InkyArt

Tick Tock ... time is running out ...

Another set I have used over and over again .... I love this set ... I {Heart} Hearts (117715 $42.95).

And here are some reminders just how beautiful these lovely hearts are ...

Real Red and Whisper White .... my favourite.

And another with Real Red, Whisper White and Black.  The trio of hearts fits the Heart to Heart punch perfectly - makes cutting around the little heart shape a breeze.   

Remember, you only have until next Wednesday 31st March to order this lovely set ... call me on 0428 254 952 or email nikki@inkyart.com.au if you'd like to place an order.

Back tomorrow with another reminder.

 

Counting Down The Days ...

It's that time of year ago where we have to say goodbye to some old favourites before a new mini catalogue starts ... and I thought I'd post you a few reminders of what is about to disappear ... so today's reminder is all about butterflies!

First up is my favourite set Butterfly Prints (117711 $25.95) and the matching punch (116629 $30.95) ... I did a workshop for a lovely group of ladies on Sunday (hi girls) and we made this lovely card (the inspiration for which came from one of my downlines Kimmy Meicklejohn - you should go and check out her site she is one clever lady) ...

Rose Red and So Saffron with plenty of sparkles and two beautiful butterflies ... its a sure winner.  The butterflies are just so easy to make when there is a punch to save the cutting out.

And a close up of those lovely butterflies - aren't they cute?

The sentiment is from the Whimsical Words Sale-a-Bration set which will also be gone by the end of the month ... so if you are thinking you have to have these butterflies and matching punch give me a call - if your order is over $100 you can choose a free Sale-a-Bration set too.

And here's another one I made earlier ... 

You have until next Wednesday before 6pm to call me .... 0428 254 952 or email me at nikki@inkyart.com.au.

Back tomorrow with another reminder.

 

    

Just Add Ink Challenge #9

This week'c challenge for Just Add Ink is a sketch and I thought I'd use it for a new scrapbooking page.  I have been wanting to use the new Tall Tales Designer Series for a while now ... and as there is only a few days left of the Summer Mini I thought I had better hurry up and open it!

What do you think?  I love elephants and queued for a while to be able to feed them at Australia Zoo in January of this year .... I really love the Earth tones of Old Olive and Chocolate Chip, just perfect for nature photos.

This is a double page layout as I wanted to use a few of the photos I had taken (I take heaps and heaps, so choosing just some is a very difficult task ;o))  .... here's page two.

I've used some Twill Tape and Short Order Alphabet to create a title.  If you haven't noticed the Twill Tape it's on page 150 of the IB&C and costs $11.50 for 8.2 metres - absolute bargain I think, I love to stamp on it - it looks really effective.

I've included some handwritten journalling and used Crystal Glaze for the words I wanted to stand out from the rest.  I've also used the standard brads from the Spring Mini which are still available for you to purchase.

I then cut out one of the elephants and (and a crocodile of course) and added it as an embellishment -Crystal Glaze features here too .... 

Don't forget to date your events ... in years to come I'll never remember it was this year's holiday!

So if you love the paper or want to give the Twill Tape a whirl contact your demonstrator - and if you don't have one you can contact me!

Back in a day or so with more from the Summer Mini - remember you don't have long and it will be gone forever.

 

      

Happy Mother's Day to Our Mums!

Okay for my Australian and American friends you can breath ... it's okay ... it's Mother's Day in the UK this weekend!

And to celebrate here is another Sweet Treat creation.

Now I have CASE'd this 'sort of' and I was hoping that by the time you read this I would have found the original owner .... but as usual I didn't write down the lady's name - if you know who you are can you me know.

I thought the idea of a butterfly underneath a magnifying glass was so brilliant I had to make one myself ... hence that call to Sue Madex to ask her to stamp the handles from the Sweet Something stamp set.

The butterfly is from the Butterfly Prints set and I've used the matching punch - I can't believe that I will only be demoing this for another couple of weeks - I have a sneaky suspicion that it will be back in the new Ideas Book and Catalogue in September.

I've used Upsy Daisy and Pocket Silhouettes to create the flowers and Whimsical Words for the sentiment.

The ribbon technique at the bottom is so simple .... if you check this post over at the Stamp-a-Memory site you'll find my easy instructions - have a go ... it looks really effective.

Well that's it for the Sweet Treat creations for a little while - I hope you have enjoyed them.

Happy Mother's day to my Mum and and to my mother-in-law Pauline - we all hope you are having a lovely day.

 

Sweet Treat Flower Cups

When I saw this post on the lovely Mary Fish's blog,  I knew that I would have to CASE it ... it is just so cute.  

Chocolate Chip with More Mustard and Whisper White, such a great combination.  I have a workshop this Saturday for a friend of mine and she requested a card using the Sweet Treat Cups and some little Bo-Peep lollies from Darryl Lea - so here is the version to match the cute little lollies ... I hope her workshop guests are going to like it.

The colours of this one are Regal Rose and Whisper White, the paper is from the Hostess Level 1 set and the sentiment from the Sale-a-Bration set Whimsical Words.

The flowers are so easy to make, just punch ten of the large and small oval punches and sponge the edges for depth.  Then clip the base of each petal with a circle punch so that they sit nicely around the end of the Sweet Treat Cup.  

The little flower on the side of the sentiment is from the Boho Blossoms - again sponged to add depth and I've used the neutral brads for the centres.

If you'd like a workshop to make one of these lovely cards call me ... I have one date left during March if you want to qualify for a Sale-A-Bration bargain too and one date in April where you will get to be one of the first to view the new Autumn Mini.

 

It's Sweet Treat Cup Week!

When I saw the Sweet Treat Cups in the Summer Mini I loved them - but ... I wasn't keen on the Something Sweet stamp set that went with them.  

Then I started seeing some lovely creations (and one really lovely idea that you'll have to wait until Sunday to see) so I put the call out on the forum for some stamped images.  The lovely Sue Madex was quick of the mark and two days later I received numerous images ... so here goes ... a whole week of Sweet Treat Cup ideas for you.

I had to start with the gum ball machine really didn't I!  The colours are Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Brilliant Blue. It's cute isn't it .... I've raised the image up with Dimensionals and used a Build a Brad for the little handle on the front.  A little piece of 3/4" Polka-Dot ribbon finishes it off.

Now if you are wondering how on earth you post these lovely little cups, there are some Padded Envelopes which are just the right size to keep your sweet creation in perfect condition.  The cups are $6.50 for 12, the envelopes are $6.50 for three and the coordinating 1 3/4" punch is $30.95.

The Summer Mini finishes at the end of March - so if you were thinking of ordering the Sweet Treat cups, beautiful polka-dot ribbon or anything else from the mini call me before the end of March - and don't forget Sale-a-Bration is ending at the same time ... if your order is over $100 you get a free stamp set too!

Call me!

 

Easter Blog Hop

Well its time again for another Art with Heart team blog hop - Easter is our theme this month. Our team has over 90 members; we enjoy the added benefit of an extremely active forum - here is just the work of a few of us.

You may have just come from the very talented DI Dunk, but if you are starting here, don’t worry … you can make the complete journey just by following the links at the end of each post. There are 14 stops along the way and we hope you will visit each one to see the wonderful creations we have to show you!

Now I have a confession to make ... I don't own any Easter stamps and I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to pull this one off ... but its amazing how creative you can be when there is a deadline!

I've used the Outline Alphabet on watercolour paper to create the word Easter, the word 'happy' is from the 'happy birthday' stamp in the Saleabration set Happy Moments and the birdie and butterfly are from the Summer Mini set For Everything.

The 'eggs' are punched with the large oval punch and I have stamped the Perfect Plum egg with a stamp from the Circle Circus set (love this set sooooo very versatile) and added some ribbon and a little sparkly brad.  The letters have been coloured in using the marker pens and a blender pen.  Now you may be asking why bother using a blender pen ... well the marker pens give a continual shade of colour and I like the blender pens as they give a more 'watercolour' effect ... and I find I have greater control over the colour than with the aqua-painter when colouring fine details like alphabets.

I've moved right out of my comfort zone into the Subtles range of colours, Sage Shadow, Perfect Plum and Apricot Appeal. Being a 'Northern Hemisphere' girl, Easter signifies the start of spring ... although I did stop at creating the odd daffodil or two ... stop smiling all you Aussie / NZ girls ... I'm learning that Easter now means Autumn and not Spring!

 At a recent workshop a customer told us all that she wouldn't be without her Stampin' Up! Paper Snips - I am ashamed to say at that point I didn't own them ... so I added them to my next order and yes she is quite right ... they are the best thing ever for cutting out little shapes ... so thanks Tammy S for the advice!

So do you like it?  Leave me a comment if you do .... if you leave a comment on each and every blog in the hop and then email me at nikki@inkyart.com.au, your name will be put into the hat to win some beautiful blog candy. There is a deadline of 72 hours to leave your comments (that's 6.00am AEST 3 March) and only non SU demos are eligible to win - although we'd love all visitors to leave some comments please - thanks girls.

Well, that’s all from me. Now you’re off to enjoy the beautiful creations of Judy May who is another Melbourne based demonstrator - love her work - you will be in for a treat!

Next month's theme is the new Autumn mini ... which I am calling the new maxi-mini because I want / need / have to have something from every page - LOL.

 

Here's the full list if you get lost along the way:

Ros Davidson
http://rosdavidson.typepad.com/ros_davi ... g-hop.html

Kristine Thompson
http://inkspotcreations.typepad.com/ink ... g-hop.html

Sue Madex
http://www.madexcreations.com/madex_cre ... g-hop.html 

Di Dunk
http://stampartbydi.typepad.com/my-blog ... theme.html 

Nikki Sadler
http://www.inkyart.com.au/inkyart/2010/ ... g-hop.html 

Judy May
http://judymay.typepad.com/just_judy_de ... g-hop.html 

Erica Boxall
http://www.ericaboxall.com/2010/02/east ... p-hop.html 

Christine Blain
http://christineblain.typepad.com/happy ... g-hop.html

Kathryn Lowe
http://www.katlodesigns.com/stamping_wi ... g-hop.html

Kim Meiklejohn
http://www.paperenchantment.com.au

Gayatri Murali
http://scrapawayg3.blogspot.com/2010/02 ... g-hop.html

Kathryn Mangelsdorf
http://klm55.blogspot.com/2010/02/art-w ... g-hop.html 

Tanja Westwood
http://tanjawestwood.wordpress.com/2010 ... -blog-hop/ 

Tina Gillespie
http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com/2 ... g-hop.html

Heart to Heart

If you subscribe to the newsletter you will have seen this card last month ... its a CASE of the card on page 15 of the Summer Mini and when I saw it I thought ... what a great idea.  

You can use this idea for any of the punches ... all I have done is to use the Heart to Heart punch twice on a piece of Whisper White and then attach ribbon pieces onto the back of the card to 'fill in' the punched shapes.  It can be a bit fiddly to get just the right look with the ribbon but it is well worth the effort.

I also stamped and punched the three little hearts from the I {Heart} Hearts set and attached just one with Dimensionals. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from the FREE SAB collection - but you could change this to be any sentiment you wish.

SUPPLIES
Stamp Set	I {Heart} Hearts, Happy Moments
Card and Paper	Kraft, Choc Chip, Baja Breeze and Whisper White
Ink	Choc Chip and Real Red
Embellishments	Bits of ribbon
Tools	Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals

It's good to CASE sometimes ... and in this case this card was a for a very special friend for her birthday and as soon as I saw it in the new catalogue I knew who I was going to be making it for.

Don't forget that between now and the end of February, if you purchase the I {Heart} Heart set Stampin' Up! will donate $2 to the Red Cross who are helping in Haiti.

 

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.

 

Summer Mini Blog Hop and Blog Candy!

Now this is exciting .... my first blog hop!  You can join in at any point ... just hop aboard and off we go!  

If this is your first time to my site, welcome ... hope you find some inspiration and come back often.

Yes it's official ... there is a new Summer Mini and it is full of beautiful things - click on the image for a look-see or contact me to receive a free copy in the post.

Well what's a blog hop?  Some members of ESAD (Extremely Special Aussie and New Zealand Demonstrators) have got together and we have all posted a NEW Summer Mini idea for you this morning. We have linked our posts together so all you need to do is grab a cuppa, sit back and enjoy the ride .... it's going to be fun.

So who are ESAD and how can you join?  It's for all Australian and New Zealand demonstrators of all levels. Click here to join and receive the help and encouragement you need in your business from both new and experienced demonstrators.  I've only been a member for a month or so and I receive the daily digest of information that keeps me up to date with my business in a jiffy.  

And here's my blog hop entry ...

Introducing the new Butterfly Punch and Butterfly Prints stamp set - a Summer Mini special!  When I saw these in the new catalogue I was immediately reminded of some photos that are long overdue the scrapbook treatment ... in fact they had been sat on half finished pages for five years ... oh how bad is that!

So after carefully retrieving the photos, I made a new page - these photos were taken in 2004 when our son was six - even at this lovely age he was a determined little lad.  When Kieran puts his mind to it ... the results are amazing ... it is one of his great strengths. 

Just take a look at those flushed cheeks - during the many visits to the zoo I have photos of all of us with the butterflies - except for Kieran - they never stayed long enough for me to take a photo ... Paul was away at the time and when I asked the kids what they wanted to do at the weekend Kieran said 'I want a photo with the butterflies at the zoo' - so off we went.

The wording reads:

After many visits to the Butterfly House at Melbourne Zoo we finally managed to photograph some butterflies which had landed on Kieran.  He stood still for nearly half an hour in the hot house when finally two of the scruffiest butterflies landed on his arm.  He didn't mind - he was chuffed to bits.  Olivia and I called him Butterfly Boy for the rest of the day!

 
The new punch makes it very easy to produce heaps of butterflies - perhaps I have gotten a bit carried away - what do you think?  

Now if I had an alphabet stamp set I would have included the title Butterfly Boy ... but alas the only set I have is a little too girlie for KP - so untitled it must remain ... however I really love the stamp that comes with the set ... it reads 'Love is like a butterfly - it goes where it pleases and pleases where it goes' - how very true.

Materials list:

Stamps: Butterfly Prints

Cardstock: Really Rust, Summer Sun and Very Vanilla

Ink: Really Rust, Summer Sun, Versamark and Basic Black

Punches: Butterfly Punch and Large Oval

Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig - to line up the butterfly body bits!

Other: Black Writer

Now did someone mention Blog Candy?  We sure did ... if you visit and post a comment on all the blogs linked in the Blog Hop, you go into the draw to win some Candy ... crafty candy of course; the sort that is 100% fat free :o)  Don't forget you need to comment on all of the 30 blogs in the hop  to qualify for a place in the draw.

So leave a comment here and then blog hop along to another Nikki ... Nikki Stalker - one very talented demonstrator in New South Wales.

And don't forget to come back again soon for more projects from the new Summer Mini.