A very merry Xmas

This is my last blog post before Xmas, and the New Year as we head away camping tomorrow afternoon.  I would just like to wish those who follow my blog a very merry xmas and a bountiful new year.   To Paula my upline, thank you so much for inviting me on to your team, it's been a blast so far and Im sure will continue to be so next year.

I thought I would leave you for the year with a few pics, the last of my xmas cards followed by pictures of the table setting I was asked to design for a friend.   Hope you enjoy looking at them.

Baja breeze xmas using my well loved Snow Swirled set, baja breeze and chocolate chip cards and baja breeze dsp.   And of course the obligatory embossing!

Created for a friend who sat with me while I cut out the stockings and requested this as HER card. 

Front of card for Paula

Inside

Close up of presents

Table setting

Close up of placename boxes

Cutlery holders

Table setting:
Soft suede, whisper white and real red card
Inks: Soft suede, Versamark
Other:   Top note die, white embossing powder, gold brads
Red & gold ribbons non SU


So anyway, that's me outta here for the next week or so.   Im taking my stamping things camping so hopefully will have lots of awesome things to upload when I get home.

Lots of xmas wishes


Julz

Wow - thank goodness that's over!!

What a week it's been.   I feel like I have been a card making machine although looking at all the pictures now it doesn't look like I have done as much as I feel I have!

Anyway, I took lots and lots of pictures of the cards I have been creating.   Firstly my xmas cards which can be found here -  http://flickr.com/gp/julzbutler/m59082 and then the cards I was asked to make for my daughters cheerleading prizegiving which are here - http://flickr.com/gp/julzbutler/fo4n87    I have popped a couple of my favourite pictures at the end of this post for you to see as well.

It's been a mammoth few days and while I still have a few xmas cards to finish and upload over the next day (and then post!!) I am largely finished.   Still have the table settings I have designed for a friends xmas table to make, along with a squash book I am working on for a gift - oh and the rest of the xmas shopping to do.    IS there a chance someone could stop the world for an extra few days please??

Julz

10 sleeps till Santa

Ok - hands up who HASN"T finished getting ready apart from me.   Its been a mental week so far - so much to do so little time.

Anyway I still wanted to enter the challenge over at Just Add Ink which this week was a colour challenge to use Tempting Turquoise, Basic Grey, Daffodil Delight and Riding Hood Red.  Because I didn't quite manage to enter last weeks critters challenge I had this card in mind and the colour challenge helped considerably in pulling the elements of this card together.

As well as the JAI challenge my week has been full of card making.   I am working on a total of 23 cards which I have been asked to make for my daughters Cheerleading Prizegiving on Saturday, and a friend asked me just a couple of days ago to make some gift card holders and cards so she can take them away when she leaves tomorrow for her holidays.   As well, today my young neighbour came over to make a start on her Xmas cards (her pic is underneath my JAI entry)

So as you can see, busy busy.   Will update soon with some pics of all the gorgeous cards I have been making


Ciao

Julz

Happy birthday

So regular readers and friends should remember the little girl Hope who has featured on my blog before with her "stamping".  Well tomorrow is her 3rd birthday and she came over today for a bit to give her mum time to attend school interviews and so got her presents early and had some cake.   Well there was more cake on her than the plate which ended up necessitating a bath but we had a lovely time.

Anyhoo, I finished her card tonight (it wasn't quite ready in time so will go over tomorrow with it and the lollipop I promised her for her birthday) and as I hadn't entered the Just Add Ink  challenge for this week which was an inspirational sketch challenge decided I may as well use it as a guide to make designing easier.

Anyway - here's the card I designed, and a picture of the adorable wee girl enjoying her cake.

Julz 
 
Materials:  Melon mambo, orchard opulence (retired) and whisper white card stock.  Melon mambo, concord crush and basic black inks, sentiment stamp from the hostess gift Occasional quotes,  Sprinkles (retired), eyelet border punch & Embosslits Beautiful Wings

Fire!

No not really.   But I am heading to a friends 40th later today and wanted to create him a really special card.  He is a firefighter so I thought it fitting to make him a fire themed card.

After searching the net for ideas I found this and used it to create the inspiration for the following card.

Sponged in a combination of So Saffron, Daffodil Delight,  Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango and Real Red to create the background I then printed the fireman out on to white paper, used my tombo to create a removable template and cut the fireman out before adhering onto the background with some dimensionals.  The inside is a plain whisper white insert with the birthday greeting from Sincere Salutations stamped in Real Red.  I can't wait to give it to him tonight.

Anyway thats all for now, although given that I yesterday received all my new toys - read big shot and heat tool plus new card and inks, I imagine I will be blogging again really soon!

See yas, have an awesome weekend.

Julz

Who wants Christmas?

So anyway, it's been a few days.   I had my first workshop on the weekend and it went pretty well I think.  The ladies seemed to enjoy themselves, sales were good and I had four workshop bookings so it was a great day.   I spent Tuesday with another SU demonstrator and we had just over six hours in her studio creating.   One of the things I made was this card, which meets requirements for this weeks Just Add Ink challenge to Just Add Christmas.   I used Old Olive card, ink and DSP, the So Swirly stamp set and a little dazzling diamonds to create this simple card.    Hope you like it.   Have had a few other creations which I will blog over the next few days most likely but wanted to get this up in time.

Julz x

I'm still here

Just haven't posted in a bit.   Last week just seemed to get away on me.   We had team training on Thursday night and then on Friday I sat my last exam - yay free for the summer.   To celebrate, on Monday I went on school camp with my youngest boy (13) and 31 other 13 year olds and 9 other parents/teachers.   Was stacks of fun and I even took my stamping things and managed to stay behind when they went on a 3 hour tramp on Tuesday morning and was able to create some goodies.    I have my first workshop this weekend, so totally excited.  Am going to play hostess myself and at this stage it appears I have a good number of attendees.   Anyway, thats it for now, no pictures at this stage but might post some of the two mini card sets I have as potential gifts once I have the chance to photograph them....

ttfn

Julz

Happy birthday.....

Today my daughter turned 15, it's amazing how time flies, it feels like only yesterday she was a wee baby.

Anyway, I spent today making her presents.   I was meant to do them Saturday but lacked inspiration, was going to do them last night but a visitor turned up so last minute it was.   I rather underestimated how long it would take and spent the best part of the day completing my 'project'.   Quite conveniently because it's for a birthday it fits with the Just Add Ink challenge this week to just add birthdays.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  The main photo in the middle shows three of the presents she will receive.  Top left, a top note handbag I designed by using two top note dies cut out of chocolate chip and a very small box they are attached to.  Inside the handbag are two "vouchers" - the first a fake drivers licence to signify a promise to pay for her learner's when she has studied, and the second a hand made Jay Jays voucher (amount unspecified).     The second and third top pictures are of another wee gift certificate holder in baja breeze and it's contents, a handmade voucher for a hamburger phone.   Along the bottom the two photos on the left are of the Supre gift certificate (again handmade) and it's holder in blushing bride and the final photo is of her last present which is a copy of the road code - wrapped in some brown paper I rescued from the rubbish bin and then randomly stamped.

I can't wait to finally give them to her after dinner and see her reaction.   Anyway hope you all like them. 

Happy stamping

Julz x

Sunday funday

Wow, just got back from Paper Diva's Extravaganza and all I can say is WOW.  What a fun day was had by all the ladies there with 4 different projects made and lunch included was a total blast.  

Will post pics later, Im off to do the family BBQ thing for our daughter's birthday.  I just came on to update my blog with information regarding the We Stamp for Lara appeal which I have just this minute made my payment for.  30 tutorials in 30 days, can't wait to get started.   Thank goodness its uni holidays or I wouldn't have time to make anything.

Anyway, if you haven't heard about it check it out now .....

The week that was

Wow, what a fun week it's been so far.   Tuesday I went over to a friends studio to stamp.  I was struggling to get an idea for team training swaps so just fiddled around a bit and came up with the little yellow box in the photo below.   I have since modified the basic idea and come up with something great (will share after training).  The rest of the week has been much of the same.   Playing around with concepts and ideas, lots of blog surfing as well.   The other yellow box is destined for the mother of one of my friends who is having a rough time after the death of her former husband.  I intend on filling it with a few goodies for her.

Today I tried my hand at a top note box, using Danielle's design from  her Just Add Ink tutorial.   I used Blushing Bride, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla cardstock, versamarked the blushing bride and then used the chocolate chip ink for the words.   I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

On a sadder note, we just discovered that my 13 yr old son's much loved goldfish Splash has just departed for fish heaven.  Splash had been in our family for just over 2 years and was the catalyst for our fish habit.  We now have 8 remaining goldfish and I imagine another one soon.   Obviously he is quite sad and tonight we will be giving him the proper burial - in the "coffin" designed and made by my boy just this afternoon

Anyway, thats me for today - im hoping to enter the Just Add Ink just add birthday challenge so have my thinking cap on for inspiration.  

Julz

JAI entry

So the ladies over at Just Add Ink came up with yet another lovely challenge this week.   To use these gorgeous colours.

I deliberated a while.   I didn't have all the colours necessary so have substituted just one, the sahara sand although perhaps you could all just use your imagination and pretend that the box itself is made of sahara sand as I believe the colours would work just as nicely.  I substituted some very vanilla cardstock and used chocolate chip ink for the wording

This wee box is intended as a gift for a friend, and will be filled with handmade liquorice truffles.   I altered the dimensions of the very first stampin up box I received from Paula Dobson my wonderful upline to make a slightly taller box than the one she gave me.   I'm really happy with the result.   Hope you all like it too

Materials:  Pear pizzaz, blushing bride, very vanilla & chocolate chip cardstock;  Bashful blue DSP patterns stack, Beautiful wings embosslit die, perfect polka dots embossing folder,  blushing bride & chocolate chip inks

Play date Monday

Gotta love long weekends.   Saturday was taken up with not one but two exams.   Eep.   My brain was dead by the time I got home and bed called early.   Sunday was taken up with the traditional Labour weekend Kiwi pass time - yes gardening.   The garden beds were topped up with extra compost and potting mix, new tyres laid down for more corn and a number of plantings made.   Tons of sweetcorn, two tomato plants to start the season, some snow peas, a cucumber plant and some lettuces went in.   Will be adding to it frequently over the coming weeks with plans to plant a lot of extra tomatoes.  

Today though I got to play, not only with my new tree trimmings stamps but also my fellow crafter Ali's big shot.  I wasn't overly inspired and just ended up playing around a bit. 

The card here actually started out stamped on the top note die using tree trimmings on the chocolate chip paper in white craft ink and highlighted with dazzling diamonds. 

I decided I didn't like it once it was all assembled so carefully disassembled and cut all the trimmings out, added some ribbon and was fairly happy with the result.   Along the top I used the versamark and the decor wheel.  To lift the brown and the vanilla I used a piece of retired brights cardstock.

I really wanted to enter the just add ink challenge but found getting inspired difficult so just wanted to warm up so to speak.    I have an idea brewing, Im about to sit down and see if I can't come up with something.   Watch this space.......


Julz

So exciting

Guess what arrived on my doorstep this morning??  Thats right, you got it.   My demonstrator kit is finally here.   Super exciting although it arrived when I had a study buddy over so it wasn't until just now I was able to rip off the plastic and drool over all my new goodies.

Can't wait to create some super new things, although I will have to as exams loom tomorrow.   Two exams, one three hour and one two hour one back to back.   So not looking forward to it but definitely looking forward to finishing and being able to come home and make great use of all the shiny gorgeous colours and new stamps I have.  

Day 1 part 2

So I had to blog this.    I didn't really get any actual card making done this morning thanks to this wee poppet.  I just love babysitting my wee neighbour, even if it does mean I can't create in peace.  Isn't her "card" adorable.  

Day 1

So, here I sit.   University lectures are now over for the year and I am on study leave for the week before two exams on Saturday.    I should be studying, I want to stamp and create.   So the battle between the two begins.   To add to the mix, I have both my youngest home for the day and the neighbours almost 3 year old daughter for the morning.   She loves my stamps and punches and so it's likely that I will wait until she has left before I do any stamping.

On Friday night the wonderful  Paula Dobson  came over to run a class for myself and a lovely group of ladies.   I so would love to show what we made but we have been sworn to secrecy.   Suffice to say it will be worth the wait.   Paula truly is one talented lady with what she came up with.

Over the weekend I managed to make a number of creations, one of which was created with the  Just add ink challenge in mind.  The challenge over there this week was "Just add blue" to mark Anxiety and Depression month.    So my focus on the weekend was blue.   I used it in a number of different ways but this card was the most simple but I think it is quite effective and just a little masculine as well, quite a difference from my usual girly bling cards.   Hope you like it.