A simple card design

I have recently made invites for my 50th birthday early next month and as I had over 50 to make I wanted to make them far simpler that the style I made for my husband last year. Honestly his took me weeks to make at night and I was so over the design that I haven't made it since.

Take a piece of cardstock 4 inches by 8 inches and score it at 4 inches. Scan your photo on your computer and set the size to wallet size, this way you get 9 prints on a piece of A4.

Cut your coloured cardstock 1/4" bigger than your photos. Tape the photo to the coloured cardstock. Using a border punch, punch the edge of your card.
Pop dimensionals on the back of your topper, and pop it on your card.

Now for the insert, I designed the lettering so that it fitted on a piece of cardstock 3 3/4 inches square, I sponged the edges and then I taped the back. I set it on the fold line so that when the invite was sitting flat the edge of the insert met the edge of the border I had punched.

Watch out for my next post as a friend is turning 40 next month and she wanted retro invites. So check back to see what we did with her invites.
Till next time happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Ornament punch card 3

Same style but I have reversed the colours.

Oranment card 2

Here is the second style card that I made for Otago Community Hospice.
Heaps of fun ot make and ever so quick with the ornament punch. The ribbon is held on with a glue dot.

Ornament card 1

Here's post 2 (all going well that I have scheduled it correctly).
I made 60 cards recently for Otago Hospice where my Dad spent just over 3 months. This is one of the 2 styles I used. I have to say that even though I have made over 110 cards using this style I am not bored with the colour in fact I just adore cherry cobbler. Apologies for the slightly blurry photo.
I will post the second style that was made for hospice tomorrow.

Christmas ornaments

This is the first of 5 posts showing some of the ornament cards I have made for Xmas. I have scheduled them to post at the same time each day so all going well it works. :-)
Well actually this is not a card but a little gift for the little people in your life.
Take a stampin up envelope and punch through both layers of your envelope with a stampin up punch. I used the ornament punch as these are for Xmas (I used another punch when I made Halloween bags for the kids that came knocking recently). Watch out that you don't punch the flap!
Now stamp all over your envelope using the colours and stamps of your choice. Add to a medium sized SU cellophane bag the goodies of your choice.
Pop the bag including its contents inside your envelope. (you don't need to seal the cellophane bag as the contents do not fall out)
Lick the back of the envelope and you are finished. Super quick and easy to make. I have made up 12 for xmas but haven't put the lollies in yet. I thought I might even put some chocolate raisins in them and pop the reindeer poop poem on the back for all the naughty adults who Santa hasn't left anything for.
If you have a go at making these do feel free to email me at ssams@clear.net.nz with a photo as I would love to see your creations.
The punch and ornament stamp set are $88.45 excluding shipping and you get a free roll of selected ribbon valued at $19.50 to $26.95. The special runs till the 30th November so if you are interested then please feel free to email me.

Its baby card season

It appears that spring is in the air and I am making a few baby cards of late. This is a simple bib card that is super quick and fun to make.
Just as a side note I would like to say many thanks to those who have contacted me since the recent loss of my father last month. Your kind words, cards and gifts were most appreciated.

A weekend of crafting

I have been away on a retreat and spent 2 and a half days crafting. I made a flip album for my daughter while I was away and thought I would share some fo the pages with you.
I used the new lap of Luxury DSP, pale plum, concord crush (a new in colour) and pretty in pink along with bling, pearls, ans the new embosslits called Beautiful wings. I love this folder and it cuts and embosses at the same time 5 different sized butterflies. All the lettering was done with my Big Shot alphabet.
Till next time
Happy crafting

My first scrapbook page...........

Well the truth is that I am turning 50 soon and given that it is a half century (She's a smart one I hear you all saying) and given that I would like to let everyone have a laugh at my expense I thought it might be time to take up scraobooking.

I have never thought I would take up scrapbooking but the new DSP that looks like newspaper was too much to resist. Each of the pieces were torn and glued down, then I used a stipple brush to create the highlight around the torn edge. I also used my Big Shot alphabet and the leaves and of course my all time favourite vintage vogue.

The photo is one half of a photo taken of Savannah and I a year ago by the incredibly talented James Price (he is the photographer behind the Sexy Backs for Autism calender campaign).

James like many of us with special children who have aspergers was shocked to find that there was no funding for his son Tyler when he started school so he developed the idea of people putting their backs into autism and getting a photo taken. The calender is amazing and not tacky at all and as for James, the photos he took of Savannah and I are just amazing.

We both had such fun that day with James, his lovely wife Shana and their 3 children. It was certainly a day to remember. When I look at this page I will always think of James and his family and smile.
Here is an up close shot of the flowers and leaves. (I finally worked out how to get it clear with my camera).

Till the next time I blog, happy crafting everyone and remember you are never too old to try something new. (I think I have found a new passion!)

Tee-Jay

Vintage vogue embossing cards

As a demo we are lucky enough to get to preorder a month before a mini or a main catalogue is launched, and given that I love the Vintage Vogue stamp set I could not resist buying the embossing folder for my Big Shot.
A quick play on Sunday night saw me making these 2 very simple cards. All you need is a few daubers and some ink pads and of course the embossing folder.
Many people ask me do I really need a Big Shot? Well no a cuttlebug is fine but if you want the Mercedes of embossing and die cutting machines then yes buy a Big Shot. It cuts and embosses 50 different types of product (cork, shrinky dinks, vellum, cardstock, DSP just to name a few).
Don't get me wrong a cuttlebug is a great little machne but with the Big Shot my poor tired brain doesn't have to think A,B,B plate or is it A,B and C as there is a tab system on the adaptor plate that comes with your Big Shot that tells you what you need.

A card for my parents

My parents love butterflies. Why? because they have 3 little papillon dogs (pronounced pappy yon) and it means butterfly in french.
I decided to make a joint card to be sent to them as Mum is in hospital and is moving into hospice this week with Dad.

The outside of the card

Happy crafting everyone
Kind regards
Tee-Jay

Cards for my in laws

My mother in law and father in law have their birthdays 11 days apart so yesterday I made cards for both of them. Grandad is really clever around the house so I used the Totally Tools set, Kraft cardstock some Windsor Knot DSP for his card.

Now Nana was a florist for years and I thought of pansies for her in of course my favourite colour of elegant eggplant. I also added leaves I cut with my Big Shot (I do hope she doesn't mind too much that they don't look like pansy leaves). I do hope they both like their cards.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Fox and Friends

My friend Donna came in today for a play with Fox and Friends and made this very cute scrapbook page after seeing the one I made recently of my son and daughter. These 2 cuties are her daughters Ana and Michelle. I thought it was too cute not to share.

Dressing up for demos

I recently attended a weekend retreat with a group of 25 lovely ladies. The theme for the Saturday night was the colour purple. My lovely upline Rachael (see her blog by clicking on this link) http://www.knightstamper.blogspot.com/ challenged me to do a demo in my costume after I sent her a photo of the costume.
Given that Rachael and I have never met and she does not know how my brain ticks I decided I would take up the challenge.

Showing my angelic side

Yip thats me making pansies. Oh by the way dragons only have 3 fingers which made using a spritzer bottle very difficult but I did get there and 4 out of the six I made were suitable for putting on a card.

It was truly a great weekend and the opportunity to have a well earned rest from the normal daily chores at home and a break from the family.

So I thought I would share ten things about me with you that you probably didn't know:

1. 
   
   The suit is way to big on me and not all of the tummy area is me!
2. 
   
   I adore purple
3. 
   
   I have 3 beautiful children, 2 sons aged 26 and nearly 28 and a daughter aged nearly 12
4. 
   
   I have been married for 29 years next month
5. 
   
   I was one of 6 children but only have 2 brothers now who I love and admire
6. 
   
   I am looking forward to turning 50 in December 2010 as I can send 2010 packing
7. I'm best dscribed as "slightly cracked" as I have an unusual sense of humour
8. I love rock n n roll music (thankfully the neighbours do too!)
9. 
   
   I don't sing in the shower but am known to burst into song when in the car on my own (which sadly is not very often)
10. 
    
    I know most of the words to Hannah Montana's(thanks to my adorable 11 year olds love of Hannah Montana). She has now turned to liking the Jonas Brothers and I dare say there is another learning curve on the horizon for me if I want to be a "cool Mum."

So thats a little about me, do feel free to leave me a comment and if I have made one of you smile then it has been a good day for me

Happy crafting everyone

Tee-Jay

2 step stamping set - Flower fancy

This stamp set sadly is not on the specials list but is a favourite of mine. Why do I like it? Well the leaves for starters come in pairs rather than single leaves so they sit perfectly when I place them on my card. This set comes with different sized flowers and it is suitable to use for all types of cards.

This little box has 4 cards inside it and is a gift for a lady who looked after my mother when she had her recent surgery.

I hope she smiles when she receives it.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Welcome new baby

I recently was sent a card as part of a demo swap and decided I liked it so much I decided to make my own take on it. I have used the boho blossoms punch to make the flowers to hold the ribbon on. Very easy to make with a scallop circle big shot die, the circle scissor to cut the blue, then emboss it with then polka dots folder, then place your white and blue piece on top of each other and using an oval punch, punch through both layers to create the top piece of the bib. A piece of ribbon, your punched shapes, 2 brads and you have a lovely baby card.

Time to make this card, about 10 minutes!

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

2 step stamping set - A Rose is a Rose stamp set

I have looked at this stamp set in the catalogue on page 78 for quite some time now and thought yuck, what on earth could you do with THAT stamp set? It turns out you can do heaps with it and your cards looks really cool when you are finished. This stamp set will be retired on the 31st August but it is on the specials list for July at $62.36 plus 5% shipping instead of $66.95 plus shipping. And as you can see there is no elegant eggplant anywhere on it!

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Brotherly love

This is a 6 x 6 scrapbook page I did today of Aaron and Savannah. Aaron had drawn on her tummy some eyes and a mouth and her bellybutton of course became the nose. I think its a very cute photo and given that I am not know as a scrapbooker I thought I would give a small page a try.
Hope the photo makes you smile as much as it does me.
Happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Playing with punches

Today was a great day for spending some time in the craft room and my tools of choice today were punches. I made this little box and tags for a special young friend who when she came to visit fell in love with my half made creation.

More fun with reinkers

I have made a few more cards to show you using reinkers. Each card uses only one reinker but the intensity of the colour is changed by the amount of water used. As it was so wet and cold yesterday it was a great opportunity to sit in the craft room with a friend and my daughter and create for the afternoon.
Happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Fun with reinkers

My recent techniques class saw us having a play with reinkers. These little gems are Stampin Ups best kept secret. You can ink up a jumbo or standard cartridge with your reinker bottle, reink a stamp pad or you can use them to make pansies like we did.

I used Summer Sun and Elegant Eggplant reinkers to colour the pansies which I punched from watercolour paper with my butterfly punch, a simple black brad, the dots embossing folder, a small piece of ribbon, the absolutely adorable small tag punch and one of the stamps that coordinate with the punch and I had a very quick, absolutely gorgeous card. These cards are 4 inches by 4 inches and look lovely in real life. These two cards are off to a friend and my Mum and hopefully they will like them as much as I did making them for them.

Tomorrow I will post a card on how to make beautiful roses with  your reinkers. Till then, happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Watercolour crayon fun

Last nights technique class was watercolour crayons. We used the single butterfly stamp from the current mini catalogue, 2 watercolour crayons for each of the cards, a little black embossing powder, an aquapainter with water and hey presto we had a couple of lovely cards that would be suitable for any occassion.
The next technique class is on reinkers and will be held on Wednesday 26th May at 7.30pm. Bookings are essential as there is only a limited number of seats available. Contact me at ssams@clear.net.nz if you are interested.
Till next time happy crafting everyone
Tee-Jay

Vintage Vogue envelope & gift card holder

I am really enjoying having the vintage vogue set and yesterday I made a crimped envelope to hold a gift voucher for a friend.
The envelope was stamped in Rich Razzleberry and then brayered with pale plum, popped through the crimper, add a bit of scrap paper and hey presto a gift envelope.
The original idea was one that my upline Rachael Knight did at a team training event (see Rachael's gorgeous blog here) http://www.knightstamper.blogspot.com/ but Rachael used pink and the set Razzle Dazzle.
This is a quick easy project to make and a lovely way to present a gift card to someone

Happy crafting everyone.

Tee-Jay

Vintage Vogue Gift box and cards

This afternoons class is a gift box with 4 cards and envelopes. The gift set uses my absolute favourite set of vintage vogue (my class in 2 weeks also uses this set) and the rich razzleberry is also my current favourite colour. I also used some rhinestones and Cottage wall DSp scraps. It was fun to make and I hope the recipient likes it.
Here is the slider box and my apologies that the ribbon from one of cards is poking out the left hand side

Here is the first card. all the cards are cut using an A4 piece of card cut lengthways

The second card is known as a z fold. The card hooks in under the hodge podge to close it.

The third card has a stamped background and two strips of old olive ribbon to cover the edge of the DSP

The fourth card uses a couple more scraps fo DSP some hodge podge, a strip of ribbon with a scrap tied in a knot over it.

Well must away and cut the kits for this afternoons class.

Happy crafting ladies

Tee-Jay

For a friend

This card was made over recently and when I returned from the deep south today I had a phone call to say a friend in Wellington has been in hospital.

I thought this card might cheer her up a little.

Many thanks to those that have read my earlier blog post and have left a comment or emailed me. Your kind words are most appreciated.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay 

In loving memory of Lynne 6.4.1964 - 5.4.2010

When I have a "blue" day I always use purple as it reminds me of the poem "When I am old I shall wear purple.
Easter Monday was a blue day and I made about 3 purple cards. One was for my sister who has a birthday on the 6th (Tuesday). I had spent the afternoon with my friend Lynn and by the end of the afternoon had changed my colour selection as it was no longer deemed a blue day. I am lucky to have friends that can change the colour of my day and am very grateful to have them in my life.

One of the cards I made was for my sister and sadly I will not have the opportunity to give it to her as she was taken from my life at midday on Monday the day before her 46th birthday whilst climbing down Mitre Peak.

So little sis I shall grow old for the both of us and wear lots and lots of purple. I will miss you.

Tee-Jay

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Poem by Jenny Joseph