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

I've been to Hell

to be exact, Cania, the icy eighth of the nine hells of Baator..and back! To be really exact, I've just finished playing Hordes of the Underdark, a computer role-playing game. Here's a Wikipedia definition for CRPG that'd put you through at least two levels of the nine should you choose to read the whole entry. After a near total immersion in the game as an epic² monk, travelling through tortuous freezing climes (fairly approximated by sitting at my computer during these cold days and nights), helping the wretched and battling evil with my bare fists³, on completion of those adventures, I am now suffering decompression.

I am sure many of you would have gone through this condition - it comes upon you lightly when you have watched a wonderfully absorbing movie or hits you like a freight train (or, for RPGers, a Heavy Flail + 10 wielded by a weapons master wearing a Belt of Storm Giant Strength) when you've finished reading the final instalment of a much loved fantasy series. It is particularly heart-wrenching if you've fallen in love with one of the characters. Twilight readers - you know what I'm talking about! Real life suddenly seems like just an opportunity to seek out ways to prolong the experience ... Google the characters, discuss the story to the nth degree with other passionate fans, relive moments in the adventure and, quite possibly, dream about the one that you are most attached too. In other words, do anything to defer the sadness that comes from the end of something that strangely felt special even though it existed only in our imaginations.

I guess it will take a little time for me to mentally pack away by my magical bags of holding and say farewell to my preferred One True Love after I ended up with two from alternate scenarios. Luckily, I had Hubby asking me to leave the computer to keep him company last night - an important reminder of the reality that was worth surfacing for.

Speaking of Hell, I designed the following card for a INKlings Card in a Box training session. A few of the team found making this card rather hellish since a standard wheel can be tough to control at times⁴. The card is deceptively difficult since there are no OFFERs (Opportunities-For-Further-Embellishment Recovery) - there are no layers or embellishments with which to hide a mistake! As the card featured my Marker Over technique, I made copies of it for Convention swaps *wave to Megan*

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Chocolate Chip

Stamp sets:
Funky Forest wheel
Occasional Greetings

Cardstock:
Whisper White

Accessories:
Earth Elements Markers
Mat Pack

---

1. Hordes of the Underdark^TM is an expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights.
2. Epic - a character that has reached the 21st level for those of you with some RPG interest.
3. Supplemented by the odd pair of magical gloves ... who am I kidding? Make it supplemented continually as soon as I got hold of the first pair...
4. Just like Valen suppressing his demonic taint while in Cania - I couldn't help slipping that in for anyone who has played Hordes of the Underdark.

Too late for Mother's Day

this year...Maybe I'll keep it for next year!

I made this card using Dani's colour challenge of Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip and Taken with Teal last month. It features my new Marker Over technique - it's new 'cos I've made up a name for it. It involves using a Stampin' Write Marker to accent parts of an image after it has been stamped which is great for jazzing up mono-coloured wheels. You can even add accents of your own ... like dots. I used this terrific (if I may say so myself) technique for my Convention swaps too!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery

Stamp sets:
Bella's Border
Occasional Greetings

Cardstock:
Baja Breeze
Certainly Celery
Whisper White

Accessories:
Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon
Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
Filigree Designer Brads
Flower Fusion Too
Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads
Stampin' Write Markers Chocolate Chip, Taken with Teal and Tempting Turquoise

No inkling

Sometimes it is just unfortunate...you are totally immersed in the process of manifesting that grand vision in your mind and you have no idea about the big picture you are setting in motion - the complete picture. For me, here is how it all started...

We recently had an INKlings Cyberstamp hosted by the very effervescent Dani Fender. I haven't been able to take part in a team cyberstamp for a while so I made a little commitment to do hers. One of the challenges was to make an Easter basket inspired by Makeesha Byl. Because I was too time-poor¹ to follow the tutorial, I decided to use a A5 sheet that was lying around for the base and just make the rest up as I go. The grand vision that I had for this project was to use the eyelet punch to emulate the look of broderie anglaise². I also wanted to add ribbon woven through cardstock as it reminds me of trim on pretty lingerie.

As an aside, how great are the new Stampin' Up! Filigree Designer Brads? There is a little round recess in the centre of the filigree flower for a perfectly sized brad to slot in. You can use the ones included or the smallest sized circle rhinestones brads, for example. This makes the whole thing very stable (no wobbling here) once attached to a project.

The thing that did surprise me about the Filigree Designer Brads was the thickness - check it out in the close up.

Back to the saga. Once the basket was completed, I hunted around fruitlessly for some Easter eggs to fill it. Failing that, I found a box of Ferrero Rocher. As it turned out, the basket fit two chocolates abreast perfectly. Which is exactly the problem...the basket now looks like a brassiere! Waaaaaaaaaah! *sniffle* Just don't imagine tipping the Ferrero Rochers so that the labels face the front! Hey! I warned you...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Lavendar Lace

Stamps:
Baroque wheel
Fresh Cuts set
Petal Pizzazz set

Cardstock:
Lavendar Lace
Whisper White

Accessories:
Certainly Celery Grosgrain
Designer Brad Filigree
Double Rectangle Punch
Eyelet Border Punch
Scallop Punch
Small Oval Punch
Stampin' Write Marker in Lavendar Lace
Whisper White Grosgrain

---

1. time-poor: an excuse (aka spin) for being impatient and lazy in this case.
2. Broderie Anglaise: French for "English Embroidery". It is rather ironic that a French term is used in English to describe something as English.

That hair is really long! Gee!

During our trip to Longji, China, we encountered a group of Yao women who were rather keen on seeing us fulfill our responsibilities as tourists. These duties included photographing them doing their customary hair unveiling and combing as well as allowing them to adorn our heads with their hand-made kerchiefs. Normally, I would not wear hanky on my head as it makes me want to impersonate Luigi of the now defunct WA Salvage - we’re not fancy but we’re cheap, eh! Sandgropers'll know what I'm talking about...but the women were so insistent in such a nice way.

And yes indeedy! Their hair was very long once unfurled - reputed to be the longest hair per head so to speak. I found it fascinating that their hair has the added bulk and weight of an extra length of hair - from when they cut their hair for the first (and IIRC the last) time when they reach 18 years of age. With all that weight on their heads, it's no wonder they were all shorter than me.

I put together this scrap page as part of this month's INKlings Cybercrop hosted by the wonderful Alana. Her second challenge was a scrapbook sketch based on a card layout.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
VersaMark

Stamp:
It's Beautiful wheel

Cardstock:
Naturals Ivory
Pink Passion Texured
Tempting Turquoise

Accessories:
1 1/4" Circle Punch
Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker
Circle Rhinestone Brads
Corner Rounder Punch
Eastern Elegance Rub-Ons
Heat Tool
Scallop Punch
White Embossing Powder

I thought the combination of the It's Beautiful wheel and Eastern Elegance rub-ons would be a good way to say farewell to the Spring Mini in scrapbook form. I must confess that the only way that I could bring myself to use the Eastern Elegance rub-ons was by buying an extra package while it's on sale this month! *puts hanky on head* We're fancy but we're cheap, eh! *takes off hanky*

A pinch and a punch...

...for missing a post for the first of the month. Yes! I missed posting properly yesterday due to duties at the Papercrafts Festival, which has been a whirlwind of preparation and activity. It has been great meeting so many crafty women over the past two days *big wave* - I can honestly say that I have yet to do a make and take with a man at the fair. Perhaps this is why women are called the fairer sex? Also, a special hello to belle for being so sweet to visit me at the stand.

Stampin' Up! promotions will be starting on the 10th this month - when you click on the Specials heading on the top of this blog, you'll see that markers will be offered for purchase as single items very soon! I'll update the blog with the promotions as soon as they are made public. Also, I'll be sending out my newsletter with all the details on that date too. So, please sign up if you are interested (check out the free subscriptions panel on the left right [don't know my left from my right!] of the page).

This is one of the cards that I have on display when I do my demonstration of the Poppin' Pastels technique at the fair. I can sneak this on now since some of you have seen it already.
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
VersaMark

Stamps:
It's Beautiful wheel
Short & Sweet set

Cardstock:
Naturals Ivory

Accessories:
Mat Pack
Paper Piercer
Paper Snips
Sponge Daubers
Stampin' Dimensionals
Stampin' Pastels





Today is the last day of the Papercrafts Festival so poppin' I mean pop in if you can. We have an amazing array of papercraft samples (and I can say this because you should see everyone else's work) and you can even take a photo or two of your favourite pieces. There are also specials just for the show including a Pick-A-Prize for all bundles and if you are thinking of joining Stampin' Up!, you'd definitely want to ask us about it!

KWERNERDESIGN.COM COLOR inspiration 21

I've been admiring many creations using Kristina Werner's fabulous COLOR inspirations for a while now. I had considered joining in the fun but I was either too late off the mark or I had something else more pressing like workshops or swaps or washing my hair (Hey! It gets itchy if I wait long enough!).

This time I only have a hundred and forty swaps to make for the Sydney regional on Saturday so she'll be apples¹! Actually, choosing to take part in this COLOR inspiration just shows that I wasn't really committed to the swaps in the first place. Anyway, the snazzy colour combination chosen by Kristina:





Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White

I've had to adopt her suggestion of replacing two of the US SU!'s '08-'09 In Colors with Tempting Turquoise and Old Olive. Thank you, Kristina, for the great inspiration. I suppose I should go back to pretending that I am working hard on those regional swaps...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black
VersaMark

Stamps:
Kindness wheel
Sassy Stems set
Short & Sweet set

Cardstock:
Old Olive
Rose Red
Tempting Turquoise
Vellum

Accessories:
Aquapainter
Earth Elements brads
Heat Gun
Theater Ribbon Originals
Whisper White Grograin
White Embossing Powder
White Gel Pen
Watercolor Crayons (in every colour family except for Soft Subtles!)

---

1. Aussies don't really use the phrase "she'll be apples" nowadays so we have a giggle about its fuddy-duddiness whenever we see it in the Stampin' Up! G'Day Mate stamp set. OK...so I speak for myself!

It's Beautiful - wheely!

What a tremendous INKling team weekend it was! My amazing upline Jayne did a magnificent job of organising the event, and on top of that, producing the loveliest papercraft treats for each and every one of us. Thank you so much, Jayne!

One of my favourite things about the weekend, apart from meeting lovely and talented INKlings, was the Card in a Box. This is where all the supplies to make a card are placed into a box. As 18 of us took part, I got to make 17 different and wonderful cards. Mine was made using a gorgeous wheel, very appropriately named It's Beautiful, that features in the new Spring Mini. To bring out the lovely flowers and swirls in the wheel, I used the Poppin' Pastels technique to add multiple colours to the image.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Lovely Lilac
VersaMark

Stamps:
It's Beautiful wheel
Sweet Serendipity set

Cardstock:
Naturals Ivory

Accessories:
Designer Label Punch
Glue Dots
Mat Pack
Stampin' Dimensionals
Stampin' Pastels
Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon




Hmmmmmm...I stopped editing this post to have dinner and watch TV and ended up sleeping on the couch! The weekend was bigger than I had realised!

A big wave to Jayne, Jo and Merryl - my gracious snore-free roomies! and Alana and Ryn - my clever quiz mates! Also, many thanks to Karen for kindly transporting me to the venue and back.

Kari Favour

It certainly has been a week of papercrafting for me with hardly any time left for blogging or, even, blog lapping (as Sue Madex funnily punnily puts it). To start it all off: the INKlings monthly cyberstamp on Saturday night - a series of challenges set by the lovely Kari Hughes. First up was a pyramid favour box, to be made in a colour of my choice with the proviso that it be a colour that I rarely use. *sigh* I'd almost rather that it be a colour selected by someone else since there would be chance of it NOT being Really Rust.

I've tried to contemplate why I struggle with Really Rust. Is it because it is reddy-orange? Isn't just being orangey enough to put me off? Is it because I don't like rust or tetanus shots? Let me tell you that I find this rather disappointing since I considered myself an equal opportunity colourist. All colours are created equal. Unfortunately, though, some colours are in harmony with a greater number of colours than others.

Hmmmmmmm...so does that mean that it's not really me, after all.... that it's really Really Rust?! Needless to say, such ruminations get in the way of productivity and this was the only challenge that I finished on the night. I knew I didn't like Really Rust for a reason...
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Brocade Blue
Groovy Guava
Really Rust

Stamps:
Baroque Border wheel
Baroque Motifs set

Cardstock:
Naturals Ivory

Accessories:
Crop-A-Dile
Earth Elements Eyelets
Bluebird Grosgrain
Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain
Sponge Daubers

Did you notice the generational stamping with a wheel?

If you love Really Rust, please help me to appreciate it too by commenting on the reasons why one should lust Really Rust. Kari, thank you for an excellent challenge!

Mille grazie

Or a thousand thanks. That's what I would like to say to the kind ladies who have shared my envelope tutorial posts with others and to the new guests who came to have a peek. Given my limited sleuthing, I know that the following list is not definitive but many thanks to (in alphabetical order):
Madex Creations
PaperFriendly
Ryemilan's Stamping & Scrapbooking
Stamping Links to Love
The Stamp Spot
They are all great blogs so please check out the ones that you didn't come from. If you were referred from somewhere else, please let me know so that I can return the favour!

Speaking of a thousand thanks, I've also felt like I've recently made a thousand thank you cards. Sadly, though, when I actually counted them, they only numbered nine. Nine - a number so small that, by convention, should be spelt out rather than be represented in arabic numerals! I really admire those with the discipline and perseverance to make hundreds of the same card. After three, I'm already itching for a new colour...after five, a new design...after seven, another family block of chocolate in a new flavour...after nine, a new existence! Skip the existence bit - life is great *grin* Not looking forward to the impact of the blocks of chocolate on the waistline though.

So, here, is the evolution of my thank you cards - dedicated to those mentioned above:
Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Blue Bayou
Whisper White Craft
Stamp sets:
Spring Solitude bundle
Cardstock:
Blue Bayou
Whisper White
Accessories:
3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch
Blue Bayou Double-Stitched Grosgrain
Sponge Daubers

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Groovy Guava
Whisper White Craft
Stamp sets:
Spring Solitude bundle
Cardstock:
Groovy Guava
Whisper White
Accessories:
3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch
Groovy Guava Double-Stitched Grosgrain
Sponge Daubers

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Purely Pomegranate
Whisper White Craft
Stamp sets:
Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Spring Solitude bundle
Cardstock:
Purely Pomegranate
River Rock
Whisper White
Accessories:
3/16″ Corner Rounder Punch
Cutter Kit
Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Grosgrain

Like a pack of wild animal cards

At least I hope my Stamp-A-Stack attendees will! Let me rewind a little. I'm having a Stamp-A-Stack of children's cards at my friend's place very soon and she has invited a few friends who are new to stamping. So, I'm really hoping that they like the pack of cards since first impressions are so important...which, btw, is why I recommend a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.

These are the first cards that I have designed for children using Stampin' Up! products. I tried tapping into my inner child for an opinion as to whether the cards are appealing to kiddies. Tapping into my inner child is usually not particularly difficult since it tends to sit pretty close to the surface. But this time, it was completely noncommittal and inattentive - probably because I ate some artificially coloured sweets just before asking. Next closest option is Hubby since his inner child also likes to come out to play. His opinion (with my thoughts in parentheses):
giraffe card is awesome (oooooh! very promising)
great colour scheme (hmmmmm...that was a little analytical)
love the layers (oh oh! definitely losing contact with Hubby's inner child)
flawless (Gah! Hubby's inner child has gone back into hiding for sure. So, what does Hubby want?).

I guess it is time for some hypnotic regression. OmmmmMMMMMM...

All of the cards feature the three stamp sets: Circle of Friendship, Sprinkles and Wild About You.

Additional Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Apricot Appeal
Basic Black
Purely Pomegranate
VersaMark
Wild Wasabi

Stamps:
Daisy Field wheel
Floral background

Cardstock:
Apricot Appeal
Groovy Guava
Whisper White

Accessories:
1" and 1 1/4" Circle Punches
Scallop Punch
White Gel Pen


Additional Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Not Quite Navy
So Saffron
Wild Wasabi

Cardstock:
Blue Bayou
Whisper White
Wild Wasabi

Accessories:
1" Circle Punch
Gold Brads
Mat Pack
Scallop Punch
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig




Additional Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Brocade Blue
Garden Green
Real Red

Cardstock:
Brocade Blue
Soft Sky
Whisper White

Accessories:
1" Circle Punch
Mat Pack
Real Red Grosgrain
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Whisper White Grosgrain

A veek of Carol-link

Da! My Russian is very veak. [Who am I kidding? It is non-existent but I loved the pun on carolling.]

Gee, I can't quite believe that it has been a week since I posted the first challenge from the June INKlings cybercrop hosted by INKantationer Carol. The last of the three challenges, that she had set, was to make a box. I based mine on a pattern that she referenced from Kelly Lunceford. But, since I was too lazy to convert from inches to centimetres and too cheap to cut up a brand new piece of A4 cardstock, I used a couple of large offcuts and modified to suit the size of the scraps. As they say, "Laziness is the mother of invention"...or was that "father"? ... or maybe "necessity"? Da! Vatever!

The pristine white flower is from a Stampin' Up! Pretties Kit and a Chocolate Chip scallop was embossed using a Goosebumpz Flourish die for the corner. Love note envelopes fit perfectly in the box, which is why I've used the same design for eScaping. спасибо Comrade Carol!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Stamps:
Scatter Sunshine wheel
Cardstock:
Kraft
Old Olive
Accessories:
Chocolate Chip Grosgrain
Double-Sided Tape
Pretties Kit
Scallop Punch
White Gel Pen
White Grosgrain

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.

Rolling your own

The zippiest way to lay down stamped images is through the use of Stampin' Around Wheels. These come in two widths - standard and jumbo. Of course, since jumbo means jet, it is the faster of the two... Anyway, moving right along... For today's patterned paper, I'm using the Basic Outline jumbo wheel. This is a great wheel when combined with the Bud Basics stamp set since you can add lots of colours with minimal effort. No fussing with markers or painstakingly colouring sections of stamps whilst cursing the clumsiness of having an inkpad as a nib.

1. Run the wheel across the page (in any parallel direction) until the page is covered in impressions. An ink cartridge makes it easy to stamp continuous images from one side of the paper to the other. To break up the continuity of the empty vertical patch on the right side of the page (oops!), I inked a few dots from Itty Bitty Backgrounds and stamped a few times. It should not be so obvious in the next picture.

2. À la two step stampin' technique, use the base large flower stamp from Bud Basics to fill in the outlined large flowers. I've stamped twice with each inking of the stamp - if possible, the first impression on a whole flower so that I don't have a dark patch on the second impression. Leave a couple of the flowers white if you want a bit of lightness in the end product.

3. Stamp with the base leaf stamp from Bud Basics next. The reason I do this before the small flowers is that I'm introducing two greens into the colour mix. The large flowers establish the major part of colour scheme and you are adjusting the color balance by the addition of the leaves (a little more yellow by using Gable Green, a little more blue by using Glorious Green).

4. Stamp with the base small flower from Bud Basics over the small flower outlines. I've stamped three times with each inking of the stamp and left none white. I think the paper could be considered a finished product at this point (especially if you coloured all the flowers) but I'll add a little extra colour.


5. To add colour to the areas around the flowers and leaves, use a sponge dauber dabbed on an ink pad. The first tap on to your paper should be the lightest (imagine being a feather landing on the page). Increase the pressure of the taps as you go. Then, after re-inking, start lightly again. This avoids having really obvious round spots in the colour cloud surrounding the flowers and leaves.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black ink cartridge
Gable Green
Glorious Green
Lovely Lilac
Orchid Opulence
Tempting Turquoise

Stamps:
Basic Outline wheel
Bud Basics set

Cardstock:
Ooooh! Non SU! white copy paper...

Accessories:
Jumbo wheel handle
Sponge daubers

It's all wheelie...I mean...really easy, right? I'm off to wrap something with it. I'll post the package tomorrow along with unwrapping the May Stampin' Up! offer.

Update 12:29pm
I've found out that there is another patroness also responsible for pointing visitors my way. Many many thanks Vivian Swain!

Boxing Week

Did you know that Boxing Week follows Easter just like Boxing Day follows Christmas? No? That's completely understandable since I've just made it up. BUT I'm declaring it Boxing Week on this blog. I've had a ball making these tiny boxes and when I received the Beautifully Boxed Cuttlebug Tag Team combo yesterday, I used one of the tags to top the following bitty box off:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Cameo Coral

Stamps:
Scatter Sunshine wheel

Cardstock:
Cameo Coral
Whisper White

Non-SU!:
Cuttlebug Beautifully Boxed Tag Team
Diamantes/Rhinestones







The inset is of the back view so that you can see the embossed stripes (if the JPEG compression allows it).

Only 5 more days to the new SU! catalogue launch. Belle, a very talented friend of mine, posted a gorgeous beauty shot incorporating the new catalogue. Have a peek!

French friends

I hope that everyone has had a special Easter and that it was memorable in all good ways.

I'll just post a tiny off-the-page (and off-the-card!) project as I am sure that everyone is either still celebrating or making their way home. It iz a leeee-tle box for frendz uzing French inzpired stampz. That is about all the fake French accent that I can and would want to muster. Carte Postale and Leaves a la Carte stamps have made it from the Stampin' Up!® Summer Mini to the 2008-2009 Idea Book & Catalogue so don't hurry to buy them!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
So Saffron

Stamps:
Carte Postale set
Leave à la Carte wheel

Cardstock:
So Saffron
Whisper White

Accessories:
White Grosgrain Ribbon

Non-SU!:
Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder
Quickutz Revolution Borders Die