INKYART

Making Merry Monday

A friend told me this weekend just past that there are 8 weeks until Christmas.  Is anyone else as shocked by that little gem of information as I am?  OMG - that's not long is it.

Without further ado, here's a card that I was going to teach in a Glitter class.  Yes I am going to say WAS because this class is doomed I think!  I've had to cancel it so many times for all sorts of reasons, so I am thinking it is a sign - this class isn't meant to happen :o(

Here's a close up of the sparkliness (yes a new word for the 2011 festive season). And how do we do that?  

Well you stamp your image first.  Then take your Versamark pad and stamp this over the image - straight onto the cardstock - not onto the stamp - you need to cover the cardstock completely.  (Tip: I tend to stamp several images on one piece of cardstock and then Versamark and glitterise (not sure that is a real word either) the whole lot at the same time).

Cover the whole piece of card with some Heat and Stick powder - use a heat gun to melt this.  When the powder is moulton, sprinkle over Dazzling Diamonds.  Tap off the excess and heat again.  (Tip:  just a little flash of the heat gun this time - we are just setting the Dazzling Diamonds not melting it).

Hey presto you have some lovely sparkly pieces to make into cards.

This card uses the Delightful Decorations set and matching Ornament punch. Using a matching stamp and punch means you can churn a few of these out in double quick time - just what we need with only 8 weeks left to go!  The swirl is from Baroque Motifs.

Happy Making Merry Monday.

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday

Welcome to another Making Merry Monday.  I have been wanting to make these lovely flowers for a few months now.  So I 'invested' in a couple of punches and here's my first attempt.  I love it!

Who would have thought that wetting and scrunching cardstock would have resulted in such a lovely shabby chic flower?  Yes it really is just water and cardstock!  And when you've finished scrunching and squeezing you just add a spritz of Shimmer Mist and leave the whole lot to dry overnight - amazing.

So today's Christmas card is made with Cherry Cobbler cardstock, Mocha Morning speciality papers (this one is flocked and is lovely), and a piece of Whisper White which has been run through the Vintage Vogue folder.

Happy Stampin'

Nikki

x

 

 

Making Merry Monday 2011

With it being October now - I thought it would be a good time to bring back Making Merry Monday. MMM was invented by Anita Meade a few years ago and the idea is that you post a Christmas idea every Monday (or you could reword that last sentence to read 'Nik is going to be super organised and have all her cards made in good time this year' LOL).  Here's the first one.

When I saw this set in the new catalogue it was top of my 'had to buy it now' list.  Beautiful Season is great for watercolouring and the little bird can be made into a little robin very easily.  The little sentiments in the set fit perfectly with some of the punches too, this will make it easy to mass produce cards if you need to - I'll have a sample or two to show you very soon.

Have you seen the new sparkles in the catalogue this year?  Glass Glitter (page 145) is so lovely, and I've used Sticky Strip to glue it into place.  And isn't the new Stripes embossing folder lovely - very Christmassy I thought.

What this space for more Christmas card ideas - this is the month to make a couple extra and donate them to a good cause - I make and collect cards the Defence forces serving overseas - if you have any cards you'd like to donate also please get in touch.

Happy Stampin'

Nikki

x

Making Merry Monday and Some Snow

Soft Suede, some reverse masking and Winter Post .... a modern twist on a classic card ... a very festive Making Merry Monday.

And it feels like Christmas for me this weekend - here's what I did on Saturday ...

That's KP and I crash landing at the bottom of the Koala run at Lake Mountain. Do you like the fluro beanie I was wearing - its a coach's beanie from the soccer club .... the kids could easily spot where I was in the crowds LOL

Paul and Olivia walking back up the hill after a toboggan run.  We had so much fun ... it even snowed whilst we were there - we went with our lovely friends the Petries - so much fun and so much snow.  We built some snowmen - but I will be scrapbooking those so you'll have to wait and see them in a couple of weeks - oh and it was Paul's birthday :)

So hope you have a very happy and merry Monday.

 

 

 

Making Merry Monday

Well I think it could be time to start this again .... Helping Hudson is ticking along nicely .... so I have some more time to make a few cards to share with you.

I often use the Top Note die as a basis to make a card - this time I have used a circle punched from a post-it-note for a mask and then sponged the colours to create a landscape for the lovely reindeer from Winter Post and the line of trees from Lovely as a Tree.

A bit of two way glue pen-ing and some dazzling diamonds to finish ... along with a sentiment from the Punch Pals set - and this makes a lovely Christmas card.

Have you made a start on your cards yet?  Don't forget that Tracey Hanshaw is collecting cards for the troops overseas ... check out the details here.

 

Making Merry Monday 2010 # 2

Happy Monday and welcome to another Christmas card idea.  

As promised, this year I am making two of every card I create ... one for me ... and one to send to Tracey Hanshaw who will be collecting cards to send to our Defence personnel who are serving their country overseas.  So this week's card ...

Another Winter Post creation, a top note die cut is an ideal base for any card.  Here I have just stamped the snowflake and cute reindeer and sponged around the edges .... such a simple quick design.

Back next Monday with another idea for you - and news of some special blog candy ... but you'll have to send me some photos to win!

 

Making Merry Monday 2010 # 1

Yes it is back for another year ... the concept came from Anita Meade last year  .... to make a Christmas card every Monday ... so that by the time Christmas arrives you'd have a stash to help with the panic that usually sets in during this very busy time.  

I'm starting a little later than I wanted but that's okay .... it's still May and I still have seven months to go :o) This year I am going to make two of every card I create ... one for me ... and one to send to Tracey Hanshaw who will be collecting cards to send to our Defence personnel who are serving their country overseas.  This is a cause very close to my heart with a husband in the Navy .... and I met with Tracey at Convention - she is a warm and gorgeous person - mobbed by 'fans' at every opportunity .... more about Convention tomorrow.

So here is the first card for 2010.  Winter Post is one of my favourite sets and I hope it will remain in the catalogue when it is republished in September ... this is also a great layout for a card.

It is so simple - in fact I just stamp away on a piece of Whisper White and then choose what I'd like to see in the squares by using the punch and select by looking before punching.  This way you can make of these little squares and it makes card production super quick.  The brad has been used heaps to pinch through several layers of the ribbon to created the bow effect just to finish it all off. 

I've used Real Red, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip - Versamark to create the background images and lots of sponging.

So there you have it ... post a comment or better still send me a photo of your Christmas creations if you want to join in this year .... check out Ros Davidson's blog too ... she started ages ago and already has quite a collection.

So as promised earlier - head back tomorrow for all the Convention news.

 

Happy Christmas

Yes, Mum's card has arrived and she loves it.  I knew she would .. it is so sparkly and very traditional.  Thanks to Claire Daly for the inspiration. 

And here are Olivia's card for the family ... she whipped these up one night whilst I was out ... love the non traditional colours she has used.

 There's a little Punch Pal penguin peeping out the sparkly window!

 Love the bow tying too ... much better than me!  And the handwritten greetings.

 And the Punch Pal snowman and scallop circle stamp .... lovely.

Well that wraps up the cards and festive projects for another year ... I do hope that you have been inspired.  I have received more handmade cards this year than ever before ... from Iris folded Christmas Trees to glittery sparkly Season of Joy cards, from the UK and from my aussie friends ... it is great to see so many people participating in this addictive hobby!

We are off on our holidays in a couple of days time so this little piece of cyberspace may be a little quiet for a while (I've a few things lined up for you but not many) - but I will be back in full swing mid January with news of a new monthly blog hop with the Art With Heart Team, Saleabration and of course I really must get cracking with some new Summer Mini projects too.

Hoping that you and yours have a lovely festive season ... keep safe and I'll be back in 2010.

 

   

Making Merry Monday # 24

No cards today just boxes!  I've always admired the various off-the-page creations of others and spent a whole afternoon and evening making the following boxes.

These boxes are so quick and easy - made from a whole sheet of A4 cardstock.  I've used the Winter Post set and made some lovely tags too.  These are pressies for the girls in my office.

And then there are these ... thank goodness for the Scor-Pal ... makes folding at the right spot just so easy.  I love how these boxes turned out - I really love the tags as they are so quick and easy and a great way to use up the scraps of beautiful paper I can't bring myself to throw away.  I used the now retired Parisian Breeze Speciality papers to make the boxes - the textured cover-weight card stock.

Had a lovely day yesterday, also rustled up two birthday cards and nine Saleabration card swaps - back to reality today ... work!

If you'd like measurements and templates just leave a comment or email.  Don't forget today is the last day for the Christmas Extravaganza so if you want to place an order for Christmas call or email (0428 254 952) - Hope you are having a Merry Monday.

 

Making Merry Monday # 23

I hope you enjoyed the ESAD summer mini hop - it was so much fun and as I hopped around the 30 or so blogs I was amazed and inspired by the new range of goodies ... and yes my little conservative shopping list suddenly grew to quite a long list of 'must haves'!

As we are now well and truly into December and at the pointy end of the year where everything now needs to be quick as the days and weeks seem to speed up fly by faster than ever ... I have created a Christmas card using the new butterfly punch. 

This is actually another ATC swap but I made a few extra and turned them into Christmas cards ... I made 14 of these in just a couple of hours.

The butterfly punch has been cut into two and then layered to make up the tree.  Word Window punch has been used to create the tree stump and the wording and of course the star just tops it all off.  I've sponged all the edges with Craft White and then the two way glue pen to add some dazzling diamonds.

Stamp sets used are Punch Pals for the words and Winter Post for the snowflake.  Cardstock colours are Old Olive, Real Red, Basic Black, Silver (for the star), Chocolate Chip and Whisper White.

Same punch art tree just a different coloured cardstock for the card base ...  

CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA ENDS VERY SOON

Just a reminder that the Christmas Extravaganza will be finishing on 14 December (this time next week), this is the last date that orders can be placed for a guaranteed pre-Christmas delivery.  Click here for details of this very special offer - and earn a free gift for yourself too - remember you get to choose either a scallop square or boho blossoms punch work $30.95 for free. 

So if you are thinking of buying some Stampin' Up! items for Christmas please make sure you contact me before this date - and don't forget I can also make up a beautiful gift voucher if you aren't sure what your recipient would like.

Back in a couple of days with more ideas.