{Spring Pop Top Can}

This is a very cool, easy, and fun project that leaves the recipient wondering how you got those personal gifts inside a sealed can!

We started out the class with a door prize, which was a finished pop can. My lovely lady Chantell won and she got to open the can (served as a demo for how the finished project worked) and received all those great little treats in the photo!

So I planned two projects for this class, but we had such fun and the ladies got so really into designing their own . . . we only had time to do this one. (The second one we'll do in the next few weeks in another class) Everyone was very pleased with the results, and they all turned out differently. We used the Looks Like Spring stamp set, the Spring Bouquet flower punch, and the Spring Showers or Spring Flowers designer series papers. For the month of October, when you purchase the stamp set and punch, the papers are FREE! (see promotions page) Just look at what beautiful things you can make with these accessories!

I took a few pics of some of the other finished cans that were done in different colours than my sample. These have endless possibilities. I want to make one using the Unfrogettable set and the santa hat from Crab & Co. and then filling the tin with red and green mints.

We filled our tins with some candied peanuts I had roasted up in cello bags. Some other ideas:

tea

hot chocolate

flower seeds
jewelry

baking mixes

bath powders

small soaps

a candle

candies, treats, fudge, homemade goodies

and any other small item . . .

{Festive Mood}

This is my friend Chantell opening her can. Those little fingers are my youngest, Sofie, who was sure Chantell needed some help! And was avoiding going to bed and missing the party. See the above picture for what the can contained - treats, confetti, stamps, ink pad, and a small note. Congratulations! We should have more door prizes . . . .that was fun.

And thanks, ladies, for eating all those nuts! I made up some candied nuts because I had to open . . . . ready for it . . . . 48 cans of nuts to prep for this class!

Here is the exact recipe:

Glazed Nuts

3-4 c nuts

2 tbs butter

1/2 c (more or less as you wish) sugar

vanilla, cinnamon, or whatever you want for flavor

Put all of that into a skillet (frying pan, Nadine) over medium heat, shaking the pan every so often, but not stirring, until the butter and sugar start to melt. Then reduce the heat a bit and stir and shake a little here and there until the sugar is golden brown and the nuts seem pretty well coated with the glaze. Pour out onto a piece of foil or a buttered plate or something where it can cool and not stick totally. These store best in the frig, I think, but they won't last long! I think they might also be really good with some butter extract and a bit of salt added with the sugar. Or maybe a caramel extract? Coffee? Cream? Where's Rachael? We need some more flavors . . .

{Scribble This}

I enjoyed this one, but of course, who doesn't love a fun flower card? I loved the swirls and curls to this set. This is a quick template made with a long envelope to create two pockets inside. Very fast to put together. The front can be done more simply as well.

I made this using the Scribble This set from the Spring Mini catalogue and the Scribble Wheel. http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=listpage&searchtype=keyword&fsid=2fe7ffb4-9c06-46f6-86a4-1acf5206baf6&pagenumber=1&sortby=1&circularid=11083&storeid=1039381&keyword=scribble&keywordsearch=1&storeid=1039381&keyword=scribble&keywordsearch=1

Those clear buttons are a fun accessory as well!

I'm going to offer these gift vouchers for purchase. The minimum amount is $25 for the voucher and the card is FREE. So you let me know the amount to put on the voucher, and I'll send you the completed card to use as a gift. It doesn't have to be this design or the one in the previous post - I'll make up quite a few options. Let those husbands know!! Who wouldn't rather get some stamping money for Christmas instead of a kitchen gadget?? And what an easy and lovely gift for your crafting friends for a birthday.

{Crab & Co.}

This last week we did Gift Voucher Holders or Cards in preparation for Christmas, but really, these are useful all through the year. Hence we did one more generic one and then one Christmas one. I try and do one more quick project and then one more advanced one in class. This one started out as my quick one . . . . but I got carried away. So we did two more involved ones this time.

LOVE the Crab and Co. set! I find these little critters and the punny sayings just adorable. And fyi, it works well with the Unfrogettable set in your catalogue - you can put that santa hat on your frog or use the frog accessories with the sea creatures as well. This set also works out to be a great value at just 4.57 per stamp. This particular set is only available until the end of November and is found in the Spring Mini catalogue.

I just love those Cuttlebug embossing folders!! We brought out the design here by sponging with the Old Olive ink. Some ladies used the snowflake folder instead, and that looked great as well. The words are punched out using the very versatile Word Window Punch. Colors used here are a wow combination - real red, old olive, and cool caribbean. And the liquid applique and a dash of glitter on the hat add that visual texture that makes all the difference.

http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=moreinfo&fsid=2fe7ffb4-9c06-46f6-86a4-1acf5206baf6&storeid=1039381&uniqueid=10691049&circularid=11083

{Peaceful Wishes}

Back from Senz and just now my throat is feeling normal after three days of non-stop talking!! Besides the show, Anne, Tui, and I were up early and up late every day planning and laughing. What a great couple of girls they are. Anne even did my quads workout with me, which was no small feat. one hour and twenty minutes just on quads . . . what a sport!

I so much enjoyed meeting the wonderful people in Christchurch. Everyone was so very nice to me, and it gives me tremendous satisfaction to see the delight on their faces when they can see what they can make in a snap with our beautiful products and colors. Here is one of the cards we did in my Quick and Easy Christmas class. (oops - somehow I got a pic of one without the ribbon on it; I'll edit later, so this is a little "sample" of the real finished product!) I'll post the others after I do that class here in Auckland in a couple of weeks. Peaceful Wishes is a stunner - a great set. You can see the complete set here :

http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=moreinfo&fsid=4b599be3-669e-422b-815a-85edb801a4a4&storeid=1039381&uniqueid=9960440&circularid=10393

At 10.99 per stamp, I'd say it's well-priced for such a gorgeous and versatile set. Please email or call me to order. It's definitely not too early to get those Christmas cards and gifts together!!

{My Most Beautiful Creations}

I'm off to Senz in Christchurch in the morning . . . . busy packing up all my gear tonight. I'll be at the Stampin Up! booth and will also be teaching a few classes, one on Friday and one on Sunday. If you're there, please come along and say hello!! I still have a few spots left in the classes - would love to have you.

I might get a few more posts done tonight, but no promises. I still have two bins of things to list on trademe.

These are my three girls after doing a "yellow" fashion show at the church.

{be merry}

We did Beautiful Christmas cards a few weeks back in my classes. Here is one of them. I don't take much credit for this one. I searched through magazines and online and found a few of the most beautiful ones, and we did those for class. The original was done by AmyR and can be seen here http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/387594. I changed the size, a few colors, the sentiment stamp set, and did sponging and distressing. But this is gorgeous in either photo!! Just absolutely in love with the Peaceful Wishes set (http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=moreinfo&fsid=6cfa8c77-03f7-4be8-9b6c-16f95a93bca2&storeid=1039381&uniqueid=9960440&circularid=10393), one that can be used all year round. The sentiment is from Warm Words, another set of tremendous value, one I use over and over and over.

{Good Things}

One last little sample using the Good Things set. I really like these stamps, particularly the tiny flowers. they make a great background. The words stamp in this set is also super versatile - you can use them in a line, as a background, or ink up one word at a time to use.

One really cool thing about how Stampin Up is marketed is we/they have ink to match all of their 56 exclusive colors. That means the images you stamp will match the cardstock, giving a truly professional finish. The ink pads' unique design allows you to easily watercolor with the same ink, again allowing for a perfect match. I've used the same ink color here as the card for the backgrounds, giving a quick tone on tone effect without the drying time of versamark. It also comes out a bit darker than versamark. To order any Stampin Up products, please email me at stamphappynz@hotmail.com.

{Wonderful Caring Sweet}

This is an overlooked stamp set in the catalog. It's found right at the front in the Simply Sent kits. Saturday is World Card Making Day, and these kits are 20% off until Oct 8th. These come in a very nice box, all ready for gift giving to that crafting friend or the difficult-to-buy for teenage girl. (I know I'd appreciate my girls getting a hands-on, quality time gift like this). I made up this Hidden Panel card using the supplies out of this kit. This is a very fast and easy project.

{Wonderful}

This is just sweet little sample I made up to show the Simply Sent kit Good Things in another color. Sometimes when we see something always done the same way, it's hard to visualize it done another. This took me about 20 minutes to do, including cutting and clean up. Very easy, yet effective. Which is sometimes the best kind of project.

{Both Way Blossoms Dream}

My friend and team member, Anne, showed me this card. I believe my other good friend, Kayoko, showed it to her. One wonderful thing about this business is the sharing and "making it your own" that goes on! What a wonderful way for us women to bond together. I do love my girlfriends. I love the support they give me and the oohs and ahhs Tui always (nearly always) graces me with. We women work hard; isn't it wonderful to have each other? I mean, how many of us have husbands who gasp when they see our cards?

Okay, so enough with the emotional. This was my first version of this card. I liked it, but decided on a different color scheme, which I will post next. I love this hydrangea stamp. Fun, but still gorgeous because hydrangeas are just that.

Used the French Script background on this one for a more sophisticated feel and did lots of sponging to add aging and visual depth. Also overstamped everything with the Linen background stamp. I'd say if you're going to get one background stamp, get Linen. Great for kissing technique, adding soft texture, and subtle aging, like shown here. The word is from Everyday Flexible Phrases, another essential set. It's a large outlay for the set, but one you'll use over and over and over. Price per image, it's actually quite reasonable.

{Happy Together}

This is my second version of Jacob's Ladder/Hidden Panel card. I like both, but this one strucky my fancy the most this week, so we did this one in my weekly class. The color combination is slightly unusual, but I like it. Stampin Up has their colors organized into four color families, and any combinations within those families are guaranteed to look great (makes it so easy!), but you get some really striking color combos when you mix colors from different families, as in this example. It's my own opinion, but "I" think that it's the colors that make the difference between a good project and a WOW project.

The flowers are from the fun set called Both Way Blossoms. We watercolored them in using our ink pads and a watercolor brush, very easy and fast. The Basic Black ink used here is waterproof when used on Whisper White card, so we didn't even have to emboss. Just stamp, swish on some quick ink from the lid of our ink pads, and done! Oh, well, we did add some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Love the linen thread, my newest little fetish. Natural, fine, but a little distressed looking. cool.