a great calender

Over on Crafters Anonymous Tia took Monday's class and we made this cool calender. It spins revealing the different months as you go. The first 6 months are on one side and the last ones are on the back as shown below. I used some of the new products out of the Summer Mini Catalogue which goes LIVE tomorrow!! The DSP is SCRUMMY!! it has a matching stamp set to which I have overlapped the DSP with stamping it in Cherry Cobbler. I have used Not Quite Navy and Whisper White.

If you would like a free Summer Mini Catalogue please call, text or email me julia.leece@vodafone.co.nz

Thanksgiving card

Yesterday I was lucky to be involved in a Thanksgiving dinner when my direct Upline invited us to her families dinner. She is from America so this is an important part of her year and I think it's lovely that she shares this special time with her Stampin' Up! family! So to say thank you to Jacque for opening her home and sharing her table with me I made this card for her.

I have been inking up embossing folders for ages so thought that the same technique would work well with the the Embosslites dies. Here I have used the Flower Burst die and inked in More Mustard. I used More Mustard for the ink on the Crumb Cake card base, punched Word Window and the crimped cardstock, Soft Suede for the piece of card, Early Espresso for the ink on the frame and words. I've added some paper piecing in a line and the bit of linen thread tied around the frame and finished with a bow. And of cause I did the envelope to match!

Happy crafting everyone!

Thanksgiving card

A paper rose wreath for Christmas!

I made this wreath by rolling the lovely First Edition Speciality DSP into roses and then hot glued them on to a foam ring. I used about 6 sheets of paper for it. The idea came from Stephanie Lynn's blog Under the Table

It took a bit longer than I thought it would but pleased with the result.

The ribbon I used is a sneak peek from the upcoming Summer mini catalogue that goes live on the 1st December (less than a week to go!!LOL) - the ribbon only comes in vanilla but I dyed it Cherry Cobbler to make it more lush for my wreath.

Thanks for looking.

Holle's turning ONE!!

my friend's Claire and Alan's baby girl is turning one soon and I wanted to make a bright and fun card for her. I freely admit I struggle with kids cards - I can do baby but I'm hopeless at kids cards! Luckily with the Stampin' Up! Design Series Papers makes the job a LOT easier! I have used 3 different sheets from the "Big Top Birthday " set - I freehand drew the "1" and then just did layers for it. The balloon stamp is a Stampin' Up! stamp but currently not available in New Zealand/Australia. The main colour's used are - Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise, Real Read - there is also Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie snuck in there too hee hee

I love layering and giving cards that extra bit of texture - this pic shows the details.

It's always nice to decorate the inside of the card to match the front - and here I have continued the theme.

I am sure we will have a good 1st birthday at the park in a week or so!

my VERY first Ustamp with Dawn designing project!!

a few weeks ago I got an email from one of the best known Stampin' Up! demo's ANYWHERE - Dawn Rapas - she runs a site called Ustamp with Dawn and they have 'rounds' where they focus on a 'product' and there are at least 30 different projects that are designed just for it by demo's from all over the world!! The one she invited me to design for was Knock Out Punches - World Companionship 2011 and so it's all about PUNCHES!! I was HONOURED to be part of it and above is my project that I designed (yes from scratch! lol) showcasing a HEAP of punches.

My project went live on Friday so I can now share it with you. Why not go over and join in the fun - there is so much on offer!!!

something for the sewer in your life

these are PIN CUSHION RINGS! aren't they sweet! AND very useful for when you are sewing - these keep pins at hand -literally! I made them using the YO-YO maker and before tying them off I filled it with filling AND most importantly a flat big button which stops you pricking yourself with the pins!!! lol Then they are sewn on to the ring bases which have loops for attaching them. I used the three fabrics from the Beau Chateau set - they are sooooooo lovely!!

Here is what they are like on the hand. I got the idea off the awesome Pintest.com site - they used hot glue and bottle tops but I think my version are a bit more posher! lol I want to try to stamp on to plain fabric and use that - as you wouldn't be washing the fabric it doesn't matter about the type of ink you use.

Thanks for looking :)

meet the man who will adorn my craft room wall!!!!!

Isn't he LOVELY! lol I started with an old shop mannequin (yes he is life sized!!!) and then covered it completely with torn strips of paper from the Specialty Designer Series Paper called First Edition Specialty. Then I cut out all the letters from Basic Black using the two Big Shot alpha's in the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalogue - Timeless Type Junior for 'Shakespeare' and the other out of Simple Letters alpha.

The flourishes were hand cut from the Neutrals Collection Paper Stacks. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but the body has been sponged and coloured to look old. I still have some coats of varnish or similar to seal it all properly but I LOVE how it turned out and just HAD to share it! hehe! Below is a close up of the papers.

By the way I bought 10 of these 'chests' so I have sold on some of them so I have a few more to decorate over time! lol

not a stamp in sight!

this very quick paper only Christmas card is made solely from the new Design Series Paper called 'Letters to Santa'. I used 3 different sheets, one for the tree, one for the backing and one for the sentiment. The base of the card is Early Espresso and I have use Whisper White for the layer. I even used a strip of Early Espresso for the faux ribbon. I made it to show you can make great cards without embellishments if you want to. Just look at the papers and see what parts you can use to make stuff.

The tree is a very clever fold that I have NO idea where it originates from - but THANK YOU to whoever created it - it's so cool!!

I love getting swaps esp. when they come from the other side of the world!!!

I am a guest designer on the current round of Ustamp with Dawn - the Knockout Punch round. And one of the things the designers do is swap cards with each other so I received this awesome card from Twila Davis (visit her blog here). I don't have this set of papers and it's great to see it in real life - I might order it now - BUT you will have to wait till our new SUMMER catalogue goes live on the 1st December! We don't have the stamp set available to us down under but I love having a sample with it on.

The card opens up and as you do it produces a box inside the card and there is a greeting that you look thru a punch out to see - very very clever!!

So a BIG THANK YOU Twila for sending me such a lovely card.

Beau Chateau Yo Yo mouse

not a title you see very much these days hehe - but this is the latest addition to my craft room. I just LOVE the Stampin' Up! fabric, it's so nice to work with. Also imagine getting (or giving) this as a gift with a card mad out of matching paper!

Now to think of what else I can make out of the fabric...................................

single layer chritstmas card

this is one of the cards I am teaching at a workshop on Sunday (along with the sing Rudolf). It's created by using a brayer (or you can sponge it). I think this will be my Christmas card this year that every one will get - it's very easy to create, cheap to produce as it's only one sheet of cardstock but still very effective and Christmassy!

I think ANY card with Dasher on it is always a winner! hehe 'Dasher' is a single a la carte' stamp that Stampin' Up! sell - and the Merry Christmas is from a small set of just two stamps called 'Christmas Greeting' so it's VERY economical way of starting into card making.

see you tomorrow :)

my version of the carol singing Rudolf!

I have wanted to make a singing reindeer card for AGES but didn't have the tools to make the antlers but now with the new wee die that Stampin' Up! introduced in the Idea Book & Catalogue in September we can make lovely antlers! They did change the small oval punch which meant the mouth was more wider and less longer than what people used before so I thought I would make it a feature by adding some teeth! hehe I created this by using the the small oval punch twice - first you punch a arch in some Whisper White cardstock then you punch out that arch with the same punch a bit higher creating the teeth that fit in nicely in Rudolf's mouth. The addition of the music wheel stamp to make sheet music.

I am teaching this card on Sunday at Anita's workshop - if you would like me to create this card yourself at the comfort of your own home with some friends contact me to book a workshop and not only will you get to make this you will be introduced to the wonderful world of Stampin' Up!!

email me at julia.leece@vodafone.co.nz

yippee I was picked the winner!!

over at Just Add Ink I got picked as the winner this week for my bookworm punch art book mark (pictured below) YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

It's so nice to be acknowledged by your piers - the designers at JAI are REALLY good! So why not go over to their site and join in on the next challenge!

Deck the Hall photo board

this must of been one of the quickest projects I have EVER made! I started with an old 12"x12" canvas that I had painted on years ago but didn't like it anymore. Then I covered it with 3 layers of quilting batting, these where tacked to the back frame just with a staple gun. Then I wrapped the Stampin' Up! Deck the Hall fabric over it all and again using the staple gun I stapled it into place. Then I stapled in the lovely denim tape that is now available in the pattern shown and then threaded brads just thru the denim tape - not the whole thing.

I think it took me about 15 mins!! now I can have photos or even cards being displayed on it!

I have a few more projects made out of our fabric but I will give you a break from them for a bit so I can show you some cool cards.

See you then!

Deck the Hall Christmas Ball decoration

here is another use for the technique I introduced the other day - these are three foam balls that I have decorated in the three different fabric samples you get in the Deck the Hall's pack.

These make lovely Christmas decorations - I love the 'olde' feel they give.

thanks for visiting :)

Deck the Hall wreath

This is a wreath I made last week. It's made using the new Stampin' Up! fabric called Deck the Hall and believe it or not there is not a stitch of sewing in it!!

The wreath is made of foam and you cut out bits of fabric and then using a metal nail file you push the fabric into a groove you have precut with the file. EASY PEASY!!!

Here is a closer view to see the details. Even the ribbon is not just wrapped around I cut the strips so they just go slightly to the back - I worked out I saved about 30 cm of ribbon doing it that way! I am always looking for ways to 'save costs' for any project!! The ribbon is held in the back with small pins. I covered the back of the wreath with stick on felt just to finish it off. Can't wait to hang it up for Christmas this year!!

thanks for visiting!

every book worm NEEDS one of these!

This is the project that my class made this week - again it's a bookmark but we attached it to a card - so it's perfect for that 'no gifts please' invites where you want to give a bit of you with the card! I made the book with the larges square punch and of cause sponging gives it all the definition it needs. The rest is 1" circle punch, itty bitty circle punch (eyes) and a flower from boho punch for the cute as hands. The antennas are just thin strips of card curled around the piercing tool.

If you make a book mark like this (or the Sesame St ones) you MUST ensure the back it pretty too - so just mirror the back to match the front'.

I'm going to enter this in the Just Add Ink challenge for the week - just add a tag or bookmark. It's been awhile since I did enter any challenges so I thought it would be - esp. when Brownyn E suggested it! Thanks Bron!! Here's the link to their challenge this week - JUST ADD INK it's only just started so why not enter yourself!

Have fun!!

here are the last 6 characters

this is 'Snuffy' (according to Google lol) Grover and Grouch....

and of cause Cookie Monster, Elmo and Big Bird. I must admit that these designs are everywhere on Google Images - when I was a kid we never had 'Snuffy' or 'Elmo'! I remember when my kids were young and the 'Tickle Me Elmo" came out we were like 'who is Elmo?' LOL

The fun thing about them is they are bright and colourful and make you smile - and of cause useful as a bookmark! lol

Tomorrow I have a project that involves a bookmark and a card together!!

thanks for stopping by!

Burt & Ernie and The Count!!!

here are more of my Sesame Street characters that I made for my swaps for my team training on Saturday. Burt and Ernie were fairly easy to do - I used the Boho punch for their hair but I think Burt's nose is a wee bit big but I think it adds to the fun of it! lol There are lots of Burt & Ernie's around on the web.

The Count was all made up by me as I couldn't find another one on line - used the ornament punch for his face and the bird punch for his ears. His nose is the tallest heart in the 3 heart punch. When you start doing punch art you look at an object and start to think what punch would make that shape and go from there. It's GREAT fun. I have some more Sesame Street ones to show tomorrow and another cool home made character I made today for my class tomorrow. See you then!