Christmas « Nicole Stalker

Merry Christmas and Secret Sister gifts

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful day.

I spent my day with family, having 16 of us for lunch. There were 8 children (my 4 girls and one of my sister’s 4 girls) and then 8 adults. I was lucky to have my mother, step-father, one of my sisters and my brother spend the day with us along with my husbands parents. Christmas to me is about spending the day with family and this all goes back to my childhood Christmas’s at my great grandmothers. I always remember those days as very happy times. The big tent was put up in her back yard, the tables filled with chocolate coated nuts, sugar coated nuts, pretzels and lollies. We had the baked dinner complete with ham, pork, chicken (or turkey), baked potatoes, sweet potatoes and pumpkin and peas. My nan (great grandmother) used to cook the best peas. She did all the cooking and also made the Christmas puddings for dessert which of course she placed a coin underneath. Didn’t matter how hot it was this was Christmas lunch and it’s exactly the way I feel although I don’t do the Christmas puddings as not many of us eat it anymore. Mind you I don’t think we would have fit it in.

When my girls were younger we used to have Christmas lunch at my mum’s but even though we still had all the meat we had salad. Now that’s okay but my girls aren’t big salad eaters at any time so all they ate was meat. As my family grew we decided to stay home for Christmas at our own house and we caught up with family at some stage on the day. Of course they were welcome to join us but it’s only been the last few years more of the family has started doing just that. Considering we have the room and the space for the children to still play and do things it just makes more sense.

It was so hot Christmas Eve that we left all the upstairs windows open for the light breeze that was blowing to help us sleep but didn’t consider that the noisy garbage truck and barking dogs would wake us at around 5:30am and that was our day started. Well I was awake but we didn’t get up till about 45 minutes later. Our girls were very patient waiting till we went downstairs to see if Santa had been and what he’d left for us all. Our girls were very happy with what Santa left for them with most of them receiving most of what they emailed Santa for.

I also received some wonderful gifts this year from my hubby and girls. My favourite gift of course was one I helped select and that is a new Flip Mino HD camcorder. Once I work out how to use and edit the video from it I’m hoping to use it to start doing a few video tutorials to share with you all. I also received choccies, jewellery, a new beach towel, and some other bits and pieces.

As you might be aware I’ve also been participating in a Secret Sister swap with fellow demonstrators who are part of the ESAD-SU group. Not only have I been doing the demo one but we also just started one this month on a yahoo group I run called Stampin’ Up in Oz. This group is for anyone who loves Stampin’ Up products and creating with them. You don’t have to use just Stampin’ Up but the main focus should be on Stampin’ Up products. It’s only a small group at present and we’ve been rather quite but there are some new things on the agenda for 2010.

Back to the Secret Sister swaps. I received both of my swaps before Christmas so decided to put them under the tree so I had some more things to open on Christmas Day. Not sure about you but there usually isn’t too many surprises under there for my anymore……..

I received wonderful, and very generous gifts from both my Secret Sisters. The demo group swap was also my reveal so I can now let you all know that my items I have been receiving were from a lovely WA demonstrator by the name of Tanya Kitto. This is what Tanya sent me as my final gift.

and opened

The item on the left contained 3 lovely tea towels. The item on the right had a box of Sweet Treat cups, Rhinestone Brads, Star Designer Brads, Hemp Twine, Pink Pirouette 1 1/4” ribbon, Versamark reinker, Lindt choccies and a Magnetic Purse pad. This was very generous of Tanya and I thank her so much for spoiling me during this round and also for including some gifts for my children and husband along the way.

This is what I have received for my December gift from my Stampin’ Up in Oz Secret Sister. This swap has been set up slightly differently than the demo one with our first month being our gift month seeing that it was Christmas. I was so spoilt again and now have to wait till end of February to find out who they are so I can thank them properly.

From the top left I received: A desktop calendar unit which has a drawer filled with note paper, A box decorated with the ‘Fifth Avenue Floral’ stamp set which contained a packet of Stampin’ Dimensionals and a Snail refill, a Christmas Easel card using the ‘A Wish for Peace’ stamp set, A Note pad holder and notepad, Santa lolly, Big Shot Dies cuts from the Bigz Flower –Daisies #2 die and finally in the centre a Peek-A-Boo box complete with a jar of Clear Embossing Powder.

When we sign up for these swaps we have to complete a questionnaire which is then forwarded to our Secret Sister so they have some ideas of what’s on our ‘Wish List’ and also what colours, stamp sets, etc we like. Of course these are only a guide for them to use. There is also a set minimum dollar value that we must include and if we so choose to go over this it’s our choice but no one should feel they have to. My Wish List only stated that I would appreciate any consumables. I thank my Secret Sisters for their generosity with the ‘consumables’ they have both sent me.

I still have my reveal to do for my Secret Sister for the demo group and then I will be able to share with you the items I have made for her. Keep watch early in the New Year for that.

Just in case I don’t get back before New Year I will take the opportunity now to wish you and your family a safe, happy and prosperous New Year.

Happy Stamping

Secret Santa Gift

Last Friday night was our ‘team’ Christmas Party. This was my first ‘official’ team event as I’ve only recently become part of this team. As of 2nd December I am now part of Marelle Taylor’s Stampin’ Up Team and I’m so glad I made the decision to do this. It wasn’t an easy decision as it meant I had to resign from Stampin’ Up for 6 months (and boy did it feel like a long 6 months) but to come out at the end to now belong to a ‘team’ is fantastic. Marelle has such a lovely group of ladies in her team and I thank them all for making me feel so welcome. I had previously been with SU for 3 years and even though I had an upline it wasn’t a team as such. I now get to attend monthly meetings and of course the Christmas Party along with some new things planned for next year. Again things I never had before from my upline even though I had team meetings for my downline who have become great friends. We’re actually having lunch tomorrow…….

While I’m thanking people I’d also like to thank a very special friend who is also my neighbour, Meighan, for helping me out during this 6 month period. Meighan kindly offered to join while the May Promotion was on which allowed me to still do orders so I could continue with my Stamp Club and classes. It was still a hard time for me, as I was limited to what I could do, which may explain a little about why my blog wasn’t too busy in some past month due to lack of mojo and motivation, but with the help of Meighan, Marelle, the Stampers Anonymous team, my family and friends I survived.

Now back to the reason for this post and that is sharing with you the Secret Santa gift I made for my partner which was presented at our Christmas Party.

This is what my Secret Kiddy also know as Liam Pucher received from me.

Everything was of course contained in the gift bag which is just a plain white paper carry bag that I’ve dressed up. I’ve used some of the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper from the Spring Mini (no longer available) and I’ve stamped and embossed in silver the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled stamp set. This is then layered onto Old Olive cardstock and then onto the bag. I made a matching tag which is tied to the Old Olive ribbon using some crochet cotton.

Notice the embellishment further down the bag. Well here’s a close up of how I ‘blinged’ up the bag…..

I’ve added clear rhinestone brads and also some Dazzling Diamonds.

The next item is the main gift box which contained some Watercolor paper, a mixture of Button Latte & Button Bouquet buttons, a mixture of Playground & Sherbert buttons (from the Summer Mini), an assortment of brads (black, antique brass, gold & silver), a sample of Star Designer Brads along with a Christmas Lolly assortment.

The box is one of Becky Roberts designs from her 12 Days of Christmas. To keep it all coordinated I’ve used the Ski Slopes DSP and stamped the lid with the Snow Swirled Stamp set.

Not contained in the box was a sheet of Bright Delights Rub-ons and an Aqua Painter decorated with some of the gorgeous Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon in the new Summer Mini Catalogue. This ribbon is just gorgeous to work with.

There are actually 2 cards that I presented to Liam with her gift that night as slacko me wasn’t organised enough and one should have been sent as a surprise prior to the night. I didn’t want her to miss out so I put the 2 in with her gift with a little note of apology. These things are bound to happen though when you leave things to last minute and forget how much you have committed to and for what…….. (Note to self: Don’t leave things till last minute……)

The first card (the one I should have sent) is actually a CASE from Jayne Mercer (I think…..I’m going off memory here)

I’ve used the Ski Slope DSP with the Tree Trimmings Stamp set and the sentiment from my favourite Level 1 Hostess Set called Best Yet.

Now for the final card…..

I’ve kept with the same colour theme as in the Ski Slope DSP and stamped the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled stamp set, added a couple of half-backed pearls from the Pretties Kit, used the Wide Oval punch to punch out the sentiment, daubered the edges and mounted using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

This was the Christmas Lolly Bag that was in the Gift Box and I also made these for my Launch Party last Sunday as part of my Thank You gift for coming.

Inside is a Mini Christmas Pudding (I haven’t seen these before), a Chocolate Truffle, Chocolate Santa and a Christmas Mint.

These are quite quick and easy to whip up using one of Stampin’ Up’s Medium Cello Bags, a piece of Old Olive cardstock 10.5cm x 8cm scored at 4cm, stamped the snowflake in Versamark, attach back side to cello bag and then tie some of the gorgeous (I can’t say this enough) Real Red Polka Dot grosgrain ribbon around to hold shut. Stamp the Merry Christmas sentiment from the Cute & Curly stamp set in Real Red and punch out using the matching Curly Label punch. Adhere using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I’m still yet to photograph my gifts I received but will try and do that in the next few days to share with you all.

Happy Stamping

Christmas Gifts

Three of my girls are still in Primary School and each year we like to give a gift to their teacher/s. Normally it’s just a box of chocolates or some pretty smelling soaps for the ladies but this year I decided to make them something.

So this is what I did.

These may look familiar to you as they are the same box I made back in October for my father’s birthday but this time of course they are made using Christmas papers and I’ve coordinated the cards to match. Notice the scallop edge medallions again…. I so love this.

Here’s a close up of one along with an inside view.

I’ve filled them all with 5 Ferrero Rocher Chocolates in the front compartments and then 5 Cappuccino or Hot Chocolate satchels (some have a mixture of the 2) in the back compartment.

I hope they like them.

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Punches Three
Card: Old Olive, Real Red, Ruby Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Holiday Treasures DSP, Ski Slopes DSP
Ink: Old Olive, Real Red, Ruby Red, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Scallop Square Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sticky Strip.

Happy Stamping

Another creation using Holiday Harmony DSP

In my last post I shared all the items we created at my Christmas Extravaganza which was held last Saturday evening. I mentioned in the post that even after making all these items we still had some DSP left, so I decided to make this project I’m sharing with you today, which is another of Makeesha Byl’s wonderful creations she generously shares on a Demonstrator group each Monday and also uploads to her blog to share with all her readers.

This project is called ‘Love Notes Gift Boxes’.

This project is made using 1 sheet of DSP, 1 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock, some ribbon, 4 Love Notes & envelopes, stamps, ink and embellishments if desired.

This is the inside of the box:

The sides of the box is actually held together by the ribbon which on the inside holds the Love Notes in place.

There is still room for some choccies or other treat to be placed in the centre of the box before giving it to some lucky person.

Like to see the Love Notes??

All the Love Notes have been decorated with the Season of Joy stamp set and coordinating colours. I’ve used some left over Holiday Harmony DSP on 3 of them (there is still plenty of DSP left I just thought the 4th card had enough) and I’ve stamped an edge of the envelopes to match.

I really love the colour combination for the Holiday Harmony DSP which is Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate and River Rock. It’s going to be a shame when I’ve made enough Christmas things but I’m sure I can put the colour combination to use with another stamp set or two…….

Now to work out what else I can make with the remaining Holiday Harmony DSP left. It’s surprising how far 1 packet of Designer Series Paper actually goes.

Remember the Holiday Harmony DSP, Season of Joy Stamp set and many other items in the Spring Mini Catalogue are only available till tomorrow. I’ll place my last order Sunday 30th at 9pm so if there is still something you would like let me know either by email or phone 02 9620 9092 or Mob: 0418 218 467

Christmas Extravaganza update

Last night was my Christmas Extravaganza event and we had lots of fun making our projects that were displayed in my last post. It ended up being a very late night, or maybe I should say, early morning but everyone went home happy with their items.

All the projects made where done using 1 packet of Holiday Harmony Designer Series paper along with coordinating items and there is still some DSP left over. This DSP along with the Season of Joy stamp set that I’ve used and the Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon are only available till 30th November so if you wanted some order now so you don’t miss out. All other materials used are in the current IB&C and therefore available for purchase until 31st March.

Most of the projects have been CASED from Splitcoaststampers, Stampin’ Up demonstrators or craft lovers that have generously provided tutorials for us to share and recreate these items. All items that have been CASED have a link to the original tutorials that I have used.

Would you like to see the projects in closer detail?

Project 1 was an Accordian Card Bag created by Dannie Graves which you can find instructions for here

and the side view so you can see the Accordian part…..

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Hemp Twine, Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon, Sticky Strip, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, Crop-a-dile, Pewter Jumbo Brads, Scor-pal

Project 2 was the Treat Box from SplitCoastStampers which can be found here

Supplies:
Card: River Rock, Holiday Harmony DSP
Accessories: Crop-a-dile, Metallic Eyelets, River Rock Double-stitched ribbon, Scor-pal

Project 3 was the Origami Box & Paper Bow from Splitcoaststampers which can be found here and here

Supplies:
Card: Holiday Harmony DSP
Accessories: 1/16″ handheld circle punch, silver brads, Pop-Up Glue Dots

Project 4 was the Box in a Bag which was created by Dianna Gibbs and you can see her tutorial here

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: River Rock, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: Always Artichoke, River Rock
Accessories: Sticky Strip, Round Tab punch, Slit punch, 1/8″ handheld circle punch, Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Scor-pal

Project 5 was the lovely Gift Box with tutorial provided by Makeesha Byl which you can find here

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: River Rock, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: River Rock, Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 1/4″ circle punch, River Rock double-stitched ribbon, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, thick cardstock (DSP backing board is ideal), Scor-pal, silver cord

Project 6 was another project provided by Makeesha Byl which is a CD Holder and this tutorial can be found here

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: Purely Pomegranate, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Large Oval Punch, 1 3/8″ circle punch, Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon, 2-way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Project 7 was a card box with acetate lid and belly band along with 6 matching cards & envelopes.

The measurements to make this box are as follows:

Box base: Always Artichoke 236mm x 187mm. Score all sides at 35mm
Lid: Acetate cut to 197mm X 148mm. Score all sides at 15mm.

To make the Belly Band I only had A4 card in River Rock available so this is what I did.

1 x River Rock 34mm x 225mm, 1 x River Rock 34mm x 100mm

1 x DSP 30mm x 225mm, 1 x DSP 30mm x 100mm

I layered the pattern pieces onto the matching River Rock piece and then scored the 225mm length as follows:

Score at 15mm then at 53mm at either end. Place over lid of box and wrap to back adhere the smaller piece just connecting the edges so there is room to slide the belly band on and off the box. (hope that makes sense)

Supplies:
Stamp sets: Season of Joy, Party Punch (Hostess Level 1)
Card: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate, River Rock
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1″, 1 1/4″ & 1 3/8″ circle punches, Always Artichoke 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Transperancy Sheet, Very Vanilla C6 envelopes.

Project 8 was another of Makeesha’s projects and this is a Gift Card Holder which a tutorial can be found here

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: River Rock, Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke
Accessories: 1 3/8″ circle punch (for inside slot), Large Oval Punch, River Rock double-stitched ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sticky Strip

and the final project was a Christmas Cracker and a great tutorial for making this project can be found on Lynette Couper’s blog here

I’ll try and replace this picture when I can take a better shot of it. The light was just too glary at the time.

Supplies:
Stamp set: Season of Joy
Card: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Holiday Harmony DSP
Ink: Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Rich Regal Brads.

If you would like to purchase any of the items I’ve used to make these projects then contact me now by email or phone 0418 218 467.

Remember the stamp set – Season of Joy, the Holiday Harmony DSP and the Purely Pomegranate Satin ribbon is only available till 30th November.

Nicole Stalker

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Merry Christmas and Secret Sister gifts

Secret Santa Gift

Christmas Gifts

Another creation using Holiday Harmony DSP

Christmas Extravaganza update

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