I’ve discovered magnetic tape! Yay! Although I had a very satisfactory storage solution for my Stampin’ Up! eyelets, buttons and brads, I ran out of room on my bookcase so I needed to find another way of storing things that I wanted to use often. My desk is already full with my iMac, two printers, a Inkpad Caddy and a vraiety of other things so looking around I noticed that the side of my filing cabinet which is right next to my desk was empty. Hmmmm. Out came the magnetic tape, I cut two pieces and stuck them on the back of each of the Stampin’ Up! containers and then arranged them on my filing cabinet. Here’s a photo:

The way they are arranged is that the top row has the Earth Elements colours then the next row has Soft Subtles, the next is Bold Brights, then Rich Regals and last are neutrals (metallic brads & clear buttons).

Now, I’d love to also do the same for my embossing powders and Dazzling Diamonds glitter – unfortunately the magnetic tape isn’t strong enough for that as the little pots are heavy so they slide right down the cabinet. Will have to investigate stronger magnets.

I’ve got Nestabilities!

No doubt that sounds like a disease to non-papercrafters but for everyone else, you know what I mean. I bought these recently from Bizzy Becs – no affiliation whatsoever, just a happy customer. So as usual, new toys = storage dillema. Out came the magnetic tape along with some empty CD cases and this is how I’ve stored my Nestabilities (thanks to some of the ladies on my team who gave me this great idea):

Then all the CD cases containing the Nestabiities are stored in a CD box care of Smiggle (again, no affiliation – just love the product).

So I hope you enjoyed reading about my latest storage escapades – let me know what you think.

Edited to add: The CD cases a regular ones, I’ve just pulled out the black bit from the middle of them. They are also regular sized cases, the slimline one’s are too narrow for this purpose.

Share this article:

Have you ever been to the Stitches & Craft show at Rosehill? Well now it’s changed names to the Creative Living Expo. One of my very talented Stampin’ Up! team members and often published stamper/scrapbooker, Teneale Williams is exhibiting at this show and she has kindly invited me to join her on the stand. This show is a great place to check out a wide range of crafts which involve yarn, thread, fabric, paper and paint. So if you’re into stamping, beading, quilting, sewing, cross stitch, cardmaking, scrapbooking, painting, folk art, etc, then you’ll want to come to the show and check out what’s new and exciting in the world of craft.

Here’s the details:
When: 15 –17 February 2008

Where: Rosehill Racecourse, Rosehill, Sydney

Entry: $15 adult, $12 concession (aged and student), Children up to 12 FREE.

Book now for VIP entry and take advantage our early bird discount. Save $5 off adult entry by clicking here.

Transport: Easy access by public transport or car – FREE parking. For more details check out getting there.

To find me on the Stampin’ Up! stand (Stand 62) look for the big S and U balloons (Stampin’ Up! )as kindly donated by MAD Balloons.

If you are coming to the show feel free to email me and let me know you’re coming so I can keep an eye out for you. Don’t forget when you do visit to come over and say ‘hi’ and tell me that you’re a visitor from my blog.

Share this article:

Here’s a card I completed today for a friend of mine:

(Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 1990-2008)

I say “completed today” because I started it yesterday. Not sure why sometimes I know exactly what I want a card to look like but it still takes me hours to complete. Could be because it’s school holidays and I’ve been interrupted every few minutes… hmmmm. Actually I even used a sketch to make this card which can quicken the process even more. I got the sketch from Beate’s website which is a great site for getting sketches and inspiration.

To make this card I started with the ‘t’ chipboard which I covered with gluestick and then adhered some Stampin’ Up! ‘Au Chocolat’ Double-sided Designer Paper to it and cut around the ‘t’. I then sanded the edges to smooth the ‘t’ and ran my Chocolate Chip marker around the perimeter to hide any chipboard colour on the edges. Next I cut a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock and pierced holes around the perimeter of the card and attached the ‘t’ to the middle, this was then layered onto a piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock.

For the background I used some more Au Chocolat paper which is actually Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla but I coloured in some of the Vanilla bits in with my Certainly Celery marker – I left some of the smaller dots and dashes Vanilla and just coloured the larger bits. The ‘t’ piece was then adhered to the coloured patterned paper on the left hand side and I then adhered some matching Vanilla and Celery grograin ribbon to the right side of the card as shown. The sentiment on the side which says: “Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we might as well dance” is from the Edgy Eloquence stamp set and was stamped in Chocolate chip ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and layered onto Chocolate Chip cardstock – you can’t see it from the photo but the sentiment was adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some lift. The circles above the sentiment were made simply by punching out some flowers from more Au Chocolate paper using a small circle punch and then adhering those to some punched out circles from Chocolate Chip cardstock, a Certainly Celery brad was added to each flower and the pieces were attached to the ribbon with Sticky Strip to secure them. Lastly this whole piece was layered onto some Pretty in Pink cardstock and then again onto a folded piece of Certainly Celery card.

Here’s a comprehensive list of products for your reference:

(All products by Stampin’ Up! and available through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com)

Edgy Eloquence stamp set (from the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalogue)
Letter ‘t’ chipboard
Certainly Celery cardstock
Pretty in Pink cardstock
Very Vanilla cardstock
Chocolate Chip cardstock
Chocolate Chip inkpad
Chocolate Chip marker
Au Chocolat Double-sided Designer Paper (from the Stampin’ Up! Summer Mini Catalogue)
Celery grosgrain ribbon
Celery brads
Cream grosgrain ribbon
Glue Stick
Stampin’ Up! Tool Kit (Paper piercer and template)
Stampin’ Dimensionals (double-sided foam tape)
Sticky Strip
SNAIL Adhesive

Please email me on angelasargeant@gmail.com if you have any questions on this card. Of course I always love receiving comments on my blog.

Share this article:

Here’s a card I made for a challenge… the challenge was to make a card with ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” – it didn’t have to be a wedding card, just had to have those features.

And this is my interpretation:

Something old: the aged-look background
Something new: the frame stamp which I had never used before
Something borrowed: the idea of stamping a monogram in this frame
Something blue: the backing cardstock

Here’s how I made my card. I stamped the frame onto Very Vanilla cardstock with Versamark inkpad, gold embossed it, coloured inside the ‘open’ sections of the frame using my aquapainter and the Cool Caribbean inkpad then cut out the frame inside and out. I then stamped the letter ‘J’ onto some vellum and adhered my gold frame over the ‘J’ and then cut out the excess vellum that was around the frame. This was then adhered to a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock which I had distressed the edges of using my Stampin’ Up! distressing tool. The background is the French Script background stamp stamped onto Very Vanilla cardstock using Chocolate Chip ink. I then crumpled up the cardstock several times, smoothed it open with my hand and dragged a Creamy Caramel inkpad and Really Rust inkpad over the top so that the ink caught onto the creases of the cardstock. This background was then adhered to a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and then I tied a length of cream wide grosgrain ribbon around the two pieces of card and made a simple knot at the side. This whole piece was adhered to a folded piece of Cool Caribbean cardstock. To finish I layered the monogram piece onto the card using Stampin’ Dimensionals to give it some height.

Card designed by Angela Sargeant
All products by Stampin’ Up! and available for purchase by emailing angelasargeant@gmail.com
All images copyright to Stampin’ Up! 1990-2008

Here’s a comprehensive list of the products that I used to make my card:

Finials & Frames stamp set (Gold frame)
Letterpress Alphabet stamp set (Letter ‘J’)
French Script Background
Cool Caribbean cardstock
Cool Caribbean inkpad
Chocolate Chip cardstock
Chocolate Chip inkpad
Creamy Caramel inkpad
Really Rust inkpad
Very Vanilla cardstock
Vellum
Cream wide grosgrain ribbon
Stampin’ Dimensionals (double-sided foam tape)
SNAIL Adhesive
Paper Snips (sharp scissors for cutting out frame)
Blender pen (for colouring inside the frame – pick up some colour from the inkpad using the blender pen)

Please feel free to email me on angelasargeant@gmail.com if you have any questions on this card.

Share this article:

In case you missed it (and are interested!), I have been published in the latest issue of Stamping & Papercraft Magazine. Here’s a peek at my cards:

I love the way Stamping & Papercraft have photographed my cards . These cards feature the Stampin’ Up! stamp set called “Artifacts” along with the Collage Alphabet stamp set and the Print Background stamp and ‘Size It Up’ wheel. The technique I’ve used for the cards is called Burnt Batik. If you’d like the full instructions on making these cards then they are in the latest issue – Volume 13, No. 3 and are on pages 12 to 15.

Share this article:

Yes I know, I’ve been horrifically slack in updating my blog and all I can give you as an excuse is ‘family’ and me taking time to do Christmas things rather than making cards.

So let’s get back to it! Here’s a card I just finished this minute:

Can you tell I just bought a Cuttlebug? I’m feeling annoyed with myself as I swore black & blue that I wouldn’t ever buy one but now I’ve been talked into it and I love it. Why am I annoyed? I should have caved in earlier and just bought it… I think I secretly knew I always would – has that ever happened to you? tried to tell yourself you weren’t going to buy something then you finally did?

Anyway, here’s how I made the card. I started with a base of Certainly Celery cardstock folded in half to make a card. Then I put some Whisper White cardstock through the Cuttlebug using the ‘Textile’ embossing folder and then went over the design with some Bashful Blue ink using a sponge dauber in small circles to colour the design. The edges of the cardstock were also inked with a sponge dauber and Bashful Blue ink. This card was then adhered to the base card with SNAIL adhesive. Next I got a piece of Pale Plum cardstock and made two rows of holes on the top and bottom of the cardstock using a paper piercer and template from the Stampin’ Up! Tool Kit. At first I thought this bit would take ages but using the template meant it literally took less than a minute. I then wrapped a length of wide Celery Grosgrain ribbon around the Pale Plum cardstock and tied it into a simple knot at the side and adhered the piece on top of the embossed card. The flower I stamped is from the Sassy Stems stamp set and was stamped onto watercolour paper using black Stazon ink and then coloured with Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum and Bashful Blue markers. The stem, leaf and stamen were outlined directly with the fine end of the marker, the flower was watercoloured with the markers and an aquapainter. This piece was then adhered onto a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock and then layered onto the card with Stampin’ Dimensionals (double-sided foam tape) – unfortunately you can’t see from my photo that the centre piece sits forward. Lastly I attached two photo anchors to the top of the card, these are from the Stampin’ Up! Pewter Hodgepodge.

That’s it! If there’s anything that you’d like to ask me about this card then please feel free to email me on: angelasargeant@gmail.com. In the meantime, here’s a list to make it easy for you to see what I’ve used.

Card designed by Angela Sargeant.
All stamped images copyright to Stampin’ Up! 2990-2008
All products used (except for Cuttlebug products) available for purchase through me at angelasargeant@gmail.com

Sassy Stems stamp set
Cuttlebug
Textile Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
Bashful Blue cardstock
Bashful Blue inkpad
Bashful Blue marker
Certainly Celery cardstock
Certainly Celery marker
Certainly Celery wide grosgrain ribbon
Pale Plum cardstock
Perfect Plum marker
Watercolour paper
Pewter Hodgepodge (photo anchors)
Sponge Dauber
SNAIL Adhesive
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Aquapainter (water brush)

Share this article: