Hi stampers!

This is a fun Chrissy card, perfect for friends and family who live overseas. It uses Stampin’ Up!’s Happy Christmas Mate stamp set, which is exclusive to the Australian and New Zealand market. How cool is that!

I love stamping out the cute surfing santa, gift-giving ‘roo or candy cane koala on watercolour paper and then going crazy with watercolour crayons or ink and the Aqua painter. So much fun!

There’s a bit more to this card than meets the eye. As you can (hopefully) see here on the right, it has a tri-fold opening. I’m not sure what this fold is called, but I’m sure it has a particular name. If I find out I’ll let you know

It’s based on a card I was given a while back by Bernadette Gamo.

Cheers,

Stamps used: Happy Christmas Mate, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Ink: StazOn jet black, Real Red
Cardstock: WhisperWhite, Old Olive, Real Red, Watercolour Paper
Accessories: Dashing designer series paper, slit punch, Earth Elements watercolour crayons, AquaPainter

This post is not stamping related

Yes back to reality after being on the most amazing holiday… we just spent over a week onboard the superliner Pacific Dawn. It was the perfect holiday!

Let me indulge for a minute as I share some happy snaps. My next post will be back to the usual programming as I get all inky again

Our home-away-from-home

Family photo in front of the Pacific Dawn

Me sipping cocktails on deck

A warm welcome on the islands

View of the ship from the island of Ouvea

Good to be back,

Continuing in my journey of using all the stamps in the Define Your Life set, here is the next installment. And it was an easy one to pick, as I’ve got journey on the brain! Tomorrow my DH and our oldest two kiddlywinks are heading off on a little holiday. Sooooo, I’ll see you when we got back. In the meantime… happy stamping!

Stamps: Define Your Life, Weathered background, Spring Solitude (L2 Hostess set)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Handsome Hunter
Cardstock: Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Handsome Hunter, Whisper White
Accessories: markers, sponge, Antique Hodgepodge Hardware (brad), distressing tool from cutter kit, Stampin’ Dimensionals

We had lots of fun (of course) at stamp club last week, making Christmas cards and practising all different markering techniques. And because it was Halloween the day we met, we made some fun punch art projects for the kids with chocolate in the middle. Yum. 

This lovely surprise arrived in the post yesterday, thanks to the gorgeous Makeesha Byl. Keesh is a demonstrator in Perth who this year won the ”Heart of Stampin’ Up! Award” for her amazing efforts at raising funds for Breast Cancer research. 

If you live near Creswick and would like a night out, while helping to raise funds for the fight against breast and gynaecological cancers, come along to the Girls Night In… Out With The Boys night at the Farmers’ Arms Hotel, Albert St, Creswick. It’s on November 15th from 7pm, and entry is only $5. There’ll be live music, auctions, raffles and a sausage sizzle. It promises to be lots of fun, so come along and support this very worthwhile cause.  

p.s. The happy, jumping frog is from the Unfrogettable set – isn’t he cute?

BREAKING NEWS! For the first time ever in Australia you will be able to order the fabulous Stampin’ Write markers individually, and for the fantastic price of only $4.95*. Available from 10th – 30th November.

The dual-tip markers have a brush tip at one end, perfect for colouring your image or applying ink directly to your stamp, and a fine tip at the other end for journaling. And because the markers are available in Stampin’ Up!’s exclusive colours you’ll be able to match them perfectly to your cardstock, ribbons, brads and buttons.

This is perfect if you’ve been eyeing off the markers but only want select colours, or if (like me) you need to replace a couple of your most-loved markers! LOL.

For the full list of available markers click here.

images © 1990-2008 Stampin’ Up!®

One of the best things about markers is that you can colour a stamp with different coloured inks for a complete look, as in this Christmas card. It uses the Season of Joy stamp set and Holiday Harmony Designer Series paper, both of which are only available until the end of November when we say good bye to the Spring Mini catalogue and heeeeeello to the Summer Mini!

Stamps: Season of Joy
Inks & Cardstock: Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke
Other: Burgundy narrow grosgrain ribbon, Holiday Harmony DS paper

My postie delivered this beautiful card yesterday from the lovely Wendy, one of the EurekaStampers. Thanks so much Wendy! I love it.

Hey love that En Francais background stamp too ;)