned Paper Week. Funnily enough, it coincides with National Scrapbooking Day in the US (March 3) and it just so happens that my project for my last homemade piece of patterned cardstock is to cover a mini scrap journal.
Additional Stampin' Supplies
Stamps:
Greetings Galore set
Ink and Cardstock:
Ballet Blue
Accessories:
Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware
Bluebird Grosgrain ribbon
Chocolate Grosgrain ribbon
Crop-A-Dile
Moss Gingham Check ribbon
Red Gingham Check ribbon
Taupe Grosgrain ribbon
Very Vanilla Grosgrain ribbon

Happy National Scrapbooking Day to those readers popping in from the US!

Update 2:58pm
It seems that it was National Scrapbooking Day in Canada too! So, belated wishes to Canadian readers. Perhaps it should be called North American Scrapbooking Day instead OR, even better, International Scrapbooking Day, in which case all of us can join in. Oh, scrap that! Every day should be a card-making and scrapbooking day...

Pinking and greening purple patterned paper

One of the really great things about creating your own patterned paper is that you determine the colour scheme. When it was time to make a card using the Paisleyed Elegant Eggplant on Very Vanilla , I wanted to add more colours to match the sentiment that I had in mind. Just use a marker or, if you only have the ink pad, a paint brush dabbed against the ink pad to pick up some ink, to add the colour you want. For those with Stampin' Up! classic ink pads, a standard recommendation is that you press the closed lid against the ink pad to create a patch of ink into which you can dip your brush. I've added some Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink into the mix as you can see in the picture to the right.

For the card, I was very, very sneaky as I cut out the matching flower from the area covered by the matted sentiment and glued it to the top right of the card. I think it brings a little more cohesion to the elements of the card. I set the eyelets with a Crop-A-Dile (for a great tutorial, visit Alana Galagher). Embossing is through a Cuttlebug and Perfectly Paisley embossing folder. Note to self: enrol in Cuttlebuglets Anonymous.
Additional Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Pretty in Pink
Stamps:
Carte Postale set
Cardstock:
Pretty in Pink
Accessories:
Certainly Celery Grosgrain
Crop-A-Dile
Earth Elements Eyelets
Very Vanilla Grosgrain

Stamping up - bringing backgrounds to the fore

Perhaps the easiest way to create patterned paper is through the use of background stamps. Of course, the size of the resulting paper is small, but it should be big enough for a greeting card and for matting smaller photos (a good excuse for cropping away tummy bulges).

For those of you who have not used background stamps before, a good technique for using these particularly large stamps is "stamping up". I'm not sure if the technique has ever been called this before (in which case I'm trademarking it) but I think that it makes a good name for a rubber stamp company that produces background stamps...
So, what does the technique involve?
1. Ink the background stamp.
2. Lay the stamp, rubber side up, onto a level stable surface.
3. Place paper, right side down, on top of the inked rubber.
4. Cover the paper with some scrap paper if there is any inked rubber showing. This makes cleaning up much easier as a result of step 5.
5. Smooth over the paper (or scrap paper if used) to make the impression. I use the wooden side of another rubber stamp but fingers, brayers or any item with a flat surface should do. Make sure that the paper being stamped does not shift otherwise you will get smudging or ghosting in final product.
6. Carefully lift the stamped image off the rubber without allowing the paper to touch the stamp again to minimise smudging.

To the right is a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock stamped with a Paisley background stamp using Elegant Eggplant ink. So simple and versatile!

The opportunity to step things up is always there...Here's an example using multiple background stamps, masking, sponging and lots of colours.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Ballet Blue
Close to Cocoa
Chocolate Chip
Not Quite Navy
Old Olive
Rose Red
Rust Red
Sahara Sand
So Saffron

Stamps:
Canvas background
En Français background
Paisley background
Heartfelt Thanks set

Cardstock:
Very Vanilla

I'll be using these two bitty pieces of patterned cardstock and posting the results within the next couple of days.

What May-hem!

Goodness! The first of May had brought an avalanche of things to do in one day...but it's all good. The most exciting thing is the start of the Stampin Up!® palette o' prints promotion in Oz. Stampin Up!® has produced a covetable 6" x 6" pad of double-sided Designer Series paper. 48 sheets and 12 print designs in total, there are 12 sheets each in Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Rose Red and So Saffron. Priced at $12.95 with every $35 purchase of Stampin' Up!® products during the whole of May. There had to be a reason for me declaring Patterned Paper Week...

I'll be posting the last in the mini-series of making your own patterned paper tomorrow. If I receive the sampler pad that I ordered last night, I'll try to post a sample or two using it to round up the week.

Hmmmm...what else? There's also the Under Wraps competition for Aussie subscribers to my newsletter.

Speaking of which, I still have to complete the May newsletter. Eeek! But, please subscribe anyway, so that I have a chance to tempt you with Stampin' Up!® offers. You always have the option to unsubscribe...I promise to include this option with every edition.

I have to write a few e-mails to some lovely people so if you are expecting one from me, please forgive me for the delay. I'll get to it ASAP.

Have a very merry month of May.

Update 5:29pm
May newsletter is complete and should have gone out to all intrepid subscribers. It's not too late to subscribe for the rest of you...

Under wraps

So, here it is...a little wrapped something-or-other. I'm sure that, if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, you'll know what it could be BUT please don't tell!
I'm making this into a little competition for Australian subscribers of my newsletter. I'd offer it to subscribers everywhere except that I can't give you the planned prize since Stampin' Up! Australia won't deliver overseas.

To win one of these in your June order, you have to guess what it is in May! I want the exact item number from the current Idea Book & Catalogue. No prizes for "something-or-other", "that thingy for doing you know what" or "you know the one" (yes I do, but do you? *raise eyebrow*). I'll detail the competition rules in the May newsletter...and that's a wrap.