Stamps Ahead

This morning, I lead a class at a local community group.   Here are the cards that I designed for them: Isn't this card too cute and doesn't it make you smile?   Made with Stampin'Up! set Hey, Chick.   The ladies used coloured pencils to colour their images today.  Suitable also for markers, crayons, watercolour techniques. This card uses 2 Kaszazz stamps - Contraption and Scrabble Background stamps.  Just right for the men in your life (this one is for my brother) and some of the ladies made for their female grandchildren and they turned out great as well.   Inspired by a card by Lucy Jones from Kaszazz. The inside of the card.  The ladies could personalise the greeting to suit and put in a greeting of choice.   So much fun with both cards. Thank you for looking, Margaret :)

Advent Calendar 2013 for my sister This is an advent calender I have made this week for my sister - I am delivering it today to her home and it is a surprise for her. I have made each day from Stampin'Up! (r) Designer Series paper or used their Tag a Bag Gift Bags. The envelopes are made using Envelope Punch Board (of course, with the exception of the Sour Cream container for Day 9).  I have used a variety of embellishments (some not SU) to decorate each day. I did not have numbers that I liked so I searched the internet and found this free download of numbers which just matched the paper perfectly. Each day has a little gift inside (I spent no more than $3 on each gift and the hunt was on to find small items that I knew would mean something to her) and a Christmas saying I sourced from the Internet.  One bag has chocolate - I was very restrained - wasn't I !!! Here is a close up of several of the bags and they will go in a box I got from a discount store - wall space ...

Paris cards These cards were inspired by Alanna Paterson, I do not have a blog address for her, so thank you Alanna. I have made the card in both Whisper White and Very Vanilla cardstock.  I have used two new in-colours inks from Stampin'Up!(r) - Baked Brown Sugar and Strawberry Slush (what a great name!)  and for the background have used Gorgeous Grunge stamp set and Very Vintage Large Wheel.  The Eiffel Tower is from a no longer available stamp set.  Washi tape was from my stash. Ironically the pink flower ribbon was purchased in Paris many years ago and has obviously been sitting just waiting for the right cards.  I have not mounted the CS with the image I have simply run around the edge with Strawberry Slush. I think the card is very Shabby Chic and Vintage what do you think? Merci, thank you for looking, Margaret.

Many years ago - too many years ago to mention here - I attended my first patchwork class and the first block that I made was Grandmothers Flower Garden.  The pattern was used by Persian and Indian quilters for centuries before the Crusaders took it by to Europe - now I don't go back as far as the Crusades just in case you were wondering!! I became enthralled with patchwork after this first lesson and many years later I became a patchwork teacher and the first block I would teach, of course, was Grandmothers Flower Garden. Students would start off by creating their own hexagons with a compass.  Years later there became available templates you could buy already in the shape of hexagons. Example of a quilt using hexagons.  You can just imagine Grandmother walking  the green path around the flower beds or maybe my maternal grandmother walking the strawberry patch eating the strawberries on her way around the garden. http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/colonial_reviv...