Last minute X-mas stuff...

Hello again everyone!

2012 is drawing to a close very soon and I figured I'd better post the Christmas productions before the year ends.

Sorry it is of not much help to those who needed these ideas a couple of weeks earlier!

Just a simple tag and a card. The wine tag uses the same technique as in the previous post with embossed image and blended inking in the background!

A close up image...

And a very simple Christmas card using Mat Stacks negative die cuts and kraft inked background images. I tried with a snowflake image as well and looked even better!

Anyway, a very quick post today.

Happy New Year everyone! :)

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

{Snowman Wine Tag}

STAMP: [PTI] Background Basics: Sheet Music, Winter Snow Globe

INK: [Adirondack] Pitch Black; [VersaFine] Onyx Black; [Versamark] Watermark ink pad

PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White

OTHER: [PTI] Grosgrain ribbon (Hawaiian Shores), Winter Snow Globe die collection, Tag Sales #5; [SU!] Embossing Powder (white); foam tape; [Copic] Sketch Markers (Y35, 0, T1)

{Peace, Love & Joy}

STAMP: [PTI] Stocking Prints, Happiest of Holidays

INK: [PTI] Kraft, Dark Chocolate

PAPER: [PTI] Kraft

OTHER: [PTI] Mat Stack #5 die; foam tape

Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

It has been far too long since my last post! My apologies for lack of updates. Life is busier than expected now that I've started being a real adult (aka started working!).

I did manage to whip out a few cards every now and then.

But tomorrow is Christmas in NZ (only 2 hrs to go!) and it just so happens to be my grandmother's birthday too. So I had to do the annual honours of making her birthday card.

I decided that I had to move away from the whole Christmas theme because I think I've done it before and it's her birthday we are celebrating, not somebody else's! ;)

So... I had this light bulb moment with this card using white base and white embossing powder for background and smudging several colours across with the Tim Holtz blending tool. It worked surprisingly well, especially with that scrap vellum I had lying around! All in all I am very pleased with the result :)

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Enjoy the silly season.

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Friends 'Til the End, Over Under Easy

INK: [PTI] Summer Sunrise, Orange Zest, Berry Sorbet; [Versamark] Watermark Ink Pad
PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White; Vellum
OTHER: [SU!] Heat Embossing Powder (white); [Filigree] Heat Embossing Powder (black); [Tim Holtz] Inkssentials Blending Tool

Sorry for lack of update

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well!

Apologies for lack of update these days. Work has been chewing through my life then weekends got taken up by camp and graduation (yes! graduated at last!). And there was a reason why doctors get paid well lol

Anyway I hope to get more crafty when time allows. Sorry things haven't been particularly exciting on my blog lately!

Hope all the Christmas preps are going well!

Euna

Assorted Colours Christmas Cards

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all getting cracking with the annual Christmas card-making madness! I am beginning to get a little tired trying to make new things all the time so I decided to do a set of Christmas card in assorted colours!

It's a reasonably simple card and can easily be mass-produced. It certainly is not a traditional sort of card, but it works for people down South where Christmas sits in the middle of summer.

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 1 goes perfectly with the new Papertrey Ink Over Under Easy set and make a nice focal point. I just added a bit of bow to the mat and also stamped it with coordinating inks in the background.

This could easily be sold as a set or gifted as one. The Over Under Easy set has lots of other sentiments so could easily be used for other occasions too!

Anyway, hope you liked these. Will try and post more cards later.

PS - I have officially become a doctor! Eek! First day at work tomorrow!!!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Over Under Easy: Holiday Additions, Background Basics: Sheet Music

INK: [PTI] Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf, Royal Velvet, Summer Sunrise; [SU!] Melon Mambo; [VersaFine] Onyx Black

PAPER: [PTI] Stampers' Select White, Hawaiian Shores, New Leaf, Royal Velvet, Raspberry Fizz, Summer Sunrise

OTHER: [PTI] grosgrain ribbon (Lemon Tart, New Leaf), satin ribbon (Aqua Mist, Royal Velvet), saddlestitch ribbon (Raspberry Fizz); [Spellbinders] Nestabilities: Labels 1; foam tape

Moved in!

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a fab weekend. I've spent the last weekend moving houses and now I can officially say I've moved out of home.

Things have settled down in my new place (with one other flatmate) and I can now proudly say that I have a giant desk the size of a single bed for all my crafting goodies. It is a nice change having all those cardstock sitting on the table.

Remind me to show you all a photo later sometime...

Anyway, I have one card to share today (because I'm savouring the others for later). I was just told by a friend yesterday that she was getting married in January. She hadn't even told me she was engaged! Given that I have known both bride and the groom since beginning of high school, going back 11 years, I thought I'd better make them a special card. Especially knowing that they did a simple email wedding invites (if they had told me sooner, I could have made handmade ones!!!).

Note the new card background. No longer on my bed! Well, I might still if I get sick of moving downstairs for photos. Haha.

This card is hot off the press. And I thought I'd stick with the hexagons since I'm having so much fun with it. I used the sentiments from Love & Marriage set and heat embossed it in gold. Butterfly die cut was smudged with 3 different inks using the Tim Holtz Blending Tool and then sprayed with a bit of mist.

So that's it from me. Hope you all liked the card. Now I'd better get back into Christmas cards!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Happy Hexagons, Love & Marriage
INK: [PTI] Berry Sorbet, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise; [Versamark] Watermark ink pad
PAPER: [PTI] Rustic Cream, Stamper's Select White

OTHER: [PTI] Cover Plate: Hexagons, Half & Half die collection, Beautiful Butterflies die collection; [Tim Holtz] Blending Tool; [Filigree] embossing powder (gold); foam tape

Happy Hexagons are here!

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd better post today before things get too hectic. I have an exam tomorrow (and I am going to flunk it!) and then moving houses this weekend so won't have much time to post I suspect.

My PTI order finally arrived yesterday and unfortunately I couldn't get my hands off it! I had been eyeing the hexagon and harlequin cover plates for some time now and had to nab them when they were both in stock.

They were definitely fun to play with but require a fair bit of patience as it does take time to stamp and assemble them! But the results are rather striking even when you didn't think through colours. I am aware that Nichole Heady has some formulas or layout to make them look nice with the number of pieces needed for each colour. However, being me, I couldn't be bothered and I just went with random placements which still worked perfectly fine.

So I made two cards yesterday instead of doing some studies (seeing as it won't affect whether I graduate or not, and you all know the temptation when you get your hands on somethine new after 6 months of nothing!).

Now, the hexagons or the colours have nothing to do with Christmas, but I figured I may as well use the new Christmas stamp sets too. Whoever receives these can be baffled at my designs ;)

I used some Royal Velvet here because it's not a colour I use very often and it went with the new ink I got (Royal Velvet, Smokey Shadow and Winter Wisteria).

Next up is a bit more cheery and more fitted to our New Zealand summer Christmas. Still doesn't look anything like a Christmas card, but hey, it's handmade! ;)

 So there it is from me. I'd better do some work just to make myself feel better. Why I agreed to take part in the exam I do not know (since I did have a choice whether to sit it or not!!!). Anyway, wish me luck in moving around all my junk to the new house and I am very much looking forward to a new corner desk which will now be set up primarily for crafting purposes (seeing as I won't be getting much homework to do once work starts!).

Thanks for coming around :)

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

{Sending Best Wishes for a Happy Holiday}

STAMP: [PTI] Happy Hexagons, Over Under Easy: Holiday Additions

INK: [PTI] Royal Velvet, Smokey Shadow, Simply Chartreuse, New Leaf, Winter Wisteria, Autumn Rose

PAPER: [PTI] Royal Velvet, Rustic Cream

OTHER: [PTI] Mat Stack 4 die, satin ribbon (Royal Velvet), Cover Plate: Hexagon die; foam tape

{Wishing You a Cozy Holiday Season}

STAMP: [PTI] Happy Hexagons, Happiest of Holidays

INK: [PTI] Berry Sorbet, Dark Chocolate, Summer Sunrise, New Leaf, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores; [SU!] Daffodil Delight

PAPER: [PTI] Summer Sunrise, Stamper's Select Delight, Vintage Cream

OTHER: [PTI] Cover Plate: Hexagon die, Tag Sales 5 die

Merry Christmas Santa Claus

Just a quick post today (I'm sure I've said this numerous times before too), and I am definitely running out of titles to use for my posts as the number of holiday cards increase. 

I made a card last night using the Tremendous Treats: Christmas stamp set. I have to admit I really struggle to use this set. When I first got the Tiny Treats set, I knew I wanted images to be bigger, but after the Tremendous Treats was release, I just could not figure out how to use them.

Well, as with any crafter, Google Image is your best friend ;) I quickly Googled for some ideas and I give all credits of designing this card to Shelly, because I practically cased her card out of desperation!

The design is more or less the same, but I can't say "Warm Wishes" in New Zealand seeing as it's the middle of Summer here in December. So a quick change-over to my favourite Santa Claus did the trick.

I have to admit that the PTI Kraft ink works and looks so much better on Kraft cardstock. Versamark used to leave very very subtle impressions unless you heat embossed it, but the Kraft ink is just perfect for the background imaging as it is not too bold or subtle.

Anyway, that's it from me today. Thanks for coming around!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Tremendous Treats: Christmas, Tiny Tags II

INK: [PTI] Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Vintage Touch: Tea Dye Duo; [Adirondack] Pitch Black

PAPER: [PTI] Rustic Cream, Kraft, Pure Poppy

OTHER: [PTI] Tiny Tags die collection; [Spellbinder] Nestabilities Labels 1 die collection; [Copic] Sketch Markers (T1, E00, E21, E13, R24, R29, R59, Y32, Y35, Y38); baker's twine (red)

Stocking Up for Christmas

Hello again! I've been trying to get into my Christmas cards early this year as work starts end of November, I need to move houses before then and then there's graduation on top early December!

So another couple of cards from me. I finally got around to using the Stocking Prints stamp set I bought earlier this year :D

And who said stockings couldn't make a background stamp? I thought I'd go with more traditional colours this time given I couldn't think up any fresh ideas to go with my favourite pastels. Besides, stockings should be red and green, don't you think? ;)

 Another simple card. I added some additional touches with the Vintage Touch Duo inks around the edges of the cardstock and it is amazing just how much it adds to a boring cardstock.

Anyway that's it from me today. Hope you enjoyed them and hope all your Christmas cardmaking plans are getting started! Happy Halloween by the way!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

{Deck the Halls}

STAMP: [PTI] Stocking Prints
INK: [PTI] Dark Chocolate, Vintage Touch: Tea Dye Duo; [SU!] Old Olive, Real Red
PAPER: [PTI] Pure Poppy, Rustic Cream
OTHER: [PTI] Grosgrain ribbon (Pure Popppy), Limitless Layers: 2.25" Oval die collection

{'Tis the Season}

STAMP: [PTI] Stocking Prints
INK: [PTI] Dark Chocolate, Vintage Touch: Tea Dye Duo; [SU!] Old Olive, Real Red 

PAPER: [PTI] Pure Poppy, Rustic Cream

 OTHER: [PTI] Stocking Prints die collection; foam tape

Christmas is in the Air

Hi everyone! I have to say thank you for all the lovely comments on my PTI Blog Hop card the other day. Really made my day (and yes, I loved the card so much, I made another one and intend on trying more colours!) ;)

I thought seeing as Christmas is a couple of months away, I should get cracking with the annual mission. I suspect I will be busy one work starts end of November.

My challenge is to make different cards from last year - not an easy one when your stamping mojo is still lost somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and you haven't got a single new Christmas stamp (well, there are a couple on the way!) - but it's a challenge for that reason. I didn't want to send out same cards to people as last year, and I try to make different cards for most people.

Since I kept you all waiting whilst I was enjoying the tropical sunshine in Aitutaki, Cook Islands for 9 weeks, I thought I'd throw in a couple of cards today. I do have another but intend to share another day just to keep the flow steady.

First card is reasonably simple. I am having a horrendously difficult time coming up with new ideas for the Damask Snowflake dies. I used it so much last year, I think I may have depleted of new ideas for this year!

 Next one is another simple one using the In the Meadow set. It looks awfully a lot like other cards I made using it in the past, but it looks great with white cardstock and a bit of shimmer mist!

Thanks for coming and I will have more cards to share soon :)

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

{Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men}

STAMP: [PTI] Wonderful Words: Holiday

INK: [StazOn] Jet Black
PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White, Aqua Mist, Hawaiiam Shores

OTHER: [PTI] Damask Snowflakes die collection, Wonderful Words: Holiday die collection; Tin Types impression plate, grosgrain ribbon (Fresh Snow); [Studio Calico] Mister Huey's Color Mist (Calico Shine)

{Good Tidings to You and Yours}

STAMP: [PTI] In the Meadow

INK: [PTI] Dark Chocolate; [SU!] Old Olive
PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White

OTHER: [PTI] In the Meadow die collection; In the Meadow Silhouettes die collection;
[Studio Calico] Mister Huey's Color Mist (Calico Shine)

PTI Blog Hop [Oct 2012]

Hello everyone,

I thought I was a little too late to make something for the blog hop, but it looks like it hasn't even started yet! Woohoo for time being so ahead in New Zealand. I very very quickly made something whilst the idea was still floating around my head.

Anyway, this month's blog hop theme was non-traditional Christmas colours...

So I chose the above color scheme for my card. I was going to use another initially, but then decided I needed something a bit brighter. After all, it is Christmas we are talking about.

Basically, all I did was get strips of cardstock of the above colour scheme and glued them on the white card base. Then I overlayed it with an impressed and die cut mat with a bit of foam tape. Just to go along with the colours, I stamped the remainder of the sentiment with multiple colours.

Here's another view... because I feel like it. Haha.

 A reasonably CAS card because of all the white spaces but has enough on it I think. I did put a wee holly die cut in the corner for finishing touches.

Thanks for coming by :) Hope you liked my take on the challenge.

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Wonderful Words: Holiday

INK: [PTI] Summer Sunrise, Berry Sorbet, Spring Moss; [SU!] Daffodil Delight

PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White, Lemon Tart, Spring Moss, Berry Sorbet, Melon Berry

OTHER: [PTI] Holly Jolly die collection, Wonderful Words: Holiday die collection, Woodgrain impression plate; [Kaiser Craft] rhinestones

CAS75: Over the Edge

Whoop. Two posts in one day. Something must be heading in the right direction in terms of my stamping inspirations.

I hadn't even thought about tackling challenges yet, but something just sparked when I saw the challenge for this week. So here goes my clean and simple card for CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #75. This time, we are meant to make a card that has an element going over the edge...

So... a very simple card from me, because I cannot be stuffed and it fits in with CAS! I used Friends 'Til the End set and let it go over the edge of the card at the bottom and to the left. I actually snipped off about a centimetre or so at the bottom and to the left so it stands evenly with the back of the card.

Thanks for coming around! Will have more cards up soon :)

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

Stamp: [PTI] Friends 'Til the End

Ink: [PTI] Dark Chocolate, Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise; [Adirondack] Ginger

Paper: [PTI] Rustic Cream

Other: [PTI] Friends 'Til the End die collection; foam tape; [We R Memory Keepers] Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (aqua); [Tim Holtz] Ink blending tool

Easing back into crafting

So it's a weird feeling seeing your Cuttlebug again after 9 weeks of crafting-deprivation. I seriously hoped the ink pads would still be functional and I am proud to say they are still working (at least the ones I've tried!).

Anyway, my stamping mojo hasn't quite made it back from Aitutaki, so leading up to the blog hop in a few days, I decided I needed to do something very simple. As a result, I ended up making a card for a friend who has her big exams in a weeks time. Except, I pretty much copied a card I made previously, just in different colours. But anyway, it's a start...

As an added hidden detail, the bow has double tails. I did this by cutting off a length of ribbon and tying a bow around something small (e.g. lipstick) then pulling the bow out and cutting the "ring" created by forming the bow around the object. Trim the tails to lengths you want ;)

Anyway, simple as I warned you. But hopefully this will kick me into crafty mode before it gets too busy to even make Christmas cards! I hope to join everyone in the Blog Hop this week so wish me luck in getting crafty!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

Stamp: [PTI] Cupcake Collection; [My Cute Stamps] Little Cupcake

Ink: [PTI] Hawaiian Shores; [Adirondack] Pitch Black

Paper: [PTI] Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist

Other: [PTI] Spiral Notepad die, grosgrain ribbon (Hawaiian Shores), Diamonds impression plate; [Copic] Sketch Markers (BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18, E00, E21, E13, 0) ; [We R Memory Keepers] Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (aqua)

Back in New Zealand!

Hi everyone,

I'm back in New Zealand a little earlier than initially planned (1st November) from Aitutaki after having had a scooter accident and receiving a wound that would have been better dealt with at home. Wound is slowly getting better for those worried. It is being followed up by Orthopaedics at the hospital, so if anything goes wrong, at least I am in the right place for it.

On the bright side, you now get me back in the crafty world and hopefully I will get my crafty mojo back soon. It will be quite busy over the next few weeks as I try to find a new place to live (moving out of home at last), try and study for one little exam in early November (it's one I'm allowed to fail!), write my elective report and get my life back together before work starts on 22nd November!

I did make a new purchase on PTI the other day, so hopefully that will get me kick-started on my Christmas cards as it is approaching FAST.

A little teaser on the photos that will be up on the other blog... ;)

My elective blog, Asian on Aitutaki, will also continue to be updated for those who want to hear stories and see some awesome photos of a tropical paradise.

Thanks for your patience and I will be back in a tick! :)

Less than 48 hours!

Hi everyone,

I'm flying out in less than 48 hours. It is unlikely that I will be making many updates during the three months I am in Aitutaki (Cook Islands). I have set up a new blog (more aimed at giving information to other med students keen to have their Elective there), which you are welcome to pop by and say hi, and see what I am up to.

Elective Blog: The Asian on Aitutaki

I can't possibly pack my cardmaking things over there (since it's going to be 50kg easy on its own!), so no cards from me for a while. But I can certainly share photos of coconuts instead ;)

Last day of med school tomorrow (well, sort of since Elective does not quite count).

One last assessment tomorrow (sort of).

And when I'm back, I'll be starting work as a doctor within 2 weeks! Eeeek!

Take care everyone. I'll be back ;)

Announcement

***I got a job offer for next year! YAY!***

Quick post

I almost forgot to post this card. I've got one week left before flying out to Aitutaki and figured I'd better post this before it was too late. This is quite possibly the last card you'll see from be before I return in November, seeing as next week will be hectic. I find out where I work next year on Monday, have an essay due in Wednesday, oral assessment Friday, somewhere in between pack my bag and fly out on Saturday morning!

I have made a new blog just for my Elective in Aitutaki (Cook Islands) so if anyone is keen to see what I'm up to, feel free to pop by and say hi. I have to say internet there is somewhat limited but present. It's a blog mainly for other medical students who might be keen for some info seeing as there isn't much out there (other than honeymoon & holiday planning stuff).

http://asianonaitutaki.blogspot.co.nz/

Anyway, quick card from me. Another grad card for end of the year. Impression plated the mat, but not sure if it shows well with the auto-adjustment by the new camera.

This is from my new camera by the way. Can't say I'm overly excited about the quality but it's still better than the old one. It will do me for the trip, but next year, I'm investing in a proper dSLR!!!

This is likely to be my last post before my trip so I wish everyone well whilst I'm in the beautiful Cook Islands / having the time of my life. Take care everyone. Will be in touch via other blog. Ka kite.

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] For the Grad
INK: [Versafine] Onyx Black; [Versamark] Watermark stamp pad

PAPER: [PTI] Autumn Rose, Vintage Cream

OTHER: [PTI] Satin ribbon (Autumn rose), Woodgrain impression plate; [We R Memory Keepers] Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (aqua); [Filigree] Embossing powder (clear)

Alex & Kevin's Wedding Invites

Hello!

I had another graduation card to share, but I just realised I still hadn't shared those wedding invites I did for my good friends, Alex & Kevin earlier this year!

It was an absolute pleasure being their "invites consultant" (haha), and it turned out rather nicely. And it was a great team effort to get it all done before Alex dashed off to Europe on her Elective. I just hope they don't mind me posting the invites here... because

So... Alex is a very blues girl. She loves anything blue. And it's not surprising that her bridesmaids will be wearing blue dresses on the big day, and her shoes are royal blue too. And surprise surprise, the wedding invites had to have blue too. They were rather keen to have their engagement shoot photo in there somewhere so that made it rather tricky coming up with ideas.

Somewhere along the track, I had one of those 'lightbulb moments' and thought, "Hey! We can have a blue frame with your photo inside!" Well, it worked and here is the after-product. It's quite simple, but does the job. Alex and Kevin both liked it, and that's a really sweet photo from their engagement shoot (had to blur out their faces... just in case).

 

  

By the way, it was my birthday yesterday, and (as requested) I got a new camera for it from my parents ;) Not a fancy dSLR as I had been eyeing up for the past 5 years, but something that will do the job for my trip to the Cook Islands soon. I had to test it out to see how it was in the room lighting, because the old camera (the cr** one) took horrible photos with semi-reasonable lighting. I'm satisfied with the quality for a super-compact camera, and it's still better than that old one we have.

We, together, made 100 of these all by hand. I had the Embellishment die cut and the frame all stamped and heat embossed (believe me, it was a big job) whilst I was living in the dungeon room out in Timaru Hospital (because I had nothing better to do there!). I probably inhaled half the embossing powder and will get some lung disease 50 years later, but hey, it made the job so much easier on the day. The three of us literally sat around the table and punched out wedding invites like some Asian Sweat Shop. Lol.

Btw, that photo was printed straight onto the PTI cardstock on a laser printer. Kevin did an awesome job aligning them on A4 paper to get it bang in the middle and two on the same cardstock too!

So, something a little different this time round. Hope you all enjoyed the post. Thanks for coming by!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Embellishments, Damask Designs
INK: [Versamark] Watermark Stamp Pad; [SU!] Not Quite Navy

PAPER: [PTI] Vintage Cream, Enchanted Evening
OTHER: [PTI] Mat Stack #5 die, Embellishments die collection; [Filigree] Embossing Powder (clear); Foam tape (lots of them lol)

Still Ticking Along

Hi everyone! Sorry for lack of updates. My stamping mojo is slowly returning. Unfortunately, I only have 3 weeks left before I take off to the Cook Islands, which means a long time without my crafting tools.

Anyway, I managed to make a couple more graduation cards, so here they are.

It's surprisingly hard trying to make cards with the same graduation set over and over again. I totally wish I had another one, but haven't managed to find another set I like.

Anyway, I'm out for a walk soon, so got to go.

Thanks for coming around!

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

{Graduated Sentiments}

STAMP: [PTI] For the Grad

INK: [VersaFine] Onyx Black

PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy
OTHER: [PTI] Woodgrain impression plate

{Navy Woodgrain Grad Card}

STAMP: [PTI] For the Grad

INK: [VersaFine] Onyx Black; [SU!] Not Quite Navy

PAPER: [PTI] Vintage Cream, Enchanted Evening
OTHER: [PTI] Mat Stack #1 die, Woodgrain impression plate; [KaiserCraft] Rhinestones; [We R Memory Keepers] Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper (aqua)

A card at last!

Hello everyone. It has been an awful long time since my last proper card post.

Things have been busy here with my last stretch of my degree in sight. I am chasing around ENT surgeons by day and organising my Cook Islands elective by night! I just bought my flights the other day and it's exciting and daunting all at the same time. I've never done any real travel in my life, unless you count immigration as travel.

Anyway, I only have 5 week left before I head off and the clock is ticking for me to get organised. I have set up a new mini blog for my elective so when I get time, I get to give everyone updates on what I'm up to.

So... card time right? About time! Sorry for all this wait!

I've decided that my stamping/crafting mojo has gone on a holiday of its own and that it isn't coming back any time soon, so I've made myself a project to get started. Seeing as I am graduating this year, lots of my friends are too! I thought I'd make as many graduation cards as possible before I head off. So far... only one. It took me about a week of saying "I will stamp tonight" before I even got out a piece of cardstock.

It's a simple card. I used blue and yellow to represent Otago University colours. And why chevrons? Because I just bought it off Laura on PTI forums haha.

It seems that taking photos in the evening without adequate ambient light + a smartphone gives you that slightly grainier look (i.e. poorer quality) + yellow hue. It's still better than the so-called proper camera in my house. I am planning on buying a point-and-shoot camera soon (just because my grand plans of buying a dSLR this year fell through when I bought a car instead!) so hopefully it will do a better job.

Thanks for all the wait. I hope to bring you more shortly. If someone sees my stamping mojo on holiday in America or elsewhere, please tell it to get back to NZ quick because I need it.

PS - That card I mentioned a while back finally got published in PaperCrafts Stamp It! Vol. 9 a couple of weeks ago. It is truely exciting to see it standing tall and proud, and right next to Betsy Veldman's! ;)

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Chevron Stripes, For the Graduate

INK: [PTI] Hawaiian Shores, Summer Sunrise; [Adirondack] Earthtones Pitch Black dye ink

PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White

Just remembered

Hi everyone. Sorry to keep you all waiting for something new!

I just remembered I had 'rejected' cards from PaperCrafts that I could have shared with you all. Well, technically just one, because I resubmitted the other one :P

I am totally knackered today. Not sure why but it's not a good sign given I'm on call tomorrow! 

This was submitted for the Nov/Dec issue I think. They were after something clean and classy (something along that line) so I went with the less is better option.

A simple window with embossed images worked rather nicely, except that the plastic warped under the heat. Not sure if I will bother trying again later lol

 

Anyway, sorry for a short post. I might feel like making a card tonight before bed seeing as I'm not in the mood for cover letters (I've done the two that were the important ones - still deciding how much effort I want to put in the remaining 4-5. They are optional to be honest but better to give myself more chance than not).

 

Thanks for coming around!

 

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

STAMP: [PTI] Stocking Prints; [SU!] Snow Swirled

INK: Versamark

PAPER: [PTI] Stamper's Select White

OTHER: [PTI] Stamp plastic packaging; [Filigree] embossing powder (white, silver); [KaiserCraft] rhinestones (silver)

No card still... but

Sorry! Still no card!

I'm on call again tomorrow and I'm just knackered when I'm back home these days. And I still have a few cover letters to pump out which I am forever denying the need to (until last minute!).

I just thought I'd share something that arrived in the mail yesterday!

It looks like that card I submitted to PaperCrafts in January and got accepted did make it to the States in one piece! This is rather exciting getting paid for something made for a hobby! So a quick shot of proof. I am dying to see what magic the photographers did to the card in the mag! ;)

And... did I mention we got snowed in last week?

I mean, really snowed in. Okay, maybe this is nothing compared to Canada in winter, but in my 15 years in New Zealand, we've only been snowed properly like this a handful of times. And I don't ever recall it snowing in June either! Usually we get a random decent fall in August/September (Spring) when we do get them.

It literally started snowing as I left home for hospital at 7.30am and just snowed and snowed all day!

This shot's one that made its way to our weather forecast website, MetService. It just got picked as the photo of the week! Well really, in all honesty, I think there were only about 3 photos submitted last week. It was more of a fun thing to submit than anything. No prizes for getting it picked either. I do reckon I should have sent it to TVNZ, then if it did get picked, then our famous weatherman, Jim Hickey, would have had to have a crack at saying my name right! Haha. 

Oh, I forgot to say what the photo was of. This is the Christchurch Botanic Garden looking down from 4th floor of Christchurch Public Hospital (technically the temporary student common room).

 

The funny thing is that literally every student who turned up to school last Wednesday took a photo of this exact same scene on their phones. I've already seen 3 different, yet the same versions on Facebook! However, I'm now copyrighted since I submitted this photo first lol

Sorry for keeping you all waiting for new cards. I'm sure if I dug around, there might be a couple of cards that I forgot to upload. I still have to upload all the other images that got lost when I got my new phone too. I'll get there eventually.

Have a great week!

Sorry for lack of update

Looks like I've gotten some people worried with my lack of updates!

Things have been ok. I've just moved onto a busy run so have less time for crafting. Not to mention I have a stack of cover letters and CVs to do for job applications for end of year (they are all due at the end of June!!!). Not exactly exciting things to be doing!

My Cuttlebug hasn't seen much love from me lately either and hopefully I can pump out a few cards later, but it appears that my motivation has gone down again after having made ~25 cards in a rush for Steph.

So, my apologies for lack of updates and still having half the blog images not uploaded (which is terrible of me). I will be back... eventually! Ta!

Emergency Blog Update

It appears that when I got my new Samsung Galaxy Note and accidentally synced it with my Google account (only or me to delete photos back off the phone), it wiped off all the photos from this blog that was stored on Picasa.

I am trying my best to re-upload the photos, but may take a while!

Thanks for understanding.