Hey there, well, it's FINALLY time to share my space with you!! Now i've been around blogland over the last few months to see how everyone else is doing it & I must admit, i'm totally jealous of all you lucky girls who have a WHOLE ROOM for your stuff! I, however, do not...I was allocated a small corner in our office & I really had to plan the layout of my craft table & how I would store it all... it was all very tricky! So for those of you who are like me & have to squeeze what you can where you can, this post is for you!!!
So, this is the view of the stamping space from the hallway going up into the room...boy I love that view...so inviting..
So, the first thing I got was the table & matching bookcase from Ikea...I LOVE THAT PLACE!! I could curl up & die happy there! If you haven't got much space they are Kings of storage solutions. I also got the railings for my punches & the hanging baskets for the ribbons from there & they were only $3.50 each, how cheap! I love being able to have my computer right at my desk too, before I had to move to our computer table to access my blog...& everyone else lol, but now all I have to do is grab the keyboard & off I go! I almost never have to move again! (I see trouble ahead...LOL)
There's my beautiful new lamp which just arrived yesterday...I only ordered it on Mon, dont you love it when you order something & you dont have to wait long?? I do! The lamp came from an online lighting shop. They have SO many to choose from & they are all really cool, different to what i've seen in shops i've walked into. Make sure you check them out!
Now for the storage solutions...I love the colours all together, I bought the green a little while ago from Officeworks, but when I went back to get more they had sold out & moved onto red, I thought 'ok, red works too' & it really does! Inside them I store my catalouges, spare paper, rub-ons, DSP, forms...anything really. 
This is my lovely red clock from Big W, I bought it to even out the green things, & it matches my red chair! Well, I think that just about covers it...My Stamping Space! I hope you enjoyed having a look & maybe got some ideas for your own space. I'd love to see what you've been working on!
Till next time XX
Monday, November 9, 2009
Stationary Box
Hello! Sorry its been so long between posts....I've been a very slack little blogger! Thanks for your messages, both subtle & rather less than subtle, Kylie! LOL
I've been a busy little beaver getting my stamping space organised & im excited to tell you its NEARLY finished! I'll post pics as soon as the last piece arrives which is a lovely lamp I ordered from an awesome online lighting shop, they have HEAPS of really modern lamps & uplights, it was almost impossible to choose which one to order! Get a sneak peek of the one i chose...I cant wait till it gets here!
Well, I thought I'd better have something extra nice to show you since its been such a long wait, so I made a Stationary Box! Its got everything you need to write a card, or tag a present, all in the one box! Would make a nice handmade gift too! The idea for this box I got from Jackie Topa, in fact all I did was change the colours! Her tutorial is here
Here it is open, love the place for the stamps!
Actually there is a little handy space for everything!
& here it is all spread out, I really like how the colours all turned out together...I made one before this, but its still unfinished because the colours were not nearly as nice.
The little note cards..
& the gift tagsSaturday, October 24, 2009
Something fun...
I have something really fun to share with you today.
Lately a few people have said that they would love to get into card making & candle decorating but they are not 'naturally crafty'. Well I told those people that I didn't start off naturally crafty either, in fact, I wasn't particularly interested in papercrafts when I went to my first Stampin' Up party. It was something that came with practice. They didn't believe me, so I promised to show them my very first card I ever made all by myself! LOL...here it is!
LOL, look at the pink card behind thats EXACTLY the same as the one photographed...I wasn't particularly crafty AT ALL!
So anyway, it's a very simple card, as first cards usually are, but the difference between this card & some I made just a month later are dramatic. It really doesn't take long to get the hang of it. I used to find cards I liked on splitcoaststampers & print them off & CASE them (its called case but back then, I just plain copied them!! lol) It really gave me an idea of colours & layouts, punches & techniques that I would NEVER have worked out by myself. It was that practice that got me 'on my feet' creatively. Still now, every now & then, when I find myself sitting like veal at my stamping table, I still jump on SCS & get inspired by colour combinations or techniques I haven't seen before, it always gets my mojo flowing. Hope you enjoyed this overshare! lol
Happy stamping!
Oh before I go, I've started up a profile on Facebook. I thought it might be fun to have a forum thats a little more interactive than just the blog...bit more fun! Feel free to 'add me as friend'. See you there!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Decorating Candles Tutorial...ITS EASY!
Hands up who thinks this is GORGEOUS!...Well my hand is in the air even if no-one elses is! I love this! It was easier to create this than it should be, what I mean by that is, for years i've bought decorated candles (& paid good money for them) thinking it had to be done when the candle was first made or something & now that i've done it myself with so few steps I see what a simple process it is.
Thought for fun I would photograph my efforts & show how simple it actually is. This is all from memory after seeing Simone Bartrum's presentation at Melbourne Regionals, have I mentioned I enjoyed it??
Ok, Step 1.
Stamp images & patterns on tissue paper in the way you'd like it to look on your candle. Note. you can emboss, add glitter, use markers, use any technique you like at this stage that the tissue paper can take...not sure how you'd go watercolouring...but you get the idea!
Step 2. Cut around the images & position it on your candle.
Step 3. Wrap the tissue paper pattern & your candle together with non-stick baking paper & hold tightly at the back.
Step 4. Get out your Heat Gun & warm up the paper over your image, you know your getting somewhere when you see the image go slightly darker, you can kinda see the top layer of candle melting slightly & spreading over the image. What you want is the tissue paper to 'disappear' on the candle, you can see it starting to happen on one edge here...
Step 5. Once your done with the Heat Gun you can gently peel off the baking paper & hopefully its stuck down all over the image..if not, you know what to do! Get out that Heat Gun & give it another going over!
Step 6. This is the fun bit...adding all your embellishments! Go CRAZY!
I made this set using my practice candle up the top, just changed the sentiment to make them a nice set. You'll notice the image has been reversed on the second candle to make them 'go together', I did that by flipping the tissue paper over, its so thin it looks the same on the back so is very easy to reverse. How simple is that?! The best bit is my hands smell like Jasmine after handling the candles so much, mmmm love that smell.Sunday, October 18, 2009
Swaps I received...
Hello...again! Well I thought while I was in such a chatty mood I'd take the opportunity to show you the gorgeous swaps I got back for my swaps.
So here they are, all lined up and gorgeous..
couldn't fit them all in, so here's the rest..
All those clever bunnies out there will notice there's only 33, that because I left one of my 35 on the stampin' up table at the regionals & the other one I accidently left at my sisters house when we were comparing swaps.
Thanks to everyone who swapped with me, I love all my cards & have looked at them so many times since I recieved them sat. Cant wait to try some of these new ideas i've found!!
Melbourne Regionals
OK, I uploaded the pics & surprisingly I have less than I thought I did! I realised I took HEAPS of pics on Ange's camera which is almost exactly the same as mine & my sis had my camera! lol
Anyway, i'll show you what I have!
So the day started early so we could get in & settled without too much fuss & before we knew it we were in & swapping all our cards, so much fun, all the flurry & excitement in seeing what everyone else had created...I have my fave's which i'll photograph & post up cause they are just gorgeous!
Once it got started we were treated to Aaron Scott showing us how to make a 'graffiti card' which was very cool & very 'manly' as my husband would put it lol. Here is a shot of him holding his creation...
Clearly my sister had the camera for this shot because i'm way too shy to ask a stranger for a photo op! lol. I really liked his presentation, he was interesting & showed how he'd started into card making with his fonts styled cards...very funny! Anyway, am glad to have something to show the husband...men do make cards!!!! LOL
I cant remember the order the presentations were in but one that I particularly enjoyed was Simone Bartrum's showing how easy it is to decorate candles. I think I gasped the whole way through & this afternoon I went & bought the materials to do it myself! I'll see if I can do a tutorial for you, so you can see how she did it too! Here is a pic of the finished product...
The rest of the day went VERY quickly, we were given projects to work on, but I was too distracted to do them, I was just so excited to be with everyone. I did start the box but couldn't concentrate! Might do them & show you the finished product...
Here's the rest of the photos!
This is a pic of our team Ink Culture...
There are a couple of very welcome blow-ins lol, namely my sister Jess & my beautiful friend Tasharni, but this is our team (starting from the left) Me, Tasharni, Jess, Carolina (at the back) Angela, Kylie, Ange & Sue.
Above is Carolina & Kylie, they are such a blast to be with!
Here is the Very Sweet Kylie-Jo (or KJ as we call her! lol) Was SO much fun spending the day with her, she's awesome!
Me & 'the upline' lol Ange! I think we laughed the entire day! Next time they will have to sit us separately!! lol I love our team, we all get along so well & our team meetings are SO much fun I cant wait to hear the next date so I can look forward to it all month! I feel very lucky!
Here's a shot of Sue Madex & Ange getting ready for their presentations. Ange went first & showed us how to make paper flowers & she did an EXCELLENT job! Next went Sue & her presentation was how to do faux silk on your projects...we all had a 'gasp' moment when after VERY carefully stamping her images she then scrunched it up! So funny, cause we all know it was a part of the process but took us a second to process it LOL. She did a great job of that presentation!Saturday, October 17, 2009
Swaps for Regionals
Hello, well what a day I've had today! The day started actually from the night before because I couldn't get myself organised to finish my swaps & ended up staying up till almost 2am cutting tiny flowers & affixing them to my cards. So here it is, the finished product...
& here is the pile I made to give out at Regionals, intended to make 50 but settled for 35 when my hand could cut no more...
I had THE BEST day today, I have HEAPS of things to share, including pics, swaps & stories from our day spent at Crown! Will save it for tomorrow's post as I have quite a few things to sort through...see you tomorrow X
Card Details:
Stamps: Trendy Trees, Frames with a Flourish, Pocket Sillhouettes
Paper: Baja Breeze, Real Red & Whisper White C/S, Ski Slope & Baja Breeze DSP
Ink: Black Stazon, Old Olive Marker & Real Red Marker
Acc: Dimentionals & Stampamajig
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Fabulous Friend for Mojo#107
& here is what it inspired...
Think i've played with these colours before, but I love how they complement each other! I've also used a new set I just got, Eastern Influences, I LOVE it! Like pretty much everyone else, I felt the need to watercolour the images & I was pleasantly surprised by how great the colours came out. Might see a lot more watercolouring from now on...although I did say that about brayering & I dont think i've used it since LOL.
