New home

It was time for a change so I now have a new home on the web. Come and visit me here: Lee-Anne's Stamping Spot

Lots of things to share

Okay, I hope you can all forgive me for not posting in a few weeks. I have been very busy creating and have lots of goodies to share with you. It has also been school holidays, which can be a fun juggle when working. That balance between work and spending time with the kids is often hard to find. But, because we live in such a great new estate, I've been pretty lucky, as the few days off I have had Josh has been happily playing outside with his new friends, which means one good thing for me :) Time to create during the day and time for the family at night.

I finally had a bit of a day with the girls in my team, plus a few of my very good friends. Since I've moved into the new house and started work five days a week, I've been a bit slack. It has been ages since we all caught up, so....I really wanted this day to be special. I treated them to a yummy afternoon tea and some fun make and takes, which I can now share with you.

These are the projects we created on the day. The little boxes are mini pizza boxes and they are so cute. The little 3 x 3 love notes fit perfectly inside. The girls could either make the blue or the orange one. I think the cherries were a favourite, but personally I like both. My main motivation for creating these was to use the Tart and Tangy set, plus matching Designer Paper. I had bought both and kept looking at them, wondering what on earth to do. Inspiration was not hitting me at all......until I saw these oh so cute pizza boxes. They are so easy to make and the cards just kind of came together after that. Remember this stamp set and matching paper are only available in the mini catalogue, which ends at the end of November.

The other project was the Christmas card with matching treat holder. Inside this little holder is a Twix bar. Again, so easy.....but so darn cute. I think these will make a great gift for some of the teachers at Joshua's school and one of the girls suggested you could have them available for last minute guests during the Christmas season. I've used the Wintergreen designer paper and then based the rest of my colours around that. Isn't it great how Stampin' Up! does the colour matching for you? All of the designer papers have co-ordinating colours, making it sooooo easy to create something lovely.

And this box is the little gift I made for the ladies. Again, so easy to make....I got my inspiration from Confessions of a Ribbon Addict. She is a very clever lady and came up with design herself and was kind enough to share. I've used the Apple Cider Designer paper, plus the True Friend stamp set. These measure about 11.5cm high and 6.5cm wide, so they're not very big, just the right size for a few little treats. They would make great party or even wedding favours. There was enough of the Wild Wasabi cardstock left over to create the matching love note card. I didn't give these to the girls, but did make six of them, plus a matching box I will share with you next time.

I still have so much to share, but at least you can see that I have been busy girl. I actually feel like I may have my mojo back, which is fantastic, as I was feeling sad that I had lost it. After all, I have this amazing room to create in and I wasn't even using it. Too sad for words. But, things are about to change.

Stay tuned :)

Cupcakes and chocolate, yum, yum!!

So, last night I did still manage to make one more card with the same colour combinations and stamp set. I promise you I will try to move on to something new if I get a chance to stamp today. Isn't it amazing though, how many looks you can create with the same products. It's also a great way not to waste anything, as you are using up all the scraps of paper. This card was also based on a sketch, this time from Mojo Monday Week #53.

Hope you like.....see you soon.

More birthday cupcakes

I am so lucky to have had a very relaxing day and I have managed to make another card to share with you. This is based on another sketch, this time from Mojo Monday Week #48. This sketch gave me a good excuse to get out my new nestabilities, which are an awesome product to have if you love your card-making. I've also used the same colours and DS papers as in the previous post, but came up with a very different card.

The cupcake is another in the Birthday Cupcake set from Inkadinkadoo, the DS paper is Berry Bliss from SU, all cardstock and ink is from SU and the birthday sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. This is from one of their very first sets....Paper Tray.

Hopefully I might get the chance to play a bit more tonight, maybe with another sketch. Sometimes it's a bit hard to choose what to do, as I love relaxing in so many different ways. I love books and have a few good ones out from the library at the moment, not too mention a book case full of some I haven't read. I also love movies and some of the series on tv at the moment. I never get a chance to watch tv, but we often buy the boxed sets of dvd's when they come down in price, so I can catch up that way. At the moment I am a big NCIS fan, and am now up to Season 4. They're still a bit too expensive to buy, so I'm holding out at the moment for what happens next.

So, tonight, I need to decide what I'm going to do after dinner. Stamp some more, start a new book or just go to bed early. I've had a week off work, so need to be fully refreshed for the week ahead, as I know I will have a lot to catch up on.

I'll let you know tomorrow what I chose. Take care.....talk soon.

You're so sweet

I have always loved Taylor's Cupcakes and the challenges she gives with them. Ever since seeing one of her cards made with this very cute set, I have wanted to buy it. It has taken some time, but thanks to Cherie at Scrapbook Secrets I now have my hands on the Birthday Cupcake set from Inkadinkadoo. Isn't it cute??

I thought I might actually have a go at one of the sketches on SCS. It has been a long time since I have participated in one of these. Out came the patterned paper, I seem to be using it all the time, can't help it, I just love it. I really love this Berry Bliss paper, it was one of the first ones I bought. Who can resist the colour combination of pretty in pink and close to cocoa.

I've stamped up the three cupcake image in basic brown and then stamped it again on the three patterned paper to create the cupcake holders. The frosting is coloured with a Cherry white Copic marker and then glittered with Stickles. I turned the sketch sideways to create the background with the patterend papers, layered the image onto my two colours, then pierced around one of the layers. The card is finished off with some sheer polka dot ribbon and the sentiment stamped in chocolate chip ink at the bottom. I've also sponged most of the edges with Chocolate Chip ink. This really helps to highlight each piece.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope to play a bit more today, so should have some more to show you soon.

Walking the track

I just quickly wanted to tell you all about my step-dad and the amazing journey he is undertaking. He is walking from Kalamunda to Albany along the famous Bibbulmun track. He left on Wednesday morning and will reach Albany in about two months. What an inspiration, 70 years old and putting me to shame in the fitness stakes. You can read all about his journey here.

I wanted to give him something special, so made up this teabag holder, something the lovely Makeesha came up with. Thanks Keesh, it is a fantastic idea. I've used Papertrey Ink stamps for this as I love the Everyday Blessings set I have. I then placed two photo's on the inside, one of Mike and I and the other of the kids. This is probably not practical for the walk, so he may have left it at home, but I did tell him it didn't matter if it got squashed, I'd make a new one when he got home. I still needed to put the teabags in the envelopes, however I didn't have any of the nice ones in packets, so had to go shopping. Any excuse :) You can see what it should look like finished here.

These make fantastic gifts and I plan to make a few more of them. They are so easy to do.

Have a great day.....talk soon.

Swap cards from Regionals

As promised, here are the swap cards I made for the SU regionals, held last Saturday. I ended up with four designs and made five of each. I'm not too sure which one is my favourite, but I did have a lot of fun making them. It's the first time I've had a serious stamp session for a while.

This card was made using the Wanted stamp set. I stamped the image two times in Blue Bayou and then once in Pumpkin Pie. I then used the scallop punch to punch out the whole image in Blue Bayou. Then it was the 1 3/8" circle punch to punch out the inner circle, then the last blue bayou piece with the 1 1/"4 circle punch. This gives the effect you can see above, with just a hint of pumpkin pie showing on the image. I finished off the image with a jumbo eyelet in antique brass. I've used the Spring Break papers as the background on the card and sponged around the edges with pumpkin pie ink. Adding a small strip of blue bayou and old olive finished it off nicely. Then I've used the sentiment from It's your Birthday to fill in the gap at the bottom. You could change the sentiment to suit the occasion. I thought this would be a great card for teenage boys, they're often the hard ones to make things for.

Okay, I have to admit....I love this card. I love the colours, the design and will probably make a few more of these for my own Christmas cards this year. This uses all new sets from the spring mini catalogue, Sweet Serendipity and True Friend. The Holiday Harmony double sided papers are also from the spring mini. The colours are so beautiful, they are so much better in real life. Sometimes it's hard to make that first cut into your papers, but trust me, it's worth it. I seem to use so many of them in my cards these days, they make a great background.

To make this card just choose three papers and cut them down to 7 x 4.5 cm. These then fit onto the purely pomegranate piece which is 14.8 x 7.5cm. Once you have these taped together you place the piece of double stitched pomegranate ribbon around the card as seen above. This finished piece then gets taped onto a piece of river rock cardstock, measuring 14.8 x 8cm. The whole piece then gets placed on A5 folded Always Artichoke cardstock.

The image is made using the large flower from True Friend, stamping that in Purely Pomegranate ink. I've then stamped the circle flower in always artichoke and then used the small flower from Sweet Serendipity to place on top of that. The large flower is cut out by hand, the other two images are punched out using the 1 1/4" circle punch and the 3/4" circle punch. To finish off stamp the sentiment from Sweet Serendipity on the bottom right hand side of the some very vanilla card, layer onto always artichoke and then attach stamped image. Adhere to card.

These are the last two designs. I've run out of time to share instructions for these ones, however you can email me if you would like them.

Hope you've enjoyed these....have a great day.

See you soon....

Some photo's to share

Okay, I know....it's been a while again and I have no excuse, except to say that I am very busy and I think this is probably how it's going to be. I don't seem to find much time to make cards lately, the intention is there, but by the end of the day the inspiration has gone. I am hoping I might find a bit of mojo at the SU regionals this weekend. I can't wait to go and spend the day stamping, meeting other demonstrators and talking Stampin Up for most of the day. It should be a great day.....Oh, I did find enough mojo to make some swaps, so I'll share them with you once the SU day is over.

In the meantime you will just have to put up with some photo's of the family. We went to Rottnest this weekend....my first time ever would you believe. Here I am, 36 years old and never been to a place all tourists go to when they come here. It was a bit of a disaster of a day, thanks to an online booking system not working properly, but I did get some great photo's. I love the one of me and the kids as I don't get many of them, it's always me behind the camera ....... I also love the one of Danni and Josh. It is such a candid shot. I can't wait to scrapbook them :)

Check out the peacock on the tree branch. I have never ever seen that before and have to wonder how on earth it got up there. Do peacocks fly? I was really hoping for the full on spread of wings, but that never happened. Still, this shot was pretty amazing.

Then, of course, there is also my beautiful niece. She is growing up so fast and is such a delight. She coos and smiles and tries to laugh and I just love her so much. My sister has moved into her brand new house now, so they are just five minutes away. How lucky am I? The best thing about it is we have such a great relationship, she really does feel like a good friend now and I'm really enjoying the fact she is now a mum and no longer working. It's just a shame that I am now the one working, but I do work school hours, so there is still some time available in the day.

Well, sorry it hasn't been any cards or inspiration for any of you. I will try to do better next time. So far I have three designs for my swap cards, so that's at least three cards I can show you and I am trying to work on two more before Saturday.

Talk soon.....

Sassy stems

This card was a bit of a challenge to myself. I never use Almost Amethyst, in fact I hardly ever use any of the purple colours. As I had one of the small pads of designer paper I thought it was time I pulled out this colour and tried to work with it. This card has lots of layers, and uses both the certainly celery and almost amethyst designer paper. I've always loved Sassy stems and thought that would work well with what I wanted to do.

Stamp sets: Sassy stems, Circle of Friendship

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery and Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Almost Amethyst

Accessories: DS paper, WW Crayons, punches, mat pack and paper piercer, ribbon, brads

Easy 12x12 layout

I was browsing some blogs the other day, as you do.....and came across this fantastic idea that the demonstrators learnt at the American SU convention. I have lost the link to the blog, but will try to find it later. Anyhow the idea is to start making a 6x6 page, then convert that to an 8.5x11 (or A4 here) and then convert that one to a 12x12. It was such a great idea and I loved creating this page of Josh....this idea made it so easy :)

6x6 layout

A4 layout

12x12 layout (sorry, the photo is not so great of this one)

Isn't that a great idea? All products used are Stampin' Up! The stamp set I have featured is Always, available now in the Spring Mini Catalogue. And, as you can see my computer is behaving itself at the moment, so I can now add a few more things I've been working on.

Seeya......

A new toy

Hello again..... I know, I know it's been too long between posts already. I'm not very good at keeping up with this, am I? My excuse is pretty good....my computer is playing up big time. I can't seem to upload any of my photo's, so I'm hoping my hubby who works in the computer industry might find some time to look at it really soon. So, this is just a quick post from work to let you all know that I am still alive and do have good intentions, I just can't follow through.

Anyway, on to my new toy.....it was my birthday today and one of my presents was something I have always wanted.....a digital SLR camera....YAY!!! I am so excited. It is a Nikon model and is an entry level SLR, but it does everything I want it to. I am so happy. I have been having such fun with it, taking shots of Josh at the park across the road from our house. It takes such great photo's. I now feel my mojo coming back for scrapbooking.......so the girls at Scrapbook Secrets better watch out. I may become a more serious shopper soon :)

Well, I was hoping to post some photo's taken with the new camera, but due to the issues above I won't be able to. Let's hope the problem is fixed soon. I have lots I want to share, so please bear with me and I promise to share some cards etc as soon as I can.

Happy stamping everyone....enjoy your day!

A busy day

Well, it 's been a busy day today. I had to work for a few hours and then still manage to fit in the grocery shopping etc. Then comes the joy of putting it all away. I'm sure you all know what I am talking about and agree with me that it is not the most fun thing to have to do. I would rather be playing in my craft room :)

The highlight of my day though, was catching up with my sister, my brother-in-law and my niece. I had to get out my camera and take this photo of her.....she has got the cutest outfit on. Isn't she gorgeous, fast asleep on dad's lap (this was after I had cuddled her for about a half hour).

Tomorrow, I plan to use the colours in that outfit for inspiration in a card.

Hope you all have had a great day....thanks for stopping by.

Always

Hi all, I created this card about two weeks ago, while I was playing with one of the new sets available in the spring mini. This set is called Always ..... don't you just love that bird. It is soooo pretty!! I designed this card around a sketch and pulled the colours from one of Kristina's colour challenges from a few weeks ago. I left out one colour, Only Olive, as I wasn't quite sure where to add it in. I have to say, I was pretty happy with the end result.

Have a great week....thanks for stopping by :)

PS The Spring Mini catalogue will be online soon, and I also have copies to give out. Please email me if you would like one.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Always, Linen BG

Cardstock: So Saffron, Rose Red, Going Gray, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Gray (didn't have going gray)

Accessories: SU Designer paper, piercing tool, punches, taffeta ribbon

Isabella Margaret

Introducing my beautiful niece, Isabella Margaret. This was taken the day she was born, and it's hard to believe that she is a month old already. I need to get some new photo's of her, but the ones I took the other day are a bit blurry (I really need a new camera). I am so excited that she is finally here.....my children are definitely not babies anymore, Dannielle starts university next year...... so it is nice to be able to enjoy having a baby in the family again. With my sister and her husband moving so close to me, I know I will be able to spend a fair amount of time with this little one.

Baroque Motifs

I made this little box of cards about a month ago now. I love the new Brocade Background paper, it gives such an old time feel to this project. The box itself was very easy to make and the paper made it so easy to decorate. I kept the small 3x3 cards very simple, and made two of each. So six of the cards and six envelopes fit nicely inside this very cute gift box. I think it is a great idea for a little gift for someone.

Products Used:

Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs

Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, River Rock

Inks: Always Artichoke, River Rock

Paper: Brocade Background

Accessories: Brad, River Rock DS ribbon, Assorted punches