Camellias for Anna

Hello Everyone!  If you've been following my recent posts, you'll know that over the last couple of weeks I've been making gifts for our kids' teachers!  I can't believe another school year is over and Christmas is nearly here!!!  Each year I make altered notebooks for the teachers, find out their favourite colours and try and make something that I think would suit their personality - I figure at least they won't get another one like it! ;-)  Today's altered notebook was for my daughter's Grade 2 teacher who likes blue and green!  Anna is also talented in art and does some amazing work and did the coolest cartoon picture of her class this year incorporating their nicknames!  My daughter was nicknamed 'Rapunzel' - and yes, she has very long, blonde hair!  :)

I use hardcover Spirax notebooks - this makes them easy to cover and I have a Spiral punch (by Stampin' Up, but I'm not sure if they still exist???) to punch the sides of the paper which fits beautifully around the coils.  I've covered this one with Kaisercraft paper and added a panel of Soft Sky cut with Grand Labels 23 (do the Grand Dies still exist?  Not sure?).  Next I've added a panel of blue punching the bottom with a border punch and topping with the reverse of the DP and wrapping a ribbon around it.  Next are layers of white and Soft Sky cut with Tranquil Moments.  I've stamped the image from Power Poppy's Simply Camellias in Memento Tuxedo Black onto X-press It Blending Card and coloured with Copics (RV00, RV52, RV55, RV66, Y00, Y11, Y15, Y17, G40, G43, G46, B0000, B000, B00) and cut it out with an Oval Die.  To finish I've accented with a couple of rhinestones and a bow and cut the letters of her name out with Font One - Uppercase.

The card has been made with a base of white, topped with Soft Sky cut with Tranquil Moments.  Next is a piece of white cut with an oval die, topped with more Soft Sky cut with Tranquil Moments.  This image, although it looks like the one I used above, is actually the digi version called Camellias, that I've printed a bit smaller onto X-press It Blending Card and coloured with Copics like the one above and cut with an oval die.  To finish I've just added a bow.

For the bag, I've used the single camellia image from Simply Camellias and randomly stamped it in blue ink all over the bag and finished with a raffia bow.

Stamps - Simply Camelias, Camellias (Power Poppy)
Paper - X-press It Blending Card, Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Kaisercraft DP
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Printer
Accessories - Copics, Spellbinders Petite Ovals (ret), Font One Uppercase and Tranquil Moments Dies, MS Border Punch, Clear Rhinestones, Blue Ribbon, Bow Easy

Not only did Anna love her gift, I was so surprised to get an email from her the week-end after school finished to thank me again for it!!  Such a sweet lady!!  :)  I'm just happy she liked it!  :)

Well, thanks for hanging in there all the way to the end!  That's all from me today, thanks for visiting and hope you are inspired to stamp!  :)

A Little Candle Gift

Hello Everyone!!  It's Power Poppy Friday and the last one before Christmas Day!  I have kids in my house counting the days!  Today's project is a super quick one to do and one I did to add a little extra into a Secret Santa gift for this year's staff Christmas Party.  I already had a couple of things in there and just wanted a little something else - you know what I mean!  :)  This project also fits the Power Poppy Power and Spark Challenge for this month in the Gifts from the Heart section.  Since it is the Time to Rewind Challenge and there are 10 sections to choose from, I'm sure you'll find one that suits you!!

This was just a plain white and not very large candle that I found at the discount store.  I stamped the image from Power Poppy's Springtime Love onto white tissue paper in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured it with Copics.  Colours don't really blend particularly well on tissue paper because it is so thin, so you don't have to be too careful about it (just stay in the lines!).  Once it's coloured, I've trimmed it fairly close and placed it on the candle and covered it with waxed paper.  Hold the waxed paper tight and heat with a heat gun - you'll see it melt into the candle!

For the back, I've used the sentiment from Power Poppy's Good Thinking: Renewal set and followed the same steps (without the colouring) as above.  To finish I've just tied some raffia around the base of the candle.  I think this time of year we all need a little of 'Relax and Restore' don't you??!!

Stamps - Springtime Love, Good Thinking: Renewal (Power Poppy)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - White Tissue Paper, Waxed Paper
Accessories - Copics, Raffia, Candle

Make sure you pop by the other Bloomies playing along today and take a peek at what they've whipped up this week!

• Allison Cope
• Christine Okken
• Julie Koerber
• Kathy Jones
• Katie Sims
• Leslie Miller
• Marcella - The Power Poppy Blog 

Thanks for popping by and hope you enjoyed this quick project that you can add to a gift pack and whip up in no time!  Hope you are inspired to stamp  :)

Teacher Gifts for End of Year

WHEW - I survived the end of the school year!  I'm sure everyone who has or had school aged children will understand the craziness that it the end of the school year.  Here in Australia it usually falls in the second week of December which of course is also the lead up to Christmas and all the associated parties and so forth and for us, our eldest son also had a week long representative cricket carnival at the same time.  Talk about chaos!  I always feel like I'm clawing my way through to the last day of school!  To add to the craziness I make covered journal/notebooks with matching cards for the teachers.  Now I do this EVERY YEAR, so you would think that I would start earlier in the year, but nooooooooo.... I'm always madly finishing it during the chaos.  One year I will learn!

Today I'm showing you a set I made for my son's Grade 5 teacher, who is a lovely and super organised lady and if there is anyone who would use a notebook it is her!  :)  I'm happy to say she absolutely loved it!  :)

For the card, I made the blue base out of 5x7 Detailed Scallops and layered with white cut with Labels 40 Nestabilities and layered with blue cut with Labels 40 Decorative Elements.  Around this I've attached some purple ribbon.  I've stamped the lilacs from Lilac Time in Memento Tuxedo Black onto X-press It Blending Card and coloured with Copics (V01, V15, V17, YG03,YG93, YG95, YG97, R24, R29, B0000, B000, B21) and then attached to the front.  I've then cut some purple card wtih Splendid Circles and topped with white cut with circle dies.  The letter is for 'Linda' not lilac, and cut with Spellbinders Font One - Upper and the whole panel popped up on foam tape.

For the journal, I've covered the front with FabScraps Shabby Chic paper and added a panel of purple topped with white (embossed).  Next I've added a strip of purple punched with a border punch, topped with the reverse of the paper and wrapped a purple ribbon around it.  I've created the centre piece by following the steps listed above for the card, once again using Power Poppy's Lilac Time for the feature image.

Did you notice that I stamped the lilac image all over the bag in a blue ink?  I've used the same stamp to create custom packaging and finished off with a raffia bow!

Stamps - Lilac Time (Power Poppy)
Paper - X-press It Blending Card, Blue, Purple, White, FabScraps Shabby Chic DP
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories - Copics, Spellbinders 5x7 Detailed Scallops, Labels 40 and Labels 40 Decorative Elements, Oval Dies, Font One - Uppercase, Circle and Stately Circle Dies, MS Border Punch, Purple Ribbon, X-press It Foam Tape

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading the whole, very long post! Hope your life is not as crazy as mine and hope today's post has you inspired to stamp!  :)

Thank You Fireworks

Hello Everyone!  A little while ago I had a post showing a covered notebook that I made for my son's teacher.....well today I'm showing the card that I made to go with it!  Designed to match yet not be an exact replica.  :)  If you missed that post (and the latest Power and Spark Challenge!) you can find that HERE!!

I've used a base of Blushing Bride topped with white and some random DP from my stash.  I've stamped the sentiment from So Grateful in Versafine Black in the bottom corner.  I like that this is a pretty and small script that fits nicely across the bottom!  :)  Across the middle I've used another panel of white topped with the reverse side of the DP.  Next is a piece of Blushing Bride cut with Majestic Labels 25 and attached to the middle.  Over all these layers is a piece of pink ribbon.  Next I've printed the Garden Fireworks image  (I've made it the size that fits nicely in the oval I wanted to use!) onto X-press It Blending Card and coloured it with Copics (RV00, RV32, RV34, YG11, YG13, YG17, G82, G85, G94, V000, V12, V17, V91, C2, B63, B66, BG0000, BG000) and then popped it up on foam tape.  To finish I've added a bow and rhinestones to the corners.

Stamps - Garden Fireworks, So Grateful (Power Poppy)
Paper - X-press It Blending Card, Blushing Bride, White, DP
Ink - Printer, Versafine Black
Accessories - Copics, Spellbinders Oval and Majestic Labels 25, Pink Ribbon, Bow Easy, X-press It High Tack Foam Tape, Clear Rhinestones

That's all from me today, thanks for visiting and hope you are inspired to stamp!  :)

Power and Spark Notebook!

Hello Everyone!  It's Power Poppy Friday and this month is a Power and Spark Rewind!!  What does that mean??  You can choose ANY of the challenges this year to play along, just find the one that gets your mojo moving and join the fun!  Want a quick list to choose from?  Check out the list below.....

• The Sky's the Limit (Use sky colors – sunsets, blue sky, gray sky, any color found in the sky.)
• Go for the Gold (Use gold in any way – color, embellishments, embossing.)
• Pop of Pastel (Use soft pastel colors.)
• Cut it Out (Fussy cut all or part of your image.)
• Pencil Me In (Color with pencils, including watercolor pencils.)
• Hang Some Paper (Use at least three different patterns or colors of designer paper.)
• Shabby & Chic (Soft, feminine, romantic, the appearance of age and wear.)
• Gifts from the Heart (Gifts or gift packaging, tags, etc.)
• Bits & Pieces (Use just a portion of an image. Stamp off the edge or cut it out, etc.)
• Embellish This (Use embellishments)

You can find all the details on the Power Poppy Blog!  Don't forget, by simply playing along with the challenge this month you could WIN a stamp set or digi stamps of YOUR CHOICE!!  WOOHOO!!!!  :)

If you have been a follower of my blog for a while, you may have noticed that time time of year I start making covered journals and notebooks. Unlike my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, the end of the school year for Aussie kids is December - usually two weeks before Christmas! As you can imagine, this is a crazy and chaotic time for me with three school aged children!  Soooooooo.....I chose to rewind to the Gifts from the Heart Challenge and made a notebook.......which was actually handed over to a teacher TODAY!  (I was relieved to hear she loved it!)

I use a Spirax hard cover, spiral bound notebook.  I prefer the hard cover, it makes them easier to cover and the spiral binding matches well with my spiral punch.  I've covered the notebook with some pretty and fun paper (thinking of the recipient)  and punched the side with a spiral punch.  I've then attached the paper to the cover with X-press It High Tack Tape to secure it in place.  I've then added a panel of white topped with the reverse print from the DP and attached a piece of pink ribbon.  I've printed out the image (actually part of the image since I cropped it in photoshop) from Garden Fireworks on X-press It Blending Card and coloured it with Copics and cut it out with Majestic Labels 25 and glued in place.  I've cut two circles of card and attached the die cut 'B' in the centre and attached as shown.  To finish I've added a couple of rhinestone to the corner.

Stamps - Garden Fireworks (Power Poppy)
Paper - X-press It Blending Card, White, Pool Party, Random DP from the stash
Ink - Printer
Accessories - Copics, Spellbinders Majestic Labels 25, Circle Dies, Font One Upper Case Alphabet, Pink Ribbon, Clear Rhinestones, X-press It High Tack Tape

There's lots of fun to be had today with such a broad range of challenges to choose from, check out what the team has to inspire you!!

• Allison Cope
• Christine Okken
• Julie Koerber
• Kathy Jones
• Katie Sims
• Leslie Miller
• Stacy Morgan
• Marcella Hawley - The Power Poppy Blog

That's all from me today, hope you play along with us and are inspired to stamp!  :)

Remember You Are Brave

Hello Everyone!  I have a new card today for you using one of the latest releases by JustRite Papercraft called Remember You Are!  If you have a fondness for Winnie the Pooh this will have a familiar feel!  Full of mix and match words to create a sentiment perfect for the person you have in mind!  I have a friend who's had a rough time lately and I thought this combo in particular would be fitting for her.

I've used a base of black card and layered with red and some Spring Bloom DP.  Next is a strip of black topped with more DP.  Around this I've attached cream and aqua ribbons.  I've then used the JustRite Vintage Labels Seven Dies (ooops, just realised that this particular die is no longer available - sorry about that!) to cut a piece of DP and a piece of black card.  I've cut the card panel in half so it can frame the other piece a little.  The sentiment from Remember You Are has been stamped in black and red inks to highlight the words braver and believe and then cut it out with a circle die and popped it up on foam tape.  To finish I've added some clear rhinestones and a couple of buttons.

Stamps - Remember You Are (JustRite Papercraft)
Paper -Black, White, Red, Kaisercraft Spring Bloom DP
Ink - Black and Red
Accessories - JustRite Vintage Labels Seven, Circle Nestabilities, Rhinestones, Buttons

That's all from me today, thanks for visiting and hope you are inspired to stamp!!  :)