Craft 2 U

One for the kids

craft2u — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:21:36 +0000

This is such a cute card. H actually received this for his birthday from a friend of mine so I had used her design and added my own colours. The colours I have used are Real Red, Pacific Point, Whisper White & Daffodil Delight. The stamp set is “Dinoroar” which is just too cute for little boys, hope you enjoy!!

Happy stamping Sam

Creating your own patterned papers

craft2u — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:20:29 +0000

I still find it amazaing just how simple it is to create a “patterned paper” with this very simple technique. It is just a Versamark stamp pad (which is essentially clear and leaves a watermark on your paper/card) which you apply to any stamp you wish, stamp it and that’s it. It will always co-ordinate with what you’re making – here I have used it on a background stamp “En Francais” and here is the card I created with it for my Term 1 workshops.

Please email me to go on my mailing list for workshop dates – these will be run weekly with a set project and one “Creative” night a month on a Saturday night where you can come and use whatever you like in my studio do make your own creations!! Please email craft2u.sam@gmail.com for further information.

Sam

I love Bunting!!!

craft2u — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:41:53 +0000

I love “bunting” flags so I thought I would give my new Petal Cone die for the Big Shot a try. I was quite pleased with the result. It was a quick and easy way to make the flags. I then used the Scallop Circle Punch and the Timeless Type Junior Alphabet dies to finish. This is a really easy way to decorate your childrens room and add a little inspiration.

Happy Stamping, Sam

Come inside my studio…..

craft2u — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:41:16 +0000

Welcome to Craft 2 U….for those of you who have been following my journey I thought I’d show you inside my studio!! Click here to come inside…

It has been 12 months now since we relocated from Melbourne, my how time flies when you’re having fun!!! Life in the country certainly is good!! There is so much to inspire you around here, from the beautiful Grampians to wonderful Port Fairy, it is just lovely. And the wonderful world wide web is amazing…..you are never far away from endless inspiration from my best friend “Google”. What did we ever do without the internet? There are so many creative people out there doing truely amazing things, it is wonderful to watch them.

I thought I might take this opportunity to share a couple of my favourite blogs which I like to visit….

The first is “Retro mummy”, this is just a great general everyday blog which has lots of interesting recipes and beautiful quilting (another one of my obsessions (cooking & quilting)).

The second is the wonderful home of ‘Artomology’ & Jane Davenport. I met Jane and saw her work at the Melbourne Garden Show a couple of years ago and she is a wonderful photographer and illustrator. She has some beautiful Utube clips which I just love to watch….it is quite amazing to see what Jane can do on a plane!!

Anyway, I’ve given you plenty to look at….so off you go!!!! Sam

The food……………….

craft2u — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:35:18 +0000

Well the country wedding was absolutely delightful!!!! A lovely relaxing day was had by all…the wonderful tradition of bush cricket was celebrated along with a run under the sprinkler. The food was absolutely delightful and the crazy bride made 100 mini cheesecakes (as you do the week of your wedding?????), but they were just delightful so I thought I’d share some photos. They are followed by the grand finale….the Wedding Cake!! It was just beautiful and keeping in the theme of her hydrangeas.

Beautiful day had by all……it just goes to show, the simple things in life are often the best!!! Good friends, great food and a good wine!!!

Sam

….And now the Wedding Card!!

craft2u — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:09:37 +0000

I wanted to use the elements from the wedding stationery, however making it slightly different.

Recipe:
Stamps: Itty Bitty Bits
Card: Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Punches: I have used the Large Scallop Circle, Decorative Label
Other: Pearls, Choc Chip Grossgrain Ribbon, Calypso Coral Ruffled Ribbon, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder for Big Shot, Swirls Scribbles Die, Sponge Daubers (inking around the edges)

I was really pleased with the end result here…. it took me all night to stick the flowers and the pearls on, but I think it was well worth it!! I hope she likes it…

Think of me today as I enjoy lunch at the farm to celebrate the joining of two beautiful people!!!
Sam

A Country Wedding……

craft2u — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:08:48 +0000

I had been lucky enough to be asked by a very special lady to create her wedding stationery!!!! Today was that very special day so I thought I’d share the design with you.

Her theme was Hydrangeas (which are one of my favourite flowers…..I have too many favourites!!!) but it was such a fabulous theme and her colours were Navy and White. Everything came together so beautifully. Unfortunately the stamp set is now discontinued from the last Catalogue (it was a hostess set called “Because I Care”) but this could so easily be substituted with any other flower. The ink and ribbon were in Night of Navy. The invitations are A5 and fit beautifully into the Stampin Up C5 envelopes and there was a top note inside with directions to the reception. The gift bags were cut with the Fancy Favour Bigshot Die and punched with the slot punch to thread the ribbon through. We also used the Decorative Label punch to put the guests name on and attached these to the bags as place cards.

…..And here is a picture of the finished product!!!! I think it looks absolutely gorgeous!!! Jo did such a fabulous job of the table decorating…..here it is!!!
If you would like any more information about designing your own wedding stationery please feel free to email me at craft2u.sam@gmail.com where I can help you create your own design which you can make yourself or I can make for you. Call by tomorrow to check out the Wedding Card I made for her as I was lucky enough to receive one of the invitations myself to head off to the Reception tomorrow…..lunch at the farm, gee I love life in the country!!!

In the mean time……Happy Stamping, Sam

Quick Jam/Preserve Labels

craft2u — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:05:11 +0000

I have been busy preserving over the last couple of weeks so I thought I’d better whip up some quick labels and I thought I’d share. I have used the largest scallop circle punch and the sweet little bird out of the “Itty Bitty Bits” set in the gorgeous new Peach Parfet ink. You can check out more at my other blog

Happy Stamping….Sam

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Recycling @ its finest…

craft2u — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:26:03 +0000

I like to try new things and this is one of them!! I wondered how I could get a “vintage metal/pressed tin look” so I thought about aluminium (soft drink) cans so I gave it a go and to my surprise it worked!!

These are ao simple to make, all you need to do is rinse out your can and cut the top and bottom off then down one side so you are creating a sheet. I had this cute bird die cutter for my big shot (not Stampin Up unfortunately) so I cut these out of the sheet and then embossed them (which helps them stay flat instead of curved). Here I have used the Stampin Up “Vintage Wallpaper” embossing folder, punched a hole in the top to thread ribbon/string through and that’s it…..too easy!! Here is what you can do with them

I also did a string of them for my work and they looked lovely. You could also hang them on a tree in the garden. If you don’t want to see the colour on the back of the can you can spray paint the back – I just did mine white which was really quick and easy.
Please enjoy…happy Stamping, Sam

Merry Christmas!!

craft2u — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 11:06:57 +0000

Hello!! And Merry Christmas!!! I know I’ve been incredibly slack at blogging (as usual) work and life have kept me busy. Christmas here was fantastic, you can see what we’ve been up to at my farm blog.

This gorgeous little card was one of the cards we made at the opening of my studio back in September – I can’t believe it has been that long!! It is my favourite Christmas set this year “Beautiful Season”. I have quite a fettish for birds (& owls too), I just love them!! I also quite like all things vintage and I feel he has a bit of a vintage vibe going on.

I have stamped him on watercolour paper with a black StazOn stamp pad and then used the Aqua Painters with the Stampin Up inks to colour the bird. I learnt this fabulous technique at the Regional conference in Melbourne last year and it is a great way to get a unique effect.

For the card, I folded a piece of cardstock then used the “Top Note” die. The gift box is made from a Very Vanilla C6 envelope. To make this simply stick the envelope closed then cut about 1 1/2″ off the left side (this becomes the lid of the box). Stamp your desired design on the top and bottom (I suggest something different on both so it doesn’t blend together too much) then crimp the bottom with the “Crimper” (page 148 in the catalogue) so it fits into the lid of the envelope. This design is great for little invitations and hand delivered cards. Seeing as there is a little ribbon sticking up on this card I have punched a little slot in the top of the envelope to allow the ribbon to pike through.

Hope you enjoy – please email me if you have any questions or would like any more hints!!

Merry Christmas – Sam