Card lovin'

Some more cards that I whipped up at the end of last year, that I loved but never got the chance to blog about!

 This one was Felicity's birthday card. I used my Hexagon punch from Stampin Up to punch out different coloured scraps of aqua Patterned Paper and I love it!! The sweet little owl juuuuuusssstttt fit inside the hexagon, so he had to be included too!

 Next I broke out my hexagon embossing folder (also from SU) and thought I'd mix it up a bit by cutting along the embossed line to make an interesting edge. I'm so happy with it! I had this really sweet red patterned paper with a very baroque image on it, and I had no idea how to use it so you could still see the image. Well, when I mounted it behind the hexagon panel, it was perfect! I added the sentiment, some ribbon and a paper flower and voila!

 And cos it was so good, I made another one, just slightly different {wink!}

 I Love Hot Air Balloons! Do you? I'm loving this set from SU, and it goes so perfectly with the tiny Memory Box cloud dies I bought! Don't they cut such cute little clouds?! I embossed a piece of grey card with my chevron embossing folder and this card has to be one of my faves!

 Here's one that I threw together using all the scraps left over on my desk. I love when these cards practically make themselves! Cos I pick up all the bits, throw them down and just tweak the placement a little and I love it! The colour combo on these 2 cards- grey, aqua & yellow is gorgeous too, you can't go wrong!

 And for a totally different colour scheme I went with pale pink and aqua for these next 2 cards. I embossed 3/4 of the pink card so the top of the card would be patterned but the bottom 1/4 would be plain so you can see the pattern on the paper. Me muchos likey! It's quite interesting!

 And I made another one, similar. Hehe.

 Here's another fave card (have I said that about all the cards today?? {giggles}. The background paper is sooooo cool! Its from a pad of 12x12 paper, maybe even an Aldi one. Love it! I used some hexagon embossed aqua card, silver glitter washi tape and a punched shape for the sentiment. I love the colours and the patterns and the texture on this card!

So again, I made another one. {smiles}. This colour scheme is perfect for a modern wedding card, but for birthdays, babies, thanks, anything!
Have you been making cards lately?
Thanks for dropping by!
:) C

Create a Cake Cards!

Hi y'all!
How about some cards to share today?

Sometimes I actually squeal out loud when I'm looking through the Stampin Up Catalogue for the first time, and spot a stamp set I HAVE to have. When I saw "Create a Cake", I squealed! It was a little, high pitched, barely audible, noise, but it happened! It's such a cute set, and I knew I would have heaps of fun using it!
So recently, I sat down with some pretty pink papers and made some cards.

The stamp set consists of a base cake on a pedestal, another stamp has the top 2 cake layers on it (as one stamp) and then there are cake embellishments, like a row of bunting, a pinwheel and butterflies. So sweet!
For these first 2 cards I also embossed some paper using my cuttlebug and the fancy fan embossing folder from Stampin Up. I love those fans!

For these birthday cards, I used the Happy Birthday sentiment from SU's Perfectly Penned set as well. Aren't those pennants so pretty!

I think the set would also be perfect for Wedding cards, especially with the 3-layer cake!
Happy Friday! Hope you get some creating done this weekend!
:) C

Time for some cards!

Hi Y'all!
I haven't posted many of my cards on here lately, so here some are for you!
I needed more lady Birthday Cards in my cardbox, cos they must have been my best-sellers lately, they were pretty scarce in the box!

 Found this packet of pretty blue Stampin Up printed papers that I had lots amongst my stash! I am so happy to have found them, they make lovely cards for all those people who don't like pink!

Still nice and soft, with pretty blue and kraft flowers. And the gorgeous Stampin Up Butterfly Wings die cut that I use in my Cuttlebug machine.

I love Deers! Do you? Aren't they so cute! I had this little strip of AC deer paper hanging out in my stash so built the card around that. Do you start with little offcuts like me? I find that I end up a bit more creative when I have an unusual small piece to start with, rather than staring at a big 12x12 sheet. Then I have to come up with all the ideas, when I start with a small piece, they ideas just seem to flow! The note paper piece was also a leftover scrap from my stash, I love it on this card! The sentiment is from a retired Stampin Up set called "Happy Everything". (Can you tell I had pulled out a big stack of SU stamps to use, cos I'd neglected them for too long!!)

Then I dug out some nice bright Stampin Up papers and made these 2 gems! Remember, when you're making one card, you may as well go ahead and make another one at the same time, it saves you time later!

And I already had someone in mind for this one, so there is now only one left in my cardbox. I love the bright colours, the orange and the pink are so unusual together, but I love them! ANd the doily stamp is gorgeous too! The flower and doily are both from the retired Stampin Up set "True Friend". I hadn't thought that doily looked like a doily til I used it on these cards, I love it now! Isn't it cool how you can look at an old set in a totally new way when a new trend comes along!
Have you been creating this weekend?
:) C

Little Boy Blue..

Hi Y'all!
Not long til NZ now, yay!!
Here are some Baby Boy cards to keep you inspired to create!

Clearly, I had the Kaisercraft Elephant stamp out on my desk when I was in a creative mood for these cards! I made 3 cards using him! He's so cute though, I couldn't put him down! And I paired him with the Stampin Up retired {sob!} set, "Seeing Stars" which is an awesome set for guys. I'm always bummed when they retire some really versatile sets like this one! Oh well, I have enjoyed perusing the new catalogue for new favourite sets! The sentiment is from Kaisercraft too.

I had fun making it look as though the elephant was blowing the stars out of his trunk! Then I added some jewels in between to add a bit of bling. You can never have too much bling, even on boy cards!

Baby blue and brown is one of my favourite colour combos for baby boys. In fact, I think it is my very favourite. It looks so smart! I've used Kraft and Bashful Blue cardstock from Stampin Up for the base cards. The "baby" sentiment on this card is from Stampin Up's Pennant Parade set.

Then I made a card to use up all those little patterned paper scraps that were hanging about on my desk! It reminds me a bit of quilting, piecing all the small bits together to create a fancy background. It's fun! Not to mention a fabulous way to use up all those tiny pieces you hoard! Or is that just me? {tongue in cheek} The sentiment here is Kaisercraft and the little boy is by Stampendous I think.
Have you been stamping lately?
:) C

Circle Circus Bunting

I love digging out old stamp sets and using them in a new design card, or in a totally different colour scheme to what I normally do. Do you get stuck in a certain colour scheme for a certain stamp set too? I've gotta shake off normality, and try new things! {shaking shoulders vigorously!}
So as I've been in a Bunting Mood lately I wondered if Circle Circus by Stampin Up would make a great string of "Bunting Flags". Kinda like a cross between the beautiful paper or crochet doily bunting I keep seeing on Pinterest, and a traditional string of flags.

I really like how they turned out! I used different colours to what I normally would work with too, like Kraft coloured base card and deep Eggplant purple paper with eggplant printed vellum sewn over the top. Then the inks for the Circles were Soft Sage, Summer Sun, Vintage Violet and Rose Red.

For this second card I used the same colours of circles and paper, but the base card is Rose Red. I sewed the circles onto the square of background paper before I mounted it on the base card, so the sewing doesn't show through on the inside.
Then I thought I would really switch it up by using some retro themed background paper, but still use Circle Circue (well, it was already out on my desk, and I'm lazy enough to not change sets! Lol!)

I used Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise and Summer Sun ink, and also the Perfectly Scripted set for the sentiment (Perfectly Scripted is one of my fave sentiment sets, the font is gorgeous. It's my pic for most used sentiment set!).

I like how the same set can look complimentary, or quite different, just by changing up the colours you use!
Have you dug out your old sets yet? Go on! Grab them, and some different colours to what you would normally use, and go for it!
:) C

Break out your unused sets!

Hi y'all!
Are you like me? Do you have so many stamps or stamp sets that have never, or rarely, actually seen ink? Yep, you know you do!
Sometimes I like to sit and dedicate a whole stamping session, just to these sets! It's time to show them some love people!! It's not that I don't like these sets, but for some reason or another, they end up perennially on the bottom of the stamp pile, out of sight, or I've (momentarilly) forgotten about them! Or sometimes, and idea just wont come to me!
So recently, it was time to pull out those sets and give them some air time {smiles}. Here are the finished products:

These first two cards use a gorgeous massive Stampin Up background stamp that retired a couple of years ago called French Flair. I just love the birds and swirls, and for these cards I adhered a tiny pearl or jewel at the end of some of the swirls. So sweet! I used Rich Razzleberry ink and gold shimmer Versamark ink too. I used sentiments from SU's retired Wonderful Favourites on this first card and hand cut a little cardstock "banner" to stamp "friend" on. I like how it turned out!

On this second card I used more words from Wonderful Favourites, but I used the Postage Stamp Punch to punch out, then mounted it on some foam tape with a little piece of ribbon behind. Nice!

This next card uses Stampin Up's Sweet On You, which retired a few years ago too. I stamped the images on Sahara Sand card with Riding Hood Red ink, then I glittered the heart and paired it with some strawberry and dotty papers. I love how it looks! Sparkles make me happy! The sentiment is from A Word For You set, that is actually in the current catalogue! Oh My Gosh! I'm using a current set! LOL!

Next up is using Thoughts and Prayers which is still current too! Whoa! Slow down girl {giggles}. The sentiment is from Great Friend (retired) and I stamped it on an oval made with Stampin Up's scallop oval punch and I inked the edges. I stuck some red pearl "apples" in the tree too, which look awesome! As you can tell, the pearls and jewels were out on my desk on this day! LOL!
So I encourage you to get out some old sets and have a play one day, it's time some of those forgotten sets got some air play too! I'm happy with the cards I made, and I've got more sets to use now that I'm inspired (and have been reminded that I own them!)
:) C

Bunting Cards

Hi y'all!
Time for some cards? Yes, I think so! {high five} It's been ages since I posted some cards, so here are some for your perusal...
Do you know what craze I love and hope never goes away? Bunting. It's awesome. Not just as party decorations, but for bedroom decor, jewellry, on clothes, stamps, crafting, book covers and fabric. I'd love to be surrounded by bunting all day long. That would make me feel like my life was a constant party. Or circus. Actually, come to think of it, that may not be such a great idea...
But here are some cards I made using my current top fave thing (apart from Hot Air Balloons, which I've been telling Mum for about 18 months will be the next big thing and she didn't believe me til today!). I made Bunting cards! Hooray for me keeping all those ridiculously small pieces of patterned paper, and hooray for actually using them up {party poppers going off- at my constant party!}

I made a baby card..
The boat is a Hero Arts stamp, sentiment by Stampin Up.

And a Birthday card. The sweet fox is from Stampin Up's Fox and Friends, which sadly retired at the end of August. Boo! Sentiment also by SU.

And another baby card. Look, I sewed across the coathangers so it looks like they're hanging off the sewn line! I'm a genious!
It was fun to get out the sewing machine and ran along these cards in red thread. I think they look so cute! I sewed the bunting on the background paper before I stuck it down on the base card, so the sewing doesn't show from the inside of the card, and you don't have any loose thread ends hanging around. Up here's for thinking! {tapping head in a thoughful way}.
I encourage you to use up all those little scraps of paper to make Bunting Cards. It's fun!
:) C

For the Boys

Hi y'all!
Happy Thursday! I'm working Thurs and Friday this week, which sux a little (even I hate working Fridays, though I only have a 2 day week!) but I'm covering for another Supervisor at work so at least it's not a regular thing.
Here are some cards I've made for Boys lately! I realised, while going through my card box, that I didn't have a great selection of Boy Cards, even though I seem to have a pretty good collection of boy stamps. So  I set about to rectify that!

What boy doesn't like a Dinosaur? Yeah, not many! I used a bit of black and white striped Baker's Twine on this card too, seeing as I have to stop myself using ribbon (for fear it might be a bit girly, I can't stop myself all the time though-see the monster card below). I think I might have been on a bit of an "orange-card-roll"...

I {heart} this little pirate from Lizzie Anne Designs. I won it in a comp on their blog many moons ago and he's been so much fun to stamp and colour in. I use my Stampin write markers from Stampin Up to colour him in, I love all their colours. The Ahoy Matey I got from LAD too. Oh, also hooray for using up lots of small paper scraps on these cards {giving self a pat on the back.} I'm always happy to use up my stash!

The sentiment and little pirate head on this second pirate card are both from The Cat's Pajamas. I got them online from their store about 400 years ago and I've used the pirate head, like, twice. Hooray for using it a third time! {music blaring & streamers falling from roof!} LOL!.

Monster Card for Jai's friend Piet from Playgroup's 1st Birthday. He had a Monster party which was quite cool. His Mum had gone to a bit of effort with the food and decorations (which I'm used to with our family, but it's nice to attend one that I didn't have any input for! LOL!), even though there was only 6 kids there (plus parents). My fave thing was a giant watermelon "monster" that was spewing fruit out it's jaggard-cut watermelon mouth. so cool! LOL! {giggles}
Hope you like the cards!
:) C

Last chance for 10% off!

Hi y'all!
Don't forget tomorrow is the last day to get your Stampin Up orders in to me to receive 10% off! And if your order is over $50, you will also receive free shipping!
It's a great opportunity to grab those supplies that have been hanging out on your Wish List & also help me celebrate 5 years as a Stampin Up Demonstrator!
Here is a card I just whipped up using the Aviary set ($35.95) which is one of my faves! Who doesn't love birds & these sweet birdcages are gorgeous! I love that there are a few different birds to stamp inside the cages also; it's totally customisable.
I used Pretty in Pink ink & card stock & Perfect Plum too.
Hope you've had a great week & Happy Friday!
Don't forget to email me at mrscharlottelam (at) hotmail (dot) com by tomorrow if you want to place an order & get 10% off!
:) C

Friendship Cards

Hi Y'all!
I thought I'd share some more Stampin Up cards with you, seeing as I'm celebrating 5 Years as a Stampin Up Demonstrator, and am having a 10% off sale in June to celebrate! (Don't forget to email me!)
Mum and Dad are on the team for a church camp (do you call a camp for adults a camp? Or a conference? LOL!) and Mum asked me to put together some kits for "Friendship cards" for the ladies to do as a sit and chat (network?) activity that Mum will be hosting.
I decided to use the "Mixed Bunch" set ($38.95 for clear mount) from the current Autumn-Winter Stampin Up Mini Catalogue. It's a gorgeous set of 3 large flowers, with some smaller co-ordinating circular patterns, and there is a co-ordinating punch ($33.95) which makes card making so quick and easy!! I LOVE  the 3 flowers, they are so cool. The other one, the one I haven't used for these 2 cards, is a really nice filigree sorta flower, so pretty! I could imagine it as a doily-like snowflake for Christmas Cards!
Anyway, I whipped up these 2 example cards, plus 3 others which I foolishly didn't take pics of (what was with my memory that day??) using the pieces in the kits. The sentiments on these cards are from some retired SU sets also. I love the True Friend sentiment!
Each card kit contained a stamped and punched flower, a sentiment stamped on a punched out Decorative Label shape (a punch from the main catalogue) and either some small stamped and punched circles, which you see here, or book paper butterflies which I cut with my Beautiful Wings embosslit die ($21.95) from the main catalogue, plus background paper and a strip of co-ordinating paper. I was worried the ladies would have made the card in about 10 mins then sit there twiddling their thumbs, but Mum assures me it will take them a bit longer than that! In amongst the chatting and cups of tea I expect! I wanted to show how the same elements from the kits could be used to make different looking cards.
Good Luck with teaching your first class Mum!
Don't forget to email me with your order before the end of the month to take advantage of 10% off and also free shipping if your order is over $50! Email me at mrscharlottelam (at) hotmail (dot) com!
:) C

Foxxy Baby Cards

 Hi y'all!
I have recently been on a bit of a binge making baby cards for my card box. Baby cards are always really popular, I guess there are always plenty of babys making their arrivals! I think I make more baby cards than any other type by at least double!

One of my All-time favourite sets is Fox and Friends from Stampin Up. I LOVE these sweet little animal images and they are perfect for baby cards (and children, birthdays, friendship etc!!) The Fox is my fave, look how sweet his face is!

These are really simple cards, I stamped the animals then punched the squares with Stampin Up's Scalloped Square punch, and the circles are a Marvy scalloped circle punch. Layered up some cards with pretty papers, grabbed some ribbon to accent and finished them off with some shimmer ink or jewels and stamped the sentiment. So easy!

I always do a production line and make a few similar, just with different patterned papers or images. I totally recommend that you make at least 2 cards at once, especially if you already have plans to give one away. It's so easy to make 2 if you're already making 1, you have all the stuff out on your desk already! And then you will have a "spare" for your card box, for when you need a card unexpectedly!
Don't forget, until the end of June I am offering 10% off all product, with no minimum order, and also free shipping if your order is over $50, in Celebration of my 5 years as a Stampin Up Demonstrator! Just email me at mrscharlottelam (at) hotmail (dot) com! It's a great time to grab the Fox and Friends set!
:) C

Celebrating a Milestone

Hi y'all!
This week I got a little surprise in the mail.... my 5 year pin from Stampin' Up! Yes that's right, I've been a Stampin Up Demonstrator for 5 years {cheeks reddening with pride}. Boy that time has flown!! And so much has happened in my life (I know I keep going on and on about how much has happened in the last 5 years {smacking self on hand for being a repeater}, but honestly, it's been a lot!)

But my love of Card Making and Scrapbooking lives on, and has grown in leaps and bounds! Oh I do love crafting {feels like doing a marathon around the block with paper trimmer in one hand and an ink pad in the other, just to share the love!}
Well, there is a way I can share the love... with discounts!! If you'd like to place a Stampin Up order through me, from now until the end of June, I'm offering 10% off your products! And if you spend over $50, I will also give you free shipping! So that's like the equivalent of 15% off if you're spending over $50! What a great time to grab a couple of extra packs of cardstock, or that fabulous stamp set with matching punch that's been calling to you from the catalogue, and get a 10% discount! The products will be delivered straight to your door, anywhere in Australia. Why not share in my 5 year Milestone, and enjoy some new products!! Don't forget to tell your friends too!
You can view the catalogues online too, so it's super easy to browse and find some cool new stuff to add to your stash! The main catalogue is HERE and the Autumn-Winter Mini Catalogue is HERE.
Stampin Up also have a promo going at the moment, where if you spend $125 on product, you can get the "Reason to Smile" stamp set for free! There's another incentive!
If you'd like to place an order, please email me at mrscharlottelam (at) hotmail (dot) com
 But remember, it's only until June 30th!!
Happy 5 Year Stampin' Up Anniversary to me!!
:) C

Run Rings around these Cards... Circus Rings!

Hi y'all!
For Jaimeson's First Birthday I am planning on throwing him an "Under The Big Top" Themed Party! We're big into themed parties in our family, as you may have worked out! I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to his party, it's full of fun and awesome Circus ideas, I'm really looking forward to it! Though it is still over 2 months away! {giggles}. I do hope Jai enjoys it as much as I will! {belly laugh!}
I broke out my "Under the Big Top" stamp set from Stampin Up recently, and made a couple of cards to get me in the mood! This set has the sweetest little collection of Circus animals and people. I {heart} the Strong Man! He's got the awesomest moustache! There's my moustache love again. Who knew I'd like them? {shrugging shoulders at moustache love}.
I think Primary Colours probably go best with this set, and also red/white combo, though I haven't done any in that combo (yet) {whip cracking in the background}. I'm thinking I could use this set at Jaimeson's party to make the invitations, or to stamp on Lolly Bags to take home, or to make Cupcake Toppers. Not sure yet, but I'm sure he'll at least get a card made with them! It's definitely one of my favourite sets at the moment! And I reckon I might be able to belt out some more girly cards with them too, I might have to break out a softer colour palette though.
What have you been up to this week?
Only 4 sleeps til we go to NZ!!

Teenager/Dude Cards

Hi y'all!
Happy Friday! {high five} the weekend is here!
Tomorrow I am going over to my sister Felicity's house to do some cupboard cleanout-ing! I always feel so liberated when I get rid of clothes I haven't worn in ages, armed with my bags of clothing I trudge off to the Op Shops and drop them off while I have a shop around! LOL! {giggles!} But it does feel oh-so-good to get rid of clutter. I hope Felicity feels it after tomorrow! And my sister Alicia is coming along too, she's the fashion guru and she is strict so she wont let you keep anything that is out of fashion, pilled or doesn't fit right. It's like having Trinny and Susannah visit!
My card box has been lacking some Teenager/Dude cards (not the old man style!) so recently I sat down at my desk and belted out a few.I love the Circle Circus set from Stampin Up, and I paired it with Party This Way sentiment from SU too. I think this card turned out quite nicely, especially for a simple card!
I love this paper with the old school bikes on it! I had this square floating around on my desk so stamped out a couple of extra circle circus rounds and stuck 'em all down with the Party This Way sign. Voila! Simple card, yet i really like it! The colours are a little different for my card box too. I always love that. Sometimes you just get stuck in a rut with colour and you need to break out {smashing through wall!}
And lastly, I used the Grunge Rock guitars with my Perfectly Penned "Happy Birthday" sentiment from Stampin Up for this cool card. Rock on! I love the Perfectly Penned set. I overlooked it so many times, and now I have it, I love it! I love when a set that you've overlooked for ages jumps right out and begs to be bought cos you think of awesome ideas with it! {smacking hand against cheek}.
Hope you've got some awesome plans for the weekend!
:) C