Welcome To My Blog

Hello and welcome to my crafting blog. If you are new to visiting me, thank you for stopping by! This is my personal space where I talk about the latest creations that I've made using various crafting products.

If you are looking for a commission or inspiration on a particular card or occasion, please scroll down and take a look on the left hand side at the "Labels" column where it will list cards by occasion and by Stampin' Up! stamp sets in alphabetical order for easy viewing. Just click on one of the titles to view the various cards and boxes in your chosen category.

If you would like me to make a specific card for a special someone or occasion, please email me for more details.

Enjoy your stay, and if you have time, please leave a message to let me know you've dropped by :)

Alex

Monday 30 August 2010

Get Well Wishes

Hi all,

Hope you're all having an extra special weekend seeing as it's a whole day longer for some of you :)

Recently made a Get Well Card for a special someone as it's one occasion, that I rarely have to hand, so below is the card I made using "Fun & Fast Notes" stamp set. I used a mix of two different stamps so that I could mix and match and choose one image and a sentiment of my choice.

Fun & Fast Notes


Close Up (Paper Pieced Hedgehog)



Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes (Set of 8 stamps).
Cardstock: Kraft (soon to be Crumb Cake), Close To Cocoa (retiring colour), Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla.
Inkpad:
Chocolate Chip.
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers - Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink, Creamy Caramel, Sponge Dauber, Word Window Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
4" x 4".

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day!

Pop by on Wednesday for it's the 1st of September.... which means the Retired List of what will not make the new Idea Book & Catalogue will be released!!! It's your last chance to buy goodies that will only be available to buy until Thursday 30th September. Yipee.

Bye for now,

Alex

Wednesday 25 August 2010

Side Step Card - Baby Girl (Another)

Morning peeps :)

Okay, I promise this will be my last Side Step Card from me for a little while ;) After making one for a baby girl, then a baby boy the other day I just caught the bug for them! I decided to make another one, just because I can't get enough of them, so have changed the "clothes" hanging out of the top drawer and the sentiment stamps :)

Hope you like:

Side Step Card - Baby Girl (Front)



Side Step Card - Baby Girl (Side)


Stamps: Nursery Necessities, All For Friends (Level 2 Hostess - Mini Catalogue) and Bundle of Joy (retired).
Cardstock: Regal Rose and Whisper White. Designer Series Paper - Sweet Always (retired).
Inkpad:
Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose.
Accessories: 1/2" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon - Pretty In Pink, Brads - Soft Subtles, Eyelet Border Punch, Sponge Dauber, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals, Non-SU: Nestablities - Labels Eight (for chest of drawer legs).
Card Size:
6" x 4".

Have a good day!

Bye for now,

Alex

Tuesday 24 August 2010

Golden Wedding Anniversary

Hi all,

Just wanted to upload a new Wedding Anniversary card I was commissioned for recently. As it was their Golden wedding anniversary, I wanted to use gold cardstock, so have used non-SU for the base, matting of the sentiment and heart. The ribbon was bought in Singapore earlier this year, which I love as it's appropriate for most Wedding Anniversary cards and the colours suit this card especially seeing as I made it in gold and Very Vanilla. The large Very Vanilla heart has been covered with Versamark Dazzle so that in the right angle/light it shimmers like a pearlescent effect. *Note to self:* Must try out my new Shimmer Paint which will give it the same effect - Shimmer Paint mixed with Isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle to use like a Shimmer Mist.

Golden Wedding Anniversary Card



Stamps: Love You Much, Mr & Mrs (sentiment stamped inside and heat embossed in gold).
Cardstock: Very Vanilla. Speciality Papers - Bridesmaid. Non-SU: Kanban - Mink.
Inkpad:
Versamark Stamp Pad, Versamark Dazzle - Frost (for the Very Vanilla heart).
Accessories: Stampin' Emboss Powder - Gold, Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals. Non-SU: Ribbon - Happy Anniversary, Cream halfback pearls. *Note to self:* Must buy the Pretties Kit.
Card Size:
A5

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day.

Alex

Monday 23 August 2010

Side Step Card - Baby Boy

Happy Monday everyone :)

Okay, so hope your weekend was a good one. I was busy with my Stampin' Up! Class on Saturday and made some time to do some crafting over the weekend too. After making the Side Step Card - Baby Girl the other day, see here, I just couldn't wait to make it again but for a baby boy! So, just changed the colour combo and here it is below:

Side Step Card - Baby Boy (Front)


Side Step Card - Baby Boy (Side)


Stamps: Cheer & Wishes, All For Friends (Level 2 Hostess - Mini Catalogue), Congrats (SAB 2009) and Bundle of Joy (retired).
Cardstock: Bashful Blue and Whisper White. Patterns Designer Series Paper - Bashful Blue.
Inkpad:
Ballet Blue and Bashful Blue.
Accessories: Gingham Ribbon - Light Blue, Brads - Soft Subtles, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Sponge Dauber, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals,
Non-SU: Nestabilities - Labels Eight (for chest of drawer legs).

Card Size:
6" x 4".

Hope you like :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now,

Alex

Saturday 21 August 2010

Stampin' Up! Class - In The Stars

Hi everyone,

Hope you're having a good weekend despite the dreary weather outside!

The ladies came today to make the two cards that I sneak peeked recently which was a success :) The cards were surprisingly quick to make, but effective, especially the tri-fold card! The first card was inspired and CASEd from Julie and the second from Bekka.

Here are the two cards made in the class today:

In The Stars

This card uses a cardstock base measuring 12" along the bottom, scored and folded at 4" and 8". The tallest part of the card measures 8-2/8" high and is cut at a diagonal angle from top left to bottom right to 3" high. The two Very Vanilla pieces of stamped cardstock is adherred to the front of the card base on the first and third panel and the Night of Navy cardstock stamped with the jumbo wheel is adhered on the opposite side in the second panel.

Stamps: In The Stars and Swirling Stars (Jumbo Wheel).
Cardstock: 12x12 Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake), Night of Navy and Very Vanilla.
Inkpad:
Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy, Ruby Red and Soft Suede. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: Stampin' Around Wheel Guide, Stampin' Around Jumbo Handle, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
8-2/8" x 4"


In The Stars


Stamps: In The Stars.
Cardstock: Kraft (soon to be called Crumb Cake), Night of Navy and Very Vanilla.
Inkpad:
Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Ruby Red and Soft Suede.
Accessories: Large Star Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
A6.

The Two Cards Together:


Hope you like :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, thanks for stopping by.

Bye for now,

Alex

Friday 20 August 2010

Next Stampin' Up! Class - 21 August 2010.

This post will stay at the top till Friday 20 August
Please scroll down for new posts.

Hi all,

Hope your week has gone well and you've something nice planned for the weekend. Just wanted to say that my next Stampin' Up! Class is being held on Saturday 21 August instead of the original date of Saturday 7 August. I have two spaces available for anyone nearby wanting to come and craft for a couple of hours making a couple of cards with some other ladies.

Email if you're in the local area and interested in coming along.

Sneak peeks to be revealed soon...

Bye for now,

Alex

Thursday 19 August 2010

Side Step Card - Baby Girl

Hi all,

Well time is sure flying by and I don't know where the sunshine is :S

Was surfing the internet earlier looking for inspiration when I came across this cute card here. Just knew after seeing this, that I just had to make one! lol. I have no-one expecting a baby, but you never know when it's needed ;) I am gradually accumulating a box of cards to go to when I'm caught short, so this will add to the others :)

So, without further ado, here's my take on the card for a baby girl...

Side Step Card - Baby Girl (Front)


Side Step Card - Baby Girl (Side)


Stamps: Cheer & Wishes, All For Friends (Level 2 Hostess - Mini Catalogue), Congrats (SAB 09) and Bundle of Joy (retired).
Cardstock: Regal Rose and Whisper White. Designer Series Paper - Sweet Always (retired).
Inkpad:
Pretty In Pink and Regal Rose.
Accessories: Gingham Ribbon - Light Pink, Brads - Soft Subtles, Eyelet Border Punch, Sponge Dauber, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder, Paper Snips and Dimensionals, Non-SU: Nestablities - Labels Eight (for chest of drawer legs).
Card Size:
6" x 4".

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my little card, watch this space for a card for a baby boy! :D

Bye for now,

Alex

Trendy Trees - Thanks So Much.

Hi all,

Recently been attending a lovely craft group and got to play with their Stampin' Up! stash that they've acquired through my Workshops :) Decided to stamp up "Trendy Trees" as it's a stamp set I'm eagerly awaiting to buy this weekend, so thought I'd make a small card with some of the images I stamped up the other day.

Trendy Trees



The cardstock base looked a bit bare, so decided to use a stamp from "Seeing Spots" stamp set as it was a close match to the style from "Trendy Trees". I versamarked this on the base cardstock to create a watermark background. If I had the Trendy Trees stamp set, I would have done this with the circular stamp from this set.

Stamps: Trendy Trees and Seeing Spots.
Cardstock: Close To Cocoa, Whisper White. Designer Series Paper - Cottage Wall.
Inkpad:
Old Olive and Close To Cocoa. Versamark Stamp Pad.
Accessories: Sponge Dauber, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
4x4.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day.

Alex

Monday 16 August 2010

Stampin' Up! Class - In The Stars

Hi all,

Hope your weekend was a good one! Okay, so after showcasing lots of cards using "Greenhouse Garden" stamp set which is very feminine and girly, I have an upcoming Stampin' Up! Class using a stamp set that can be more masculine depending on the colours you choose :)

So, here's the final sneak peek of the second card the ladies will be making this Saturday.

Enjoy!

In The Stars


Hope this has wetted your appetite, and you'll come and visit sometime on Saturday to see the two cards in full :)

Bye for now,

Alex

Saturday 14 August 2010

Workshop - Greenhouse Garden

Morning all,

Hope you've got something nice planned for this weekend :)

Just stopping by to show off the finished gift for the recent Hostess, using Greenhouse Garden stamp set with a couple of sentiment stamps and some co-ordinating punches. As the lady likes pink and green, have made three cards in three different shades of pink and green to show off the lovely colours that Stampin' Up! has to offer. Some of these colours will retire at the end of September as part of our new Colour Renovation, so if you love them and need to stock up on these colours and co-ordinating accessories, please let me know ;)

So, below are the three cards and matching box, thanks to Jo for the tutorial.

Greenhouse Garden Desktop Card Holder With Cards


Another Angle With Cards and Matching Envelopes Inside:


Thanks for stopping by and hope you've enjoyed seeing my recent creations.

Enjoy your weekend and be back early next week for the second Sneak Peak of my Stampin' Up! Class being held on Saturday 21 August.

Bye for now,

Alex

Friday 13 August 2010

Workshop - Greenhouse Garden

Hello from me :)

Hope you're having a good week and looking forward to the weekend that is not too far away!

Below is the last card that makes up the Hostess Gift for the lucky lady who hosted a workshop recently.

Greenhouse Garden


Really enjoyed playing with these colours, especially the Melon Mambo and matching Polka Dot Ribbon! lol. Liking the background effect playing around with the different stamps within the set of 10 stamps too.

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden and Sincere Salutations (sentiment).
Cardstock: Melon Mambo, Old Olive and Whisper White.
Inkpad:
Melon Mambo and Old Olive.
Accessories: Polka Dot Ribbon - Melon Mambo, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, Bone Folder and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
A6

Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a message if you have a mo.

Please visit tomorrow for the completed Hostess Gift.

Bye for now,

Alex

Thursday 12 August 2010

Workshop - Greenhouse Garden

Morning everyone,

Hope you're enjoying the recent cards showcasing "Greenhouse Garden" stamp set :)

Below is the second card that was made for the Hostess.

Greenhouse Garden


Stamps: Greenhouse Garden and Sincere Salutations (sentiment).
Cardstock: Gable Green, Pixie Pink and Whisper White.
Inkpad:
Gable Green, Pixie Pink and Pink Passion.
Accessories: Corner Rounder Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and Bone Folder.
Card Size:
A6

Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow for the last card in the series.

Bye for now,

Alex

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Workshop - Greenhouse Garden

Morning all,

Okay, so with "Greenhouse Garden" stamp set being one of my favourites and on offer this month, how can you refuse to have a little play?!?

The Hostess from my recent workshop received a handmade gift from me as a thank you for allowing me to demo at her Craft Club. Her favourite colours are pink and green, so I decided to make a number of cards in those colours for her. Below is a card I demoed to the club, that also made up one of the cards she received from me.

Card Demo


This card is based on the same layout as the previous one made here. Just changed the colour combo, Designer Series Papers and stamp set, and hey presto! The background has been stamped with one of the middle line stamps, firstly on some scrap paper, then onto the Whisper White cardstock so that it's a more subtle effect. The edges have then been inked with a Sponge Dauber and matching Pretty In Pink ink.

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden and Oval All.
Cardstock: Pretty In Pink, Mellow Moss and Whisper White. Designer Series Paper - Tea Party.
Inkpad:
Pretty In Pink and Mellow Moss.
Accessories: Taffeta Ribbon - Mellow Moss, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, Sponge Dauber, Bone Folder and Dimensionals.
Card Size:
A6

Thanks for stopping by, and please visit again tomorrow to see the second card that made up the Hostess Gift.

Bye for now,

Alex

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Workshop - Greenhouse Garden

Hi all,

Hope you're having a good week. Recently held a workshop for some ladies and we had fun with "Greenhouse Garden" stamp set which is a Two-Step Stamp Set which is fabulous used with the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig.

Below is the "Make & Take" that the ladies made which uses one of the stamp sets on offer this month for 20% off!

Greenhouse Garden - Make & Take


Inside the Card


The ladies made the card above, either choosing to leave the Pixie Pink cardstock blank or stamping to make a floral patterned background using one of the middle line stamps. The side was punched with the Scallop Edge Punch and a strip of Gable Green cardstock was adhered to the inside right hand side of the card.

Considering some of the ladies were new to crafting, they managed really well and had a go. Some were a pro with the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig!

Stamps: Greenhouse Garden and Sincere Salutations.
Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Gable Green and Whisper White.
Inkpad:
Pixie Pink and Pink Passion.
Accessories: Scallop Edge Border Punch, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and Bone Folder.
Card Size:
4"x4".

See you tomorrow for a peek of the Demo Card that made part of the Hostess gift :)

Bye for now,

Alex

Monday 9 August 2010

Next Stampin' Up! Class - 21 August 2010 - Sneak Peek

Happy Monday everyone!

Hope you're having a good start to the week, can you believe it's the second week of August already?!?

Well, my monthly Stampin' Up! Class was meant to be held this past weekend, but with school holidays and summer months being a little busy with people going away on holidays etc, I have put back the August Class till Saturday 21 August and thought I'd show you a sneak peek of what my ladies will be making in two weekend's time.

In The Stars


Here's the first card that they'll make.


Be back another time for the second sneak peek :)

Until then,

Bye for now,

Alex

Sunday 8 August 2010

Happy 70th birthday!

Hi all,

Happy Sunday everyone :)

Just wanted to upload the 70th male birthday card I sneak peeked the other day as it's Ray's birthday today and by now I hope he would have opened his card from his wife :)

Here's the card in full:


Ray's a huge sports fan, loves his cricket and Dagenham & Redbridge Football (did you notice the football strip), so I made the card using Stampin' Up! cardstock and accessories, with the help of Woodware Clear Stamps for the sports related stamps :) *Must* get myself
"Just Soccer" on P.38 for any cards that I might need to do in the future, football related, and perhaps "Just Tennis" too - both might come in handy and are only £10.95 each set!

By the way, in case you were wondering, the owl from "Forest Friends" was stamped, cut and stuck on the back of the card as I didn't think having the owl stuck on the front with all the cricket bats/balls/footballs etc would go!

This card is pretty big and it wasn't till I finished that I realised it wouldn't fit into a standard sized envelope, let alone an SU envelope! lol. So made one to fit and finished it with stamping, cutting and half sticking down three footballs on the back, so that the envelope flap could tuck underneath the three footballs to close.

Stamps: Forest Friends. Non SU: Clear Woodware - Sports.
Cardstock: Whisper White, 12x12 Textured Cardstock - Ballet Blue and Brilliant Blue.
Inkpad:
Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue and Close To Cocoa. Non SU: Memento - Tuxedo Black.
Accessories: 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon - Real Red, Crop-A-Dile, Jumbo Eyelets - Pewter, Sponge Daubers, Paper Snips, Tombow Multi Purpose Adhesive, Craft Knife, Number Templates, Acryllic Block.
Card Size:
Approx w: 9-3/4" x h: 8-1/2".

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day!

Bye for now,

Alex

Thursday 5 August 2010

Sneak Peek - 70th Male Birthday Card

Hi all,

Hope you're doing well and having a good week. It's now Thursday, so nearly the weekend :) Been busy recently making a male 70th birthday card with the request that it has to be big, football, cricket and owl related. Not too difficult then! lol.

I've finally finished it last night and am pleased with the result - I'm sure the recipient will like it, whether he'll appreciate all my time and efforts in making a handmade card is another matter, but we'll see :)

At the moment, I think it's safe for a sneak peek. I'll be back to upload the card in full on Sunday as by then, he'll have hopefully opened the card :)

Sneak Peek


Have a good day,

Bye for now,

Alex

Monday 2 August 2010

Wedding Card - Commission.

Happy Monday everyone :)

Hope you're all well and had a lovely weekend. Recently made a wedding card for someone who requested the colour Melon Mambo with the Bride Speciality Papers. The couple tied the knot this past weekend, so I think it's safe to post their card now :)

Wedding Card

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches (SAB 09).
Cardstock: Melon Mambo and Whisper White. Speciality Paper - Bride.
Inkpad:
Craft Ink Pad - Whisper White.
Accessories: Polka Dot Ribbon - Melon Mambo, Full Heart Punch, Embossing Buddy, White Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Bone Folder.
Card Size:
A5

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your day.

Bye for now,

Alex

Sunday 1 August 2010

Two Step Promotion - August 2010.

This post will stay at the top until 31 August.
Please scroll down for new posts.

Hi all,

Can you believe it's now August! Stampin' Up! have a fantastic offer this month and it's all about Two-Step Stamping :)

Click on the picture below for more information:


If you're not familar with this technique, click here for a little information about it. Basically using two colours and the help of the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, you create a stamped image in two steps layering one colour on top of the other! There's a number of different stamp sets that offer this technique and a selection of stamps are listed in August's Promotion for 20% off the catalogue price for the month of August only.

The stamp sets on offer for 20% off are:

Click on Loads of Love, Big Bold Birthday, Trendy Trees and Greenhouse Garden above for examples of cards/boxes/projects made using these stamp sets.

Please contact me via email on alexhau@rocketmail.com if you'd like to purchase any of the above stamp sets for 20% off, or if you'd like anything else from the Idea Book & Catalogue.

Have a good day.

Bye for now,

Alex