Advent Calender of Cards Day 22

Another card that Nikita helped me design. I love this design, so simple, and you could easily pump out millions from 1 sheet of DSP.
On a side note, I'm watching The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button as I write this, has anyone else seen it? I know it's not exactly new so I'm probably the last one to see it, but I'm really enjoying it! Such a sweet story.
Stamps: Best Yet, Season of Joy
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red
Cardstock:Whisper White, Kraft, Old Olive, I Wish SS Kit
Punches: Scallop & Large Oval Punches

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 20

I've been wanting to stamp straight onto Kraft Cardstock as my focal piece for a while now and I was excited to be able to do it on this card. If the greeting looks slightly pink that's because I opened up my Pink Passion inkpad instead of my Real Red and inked up my stamp and stamped without paying attention, it looks pretty red IRL thank goodness but next time I have to read the ink colour and not take for granted that I know where it lives in my ink caddy...
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Pink Passion, Old Olive
Cardstock: Kraft, I Wish SS Kit, Old Olive

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 19

I call this one "Rudolph the Red Nosed Teddy Bear". I was fortunate enough to be able to get my hands on this great SU! exclusive die from the US and this is the first thing I made. As soon as I realised that his nose could be cut seperately I decided that he needed a red nose and antlers like a build-a-bear reindeer.
We don't know what dies will be available when SU! bring the bigshot to Australia but I'm really hoping they bring these build-a-bear ones, they're so cute and the possibilities are endless!
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Cardstock: Bella Rose DSP, I Wish SS Kit, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red
Punches: Corner Rounder Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch
Bigshot: Bigz Bear, Beary Girl & Scribbles Swirls Sizzlets

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 18

I've been determined to use some non-Christmas DSP for Christmas Cards, I think we get so caught up this time of year in having everything "Christmassy" that we forget about what we already own that still suits the season, and I figured a go at a Tri-Fold Card is perfect to try it out, so on this card I have used Christmas coloured DSP from Raspberry Tart, Good Morning Sunshine and Washington Apple.
Here's a shot of the card open:

Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip Marker
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Real Red, Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Raspberry Tart DSP, Washington Apple DSP
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 16

I know I've said it before about other cards, but out of my favourites from the 35 for $35 class these are up there near the top of my list!
Did you know you could get 48 of this style card out of a single simply scrappin kit and still have some DSP and all the diecuts left over! All you need to add is some kraft bases and scrap cardstock for the punchies.
These are the last 3 cards from the class, the rest will be cards I've made just for the fun of it.
Stamps: Season of joy
Ink: Chocolate Chip, real red, old olive
Cardstock: Kraft, I Wish SS Kit
Punches: Scallop & large oval Punches, Scallop Edge Punch

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 15

Stamps: Season of Joy, Best Yet
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red
Cardstock: Kraft, I Wish SS Kit
Accessories: Gold Brads, White Taffeta
Punches: Scallop Square Punch, Scallop & Large Oval Punches

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 13

Promised you something different!! I made the ribbon with some of the 1 3/4" Striped Grosgrain from the spring mini and then just stitched with some linen thread a running stitch along one edge, pulled the ribbon tight and knotted it so that the ribbon formed a flower. Added a star brad to the middle and then adjusted the flower so the edges of the ribbon sat neatly. The rest of the card is pretty self explanatory.
Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Season of Joy
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive
Cardstock: Kraft
Accessories: 1 3/4" Striped Grosgrain, Chocolate Chip DS Grosgrain, Star Designer Brad

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 12

3 more of my 35 for $35 class cards... I'll give you a different card tomorrow (very different I promise, no I wish kit to be seen anywhere!) and then we only have about 2 more days worth of these cards left. I'm working on a card I'll show you in a few days, such a fun little card, perfect for someone with a quirky sense of humour!
Stamps: Best Yet, Season of Joy
Ink: Real Red, Old Olive
Cardstock: Kraft, I Wish SS Kit
Accessories: Real Red & Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain, Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain
Punches: Large & Scallop Oval Punches

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 9 - Courtesy of Nikita

My friend Nikita came over after school last Friday to do some scrapbooking with me and when I mentioned that I was going to make some Christmas cards since I desperately need more made she asked if she could join in. Nikita is 11 and loves scrapbooking but this is the first time she had ever made cards. After we finished when she was showing me everything she'd made (I'd had to stop making cards to feed Jack but she kept going) I mentioned how much I loved this card she had made and she asked for a pen, then wrote in the card and gave it to us as our card. How nice is that? It's also special because it's the first Christmas card of the season for us.
Here's a pic of Nikita (or Keeeetah as Charlotte says) making one of her cards.
Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Cardstock: I Wish SS Kit, Kraft, Whisper White


Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Advent Calender of Cards Day 8

3 more simple christmas cards from my 35 for $35 class... Tomorrow for the advent calender we will have a break from this series of cards and I'll show you a special Christmas card made by a good friend of mine.
Stamps: Season of Joy, Happy Everything, Baroque Motifs, Sincere Salutations
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Cardstock: I Wish SS Kit, Kraft
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain, Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain, Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Karin's Masterpiece!

Karin came over to play the other day & she needed to make a birthday card for her Aunty, so for a little inspiration she went thumbing through my (well loved, time for a new one?) catalogue and found this little gem on page 51:
She loved how they'd turned the stamp sideways to make a little vine of flowers and since I didn't have the Birthday Best stamp set (funny thing is she owns it but she left her stamps at home and just brought her cardstock etc) so we went looking through my stamps for something similar that we could use to recreate the look. Karin also wanted to use some colours from the Soft Subtles colour family so we pulled out the Colour Coach and came up with the magic combination of Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal & Certainly Celery.
And anyway here is her interpretation:
Don't you just love it? It makes me so proud when I see one of my customers (but friend first lol) use the resources SU! has made available to us all and they make something they love! And it makes me even prouder to see her use a colour like Apricot Appeal with such ease when I have so much trouble using it!
Stamps: Season of Joy (Spring Mini), Time Well Spent, Short & Sweet
Ink: Basic Black, Soft Subtles SW Markers
Cardstock: Apricot Appeal, Lavender Lace, Whisper White, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Corner Rounder & Round Tab punches, White Gel Pen, Elegant Eggplant 1/4" Grosgrain

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

Christmas Card Club

I just thought I'd take a quick break from preparing for my 2nd Christmas Card Club class tomorrow afternoon to share with you what we made last month (I have a customer who is doing the class 'by correspondence' - Hi Faye! - and I wanted to make sure that she had time to complete her projects before I showed them here). These classes are designed to be quick simple cards that can easily be replicated en-masse to make Christmas a breeze. We make 5 cards & 1 3-d item per month so that hopefully a large chunk of everyone's cards have been done come December.

So I thought to start us off, what could be simpler than One Sheet Wonders? I have seen One Sheet wonder tutorials around for 12x12" or the 8.5x11" sizes but none for A4 or A5, so I designed my own loosely based on other ones I have done before and a few I made up from scratch for the "Season of Joy" stamp set in the spring mini catalogue.

We also made a Box in a Bag using my version of the tutorial by the talented Diana Gibbs.

The classes are $15 per class or $5 if you purchase more than $50 worth of SU! products from me and I am more than happy to send out kits to anyone who can't make my classes in person.

If you wish to purchase my 1st class please use the paypal link below* or let me know when you place your $50 or more order ;0)

Images © Stampin' Up!, Designs © Zarna Gould

*Please note that although I will include my version of the Box in a Bag Tutorial for free, I am only selling the card tutorial as the Box in a Bag tutorial is © Diana Gibbs

Have a One Sheet Wonder(ful) Christmas

The other night I decided to try out a One Sheet Wonder* so I used the retired Loves Me DSP and it turned out so great that I had to make another, and because I had been dying for an excuse to use the new Holiday Harmony DSP from the Mini Catalogue**, because it is just so gorgeous!
I have taken the colours of Always Artichoke, River Rock & Purely Pomegranate from the dsp, but as the particular sheet I used had No Always Artichoke in it I used it as the backing cardstock for all the cards and then used Purely Pomegranate & River Rock for the majority of the accents & stamping.

And close-ups of the cards and tote:

Included in the OSW were 9 cards and a tote. I got the directions & inspiration from akstamper on SCS. Some of the measurements for the bag needed to be altered as our A4 cardstock is narrower and longer than their Letter(?) sized cardstock, if you want the new measurements just send me an email and I'll be happy to share.

*In Case you were wondering a One Sheet Wonder (or OSW) is where you use DSP (or make your own with stamps and neutral cardstock), then cut it up to make really fast simple, but stunning cards

**Mini Catalogue Starts 1 August, check out all the details here

Mini Catalogue Sneak Peek

I got my preorder yesterday and I'm in love!! The colours in the new Holiday Harmony DSP are divine and are the inspiration for this card

I've used Season of Joy ($51.95 in the mini) and the ever versatile Sincere Salutations.

My colours are River Rock, Always Artichoke and Purely Pomegranate, which, from the look of the mini are "THE" colours for Christmas this year. I stamped the Tree & Snowflake in River Rock to create my own background paper.

Can you see the shadow behind the tree? I made that by using the negative left on the backing sheet by the christmas tree, clear as mud?

When you buy diecut stamp sets like those in the mini catalogue there is a hole left in the rubber backing sheet that is vaguely the shape of the image, so, I peeled the waxy backing off and sponged the tree shape in River Rock then stamped over the top of the shadow with the tree.

I topped it all off with some pomegranate ribbon (I've used so much of that it's not funny!)

I know that it seems a little early to be making Christmas cards but did you know that if you made 5 cards a month by the time December comes you will have made 30 cards! No more rushing to get them done or going out and having to buy a packet of cards last minute (I HATE, HATE, HATE buying cards now that I know how easy they are to make!)