Well, the cards are (finally!) done and sent, pressies bought and wrapped so now it’s time to sit back and enjoy Christmas.  Yaaaay.

Yesterday I spent the day cooking with the kids. They got to pick all their favourite foods and we had so much fun – and made a huuuuuge mess, but hey that was half the fun.  Cupcakes, fruit pies, choc-dipped fruit and more.

I even found some time to decorate this little ‘double-pocket bag’ that my friend Keah showed me how to make. I decorated the front with the ‘roo from Happy Christmas Mate, using Real Red and Old Olive cardstock and ink to tie in with the stripes on the Dashing designer series paper. It’s the perfect size for a gift voucher and matching gift card.

Hope you have a safe and very merry Christmas, and enjoy the festive time spent with those we don’t see often but especially those we see and love every day.

Ho ho ho,

Tags: 3D projects, Christmas, Happy Christmas Mate

It’s that time of year when the kids are finishing up school and kinder, and all their other activities, and there are lots of people to thank. This year I’ve had fun making Christmas Tree ornaments out of the wonderful scallop punch, a couple of circle punches and yummy peppermint cream chocolates from Cadbury’s sandwiched in the middle. They make fun little treats and look great when done up in a gift box.

These are acetate ‘matchboxes’ I made for the girls in my Stampin’ Up! group at the recent Melbourne Regional training day. They perfectly fit 3 of the Peppermint Cream Sandwiches inside. The slide-off ‘lid’ is made from clear acetate sheets (similar to overhead transparency sheets) which are available from office supply shops.

This one (above) features the Level 2 Free Hostess Set Spring Solitude – now that is one understated stamp set! When I first saw it I thought ‘not me’, but it has really grown on me. With any of the 2 Step stamp sets it takes a little more effort to see their potential, because it’s not immediately obvious what you can do with it, but let me tell you this is one great little versatile set! Colours: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum.

Better get back to the chocolate, oops I mean stamping…

Tags: 3D projects, Christmas, gifts, scallop circle punch

Here are some more projects using beautiful new stamps and Designer Series Paper from the Summer Mini Catalogue. Above is Ginger Blossom DSP and the lovely Embrace Life stamp set (p19).  We made these popular little “Bags in a Box” at Stamp Club this month.

 The card above is my submission for this month’s EurekaStampers challenge. Juliana challenged us to make a project with a stamp set and coordinating Designer Series Paper from the Summer Mini Catalogue. My version uses Eastern Blooms stamp set with Regal Rose and Choc Chip ink, and the Bali Breeze paper. The card base is Old Olive.

This final card was another of our December Stamp Club projects. The ladies loved Stampin’ Up!’s beautiful watercolour paper – it’s divine to work with, and almost impossibe to make a ‘mistake’. But hey, as I always say there’s no such thing as a mistake, only an opportunity for embellishment.

The card features the For Father stamp set, coloured with markers and a blender pen. Colours include Bordering Blue, Rose Red, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Choc Chip and a couple of shades of gray!

Till next time,

Tags: Eastern Blooms, Embrace Life, For Father, Ginger Blossom DSP, Summer Mini catalogue, watercolouring