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Tuesday 29 January 2008

Embossing ATC

ATC.... stands for Artist Trading Card, which is just a small 2.5 x 3.5 inch card. These are my samples for an Embossing ATC swap with some fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.
I have embossed the image from Carte Postale, onto Night of Navy cardstock, using versamark & silver embossing powder, then used a cirlce punch to make the 'ticket' corners. I have also embossed silver around the edges of the Buckaroo Blue cardstock, added some silver brads to the corners, then mounted on some more Night of Navy.

What do you do with an ATC? Well mine are going to go into an album as each month we are doing a different technique, but you can also make them into a card.........like this one. I have used the flower stamp from Carte Postale to create the background paper, silver embossed the sentiment & added some ribbon & silver cord. I posted these off last week, so will soon be getting 8 back in the mail - can't wait to check them out!

Monday 28 January 2008

Spiral Punch Tutorial

I've been wanting to do a tutorial for a while, but didn't know what to start with, so thankyou Char for asking how the spiral punch worked, & here is my first attempt at a tutorial.

Above are the supplies you will need. A sheet of cardstock (I have used Stampin' Up! perfectly plum, you can also use patterned papers - the thicker double sided ones work best), Stampin' Up! Spiral Punch, anywhere gluestick, scissors & a spiral notebook. You can trim your cardstock if you like, however don't make it the same size as the notebook yet. I always trim mine after punching as it can be tricky to line up the holes for the spine.

The spiral punch will punch 2 holes, the other section has a metal guide. When making your first punch make sure the right hand side of the cardstock is flush against the guide. I always use the punch unspide down, as pictured, so I can see where I am punching. Continue to punch all the way along the cardstock, lining up the metal guide in the slit of the last hole punched!
At this point, if you have purchased a Stampin' Up! On Board Art Journal, the cardstock could be glued on the cover as the holes are the correct distance apart. However if you are using a spirax notebook you will need to add in a few more steps.
You will notice that the holes are too far apart at this point, so you will need to punch another set. Make a small mark in the middle of the first two holes (see white mark in above pic)Line the mark up so it is in the middle of the left hand side hole to be punched, as above. Continue punching along your cardstock, below you can see the left side of the cardstock has been punched once, the right side punched twice & the holes are alot closer together.

Once you have punched all the way along your cardstock it will be ready to glue on the front/back of your notebook.
I always glue onto my cover, them trim around the edge with the scissors. This way there is no measuring & my cover is always the right fit.

Here is the finished notebook, ready to be embellished. If you are interested in purchasing a Stampin' Up! spiral punch, or any other Stampin' Up! products, contact me via email - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au . Thanks for checking out my tutorial - Please leave me a comment if you have found it useful or have any thoughts on what could be better.

Friday 25 January 2008

Carte Postale notebook

I have been covering afew notebooks lately & it really is alot of fun. Using the Stampin' Up! spiral punch makes it so easy - the covers are a perfect fit!
I have used carte postale stamp set & leaves a la carte jumbo wheel for this one along with some of the new wide celery grosgrain ribbon. Everything used, apart from the notebook, is Stampin' Up! & available to purchase throug me so if you are interested just send me an email - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au

Blog Candy Winners....

Thankyou to everyone who left such nice comments on my blog. If I was a millionaire I would be giving you all something, but I'm not - sorry. The lucky winners are Ghazal & Robyn L. I will be emailing you shortly to get your snail mail addy so I can send off your goodies - congratulations.

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Male birthday card

Why is it that male cards are harder to make? I think it's because we try not to use all things feminine - flowers, ribbons & bows, buttons & glitter! My Nan asked me to make a card for one of her grandsons (my cousin) & this is what I came up with. I found it particularly challengeing as he turned 18 - so nothing cutesy at all & I don't have any number stamps to put on it either! Oh well - I hope he liked it anyway.

Stamp Sets: Big Deal Alpha, Birthday Whimsy, Everyday Flexible Phrases & Rough Texture Wheel. Colours: Mellow Moss, Choc CHip, Cranberry Crisp. Paper is from the At Home simply scrappin kit.

Don't forget I will draw out the winners for my Blog Candy on Friday, so if you want a chance to win, make a comment on the previous post '1K Blog Candy'.

Saturday 19 January 2008

1K BLOG CANDY

Gosh imagine how excited I will be when the counter reaches 10k or even 100k (long way off, but I have seen blogs with much larger numbers, so it can happen). When I first started this blog, I didn't think that many people would be interested in checking out what I have been making. It has been so good for my self confidence & I think that my creations are improving also.

I have figured that my blog has been running for about 140 days - so by deducting 140 for my one visit per day (although I don't visit every day.....really I don't) that leaves 860 hits. Divide that by 140 days to get an ave of 6 hits/day. Now if each visitor checked my site once a week I could potentially have 42 regular people visiting my site (can you tell I used to work for an accountant?). I realise this is just a wild guess, as someone could visit once & decide not to come back again - but still & am liking the figures.

I have decided that in honour of my blogs achievement I am going to offer up some fantastic BLOG CANDY. There will be 2 candy packs & to win one all you have to do is leave a comment on this post before Friday 25th Jan. If you are having trouble commenting please let me know via email - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au

Here are the pics of what is up for grabs - not all of it is Stampin' Up! , but they are still great products.
1st prize - Decorated notebook (using the gorgeous Stampin' Up! Wild Rose stamp set), decorated candle (using Both Way Blossoms) & Tim Holtz vintage photo distress ink pad & re inker.

2nd prize - Rollagraph handle, ink cartridge & jelly bean wheel, silver mica magic ink pad & reinker, 2 x carl punches, pack of style stones & an inkums stamp set.

7 things about me ....................

I have been tagged by the very talented Yvonne & now need to share with you 7 things about me that you may or may not already know. So here goes:

1. I am a chocoholic!! I love all chocolate, except dark choc. Unfortunately I have passed this awful disease on to my daughter, who from the age of about 16 mnths when asked "What are you?", would reply (& still does) "Chocoholic"!

2. I am the eldest of 4 girls. We are all very different & I am the 'straight' one - always trying to do the right thing & please everyone (which of course never happens). It can be quite boring at times, but I think the rest of the family love me anyway!

3. I live in the Cotton Capital of Australia - Wee Waa (25km out of town). It is a small country town with a population of 2000. I have lived in the area all my life & am currently living in the house I was born in!

4. My husband & I used to catch the same bus to school, though I don't remember him - I was in kindy, while he was in highschool!

5. We were married in 1999 at my parents farm. It was a beautiful wedding in my Mum's gardens, with a huge marquee. A true family affair, my Aunt Rhonda made a yummy cake, my Aunt Anna did all the gorgeous flowers, My Aunt Cecelia did my makeup (thanks Seal for nearly taking off my eyebrow!), My Aunt Carol & sister Tammy sang during the ceremony & for the bridal waltz, my cousin Margot took photos while another cousin Jeff did the music. I'm sure there were many other family members who helped out to make my day so lovely.

6. We have 2 beautiful children, Sam was born 10 weeks premature weighing 1.5kg, while Josie was 2 weeks overdue & weighed 4.4kg - almost 3 times as much as Sam did!

7. I am a terrible procastinator (or should that read, really good procrastinator) I have so many 1/2 finished projects lying around it isn't funny. I also hate cleaning & would do almost anything to get out of doing it - I just need to somehow make enough money to hire a housecleaner!

I am now supposed to tag 7 people, but instead will point you to the sites of 7 fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators who have been tagged recently & if you are interested can read what they have written about themselves - Claire, Michelle, Kerri, Sharon, Joanna, Melissa & Yvonne.

Friday 18 January 2008

Tiny Takeout Boxes & Tags

SORRY - I HAVE HAD TO REMOVE THESE PICS DUE TO PENDING PUBLICATION - I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THEY GO!!


Tomorrow I am running a class from my home using the Tiny Takeout Boxes & Tags sheets from Stampin' Up! These are a couple of samples cards I have made using some of the cute tags.


The flowers on this last one are also from the tag sheet. I got my inspiration for the butterfly trail from Carol .







These cards were made using one of the great FREE SAB sets on offer along with the Paisley background stamp. Colours are pale & perfect plum with a splash of Certainly Celery.

SAB winner

Well thanks everyone who subscribed to my blog. The winner of the free SAB set is......Leanne. I will be in contact with you to see which set you would like.

I have been taken by surprise by the number of visitors to my site lately - I thought I had some time before my 1000 hit, but it is nearly here. In honour of this exciting event (well it's exciting for me anyway) I will have an extra special freebie up for grabs next Friday.

Tuesday 15 January 2008

Friendship Blooms

Friendship Blooms was my favourite SAB set, but each time I use one of the others I keep changing my mind - I just can't decide which one I like the best, luckily I have them all ;-)



I have used a 12x12 sheet of the gorgeous Enchante Designer Series Paper to make this CD/DVD holder for a class on the weekend. The larger 'petals' are made using the large oval punch & the smaller flower is from Friendship Blooms, along with the sentiment. Email me if you would like instructions on how it was made - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au Don't forget to sign up for email updates before Friday to be in with a chance to win your choice of SAB set (yes I know, you can get one for free with every $100 you spend, but this is the one time you can win one without spending a cent!!)

Saturday 12 January 2008

Die Cut Sale-a-bration sets

The best thing about Sale-a-bration (SAB) stamp sets is that if you spend $100 during Jan & Feb, you get to choose one for FREE. The next best thing is that they are 'die cut'! If you are like me & get abit nervous every time you cut out your new stamps - then you will love die cut stamp sets. The rubber is already cut, so all you need to do is push out the stamp & mount it on the wood block.
You can see the rubber 'negative' on the left. You can keep this to use for a mask - I'll show you this another day - so make sure you don't throw it out!
Once you stick the coordinating sticker on the other side on the wood block you are ready to stamp. It is so easy & there is absolutely no cutting involved!


I've used the Birthday Whimsy SAB set to make these 2 cards. The first is a really simple one layer card. I hand stitched the 'string' for the balloons & am fairly happy with how it turned out. I am the worst at sewing & usually my fabulous MIL ends up doing it for me, but have seen so many lovely cards with sewing on them that I thought I'd give it a go. Next time I think I will try it with a sewing machine!I used my Stampin' Write markers to colour the cake for this card, then I covered it in 2 way glue & poured on dazzling diamonds. It is really sparkly IRL, but the camera doesn't photograph it very well. I tried to get a closer pic, but with so much glitter my poor camera couldn't focus properly!

If you want your own SAB set just email me an order of at least $100 (not incl postage) or you can subscribe to get updates to my blog & be in the running to win one!

Friday 11 January 2008

BLOG CANDY

What is bolg candy? Well it's just a fancy way of saying 'FREEBIE'!! Today's freebie is only for subscribers - so if you want to win you'll have to subscribe using the box on the right. Scroll down & enter your email address to get updates. Anyone who is a subscriber by next Friday will be in with a chance to win one of the fabulous SAB sets. I know some of my subscribers aren't actually stampers, so am going to throw in a stampin' spot as well.

Wednesday 9 January 2008

A couple of cards..

Thought I'd quickly share a couple of cards with you. I made this first one for my hubby's birthday a couple of months ago. On page 111 of the IB&C there is a card that has folded cardstock along the bottom that has been stitched. I liked this idea, but am lousy at sewing, so thought I'd just use staples - I think it works, especially for a masculine card.
I love this next card! I am not usually an orange person, but when I saw this card on SCS I had to CASE it. Cardstock is pumpkin pie & it also looks great with choc chip - I will try & make a card using those colours & show you tomorrow.

Sunday 6 January 2008

Dorothy the Dinosaur...

Thought I'd better post something using some different colours as I seem to be using alot of brown & green lately !! This page is for a workshop I will be doing soon, showing how to turn an 8x8 scrapbook page into a 12x12 one. It uses one of the SAB sets you can get for free, just by spending $100 during Jan & Feb. Here is a closer look at the 8x8 page - I cased it from the SAB catalogue! I was going to change the colours, but when I came across these pics from our trip to Dreamworld last year they matched so well I left them the same. I just need to finish it off with some journalling in the red section.

Saturday 5 January 2008

Card Sketches

Before joining Stampin' Up! I had never used a card sketch, but now I love them. So what is a card sketch? It is a layout/design you use to create a card from. Why do I love them? I find with card making there are so many things you can do & ways you can do them that often I am stuck for somewhere to start. By using a sketch, part of the card is already decided for me! Last night the Inkling Team held a cyberstamp & one of the challenges was to create a card using this sketch:

So here is the card I made. Part of the challenge also included the use of patterned paper, so once I had decided what paper to use the colours for the card were easy - just use the colours that co-ordinate with the paper! I am rather pleased with how it turned out.


Tuesday 1 January 2008

HAPPY NEW YEARS

Hope everyone had a great night last night & may 2008 bring much happiness & good fortune to you all. We stayed at home - very boring I know :-(


You may already know this, but just in case you don't - I LOVE STAMPIN' UP! It is such a great company to be involved with. Just before Christmas every demonstrator received a gorgeous stamp set - for free, how good is that! It is called Time Well Spent & will be a level 3 hostess set in the new IB&C (Idea Book & Catalogue) to be released in April '08. It is a cute, 12 piece, flowery set that includes a heart, butterfly & 2 verses - I plan to use it for some valentines cards soon too.

The winner is ...................

Thanks to all who entered. Robyn A is the lucky winner - please email me (alana@aussiebroadband.com.au ) with your snail mail address & this cute triange box, along with the pictured goodies, will be on its way to you.