Nicole Stalker

March 9th

March Stamp-A-Stack

Well tonight was supposed to be my March Stamp-A-Stack and I was all ready and waiting only to find out I had late cancellations. I had started to pack up but then thought “Why waste the kits. My girls can do a couple of cards each.”

They were so excited when I told them what we’d be doing. I decided to do one design with them tonight and one tomorrow night though as it would take too long and I wanted them to still go to bed at a reasonable time.

I actually do 2 Stamp-A-Stacks each month. One held in my home and the other at another ladies house. I’d be more than happy to do more if anyone is interested at either my house or yours if you have a group of 5 or more.

This month I made one set of cards the same for each group but the other set is different. I did this because one group wanted some boy cards where as the group at my house is a mother & daughter and I didn’t think they would want boy cards so I did a pretty card.

The design I’m doing at both is an Easter card seeing how that’s coming up at the end of the month. I went with the Chocolate Bunny stamp from the Summer Mini catalogue which ends on 31st March.

I’ve used a colour combination from the Colour Coach for this card and the layout is from page 16 of the current Idea Book & Catalogue.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Chocolate Bunny, Occasional Greetings
Card: Almost Amethyst, Rose Red, So Saffron, Confetti White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Scallop Oval & Large Oval punches, Corner Rounder Punch, So Saffron 5/8” Grosgrain ribbon (previous promotional bundle), Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The second card which was planned for tonight was a card using the Priceless stamp set which I love but haven’t used in ages.

I love this colour combination of Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink & Old Olive. This is a variation on a card I made when this set first came out but with less cutting out and a simpler layout.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Priceless
Card: Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Paper Piercing template & tool, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For the boys card I went with a card I made a while back using the Wild About You stamp set but revamped the colours.

On the Pacific Point cardstock I’ve stamped a ‘Happy Birthday’ sentiment from the ‘On Your Birthday’ stamp set but you could also use the ‘Wild About You’ word stamp from the ‘Wild About You’ stamp set.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Wild About You, On Your Birthday, Weathered
Card: Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Whisper White
Ink: Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point
Accessories: Paper Piercing template & tool, White Gel Pen, 1 3/8” & 1 1/4” Circle Punches, Pumpkin Pie 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Mini Glue dots, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Till next time…..

Happy Stamping

February 26th

My Little Easter Basket

Jodene Tripp has been inspiring us all over on Stampin’ Up in Oz with her wonderful creations using Lauren Meader’s Timeless Templates. I already had a few of Lauren’s templates but upon visiting her site I purchased a few more. In amongst those I purchased was one call ‘Pack A Picnic’ which I knew straight away I wanted to use for an Easter Basket. The template comes with 2 sizes and I’ve opted to use the small one this time but I’m sure I’ll be making some of the larger size too. The template does also come with a lid but I didn’t think my project needed that.

So this is ‘My Little Easter Basket’.

I decided I wanted to use the Tea Party DSP for this one as even though Easter is in Autumn here in Australia I’m sure we still think of the Easter Bunny and flowers rather than leaves falling off the trees. I chose the Certainly Celery, So Saffron & Pretty In Pink printed paper from the pack and teamed it with a layer of Pretty In Pink Cardstock. The handles are So Saffron with a strip of Pretty In Pink and they have been attached to the basket using clear rhinestone brads. I actually wanted to use the green in the Ice Rhinestone pack but can you believe I only had 2 left (I needed 4) and I didn’t have a spare pack in my drawer. This never happens to me. Well it didn’t until now so I’d better make sure to add a pack to my next order. The Easter image is from Eggcoutrements stamp set available in the Summer Mini which I have stamped in Pretty in Pink onto Whisper White cardstock and then punched out with the Designer Label punch.

While I was doing my groceries last week I came across packs of coloured shredded paper in the Easter section and thought they’d be ideal for some Easter creations. This was before Jodene was inspiring us and before I’d even looked at creating this basket. Guess I just new I’d be putting it to use real soon plus I’m sure if I went back now it would all be gone especially seeing it was only $1.99 a bag. I actually purchased 4 packs, 1 each of pink, yellow, blue & purple. There is heaps in each bag too.

Rather than fill the whole basket up with eggs I’ve added some of the lovely pink shredded paper and then a few eggs on top. The eggs I’ve used are a mixed pack of Ballantyne and include solid eggs, strawberry filled, peppermint filled and caramel. When I opened the bag can you imagine the yummy smell that came out. I’ve been good though. I haven’t eaten even one by the time I typed this post. I won’t guarantee it will stay that way though…..hahaha

Till next time…..

Happy Stamping

February 22nd

Sale-A-Bration Blog Hop

Welcome to the 2^nd Stampers Anonymous SU blog tour! This time round we will be showcasing the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets. The Sale-A-Bration stamp sets are FREE sets you can earn for every $100 purchased till 31^st March. These stamp sets are not available for purchase so if there is one, two, three or maybe all 4 you would like then you need to contact your demonstrator (or me if you don’t already have a demonstrator) and place an order before you miss out.

You may have just come from Fiona’s blog, but if you are starting here, don’t worry … you can make the complete circuit just by following the links at the end of each post. There are 9 stops along the way and we hope you will visit each one to see the wonderful creations we have to show you!

At the end of each post there will be a link to take you to the next stop on the tour. Feel free to “share the love” and leave a comment! So sit back, relax and enjoy!

Now for my projects.

I was really happy with the selection of Sale-A-Bration stamp sets this year and I’m going to show you a couple of projects using 2 of the sets.

First up is Happy Moments. This set contains 4 images + 3 sentiment stamps and can be utilised for many occasions.

This set of cards is one of the sets you can make in my February Stamp-A-Stack class. This class is scheduled for Tuesday 23rd February at 7pm and I still have a few spots available if you are interested. Classes are held in my home at Lalor Park NSW. If you’d like to come along you can email me or call on 0418 218 467 to reserve your seat. Class cost is $15 (if you bring your own snail) or $20 if you use mine and you will make 8 cards with envelopes.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Happy Moments (Sale-A-Bration set)
Card: Summer Sun, Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, Watercolour Paper, Kaleidoscope DSP
Inks: Stazon Jet Black, Summer Sun, Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Only Orange, Close to Cocoa, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker
Accessories: Blender Pens, Word Window Punch, Scallop Edge punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Here’s another quick set made using Happy Moments. This set of cards was inspired by Angie from Chic’ n Scratch. I just loved the simplicity of her cards.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Happy Moments
Card: Whisper White, Regal Rose and Brocade Blue DSP (Level 1 Hostess set)
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Old Olive,Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Small Oval & Large Oval Punches, Scallop Edge Punch, Horizontal Slot Punch, Blender Pens, Regal Rose & Brocade Blue 5/8” Grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The last item I’m going to share with you today is a card made using the Good Neighbour Sale-A-Bration stamp set.

This stamp set is a set of 10 images. You have 3 house bases, 3 different roofs, 2 trees, 1 leaf and a cloud image so you can mix and match to your hearts content.

When making this card I have used mainly Earth Element colours. I’ve also created some grass and a road by masking off areas using Post-It Notes and sponging.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Good Neighbour
Card: Really Rust, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip DSP
Ink: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Old Olive, Going Gray, Basic Gray
Accessories: Old Olive 1/4” grosgrain ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Well, that’s all from me. Now you’re off to enjoy the wonderful creations of Lorna. Thanks for stopping by!

If you happen to get stuck along the way here’s a direct link to all the participants

Marelle Taylor http://www.marelletaylor.com/2010/02/sale-bration-blog-hop.html

Juliette Chapman http://juleskraftikrafts.blogspot.com/2010/02/sale-bration-blog-hop.html

Fiona Harvey http://fionastamps.blogspot.com/2010/02/sale-bration-blog-hop-vintage-style.html

Nikki Stalker http://nicolestalker.com.au/blog/2010/02/22/sale-a-bration-blog-hop/

Lorna Casha http://lornacasha.blogspot.com/2010/02/sale-bration-blog-hop.html

Robyn Irving http://www.stampingitout.com/?p=366

Sally Williams http://www.sallycancraft.com/2010/02/blog-hop.html

Chary Belfield http://charybelfield.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/sale-a-bration-blog-hop/

Till next time….

Happy Stamping

February 17th

A Family Wedding

My husband’s nephew had his wedding last Saturday so of course I needed to make a card. This was left very last minute as the whole thing was a bit of a schumuzzle for us.

We have 4 children ranging in age from 8 1/2 years to 14 1/2 years and when my SIL let us know they were getting married I asked about children and was told there was an age restriction and it was High School age. I only have 1 in High School but my second eldest (who will be in High School next year) was invited too. My husband (who is also the groom’s godfather and only sibling on his mothers side) and I decided we wouldn’t be attending with only 1/2 our family. However we did decide to go to the church. At first anyway. Then with all the rubbish that kept going on because we wouldn’t leave 2 of our girls behind we decided we wouldn’t go at all. That was until Tuesday last week and my husband informed me he was going. Men!!! When I said I’d have to try and find something for us girls to wear his comment was he wasn’t dressing up but he’d give me some money to buy some clothes. Money was the least of my concerns but of course he didn’t get that. A nice pair of dress pants, shirt and tie and he’s right, however he did wear a suit and tie. He totally didn’t understand how hard it would be to find Summer clothes at this time of year for us girls. My 2nd eldest was covered as she had a dress suitable from the Year 6 farewell last year, I also found suitable clothing for the younger 2 in their wardrobes but my eldest and I still needed something.

So on Wednesday I went shopping. I managed to find something for my eldest rather quickly but it took a few hours and many clothes changes to find something suitable, comfortable and that I liked and would wear again for me. Then I needed shoes for us both. Luckily we are the same size foot and I got a bargain on the shoes as they were on special so I got the 2 pairs for the price of what one would have originally cost. I just hoped I’d managed wearing heals for a few hours as I’m normally in flats all the time or a smallish heal like I purchased from my daughter. I did well though and the shoes were quite comfy actually. Of course then I needed to accessories my daughter. Hubby phoned while I was selecting some jewellery and a little handbag for my daughter and couldn’t work out why she needed those. Men just don’t get it, do they? It wasn’t expensive stuff and my daughter was thrilled when I gave it all to her that afternoon. Of course she tried it all on straight away so we knew it fit and looked nice and then she tucked it away and her father had to wait till Saturday to see it all.

We took a few pictures before we left. Unfortunately the glare from the sun was hitting us right in the face.

Here’s a photo of our girls with hubby and then one with our girls and me. Why is it you never have everyone smiling.

So back to the card.

As I said this was a last minute thing so I went browsing Splitcoaststampers for some ideas/inspiration using the ‘Together Forever’ stamp set. I came across this lovely card by Chat (aka nitestamper) and decided to pretty much CASE it. I’ve made a few minor changes but not too many.

So this is my end result.

I loved the colour combination and the layout for this card. I had no idea what the colours of the wedding were (and no they weren’t Baja Breeze) but I thought this was still soft and elegant colour combination to use. Thanks Chat for the inspiration.

We are glad we went to the church service. It was very short only lasting 1/2 hour and was basically just an exchange of nuptials but that’s what they wanted and it pleased the family. The bride looked lovely of course and the rain held off till after the service. The photographer managed to get one group shot before the rain fell too much and then the bridal party and immediate family went back into the lovely old sandstone church and hopefully had some more photos in there. The guests all went on to the reception and for us, as we were all already dressed up we went out for dinner at our local revolving restaurant.

Till next time…..

Happy Stamping

February 16th

Sketch Challenge

This year in Stampin’ Up in Oz yahoo group we are having weekly challenges. Each month we will have 1 Sketch Challenge, 1 Colour Challenge, 1 Product Challenge and 1 Technique Challenge. These challenges are not compulsory and there is no time limit to them. They are given in hope to encourage group participation but also to help take us out of our comfort zone and try new things.

The first challenge for the year was posted on 31st January and was a Sketch challenge. I made this card I’m going to show over a week ago but haven’t made time to share it with you all till now.

This is the Sketch we were given.

I decided to use the Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set on my card and some DSP from the Urban Oasis pack.

I stamped the large Rose image twice onto watercolour paper using Stazon Jet Black ink and then watercoloured using Baja Breeze inkpad and an Aqua Painter. I then cut out one image in full and then the centre of the second image which I layered together before mounting onto the card. Now while I was playing with the image and sketch I wasn’t happy with the ‘Portrait’ orientation of the sketch so I turned the sketch on it’s side and used it in ‘Landscape’ orientation instead.

This is the end result.

I’ve added a couple of white 1/2 backed pearls and a sentiment from Basic Phrases which was stamped onto watercolour paper and punched out with the word window punch.

The second challenge was a colour challenge and the third is a product challenge. I’m hoping to get some time to work on these later in the week and will then share with you all.

Till next time…..

Happy Stamping

Nicole Stalker

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