It hasn't been forever ...

... since my last post. Surprised, huh? I know I am! Although, I suppose a week and a bit in blogland can seem like a long time.

I made the following card for a friend of mine in Canada. And it really has been like FOREVER since I sent her something to remind her that she is in my thoughts and heart. I was thinking how easy it has been for so much time to pass by in the whirligig of every day and, in that time, not reach out to those that I care about - especially those who may be far away. Definitely time for redress...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Always Artichoke
Chocolate Chip
Old Olive
Soft Suede
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Defining Alphabet
Vintage Vogue

Cardstock:
Always Artichoke
Naturals Ivory
Old Olive

Accessories:
Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
Earth Elements Brads
Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon
Rich Regals Brads
Soft Suede Polka-dot Grosgrain Ribbon
Sponge Daubers
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Dimensionals

On bended knees

I am typing this post while kneeling at my computer. Why you may ask? OK - other than the really obvious need for forgiveness for neglecting my blog, I've just read that sitting down is the new smoking! A study has

...found that for every hour that a person spends sitting..., their individual risk of death from all causes rose 11 per cent, their risk of death from cardiovascular disease rose 18 per cent and their risk of dying from cancer, 9 per cent.

I'm really surprised that I'm still here after those statistics. Given how much I've been sitting all these years, I'm pretty sure that the risk from all causes would be pushing 100% (albeit at an ever decreasing rate). Also, given how my knees are feeling already, I'm sure that knee replacement surgery is now on the cards.

Anyway, I thought I would try making a whole card while standing up¹ just to see how tricksy it would be to avoid this sitting health hazard going forward. Here it is:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Brilliant Blue
Chocolate Chip
Old Olive
So Saffron

Stamp sets:
Good Friend
Simply Said

Paper:
So Saffron CS
Tall Tales DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Circle Scissors Plus
Rose Red Double Stitched Grograin
Sponge Dauber

After that experiment, I can honestly say, "I can't stand it!" Oh noes! Is that a varicose vein I see appearing?

---

1. Most demonstrators are probably adept at demoing cards standing up BUT who would choose to design a card doing so? Yeah .. thought so ... who's quite that crazy, hey? Doh! Me apparently.

Where's the chocolate chip?

This is a card that I've been demonstrating in my Emerging Colour classes. Funnily enough, in each of the classes, someone has asked me at the commencement of proceedings where the chocolate chip cardstock was to be found. As it turns out, it is in the chocolate chip ink pad just busting to get out.

Another funny thing was at each event, someone brought up Boho Backgrounds as a set that piqued their interest - a stamp set that made it from last year's catalogue into this year's which practically means that it has fallen off the radar (Lovely as a Tree is an exception). And they said that before seeing my sample! Freaky, no? *plays Twilight Zone music*

I think that it is a sign that Boho Backgrounds is due for a resurgence!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Boho Backgrounds
Circle Circus
Oval All
Petal Pizzazz

Paper:
Baja Breeze CS
Kraft CS
Parisian Breeze Specialty
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Brayer
Button Bouquet
Clear Embossing Powder
Double-Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Baja Breeze
Heat Tool
Large Oval Punch
Mini Glue Dot
Scallop Border Punch
Scallop Oval Punch
Sponge Dauber

PS: I know a sample size of two classes isn't anywhere close to statistically significant but it was significant to me!

Travel notebook

Hubby and I have just returned from a wonderful jaunt to Phillip Island to attend the wedding of a dear friend and his lady love. The weather was fine and hot (perhaps a little too warm as my decolletage now looks like I dropped a tub of red blush all over it) and the garden setting, with Westernport Bay as the backdrop, was beautiful. The highlight for me was their exchange of vows, which they composed themselves - touching, sweet and so very moving. I have to keep their names secret or I'd have to erase this blog after posting and, well, that'd just defeat the whole purpose of posting! But I'm wishing them lots of love and laughter as they head into their first holiday season in married bliss.

Accompanying me during this memorable trip was this little notebook that I decorated using a standard exercise book. After embellishing the cover, I slipped the book into a plastic cover to protect it from spills and stains. I then used White StazOn to stamp a damask pattern on the plastic cover to add a little more interest and light. Because I'm me, I used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and lots of ruled lines to make sure the pattern was even...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Lavender Lace
Perfect Plum
StazOn Cotton White

Stamp sets:
24-7
All Scallops
Lovely Letters
No One Like You

Cardstock:
Certainly Celery
Whisper White
Pale Plum
Perfect Plum

Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch Stamp-A-Ma-Jig	[back of the notebook]
Stampin' Write Markers in:    Certainly Celery    Pale Plum    Perfect Plum

A belated posting of swaps

I had these cards loaded and ready for a write-up so long ago that I forgot about them! These were the two other variations of my Convention Swaps ... I imagine some of you thinking, "Convention, which Convention? No Convention around these here parts. Stampin' Up! Regionals, however ..." Embarrassingly, yes, I did mean the Stampin' Up! Australia Convention held last May.

Which reminds me that I should get a wriggle on for swaps for Sydney Regionals so that I'm not, at the last minute, trying to design swaps with just Whisper White cardstock (because that was the only colour cardstock that I had more than 10 sheets of)! Or even worse, bringing a paltry 7 swaps to Regionals like I did the year before.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Chocolate Chip

Stamp sets:
Cute And Curly
Funky Forest

Paper:
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Ruby Red

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day three

(To the tune of the twelfth day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the third of October
more cards were made by me:
with embossing powder,
white Taffeta ribbon,
Baja Breeze cardstock,
an Ice Rhinestone brad,
Stampin' Dimensionals,
Eyelet Border Punch,
Five stamp pads,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Whisper White,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies

Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Baja Breeze
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings
Paper:
Baja Breeze CS
Old Olive CS
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Embossing Buddy
Eyelet Border Punch
Heat Tool
Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads
Silver Embossing Powder
Sponge Daubers
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Dimensionals
White Embossing Powder
White Taffeta Ribbon

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day two

(To the tune of the seventh day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the second of October
a card was made by me:
using oval punches
Large and new Scallop,
Five stamp pads,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Whisper White,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Baja Breeze
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Best Yet
Tree Trimmings

Paper:
Old Olive CS
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Square Scallop Punch
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Old Olive
Stampin' Write Marker in Real Red

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day one

(To the tune of the fifth day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the first of October
two cards were made by me:
with Whisper White,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Three stamp pads,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Occasional Greetings
Punches Three
Tree Trimmings

Paper:
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Square Scallop Punch
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Old Olive
Stampin' Write Marker in Real Red

Pre-Yoga quickie

Just dashing off to yoga - first lesson in ages. But I thought I would post this card made with Certainly Celery Poly Twill Ribbon (that is available for this month only) embossed with a gold Christmas sentiment. I'll be back soon...

ETA: 8:31pm I'm back but it's time for dinner *sigh*

ETA: 9:12pm I've had dinner and except I haven't had dessert. I suppose I shouldn't throw away all the benefits of my yoga session in a fit of sugar consumption.

So, back to this Christmas card with the rather spiffy ribbon. I've always loved gold embossed ribbon and decided that I should try making my own. I initially experimented on the wide double-stitched grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip by doing the responsible thing: which was to tip some embossing powder on the ribbon before using any VersaMark on it. Unfortunately, the fibres of the ribbon held the embossing powder regardless of how I tapped, flicked or hit the ribbon. So I brushed the powder back into its container and gave up on using the wide double-stitched grosgrain ribbon for this purpose.

When I followed the same procedure for testing the new poly twill ribbon, the powder dropped quite effortlessly away from the ribbon. Eureka! and I don't mean the stockade. And the rest is well ... this ribbon!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Encore Gold
Rose Red

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings

Cardstock:
Certainly Celery
Kraft
Rose Red
Whisper White

Accessories:
Certainly Celery Poly Twill Ribbon
Eyelet Border Punch
Gold Embossing Powder
Heat Tool
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

Christmas Bollywood colours

What's up with the title of this post? Sounds like a rather random amalgam of nouns, doesn't it? I suppose that is to be expected since the idea behind it is rather random - but I guess you must all be used to that by now! But, please let me explain...

For the first time in what feels like a long time, I devoted an entire night to watching TV (because "Om Shanti Om" featuring Shah Rukh Khan was showing on SBS Two) by myself (because Hubby is overseas). I'm almost a Shah Rukh Khan fangirl - except that I'm too lazy to read about his life story, I have no wall space for posters, I'm too cheap to buy most of his DVDs and I forget, by the time I go to sleep, to dream about him. Well, I did say that I was "almost" a fangirl...and I had to add the last qualifier just in case Hubby reads this.

If you clicked on the IMDB link of Shah Rukh (he and I are so on a first two names basis¹), the one picture of him represents quite well how I think of him - endearing, earnest and ...um... conservatively clothed. Hey! I wasn't kidding about SRK not quite making it into my dreams. But, he is pretty spunky for someone who is in his mid-40s, don't you think? So, imagine my surprise when he appeared like this in a music sequence in the second half of the movie. "OM! Oh my Shanti oh my!" *fans self* *submerges head in a sink of cold water* *runs around the room squealing* I then had to lie down for the rest of the movie - admittedly, I was already lying on the couch for the first part of the movie but that was by choice.

So what does this have to do with anything at all? *ponders* Hmmmmmmm ... I just had to over share? *sheepish grin* That plus the fact that in one of the music sequences, Deepika Padukone was dancing around in scarves coloured just like a Christmas card I made the night before! You can see her outfit in the YouTube trailer of "Om Shanti Om" linked above (at around the 30 second mark). As expected, whilst I was excited to see the colours I had used swirling around the screen, I wasn't thinking about cards during SRK's performance. *sighs dreamily*

Oh yes! Where was I? So, here is the Christmas card:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Green Galore
Pink Passion
Real Red
Silver Encore
Summer Sun
Taken with Teal
Tangerine Tango

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings

Cardstock:
Whisper White

Accessories:
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Sahara Sand

I included a shot of the card at an angle so that the sheen of the Encore Silver is visible. I also used a matt fixative to prevent the silver from smudging. Yet another deceptively difficult card - if only I could make cards that were deceptively simple instead!

Counting down the two days until Hubby is home *claps happily*

ETA: Just entered this card into Shelli Gardner's Stamps Ink Paper challenge. I hope the link to SRK was not too racy!

---

1. It's goes something like this in my head:
LMY: Hey hey Shah Rukh! How's it shakin' my man?
SRK: Hi Lin Mei! Long time no see. How come you never return my calls?

I imagine it'd go something like this in real life:
LMY: He..hello Shah Rukh!
SRK: Uh... Who are you?
LMY: Lin Mei
SRK: Er..OK. Bye Lin Mei. *snaps fingers*
*LMY gets dragged off by minders*

See - first two names basis EVERY time.

Two Step Stamp-A-Ma-Jigging

I'm sure many of you will already use vellum sheets in place of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig's reusable imaging sheet. Another advantage of using vellum sheets is that you can create composite images on them ... which is the answer to my Tricksy Trendy Trees troubles.

Stamp all four foliage images on a vellum sheet.

I mark the corners of the vellum sheet with an "L" to mark the short and long sides of my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. This informs users of the sheet as to how to orient my SAMJ in relation to the sheet.

Stamp the corresponding trunk in the desired position onto the vellum sheet using an imaging sheet and Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. I recommend using a lighter ink colour so that you will easily recognise that the vellum guide is for the foliage.

You can now use the vellum guide to stamp some foliage with full knowledge of where their trunks will end up when they are eventually stamped.

So, here are all the trees complete with their trunks evenly spaced and in a straight line. Yay!