My Creative Existence

Orange, Black, and White ATC's.

2011-08-28T08:25:00.000+10:00

Recently I hosted an ATC swap at Inkurable Stampers for it's 3rd Birthday. The theme was the Inkurable colours - orange, black, and white. We had people join in from all over the world!

Here are the 2 different ATC's I made for the swap:

For this one I used stamps from Darkroom Door, Stampotique, and Martha Stewart. The background features Gothic book text, Distress ink, and Alcohol ink splatters.

This time I used stamps from Stampotique, Darkroom Door, and I think the cat was a Hero Arts one.

All the ATC's in the swap were awesome - you can check out the whole collection here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

~Sarah~

My new pen...

2011-08-27T11:55:00.001+10:00

I saw a pen the other day and I just had to have it. Check it out:

$18 later and it was mine.

Here it is in all it's glory:

So awesome.

Goes so well with my favourite handbag.

~Sarah~

Steampunk Baby Card.

2011-08-19T19:37:00.000+10:00

Recently I've been playing with the new Wordblock stamps from Darkroom Door. One of my favourite creations was this Steampunk inspired baby card:

Darkroom Door Products used:

* Baby Wordblock stamp.
* Little Dreams stamp set.
* Steampunk stamp set (the top hat and the cogs).
* Scratches Background stamp.
* Alphabet Medley stamp set.
* Small & Large Manilla Tag.
* Distress Ink -Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet.

I created the background by sanding gloss cardstock, sponging with Tattered Rose Distress ink, and then stamping the scratches background stamp with Victorian Velvet Distress ink. I then stamped the baby wordblock stamp onto the background with Old Rose Versacolor ink, and added some vintage look lace.

I stamped "Girl" onto a small manila tag with the Alphabet stamps, and the "Little" and "Baby" comes from the wordblock stamp. To avoid getting the placement wrong, I actually cut those words out of the wordblock stamp and stamped them individually. Don't worry - I cut them with one line so that I can slot them back in when I need to use it as a full stamp again! The tag was then sponged with Tattered Rose distress ink and threaded with a dusty pink ribbon and mounted to the card with foam tape.

I stamped the lay and the hat onto a large manilla tag and sponged them with the tattered rose distress ink. They were cut out, and edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink. I then stamped the cogs from the Steampunk stamp set onto the lady's body with Timber Brown Stazon. To finish, I added some raw chipboard cogs from Twiddleybitz - LOVE these!!

I'll sare the other cards I created here soon - but if you want to check them out now you can see them on the Darkroom Door blog here. While you're there, leave a comment for your chance to win a Wordblock stamp of your choice!

~Sarah~

Tissue Tape Techniques Class!

2011-07-26T17:26:00.001+10:00

Hi everyone!

I've just popped in quickly to tell you about my upcoming Tissue Tape Techniques class at Pages 2 Scrap! Here's a sneak peek:

In this class I will show you a number of ways to use the new Tim Holtz Tissue Tape on your cards. You will create 4 beautiful cards that can be used for any occasion. Your cards will also feature beautiful stamps from Tim Holtz and Darkroom Door.

We will also be using the new Distress Stains from Tim Holtz, so if you've been wanting to give these a go, then this may be the class for you!

Here are the details:

Tissue Tape Techniques with Sarah Schwerin - $30.

Saturday 30th July - 10:30am to 12:30pm.

OR

Tuesday 9th August - 10:30am to 12:30pm.

To book, please call Pages 2 Scrap on 1300 664 228, or click here to book online.

I look forward to seeing you in a class soon!

~Sarah~

My Classes for July at Pages 2 Scrap.

2011-07-02T11:42:00.001+10:00

Oh dear - I'm such a slack blogger! Been way too long since I updated - I have lots to share but little time to share it! LOL!

Anyway, here are the details of my upcoming cards class this month at Pages 2 Scrap:

Shabby Chic Background Cards. Cost = $30 (includes kit).

Tuesday 5th July 2011 - 10:30am to 12:30pm (2 hours).

OR

Saturday 9th July 2011 - 2pm to 4pm (2 hours).

In this class you will learn a new background technique using the new Damask Background Stamp from Darkroom Door to create 4 shabby chic look cards. Techniques used in this class are heat embossing, paint resist, stamping with large stamps.

Here's a sneak peek:

We'll also be using dies, punches, and of course, lots of stamping! :)

I will also be teaching a Tim Holtz Tissue Tape Techniques class on the 30th of July from 10:30 to 12:30 (2 hours). I'll update you with more details for that class next week - but in the mean time if you are interested in doing it, keep the date free. :)

Before I go - just a quick reminder that our stocktake sale has been extended until Friday 8th July, so come on in to get a whopping 30% off storewide*.

Have a great weekend! I hope to see you soon!

~Sarah~

My May 2011 Classes at Pages2Scrap!

2011-04-29T09:06:00.000+10:00

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter Break!

I have some lovely new classes coming up at Pages2Scrap in May - here are the details:

Heritage Scrapbook Layout:

In this class we will create a single page 12x12" layout to fit 3 photos. The papers and stamps that we will be using from Pink Paislee best suit a heritage or vintage theme, but more modern photos would work just as well. Here's a sneak peek:

We will be using the Cuttlebug to emboss as well as die cut some flower shapes. We'll also be stamping, punching, inking, and distressing!

I'll be showing you how to get the most out of your stamps on your layouts by using them in the background and as custom made embellishments.

Here are the dates and times:

* Saturday 7th May 2011 - (National Scrapbooking Day) - 10:30am - 12:30pm.

OR

* Thursday 12th May 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Class cost is only $30!

It's rare that I teach scrapbooking layouts, so if you've been waiting for a layout class from me, get in while you can!

********************************************

Steampunk Cards:

In this class we will create 6 beautifully vintage looking cards using the new Steampunk Debutante paper range from Graphic 45. Here's a sneak peek:

The rich browns, terrific teals and luscious images make these cards perfect for any special occasion.

The photo really doesn't do them justice, so make sure you pop in store to have a look at them in real life. :)

Here are the class times:

* Thursday 19th May 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm.

OR

* Saturday 28th May 2011 - 10am - 12pm.

Cost for the class is only $30.00 and that includes everything you'll need to make 6 gorgeous cards! What a bargain!

This class is good for beginners as well as experienced crafters, so come one come all!

To book your spot in either of these classes please call the store on 1300 664 228, pop in store, or book online here.

I hope to see you there!

~Sarah~

Pearlised Resist Technique Cards.

2011-04-10T07:56:00.001+10:00

Recently I taught a class at Pages2Scrap where I created 4 cards using Jennifer McGuire's Pearlised Resist Technique. Here they are:

I used stamps from the Darkroom Door "Wildflowers Vol 2","All Occasions", and "Butterflies" stamp sets, and lost of Distress Inks and Pearl Glimmermist.

Here are some close ups:

To see more photos, and read more details about how I made these cards, pop on over to the Darkroom Door blog here!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

My April 2011 Classes at Pages2Scrap!

2011-04-06T13:28:00.002+10:00

Oh my goodness I can't believe it's April already! This year really is flying by!

I'm here today to tell you about some classes that I have coming up this month at Pages2Scrap!

Vintage Flourish Cards:

I've taught this class twice already, and the ladies in each class have had a great time! But if you've missed out on attending either of those dates, there's still one chance left!

Friday 8th April 2011 - 10:30am to 12:30pm. Cost $43.00 (includes kit).

In the class we will be making 4 vintage inspired cards using the Flourish Background stamp from Darkroom Door, and learning a resist technique. Your very own Flourish Background Stamp plus the EZ Mount are included in your kit! Awesome value!

We will be stamping, embossing, cuttlebugging, and just generally getting inky! :)

Love Letters Cards:

In this class we will be creating 4 love inspired cards using the new Love Letters Photochips and Wordstrips from Darkroom Door. Sooooo pretty!!

In your kit you will receive a full packet of Darkroom Door Love Letters Photochips - with enough beautiful images to make 6 cards! You will also receive a Love Letters Wordstrip, and all the cardstock, trim, and gorgeous flowers that you will need to make your cards.

There will be stamping, embossing, and distressing to keep you busy! :)

Saturday 16th April 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm - Cost = $30.

OR

Wednesday 20th April - 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm. Cost = $30.

Both sets of cards are in store now if you'd like to check them out!

To book, please call Pages2Scrap on 1300 664 228 or pop in and see us at Unit 4, 6 Morton Close (Corner of Gavenlock Rd and Morton Close), Tuggerah NSW 2259.

I hope to see you soon! :)

~Sarah~

Beautiful Miss S!

2011-04-03T18:42:00.001+10:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing a baby photo shoot for 4 week old baby Miss S. This time I got over 50 awesome shots of Miss S and her parents, so I thought I'd share some of my favourites here (with their permission):

Miss S with Mummy and Daddy:

Miss S with her Daddy:

Miss S with her Mummy:

And Miss S and her gorgeous little feet:

There's something just sooo cute about tiny little baby feet!

If you're interested in having me photograph your baby (or anything else!), I'd love to hear from you! Send me an email for a quote. :)

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

She Art Girl #3.....

2011-03-09T23:03:00.002+11:00

.......who is technically She Art Girl #2. You see, as I mentioned in my last post, She was Girl #2 from the course, but I finished her last, so now she's #3! LOL! Confused yet?

Anyway, she is my favourite - lots of stamping, my fave colour combo, a bit on the dark side, very "me":

The paper I used for her dress pieces is from Basic Grey. I've had it in my stash for years so it was nice to be able to find something to use it for!

Here is a close up:

I'm much happier with the hair on this one too. ;)

The butterfly wings are from a butterfly in this Darkroom Door stamp set. Her belt is made from German Scrap, and the rub ons are from Daisy D's and Kaisercraft.

Lots and lots of stamping this time around - I have used stamps from Darkroom Door, Stampotique, and Tim Holtz.

One of my favourite parts is the gothic book text in the background. I'm kinda sad though, because someone gifted it to me, and now I have none left! LOL!!

Well that's it from me for tonight! Week 2 of the course has already started, so I'll be back sometime in the next week to share my latest projects! :)

If you'd like to join in on the fun of the She Art Workshop, check out the details here. So. Much. Fun.

~Sarah~

She Art Girl #2.

2011-03-09T22:29:00.000+11:00

Actually, this is technically She Art Girl #3, however I finished her before #2, and I like #2 better, so I'm sharing this one first! LOL!! :)

This time around I went for a more vintage shabby chic look, with muted browns, pinks, whites, and of course some frills.

Here is a close up:

Her hair ended up looking a bit Princess Leia-ish, but I think it's kinda cute. I want to get better at doing hair though - I need to practice more.

Again, I've used a bunch of rub ons from my stash, and stamps from Darkroom Door, and Tim Holtz. The frills on her dress and knickerbockers are German Scrap.

Such fun I'm having!!

If you'd like to join in on Christy's 3 week She Art Workshop, check out the details here. :)

I'll be back soon with my 3rd girl - and she's very.........me! LOL!!

~Sarah~

She Art Girl #1.

2011-03-09T21:57:00.000+11:00

OK - here she is in all her glory - my first official She Art Girl:

Just remember I'm new at this! :) She's not perfect, but I like her! And I love the quote because it describes my journey on this She Art Girl course. ;)

Here's a close up:

I loved creating all the different layers - something I'd never really done before and it was so freeing to just let go and create without rulers or rules or limitations.

I even got out the Viva Decor Ferro and stamped into it with my Darkroom Door French Script stamp. Once it was dry I added some white paint and some rub-ons over the top:

I've used lots of paint and inks in the background, and few different stamps from Darkroom Door and Tim Holtz.

Her belt and boots are made from German Scrap. I've had the rub-ons in my stash for years - I think they're from Kaisercraft and Basic Grey.

If you'd like to sign up to the She Art Worksop, check out the details here.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Enjoying The Process!

2011-03-09T19:46:00.000+11:00

I'm currently enrolled in a 3 week online course, run by the very talented Christy Tomlinson called The She Art Workshop. I'm having an awesome time creating something different to my normal style, and learning new ways in mixed media art!

I have to thank my new friend and workmate Kim Price for pointing me in the direction of this course - I'm so glad she convinced me to take the leap and sign up! (Go and check out her blog for her She-Art girls - they're awesome!).

So - in Week 1 we learned all about art mediums, techniques to create our backgrounds, and of course, how to create our "She" girls. My favourite part was the backgrounds - it was so free and adventurous, and so far removed from anything I'm used to!

First we added texture with paper, ephemera etc. Here's what my canvases looked like:

Next we applied all sorts of art mediums like paint, inks, etc, and stamping. SO much fun! Here's what they looked like after Stage 2:

The final task was to add your girls, and decorate the canvas with more stamping, rub-ons, etc etc. I struggled creating the girls, and I'm still not sure how I feel about their "no-face" look, but I'm really happy with how they've turned out! Here is the finished product:

Three very different looks using the same techniques and processes! I was so far out of my comfort zone with these canvases, but I had an awesome time creating them and learned so much! It was fun using up some of the rub-ons I've been hoarding for years too! LOL!!

If you are interested in doing Christy's course, you can sign up here. I highly recommend it! Christy's videos are fabulous - so much info and very easy to follow along. Awesome value for money too.

I'll be back soon to share each one individually in their own blog post so you can see more detail. :)

~Sarah~

A Card and a Bookmark!

2011-03-02T10:28:00.000+11:00

Hello again!

I've been creating a few bits and bobs lately in between samples for classes, so I thought I'd share them with you!

I bought some new Ranger Alcohol Inks colours for a class I'm teaching in March, so while I had them out I created a "polished stone" background for a quick card. Here it is:

The colours I used for the background were Citrus, Sunset Orange, and Purple Twilight - all from the "Brights" range. To create the background I used my ink applicator tool with all three inks plus the blending solution, dabbed onto white gloss cardstock.

Here is a close up:

The stamps I used were from the Darkroom Door "Artist" stamp set. I stamped them onto the gloss cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.

The squares are actually much closer together in the stamp set, however I cut around them individually so I could spread them out a bit, or use them individually if I wanted to. I used only one cut between each square so that if I ever want to stamp them close together again, all I have to do is piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle.

I inked around the edges of the gloss cardstock with black ink, placed a black brad in each corner, and mounted the background onto a black Bazzill cardstock base. Too easy!

I also made another bookmark, and this time I've used a bunch of new Tim Holtz clear stamps that I bought recently. Here's the front:

I started with a plain white piece of cardstock (2x7") which I inked using Vintage Photo and Scattered Straw Distress inks. I then stamped different stamps by Tim Holtz on the background in Barn Door and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks. I stamped other Tim Holtz images and the quotes over the top using Jet black Archival ink, and the inked around the edges using a sponge dauber.

Here is the back:

Both sides were stuck to a piece of black bazzill cardstock. I punched a hole at the top with my Cropadile, and threaded some red satin ribbon through.

Here are some close ups:

Lots of layers of stamps and ink = lots of fun!!

If you love bookmarks, then you should enter my current Bookmarks challenge over at Inkurable Stampers! The deadline is midnight 12th March, so you still have plenty of time to get an entry in! There has been lots of awesome entries so far - and we'd all love to see more! :)

~Sarah~

My March 2011 Classes at Pages 2 Scrap!

2011-03-01T20:05:00.000+11:00

I've been busy creating some fun classes to share with you at Pages2Scrap this month!

ATC Wallet + 5 ATC's.

Saturday 5th March 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm. $30 (includes kit).

AND

Thursday 10th March 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm. $30 (includes kit).

In this class we'll create 5 Artist Trading Cards, plus a gorgeous little expanding wallet to store them in. We'll be using lots of lovely stamps from Darkroom Door, and you'll learn how to use Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powders. Don't worry if you're not into ATC's yet! I'll explain all about them in class, and if you're still not hooked, I'll show you how to use them on card fronts! As well as papers etc, your kit price includes 1 full tub of TH Distress Embossing Powder!

********************

Alcohol Inks Cards.

Saturday 26th March 2011 - 10:00am - 12:00pm. $38 (includes kit).

AND

Tuesday 29th March 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm. $38 (includes kit).

In this class we'll create 4 very bright and striking cards, and I'll show you a fun new way to use your alcohol inks! We'll be using lots of gorgeous stamps from Darkroom Door. As well as papers etc, your kit price incudes 2 x bottles of alcohol ink!

********************

Pearlised Resist Cards Class - REPEAT.

Due to popular demand this class is being repeated! So if you missed out on this class in February, be sure to book in!

Saturday 26th March 2011 - 12:30pm - 2:30pm. $28 (includes kit).

In this class we will make 4 eye catching cards using the Pearlised Resist Technique, and stamps from Darkroom Door.

********************

If you'd like to book into any of these classes, please call Pages 2 Scrap on 1300 664 228 to secure your spot!

I hope to see you there!

~Sarah~

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:01:00.001+11:00

Valentine's Day is not usually a day that my husband and I go crazy over any more - but we usually give each other a card to show how much we care.

I made these cards for the Darkroom Door blog:

I went with a simple colour combo - red, black, and kraft, with a touch of pewter - and came up with 2 cards - one quite simple and a little girly, and one more edgy and masculine.

Here's the simple girly one:

I inked up the wildflower stamp (from the Darkroom Door Wildflowers Vol 2 stamp set) with black ink, and then used a baby wipe to remove the ink from the flowers, leaving just the stems and leaves with ink. I then stamped it onto the Kraft cardstock. I punched 3 hearts out of bazzill cardstock, and glued them to the top of the stems.

I stamped "Happy Valentine's Day" (from the All Occasions stamp set) with TH Embossing Ink and embossed it with Pewter embossing powder.

I inked around the edge of the kraft cardstock with black ink and adhered it to a red bazzill cardstock base.

Here is the other card:

First I stamped the Criss Cross background stamp onto the Kraft cardstock with embossing ink, and embossed with Pewter embossing powder. I then inked around the edge with black ink.

I then cut a heart out of chipboard (I used a grungeboard negative shape as a template) and inked it all over with embossing ink and embossed with red embossing powder. While it was still hot, I stamped "I Love You" over the top of it with silver ink. I then inked around the edges with black ink.

I glued the heart to the bottom right hand corner of the background, and added some staples to the sides.

I tore out a piece of the background at the top left hand corner, inked the edges with black ink, and adhered a piece of red cardstock behind the tear. I then added staples to each side of the tear.

Lastly, I added some screw brads to the corners, and adhered the background to the red bazzill base card.

This is the one I ended up giving to my hubby and he loved it!

So whilst I had all these products out on my craft desk, I whipped up a bookmark to use as my example for this month's Bookmarks challenge over at Inkurable Stampers:

The base is black bazzill cardstock. The background is kraft cardstock. I stamped the Darkroom Door Criss Cross Background Stamp onto the bottom with Barn Door Distress Ink, and then ruled a black line above it with a Sharpie.

I then stamped that spooky little guy (from Stampotique) at the top of the bookmark, and the quote over the criss cross background, both in black ink. I inked around the edges with black before adhering it to the black bazzill base. I punched a hole through the top with my Cropadile, and threaded some red satin ribbon through to finish.

Super easy!

If you feel up for a challenge, pop over to Inkurable Stampers and give this month's bookmark challenge a go. :)

~Sarah~

My Grungeboard Party Hat!

2011-02-02T18:11:00.001+11:00

First let me say thanks so much for all the comments and emails re: my classes for this year! I really appreciate all your lovely words. :) It's great to know I have such awesome support out there!

2011 is continuing to be an awesome year! I celebrated my birthday the other day, and the theme for my birthday was to wear black, and because it was also my Golden Birthday (where you turn the same age as the day of the month you were born) I asked everyone to accessorise with something Gold - like a hat, mask, medallion etc etc. It was such an awesome night, and everyone really got into the spirit with their outfits! I even had black and gold balloons, tableware, and cake! It was my best birthday ever!

Anyway, my golden accessory was a mini-top hat that I made out of Grungeboard. I got lots of comments about it on the night, so I thought I'd share it here for those who wanted to know more about it! So here's a pic of me wearing it:

I'd seen an AWESOME Steampunk style wedding here where the bride wore a mini top hat, and I knew I wanted something similar. So I got to googling and found heaps and heaps of tutorials and inspiration!

My particular hat was inspired by a Steampunk leather hat that I saw here by Tom Banwell - I used the template printed out on an A4 piece of paper and cut out the pieces from Grungeboard!

Here's a closer pic, modelled by my darling daughter:

I painted the plain Grungeboard with Gold Metallic acrylic paint, and then cut the pieces out and inked around the edges with black ink. I used black eyelets down each side of the seams, and tied them up with leather thonging. Here's a close up:

I picked up the lace from Lincraft, and adhered it with double sided tape around the base of the hat.

Because the Grungeboard is very thick, and the metallic paint very smooth, normal glues and even hot glue just wouldn't stick it all together, so I had to use Loctite (super glue). Worked a charm!

To keep it on my head, I glued it to a cheap satin headband that I got at Hot Dollar:

Because of the thickness of the Grungeboard, I couldn't sew the top together like Tom's hat, so instead I glued the top on and hid the seam with some more leather thonging.

It took forever to do, and turned out more Burlesque than Steampunk, but it looked pretty cool on the night!!

Let me know what you think!

~Sarah~

Happy New Year! I have some exciting news!

2011-01-22T10:07:00.001+11:00

Hi everyone!

I know it's a bit late, but Happy New Year! I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas and new year break. It's still school holidays here, so a bit hard to get anything done with both kids home. But I have been busy creating new classes for 2011 which is where my exciting news comes in!

As you may know by now, Erina Scrapbook Store (where I work) is closing down. Sad to see another store close it's doors, but it's exciting because my boss is expecting her first baby, and she and her husband will be enjoying a new phase in their life!

However, where one door closes, another one opens! The other teachers at the store and I have started our own venture - teaching classes at a local neighbourhood centre and we've called ourselves "Scissors, Paper, Ink"!

I'll be doing one class a month with SPI, and the details of my first class in March have just been posted over on our blog! Here's a sneak peek of what we'll be creating:

In the class we'll make a set of 4 cards, with lots of stamping and inking! Don't worry if you don't live locally - there will be kits available for you to purchase to create at home. For full details and pricing, click here.

Now, as if that wasn't exciting enough, I have some more news!! I've been busting to share this news for ages, and now I can!

I am pleased to announce that I have been given a teaching position at Pages 2 Scrap!

Pages 2 Scrap is a scrapbooking store in Tuggerah here on the Central Coast. They have a blog here. It's a huge store, with a great classroom, great people, and lots of gorgeous supplies (and my favourite part - a fenced off area for your kids so you can shop in peace! LOL!) and I'm really excited about joining the team!

My classes start in February, and they samples are in store now for you to check out! But of course, I'm going to give you a sneak peek here!

Pearlised Resist Cards Class - $28.00.

Saturday 12th February 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm.
OR
Tuesday 15th February 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm.

Lots of stamping and inking in this one! We'll create a set of 4 cards.

Shabby Chic Cards Class - $28.00.

Thursday 24th February 2011 - 10:30am - 12:30pm.
OR
Saturday 26th February 2011 - 12pm - 2pm.

No stamping this time, but we'll be using Distress Inks, and lovely paper from the Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology range.

If you're interested in attending one of these 2 classes, please call Pages2Scrap on 1300 664 228 to book!

Well that's it from me for today!

Have a great weekend!

~Sarah~

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-24T08:48:00.000+11:00

Wishing you all a magical Christmas filled with lots of love and happiness!

May beautiful moments and happy memories surround you with joy this Christmas, and may health, happiness, and good times greet you each day of the new year.

Thanks for your support during 2010!

~Sarah~

Last minute Christmas card ideas!

2010-12-20T10:02:00.000+11:00

By now you've hopefully finished making your Christmas cards, and they're on their way to the lucky recipients! But if you've left it to the last minute, and need some inspiration, then look no further! :)

I made these cards last year, but have not yet shared them on my blog. Better share them now before Christmas is over and done with for another year! LOL!

The close up:

The background is the Darkroom Door Floral Background stamp, stamped in brown ink on cream cardstock. The santa image comes from the "Yuletide Vol 2" stamp set. A bit of green grosgrain ribbon, and a Making Memories Holly brighten up the card.

Here's another:

Again I've used the Floral Background stamp, this time with pearlescent pink ink. The tree branches were stamped straight over the background in green ink. The hanging decoration was stamped on a separate piece of paper, cut out, and adhered to the card.

The detail in that hanging decoration stamp is so beautiful! And you've just gotta love that Santa image!

One more:

For this card I mixed things up a little and used stamps from a few different brands. The background is of course the DD Floral Background stamp, the tree image is from Crafty Individuals, and the word "Joy" is from Stampendous. I stamped the tree stamp onto cream coloured basic grey patterned paper, and then cut it out using a scalloped circle Nestabilities die. The letters in joy were stamped on the same paper, then individually cut out and adhered to the card front. Again, a bit of green grosgrain ribbon brightens up the card.

Not long now until Santa comes! I'm really looking forward to Christmas - and the kids are just about beside themselves with excitement!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

~Sarah~

Skywatch Friday - 17th December 2010.

2010-12-17T09:38:00.001+11:00

It's been a while since I've played along at Skywatch Friday!

The photo I am sharing today was taken back on the 18th September whilst driving through the rural area of Yarramalong on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia. (Click to enlarge).

The sun was just above the top of the photo, on it's way down for the afternoon.

What's so impressive about this photo is that I took it from the passenger side window of our car while it was moving at normal speed! (Don't worry - I was the passenger! LOL!).

Nothing too spectacular - just a nice peaceful shot of the clouds over the valley, with a bit of farm in the foreground. :)

For more photos of beautiful skies around the world, check out Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Some More Christmas Mail Art!

2010-12-14T15:59:00.001+11:00

Hello again!

Gee I've been a good little blogger lately! LOL!

Today I have some more Christmas Mail Art to share with you. It was hard getting a look I liked with the envelopes being so thin (the inks soaked through quickly, and they kept scrunching up when I was inking! Argh!), but they did look pretty cool once the addresses and postage stamps were on them!

Again I've used Darkroom Door stamps - from the Yuletide Vol 2, Christmas Reindeer, and Noel stamp sets. And of course, lots of inking with Distress inks!

Here's another:

These envelopes have all been sent off to their new homes - I hope the recipients get a kick out of them! :)

~Sarah~

Beautiful Baby Girl!

2010-12-13T15:31:00.001+11:00

2 months ago a very dear friend of mine had the most gorgeous little baby girl! Let's call her "Miss E".

When Miss E was about 4 weeks old I did a photo shoot of her and out of about 150 photos I was able to get just over 30 awesome shots, which I gave them on CD to print as well as on a DVD in a slideshow with music etc. It was lots of fun to do, and her parents loved it!

I was really happy with how the pics turned out, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourite pics here. :)

Isn't she precious?!

So Beautilful!

Baby feet are just so awesome!!

So dreamy!!

I LOVE babies - especially when I can hand them back to their mums! LOL!! I'm done having babies of my own, so it's lovely to spend time with these gorgeous little creatures - definitely good for the soul!

If you're interested in having me come and take some pics of your baby, pop me an email! ;)

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Creepy Christmas Twinchie Creations!

2010-12-12T19:46:00.001+11:00

Back in November 2009 my challenge at Inkurable Stampers was to create a Christmas themed Twinchie (a 2" square) AND use it in a project. You may have seen my example pieces last year over at Inkurable, but I haven't shared them here yet, so with Christmas fast approaching there is no better time than right now! (Otherwise I'd have to wait another year! LOL!).

So here are my Twinchies:

Cute huh?! ;)

Now for the close ups:

For my boy Twinchie I used a 2x2" piece of black cardstock as the base. I then attached some green lace "doily" paper (Basic Grey) to some red basic grey paper, and cut a square slightly smaller than 2x2". I inked the edges with black ink and then stuck it onto the black background square.

I stamped a Stampotique stamp onto white cardstock with black ink and cut him out. I coloured his jumper with a red marker and his face with "Antique Linen" Distress Ink.

I die cut his Santa hat out of Bazzill cardstock using a Quickcutz Santa die and my Cuttlebug machine.

I wrapped a red cord around the Twinchie and attached a pewter holly/bells brad.

For my girl Twinchie, I again started with a black background square. I cut a piece of red Basic Grey paper and stamped the Stampotique girl onto it. I then stamped the girl again onto plain white cardstock, and cut around her head, neck and body, then stuck her over the stamped image on the red paper. This was so I could have her in white without having to cut around her hair. Also gives her some dimension. I then colourd in her necktie with a red marker.

Again, the hat is from a Quickcuts Santa die. I drew a black line on the side and stuck some Kaisercraft rhinestones to the end for a hanging Christmas bauble.

I made 2 different Christmas cards using my Twinchies.

Here is the boy card:

My base card is black Bazzill cardstock. I die cut a bracket shape out of red Basic Grey paper and then embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I sanded the raised surfaces, and then inked over the top with black ink for a grungy look.

I mounted my Twinchie to the front of the card using double sided foam mounting tape, and then added Kaisercraft Rhinestones to the background for a bit of bling.

Here is the girl card:

Again I have used a black Bazzill base card. I made the wreath by die cutting some Basic Grey doily paper with a scalloped circle Nestabilities shape. I adhered the wreath to the card front using spray glue.

I attached my Twinchie to the middle of the card using double sided foam mounting tape and used red Kaisercraft pearls to decorate the wreath. I created a bow out of some lovely green ribbon, and attached it to the top of the wreath.

These cards went to new homes when I sent out my cards last year. ;)

All my cards have been sent out this year - about half of them were hand made. Do you make all your Christmas cards? Have you sent them all out yet? Let me know by leaving a comment! I love hearing from you all! :)

~Sarah~

A break from Christmasy stuff....

2010-12-11T08:32:00.001+11:00

.....as we journey to Paris!

LOL - I wish! I'd love to visit Paris one day - it's officially on my Bucket List. But for now, these projects using the "Tour Eiffel" Stamp set from the Paris Collection from Darkroom Door will be as close as I get:

An ATC:

Another ATC:

A Hanging Decoration:

A Card:

You can see more pics along with details about how I made each piece here on the Darkroom Door blog.

Happy Saturday!

~Sarah~

A Christmas decoration from the archives!

2010-12-09T11:49:00.000+11:00

I made this Christmas decoration last year, and you may have seen it on the Darkroom Door blog, or possibly even at Inkurable. However I never shared it here so I figured now is a good time! (even if it is a year late! LOL!).

So here it is:

I saw the original idea from a Martha Stewart Project Sheet "Glitter Star Ornaments" that I picked up in Spotlight back in December 2009. I didn't know it at the time, but the examples in that instruction sheet were created by my friend Dawn Lewis before we knew each other! What a small world!

I used: Darkroom Door Star Background Stamp, double sided cream basic grey patterned paper, Teal Stazon ink, Silver Kindyglitz, Metal bottle cap, Silver cord.

Here's how you can make one just like mine:

* Cut fourteen 2x2" squares from double sided basic grey cardstock, and stamp each of them with the DD background stamp using Teal Stazon.

* Curl each twinchie into a cone shape and secure with adhesive. I used double sided tape down one side of the Twinchie which worked well because there was no drying time. For my decoration, I used 14 twinchies, but it will depend on how tight you roll them. You may need more or less - but always make sure you have an even number.

* Glue the cones to a 6cm circle base so that their tips all meet in the middle. Make sure you alternate their placement as per the photo.

* Flatten a metal bottle cap with a rubber mallet, and attach it using foam mounting tape to the centre of the ornament. Fill the inside with silver Kindyglitz.

* Apply silver Kindyglitz to the edges of each cone. Allow to dry.

* Punch a small hole in the top of the ornament, and thread through some silver cord and tie in a loop, ready to hang. Hang your ornament in your house, and listen to your family and friends ooooh and ahhh!

Finished ornament size = 6 inches wide.

Of course, you can vary the size of your ornament depending on how big you cut your squares. :)

Give it a go, and be sure to let me know if you put pics on your blog so I can come and have a squizz!

~Sarah~

Creepy Christmas Mail Art.

2010-12-08T17:00:00.001+11:00

Okay - I promised you some more Mail Art - so here it is!

After all that red and green traditional Christmassy goodness my Dark Side had to come out and play:

I used 2 of the same envelopes as in the last post, plus a plain red envelope for maximum impact!

I used the Darkroom Door Flourish and Splatter background stamps, as well as some stamps from the DD "Christmas Reindeer" set.

The creepy Christmas couple are stamps from Stampotique, and the "Merry Christmas" is a stamp that I've had in my stash for ages from OBP.

The inks used were Barn Door Distress ink and just a normal black ink. The edges of the envelopes were inked with a sponge.

I hope they don't freak out the postie! LOL!!

~Sarah~

Christmas Mail Art!

2010-12-08T09:00:00.003+11:00

I've got quite a few hand made Christmas cards to send out this year, so I thought I'd make some Mail Art envelopes to send them in!

After a few duds (I worked out the hard way that the envelopes I have don't like getting wet whilst distress inking! LOL!) I came up with these:

I just used plain envelopes that you get in a pack of 100 - this type is kind of thin, so doesn't stand up to too much inking etc, so I went with a pretty basic design.

Here is a close up:

I used stamps from the Darkroom Door "Yuletide Vol 2" and "Christmas Reindeer" stamp sets which I stamped using Barn Door, Shabby Shutters, and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. I also sponged ink around the edges of the envelopes.

A fun way to jazz up your envelopes - guaranteed to bring a smile to the recipient's face!

I didn't take a pic, but I stamped the backs of the envelopes repeatedly until fully covered with the christmas script stamp from the Christmas Reindeer stamp set.

They'll look even better once the postage stamps and addresses have been added!

I've made a few more different ones, so keep an eye out for them here on the blog. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

~Sarah~

One layer wonder.

2010-12-07T09:58:00.001+11:00

My challenge over at Inkurable Stampers this month is to create a card using only one layer of stamping.

I created a Christmas card as my example:

My stamped layer began with a piece of white Basic Grey patterned paper. I stamped the Darkroom Door Flourish Background stamp onto it using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, and then inked around the edges using the same colour and my TH Ink blending tool.

Next I stamped the flying Reindeer (from the Darkroom Door "Reindeer" stamp set) 3 times directly over the flourish background using Timber Brown Stazon. I added a red brad for Rudolph's nose.

Next I stamped the phrase "Santa Claus is Coming To Town" (from the Darkroom Door "Yuletide Vol 2" stamp set) in the bottom right hand corner using Barn Door Distress ink.

I inked around the layer using Walnut Stain Distress ink, and then adhered my stamped layer to the Bazzill cardstock card base.

So there you have it! A quick and simple Christmas card design that can easily be replicated if you need to make lots of them in one sitting!

If you'd like to play along with this month's One Layer Wonder challenge (due midnight Jan 4th 2011) check out the details here. There are 3 prizes up for grabs, and there is a prize every month especially for new players, so if you haven't entered a challenge at Inkurable before you have a great chance of scoring something awesome from one of our sponsors. :)

Stay inky!

~Sarah~

'Tis the season!

2010-12-06T10:25:00.001+11:00

Hello everyone!

Can you believe it's December already? I don't know where the time goes! This year has just flown by. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've blogged here! Well, I've got lots to share, so I'll be playing catch up over the next week or so, so stay tuned. :)

Today I want to share a Christmas card that I made yesterday where I used the new Darkroom Door Flourish Background Stamp to create some Christmas baubles - here it is:

The base card is made from Bazzill cardstock. The background paper is from Kaisercraft and I inked around the edges using Victorian Velvet Distress ink. At the top I stamped a Christmas tree branch using a stamp from the Darkroom Door Yuletide Vol 2 stamp set in Shabby Shutters distress ink. The 'Tis the Season" sentiment comes from the same stamp set. It was stamped using Timber Brown Stazon ink.

The baubles were made by die-cutting some circles out of My Mind's Eye patterned paper (using my nestabilities shapes). I stamped them with the Darkroom Door Flourish Background stamp using Versamark ink and embossed with silver embossing powder. I then inked around the edges of the circles with my ink blending tool and Victorian Velvet Distress ink.

To create the hanging part of the bauble, I hand drew the shape onto some silver paper, cut it out, and then punched a hole with my crop-a-dile. I glued it to the back of the bauble, and threaded some silver cord through the hole. Two of the baubles were glued straight down onto the background, and the frontmost bauble was mounted using foam mounting tape.

I'm loving the new DD Flourish Background stamp! It's soooo pretty - and looks great embossed like this. It would also look great if you used flocking instead of the embossing powder - or even glitter!

I love using pink and lime green as a Christmas colour combination - what's your favourite Chrissy colour scheme?

~Sarah~

Shabby Chic Christmas Cards.

2010-11-10T16:42:00.000+11:00

I recently taught a class at Erina Scrapbook Store where we made 4 Shabby Chic Christmas cards using the new Noel Stamp set from Darkroom Door. Here they are all together:

You can see each card close up - along with details about how I made them - on the Darkroom Door blog here. :)

They're also great as inspiration for this month's Shabby Chic Christmas challenge over at Inkurable Stampers. Pop over and play along!

~Sarah~

Cards using Viva Decor Precious Metal Paints.

2010-11-08T11:26:00.000+11:00

Back in September, the Darkroom Door CT girls and I were given the task to create something using the Precious Metal colours from their new Viva Decor paint range. I chose to make some cards!

Here's the first one:

For my background I painted a piece of chipboard with Golden Green Precious Metal Colour. Once dry, I stamped the DD Floral Background Stamp in black ink and heat embossed it using black embossing powder. I then added some more Golden Green paint over the top, and wiped off the excess from the embossed layer with a baby wipe. Once dry, I inked around the edges with black ink.

Some lace, white brads, and a black and white image from the Full bloom montage sheet were adde to complete the card front. The base is Raven Bazzill cardstock.

Here is the 2nd one:

My background is a piece of chipboard that was painted with Lilac Precious Metal Colour. I then stamped the DD French Script Background with white ink and embossed with white embossing powder.

Next I adhered a piece of a paper doily to the corners, and then distressed the edges of the cardstock before adhering it to the "Raisin" Bazzill cardstock base. The tag is a paper mache tag (available from Lincraft / Spotlight etc). I threaded the tag with some twine.

"Thank You" is written in chipboard letters which I painted with the Lilac Precious Metal Colour paint. These alphas were raw before I painted them, but using paint on any of your coloured alphas is a great way to jazz them up and tie them into your project!

The Viva Decor paints are so nice to work with - these precious metal colours are so smooth and have such a lovely shimmer! They dry really fast too - and they're safe for scrapbooks.

If you'd like to see what the other Creative Team girls did with their precious metal colours, check out this post on the Darkroom Door blog.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Pretty Lovely Note Cards!

2010-11-07T11:31:00.000+11:00

Last month at Erina Scrapbook Store, I taught a beginners class where we made 4 pretty little note cards using these stamps from Collections Elements. Here they are:

The cards are 4x4" each and the base is made from black Bazzill cardstock.

The background paper is from My Mind's Eye. The flourish and flower stamps were stamped directly onto the background paper using black ink. The edges of the patterned paper were inked with black ink as well.

The hearts and butterflies were stamped onto white cardstock using black ink, then cut out and mounted to the card fronts using double sided foam mounting tape.

They are really quick and easy to make, but give a very eye catching result! The ladies in the class finished early, so they jazzed up their cards with Kaisercraft Rhinestones and they looked awesome!

You can so easily change the look of these cards just by changing the colour of the background paper.

You could make some matching envelopes, bundle them all together with a pretty ribbon, and give them away as a gift!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

A Shabby Chic Christmas Card.

2010-11-06T00:41:00.000+11:00

This month's theme over at Inkurable Stampers is SHABBY CHIC CHRISTMAS!

The challenge is to create a Christmas project (card, ATC, decoration, gift box, etc) using the Shabby Chic style.

For my example I created a Christmas card:

You'll have to excuse the dodgy pics - they were taken inside at night so it was hard getting the colours right.

Here's how I made it:

I started with a dusty pink coloured paper for the background, and stamped a damask background stamp (from Stampotique) on the lower section using Victorian Velvet Distress ink. I inked around the edges of the paper using the same ink and a foam blending tool. I then tore some sheet music into a strip, and inked it with Antique Linen Distress ink and adhered it across the bottom of the background. I added some lace across the top of the sheet music.

Here is a close up:

I tore a section out of the top of the background, and inked the torn edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I then adhered some sheet music (that had been inked with Antique Linen) behind the tear. The greeting (Kaisercraft) was stamped onto some cream Basic Grey patterned paper with Timber Brown Stazon ink, then cut out. I inked around the edges with Victorian Velvet Distress ink, and adhered the greeting over the tear.

To make the Christmas Tree, I stamped the Kaisercraft Doily stamp onto dusty pink paper with white ink, and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. I cut out a tree shape, and then inked over the embossed image (which acted as a resist) with Victorian Velvet distress ink, and Vintage Photo Distress ink for the edges. It is mounted onto the card front using foam mounting tape. The "star" is a prima flower with a Kaisercraft Pearl in the centre, and the tree trunk is a piece of dark brown Bazzill cardstock.

The deers (from Crafty Individuals) were stamped on last using Timber Brown Stazon. The card base is made from dark from Bazzill cardstock.

If you'd like to join in on the challenge for your chance to win one of the fabulous prizes on offer from the sponsors, then pop over to Inkurable Stampers and check out the challenge details!

See you there!

~Sarah~

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T11:40:00.001+11:00

Here in Australia we don't celebrate Halloween like the northern hemisphere - although it is becoming more prevalent year after year. Even Woolworths got in special carving pumpkins this year, and I'm seeing more and more stores with spooky costumes for sale! Those who do celebrate here in Australia basically use it as a good excuse to get dressed up in spooky costumes and watch scary movies (with the odd bit of trick or treating thrown in) without any idea of the true meaning. Read more about it here.

As a kid, the closest we got to Halloween was watching the cool halloween specials on TV - probably where my love of all things spooky stemmed from! One of my favourite Halloween shows was when the Simpsons did a version of my all-time favourite poem - Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven". Here it is, for the uninitiated:

James Earl Jones (AKA the voice of Darth Vader) does the Narration. Until yesterday I hadn't heard anyone do a better job of reading Poe's poem, then I stumbled across this reading by John De Lancie, which really captures the spirit of the Poem as Poe intended for it to be read:

Pure spooky awesomeness!

So wherever you are, however you celebrate it (or not!), have a Happy Halloween!

~Sarah~

Something wicked this way comes.....

2010-10-21T21:14:00.000+11:00

One day whilst blog surfing, I came across this cool ATC project on Carol's blog. I'm a big fan of the gothic style stamps from Penney/Torrente at Stampotique and I love trading ATC's so it was a no brainer to want to make one of those awesome little ATC envelopes of my own! As soon as I saw it, I knew that it would make a great swap project, and I knew that fellow Stampotique lover, (and regular at Inkurable Stampers), Vicky Fernando, was just the person to swap it with! So, we agreed on 5 ATC's inside the pocket, and I set us a deadline - by the end of June - and we weren't allowed to post it until the other person was finished. Well, to cut a long story short, Vicky finished on time, and I got busy with one thing or another and left poor Vicky hanging!! So now, 4 months late (OMG!!), I actually got mine finished last weekend and sent it off! LOL!!

I had a lot of fun making it - it was great to go crazy and do something for fun instead of for a class or DT commitment - that meant I was free to use whatever products I liked without worrying - it was very liberating! So I let my dark side out to play and it played with reckless abandon! I went with my favourite colour combo of red, white, and black. So without further ado, here is my project (click pics to enlarge):

ATC Envelope:

I used Becca's great tutorial for my ATC Envelope, and customised it a little. I used black Bazzill cardstock for the envelope, and embossed it with a Spiderweb Cuttlebug Embossing folder. To highlight the web, I buffed over it with silver Metallic Rub-ons - hadn't used them in years! LOL!!

The Tombstone is a Cuttlebug diecut/embossing combo. Again I used black bazzill cardstock, and this time I sued a combination of colours of Metallic Rub-ons to colour it. I cut out the rectangle, and added the image behind it. That stamp is called "Rocky" and I stamped him onto white cardstock using black ink, then coloured around him with Barn Door distress ink using an Aquash pen. I then stamped a grunge background stamp (by Kaisercraft) around his head.

The flap is held closed by 2 screw brads tied together with some red thread. On the inside of the flap I've used some gorgeous paper that has a velvet damask print on it - very decadent!

So, inside the pocket goes 5 ATC's. I'll share each of them here, so brace yourselves - there's lots of pics! LOL!

"Miss Snottie Runs With Scissors":

The name of the main stamp I used here is "Miss Snottie". I stamped Miss Snottie onto white cardstock using black ink, and then heat embossed her with black embossing powder. I masked Miss Snottie and coloured the background using Barn Door Distress ink and a foam blending tool. I then stamped over the background with the Kaisercraft grunge background stamp in black ink before removing the mask.

To give some definition to her face, I added in shadows using Copic Markers (C-1 and the clear blender), and used Kaisercraft pearls for her eyes.

The sliced-up background was a technique I learned from Julie Haaelemeersch. I saw a few ATC's on her blog that she did this with, and loved them so much that I ended up trading ATC's with her! I now have 3 of Julie's beautiful ATC's in my collection. :)

"Enter Here":

I used a Scrapmatts ATC background (a thick piece of card with a white front and bevelled edges. Not sure if they still make these, but I picked them up at a craft show years ago) for this one.

First I stamped the "3 in a round" directly onto the white surface using black ink, and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I then stamped and heat embossed "Enter Here" (from the Darkroom Door Gothic Arches set) the same way at the bottom of the ATC.

I masked off the main image, and coloured the background using Barn Door Distress ink and a foam blending tool. Again, I added highlights to the skulls using the C-1 Copic marker and a colourless blender. The edges of the ATC were inked with black ink, and the background behind the skulls was coloured using a black Copic marker.

"Mr Stripes on a Tombstone":

For this ATC I created the background using black bazzill cardstock and the spiderweb Cuttlebug embossing folder. Just like the pocket, I used Metallic rub-ons to highlight the raised surface of the web.

Mr Stripes (the spider) was stamped onto red cardstock with black ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder before being coloured using bleach. Because the legs were way to fiddly to cut out, I just cut out the body and used wire for the legs. A piece of white cotton was used for the strand of web that he hangs from, and he s stuck to the ATC using foam mounting tape.

The red frame is another ATC shape from Scrapmatts. I inked it with Barn DOor distress ink and embossed it with Fired Brick Distress Embossing powder which has a wonderful rough texture once set. When I placed the frame over the ATC Background I realised that it looked a bit like a tombstone. A bit of German Scrap border at the bottom finished off the look!

"Just Hangin' Around":

OK - getting a bit darker now! LOL!!

The base is black bazzill cardstock and the background is white cardstock onto which I stamped the text stamp (from Stampotique) in black ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder. This acted as a resist when I coloured the background using Twinkling H2O's (Cinnamon). I gave it a few layers and the result is a cool blood like effect that is nice and sparkly! The edges were stitched with some red embroidery thread.

That poor little guy is called "Head" and I stamped him onto white cardstock in black, heat embossed, and coloured his jumper with orange Twinkling H2O's. To get the noose to look right, I had to chop off his head and attach it at an angle once the rope had been wrapped around his shoulders and up to the top of the ATC. The red on the rope was accidental - just a consequence of the glue mixing with the H2O's on the background! He's attached to the ATC with foam mounting tape. Again, I used the Copic markers to create a shadow around his face.

The words were printed using my computer.

Last but not least we have....

"A New Entrance":

Again I used a Scrapmatts ATC background. I coloured it with Twinkling H2O's, using more of a dripping effect this time.

I stamped "Mink" onto the background using black ink and heat embossed using black embossing powder. I masked over her, and then stamped the Tim Holtz flying crows stamp and heat embossed. I also stamped and heat embossed the quote (again from the Darkroom Door Gothic Arches stamp set) at the bottom. In case you can't read it, it says "Every exit leads to a new entrance".

Mink was coloured using a pearly white Twinkling H20 applied with an Aquash pen.

Phew! That's it! Are you still with me??! LOL!

So there you have it - probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I had heaps of fun making it and Vicky loved it!!

Thanks for looking - I love hearing from you, so please feel free to leave a comment if you dropped by! :)

~Sarah~

Birdie book giveaway!!

2010-10-19T21:43:00.000+11:00

Hello there!

I've been playing with the new Love Birds stamp set from Darkroom Door, and I created a little mini hinge book - here's the cover:

And here's my favourite page inside:

See how small it is? It fits in the palm of your hand!

You can see photos of the rest of it, and details about how I made it, here on the Darkroom Door blog - and guess what?! I'm giving it away!

All you need to do to have a chance at winning it is to follow the link to the DD Blog and leave a comment there about what your favourite stamp from the new Love Birds set is! Too easy!

Good luck, and thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

PS: Something wicked this way comes......stay tuned! :)

Stationery Box!

2010-10-06T11:35:00.001+11:00

Hello again!

I'm back again to share another one of my projects that I taught as a class at Erina Scrapbook Store - a stationery box based on a tutorial at Splitcoast stampers. Here's what it looks like closed:

Pretty, but not very exciting. That is, until you lift the lid to reveal what's inside.......

Pretty cool, huh?!

There's a note book at the front for writing addresses or other important info in. The little pocket with the crown on it is meant for holding postage stamps, and the little piece at the front is a pen holder!

My version has 5 full size cards inside, 4 tags, and 4 gift cards. Here are the cards:

I used gorgeous papers and butterfly images from Collections Elements, and the butterflies have all been coated with Dimensional Magic.

The papers were inked around the edges using Walnut Stain Distress ink.

Some nice cream coloured satin ribbon was added to a few of them too.

And there was one plain one in the mix, partly because I liked the paper and didn't want to cover it, and partly to have in your stash to add to later when you have an occasion you weren't ready for!

The tags were pretty simple - just cardstock and some Collection border stamps at the bottom:

I didn't photograph the gift cards, but they were pretty plain too. A couple of them had a butterfly in the centre, and a couple were just plain patterned paper fronts.

When it's all folded up, it doesn't take up very much room on your desk. A handy little stationery set to make for yourself, or to give someone as a gift!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Collections Christmas Cards.

2010-10-05T14:36:00.000+11:00

Time for some more Christmas cards!

This set of 4 cards was made for another one of my classes at Erina Scrapbook Store. I used gorgeous papers, images, and chipboard wings from Collections Elements, as well as stamps from Darkroom Door.

The photos are a bit dodgy, because they were taken indoors, and at night. :)

The images on the front of the cards were coated with Glossy Accents.

The chipboard wings were painted with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle paint (Picket Fence).

These cards are quite different from your traditional Christmas cards, and would be good for sending to those non-traditional friends or family members during the festive season!

So - have you made a start on your Christmas cards yet? You only have 2 months until you need to start sending them out - even less if you're sending overseas!

~Sarah~

Pretty Christmas Cards.

2010-10-04T15:34:00.000+11:00

Back in July I taught a class at Erina Scrapbook Store where we made some very pretty Christmas cards using yummy papers and stamps from Darkroom Door. Here's a peek:

I used acetate for the base card, and some clever positioning of the patterned paper to hide all the adhesive. We used the Star Background Stamp, and the Yuletide Vol 2 stamp set. Here's another pic:

We had lots of fun with stamping and heat embossing!

They've been showcased in full on the Darkroom Door blog here, so pop on over if you'd like to know more about how I made them, and see lots more pics! :)

~Sarah~

Art Boxes!

2010-09-30T10:38:00.000+10:00

One of the classes I taught this month at Erina Scrapbook Store was these cute little art boxes:

We used gorgeous products from Collections Elements including chipboard art boxes, patterned papers, "Artistic Expressions" (the printed words) and a very cute little sanding tool.

The butterflies are from the Darkroom Door Butterflies stamp set. They were stamped, cut out, attached inside the boxes and a Kasiercraft Pearl was placed in the centre.

A cute little project to make for yourself or to give to someone as a gift!

~Sarah~

Red, White, and Black Card.

2010-09-29T09:41:00.001+10:00

One of my favourite colour combos is Red, White and Black (as if you couldn't tell!) - and yesterday's post reminded me of a card that I created back in August last year that I haven't showed here yet! Here it is:

I have used an image from the Full Bloom Darkroom Door Filmstrip, and the background stamp is from the Darkroom Door Ornate Element set, which I created a shabby chic background with using embossing powder and paint.

I used some lace, a paper flower, a vintage metal button, some red ribbon and thread, and a Making Memories metal tag to embellish the front of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Sarah~

Handbag Love....

2010-09-28T11:28:00.001+10:00

I never have interesting handbags. I usually only have one handbag at a time - black and practical. But I saw this handbag in a store the other day and fell in love. So I spoiled myself. Yes!

Crazy, huh?!

Totally inspired by my love of all things Vampire.....

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

~Sarah~

Bleach Stamping Cards.

2010-09-27T09:00:00.003+10:00

Hi again! (Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself, so feel free to leave a comment and say "Hi" back! LOL!).

One of my favourite stamping techniques is Bleach Stamping - where you create an inkpad using household bleach and use it as your ink. When you stamp onto cardstock it bleaches out the colour and gives you very different results depending on what colour and type of cardstock you use. As well as stamping with bleach, you can also use it to colour your images. I posted a bleach stamping and colouring tutorial over at Inkurable Stampers many moons ago - go and check it out if you'd like to give it a go!

I taught this set of 3 bleach technique cards as a class at Erina Scrapbook Store back in March:

I used hot pink Bazzill Cardstock (both Swiss dots and Smoothies textures), black bazzill cardstock, stamps from Kaisercraft, black ink and embossing powder, and some flowers and ribbon.

When you want to colour with bleach, it's important to remember to heat emboss your images, otherwise the bleach will bleach the ink that you stamped the image with.

On these cards, I also used bleach to "ink" around the edges of the Smoothies cardstock.

Once the bleach has dried, you can safely stamp inks over the top.

Always remember to work in a well ventilated area, and wear an apron!

Happy stamping!

~Sarah~

Time for an ATC!

2010-09-26T09:00:00.001+10:00

Hi there!

Today I'm sharing an ATC that I made a while back called "Beauty" using some gorgeous paper products from Darkroom Door:

I used an Art de Fleur Photochip as the background, and inked around the edges using Walnut Stain Distress ink. On top of that is an image from the Art de Fleur Montage sheet, which I cut out and then distressed the edges before attaching it to the ATC.

The lady is an image from the Ladies Photobooth sheet that I silhouetted and attached to the ATC before wrapping some lace and ribbon around it, then mounting onto a bazzill cardstock base.

The word "Beauty" comes from the Art de Fleur Wordstrip. I cut out the word, and inked around the edges before adhering it to my ATC.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside!

2010-09-25T09:47:00.001+10:00

One of my recent Darkroom Door Creative Team tasks was to work with the brand new "Seaside Vol 1" stamp set:

I got carried away and ended up making three cards! Here are some sneak peeks:

You can see them in all their glory, with details on how I made them, over at the Darkroom Door blog here.

Then check out what Jill and Melissa did with the same set here. Beautiful!

Enjoy!

~Sarah~

Girls' Night in for Pink Month!

2010-09-24T08:56:00.001+10:00

It will be a great day!

~Sarah~

Desk Calendar.

2010-09-23T09:16:00.000+10:00

Hello there!

Waaaay back in January I taught a class at Erina Scrapbook Store where we created a perpetual desk calendar. Here it is:

There is a separate card for each month, and the idea is to record birthdays, anniversaries, and other events on the front of it so that you don't forget to send a card or a gift. Once you've made a card for the occasion, you file it behind the month card, ready for when you need it!

I adapted a business card holder tutorial I saw on Splitcoast Stampers to create this much larger desk calendar - the month cards measure 4.5x6.5".

To decorate the month cards I used stamped from 7Gypsies, bazzill cardstock, pink and white polka dot ribbon, and images from the Darkroom Door Viva la Flora Montage Sheet.

Here is what each page looks like:

The back of each page has a notes section where you can write any important info about the occasion, or the people you are making the card for. (i.e - "Aunty Pearl doesn't like the colour purple" etc).

This would be a great project to make for an end of year teacher's gift, or for your mum or grandmother who may have lots of children's / grandchildren's birthdays to keep track of!

Thanks for dropping by!

~Sarah~

Shabby Chic Cards.

2010-09-22T11:09:00.003+10:00

Hello again!

I recently taught this set of 4 Shabby Chic cards as a class at Erina Scrapbook Store:

I used gorgeous lace doily stamps from the "Tea at Elsie's" set by Kaisercraft. The French Script Background stamp is from Darkroom Door.

The papers I have used are from Kaisercraft and October Afternoon. I stamped the pink paper with the French Script background stamp using Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and the definition paper was inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink using a foam blending tool.

The edges of the paper were distressed with an edge distresser. The base cards are made from Bazzill Bling cardstock ("String of Pearls").

The lace doily stamps were stamped onto the pink paper using white ink, and heat embossed using white embossing powder. They were then cut out, and mounted onto the cards with foam mounting tape.

Sand coloured netting was wrapped around the backgrounds before adhering them to the card bases. Brads and flowers were attached for added interest.

The background papers were inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink using a foam blending tool to add to the shabby vintage feel.

Lots of inking, tearing, distressing = lots of fun! The ladies in my class had a great time and were all really happy with their creations!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Cards for new arrivals!

2010-09-21T09:03:00.002+10:00

Hello there!

I recently taught a set of 4 baby cards at Erina Scrapbook Store using the "Hello Baby Vol 1" stamp set and the Plaid Background stamp from Darkroom Door. Here they are (click pic to enlarge):

The plaid background stamp is just perfect for baby cards - and as you can see, stamping it in different colours instantly gives you a different look for baby girl, baby boy, or more neutral colours.

The bears, booties, pram, and greetings have all been stamped using the same colour brown ink - the look of the card has only been changed by the colour of the background stamp and the colour of the card base. Just goes to show how versatile your stamp sets can be!

Don't you just LOVE that bear? It's sooooo cute, and stamps up really well. On the brown card, I have cut out a 2nd head and 2nd pair of legs, and adhered it over the first with foam mounting tape, which gives it great dimension and really makes the bear stand out! I did the same on the pink card, but just the head. The blue and yellow card images are just single layered, mounted with foam tape.

Here are a couple of close ups which show the dimension:

You can see photos of each individual card, and read more about how I made these cards on the Darkroom Door blog here.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Shoes!

2010-09-20T15:17:00.001+10:00

This month, the challenge over at Inkurable Stampers is SHOES!

Your entry can be anything at all - as long as you use at least 1 stamp when you create it!

Here is my example:

I created a paper shoe using a template I found online here. The base is Bazzill cardstock, which I stamped using the Darkroom Door Floral Background Stamp using "Old Rose" ink, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Lace was added around the edges of the shoe and some gem brads added to the front.

You can see more photos of my shoe over at Inkurable Stampers here, where you will also find lots of links and ideas for you to create your own "Shoes" themed project!

Entries are due by Midnight 30th September 2010 (AEST) and so far there have been NO ENTRIES so you have a fabulous chance of winning something cool if you send me an entry soon! As an added incentive, the first 7 entries I receive will go in the draw to win a cool set of stamp - see more details here.

So pop on over to Inkurable Stampers, check out the details of the Shoe challenge, and go and get stamping! :)

~Sarah~

Fun Vintage Christmas Cards.

2010-09-17T08:00:00.002+10:00

Have you started making your Christmas cards yet? Every month since July I've been teaching a Christmas card class at Erina Scrapbook Store - in July I taught 2!

One of the classes I taught in July was creating these 4 fun Christmas cards (click to enlarge):

Aren't they a hoot?! :)

The vintage images are from the Darkroom Door "Friends and Lovers" Photobooth sheet - to tie them into the Christmas theme, I attached Santa hat brads to their heads, and voila! Some very merry looking couples! They make me giggle - I reckon it looks like they've had a few drinks at the office Christmas party! LOL!

For the background I used the Star background stamp, which I stamped in red onto Kraft cardstock, and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The other stamped elements on the cards come from the Christmas Reindeer stamp set.

For more info on how I made these cards, and close ups of each card, pop on over to this post on the Darkroom Door blog.

Stay tuned for more Christmas card ideas!

~Sarah~

She looked ahead and smiled....

2010-09-16T09:36:00.001+10:00

One of my Darkroom Door Creative Team tasks was to use the new Photobooth images in a project. I just love the Photobooth people - I often wonder who they were and what their lives were like - and what they'd think of seeing themselves on a card or ATC! LOL!

My idea was to use one of the people and turn it into an art doll - which I did, but the idea kind of grew and I ended up putting it on a hanging canvas, and am pretty happy with the result. Here's how it turned out (click photos to enlarge):

The canvas board is 5x7" and the hanger is from Crafty Individuals. The word "Enchanted" that is inside the nameplate comes from a Darkroom Door Viva la Flora Wordstrip.

The background on the canvas was created using lots of different paints and Glimmermist sprays, as well as torn sheet music and foreign language book pages. It was then roughly over-stamped in black using the Harlequin Background stamp.

The Photobooth lady comes from the "Hats" sheet. Her body is made from chipboard that has been covered with a book page, gesso, a paper doily, some lace, and a small chipboard heart. It looks a bit phallic for my liking, but oh well. At least it's not pink! LOL!! Her wings are German Scrap. The letters that spell the quote are from the "Alpha White" Alphastrips.

Some lace at the bottom of the canvas, and some gorgeous beaded trim finish off the piece.

A bit different from what I normally create, but I had fun doing it! I wanted to show that the Photobooth people can take on a life of their own, and be used for more than just cards and ATC's.

The other girls on the Darkroom Door CT did some fabulous things with their Photobooth projects - pop on over to the DD Blog HERE to see their creations.

~Sarah~

Masculine Cards!

2010-09-05T17:37:00.002+10:00

Hi there! I'm back! Seems I went missing from my blog for a month - boy that time went fast! Can't believe it's been so long between posts!

I've been busy with one crafty thing or another, not to mention recovering from a nasty case of Tonsillitis, looking after sick kids, and the boring everyday tasks of life!

One thing that has been keeping me very busy is preparing and teaching class projects at Erina Scrapbook Store. One of my recent classes was a set of 4 masculine cards, and seeing as how it is Father's Day here in Australia today I thought it was a great time to share them! Check them out (click to enlarge):

There are 2 "Happy Birthday" cards, and 2 "Happy Father's Day" cards.

I used patterned papers from Kaisercraft, the Darkroom Door Harlequin Background Stamp, Darkroom Door Gentlemen Photobooth images, and the sentiments come from the Darkroom Door "All Occasions" stamp set - a real must have for your collection.

I think my fave from the set is this card:

The guy wearing his crown makes me giggle!

Here's one of the Father's Day cards:

You can see the other 2 cards close up, and read more about how I made these cards by visiting the Darkroom Door blog here.

So - how often do you make masculine cards? One of the things I hear a lot in classes is that people struggle with masculine card designs. These were really easy to make, and lots of fun! So next time you're at your desk, why not make up a few spare cards for the blokes in your life - it's not as hard as you think! You mightn't think so, but they do appreciate the effort! (Well, most of them anyway! LOL!).

~Sarah~

Harlequin Background Stamp.

2010-08-06T15:01:00.001+10:00

The Darkroom Door Creative Team have been busy again, this time playing with the Harlequin Background Stamp:

Here's a quick peek at the card I made, where I have used the Harlequin Background Stamp to jazz up some plain chipboard letters:

As usual, the examples from the other girls on the team are awesome - and so varied! It's great that we all have such different styles - just goes to show how versatile the Darkroom Door products really are. :)

Check out all the Harlequin Background Stamp ideas from the Design team here.

Oh, and have you seen the sneak peek of the new Seaside Collection?

Stay tuned for the full reveal on Monday August 9th!

~Sarah~

Gothic Arches - Part 3.

2010-08-05T07:54:00.001+10:00

Today I'm here to share the next three Gothic Arches that I have completed for my Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge! (See the others here and here).

Gothic Arch Challenge #6 - MEN!

My arch features a printed image of the composer "Verdi" that you can download for free from Stampington & Co here.

My background was created by stamping a Darkroom Door music stamp with black ink onto a handmade paper background. I stamped a green pepper press buildings stamp across the middle of the background with black ink.

I adhered a strip of silver German Scrap Border across the bottom of the buildings, and then adhered the photo of Verdi to the arch.

I tore some old music paper and adhered it across the bottom of the arch. I then stamped the name "Verdi" across the arch using the Darkroom Door Alphabet Medley stamps, and heat embossed with Silver Embossing powder. I then coloured the sheet music with distress inks and Glimmermist.

The silver around the edges of the arch is a combination of silver embossing powder, and silver Krylon pen.

Gothic Arch Challenge #7 - WOMEN!

I have used a vintage nude image as the focal point of my arch. (Please let me know if the nudity offends you, and I will censor her).

I created the background using a mixture of Glimmermist and Radiant Rain dabber paint over which I sprinkled "Verdegris" and "Copper" embossing powders and heat set.

I then stamped a Tim Holtz flourish a couple of times on the background and heat embossed with copper embossing powder. I inked around the edges with dark brown ink.

I adhered lace across the bottom of the arch using Gel medium, then I adhered the lady to the arch over the lace. I then attached some bronze coloured German Scrap Border to the bottom.

The letters are wooden (ScrapFX) and I coloured them using Glimmermist.

Gothic Arch Challenge #8 - CHILDREN!

My background was created using distress inks and the Wrinkle free distress technique.

I stamped a Heidi Swapp Damask stamp in the middle and embossed it with gold embossing powder. I then inked over it with a sponge dauber using Walnut Stain distress ink to make it stand out more from the background.

I tore a piece of gothic script book paper, inked around the edges, and attached it to my arch.

The Fairy image was printed, cut out, and attached to the centre of the arch. To finish, I added some orange Kaisercraft Rhinestones to the Damask image. I also added a gold corner sticker to the top of the arch, and a line of gold Krylon pen at the bottom of the arch.

If you'd like to join in the fun of our year long Gothic Arch challenge, check out the details here.

~Sarah~

Coming Soon........

2010-08-03T15:51:00.001+10:00

Are you as excited as I am??!

Stay tuned to the Darkroom Door blog for the full reveal on Monday 9th August.

~Sarah~

French Script Background Stamp.

2010-08-03T08:32:00.001+10:00

Myself and the rest of the girls on the Darkroom Door Creative Team have been playing with the French Script Background Stamp:

Isn't it just lovely? All the Darkroom Door Background Stamps measure 6.1" x 4.3" which means they are big enough to cover a whole 6x4" card front! This particular script stamp was designed so that you can cover a whole horizontal card in one go, however when you want to cover a whole vertical card, all you do is stamp once at the top, then again underneath, which is MUCH easier than trying to line up the words by stamping side by side. Too clever!

For my example, I chose to use the stamp as a background to my card:

I stamped the stamp in purple ink on a green background, then inked around the edges with the same colour.

I used ribbon, lace, hessian, a piece of dictionary definition patterned paper, brads, an ornate metal ribbon slide, and an image from the Darkroom Door "Hats" Photobooth sheet as embellishments on my card. Here is a close up:

The other CT Girls have used their stamp in lots of different ways - pop on over to the DD Blog to check them out! This stamp is a definite must have in your stash, and the CT will show you lots of different ways to use it!

Enjoy!

~Sarah~

Art de Fleur Gift Card and Bag Set.

2010-08-02T13:14:00.001+10:00

Back in May I taught a class at Erina Scrapbook Store where we used Kaisercraft papers and images from the Darkroom Door Art de Fleur Montage sheet to create a cute little gift card, envelope, and bag set:

The basic idea was from a tutorial at Spiltcoast Stampers, but I changed the dimensions of my project so I could have 4x4" gift cards, and I added matching envelopes.

You can see more photos, and details about how I made this set, on the Darkroom Door blog here.

If you are interested in attending any of my classes, check out the class schedules at Erina Scrapbook Store here. I'd love to see you there!

~Sarah~

Old Truck Photo Stamp.

2010-07-30T13:44:00.001+10:00

Have you seen the Darkroom Door Old Truck Stamp?

Wanna win one? Then read on to find out how! :)

The Darkroom Door girls and I have been creating with the Old Truck Stamp, and this week our creations have been showcased on the Darkroom Door Blog. Here's a sneak peek of the 2 cards I made using the stamp:

I've used lots of yummy Distress Inks and Distress Embossing Powders, as well as the Harlequin Background Stamp, and quotes from the Vintage Automobiles stamp set.

You can see lots more photos, as well as a detailed description of how I made these cards on the Darkroom Door blog here.

You also have to see the fabulous creations that the other girls did:

* Godelieve and Michelle
* Melissa and Jill

For your chance to win one of the Old Truck stamps, check out today's post on the DD blog that features my cards and a card from Rachel, and leave a comment there to win! Too easy! But hurry - the winner will be picked tomorrow!

Good luck!

~Sarah~

Metallic Fairy Card.

2010-07-29T13:35:00.001+10:00

Hi there!

I've got some very masculine cards to share in tomorrow's post, so today I thought I'd share something pretty and girlie!

I made this card a while back for our Metallics challenge over at Inkurable Stampers:

The background paper of my card was stamped with Darkroom Door ornate background stamp from the "Ornate Elements" set, and then heat embossed using "Pewter" embossing powder.

I used a silver Krylon pen to outline the background paper. I attached some beaded trim to the card, and wrapped some silver German Scrap border around the fabric part of the trim.

Here is a close up of the card:

I adhered a thin metallic silver ribbon to the centre of the top part of the card. I cut out a fairy collage image and attached a silver Making Memories Circular Tag Maker Rim around the outside, and then mounted it to the front of the card using double sided foam mounting tape.

I hope you're having an inky day!

~Sarah~

Shabby Chic Vintage Card.

2010-07-26T19:05:00.001+10:00

Moxie Fab World are currently running a Card Style Week Shabby Chic and Vintage card challenge so I thought I'd give it a try!

I've always loved the shabby chic look, and I'd love to have a whole house decked out in the shabby chic style (like this one! OMG - LOVE IT!!! Click through the slideshow - totally worth a look!) but it's not a style I usually create with, and I really struggled with this challenge! I'd love to create gorgeous shabby chic things with ease like Melissa Phillips does, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. It took days before I found the right mix of elements and I was happy with my card. Here it is:

The base card is cream coloured Bazzill cardstock onto which I stamped the Darkroom Door Floral Background Stamp with light blue ink. The next layer is a piece of October Afternoon patterned paper with dictionary meanings on it. The pink paper is from Darkroom Door, and the next layer is a piece of cream Bazzill cardstock which was stamped with the Darkroom Door Roses Photo Stamp in light blue.

The doily is a Kaisercraft stamp that was stamped onto the pink paper from Darkroom Door, then heat embossed with white embossing powder. The vintage image is one of the lovely ladies from the Darkroom Door "Hats" Photobooth sheet.

The "Best Wishes" stamp is by Fiskars, and I stamped it onto cream bazzill cardstock with pink ink, then mounted it to the card front with foam mounting tape.

Here is a close up of my card:

The music notes came from a real piece of old sheet music. The buttons are by Basic Grey, and I tied some string from a shipping tag through them before sticking them down. I also added some small Kasiercraft pearls to my card to add to the vintage feel.

The edges of the papers were inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink, and some were distressed using an edge distresser.

If you'd like to give this challenge a go, pop on over to the Moxie Fab World, and check out the challenge details plus the gorgeous inspiration from the Card Style magazine!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Play Date Cafe - Challenge #39.

2010-07-25T12:01:00.001+10:00

The Play Date Cafe's challenge this week is neutral tones - here is this weeks inspiration:

I only just realised that by blog design fits in perfectly with this colour scheme! LOL!

This week I made a card using papers from Graphic 45. Here it is:

The base is black Bazzill cardstock, and the papers and images are from the Graphic 45 "Communique" and "Fashionista" collections.

I inked around the papers and elements with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The nibs, the ink bottle, and the calligraphy pen have all been coated with Dimensional Magic to give them a glossy raised look. Here is a close up:

The tag and the bottle were attached to the card front with double sided foam mounting tape for added dimension.

I can't believe I actually made a card without using stamps! That doesn't happen very often! LOL!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Altered SD Card Case.

2010-07-24T19:30:00.001+10:00

I had a spare SD memory card case sitting on my computer desk for ages, and one day I had the idea to alter it and make some mini art out of it! Check it out:

I coloured the plastic with alcohol inks, and adhered a piece of book page, a stamped butterfly, and a Photobooth lady to the cover.

Here is the inside:

The inside looks shiny because it was coated with Glossy Accents.

For more photos, and a detailed description of how I altered by memory card case, check out this post on the Darkroom Door blog.

~Sarah~

Sky Watch Friday - 23rd July 2010.

2010-07-23T09:46:00.001+10:00

Hello skywatchers! It's Skywatch Friday again, and today I'm here to share some pics of some lovely clouds that I took back on the 4th of March 2010. (Click pics to enlarge).

Can you believe - these photos are not black and white?! They are colour photos - see the orange at the bottom of the photo above? You can even see some blue in the sky between the clouds.

It was approaching sunset, and these lovely clouds were reflecting the light in such a pretty way - it made you want to reach out and touch them!

Heres another pic:

The view is from my back deck - don't you just love it when Mother Nature puts on a show like this to watch from your very own home? :)

To see more lovely sky photos from around the world, pop over to Skywatch Friday!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Thank You Card.

2010-07-22T11:41:00.002+10:00

The Town Scrapper is having an Anything Goes challenge this week, and the DT have just posted their "last post before Labour Day" as they are going on a Summer hiatus until September 10th. Check it out here.

For my entry I have created a thank you card (click pics to enlarge):

As you can see, I'm very taken with the purple and green colour scheme lately! LOL! (If you are too, check out this month's challenge over at Inkurable Stampers).

I have used the very cool "Charlotte" stamp from Kraftin' Kimmie, which I coloured with Copic Markers, and the words are stamped in Violet Versacolor ink using Darkroom Door alphabet stamps.

The "thank", "you", and "friend" were attached to the card with foam mounting tape which gives the greeting some nice differing dimension.

I used my new favourite clear Spica pen to add sparkle to her headband, the ruffle on her skirt, and her chocker, but you can't quite see it in the pics.

Here is a close up:

The green background was created using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, and I punched the edge with a Fiskars border punch.

I don't know about you, but every time I read the quote, I start singing the theme from The Golden Girls! LOL! This card is off to a new home today for someone who has been particularly golden to me lately, so the quote was perfect! I hope she likes it! :)

~Sarah~

Mail Art!

2010-07-21T22:12:00.001+10:00

The theme over at The Three Muses this week is Mail Art, and I thought it would be a good excuse to show off the mail art I have been creating lately!

Last week I sent off some ATC's to Belgium (to Aisling (aka Julie) who sent me the most awesome ones in return!) so I thought I'd decorate the envelope as a surprise! Silly me forgot to take a photo of it before I sent it off, but Julie took some when it arrived and has kindly let me use her photos here! So here is the front of the envelope:

First I stamped a journaling spot from the Darkroom Door Journal stamp set onto the envelope with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I then inked over the whole envelope with 'Peeled Paint', 'Broken China', and 'Worn Lipstick' Distress Inks, before stamping in black ink. The colours are a bit off in the photo, but it looked very vibrant and colourful in real life!

Here is the back:

The flourish is a Tim Holtz stamp, the butterfly is from the Darkroom Door Butterflies stamp set, and I also used stamps from the Darkroom Door Mail Art stamp set.

Creating mail art is so much fun - but it's even more fun receiving it! I love the look of it after it's been through the post - with the postage stamps, and postal markings, and the slightly crumpled look. I have received a few lovely mail art items, and I will treasure them always!

Speaking of mail art, I held a mail art challenge at Inkurable Stampers in May, so if you're into Mail Art, check out all the entries for that month in the slideshow here.

I also created some Mail Art as my Creative Team projects for Darkroom Door that were showed on their blog in May:

Urban Lily Secret Keeper Card Mail Art:

You can see lots of photos and full instructions on how I created this piece on the Darkroom Door Blog here.

Red Letter Mail Art:

You can see lots of photos and full instructions on how I created these envelopes on the Darkroom Door Blog here.

As you can see, lots of masking and collage stamping there - so much fun!

So - do you create mail art? Have you ever received any? Are you inspired to give it a go? Let me know in the comments section - I love hearing from you all! :)

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Christmas in July!

2010-07-21T13:44:00.001+10:00

The latest theme over at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog is "Christmas in July"! I've been meaning to do one of their challenges for ages, so this gave me a great excuse to use my previously un-inked Noelle and O Joy stamps! (And yet another excuse to play with my Copic markers! LOL!). Here is my card:

First I stamped "Noelle" and "O Joy" next to each other onto white card with black ink, then I coloured the pair with Copic markers. They looked a little strange floating in mid air, so I decided to give them a floor to stand on. I drew it in myself after having seen this great tutorial on how to do it. Mine's not fabulous, but pretty good for my first attempt I think! :) The plain white wall looked a little stark, so I coloured it with the E000 Copic marker to soften it up a little. It's very close to the colour of the walls in my house!

Of course, I couldn't resist adding a little bling with my Clear Spica pen, so I glittered up their outfits:

I inked around the edges of the picture with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, then matted it onto Candy Apple Bazzill cardstock. The card base is a really cool tie-dyed looking piece of handmade paper that I've had for ages! Was great to be able to use up something from my stash! :)

Don't they make a cute couple:

I love how they're all dressed up to party, but look beaten from the season! LOL!! It definitely gets that way sometimes!

Thanks for dropping by!

~Sarah~

The Most Amazing Blog Candy...

2010-07-20T12:37:00.001+10:00

The ultra-talented Kellie Winnell is having the most amazing blog candy giveaway on her blog! Check it out:

Having only recently started using Copic Markers, I don't have a real lot of stamps that I can colour with them! Winning this candy would be sooooo awesome - I can already see stamps there that I have on my wish list!!

What a generous giveaway! Once you've picked your jaw up off the floor, pop on over to Kellie's blog and check out her gorgeous work!

Thanks Kellie for the chance to win! :)

~Sarah~

Play Date Cafe - Challenge #38.

2010-07-20T12:14:00.001+10:00

As you know, over at Inkurable Stampers this month my challenge is "Lavender and Lime". I showed you my example for that challenge back in this post.

I absolutely love this colour combination, and was excited to see that this week's challenge at The Play Date Cafe was "Purple, Lilac, and Lime" so I couldn't resist getting out my supplies and making another card using this colour combo! Here's the colour prompt from TPDC:

And here is the card I created for the challenge (click pics to enlarge):

As you can see I've been playing with my Copics again! I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, thanks to my friend Dawn Lewis who has been giving me lots of tips!

I coloured the "Lil Bug Emma" CC Designs stamp with Copic markers in purple and lime colours, then coloured over her wings, shoes, and antennae with my new Clear Spica pen. Check out the sparkles:

LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Clear Spica pen!!

The "Best Wishes" is from a Fiskars stamp set called "Cameo Ovations". I stamped it on white with Violet ink. The butterfly girl and the Best Wishes sentiment have both been attached to the card front with double sided foam mounting tape.

The background is lime green bazzill that I embossed using a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I attached a strip of "Broderie Anglaise" lace down the left hand side, then a piece of wide ribbon which was originally a cream colour, but I coloured it with my Copic Marker (V17). I ran the wide ribbon through the Cuttlebug embossing folder after I'd put the double sided tape on the back of it, to give it some texture.

It was so much fun being a challenge participant again after being a Challenge Master at Inkurable Stampers for so long! LOL!

This is my first entry for a challenge at The Play Date Cafe, so if you've come here from there thanks for dropping by! Please leave a comment so I know you've visited!

~Sarah~

ATC Royalty.

2010-07-19T10:44:00.001+10:00

I love creating and swapping Artist Trading Cards (ATC's). The 2 ATC's I'm sharing today have just gone to a new home in Belgium!

His Royal Highness:

I made this ATC way back in May 2009 as an example for one of the challenges over at Inkurable Stampers.

For the background, I stamped a Stamp-it Harlequin background stamp onto white cardstock using black ink. I then got a mini King of Spades playing card (which I got from Big W) and cut out the picture of the king using fine tipped scissors, and stuck the frame to the background.

I reversed the King picture, revealing the red pattern on the back of the card, and stuck it back in the hole where I'd cut it from.

I stamped "Rocky" onto red cardstock and embossed with black embossing powder. I coloured his face, hands, and shoes with bleach.

I then stuck my Rocky stamp cut out to the ATC, attached a gold crown brad, and the letters HRH (His Royal Highness) to finish.

Queen of Her World:

For the background I stamped a Darkroom Door stamp (from the Ornate Elements set) onto a Scrapmatts ATC base and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I then coloured the background with an Orange Copic marker (which made the black run a bit, giving it a more distressed look).

I tore a piece of gothic script book paper and attached it to the bottom of the ATC. The little girl is a digital collage sheet image (from Enchanted Mercantile - unfortunately no longer operating) that I printed out. Her crown is a chipboard shape that I coloured gold with a Krylon pen.

I stamped a stamp that had "Queen of her world" in the design onto cream paper with brown ink, then cut out only the words to use on my ATC. The edges of the words and the ATC were inked with black ink.

Thanks for visiting today!

~Sarah~

Gothic Arches - Part 2.

2010-07-18T12:04:00.001+10:00

First let me say a huge thank you to those of you that have been coming here to visit, leaving comments, and becoming followers through Blogger and Facebook - I really appreciate it! I also love coming to your blogs to check out the amazing work you are doing, and have found a few new faves lately!

OK - so a few posts back I showed you my first 3 Gothic Arch examples for my Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge. Well, today I'm here to share the next 2!

Challenge #4 - Hands.

I used Kaisercraft patterned paper as my background. I stamped the gothic sun shape (from Green Pepper Press) onto the background with Scarlet Versacolor ink, and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.

I stamped the sun again in black ink on white cardstock, and heat embossed. I cut out the centre circle and stuck it onto the centre of the red sun. (Yes! I know it's upside down! I fixed it after the photo was taken, but never took another pic! So you'll just have to imagine it's up the right way! LOL!).

The hands (again from Green Pepper Press) were stamped in black ink onto white cardstock, cut out, and then adhered to the background. The word "Worship" is a sticker from Kelsey's wordsheets.

The red flourishes at the bottom are Kaisercraft rub-ons. To finish, I attached some beaded trim and some thin red ribbon to the bottom of my arch.

Challenge #5 - Hats.

For my Hats themed arch, I was inspired by The Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp) from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland Movie! here's a quick pic for reference:

And this is what I came up with for my arch:

The background was created by inking white cardstock with Dusty Corduroy and Worn Lipstick distress inks using a foam blending tool. I stamped a Green Pepper Press gothic Script stamp down the left hand side and heat embossed with black embossing powder. The right hand side was stamped with a Stamp-it mesh stamp in black ink.

The hat is a Green Pepper Press stamp that was stamped and heat embossed with black ink. It has been mounted with foam mounting tape.

The head (also by Green Pepper Press) was stamped with black ink onto white cardstock, and I coloured in the lips, eyebrows, and eyes.

The hair is a Kaisercraft flourish stamp that I stamped with red Stazon, then coloured with Spiced Marmalade distress ink using an Aquash brush. I cut out pieces of it to create the hair shape.

The quote was typed on the computer, printed out, and attached to the arch.
If you're interested in joining in with my year-long Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge, check out the details here. All welcome!

~Sarah~

Dashing Gents Cards.

2010-07-16T11:20:00.002+10:00

How often do you make masculine cards? I bet it's not very often! People are always saying how hard it is to create masculine card designs for the men in their lives, and the poor blokes often miss out on a hand-made creation! Do they care? Maybe not! LOL! But I'm sure most guys out there will appreciate the effort and enjoy getting a card from you.

I made these Dashing Gents cards recently for a class I taught at Erina Scrapbook Store (click to enlarge):

I used the very vintage Dashing Gents stamp set from Darkroom Door, some Cuttlebug embossing folders, and papers from Kaisercraft.

I also used lots of foam mounting tape for dimension:

See more photos, and read all about how I created these carrds here on the Darkroom Door blog. :)

~Sarah~

Gothic Arches.

2010-07-15T11:01:00.001+10:00

I was always a fan of the Gothic Arches challenge blog that was on Wordpress - I just loved seeing the gorgeous little mixed media collage artworks that people were creating with different Gothic Arch shapes. That blog eventually ceased and turned into a Ning group, and then came back to Blogger! (At least I think it's the same one - correct me of I'm wrong!). The Gothic Arches Challenge Blog is run by the awesomely talented (and super nice!) Nancy Maxwell James, and she has recently released a free downloadable Gothic Arch eBook, featuring lots of fabulous arches from herself and other artists. Check it out here.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well, I was always so fascinated and inspired by these arches, but had never given one a go. I knew I mustn't be the only one, and I thought the stampers over at my challenge blog, Inkurable Stampers, would like to have a go too! So began the Inkurable Stampers 2010 Gothic Arch Challenge! It's a year long challenge for 2010 only that runs alongside our regular monthly challenges at Inkurable, and you upload your creations to our dedicated Flickr Group. There is a new theme every fortnight until the end of the year, and at the end you'll have a collection of 24 Gothic Arches to do with what you will! I'll be making mine into a book, some people are making ATC's - the choice is yours! It's never to late to join the challenge, and everyone is welcome! You can use any medium you like, as long as you use at least one stamp. Check out the details here.

We've had 12 themes so far, with another 2 due this Sunday (I'm a bit behind!). So as not to bombard you with all 12 at once, today I'll share the first 3! :)

Challenge #1 - Butterflies.

I kicked off with an easy theme to get things started. Here is my first ever Gothic Arch:

I have used the following Darkroom Door stamp sets: Butterflies, Little Dreams, Wildflower, Floral Background Stamp.

To create the background, I stamped the Floral Background stamp onto white cardstock with Broken China Distress Ink, and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then inked over it with Peeled Paint Distress Ink, then wiped over with a baby wipe to remove the distress ink from the embossed parts.

I stamped the lady from the Little Dreams stamp set with black ink and embossed with black embossing powder. Her wings are made from the large Butterfly from the Butterflies stamp set. I stamped and embossed in black, then coloured with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.

Her hat is a triangle cut from the background of the lady stamp that was removed when I cut her out. It has also been coloured with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.

The black butterflies and wildflower stems were stamped straight onto the background using Stazon Ink. The white butterflies were stamped onto white cardstock with black ink, cut out, and adhered to the background. Some Kaisercraft Rhinestones were added to their bodies.

Challenge #2 - Lace.

I have used:

* Darkroom Door Roses Photo Stamp.
* "Dream" stamp and Lace stamp from Darkroom Door "Little Dreams" set.
* Lil Davis stamp from "Crillon 2" set.
* Lace, silver brads, silver star brad.
* Vintage Photo.
* Pink Collage Press scrapbook paper.
* Red Stazon ink, Pinecone Versacolor Ink, Black Stazon, White Brilliance Ink.

First I cut my arch shape out of the pink paper and stamped the Roses Photo Stamp with Red Stazon ink. I inked around the edges with Pinecone ink. I then stamped the Lil' Davis stamp onto the same pink paper using Black Stazon, and cut out. I swiped Moonlight White Brilliance ink over the top of it to give it a softer look. then I attached it to the arch.

Next I adhered the lace across the bottom of my arch, and attached 3 silver brads. I then adhered the vintage image onto the arch and stamped the Darkroom Door lace tamp with Black Stazon. I stamped "Dream" onto white paper, cut out, and then mounted it to the arch using double sided foam mounting tape.
Challenge #3 - Crowns.

The text background stamp and the fairy stamp are from Stampotique, and the tree branches and flying birds are Tim Holtz stamps.

I coloured the background using Aged Mahogany and Black Soot Distress Inks on a craft mat, and stamped the 3 stamps in Jet Black Stazon Ink.

I stamped the fairy onto white cardstock with Blazing Red Stazon (which I think is more pink than red, but hey, that's just me) and then outlined the details with a black Sharpie. I used Rock Candy Distress Stickles on her wings, and her crown is a Scrapware chipboard crown that I coloured with a silver Krylon pen. She was mounted to the arch using double sided foam mounting tape. Here is a close up:

The fence is Scrapware chipboard which I inked with Black Soot Distress Ink. I added some black German Scrap Border to the bottom of the fence for some added depth and detail.

The words were done on my computer, printed out, and then adhered to the arch. I then outlined each word with black pen.

I'll be back tomorrow to share some more with you!

Thanks for hanging in there on such a long post! LOL! :)

~Sarah~

Joy Fold Card.

2010-07-12T11:44:00.001+10:00

Hi everyone!

Here's another card that I made back in October that I shared over at Inkurable Stampers but am yet to share here. It's a Joy Fold Card that I created for the 2009 Darkroom Door WCMD challenge (click pics to enlarge):

It has 2 different sized flaps that open out - for my card I secured the front flap shut with a magnet, and attached a ribbon tab to pull it open. Here's what it looks like when the first flap is opened:

And here is what it looks like fully opened up:

Of course, you could put paper on the back of those 2 flaps for extra writing space, but I chose not to. :)

Here is a close up:

I have used papers from Graphic 45, Bazzill cardstock, and stamps from Darkroom Door (from the following sets: "Butterflies", "Prague Vol 1", "Journal", and "Wildflowers Vol 1"). I used Kaisercraft pearls for the centres of the butterflies. I masked off the journaling lines in the journal block stamp to create a frame for the butterflies and quote. I love finding new and different ways to use a stamp!

Such a fun and easy card to make, and the design is sure to delight the recipient!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Tri-fold Shutter Card.

2010-07-08T11:29:00.001+10:00

Back in October last year I created a Tr-fold Shutter Card for a WCMD challenge that I held over at Inkurable Stampers. When I was looking back over my archives today, I realised that I hadn't yet shown it here! So here it is (click pics to enlarge!):

For this card I have used stamps from the following Darkroom Door stamp sets:

* Butterflies

* Little Dreams

* Wildflowers Volume 1

* Ornate Elements

* Prague Vol 2 set.

Here is what it looks like when it is fully opened up:

The base card was made from black Bazzill cardstock. I used plain while card stock for the matting, and some stamping, and the coloured background was created using the Wrinkle Free Distress Technique with Broken China and Peeled Paint Distress inks. The images were stamped with black ink and Broken China distress ink.

Here is the view from the top so you can see how it works:

And this is what it looks like standing up:

The idea is to write in the centre piece (where the big blue butterfly is). I stamped the large butterfly onto scrap paper first, then stamped it onto the white card without re-inking for a muted effect so that I could write clearly over the top with a black pen.

Let's not forget the close up:

There are Kaisercraft clear rhinestones in each corner of the frame, and inside in the centre of the smaller butterflies.

To make your own Tri-fold card, check out this tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers.

Thanks for visiting today!

~Sarah~

Makes you think.....

2010-07-07T10:50:00.001+10:00

Here is an ATC I created which was inspired by an ATC by Shelly Hickox that she created for a Wednesday Stamper challenge theme back in January 2009. I loved the idea so much I knew I had to try it out, and that the Gentleman from the Darkroom Door 'Dashing Gents' stamp set would be perfect!

Here is a close up:

I glued tiny watch innards (cogs and such) to the ATC as if they were flying out of his head (or are they flying in??!).

Makes you think........

Red, White, and Black!

2010-07-04T08:00:00.003+10:00

Red, white and black is one of my favourite colour schemes! The combination is very striking, and I especially like using it with some of my more Gothic looking stamps.

Back in April over at Inkurable Stampers, we had a Black, White, and Red challenge, and the entries were all so different and gorgeous! It's amazing the different looks you can get with the same colour combination. See the entries for that challenge in the slideshow here.

For my examples I created 2 ATC's and a card. Here they are:

"Dream" ATC:

I stamped the Green Pepper press gothic script background stamp onto red cardstock with black ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I then attached 5 white brads down the right hand side, and adhered the background to the ATC base.

The Catslife Press 'Dream' stamp was stamped onto white cardstock with black ink and heat embossed using black embossing powder. I cut around the image, and adhered it to my ATC with foam mounting tape.

"Sad Fairy"ATC:

I stamped the Stampotique text stamp onto the red cardstock background with black ink, and heat embossed using clear embossing powder.

The Green Pepper Press hand with rose stamp was stamped in red ink onto white cardstock, and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I cut around the image and adhered it to the bottom of the ATC background. The background was then attached to the black Bazzill cardstock base.

The Stampotique sitting fairy was stamped using black ink onto white cardstock, and heat embossed using black embossing powder. I cut around the image, and coloured the heart in red with a Sharpie. I then adhered her to the ATC.

"Wild Child" Card:

I stamped the Stampotique text background onto white cardstock with black ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder, and attached it to the black Bazzill cardstock base.

I stamped the Green Pepper Press wings, the Fiskars "Wild Child", and the Lil' Davis flourish with red ink onto white cardstock and embossed with clear embossing powder.

The Stampotique kid was stamped with black ink onto white cardstock and heat embossed with black embossing powder. The wings were attached to his back, and he was mounted to the card using foam mounting tape.

The flourish was cut out, edged with black ink, and adhered to the background. "Wild Child" was matted onto black cardstock and attached to the front of the card.

But wait - there's more! LOL!

Here is an ATC that I created for the Darkroom Door Red, White, and Black ATC swap:

I used the Darkroom Door Dots Background stamp, and the Rockstar Stamp Set.

I made 10 of them for the swap, and got 8 different ones back! (One stayed at DD HQ). Here's a pic of all mine before I sent them off:

While I was at it, I made a magnetic bookmark as well. Here's the front view:

And here is the view from the back:

To find out more about my Rockin' ATC and Bookmark, check out this post at the Darkroom Door blog.

Thanks for hanging in there for such a long post! :)

~Sarah~

It's watching you.....

2010-07-03T11:41:00.002+10:00

Recently I altered a plain Kaisercraft Post-it Note Holder by collage stamping with a bunch of Darkroom Door stamps. Check it out:

I still find it a little freaky! It stares at me, so I have it high on a shelf so I can't see it! LOL!! I think I'm going to have to give it to someone as a Christmas present!

Rachel has just showcased it on the Darkroom Door blog - check out more photos and a detailed description on how I made it here.

Seeing this colour scheme reminded me of a card that I created to show off the Darkroom Door Roses Photo Stamp, so I thought now would be a great time to share it! Here it is:

You can read all about how I made it on the Darkroom Door blog here.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Lavender and Lime!

2010-07-02T17:34:00.001+10:00

I've just announced the theme over at Inkurable Stampers for July and this time it's Lavender & Lime! Which is just a fancy way of saying Purple and Green, but you get the idea! :)

This colour combo is so yummy and used in the right way with the right neutral colours can be either very subtle and sweet, or bold and dramatic!

For my example I've gone with the dramatic look:

Here is a close up:

I have used stamps from Stampotique (Girl), Odd Bird Planet (Happy Birthday) and Darkroom Door (Harlequin Background).

My card measures 5.5x5.5".

The background was created by stamping the Harlequin Background onto "Apple Crush" Bazzill Smoothies cardstock with Violet ink. I then inked around the edges with the same ink using a sponge dauber. The spiderweb down the right hand side was created on black Bazzill cardstock using a Martha Stewart border punch.

I'd had that gorgeous purple satin ribbon in my stash for ages, and I was so glad to finally use it! I adhered double sided tape to the card, and then pleated the ribbon on top of it.

The Stampotique girl was stamped with black ink and coloured using Copic Markers. I drew in the neck/spine with a black pen. I cut out the circle with a Nestabilities die, and then inked around the edges with black ink. I then cut a mat for the image out of black bazzill cardstock using a scalloped circle Nestabilities die. The circle was mounted to the card front using foam mounting tape.

For the "Happy Birthday" sentiment, I first cut a piece of white Neenah cardstock to size and coloured it with a green Copic Marker. I then stamped the "Happy Birthday" stamp on it with black ink, then heat embossed with purple embossing powder. I inked around the edges with black ink, mounted it onto a piece of black bazzill cardstock, and attached it to the front of the card using foam mounting tape.

A purple gem brad, a coupe of brads, and some German Scrap were added also. I then matted the whole piece onto black bazzill cardstock, and the card base is dark purple bazzill cardstock ("Black Orchid").

This was such a fun card to make! If you feel like a challenge and want to give this colour combo a go, pop over to Inkurable Stampers and check out the challenge details!

I hope to see you there! :)

~Sarah~

Skywatch Friday - 2nd July 2010.

2010-07-02T07:44:00.002+10:00

Hello skywatchers!

I was looking back through my photo archives and came across some photos that I have not yet shared that were taken back on the 20th November 2009!

These photos were taken one afternoon when a thunder storm came over our house. It came over very quickly, and went away just as fast! You wouldn't think so by the looks of the photos, but the sun came out again after the storm was finished! The whole thing probably lasted no more than an hour.

Now, they're not what I would call spectacular photos, however, I was pretty impressed that I managed to get 3 different lightning strikes! Pure luck - I didn't have a tripod and I was just clicking away randomly in the hope that I would catch one. And I did! :)

So here they are (click on photos to enlarge them):

Cool, huh?!

That last one is a little blurry, but I'm more interested in the lightning strike rather than the trees! LOL!

As you can see, there was a pretty nasty cloud mass - here is another pic, minus the lightning:

Very ominous looking!

To view lots of awesome sky photos from all around the world, check out Skywatch Friday!

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

~Sarah~

Utopia Cards.

2010-07-01T09:00:00.002+10:00

In June I taught a cardmaking class at Erina Scrapbook Store using papers and stamps from the gorgeous Kaisercraft "Utopia" collection, and now that the classes are over, I can share the cards with you! Here they are:

The first card is a bookmark card that I learned how to make from a tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers. Here is a close up:

I stampd the Kaisercraft stamps onto the patterned paper with black ink, and then hi-lighted parts of the image with a white gel pen. The large round flower has been mounted onto the card front with foam mounting tape. Clear Kaisercraft Rhinestones have been added for a bit of sparkle! Here's what the bookmark flap looks like:

The idea is that the recipient tears off the inside flap to use it as a bookmark.

The next card is a pop up card, also learned from a tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers:

The sentiments I have used all come from the Darkroom Door All Occasions Stamp set. Truly a must have set because it comes in handy all the time! So many sentiments!

The pop up card folds flat for mailing - here is what it looks like when it's closed:

Sorry about the changing colours in these photos! They were taken on a day with not much light, and it kept changing!

Next card is a normal 4x6 card:

And last but not least is a small gift card:

I love this colour combo of purple and blue! Very Avatar inspired don't you think? ;)

This month at ESS we're celebrating Christmas in July! I'm doing 2 Christmas card classes using yummy products from Darkroom Door. I'll share a sneak peek soon! I hope to see you there!

~Sarah~

It's a bit chilly.....

2010-06-30T23:00:00.001+10:00

Hi there!

We've been having a bit of a cold snap here for the last few days, and boy oh boy has it been FREEEEZING!! This is certainly the coldest I've ever seen it, apart from the time when we went to the snow. Crazy!

When I woke up yesterday, I could tell it was colder than normal, so I looked outside and to my surprise (and delight!) I found that everything was covered in frost! I've only ever seen this twice before in my life, and never as much as it has been in the last few days! Even people's roofs have had ice on them!

So of course, I ran and grabbed my camera and started clicking away! LOL! These photos were taken around 8am in the morning.

Here's the ice on the handrail of the deck in my backyard:

Don't worry - those things hanging down aren't icicles - they're lights! LOL!

Here are some close ups:

No I realise that this may not be exciting for those of you that live in snowy countries (like Godelieve who gets to looks at this amazing view in her backyard every year!) but for us here in Australia, and especially here where I live, it's very unusual and exciting!!

Even the grass was crunchy!

Here's a pic of the ice all over my car:

Brrrrrrrrr! Winter is well and truly here!

The days are lovely and sunny at the moment though, so I must make more of an effort to get out into the sunshine!

~Sarah~

Some ATC's!

2010-06-28T17:11:00.001+10:00

Hello again!

Today I'm going to share some ATC's that I made for a friend a little while ago. Both of us love the Gothic style of the Penney/Torrente Stampotique stamps, so we often organise swaps with each other that feature stamps from that range. Too fun!

Thirst:

The background Cemetery stamp is by Michelle Ward, the Bat is from a Hero Arts Halloween set, and the boy is of course from Stampotique. I added the fangs with a white gel pen.

The red colour in the background is Fired Brick Distress ink, and the images were stamped over the top with black ink.

The boy was stamped on a separate piece of paper, heat embossed with black embossing powder, coloured with distress inks (using an Aquash pen) then cut out and stuck to the ATC.

The blood at the top is a Martha Stewart border punch. I punched it out of red Bazzill cardstock, then coated it with Glossy Accents.

Oops:

I created the background of this ATC with a spin art machine. The girl was stamped onto a piece of white cardstock and heat embossed using Black Embossing powder. I then coloured her hat with distress inks, cut her out and attached her to the background.

Fairy:

This scary little guy was stamped and embossed with black embossing powder onto red cardstock, then coloured with bleach.

I've used a Harlequin stamp in the background, and some metal wings and a crown brad to dress him up!

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

Garden Fairy Couture

2010-06-26T20:06:00.002+10:00

Here is another project that I created a while ago, but haven't yet shared here on my blog!

This is my Garden Fairy Couture, which is in a 6.5x8.5" shadow box frame:

It was a bit hard to photograph, because of the glass in the frame, so here's a shot of what it looked like before I framed it:

This was one of my Darkroom Door Creative Team projects, and I was showing off the Floral Background Stamp.

As you can see, I used the Floral Background stamp in the background, but I also used it to create the textured bodice by covering a Collections chipboard bodice piece with "Fernglade" Opals UTEE, then while it was still hot and melted, I stamped the background stamp into it, waited for it to cool, then lifted it off! I also added some gold Metallic Rubons (the oily stuff like eyeshadow that you rub on with your finger, not the rub on with a stick kind!) to create highlights. Here's a close up (click to enlarge):

I created the skirt with pieces of gauze that I died with Distress Inks.

Full details on how I created this piece can be found on this post on the Darkroom Door blog.

I was really excited when Rachel asked me if she could take this piece with her on her recent trip to the UK for her appearance on QVC UK! It was used as part of the display for her TV segment which aired back in February. You can see heaps of photos from the day on Rachel's blog here.

Rachel also used it on display at the SIA Tradeshow down in Sydney at the beginning of May this year, which was very exciting too! There's heaps of photos of the Darkroom Door display stand on the Darkroom Door blog here. I had quite a few things on display there - see if you can spot them in the pics! LOL - don't worry - I'll share them all on here eventually! ;)

Thanks for looking! I love hearing from you all, so don't be afraid to leave a comment! :)

~Sarah~

Skywatch Friday - 25th June 2010.

2010-06-25T10:04:00.001+10:00

Hello Skywatchers!

It's been a very long time since I've joined in the fun at Skywatch Friday, and I have plenty of images to share in the upcoming weeks!

Today's photo was taken at sunset on the 17th April 2010 at the Point Wolstoncroft S&R Centre at Gwandalan, NSW. (Click Photo to enlarge).

I had the pleasure of spending the day there at a Scrapbooking retreat, and this was the view from the hall where everyone was crafting away. So many scrapbookers there with their cameras in tow, yet I was the only one clicking away to capture this gorgeous sunset!

I just love how I managed to capture the rays of light, and the lovely reflection of the sunset on the water. No real skill involved! Just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and playing around with the settings on my camera!

Check out more amazing sky photos from around the world over at Skywatch Friday.

Thanks for looking!

~Sarah~

7 Gypsies Artist Printers Tray.

2010-06-24T23:42:00.001+10:00

Way back in January, one of the very first classes that I taught at Erina Scrapbook Store was this 7Gypsies Artist Printers Tray, and I realised the other day that I hadn't yet shared it on my blog! So here it is (click on the pics to enlarge them):

I've used 7Gypsies papers from the Gypsy Market collection, and the 7Gypsies"Victoria" stamp set. Not sure if you can see the quote (which I printed onto the paper using my computer), but it reads:

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song".

There was lots of stamping, cutting, and foam mounting tape involved!! Here is a close up that gives you a better idea of the depth:

It certainly was a baptism of fire into teaching again! I taught the class twice in January, and the first time I taught it we had some hiccups! An advanced class, coupled with only 1 decent inkpad, 1 set of stamps, and some absolute beginners, made for a VERY crazy, stressful, and FUN class!! Literally running back and forth with the stamps between 7 people certainly wore me out that day! LOL! But everyone had a great time, made a great project, and went home happy, which is what it's all about! The 2nd class was a little better. :) And I must say I was very excited when I found out that in my first month teaching there, this project was the highest selling class kit of the month! Yay!

Needless to say though, I've stuck with less tricky projects since then! LOL!!

I teach classes every month at Erina Scrapbook Store, and next month I am doing 2 different Christmas Card classes using stamps and supplies from Darkroom Door. See the calendar for details (mine are the "Vintage Christmas Cards" and the "Acetate Christmas Cards"). I hope to see you there!

~Sarah~

Paper Art Doll!

2010-06-22T18:19:00.001+10:00

Back in January, the challenge theme over at Inkurable Stampers was Paper Art Dolls!

I like to create an example for each theme that I announce, and this was what I came up with:

This photo is a scan (with a piece of Basic Grey paper in the background) so please excuse the shininess on the top of her skirt. :)

I have used stamps from Stamp-it (Harlequin on legs and Mesh on bodice), Stampotique (Mesh on arms; face; text on hair) and Darkroom Door (skirt pattern, and butterfly wings).

I printed the paper doll template from The Enchanted Gallery onto white cardstock and cut out the pieces. I used a Collections chipboard dress form and bodice instead of the supplied body.

The text on the hair was stamped in black ink and then I coloured the hair with red ink. I clear embossed it for strength and shine. Her skirt was hand drawn and was decorated the same way, using the Darkroom Door ornate pattern stamp. I added some German Scrap trim to the bottom. Her crown is a silver brad.

Here is a close up of her:

The harlequin pattern on the legs was stamped with red ink, and then clear embossed. The shoes were created with some German Scrap and some metal wire for those killer heels! LOL!

The face and the mesh on the arms were both stamped onto white cardstock with black ink.

The bodice was coated in a thick layer of UTEE and while it was still hot I pressed the mesh stamp in it and allowed it to cool before removing it and revealing the textured pattern. I added some chain at the bottom of the bodice for added interest.

The butterfly wings were stamped with red ink onto white cardstock, cut out, and attached to her back.

Her legs, arms, and head were all attached with red brads, and they move around!

We had some awesome Paper Art Doll entries that month, and you can see them all in the slideshow here.

If you love a challenge, pop on over to my stamping challenge blog, Inkurable Stampers, and give this month's Stars challenge a go! :)

Thanks for popping by today!

~Sarah~

Lovely Ladies Card Set!

2010-06-21T10:41:00.001+10:00

I recently taught a class at Erina Scrapbook Store where we made 4 cards using the Darkroom Door Lovely Ladies stamp set, and a cool Faux Lace technique that I learned from Godelieve, where you stamp a lace pattern on to vellum, and then heat emboss it with white embossing powder. Here are the cards:

To see each card individually, and to hear more about how I made them, pop on over to this post at the Darkroom Door blog!

Speaking of the Darkroom Door blog, Rachel recently shared projects that myself and the other Creative Team girls did with the new Frangipani Photo Stamp. Here are my creations:

A simple card:

A magnetic book mark:

To find out more about how I made them, and to see what the other girls did with the same stamp, check out these posts on the Darkroom Door blog:

Frangipani Photo Stamp Projects Part 1.
Frangipani Photo Stamp Projects Part 2.
Frangipani Photo Stamp Projects Part 3.

I'm going to try really hard to blog here more regularly now, so make sure you check back often to see what I've been up to! :) I've been very busy and I have looooooooots to show you!

~Sarah~

Sarah's Super Saturday - THIS WEEKEND!!

2010-06-15T14:36:00.003+10:00

Calling all stampers from Sydney to Newcastle!

This coming Saturday, 19th June 2010, I am teaching 3 classes back to back at Erina Scrapbook Store on the Central Coast, and I hope to see you there!

Join me for a fun filled day of stamping and paper crafting, as well as lots of chit chat and even baked goods! LOL! Come to one, two, or all three classes, but make sure you don't miss out!

Here's the details:

9am - 11am - Recipe Album Class:

In this class we will be creating our very own recipe album using the Darkroom Door "From the Kitchen" stamp set that will be included in your kit!! Class price = $45.00 which includes all materials.

11:30am - 1:30pm - Pop-up Cards Class:

Join me in this class where we will make 4 striking 3-dimensional cards using the Utopia range of stamps and papers from Kaisercraft! Class price = $29.50 which includes all materials, including a set of Kaisercraft stamps!

2pm - 4pm - Sympathy Cards Class:

In this class we will be making 6 classy cards suitable for use as Sympathy cards, or other special occasions, using papers from Kaisercraft, as well as Photochip images from Darkroom Door. Class price = $24.00 which includes all materials.

If you cant make it to the classes on Saturday 19th, the classes will also run separately on the following dates:

9am - 11am - Recipe Album Class: Friday 18th June - 7pm - 9pm.

11:30am - 1:30pm - Pop-up Cards Class: Wednesday 16th June - 7pm-9pm.

2pm - 4pm - Sympathy Cards Class: Wednesday 23rd June - 7pm - 9pm.

I really hope you'll come along and join in the fun!

Please contact Erina Scrapbook Store to book your place!

2/203 The Entrance Road, Erina NSW 2250 Australia.
Ph: (02) 4365 0770
Fax: (02) 4365 3228
info@erinascrapbook.com

It also happens to be Erina Scrapbook Store's 2nd Birthday, and they're having a sale!! So why not grab a bargain when you come to a class?!

BIRTHDAY SALE

Saturday 12th June - Wednesday 30th June

20% OFF* STOREWIDE

SPEND OVER $100 IN ONE TRANSACTION AND RECEIVE

30% OFF* YOUR PURCHASES!

* Discounts are storewide, including already discounted items and class kits. Discounts valid on stock items only, no rainchecks or special orders. Not valid with any other offers. Class payments do not count towards $100 minimum to qualify for 30% OFF.

~Sarah~

Darkroom Door Photochip Challenge!

2010-04-13T10:08:00.002+10:00

Hi everyone!

It's Photochip Challenge week over at the Darkroom Door Blog, and they are showcasing lots of different Creative Team projects to give you ideas for using Photchips in your creations!

They also want to challenge you guys as well, so they're having a giveaway!

Here's the details:

1. Use any Darkroom Door Photochip to create something. Can be anything - a card, scrapbook page, gift bag, anything!!

2. Upload your creation to your blog or the Darkroom Door Flickr Group using 'Photochips' as a tag word.

3. Leave a comment here on the DD Blog with the link to your creation!

International entries are welcome! Entries close midnight Monday 19th April AESD (Australian Eastern Standard Time).

One lucky winner will receive the complete Photochip Collected Works (worth approx $60):

Keep checking the Darkroom Door Blog every day for more Creative Team Photochip inspiration! I'll be back tomorrow to share my project!

~Sarah~