A bit of Monkeying around

My brother in law will also be celebrating his birthday this weekend. I just got the Fox & Friends stamp set so thought I'll CASE a card I recently saw while blog hopping. This is my version.

Masculine and versatile enough

What design for a male turning 40? Well, going with the black & white theme, and didn't want it to be an overtly 40th birthday card, this is the All Occasions card I came up with. I love stamp sets like the Stampin Up Lexicon of Love set - it is so versatile.

Black & White

I am trying to be prompt with taking pictures of my crafting before gifting away, so here is one hot off the press. This boxed cards set is for the other Mrs P, my beautiful sister in law, whose birthday we're celebrating tonight. I hope she likes it.

One of the things I certainly find quite frustrating with crafting is my indecisiveness. I keep deliberating whether to put stripes on the box, just like the cards, or leave it plain black. I'll be thinking about it until I give it to her tonight. What would you have done?

So I made 4 "all occasions" cards, but could fill the box with 2 more cards. The trouble with working with black ink is that you have to be very very neat and take extreme care, especially on white paper. And I reckon it does stain the rubber stamps. Oh well...

Also, I forgot to take into account the bigger size of a standard card envelope, so they don't actually fit inside the box. I could custom make the envelopes too, I suppose. Hmm....

Now what I reckon will make these cards have a polished look is having the heat embossing tool to wet emboss the stamped image. It is already on the shopping list, might have to see if I can bump it up the list, lol.

More Little Books

Shocking photos, bah humbug! Our unreliable camera of 8 years didn't come to play so I used DH's iPhone, or maybe it's just cos' I am not a good photographer...anyhow, at least I got pictures of these two sets. I gave the third one to the mother of the baby boy born last week, forgetting to take a picture of it. The only difference between that one and the one below is that it was stamped using Wild About You stamp set.

This one is for my little fella who turned 2 at the end of June. I have intentions to make one of these little books for each child for each birthday...let's just say I often have intentions, but whether I ended up carrying it out...hmm...let's see!

The link to the instructions for these is in this previous post.

Clean And Simple

There is a card style known as CAS - ie Clean and Simple. I think it is open to interpretation what CAS means. One idea, which I like, is that it involves a lot of white space. I particularly like the simplicity of "LateBlossom" - there's something classy about her creations.

Well, I think this card is about as simple as it gets. And it uses up left-over patterned papers very effectively. Takes all of 5 minutes to whip up. Still inspired and made especially with the person it is intended for in mind though - can you see what the inspiration might be?

There is a theme of shoes running through the card - very subtly. This is a birthday card for a girlfriend whom I have only quite recently gotten back in touch with. Simple, yet effective.

Hoot Hoot

Well, I'd never have considered myself an owl fan, but how could you not be with these little hooters?



I got the instructions from Darlene (she even has a video tutorial on there) - isn't she a talented lady? I am considering making this birthday card for all the birthdays the rest of this year - that is how much I like them!

For the outside of the card, I thought I ought to try to keep it clean and simple, but still something that will work with the whole owl theme. So here it is:

Stamp Set: Build A Cupcake

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: Pink Cardstock, Mulberry Cardstock, Whisper White, DSP Good Morning Sunshine

Punch: 2-step Owl Punch, Corner Rounder, Large Word Window, Build A Cupcake

Other: various embossing folders, jiggly eyes

All In One

Here's a groovy little project that is like an all-in-one gift, packaging and card - how cool is that?! I have filled this little number with a jewellery set of necklace, ear-rings and bracelet I got handmade for my dear friend's 40th. The fourth box will be filled with chocolates, of course :-)

I first came across this project while browsing the myriad of crafty blogs a month ago. Known as the Stepper Box or Fantasy Box, the instructions for this project, however, does not seem to be found easily with a simple google search. Various links seem to point to Teri Digness who gave the original instructions but her link doesn't appear to work. In the end I got the instructions from here or here.

As is my habit, I haven't followed the instructions entirely. I have seen boxes made with four panels but I chose to make it with 5 panels, as there will be a written note on the fifth panel. I am still thinking what to write, I'm thinking a poem (if I can find a suitable lovely one) or perhaps a Scripture verse. I also feel like it may need some further embellishments on the inside, or maybe I should just keep it simple? It truly is a luxury to have such simple dilemmas, lol! Well, I have a few more days to play with this before I gift it to my friend.

Now for the pictures....

Stamp Set: Priceless (would have used So Swirly stampin wheel if I own one - it's been on the shopping list for ages!)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Pink and Black Cardstocks (Trophee Brand from The Warehouse Stationery), scrapbook paper from stash

Other: Stampin Up Sticky Tape, ribbon from stash, Sizzix Stars and Swirls Embossing Folder

ETA: with a little more embellishments:

I Discovered

Pop-Up cards! I've been on Google looking at examples and techniques lately.

This one, using the spiral circle technique, will be given to the birthday friend tomorrow.

Stamp Set: Priceless

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White, (Yellow scraps from stash)

Punch: Full Heart, Boho Blossoms, Large Word Window

Other: Stampin Write Marker Real Red, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Snail Adhesive

Skittles Cake

Another Cake gift - this time for 11 year old fan of Skittles whose Mum says they (the Skittles lollies) are a birthday treat only.

11 boxes filled with Skittles - sorry Jan (his mum)! His sisters (pictured above, who helped made the boxes) think I will be his best friend now (even though we're almost a month late with the gift.)

Don't these just remind you of Jaffas or Mint Slice? Yum!

Punch: Scallop Edge (actually, these scallop edging were done using a pair of craft scissors I purchased for the kids from Geoff's Emporium for only $1.95!)

Other: Cuttlebug Spots and Dots Embossing Folder

The Cake That Never Runs Out

I saw a sample of a cake slice box, so guess what I did? Google of course! Found this template but I wanted it to open from the top so I modified the template accordingly and photocopy onto a set of pink card stock. As you can see from the pictures, it took 11 cake slices to make one cake.

There is that Swiss Dot embossing folder in use again - see how versatile it is?

And just to show that this "cake" is even filled with a layer of "cream", lol!

All packaged up for the birthday girl turning the big 5 - what a milestone, what a celebration!

Paper: Pink Cardstock (Trophee Brand from The Warehouse Stationery), Whisper White, Purple Cardstock (from old stash, DSP Raspberry Tart scraps

Punch: Butterfly, Scallop Edge, Full Heart

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing Folder, You're Not The Boss Of Me Alphabet Set

We filled each box with all sorts: ladybird pegs, beads, a NZ Fern Key ring that S7 had that he insisted on gifting to J5, jiggly craft eyes, a small nail polish, a bottle of bubble mixture, necklaces, lollies and chocolate easter eggs.

Children's Handiwork

Card making is part of the homeschooling curriculum :-)

Sample from N5:

Stamp Set: Wanted, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Yellow cardstock (from old stash, most likely purchased from The Warehouse or a $2 shop), Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

Sample from S7:

Stamp Set: Priceless, Heart (by Dots)

Ink: Real Red

Paper: Red cardstock (from old stash, most likely purchased from The Warehouse or a $2 shop), Whisper White

Other: Cuttlebug Swiss Dot embossing folder

The KTFPC Post #1

I thought I'll post pics of what other things I have made since November 2010 - just so this doesn't look like a one-post blog :-) (since I know I don't get crafting everyday, not even every week!) There are a few things I have made but not taken a picture of but I'm sure I will make more of those at some stage this year. So this is the "Keep The First Post Company" Post #1 - quick project made in January 2010.

Stamp Set: One of a Kind

Ink: Kiwi Kiss

Paper: Raspberry Tart DSP

Punch: Boho Blossoms

Other: Stampin' Pastels, Dimensionals, Double sided tape (would have preferred to use sticky tape if I actually own some), velcro dots

What do you do when you receive a phone call late on a Saturday morning - it was your dear friend saying that they were having a afternoon tea that very same day for their daughter whose 7th birthday it was? Well, it was an opportunity to create a fun little gift - yes in a very short time, with three active little boys and DH not available at home to take the boys out to work off their seemingly endless bound of energy.

Mr Google to the rescue, of course! I managed to search and found a simple purse template online. Once it was made up, then it was a quick trip to the shops to look for the fillers - hair ties, clips, lip gloss...you know, what a girl needs :)

For future reference, the colours of DSP Raspberry Tart are: Real Red, Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss.