Cre 8 with Tee-Jay

New blog

2011-10-04T17:26:00.000+13:00

My new blog is at www.stampinnwithteejay.blogspot.com do pop over and see what I have been creating

happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Time to move on.........

2011-07-05T19:41:00.000+12:00

I have decided to deactivate my blog at the end of July as I have insuffient time to post on it.
I will still be a demo, still do classes, still support my downline of 4 and basically be there to help anyone who needs it.
If you have any queries about stamping or would like to sign up as a demo then email me on ssams@clear.net.nz
Many thanks for those that have posted comments on the blog, they are most appreciated.

Happy crafting
Tee-Jay

I'm back after a long absence

2011-02-13T13:21:00.000+13:00

Hello to everyone out in cyber space. I have finally returned to blog again after a long absence. 2010 was a tough year with the loss of both my sister Lynne, Uncle Tom and my father on the 11th October. I am positive about 2011 and what it has to offer. More time to create, more time with family and the opportunity through classes and my blog to share what I love to do.
So here are a few little things that I have been working on over the holdiay period.

This is the card I made for my husband for Valentines this year. I normally don't give a valentines card to him but he has been a huge support to me through 2010 and I wanted to let him know that I think he's pretty special to me. I used stamp n write makers and a waterbrush pen to achieve the effect on the watercolour paper. It takes a while to do it as you have to wait for the paper to dry thoroughly but I love the overall effect. I am right into watercolouring with my markers at the moment so be prepared to see some further projects using this technique.

A simple and quick card to make using that awesome set Vintage Vogue and a punch. Haven't decided who the card is for but it is definitely in male colours so I will pop it away in the drawer for when I need a male thank you card.

A similar style to the previous card but not as nice I don't think without the punched edge.

Well must away and attend to some housework, why can't everything be diposable and then I would have more time to create!

Till next time, happy crafting
Tee-Jay

A simple card design

2010-11-17T18:09:00.000+13:00

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

2010-11-13T18:45:00.000+13:00

Same style but I have reversed the colours.

Oranment card 2

2010-11-12T18:42:00.000+13:00

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

2010-11-11T18:38:00.000+13:00

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

2010-11-10T18:27:00.000+13:00

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

2010-11-09T17:32:00.000+13:00

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

2010-09-20T19:15:00.000+12:00

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...........

2010-08-22T19:10:00.000+12:00

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

2010-08-20T20:50:00.000+12:00

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

2010-08-16T20:50:00.000+12:00

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

2010-08-09T14:22:00.000+12:00

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

2010-07-31T17:21:00.000+12:00

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

2010-07-27T18:55:00.000+12:00

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:

The suit is way to big on me and not all of the tummy area is me!
I adore purple
I have 3 beautiful children, 2 sons aged 26 and nearly 28 and a daughter aged nearly 12
I have been married for 29 years next month
I was one of 6 children but only have 2 brothers now who I love and admire
I am looking forward to turning 50 in December 2010 as I can send 2010 packing
I'm best dscribed as "slightly cracked" as I have an unusual sense of humour
I love rock n n roll music (thankfully the neighbours do too!)
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)
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

2010-07-06T18:43:00.000+12:00

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

2010-07-05T18:23:00.000+12:00

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

2010-07-04T18:28:00.000+12:00

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

2010-07-03T18:23:00.000+12:00

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

2010-06-13T18:38:00.000+12:00

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

2010-05-30T12:28:00.000+12:00

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

2010-05-28T20:38:00.000+12:00

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

2010-05-20T15:45:00.000+12:00

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

2010-05-16T15:12:00.000+12:00

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

2010-05-09T08:50:00.000+12:00

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

2010-04-14T22:32:00.000+12:00

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

2010-04-07T13:01:00.000+12:00

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

Easter cards

2010-03-29T16:38:00.000+13:00

There are a couple of people that I send Easter cards to and I have made a couple this weekend to get in the post tomorrow.

This card was made using the top note die and the cottage wall DSP, Rich Razzleberry and A Good egg stamp set. I used Crystal Effects to shine up the easter egg and the beak and also the dots on the cottage wall DSP strip across the egg. Savannah however has taken a liking to it (simply because it is shiny in parts) so I think I might give it to her with her Easter Eggs.

This card is what is known as a stepper card and is a lovely way to show several images at once.

Happy crafting everyone

Easter bunny favour boxes

2010-03-28T16:36:00.000+13:00

Today Savannah and I made Easter Bunny boxes for the teachers at her school and friends and family. Savannah is a wizz on a Big shot and the heat embossing gun so she was in her element creating these little gifts. They are of course filled with easter eggs and were made from half a sheet of chocolate Chip DSP.
Some have already gone to their new owners but we did manage to get a couple of photos before they were all delivered.

and a close up of the embossed bunny that Savannah made

Happy crafting everyone

Little purses and boxes

2010-03-24T18:44:00.000+13:00

I have been making a few samples of things you can make from products in the new mini to show all the ladies that come to visit and "play" at my house.
I made two little purses on the weekend, one in the new Rich Razzleberry colour and the absolutely gorgeous Cottage wall DSP and the other in Afternoon tea DSp and Almost Amethyst cardstock. The Razzlberry one I filled in sugar free sweets for a friend in the South Island and the other is waiting for a recipient who is as yet unknown.

After creating my little purses I made 2 pillow boxes with the new pillow box dies which will be released for sale on 1 April. I embossed my stamped images using a versamark pad and some clear embossing powder. Then a couple of tag punches and hey presto 2 little gift packages. Sadly mine don't contain bling but have 3 small cadbury easter eggs in them.
My daughter is going to make some for the teachers with little easter bunny images on the front of them.
See thats the beauty of the Big shot machine, my 11 year old can make and create something that I think the teachers will be pretty wow-ed over!

Till next time happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Ink Spots & blender pens

2010-03-23T21:48:00.000+13:00

Last week I had a class with a couple of lovely ladies and we were using ink spots and blender pens. Ink spots are great as they come in colour families and you get one of each colour in the colour family. Nice an easy to store and you always have the right colour on hand to colour with.
One of the cards we made was a direct case of a card my lovely upline Rachael Knight sent to me some time ago. Check out her blog here http://www.knightstamper.blogspot.com/
The photo below is Ngaire's card. This is the 4th card that she has ever made and she has done an amazing job. The flower stamp is from the salebration set.

Welcome to your new home

2010-02-28T13:20:00.000+13:00

Here are two cards I made yesterday, the one on the left uses the Chit Chat rub ons in Chocolate chip (I should have used the white rub ons as I think it would have looked better) and the one on the right uses white embossing powder.

The set is the Good Neighbors set in the Salebration brochure and the embossed words are from the Bella Blooms set. I wasn't too sure about this salebration set but think I could use it quite a bit.

The card on the right was made for my son and his girfriend who moved into their first home on Friday. The one on the left will become another sample to add to my growing collection to show customers.

Here's a close up of the card with the rub ons on the ribbon. Very easy to do and really effective. You do have to watch if you use rub ons as with lots of handling of the card the rub ons can rub off.

Many thanks to all those ladies that have emailed in regard to the last post on how to make flowers. I am amazed at where the emails have come from. I tend to think the world wide web is a huge place but if people can find little old Tee-Jay then it really can't be too big afterall.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Craft injury and no its not a paper cut.........

2010-02-14T15:25:00.000+13:00

I have a craft injury so have had to rest up over the weekend. I was tidying up Friday night and dropped some paperwork on the craftroom floor. Silly me leant down whilst sitting on my chair and stretched too far...............hubby thinks I have pinched a nerve in my back. Off to the doctor tomorrow to get it sorted. I have no trouble sitting as long as I don't move too much but walking and sleeping, they are a different story. No missy wants me to go to the beach with her and Dad!
So while I have had some time sitting and resting I made this card. The stamp is from the Salebration catalogue. The white paper is confetti white which has little red flecks through it and was absolutely perfect for this card
If you would like to know how to make the flowers please email me at ssams@clear.net.nz and I will pop the instructions off via email to you

Criss cross gift box

2010-02-07T17:00:00.000+13:00

What butterflies again I hear you say? Well yes I'm sorry it is. The Flight of the Butterfly set was used for this little criss cross box which holds 4 4 inch by 4 inch cards.
4 inch cards are so easy to make and a heap of fun too. This little box and cards was made for a friend and I hope it makes her smile when she gets in in the post later this week. I am also sending her the instructions on how to make the box and lid.
The first photo is of the box and lid

The next photo is with the lid off and you can clearly see the criss cross in the front

Now for the four little cards

Fancy fold card

2010-01-25T19:16:00.000+13:00

I have a ton of Designer series paper that has retired and I was unsure what to do with it as I cut all my packs into 6 x 6 squares. Whilst doing some project filing in my resources I came across a card that uses a 6 x 6 piece of DSP. Jackpot I thought I could make a pile of cards for those occassions where you get short for time and use them as the need arises.
I usually make a card for the occassion as I think its nice to have a card made especially for each recipient rather than grab any old card that you happen to have lying around.

I also try and use colours that I know the person favours. I sat down and made 8 of these cards yesterday. One was for my parents 50th wedding annniversary next weekend along with a little gift for them. The rule was no gifts but sorry Mum and Dad 50 years is too long not to celebrate with a gift. I can't post what I sent as Mum and Dad might find out before it arrives in the letterbox at he end of the week. I even used retired DSP to wrap the individual gifts and grosgrain ribbon the tie it up with.

Here is the inside of the card. The card measures 3.5 inches aquare

Cup of tea time

2010-01-25T18:41:00.000+13:00

I have a couple of friends who live a far distance from my home in Wanganui and I wanted to make a little something to pop in with a card for them so I made a teabag holder for them. I also enclosed a little poem which another friend had collected somewhere along the way.

Monogramed clutch purse and handbag

2010-01-17T21:51:00.000+13:00

This green and black purse was made by my friend Linda and uses the filigree brads which are shown on page 148 of the main catalogue. She used a green brad from the Circle ice set on page 149. Inside the clutch purse are 5 assorted cards. Linda made this purse as a gift for her sister.

The purse on the left I made using pink pirouette and again uses the filigree brads but I used a pink brad in the centre rather than the silver ones that come in the brad set. The purse on the right was made using Baja breeze. Each of the purses contain 5 cards. One I made as a purse accidentally as I was doing a bit much talking and not concentrating as I punched eyelet holes at both ends and the other was made as a clutch purse with an eyelet on only one end. There are no mistakes when crafting, they are design features, well thats what someone told me and I'm sticking with that theory.

The monogrammed letter is made using the Wild West alphabet in the Inventory Sale. This item has proven very popular and all stocks of the square cut stamps (those you trim with Rubber scissors) have sold out. The set is still available as a die cut set but not at the reduced price. This set will have a lot of use as the lettering enables you to personalise the card for the recipient. The faux leather look is done by versamarking the black card stock, then sprinkling clear embossing powder over the versamark. Then you just make lines with your bone folder and apply the heat gun and hey presto you have faux leather. Really easy and no 2 pieces of cardstock are ever the same.

The card shown below was made using the Bella's border standard wheel and the words are from the set Seaworthy on page 88

The baja breeze card shown below uses one of the stamps from the Priceless set on page 92 and the words are from the Family Phrases set on page 62

The baja breeze card shown below uses the Bella's bloom wheel again mounted again on black cardstock and the words are also from Family Phrases

All the cards have used the eyelet border punch and the black and white gingham ribbon on page 151

4 by 4 pop up card

2010-01-04T16:28:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I made 15 pop up cards for a swap that I am involved with. The are all ready to be posted away tomorrow and I will look forward to receiving the other ladies swaps in my mailbox mid January. The card uses both the Flight of the Butterfly and Butterfly Prints stamp sets and the butterfly punch. The DSP is Bella Bleu and the cardstock and ribbon are Night of Navy.

Outside of the card

Inside of the card, the piece of the card that the butterflies are stamped on is scored diagonally and folds down inside the card when closed

Another calendar

2009-12-28T19:44:00.000+13:00

It has been a rather hot day in Wanganui so I decided to venture off to the craft room again and have a bit of a play.

The challenge for today was to try and make something with the new Kaleidscope paper that is in the new mini. Its really not my cup of tea as it has colours from the bold brights colour family and in all honesty I avoid that colour family like the plague. I'm more of a soft subtles/rich regals kind of girl. I am trying however to get out of my comfort zone and try new colour combinations.

The card used was Pixie pink (I now have none left and am not shedding too many tears) and there were no stamps used at all. A friend recently gave me an easel calendar so I thought why not have a go.

The photo is off my 3 children and was taken at Xmas 2 years ago. They had to suffer the "mother line up photo" on Xmas Day and this particular year they were not playing the game overly well. This is the last photo in a series of 5 (that was all the time I had with them sitting still for me).
I have made a story board photo arrangement of 4 of the 5 photos to put in a frame on the wall and it definitely tells the story of the event. If you look closely I only managed to get two of them to be serious, number three decided she would do the new party trick of going cross eyed for the photo.

I made the calendar for my eldest son who is at university so that he had a photo of him and his siblings.

Now I am wondering what I can challenge myself with next? I might have to have a look at tempting turquoise tomorrow and see what I can do with that. Mmmmm the mind boggles, maybe I'll make a box?

Butterfly cards

2009-12-28T15:40:00.000+13:00

I just love the new butterfly punch and made some cards recently with it that I thought I would share with you. Gone are the days of cutting butterflies by hand, one smooth movement with the punch and your butterfly is done. The punch also coordinates with the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set in the main catalogue.

The DSP is Bella Bleu and its not one of my favourite papers so the challenge I set for myself was to make something using it. The other card is my favourite combination of pink pirouette and chocolate chip. I think if chocolate chip was ever retired I would go into mourning literally. I hope you are all enjoying the Xmas break and finding some for crafting.

Butterfly calendar

2009-12-28T15:09:00.000+13:00

I wanted to try a different colour combination from what I usually use so I used my color coach to help put together a calendar. I used perfect plum and barely banana as a combination to make this calendar. I used a little bit of craft wire to create the antennae and the new butterfly stamp set and punch.
I will be making this calendar along with 2 others at my upcoming class on 16 January. The ribbon was dyed using a dauber and an ink pad.

How to make a poinsettia for a christmas cracker

2009-12-20T10:48:00.000+13:00

Janine has asked how I made the pointsettia on the Xmas crackers I posted recently.
I used a spellbinders die that cuts and embosses thru the little green machine I have in the craft room. I sprayed my riding hood red cardstock with potion number 9 which contained a gold and pink mix. I then ran it thru the green machine and cut and embossed the three sections.
A little tweek with your fingers on each petal and dimensional and hey presto you have a pointsettia. Very quick and easy to make and it just finishes the crackers.
Don't forget to check out Delys Cram's blog (listed in the earlier post with the Xmas crackers). Delys has kindly posted the instructions and photos of each step for you to make your own.
I filled mine with lollies but some of my ladies have put party poppers, balloons, chocolate santas etc in them. One of my ladies went home after a class yesterday and made 18!
I hope you give it a try to make these, they are a ton of fun and make for many smiles on Xmas day from both young and old.
I hope you all have a safe and happy Xmas and that you are able to spend time with your loved ones.
Happy crafting
Tee-Jay

Christmas Crackers

2009-12-13T15:09:00.000+13:00

Firstly I cannot take credit for the design of these crackers as I did not design them. They were designed by the very clever Delys Cram http://delysc.wordpress.com/ Do pop over and check out Delys's blog as its great and full of lots of ideas and inspiration.

While I was making the crackers (they are not a quick make and take) I had time to reflect on what I was grateful for. It has been a rough year all round but some of the things I am grateful for are, my 3 children, my husband, my mother and especially my Dad who is still with us. His courage and strength is amazing especially this past year. My Xmas wish is to still have him in my life for all of 2010. Seeing my little brother after 19 years and his beautiful son in September, time with my sister at the same time and being able to catch up with my parents. I also apparently created a monster by introducing my Mum to craft. It was great to be able to teach a parent something as they are normally the teachers not their children.

Siblings of which I have 3 who are healthy and happy in their lives, good friends who have supported me emotionally this year and beng able to share craft with a great bunch of ladies who meet regularly at my place.

So what does 2010 have in store for me..... a diamond wedding anniversary (thats 60 years ladies) for my in laws in mid January, a 50th wedding anniversary for my parents in late January, a 29th wedding anniversary for hubby and I, a 50th birthday for me in December, an engagement or maybe two and hopefully lots and lots of fun stuff with family and friends.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Xmas and that you are surrounded with lots of family and friends to celebrate the new year

Tee-Jay

Sham's birthday gift

2009-11-26T15:40:00.000+13:00

Recently a very special young lady had a birthday and I found out that her favourite colours were black and purple. I put my thinking cap on and came up with wee gift for her in her favourite colours. My apologies for the photos as I had put the cellophane on the basket prior to taking the photo (a senior moment).

The basket was spraypainted in a matt black finish and lined with sparkly shredded stuff (I think from memory it was called confetti and it came from the hire place)

A little tip - if you are spraying a basket remember it is better to have 10 light coats of spray that one heavy one. You get a better finish if you use thin coats of spray paint. I reused a Stampin Up delivery box as my spray booth. How young people sniff that stuff is beyond me as it smells just awful. I have 3 more baskets which I think I may spray for people and decorate for Xmas. I just hope the man at the paint shop doesn't think I'm sniffing it when I go back in and get red and green cans this time!

Then I made and decorated a box for a perfumed cake of soap which I had stamped a purple butterfly and a couple of wee flowers which had black bling in the middle of them.

I got some lavender smelling hand cream and used a scrap of ribbon and a couple of punched shapes to decorate it. I then made a purple beaded angel cellphone charm with antique silver wings and halo. I added some purple pot pourri and a purchased purple candle and glass stand and finally a card.

Savannah also made a card with her little green machine whose name I cannot mention and used a couple of markers on it to finish it off. The basket was then wrapped in cellophane and purple and black ribbon tied the cellophane up. I used glue dots to hold the sides of the cellophane down.

Sham was very pleased with her goodie basket and so was I when it was finished. I had a lot of fun making it for her.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Simple quick cards using up scraps of DSP

2009-10-24T19:18:00.000+13:00

These are quick easy cards that can have a gift card attached to them for birthdays or Xmas.

All you need is an envelope, a few punches and some scraps of cardstock and DSP and 50 cms of ribbon.

The pink and chocolate chip one was made for my parents. The combination of pink and chocolate chip is wonderful and I shall miss pink pirouette when it retires in September next year.

The Pacific point card was made for a very special friend who is staying in Dunedin at the moment. She was very pleased at what you could do with an envelope and went straight out and bought some to duplicate what she had been sent

Uncle Tom turns 90

2009-10-16T19:26:00.000+13:00

My great Uncle Tom turned 90 this week and this is the card I made for him. The car is a retired American set called Classic Cars. (There are some stamps that a girl just simply can't live without!)

I embossed it using black EP. The background is watermarked using the sanded stamp (my favourite for male cards).

Word window punch, 1 3/8 " circle and the scalloped circle and hey presto a card. The 90 is black stickers as I didn't have a number set big enough (next purchase perhaps?)

Cards cards and more cards

2009-09-07T21:30:00.000+12:00

Here is another card that I made at retreat recently at the end of August and yes I have rotated it to have them looking the right way (in too much of a hurry last time). Apologies to those that had to view the last lot on the side, also a few simple bookmarks using the left over scraps and jumbo eyelets.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

A weekend at retreat

2009-09-06T20:39:00.000+12:00

My Dads birthday card - happy birthday Poppa Doug! sorry about the postioning. The arrow was a cuttlelebug die which I purchased from Paula at Papercraft and Model Haven in Wanganui. If you are interested in this die please don't hesitate to contact Paula on 06 3489020 and don't forget to mention that you saw it on my blog.

Recently I went to a retreat at Otaki with about 30 ladies. The most stress we had was to put our coffee mug under the urn. At Bridge Lodge we do nothing but craft or shopping if you want to hit the factory shops in the town.

It was a great weekend and it is organised by Hare to Scrap N Stamp from Levin, Papercraft and Model Haven in Wanganui and Palmerston North Stamp n Scrap in Palmerston North. The next one is the last weekend in March 2010 and I have already booked the babysitter as its just too much fun to miss. If you interested in attending please don't hesitate to contact me at ssams@clear.net.nz and I can pass the contact details to secure your place at the next one. Trust me it is so worth it to have a weekend away crafting, you feel totally relaxed when you return and the ladies that go are tops.

Here are a couple of cards I made for a stationery suitcase. I will post more tomorrow for you to have a look at

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Happy Fathers Day to Savannah's Dad

2009-09-06T15:20:00.000+12:00

Today is Fathers Day and Savannah selected 7 photos of her and Steve to put in her mini fold up wallet that we had made. She then wrote in her own words a few lines on each page to him expressing how she felt about him.

We also made a wallet out of chocolate chip and put vouchers and money in it so Steve and Savannah could go out for lunch together.

Needless to say father was very pleased indeed with our efforts and had a great lunch at Burger King with Savannah

We Stamp Guylian Box

2009-07-20T21:41:00.000+12:00

I am thoroughly enjoying checking We Stamp at http://westamp.blogspot.com/ to see what new project there is on offer for the day. This simple easy little chocolate box was made for my daughter simply because she is worth it and the guylian box of chocolates doesn't contain too many for a 10 year old to eat in one day.

Just click on the link above or the We Stamp logo on the right hand side of your screen and get ready to be amazed at the projects on offer.

I used a jumbo wheel to decorate the box and stamps from the Great Friend set in the new mini available for sale on 1 August. Making the box was a way of giving missy a small reward and making a sample with the new set. Hopefully she gives me the box back so I can show my group of ladies! If not I will have to make another one.

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Gift card holders

2009-07-19T13:57:00.000+12:00

I spent some time yesterday starting to make gift card holders for Xmas and also to take the opportunity to have a play with the new stamps and DSP that arrived over a week ago from the new mini catalogue that is released on 1 August

Here are a couple of giftcards which have inserts/pockets made with an envelope. I have spent time with a couple of friends crafting this weekend and feel very rested having done not much else for the weekend. Ah well sadly off to work tomorrow so housework is calling....happy crafting ladies

Kind regards

Tee-Jay

WE Stamp challenge

2009-07-18T17:47:00.000+12:00

I have to say I am enjoying what is on offer at We stamp's blog and this was my pad and pocket holder that I made on Wednesday evening whilst hubby was out

Guess whose turning 50??

2009-07-11T12:17:00.000+12:00

Sorry not me but hubby. I have finally made all the invites (they took ages to make enough for 49 people) but they are finally done.

I used the Happy Holidays DSP and chocolate chip cardstock along with lots of punches, a bit of stamping and lots of sponging

Now all I need to make are the invites for those coming for drinkies after the meal (they will be much less time consuming than these were to make I can assure you.)

Well must get moving and get everything organised for the class I have in 40 minutes!

Happy crafting

Tee-Jay

Mini scrapbook purse class Saturday 25.7.09 2 pm start

2009-06-27T20:35:00.000+12:00

This class a stunner, a gorgeous purse with the option to scrapbook inside. It has 2 secret compartments which slide out from the pink tabs shown in the photo where you can write a hidden message in for the recipient or just include a nice photo with a brief message as I did.

This mini scrapbook purse includes my favourite photos of Savannah taken feeding the ducks at Virginia Lake. We have both spent many hours there feeding the ducks and wandering along the lake front. If you ever come to Wanganui it is a beautiful place to visit and the round the lake walk takes approximately 20 minutes in total, and if you dawdle or have a child that likes to hide in all the really cool hidey places yes it does take a little longer!

If you would like to secure a place in the class please contact me on ssams@clear.net.nz as there are only 6 places available. You need to bring 4 photos of your choice and either snail adhesive or double sided tape. Everything else is provided.

This would make a wonderful gift for family and friends.

11.7.09 New class 2 pm start

2009-06-27T20:27:00.000+12:00

Want to make a really cool stationery set for a truly unique Xmas gift, including decorated pen, notepad, 4 cards and a holder for postage stamps that folds up in its own little storage box.......... contact me at ssams@clear.net.nz to secure your place in my class on the 11.7.09 2 p.m. start. Class numbers are limited to 6 people only sorry.

You can either have a calendar on the far left or bring your own photo to add to it. I will supply all other items but you need to bring either snail adhesive or double sided tape.

The photo of Savannah was taken at the beautiful Winter Gardens at Virginia Lake here in Wanganui a few years ago and she was surprised when I "snapped" her with the camera

Your class kit will use the Designer Series paper of Holiday Treasures so will be a prefect gift for Xmas for loved ones.

Upsy Daisy & Kiwi Kiss Gift Card

2009-04-13T17:44:00.000+12:00

I recently received my first order from the new catalogue and it was like Xmas all over again. I also have had a bit of fun playing with the new in colours that were released earlier this month.

As I have a few birthdays coming up its gift card time again. This time I used Good Morning Sunshine DSP ($19.95), Chocoloate chip cardstock ($12.50 for 24 sheets which makes 48 A5 Cards), kiwi kiss ink pad $13.95 and lastly the Upsy Daisy Stamp set ($39.95) I think along with Inspired by Nature this set will become well used over the coming months.

This card is so quick and easy to make and a great way to pop a pressie card in the little envelope. Now all I need to do is pop down to Mitre 10 for the gift card.

Back to work tomorrow after a lovely four day break. Hopefully on the weekend I will find some more time to create. Till then happy creating everyone.

Kind regards
Tee-Jay

The in colours for 2009 are here on April 1st

2009-03-15T14:30:00.000+13:00

I have received my preorder for the new catalogue which is released on 1.4.09 and in it were the fresh cut notes card and envelope sets I had ordered. To show you the in colours that are available from 1 April I used the stamp set fresh cuts and the in colour ink and cardstock. A super quick project which is really easy to do.

If you would like to see the in colour colours in person please do not hesitate to contact me on ssams@clear.net.nz

Playing with punches

2009-02-22T13:50:00.001+13:00

I spent Saturday afternoon having a bit of a play in the craft room and made this using 4 punches. Another very quick easy card to make

Notepad holder

2009-02-22T13:47:00.000+13:00

I made this little notepad holder yesterday with magnets on the back for a friend, it was quick and easy to make and again uses those little scrappy bits up that we all love to save

The quickest card I know how to make

2009-02-22T13:42:00.000+13:00

This card is one of my alltime favourites as its so quick and so easy to make. I usually have a few of these made up and then just add the words to the bottom as needed. The layout is suitable for a sympathy card (I hate making those) or a birthday card etc. Suits male and female as it always well received when I show it at an in home demo.

The colour is also my favourite (elegant eggplant)

Microscope card

2009-02-01T15:09:00.000+13:00

Today as promised I finally made a card using a product more likely to be used in the lab. I took a microscope slide and some water colour pencils, a bottle of crystal effects and some hodge podge from Stampin' Up. This stamp is my all time favourite and has become well used over the years.

If you would like to know more about how to make this card please do feel free to email me on ssams@clear.net.nz This card was made predominately one handed (may take up wall papering in my spare time) as I am waiting for the results of an xray to see if I have broken my collarbone (I foolishly fell over in a doggie dug hole last Wednesday whilst feeding them). No animal was however harmed in the making of this card.

Please feel free to leave a comment on the card or if you like my stupidity on not taking a torch with me to feed the dogs and for not knowing how long the security light would stay on

Happy crafting,

Tee-Jay

What to do with those leftover pieces of DSP

2009-01-23T22:48:00.000+13:00

This was made out of a 3 x 12 piece of designer series paper, 2 punchs, an ink pad, stipple brush and a few small scraps of elegant eggplant cardstock.
It was made for my daughter to remind her of the wonderful qualities that she has. I used the wonderful words set for daughter, sister, friend and a never released set in NZ called amazing to zany. I do hope they bring it out here at some stage as it is a super little set of 56 stamps and definitely fitted this project.
I hope you are inspired in some small way by this creation to use those little scrappy bits of card that we crafters are loath to throw out as we might need them one day.
It took around 30 minutes to make, was very quick and easy and at the end of it I had one very happy 10 year old.
Haven't tried the science store project yet but will hopefully get it made next week and posted for you to have a peek at.
Enjoy your weekend, as for me I'm off to the farm to see my friend Yvonne (Connors Nana)

Happy stamping everyone
Tee-Jay
PS Make note to self to be more careful of what is in the background next time I take a photo!

Hinge book

2009-01-19T12:23:00.000+13:00

I hope you like the hinge book I made today of my friends grandson Connor. I used Blue Bayou card, a jumbo wheel and the Simply Scrapping kit that came with my kit when I signed up as a demo and off course a 3" hinge from Mitre 10.

As I can't remember his date of birth that will be added in later as will the distinguishing features part on the back cover

One thing I have learnt today is load the photo you want showing first last! Ah well never said I knew it all about this blogging stuff.

Took about 40 minutes to make and is a good way to use those left over bits of cardstock or designer series papaer that we just never manage to throw away.

Watch this space

2009-01-17T08:25:00.000+13:00

This weekend is the big reveal on what I do in my spare time, hopefully I will have quite a few cards up for view by the end of the weekend.

The card above is one I did for the January swap challenge for the group of Stampin Up demonstrators I bvbelong to. We had to use product from either the summer mini or the salebration brochure. This card uses the yummy set and stamp n write markers and the "puddle" technique for the background. For further details on how to make this card contact me.

If you do not know what Salebration is all about then please email me. You get the opportunity to collect stamps for free! Like the sound of that then hit the email button to contact me and I can tell you how you can start earning stamps for free.

Welcome

2009-01-13T16:23:00.000+13:00

Welcome to my blog. I have never blogged before but am looking forward to sharing some of the items I have created using Stampin' Up Products. If you have any questions or would like to host a workshop please do not hesitate to contact me at ssams@clear.net.nz
Don't want to use your house to host a workshop then I am happy to allow you to use mine!