Merry Christmas!

A quick post today today, I have been rather neglectful of late but am sure I'm not the only blogger out there with too much to do at this time of year!

So I just thought I'd pop over to say Merry Christmas and post a couple of photos of my decorations for this year. Each year we choose a different colour scheme or theme for our presents, wreath and tree: this year it's purple and gold.

I made some gift card holders which I thought were rather cute...

the template is from the talented Susan Joyce's blog (which she got from Claire Brennan)

 which you can find here.

Here's a shot of my gift tags. I used elegant eggplant and crumb cake, with versamark to create the background of stockings, stars and baubles. I used neutrals designer buttons to finsh them off. Phew, shopping all done, now time to sit back and enjoy the season.

Enjoy and happy holidays!

Stampin Up December Frenzy!

Stampin' Up are offering up to 50% off an amazing array of products until the 29th December 2010! Please contact me to place an order- tennillekoelma@y7mail.com. Check out the December Frenzy Sale Items Here!

A Girly Christmas

Just Us Girls Challenge this week was to add a 3D holiday embellishment to your card. I decided I would make mine using some diamontes I bought to make my son's Christmas singlet- I'll post pics of this one when I can.

My card is a very girly take on Christmas and I really like how it turned out. I have a few girly-girl friends so I will have no problems finding an owner for this creation!

The colours I used are Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade, Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie, with Pretty in Pink satin ribbon and non SU! diamontes with crystal effects for the wreath. The stamp set is the very versatile Christmas Greetings. As always, you can order these products from me here if you live anywhere in Australia!

Ok, I'm off to make a late dinner... oh how time flies when you're having fun!

A Little Treat

I have combined two of my favourite challenges- Inkspirations challenge 50 and Just Add Ink 45. A colour pallete combined with a sketch- lots of inspiration! Here are the challenges-

So here is my card...

Hmm, I'm not too sure about it but there are bits I like. I threaded linen thread through the scallop edge and added a no-knot bow underneath the panel. The sentiment is from 'Afterthoughts' which is a hostess set (click here to find out how you can get it for free!), and the stamps which make up the balloon are A Little Treat and Circle Circus. I've also used crystal effects and dazzling diamonds glitter to the balloon.

Well, enjoy your Saturday- it's lovely here so I may just go out for a picnic!

Sweetest Stem Wreath

Inkspirations have a sketch challenge this week, which I got a chance to do today. I love doing challenges and have managed three this week, despite having a cold!

So here is my card...

I have used Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Real Red and Whisper White colours, including the beautiful paper patterns stack which you can order from me if you live in Australia, as with all products I use. The Big Shot die- Sweetest Stem- was used to create this wreath which also has twine wrapped around it and brads as holly berries. I took some words from a stamp from the set 'Christmas Greetings' to make the teeny tag. A stamp from Circle Circus completes the sketch and adds a cute look to the bottom of the card.

I hope you like it! Now I just have to find an owner for this one at Christmas time. I think it's masculine enough so I might give it to a male family member.

Fancy Favor Box

After seeing new ideas and getting a new stamp set to play with at regional training, I have been keeping busy! I thought I would do Just Add Ink's colour challenge this week-

Lovely colours! I had a go at watercolouring using my new stamp set, Every Moment.

I used the Fancy Favor box to make this:

I have used the perfect polkadots embossing folder, as well as the curly label punch which adds a nice effect. The circles down the bottom are from Circle Circus and the greeting is from a stamp set which you can earn for free at the moment by having a workshop.

I cheated a little and used early espresso for the button and ribbon- but it's pretty close!

I did three layers of watercolouring to achieve this effect, and used crystal effects to add "dew drops" on the bullrushes. My box is actually based on one of the four make and takes from regional training:

Let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by.

A Vintage Christmas

I have been working on a range of vintage feel Christmas Cards in preparation to some classes I will be presenting in December. If you are interested in attending one, call me on 0421226332 or email tennillekoelma@y7mail.com to book your spot!

This card uses the Mojo Monday 166 sketch which is really nice- I always enjoy working with a sketch or colour challenge and applying my own creativity. This card uses real red, crumb cake, very vanilla and early espresso, with the Welcome Christmas stamp set and Music Notes wheel. See that gold shimmer? That's a brand new product from Stampin' Up! available from December 1. And don't you just love that striped ribbon! So perfect for Christmas. I inked my three real red brads in Stazon to get that half dark half red look.

I should also mention that the bow is made using the technique that Teneale Williams demonstrated at Sydney regional training last Saturday. Thanks Teneale! Check out her stunning work here.

My husband just arrived back from an overseas trip and bought me a brand new camera to use for my blog. I think it makes a huge difference- now I just have to learn how to get the most out of it (that's where my father comes in, he's a photographer)!

I hope you enjoy my card. If you are interested in any of the products used to make it, you can buy them from me.

Regional Training day in Sydney

I have been keeping myself as busy as possible while hubby is away overseas on business. On Saturday Stampin Up! held its Sydney regional training day at the Sofitel Wentworth. I had such a great time on my first ever training day- the venue was stunning and the ladies I shared the day with were lovely.

This is a shot of some of the team I belong to- the Inksomniacs: Denielle, myself, Linda and Nerida. For some gorgeous crafty inspiration, go and check out their blogs!

When we all sat down, the room was buzzing- people were catching up with friends and making new ones.

We were so lucky to watch so many talented people inspire us with new ideas and clever ways to use Stampin Up products. The highlights for me were watching the amazingly talented Teneale Williams steal the show with her brilliant slider cards, and SU trainer Sophie Zadeh and her creative ways of using inks.

I'll post some pics of the swaps I made and received soon too! I was impressed by how much work other demos went to with their swaps. It was a great day!

Marina Mist Christmas Tags

So this week I am aiming to post lots of new Christmas ideas. Here's one I did on the weekend using crumb cake and marina mist.

The stamp set 'Welcome Christmas' is wonderfully versatile and I've used ech of the four images to create a set of matching tags. The image is stamped in crumb cake, with the greeting from 'Sincere Salutations' in chocolate chip.

The snowflakes are from 'Every Little Bit' and look really cute in marina mist ink, which matches the taffeta ribbon nicely. My corner rounder and crop-a-dile finishes the card.

If you are keen to make your own tags and cards this year, call me on 0421226332 to order these products- they can be sent anywhere in Australia. Have a nice day!

Morning Cup Stack

I am still enjoying playing with the brights paper patterns stack, there are so many ways to use it! Here's a set of matching cards using Morning Cup:

I will repost this one with a more detailed picture of the whole card- it was so windy today that I couldn't get em to stand upright and I hate taking pictures indoors.

I used my Stampin Write markers to highlight parts of each card. The Big Shot circles die was used, as well as my 1 3/4 circle punch.

I'm loving those polka dots- so cute right?

Vintage Cards

I have been busy making lots of cards lately, here's another style I've been working on. Stay tuned next week for a series of posts on Christmas ideas!

For today's post, I made some vintage cards using the Greenhouse Gala DSP, along with the exquisite stamp set, Friends Never Fade, and Sincere Salutations. Lots of sponging and scrunching to make these! I'm loving the colour combination of Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake. The top note die using the Big Shot really makes this card beautiful, don't you think?

If you'd like to buy my cards (they're $4.50 each including postage), arrange a demonstration workshop or order any of these products, call me on 0421226332.

Have a lovely day!

Petal Pizzazz rocks!

I think this is my favourite stamp set that Stampin Up! does. Oh, I love Sincere Salutations too- and used it on these cards as well. It's bold, fun and looks great in any colour. It is of course Petal Pizzazz and I have been having fun making a stack of cards for all sorts of occasions.

The brights papers patterns stack featured again in these cards to make them pretty and colourful. There was a little bit of cutting involved in these cards but I actually don't mind, it is a labour of love.

This one is my favourite colour combo- old olive, daffodil elight, real red and elegnt eggplant. My envelope is stamped to match.

I had fun making these ones, hope you like em!

My First Christmas card for the Year!

I am finally getting my act together and starting the big job of all of my Chrissy cards- I plan to do one for all of my family, and many friends and colleagues. Eep! I am thinking of doing quite a few using the colours elegant eggplant and crumb cake. It's not a traditional look but I'm not that into the traditional red, green and white thing.

I love the vintage feel of the stampset 'Welcome Christmas'. It's a good buy at $39.95 clear mount or $49.95 wood because you can get away without buying another set for a greeting. I used my big shot with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder (and sponged it with craft whisper white ink) and ovals die.

I made my bow using a stray button I had from a craft store and the lovely basic black satin ribbon.

If you're interested in making your own cards and want to buy gorgeous supplies like these, or even have me come to your home and do a demonstration of some techniques, give me a call on 0421226332.

Thanks for peeking!

Morning Cup in Rich Razzleberry

I absolutely love the brights paper patterns stack of 12 x 12 designer series papers from Stampin Up! At 37.95 it's a great buy because you get ten different colours, and 4 doubled-sided pieces for each colour. You can make so many different things with them. Here's one I made earlier in the week:

For this card I used the very pretty teapot from 'Morning Cup', along with the greeting from Sincere Salutations, which sure gets a work out on my cards! My 1 3/4 circle punch is perfect for the teapot. I used matching razzleberry satin ribbon, with a pumpkin pie button to finish it off. I reckon it looks great as a square card. I hope you like it!

Birthday Bakery Stack

I am working on making lots of cards to sell at upcoming markets on the Central Coast, so I have been busy busy busy stamping away! Here is a set I made earlier this week using the hostess set, Birthday Bakery.

I have almost finished making the whole set of matching In Colours- peach parfait, concord crush, poppy pirade, blushing bride and pear pizzazz. I'll update this blog when I have a matching stack of five with a new photo. I can't believe I have already used up most of my In Colour cardstock need more! They are gorgeous colours though.

It's a tad hard to see but the stamp in white reads, "if you are what you eat, eat something sweet". He he he!

Fancy Favor Gift Box

I love the Stampin Up Bigshot! It's an amazing tool to use to quickly create gifts, scrapbooking pages and cards. This week I've been having a play with the Fancy Favor die which, even though it's one of the more costly dies, will pay itself off in no time with all the birthdays, Christmas gifts and party favors I intend to make with it.


I made a little box to hold some cookies to give to my mother in law to thank her for helping babysit my son this week. Isn't it cute?

I used the gorgeous brights patterns paper stack and stuck a sheet of pumpkin pie and melon mambo together so that the inside is a different colour. I then cut out a circle with my 1 3/4 punch to make a window before using sticky strip to stick it together. Cute huh! Some pumpkin pie grosgrain ribbon and a tiny tag using the retired stamp from Vintage Labels and I was done. So quick and easy- and cute!

Stampin Up Christmas Promotion

Create beautiful packaging to fit any Christmas gift with exclusive products from Stampin Up! From 16 October to 30 November there are two ways to get free ribbon:

One: Purchase one of the gorgeous Christmas bundles below, or
Two: Host a successful card or scrapbooking workshop- call or email me for details.
Three: Put together your own Christmas card-making pack- I'm happy to help!

There are four gorgeous Christmas ribbon designs to choose from. Don't miss out on this awesome deal, call me on 0421 226 332 or email Tennille.Koelma2@det.nsw.edu.au

For more details, you can also visit http://tennillekoelma.stampinup.net/- my demonstrator website.

I received a blog award!

Thanks so much Nerida, fellow Stampin Up Demonstrator on the Central Coast for sending me a blog award! I am so excited. It feels lovely to know that others are visting and enjoying what I share.

As award recipient I have to share this award with 8 other blog friends. Here are a few of the blogs I have been visiting lately and want to share my appreciation for their gorgeous work and creativity:

Fiona Platzer Vineyard Stamper
Inkurable Krafter
Stamping With Rachel
Bee Divine Designs
Coffee at Claire's
Lynn Powell
Bits and Pieces by Jessica Theodore
Jane B

There! Go and have a look, you won't be disappointed!

Just Add Ink... and Blue

I have finally gotten my act together to complete a second card challenge this week. I spent a fair bit of time yesterday sorting out my crafting space... ready to take the plunge to become a Stampin Up! demonstrator. My (soon to be) upline Linda Higgins is visiting today to get the paperwork sorted. I hope this means more opportunities to meet fellow crafters and make cards, as I really love it and I particularly love Stampin Up products. Sooo fun!

Anyway... I better write about my card now. This one is for this week's Just Add Ink challenge: just add blue for depression and anxiety awareness month.

I don't make masculine cards often but bought the woodgrain background stamp for this purpose. I like the look of the colours together- whisper white, basic grey, night of navy and crumb cake- very masculine. I wondered if it needed some sort of picture stamp but I think its simplicity makes it nice. I need to slow down with my whisper white craft ink though, it's like paint and looks gorgeous but needs drying time!

I used my Big Shot for this card- the top note die and oval shape- it certainly is paying itself off! The circle is a 1 3/4 punch. The only thing non Stampin Up is the button from a local craft shop.

Well, thanks for peeking!

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #44

I have finally had time to complete a challenge, after returning back to work post school holidys and celebrating my birthday! Makeesha's colour challenge was another really lovely combo:

This colour pallete screams baby card to me, but I really needed a thank you card, so I'll just have to have another play with these colours another time! This is what I did:

I love the Ornate Blossom stamp and finally inked it up for this card in Daffodil Delight, then used crystal effects over the whole stamp. I used the beautiful Greenhouse Gala DSP and cut a Marina Mist top note into two smaller sections with a piece of Whisper White cardstock to hide the join. I sponged the edges of this with craft Whisper White ink and used my gel pen to add dots for accent.

I hope you enjoyed my card!

Just Add Ink 38

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is in line with Breast cancer awareness month. The theme is just add pink and bling... and my guess is there won't be a masculine project in sight! I had a go at making a top note box for my submission:

The colours I used are Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride and Whisper White. I used a satin gold ribbon to close my box and to tie in the gold bling on the embellishment.

I used my 1 3/4 circle punch to make the box easier to open.

I lined the inside with Whisper White stamped with the flower from Friends Never Fade. Now I just need to find something cute to add inside. I hope you like my little box, thanks for having a look!



A cute gift with the Big Shot Milk Carton die

It's my mother in law's birthday today so I thought it was the perfect time to use my mini milk carton die for the first time... well I had a little play with it as soon as I got it, but haven't used it for a gift yet. I decided to use Really Rust and Close to Cocoa cardstock, with some Whisper White, because these colours suit Grandma really well. I think they're really pretty together. I also made a matching card:

I have seen the mini milk carton box over all over the net, created by the talented Becky Roberts. I also used stamp set Birthday Bakery and Sincere Salutations. I filled my milk cartons with a variety of chockies from Darrell Lea. I ended up eating way too many myself!

I used the top note die to create this card. The ribbon is from a local craft shop. I hope you enjoyed my creations, thanks for looking!

Mojo Monday 159- October Contest

As soon as I saw this month's Mojo Monday sketch contest ideas started pouring in... but sitting at the crafting table I think I had so many ideas I had to slow down and focus on one thing at a time! Here is the sketch we were given:

 It's hard to choose the different elements of a card- do you start with the colour scheme, the stamps or the sketch? I already had the gorgeous sketch to work with so this time I went with the colours first- a pretty floral arrangement of rose red, blushing bride, peach parfait and very vanilla, with a little pear pizzazz (if you could call it that) for embellishment. I fiddled around for a bit and thus here's my card:

I used rose red and whisper white (craft) inks, as well as the top note die and the manhattan flower embossing folder. I sponged every layer to soften it up. The green jewels and white scalloped ribbon (which is actually a sticky tape- very cool) are non Stampin Up. I again used the Friends Never Fade set which is a star on my blog at the moment- it's so lovely to use with so many colours. The central flower is first stamped in white, then rose red to achieve a shadow effect.

I also decorated the inside of my card:

You kinda need glasses for that photo, but you get the idea. I wanted to keep it simple on the inside, but it does make the card feel very spesh.

I hope you like my card, thanks for having a look!

Mojo Monday... on a Sunday!

Oh so I'm just squeezing this challenge in! Oh well, better late than never, right? Here's Mojo Monday's sketch challenge this week:

Hmmm, round or square? Well, I'm not really a round card person, so I went the easier option and did square. I really liked doing this sketch. Here's my card:

I used the manhattan flower embossing folder to give the three panels some detail. There's not much stampin on this card, but I did use Sincere Salutations which I love to use, and sponge daubed the edges of my oval. I made the three square buttons using three layers of real red cardstock, glued together, pierced with my paper piercer, threaded with crumb cake and finally layered with crystal effects.

It took a lot of patience waiting for these babies to dry, they're smothered in CE! I'm pretty happy with my card. Thanks for peeking! Now check out the others (if you haven't already) HERE.