Wow, Baby you've grown!!

I got some super exciting news last week, that my beautiful cousin had her third child at long last. I think she was almost two weeks late and was getting a little bit fed up with it all. As were the waiting Big Brother and Big Sister. But finally little Miss Sadie made her way into the world and she is beautiful... of course!!

So I was pretty excited to get stuck into the baby card, now that I knew which colour to use. I'm totally, madly in love with the 'Baby we've grown' stamp set and have been eagerly waiting on when I can use the gorgeous little owl family. My only problem was there are only 3 owls and my family needed 5!!

But as you can see, after a little bit of fiddling, masking and some fussy cutting, I finally have my Owl family of five!! The other great thing about this set, is that my owls needed to be coloured in. Brilliant, perfect excuse to use all the free Sale-a-Bration Blendabilites that I have been earning.

I'm so pleased with how well this card came together and I know it will be proudly on display in little Sadie's Bedroom in England.

Have Fun,
Chlo

Ingredients
Stamps: Baby we've grown
Ink: Versamark and Memento Black
Cardstock: Very Vanilla and Strawberry Slush
Other: Subtle paper stacks, White embossing powder, Dazzling Diamond Glimmer, White Jute String, In-colour sequins, Blendabilites and Large Polka dot Embossing folder.

Lovely as a Lotus Blossom

No matter which colour combo I use, the Lotus Blossom stamp comes out beautiful every... single... time!!

This Sale-a-Bration stamp has been on backorder for a few weeks (no surprise considering how popular it's been), but it's now available as a freebie again Hooray!!

My lotus blossom card today is actually a case from my other card which you can see HERE. All I did was change the card size and the colour, yet it looks like a completely different card.

I used some of our gorgeous SAB paper too (man, that paper is stunning) just to add another shade of blue. The main colour of the card is Coastal Cabana with just a little hint of Bermuda Bay.
Oh and did you notice my sneaky cheat "bow" on the stem. It's just a piece of seam binding which I then tied white twine around the middle and knotted. Easy and looks just like a bow!!

 So if you want your very own beautiful Lotus Blossom stamp set, you can choose it for FREE with every $90 order. Pop in to my Store and place an order today.

Have Fun,
Chlo

Ingredients
Stamps: Lotus Blossom, Painted Petals,
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso
Cardstock: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay
Other: Best Day Ever DSP, In-colour sequins, Crumb Cake Seam Binding and White Twine

Love is like a Sheltering Tree

So I can now finally share the card I made and sent overseas to my In-laws. They have had a bit of a rough time since retiring 12 months ago and even though it's been touch and go, it looks like they are pulling through and winning the battle with cancer.

They had so many dreams of what they would do when they retired, picnic's in the park, long fishing trips and bike rides in the country. All where put on hold, when my father in-law discovered he had cancer.

I wanted to send them a card just to say I'm thinking of them and hope that some day soon, they will be able to pick up where they left off and the little bikes in the Sheltering Tree stamp set just really made me think of them:

Does it feel like a beautiful summers day? In the set the sentiment actually says "Friendship is a sheltering tree" but I didn't feel that that was right for this card. So I used my marvelous markers and inked up the word "love" from another set with the same font and stamped that first. Next I inked up the sentiment from Sheltering Tree's but left the "Friendship" word out... BINGO!! Love is a sheltering tree!!

Oh and all gorgeous cards should come dressed in a beautiful envelop if you ask me:

Remember to pop on over to my STORE to see what other stamps are in the Sheltering Tree set and don't forget to check out the Weekly Deals too!!

Have Fun,
Chlo

Ingredients
Stamps: Sheltering Tree and Good Greetings (R)
Ink: Pistachio Pudding, Blushing Bride, Real Red, Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Memento Ink and Mossy Meadow
Cardstock: Whisper White, Mossy Meadow and Soft Suede

Seasonal Sheltering Tree

I finally got my hands on the new stamp set Sheltering Tree and I am totally over the moon with it. It's such a gorgeous set, that I think it will be a keeper long after it retires.

My first card I made with it, I can't actually share with you all yet, as it was made with someone in mind and it's currently in the post winging it's way to them. It's not my usual style but fits the person it's for perfectly.

So after making "THAT" card, I then decided to have a play and make a set of seasonal cards that I had in my head and here is the result:

So simple and unfussy, but I think they are beautiful. I'm actually going to run a class on them as I loved making them so much. They would also look beautiful in a frame I think.

Now before you mention it, yes there are four seasons and yes I've only got three cards. The reason is, I do have an Autumn tree but I've actually run out of the baked brown sugar sequins in the in-colour sequin pack... yep that's right, I've actually picked out every, single last sequin!!

Here is a close up of each of them:

Spring: Reminded me of the Cherry Blossom

Summer: Full, green and bushy

Snow covered with sparkly icy sequins

As soon as my new order of sequins arrives, I'll get busy finishing Autumn and then will upload and share it with you all. Oh and don't forget to check back in later, to see the other Sheltering Tree card.

Have Fun,
Chlo

Ingredients
Stamps: Sheltering Tree
Ink: Soft Suede, Whisper White Craft Ink, Mossy Meadow, Strawberry Slush and Pistachio Pudding
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Strawberry Slush, Mossy Meadow and Lost Lagoon.
Other: In-colour Sequins.

Stampin' Up! Party Time in Sydney

Wow that was one amazing weekend. I always love going to any Stampin' Up! event and the Party Time event in Sydney was awesome.

I guess I'm especially excited as A) I had two full days without my three kids, for the first in 5 weeks!! and B) I was asked to be one of the 4 demos to help with making the displays and showcase.

I can tell you now, when Teneale Williams rang me to ask if I would be interested , I literally spent the whole conversation, shouting in my head "Bloody Hell Teneale Williams is on the phone to ME!!!

So after sleepless nights and long crazy craft days, my goodies and I were all packed up in the back of the car with my mate and fellow demo Tracy. We had so much fun on the way down and after a quick trip to Ikea (Obviously) we met up with another demo and my beautiful friend Renae who offered us her spare room for the night, where we were treated like royalty and had lots of laughs. Honestly demo's are the nicest people you'll ever meet!!

I took loads of photos during Party Time, but I've managed to cut it down to just a few of the really important (and fun) ones:

Our name badges that I whipped up.

Tracy and I on the stage taking a selfie lol.

Part of the amazing display.

Renae from Crozlow Crafts and Tracy from Made By Me 2444

Girls getting busy with the Make and Takes. Never heard them so quiet!!

Time for some "Frame Time" Honestly Renae and I had far too much fun with these.

Our three gorgeous make and takes using the 'Choose Happiness' Stamp set.

Ohhhhh.... look who's name was almost up in lights lol!!

Didn't it look like fun!! I always learn so much when at these events, but what I love most it all the amazing new friends I meet.

So I'm guessing you want to see my special creations??? Ok well here they are:

Part cut-out notecards, using the Butterfly dies and Painted Petals DSP

Yet another Exploding box but using the Butterfly dies and the matching stamp set 'Butterfly basics'

Cute little notecard. I love the new hearts embossing folder

This was my favourite card. Matching the 'Swallowtail' stamp and the Butterfly die together.

Super quick card to whip up. The double mounting of the butterfly die really makes it pop.

Little notecard and a matching mini treat bag envelope.

A little fussy cutting is great for the soul!!

 Wow, longest post EVER!! I honestly had a ball and I would highly suggest, if you ever get a chance to attend a Stampin' Up! event... DO!!!

Have Fun,
Chlo

Start of Sale-a-Bration and Occasions Catalogue!

Woo Hoo... I love waking up to a new Catalogue day. It's a bit like Christmas for Crafters. And today is extra special because today is also the start of Sale-a-Bration.

Sale-a-Bration or SAB is the biggest sale Stampin' Up! has each year. It's a great way to earn free, exclusive items with every $90 order and of course anyone hosting a party receives lots of extras too. Oh and don't forget SAB is also an awesome time to join our Stampin' Up! family.

It's simple - one free product with every $90AUD you spend (before tax and shipping) Get those product you've been wanting and earn more for free at the same time!!







Book in for a Sale-a-Bration party and check out the Hostess chart (below) to see what you can earn!!

  

 

It's a great time to join Stampin' Up! as a New Demonstrator! Choose one of the following Limited-time Sale-a-Bration offers when you join between 6th Jan - 31st March '15.

 

So what are you waiting for!!! Pop on over to my online shop to place you order today. If you would like to Host a party or want more information on joining my Stampin' Up! family The Closet Crafters, the drop me an email!!

 Have a great day and Happy Sale-a-Bration!!

Chlo

Mini Treat Bag Die - Occasions and SAB Sneak Peek

Happy New Year guys!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and an amazing New Years Eve.

With the busy season all me around I haven't had chance to get in the craft room much. Three young kidlits will do that to you sometimes, but while they are running around outside I thought I would nip into the studio to play around with Stampin' Up! new little treat bag die. And all I can say is I'm in love!!

Everything I made today is a Case from either the new Occasions Catalogue or the Demo only magazine called Impressions. First up is the cute Treat Bag Die and a CASED note card from the new Occasions Catty (available from 6th Jan... 4 days to go!).

Isn't the treat bag darling!! After making it up I realised it's the perfect size for our little note cards, so of course I had to make a matching note card to go in it!! The row of little hearts that I've used on the card is one of the framelit accessories that comes with the Treat Bag Die. Super quick and easy to put together!!

So for my next Treat Bag, I CASED the design from our Demonstrator Only magazine called Impressions. As a demo we are given heaps of resources and ideas to help when the creative juices aren't flowing as freely and Impressions is a bi-monthly magazine, filled with heaps of ideas and handy tips that every demo gets sent.

So this Treat Bag is a little different because it's not flat like the other bag. This one actually has a bottom in it!! So now I can fill it up with lollies and Chocolates!! Again, all little banner and accessories are framelits included with the Treat Bag Die.

Oh and are you loving the DSP used for both Treat Bags?!? That's acutally our new Sale-a-Bration Paper which can be yours for free with a $90 order. Each and every sheet is so gorgeous, that I'm finding it hard to use any of it.

If you would like your very own copy of the Occasions and Sale-a-Bration catalogues and don't already have a demonstrator, then email me you address and I'll pop one in the post for you. Australian addresses only I'm afraid.

Happy New Year and have fun,
Chlo

Ingredients
Stamps: And Many More
Ink: Early Espresso
Cardstock: Coastal Cabana, Whisper White, Basic Black and Early Espresso
Other: DSP Best Year Ever (SAB) Silver Glimmer, Gold Foil, Treat Bag Die (Occasions), Crisp Cantaloupe Twine and mini clothes pegs.