TIM HOLTZ DIE - HANGING SIGN

The two pieces to this die have been sitting on my craft table for a couple of weeks now just waiting to be used.  The problem is I was unable to find a suitable background paper until I bought a Crafty Individuals stamp from Simpy Creative, cut the stamp up (not sure that was what one was supposed to do) and made the background myself using sepia ink.

I sponged the edges and put dabs of ink in the middle using Tea Dye Distress ink.  The actual sign was stamped with a Hero Arts woodgrain stamp and the sentiment is from Kaszazz.

POPCORN THE BEAR - DEAR SANTA

My plan is to make a Christmas card a week between now and December to try and ease the inevitable rush of making a whole batch at once.

I bought this image from a wonderful craft store in Melbourne, Heavenscent Crafts - the ladies running the shop are seriously talented and have the most wonderful selection of stamps.  When they realised I was a Popcorn the Bear fan they made a concerted effort to get in some of the new Christmas stamp sets before I left and this was one of them.

I used Copics to colour in the image which I stamped on a non bleed pad purchased locally.  The only problem is the paper is lightweight - I would say less than 80g which made it a bit flimsy to work with when I cut it out.  The sentiment is from Kazazz and the background paper is my usual CM.

  HERO ARTS - ARTIST'S BUTTERFLY

It is rare these days for me to buy a wooden block stamp but this one appealed to me.

I used mainly SU markers and Smooches to colour the image in, pierced the border and did the "stitch" marks with a marker.  I sponged the edges with Tea Dye Distress ink (my favourite at the moment) and used 4 SU brads to complete the picture.

The edge is a Martha Stewart border punch and I decided to do something different with the brown paper.  The sentiment is also from Hero Arts and setting it off centre was done on purpose in case you think I made a mistake !

  SARAH KAY - ROSE'S GARDEN

Being a lover of Sarah Kay stamps I was delighted when I came across this image in a Melbourne store.

I coloured the stamp in using Copics and sponged around the Nestabilities label die with Distress ink.  The darker blue mat directly underneath shows off my newly purchased Martha Stewart straight and corner punches (purchased locally).  The lighter blue cardstock is embossed with a CB folder and the corner edges are the pieces from the MS corner punch used.

HERO ARTS - SIMPLE THINGS

When I popped into see Ronita of Simply Creative, I found this rather large house in the Hero Arts Simple Things stamp set.  I have a number of different size house stamps and just knew this would go well with some free SU paper I had been given.

The house is coloured in using SU markers.  The image was really easy to cut out and I put it on rises for a better effect.  As the paper was a bit sparse on clouds I cut out some more from another sheet and added them onto the top for a better effect.  The tag is from Nestabilities - Fancy Tags.

BOOKMARKS

We have quite a few bookmarks in the house and when we ran out the other day (both reading a number of books simultaneously) I decided to get out the laminator, raid my stash and make some up.

The duck is punch art with SU punches and the "You quack me up" is a Clear Dollar stamp.  The car is a Gina K Designs stamp placed onto CM paper.

The Asian dolls are Hero Arts and the circus train stamp is, I think, SU.  Not too sure as these were all stamped out and coloured in ages ago.  I know the lamination is not perfect but I am pleased to have a few more bookmarks available and it did not cost anything !

      KASZAZZ - PANDA HUG

Yes, I know I am using another Kaszazz stamp but they are really super stamps. 

The background is a combination of Penny Black and Hero Art bamboo stamps stamped onto a creamy coloured cardstock using sepia ink.  The banner is cut using my Slice and the sentiment is also Kaszazz.  The bottom part of the paper was sponged using Tea Dye Distress Ink.

GINA K DESIGNS - QUITE A CATCH

This card is the last of the Gina K Designs kit I received when purchasing the stamp set.  In fact, when I had completed the cards I made another batch using my own papers and had a great deal of fun putting together combinations which I would normally avoid.  It's great to step outside one's comfort zone every now and again and using a card kit is the ideal way to do this.

   CLEAR DOLLAR - PIPPIN MOUSE FAMILY

One of our IT chaps has recently had an addition to his family of 2 little girls.  I thought the mice would make for a different baby card.

The pink matting on which the mice are placed is made with my new Martha Stewart straight and corner edge punches.  The papers are from my stash and I even had the mice made up and cut out so it was an easy card to put together.

KASZAZZ - FLOWER BEAR

As I am fussy with the type of teddy bear images I like I was pleased to find this one in the Kaszazz catalogue.

One of the problems using Copic markers is having to stamp on a specific type of paper which I have only found in white, hence the white background used on this card.

The sentiment is on a Nestabilities tag die which I also bought in Australia.

POST-IT NOTE HOLDER

Whilst browsing on the web the other night I came across this idea and remembered I had a few rectangle coasters in my stash.

The background paper is from my stash, the stamp is Girls Rule from Victoria Case Art Designs coloured in using Copic markers.  I did put a couple of magnet strips on the back but when I tried it out on our fridge DH managed to pull it down.  Why are men always so heavy handed ???  Anyway, he convinced me to add another magnet strip which means it will now never fall off the fridge !

KASZAZZ - TRAIN

I bought this stamp in Australia from my sister (she is a consultant for Kaszazz) and I am delighted with it.  Making a card for a male can sometimes be a bit of a challenge and I had that in mind when I saw the stamp.  The sentiment is also from Kaszazz - vertical sentiments make a lot of sense to me as I often run out of space at the bottom of a card.

The train was stamped onto cream cardstock using sepia ink, I then used my new distressing tool (also Kaszazz) around the edges.  Using Distress Ink - Tea Dye - I sponged the edges and fixed it onto a piece of brown cardstock on which I also used the distressing tool.  I then used a bit of twine to frame the train and popped it onto a piece of bazzill cardstock.

      GUEST CARD - KASZAZZ

A card to match the scrapbook page made by my sister for a workshop she was giving.

Not too sure if the background paper is patterned or plain paper stamped and sponged.  Perhaps my sister can leave a comment on this. 

Should be able to get some of my own creations on soon - been having computer problems.