Frame It and wrap It Pretty!

Happy Monday all.
It's a beautiful Autumn day here. It is chilly but the sun is out. Stepping outside takes one's breath away but boy it's exhilerating!
These photos are long overdue. They are of the upcoming class I have this week (yes this week ... I know).
With Christmas just a month away I thought a gift would make a nice class. My wonderful upline Carol showed me how to create a fabulous photo frame and I thought it would make a lovely gift.

 I have co-ordinated it with with a gift box (It's one of the SU! Kraft gift boxes ... it doesn't fit the frame but it's cute!) and a gift tag.
I kept the white frame of the tag blank so you could stamp whatever sentiment or image you needed on it.
Here's a photo of them ...

 I have used the gorgeous 'International Bazaar' DSP from SU!. The colours and patterns are so rich and striking.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek. I hope my creations inspired you!

A Sneaky Peek

Happy Sunday all :)
Today's post is a sneaky peek at one of the projects for the upcoming All Day Christmas class.
I had said I was going to include a wreath as one of the projects and here's a photo of part of it.
I've used the delicious 'Be Of Good Cheer' DSP, Gumball Green ribbon and handsome Brushed Bronze buttons. This wreath makes quite a statement!
I will post more photos over the next few days so make sure you come back and visit!

Fishing For Compliments

Happy Labor Day :)
I had meant to post this yesterday in honour of Father's Day  (in New Zealand that is) but with one thing and another I didn't get to it. I'd like to say Happy Father's Day to my dear ol' Dad in NZ ... Love you Dad, and miss you!

This tin is a project I have had on my mental "drawing board" for a wee while now and I'm so pleased to be able to finally share it.
It's a gift for the fly fishermen in your life. The salmon inside the tin is actually holding a handmade 'Green Machine' fly that can be used to fly for Salmon. Not only does the gift look good, but it's practical too (this is afterall, important to men ;)).

The Salmon images have been water coloured and hand cut. I researched on the internet to get the colouring as authentic as possible. The Salmon inside the tin is raised with dimensionals and this is what the fly is attached to. The fly can be easily removed for use.

I have four of these for sale so if you are interested, drop me an email.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek :)

Who's That Knocking On My door?

I thought I'd share a little project I have been busy with. I made my own Christmas wreath for the door!
The wreath is made up of rosettes (or Lollies as they are called here) of three different sizes. I added some ribbon and buttons and here's the finished product...
I used the 'Letters To Santa' DSP from Stampin' Up! to make my rosettes. It took me a while to score all the paper but it was worth it, especially since my handy dandy scoring board made the job so much easier. I love it!
This photo gives you a little (that's a hint) sneak peek at one of the upcoming products in the Occasions Mini which will be released next month. Can you guess what it is?
Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek :)

Key To My Chocolate Jar!

As part of a recent bulk buy I took part in, I got these cute glass jars. I used them to make my sewing kits with the pin cushion on the top but had some spare ones and wanted to create something with a more vintage feel. I saw the idea for these here (Thanks for the idea Monika!) and just changed it to suit what I had on hand. I thought one of the trinket keys would make a cute embellishment and it means I get to keep one as I am keeping the jar!
The original idea had the wider striped ribbon cut in half so I made some up with that idea too...
Aren't they pretty? I do love the 'Love Letter' DSP teamed with the 'First Edition' DSP. Now I just need to fill these ones with chocolates...hmmm, maybe not!

Blooms for Books

I have been playing around with the Sizzix Fun Flowers die of late and wanted to share a bookmark I made. I made them in a myriad of colours and they looked so pretty lined up. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of them before I sold them!
I have seen other similar versions around but they have used paper to create the flower. I wanted something with more longevity so used fleece. Add a beautiful buttons and some gorgeous satin ribbon and here's what you get ...
Thanks for taking a peek!

Bottle Caps Baby!

Here they are... the bottle caps I have been working on to turn into magnets for an upcoming craft fair.
I have been wondering how I will display them at the fair and came up with the idea of using one of the cake bases I have for baking! Since it is metallic they stick like a charm.
I love, love, love how these have turned out. They bring the humble fridge magnet into the fashion age!

A Gift to Give or Keep!

This weeks upcoming class uses the gorgeous stamp set 'Always'. It's an all purpose stamp set that can be used for many different occasions. Here, I have embossed the bird and the heart images to make them the focal point so they stand out. Embossing also gave me a darker shade of the lovely Sage Shadow to work with. I wanted to create something timeless so I went for SU!'s Nouveau Chic' Designer Series Paper.
So, I hear you ask, "what is it we'll be making?" It's a card and an altered DVD tin, but it's not just any tin. You open it up to reveal a mini photo album!! How cool is that?!
As soon as I saw this idea on Split Coast Stampers I knew I had to make one. I am always looking for different ways to package things and thought this tin was a wonderfully unique way to give photos to someone you love. The tin is slim yet sturdy enough to be posted making it ideal to send.
So what are you waiting for? Register now to reserve your seat. Cost is $20. (All supplies are included except for adhesive).

And the winner is...

Congratulations goes to Cyndi for winning January's lucky prize draw!
You've won yourself the cute mouse card and matching gift box filled with goodies.

This month's prize draw is an altered chipboard notebook (see right). I took a plain spiral bound notebook and decorated it. I kept it fairly plain on the inside so there are a multitude of uses for it. The cover has one of my favourite all-time sayings on it, so hope you like it!
To be in with a chance to win, just place an order with me for $25 or more during the month of February. Every $25 spent gives you another chance to win.
Good luck!

Say it with Flowers

There's an expression where I come from that is "Say it with Flowers" - to let someone special know you're thinking of them. Since it's currently winter that is a little tricky to do with real flowers so I have made a paper flower bouquet to thank a special someone who has helped me out.
I found a wooden bag at a local store that I have decorated and made a matching card for (see top photo). I haven't written in the card though because the person getting this floral bouquet might want to re-use parts of it for someone else, and if so, there's a card already made to match. What I have made for my friend instead, is a teeny tiny card with a pewter friendship token in it that my friend gets to keep. I've made a cute wee box to hold her card and gift too (see photo below). The nice thing about this set is that the box containing my friend's gift fits into the larger one with the spare card.
With all these flowers, I'd say ... that it's quite a bouquet!
All supplies (excluding the wooden box) are Stampin' Up! and I have to give credit for the card idea as I saw something very similar from Leadership.

Beary Cute!

With lots of birthday's fast approaching I have begun work on the cards and loot bags (well, boxes in this instance) people will be wanting. When I first saw the 'Build-a-Bear' products I knew I had to use them for party favours . Last weekend while visiting my wonderful up line, I cut the bears with the SU! exclusive Big Shot dies that she owns (Thank you Carol!). I then got the fun job of dressing them!
The loot boxes are two Big Shot Box #2's joined together and decorated. I found some wee pencil canisters at a local store (they contain 8 colouring pencils) so I decorated those to match the bear and his "box" and stamped some 'Build-a-Bear' images from the coordinating stamp set to make note cards that the children can colour in and use.
The 'Build-a-Bear products are just so beary cute!!