For Today - Scrapbooking Inspiration

For Today: 28th February

(Inspired by a blog post of Ali Edwards that I just came across)

Outside my window... overcast sky, trees and butterflies

I am thinking... that I can not wait to walk again so that i can clean my house. I am also thinking that I can not believe that housework is near the top of my list of things to do once i can walk again... :)

I am thankful for... so many things that i can not possibly list them all here. However, at the moment i am most thankful for good friends and family who have spent the last three months selflessly looking after me. They have given up so much to do this and it will take me a long time to repay them for their kindness.

From the kitchen... not much! i can't really cook at the moment - it took me about forty minutes to boil eggs and make myself a curried egg sandwich due to the distance between my fridge, sink and benches (throwing eggs the length of my kitchen wouldn't be a good idea and i can't exactly carry them and use crutches at the same time so you can see my dilemma especially when you consider carrying other ingredients and utensils...) so, we are living on convenience foods at the moment. i am really looking forward to a proper homecooked meal and so is Eliahn!

I am wearing... my pj's.

I am creating... a layout for Wed night class and also card samples for a class we are having in March (30 cards in one class all made with the new Kaiser La Di Da range - nice!)

I am going... to rest all day and probably watch tv shows.

I am reading... blogs. I have run out of books to read :( Really need a new vampire book!

I am hoping... that my operation goes well.

I am hearing... the birds outside and the fan inside.

Around the house... it is quiet as i am the only one here - i like that!

One of my favourite things... rainy Sunday's at home with Eliahn (was hoping for that kind of weather today but it appears that the sun is trying to come out, oh well...)

A few plans for next week... creating, catching up with Nolene, hanging out with Kate and Eliahn, counting down to my operation - it's an exciting time around here lol!! Don't let me forget though - i am looking forward to Jilly GG's first classes at Inkredible next Saturday!

A picture to share... well, two actually. these are some ATC's i made for a swap last year and i just found the photos on my computer. these are the only ATC's i have ever made and i quite liked them. i used oil pastels and stamping after Nolene taught me some techniques in class.

I decided to share this blog post from Ali with you because i thought that it could be quite a useful tool for scrapbookers. Often we struggle with journaling and documenting our life stories. This shows you how easy it can be. Just answer some simple questions about what is happening in your life at the moment and scrapbook it. It's a glimpse into your everyday life - often we neglect to include these in our scrapbooks but i am so sure that our children would love to read these kinds of snippets of their lives and their parents lives.

Have a fabulous Sunday!

NEW Technique Boutique at Inkredible

One of my favourite products to use at the moment are the Papermania Brush Markers. I use them to colour stamps with and also to colour white cardstock. You can see an example of this in the card below. I have coloured the Stamp It stamp with a pen and I have also coloured some white card in the same colour pen. I love how they match. The sparkles around the edge of the pink card are Kindy glitz dots.

Thankyou to our customers who came to our VIP event yesterday. We hope you all had a lovely time and enjoyed making an Easter basket and card! Next month we are re-launching our VIP event with our all NEW Technique Boutique. Many of you have already booked in so it is shaping up to be a fantastic day! At this new VIP event you have the choice of participating in the cardmaking session or the scrapbooking session. The cost is only $5 and you will receive a product kit with at least $10 worth of new product! Places are limited so if you would like to join in for some fun and new ideas book now. Phone us on 3366 0366 to reserve your seat.

Giovanna has a new blog post about the Running With Scissors Fundraising Crop at Inkredible last Sunday. The day raised $500! Thank you so much to the ladies who helped make the day a success.

Cupcake Card

I have two cards to share with you today. The first one has a cupcake sticker from the new Papermania Elements Cupcake Delights sticker pack. I have designed a new card kit with these stickers which should be available for purchase from tomorrow. These stickers are so cute - my favourite is the Love Birds set with the birdcages! Oh, and the butterflies!! I also used a new Cuttlebug embossing folder, Dawny and I quite like how it turned out. You probably can't see it too well in this photo but I have used a piece of patterned vellum on this card. It has white and creamy leaves on it and it is behind the green and white card. Kathleen gave me the idea to start using our beautiful vellums on my cards - I am looking forward to using more of them as we have so many gorgeous designs in-store now.


The next card is one I designed awhile ago but it has always been a favourite of mine due to it's simplicity. I think we all need a quick and easy card design to fall back on when we don't have a lot of time to make a card. The sentiment has been cut on the Cuttlebug as has the flower. I have cut the flower out of felt and glued a button on top. Then you add a small strip of ribbon for the stem. I used a white gel pen to doodle around the border. Also, make sure you attach the brads to the green card before you stick this piece to the base card otherwise the brads will show through on the inside of your card.

Scrapbook Kit - NEW

I finished my scrapbook layout based on the Scrapbook Creations colour combo of red, silver and light blue. We have some gorgeous embossed white cardstock in-store at the moment and I chose the friendship cardstock for mine. I lightly ran a red stamp pad over the centre part of the cardstock to hightlight some of the friend words. The rest of the embellishments have either been cut from the patterned paper or punched. I love the simplicity of this layout and the fact that it didn't take me very long to do. I really wanted to dedicate this page to one special photo (we all have those types of photos right) but at the same time not spend hours on it. I know that many of you don't have a lot of time to scrapbook but lots of photos to get through. With this in mind, I will be creating layouts for classes and kits that either use a lot of photos or are quick to complete.

A couple of ladies saw this layout in the shop this morning and requested a kit for it so I decided to offer it to everyone. It is now available on our website and it is quite reasonably priced at only $5.50.

Happy Birthday Card

I love this card that Kathleen made! She has used a Papermania stamp set we have instore at the moment. The butterfly and flowers have all been stamped multiple times and layered up. It is really hard to see this in the photo though. Kindy Glitz (clear) has been added as a final touch to bling them up!


I am working on a scrapbook layout at the moment using this month's Scrapbook Creations colour combo of red, silver and light blue. It is coming together nicely and I am hoping to finish it tomorrow so I will share it then if I do. Do you ever try their colour combo's? To be honest, I never have. In fact I have not read their magazine for a very long time but have checked it out again this week and didn't mind it at all. I am also enjoying trying a colour combo that I perhaps would not have otherwise.

Hope you are having a great weekend - I am!

A New Card + New Papers

What scrapbooking magazine do you read? Do you read the ads in it? Kathleen and I are considering doing some magazine ads again and aren't sure which magazine to choose. We would love to hear from you what you think! Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Here is a card I recently made. The black and white polka dot pattern was actually made with white card and the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder. You ink the debossed side of the white card with black ink (it's a great way to make any colour polka dot paper!). I punched multiple flowers from text paper and the EK Success Daisy large punch. I scrunched them all together and then added Kaiser pearls.



I really love these new Birch papers! They are all double sided and one side is glittered. Fabulously priced at just $1.40!!!

Don't forget this weekend we are hosting the Running With Scissors Fundraising Crop at Inkredible. If you would like to come please phone us on 3366 0366 to book in. Bookings are essential to ensure you have a seat!

NEW Card Kit In Store Now

Kathleen has designed a new card kit for sale - "Pink Spring" Card Kit. It retails for $16.95 and you will be able to make these four beautiful cards from it. I especially love the Kaiser Rhinestone strips! Kathleen has used some of the gorgeous new Paper Vogue patterned vellum that we now have in the shop. These kits are selling fast so if you aren't able to make it into the store you can either order online or phone us on 3366 0366 to put one away for you. If you do order online and want to collect it from the shop just make a note in the comments that you do not want it posted. The postage will still show up on your order but we won't charge you for it.

3 New Cards

The first 2 cards I used stamps from the Some Bunny Loves You Candyfloss & Marshmallow Clear Stamp set. Both images have been coloured with watercolours.

The pink card has been embossed using the D'Vine Swirl embossing folder (one of my favourites). The yellow edging has been cut using the Ornamental Iron die. Kindy glitz has been put on the edging.

The green card has been embossed with the Victoria embossing folder. The pink edging has also been cut using the Ornamental Iron die and kindy glitz put all over.

The third card - the owl is from the Papermania Honey & Hugs Owl clear stamp set. I've paper pieced it to give it a bit of 3 dimensional look. The sentiment is from the Papermania Sentiments clear stamp set. The purple card has been embossed using the embossing folder from the Ornamental Iron set - I wiped a white ink pad over it to highlight the raised pattern. The purple edging has been cut using the Ornamental Iron die and then kindy glitz over it.

Hope you like the card

Kerry

2 New Cards & My Ankle News

I have two cards to share with you today. The first one is a baby girl card. The pram is cut from the new Mother's Day Cricut cartridge which I love. The sentiment is from a set of Kaiser rub ons and I have also used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder which I have to admit is one of my favourites. Kathleen is not fussed on it but I use it A LOT!

See, I told you that I used Swiss Dots a lot!! I also love to make white cards. Here is a very simple wedding card made with white card and silver foil card. The sentiment has been stamped with a stamp from the Papermania sentiment set we have in store. I have punched the daisy flowers with the EK Success medium Daisy punch. The EK Success border punch jazzes up the sentiment strip a little and finish off with ribbon and Kaiser pearls. The Kaiser pearls and rhinestones are self adhesive which makes them really easy to use (lots of customers still don't realise this so thought I would mention it).

My ankle is healing well but I did have a little trip on it yesterday and scared poor Kathleen. It is OK today but I have to tell you, I am looking forward to when this is all over. A broken ankle is a lesson in patience (something I don't have much of). I have a new appreciation for people with a physical disability and the effort it must take just to get through the daily activities that most of us take for granted.

I would like to thank all of our wonderful customers who emailed or phoned Kathleen when I broke my ankle to wish me a speedy recovery or who offered to help in any way they could. Some of you have even sent me books and cards, visited me and helped out in the shop. To you - THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I doubt that you realise how even such a small act has impacted my life. And to Eliahn, Mum, Dad, John, Kathleen & Stephen - no words can convey my gratitude.

To keep you all up to date - my next operation is on the 10th March. The doctors will be removing a screw that extends the width of my ankle and is presently holding it all together. They will leave the metal plate and six other screws in my ankle (helps with stability I think). I can have these removed in 18 months or so if they are annoying me. After my operation I will be allowed to put full weight on my foot again and slowly start to walk again. Some customers have expressed their worry that I am not walking yet. Thank you for your concern but I can only go by what my doctors are telling me to do and at this point they are not allowing me to put pressure on my ankle due to the large screw holding it together. If that screw snaps it will halt the recovery process and make it much harder to remove the screw. I can not afford for the recovery process to take any longer than it already is and I don't want to snap the screw so I am following the doctors orders! Every injury is different and has a different recovery plan/process and while your past injury may have indicated that you should start walking at six weeks mine doesn't. I met patients at the hospital who didn't get their cast off until much later than mine was able to come off so you see we are all different.

On a final note, many customers ask me how I broke my ankle. One lady asked me if I did it pole dancing lol!!! I am seriously thinking of telling people that this is how I did it but the real story is that I broke it while ice skating. Sadly, I will never ice skate again... but if you go ice skating, my one bit of advice is WATCH OUT FOR THE LITTLE KIDS WHO MAY RUN INTO YOU. And if they do run into you just let yourself fall down, don't fight it and try to stay standing :)

With Love Card

I spent the day with Nolene at the shop today - thank you so much Nolene for everything, I really appreciated your help. Can't say we did too much work though ;)

I have just one card to share with you today. It has one of my favourite stamps on it, the butterfly and swirl stamp from a Kaiser set that we have instore. The card is made from all white card - I inked some of it to make it purple. I have used the EK Success border punch I love to create the scallop border. To finish it off, I used Kindy Glitz to create the sparkly border.

Two New Cards

Are you having a great weekend? We had the lovely and lots of fun Ngaire Bartlam teaching at the shop today. I wasn't there but Kathleen said she had a great day with Ngaire and all the ladies who came to class - thanks Ngaire! Also, many thanks to Princess Tina for bringing more rocky road! I don't know what we would do if you arrived for class without it one day - Stephen would definately be very upset!!

I spent the morning at home scrapbooking but I can't share it just yet as it is for class next Wednesday night. I will be emailing it out on Monday. If you would like to join our email list for class details and specials please send us an email.

Here are two cards I made a little while ago. The baby card was so quick and easy to make. I cut the stork on the Cricut (Lyrical Letters from memory). The sentiment is a Kaiser rub on.

The next card was all made from white card. I love creating with white card and stamp pads or brush markers. This way I can match colours perfectly. You can colour your stamps with brush markers instead of stamp pads which is what I have done here. Then I simply colour the edges of the white card in the same colour to create my own coloured cardstock. Purchasing a set of brush markers is a great investment as it means you have a whole new set of "stamp pads". I use Kindy Glitz around the edges to create glitz borders. I have used Stamp It stamps on this card. Everything I have used is available in store now.

My Little Secret!

I have a secret. Shhh, don't tell the scrapbookers I know and love, but I have developed an addiction to making cards! Whilst recovering from my broken ankle the last couple of months I have been spending my days making cards for classes at the shop. Cassie had the scrapbooking classes under control so I was put on cardmaking duty. And now I really love creating cards!

Here are three easy cards I designed. I have used Kaiser stamps on the first one here along with watercolour pencils to colour them in. The Thinking of You sentiment is from the fabulous Papermania Sentiment set that we sell. It is THE BEST sentiment set because it covers so many occasions and is excellent value at under $20. The other thing I love about this set is that each sentiment comes in a couple of different fonts and sizes.

I used some beautiful Stamp It frangipani shimmery paper for the next card that we have in store at the moment. The butterfly has been punched from one of my favourite punches, an EK Success punch. I then embossed it on the Cuttlebug. The sentiment is from a Kaiser rub on set of sentiments and images that are perfect for cardmaking (and excellent value!). And see that scallop border along the bottom of the sentiment? Another of my favourite punches - an EK Success border punch. Visit me at the shop and I will show you how to use it - you need it!!

The last card for today was so quick to make. I cut the cute bird on the Cricut from the Lyrical Letters cartridge - this cartridge in my opinion is fantastic value for both cardmakers AND scrapbookers as there are so many images and sentiments. The Happy Birthday sentiment is a stamp from the Papermania set I was telling you about earlier. And this paper is so fresh! It is a Rouge de Garance paper that we have in store. We received another delivery of Rouge de Garance today and I bought some of the paper home to scrapbook with so I will post my creations when they are finished!

I hope you have a fabulous weekend! I have two days off and am going to spend some time scrapbooking (yes, taking a break from the cards). I will be back at work on Monday with the lovely Nolene! Kathleen needs some days off after working so hard the last few months so Nolene and I will be running amok in the shop on Monday - come visit us!!

Tamara

Layout From Class This Week

I love the simplicity of this layout by Cassie. She has used the scalloped 12x12 cardstock we have in-store now (you can buy it by the single sheet or in a pack). Cassie has also embossed strips of cardstock on the Cuttlebug and sanded them for extra effect.

This layout was taught in class this week. If you are looking for scrapbooking classes we have one every Wednesday night and we would love you to join us!

Cuttlebug Cards

Here are some cards that I taught last weekend.

The first card - the bird has been cut using the die from the A2 Combo Persia Cut & Emboss set. The green card has also been embossed using the embossing folder from the same set and then sanded. Silver rhinestones have been glued on to the base of the feathers, then kindy glitz put all over the bird.

The second card - the flowers have been punched out and then rhinestones placed in the centre. The apricot card has been embossed using the Goochie Script embossing folder and then sanded. The flower design in the oval has been pricked and then the flowers/leaves have been coloured. "Just a note to say..." is from the Papermania Sentiments clear stamp set.
The third card - the four corners have been cut using the die from the A2 Combo Persia cut & emboss set. The butterfly is from the Butterflies Cut n Emboss set. "Just Because..." is from the Papermania Sentiments clear stamp set as well. I put kindy glitz on parts of the butterfly and silver rhinestones on the body of the butterfly.
Hope you enjoy the cards.

Kerry

Valentine's Pop Up Twirl Card

I thought I would share with you all a Valentine card that I made. I found the tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers by Maren Benedict (www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/popuptwirl/). The tutorial was really easy to follow.

The red card has been embossed using the Kimmy-Luvs embossing folder. I went over the embossed red card with a white ink pad. The stamps used are from the Kaisercraft Love clear stamp set. I put kindy glitz over some parts of the hearts.

Have a great day.....

Kerry

Ngaire Bartlam's First Classes for 2010

Ngaire will be teaching at Inkredible next Saturday the 13th February. Her classes are a lot of fun and we would love you to join us either for one or both classes (there is a discount if you come to both). Follow the link to see the layouts on Ngaire's blog.