Once you get into the groove of living a creative life, it is amazing how easily you find your products
from various crafts, can work for all kinds of applications. Today I am using POP Paint to create some beautiful stamped flowers on a card.

 The orange/red colour of the Flamingo POP paint matched perfectly with the colour of my tag making for a beautifully designed card.

 step 1 Stamp various flowers from the Clear Stamp – Daisies (ER-C10) rs3174
stamp set in grey ink onto white cardstock.

Cut out the flowers around the edges and shape them slightly.

step 4 Colour another piece of cardstock with Zest paint and leave to dry.

Once dry, cut out small circles for the centres of your flowers. I cut mine freehand but you can also use a circle punch.

step 5 – Gather all your parts together. Some painted flowers and some plain flowers, and then layer them on top of each other. Adhere the flowers together to form a single flower unit.

Assemble your card with all your pieces. Add a coloured tag, sentiment card, your layered flower and some rub-ons to the folded card and then finish off with some diamante and other dimensional elements.

Products used
Clear Stamp – Daisies (ER-C10) rs3174
POP Paint 28ml – Zest pp0013
POP Paint 28ml – Flamingo pp0002
Textured C/Stock 216g 12″ X 12″ White 10 Shts/Pck (2) sb4970
Craft Guillotine – 6.25″ pct809

what have you done with your POP Paint today?
Ask for POP Paint at your local craft store.

Up on the Chiswick blog I am sharing a special card for Dad, and how to stamp with masking tape
making your own paint striped stamps - quick and easy and oh so versatile.

Hop on over to see the full step x step tutorial.
Celebrate dad with a special handmade card to really show your love.
Until next time - hope you are inspired by this quick and easy stamping technique!

Over on The Wholesaler blog you can read all about my Christmas Exploding box - perfect to impress those crafting skeptics and make a statement. This truly is a magnificent piece that cause everyone to ooh and ahhh. So go on and give it a go...

 Making gift boxes has become a rather important and easy thing to do – so if you are a crafter then you really have no excuse, other than to have a fabulous gift box for treats and small gifts alike.

Years ago when I first made my first exploding gift box I turned it into a mini album rather than a box. I was pretty impressed with it and it had huge impact on everyone that viewed it. But nowadays I am much more of a simpler kind of crafter. So instead of making it complicated like we do, I made the same box using a festive theme.

I will use the box for a small gift or chocolaty treats instead and afterwards the recipient can recycle it and turn it into gift tags by simply cutting it apart, punching a small hole and adding some ribbon. This way no one will be stuck with something that can’t be used, gathering dust and adding clutter to their lives. A gift within a gift I say.

I am up on the Chiswick blog with this super cut and functional little altered notebook.
See how I altered one of their stamps into something for the everyday and not theme specific.

Just love the simplicity of how this turned out!

Up on the blog today at Chiswick today I am sharing another one of their new stamp sets and loving this one just as much!

So hop on over and catch a glimpse of the new stamp set and step by step article!
Here's wishing you a creative week ahead - and thanks for stopping by!
A blog without visitors is just me talking to myself - so know that you are so very much appreciated!

I am up on the Chiswick blog today with this stunner of a stamped card using their new stamp sets.
Hop on over to the blog and see how i did it and to view the entire stamp set.

Love the layered look of the stamped flowers...

Remember to visit your local craft store to get your new Chiswick stamps sets today!
Please let us know if you have any trouble getting hold of the products and we will assist you gladly.
Until later – happy stamping! Have a blessed day!
Products used
Clear Stamp – Daisies (ER-C10) rs3174
3 in 1 Block Set with Interchangable Handle rs3070
Craft Guillotine – 6.25″ pct809
Plastic Bone Folder cr1200
9pc Eyelet Tool Set cr1100
Embroidery Scissor 110mm cr0900

I am over on the Chiswick blog today with a beautiful card using their new Tea and Cake stamp set.

Head on over to see how I added colour to my stamped image and to view the entire set of stamps.
They are so much fun and versatile - perfect for tea party invitations, recipe books, favorite meal time layouts....if you can think it you can create it using this stamp set.
www.chiswick.co.za/blog

I have a huge selection of gorgeous stamps that I love so much. So I am on a mission to use all of them at least once this year – quite a commitment and mission but something that is making me feel so much better. But more exciting is the fact that I can create my own embellishments using my stamps. So I stamped a couple of images onto my Lady Pattern Paper and used them on my layout turning my layout into something truly unique.

I used a combination of the Intense Teal and So Buff papers to create a very pleasant layout that is calm – a somewhat neutral background for my photos to sit on and the cluster of stamped elements and embellishments.

 I stamped this beautiful diamond shaped stamp onto the Essentials Gingham pattern. The stamp allows a slight hint of colour and pattern to show through it making for an interesting element.

 I only use VersaFine ink for most of my stamped images. This ink is perfect for the detailed stamps I used, and dries perfectly on the Lady Pattern Paper.

Have you seen the new stamp sets from Chiswick? Well if not you are in for a real treat as they as simply wonderful. My favorite I think for now is the heart set. It has a whole bunch of hearts on it – perfect for anything from the grungy teenager to the romantic soul.
For this resist card I used the scribble heart – and simply love the outcome.

step 1 – Stamp the heart image onto white cardstock using Versamark ink pad.

step 2 – Sprinkle the stamped image liberally with white pearl embossing powder.
Shake off the excess embossing powder and return it to the container.

step 3 – Use your Chiswick heat gun and heat the image until the embossing powder is fully melted.
The powder is melted when the image turns shiny all over.
TIP: Make sure the entire image is heated and the powder melted – let it cool down before inking the image.

step 4 – Add some dye ink onto your craft sheet. Mist the ink with water and then dip the embossed image into the ink. The ink will take to the cardstock and the embossed image will resist the ink.
Use a soft cloth to wipe any ink that may sit on top of the embossed surface.

 The white images against the inked background is such a beautiful effect.

 Products used:
Dye Ink Pad- Red rs3291
Clear Stamp – Assorted Hearts (ER-C19) rs3176
3 in 1 Block Set with Interchangable Handle rs3070
Keep an eye out for more of the wonderful stamp sets in the coming blog posts.
Happy stamping!

One of my favourite things is a simple stamped card with some gold detail. For today’s card I used my all time favourite butterfly stamp image from Chiswick. A simple stamped images coloured and added to a bold blue background using Chiswick cardstock. 

visit the Chiswick blog here to see the full step x step instructions.

Happy stamping everyone!

It's Mothers' day weekend and I hope you have made something handmade for that special person in your life? I made this little birdie specially for her, featuring some of my new favorite IMAGINE Crafts and Tsukineko products. Head on over to the blog for a step x step on how to re-create this quick card.

My mom loves birds and so for this Mother’s day I wanted to make a card that incorporates a little birdie. Thankfully I have some really cute stamps and with the help of the amazing StazOn Studio Glaze I could add some really amazing color to my image. For my sentiment I used two stamps and stamped them in different colors for a fun look.  Learn how to make your ‘Sweet Mum’ this lovely sentiment here!

Today I am sharing my double page layout based on the sketch from Create Magazine. I simply love Allison's sketches - she really is amazing. I love using sketches as a starting point, although more than often my layout turns out to be something a lot different. I use them to inspire me, to help me start a project and then I turn it into something very true to my style. And this assignment was no different.

I chopped and changed and moved things around.
For my accents and embellishments I used Multicoloured stamping with MementoLuxe ink pads, Christmas themed chipboards, stickers, washi tape, buttons, sewing and stenciling.

To get the sketches from the January issue, you can download them for free here

Thank you to Minette for letting me use her beautiful photos, and a special shout out to Annemarie for taking such amazing photos.

Here's wishing you a wonderful and creative day! Blessings!

I think the reason I love Heidi Swapp products so much is because of her elegant and versatile style. There’s something for everyone and even if the collection scream ‘girl’ there is plenty in there to make boy projects too – it really is that versatile and adaptable. So when I got my hand on the new products that will be available from The Wholesaler I was in heaven! The new paper pads are so amazing, colourful and simply gorgeous. The combination of teal, navy, brown and pink is stunning and with those combinations you can really do just about anything you set your mind to.

Two tone stamping with Mister Huey inks
step 1 - Mist classic tan Mister Huey onto your craft sheet, on top of
the tan mist Gold Mister Huey ink

Step 2 - cut a circle from fun foam and adhere it to an acrylic block with some double sided tape. Press the custom made stamp into the ink and move it around a bit to mix the inks

step 3 - carefully lift the stamp and press it onto your cardstock where you want your image. Hold your paper and lift the stamp

TIP: Keep in mind, if your stamp is too wet with the liquid ink, when you lift if the ink will simply drip off of the stamp and even land where you don't want it to land on your project.
because Mister Huey inks are not too runny you shouldn't have a problem but should you mist the ink with water you may want to be aware that this could happen

Products used
Heidi Swapp  Stickers HS01108
Heidi Swapp Stamp HS01140
Heidi Swapp Paper Pad Hello Today HS01155
ZING! Metallic Embossing Powder 1 oz – Gold AC 27158
VersaMark Watermark Ink Pad TVM-001

until next time - have a wonderfully creative week!