An As You Wish Christmas

Needing some last minute inspiration before Santa comes? Here's a bit of Christmas eye candy for you from a BIG and FUN collaboration day I did with Nadine at As You Wish Events Ltd back in October. She had a 12 Days of Christmas blog series all about it *HERE*. Nadine's motto is genuinely 'Celebrate more. Celebrate Well'. I hope you enjoy your festive season and make plans for lots of little celebrations along the way in 2017. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. And a special thought to those who find this time of year tough - for any reason. Lots of Love.

Credits:

Styling: Nadine @ As You Wish Events

Photography: Wonderferris

Covers Decoration Hire

Gather & Twine Floral Design

Grandeur Events

Dreaming of Christmas

Nadine and I at the end of the shoot day. Exhausted but happy!

Detailed Dragonfly in Neutrals - Fancy Friday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Fancy Friday blog hop! We're a group of past and present Stampin' Up! Artisans that bring you new challenges each month for your inspiration. This month we have a neutrals theme - mostly white with another neutral colour in the mix.

It's December. So when I sat down to make this card I wanted a therapeutic project with a little more layering than my usual stuff. Amongst all the busy-ness this time of year this craft session did me a world of good! This card has a few sneaky peek products from our upcoming Occasions Catalogue coming January 4th. So exciting!

Quick Tips: 

1) If you're using a lot of white, think TEXTURE. This is pretty easy to achieve with different papers, dies and my all-time fav, Linen Thread.

2) For a subtle sketchy background with a difference, rub on a Watercolour Pencil and go over it with a Blender Pen to smudge it.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Suite Sentiments (out Jan 4th)

Inks: Basic Grey Archival, Smokey Slate

Papers: Whisper White Thick, Vellum, Watercolour Paper, Basic Grey, Whisper White, Delicate Doilies, Copper Foil Sheets

Accessories/Tools: Big Shot, Detailed Dragonfly Thinlits (out Jan 4th), Layering Circle Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Linen Thread, Gold Wink of Stella Glitter Brush, Aqua Painter, Blender Pen, Watercolour Pencils (out Jan 4th), Affectionately Yours Designer Washi Tape, Dimensionals, Basic Jewels Pearls (for eyes)

This is our last Fancy Friday hop for 2016. Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas season. 

See you in the New Year!

Next on the hop is my amazing friend Shannon Lane. 

She's new to Fancy Friday so give her some love!

Psst - check out this awesome customer rewards initiative starting January 2017!

New Year's Goals Board - Stampin' Up! Artisan Blog Hop

I actually can't believe it. Where has this year gone? School is wrapping up for the year and we're SO close to Christmas and summer holidays! This is our last Artisan blog hop for 2016. It's such a bittersweet ending in that it's been an amazing year and I've made some great friends along the way. BUT I know that next year is going to be big and exciting too. There's lots to look forward to. Check out the links at the bottom of this post to follow me in 2017. 

Talking of the New Year... this soft mockery of resolutions by Jamie Cullum kinda sums things up for me. Many 'resolutions' come and go but if we have a small number of realistic goals, we're much more likely to actually achieve something right?!

So where are you heading next year? Here's a 12x12 goals board I made using the Hello December 2016 Project Life Card Collection (on special right now too). Paired with the It's a Celebration and Number of Years stamp sets, the December cards transformed into a year-round look without much effort! Write down your goals, frame and put them up somewhere you can see them! I'd love to hear your plans for 2017 in the comments.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: It's a Celebration, Number of Years
Inks: Emerald Envy, Smokey Slate
Papers: Hello December 2016 Project Life Card Collection, Whisper White 12x12, Whisper White, Emerald Envy, Delicate Doilies
Accessories/Tools: Layering Circle Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Large Numbers Framelits, Project Life Hello December 2016 Accessory Pack, Emerald Envy Solid Baker's Twine, 3/8" Glitter Ribbon Combo Pack, Rhinestones

Shop using my NZ host code this December and be in to win a prize pack!

And so with this post, my Artisan journey comes to an end. It has been an amazing and rewarding experience these last couple of years! Truly. Thank you to Stampin' Up! and the team that managed us from afar. Thank you to my sure-to-be-lifelong friend, Cindy, for being team 'mom' and also the Artisan friends that I've made and worked alongside. And especially a huuuuge thanks to you, my readers, for joining me on the ride. 

From here it's my utter and absolute pleasure to introduce to you the 2017 team! A special shout out to my wonderful and oh-so-talented South Pacific friends, Paula Dobson, Louise Sharp and Rochelle Blok. I can't wait to see where 2017 takes you all! Best wishes!

Introducing the 2017 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team 

Allison Okamitsu - Canada

Aurélie Fabre - France

Cathy Caines - Canada

Dani Dziama - United States

Holly Stene - United States

Jennifer Sootkoos - United States

Jessica Winter - Austria

Katy Harrison - United Kingdom

Kimberly Van Diepen - United States

Louise Sharp - Australia

Maike Ulbrich - Germany

Martha Inchley - Canada

Mercedes Weber - United States

Mindy Bingamon-Backes - United States

Miriam van Eyden - Netherlands

Paula Dobson - New Zealand

Rochelle Blok - Australia

Shannon Lane - Canada

Sylwia Schreck - Germany

Tanya Boser - United States


Stay connected : Stamping Susan Wong

    

And finally, let's hop through to my wonderful friend, Val

Blessings to you and yours this Christmas.
Love Susan

Tin of Tags Banner - Stampin' Up! Artisan Blog Hop

This is it, guys! We're in December and the final month of the current Artisan Team's term and today is our second to last hop. It has been a great year! Thank you all so much for joining us on the ride.

Today I want to share with you a banner I made using the Tin of Tags project kit. Out of this kit I made this banner, 10 of the actual tags (some converted to cards) and still had leftovers for other projects. I feel like I've stretched it so well! Inspired by Krista Frattin, I made a wooden star to stick it on. These bits were lying around in the back yard and already had holes in the ends! How convenient. What kind of Christmas decor are you making at the moment?

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Layered Letters Alphabet
Inks: Read Red
Papers: Whisper White
Accessories/Tools: Tin of Tags Project Kit, Linen Thread, Whisper White Solid Baker's Twine (you could use the silver/white twine in the kit though), Silver Metallic Thread, 1/8" Circle Punch, 5/8" Burlap Ribbon, Dimensionals, 1 1/2" Circle Punch

Next up I can't wait to see what Val has made! Happy hopping to you. xx

I'm 'dangling the carrot'...

Exciting new initiative starting JANUARY 2017 : Get in on the action now!

Introducing The Crafty Carrot Collective

Welcome to a very special introductory blog hop - squeeee! I'm SO excited to tell you about this brand-new, global and interactive rewards programme some Stampin' Up! Artisan friends and I are starting in January 2017!! We have SO many exciting things in store for you so NOW is the time to jump on board and follow us (scroll all the way down for links). Here's a little bit about it...

End-of-Year Treat Boxes:

Our Tiny Treat Boxes seem to look gorgeous whatever you do with them! Here I've made four tags (a folded 2" x 4" card) per box and added some Hershey's kisses for end-of-year gifts. Use an aqua painter filled with water and approx 20 drops of Calypso Coral reinker on a 1 7/8" square of Shimmery White Paper for a quick watercolour background. When dry, use the Tin of Tags stamp set in Basic Black ink on your square and adhere it to the front of your tag. Punch a hole and thread some twine through. So easy but so effective!

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Tin of Tags

Inks: Basic Black Archival Ink, Calypso Coral reinker

Papers: Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper, Shimmery White

Accessories/Tools: Silver 1/4" Natural Trim, Linen Thread, Basic Black Baker's Twine, 1/8" Handheld Circle Punch, Clear Tiny Treat Boxes

We're dangling the carrot in JANUARY 2017 with a whole month of FREE tutorials and live classes for ALL over on our Facebook page. Follow us now and tell all your friends so you don't miss out on the action! Better still, turn on notifications so you don't miss a thing!

The Crafty Carrot Collective:

BLOG craftycarrotcollective.blogspot.com

FACEBOOK facebook.com/thecraftycarrotco

INSTAGRAM @craftycarrotco

Click below to see what our other Crafty Carrot demonstrators have for you! 

Next up is my talented friend Valerie Moody!

NEW ZEALAND FOLLOWERS:
Use the host code below when you order online with me this December and WIN!

Fancy Friday : Birthday Fiesta does Christmas!

Welcome to the Fancy Friday Blog Hop! 

I'm new on this team of FANCY friends and so excited to be here! We're a group of past and present Stampin' Up! Artisans that bring you new challenges each month for your inspiration. This month we're getting festive...

Ever since I got the Birthday Fiesta stamp set I've wanted to use my Mr Llama on everything. He's not just for birthdays, guys! {You might have seen my mini makeover baby decor *HERE*} Well, this time, he's feeling Christmassy and he fitted in perfectly with the neutral tones and pops of red from our inspiration board. Hope you fall in love with his cute lil face as much as I have...

Did you miss my Facebook Live video on how to make this card? Competition now closed but you can still create along with me by clicking below. xx

Supplies Used for these cards:
Stamps: Birthday Fiesta, Oh, What Fun
Inks: Mint Macaron, Whisper White Craft
Papers: Crumb Cake, Water-colour Paper, Basic Black, Brights Designer Series Paper Stack, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper
Accessories/Tools: Fiesta Time Framelits Dies, Big Shot, Delicate White Doilies, Linen Thread, Real Red 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Aqua Painter, Fancy Frost Sequins, Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies

Shop online with me in New Zealand:

When you purchase $75 receive a FREE Tutorial Bundle (12 tutorials in one)



Now let's hop to my beautiful Canadian friend, Krista Frattin!