In my beautiful, beautiful ballooooooon!

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 July 2010 11:30 Written by Ju Wednesday, 14 July 2010 11:30

Once upon a time I made my niece’s first birthday invitations……

As soon as I saw the set, “A Little Treat” in This Current Autumn/Winter Mini Catalogue it simply screeeeeamed, “1st Birthday Invites!” If you noticed however, the Autumn/Winter Mini began 1 April. I can’t believe it’s been that long since I made just shy of 30 of these babies…….

Stamped Images ©1990 - 2010 Stampin' Up!

The problem I tend to create for myself is I make one of something that I am needing to reproduce and I have so much fun making that one that sometimes, well I perhaps go a little too intricate for mass production. However, I just can’t make myself change it so there I sit, cutting out around 60 balloons, 30 hot air balloons and 30 hot air balloon baskets and then 30 phrases…..twice (as I layered them).

Have I shared what a patient man my husband is?

In the end I was very happy with how they turned out and whilst you can post these gorgeous morsels with Australia Post using the Stampin’ Up! Padded Envelopes, most of these babies could be hand delivered.

Stamped Images ©1990 - 2010 Stampin' Up!

See how sparkly the balloons and hot air balloon baskets are? I used a really easy, mess free & time saving way to bling them all up! Instead of just using the 2-Way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter to bling up these images, I mixed a small amount of glitter into a little dollop of Crystal Effects™. Once I had stuck the balloons onto the invites, using a paint brush I painted the glitter/effects concoction on. For the baskets I painted the stamped images first before cutting them out as I still wanted to get the brad on. Soooooooo easy and NOT MESSY!!! *hooorah!* I let the images dry overnight as the Crystal Effects™ takes a little longer to dry but the added gorgeousness of using Crystal Effects™ is the shiny finish it adds to the shimmery glitter.

Pretty no?

So now, onto the Sweet Treat Cups and how I got these yummy M&M’s in……….

Image © Jujybean Creations

I added an extra panel to the inside of the card. The edge is scallop punched simply for looks, lol. I added Sticky Strip to the top and bottom and left hand side only of the panel so I could slide another panel in and out. Using the Round Tab Punch I created a little Only Orange pull tag to move the Yo-Yo Yellow panel in and out from behind the Pixie Pink panel.

The fab thing about the Sweet Treat Cups is Stampin’ Up! have also created a matching 1-3/4″ Circle Punch so you can create perfectly matching circles to feed your cups through.

Image © Jujybean Creations

Then only downfall of ALL of these invites? Well that was counting out the M&M’s to make sure there were enough.

I am not very good at counting chocolate. I lose count. One for the invite……one for me………..

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today *hugs* Thanks for stopping by! If you’d like to purchase any of the products I have used on this project (unless noted as retired) or any other Stampin’ Up! products, please don’t hesitate to contact me HERE. Your order will be delivered straight to your door Australia wide.

Please Note: On August 31st, Stampin’ Up! are retiring a whole lot of colours to make way for a fresh, new and up to date colour palette. Except for the Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White, All the other colours I have used on this project are Retiring Colours. To view the complete list of Retiring Colours, click HERE. Can I encourage you to stock up now on any of your favourite colours that may be retiring to avoid missing out all together. Close To Cocoa has sold out and is now no longer available

See you soon!

Ju *hugs*

Supplies:

Stamps: A Little Treat, Crazy For Cupcakes, Family Phrases, Good Neighbours (SAB 2010 ~ cloud stamped image ~ retired)
Paper: Pixie Pink, Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Only Orange, Yo-Yo Yellow, Whisper White
Inks: Chocolate Chip, Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Pixie PInk, Stampin’ Write Markers: Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, Yo-Yo Yellow, Only Orange and White Gel Pen
Accessories: Sweet Treat Cups, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Round Tab Punch, Silver Brads, 1/16″ Circle Punch

Royal Invitation Maker commissioned by Princess

Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 January 2010 10:54 Written by Ju Wednesday, 6 January 2010 10:13

So firstly I would like to say a rather belated Happy New Year to you!! I hope you had the most lovely Christmas and New Years!

I am getting into the swing of a new year, a new decade, an airconditioner that works – finally!! (oh the saga! Lol!!) and a new direction and I must say that I am rather excited!! I really do look forward to sharing my journey with you. However!! Before I get stuck into my next chapter of that which is Ju, I felt I had a few loose ends to deal with and it just didn’t seem right to leave them, you, hanging!!

Wayeeeeeeeeeeee back in October, I attended a rather fun Stampin’ Up! Training Day where I had the absolute honour of presenting a “Workshop Wow” to all who were there. You can read more about this funny moment here   One of the fun aspects of training days are the swaps that you can make on the day with other fellow demonstrators from across the South Australia as well as some from across the borders. It was from these swaps that I was completely inspired, or should I say, Miss almost-5 (at the time) was completely inspired and suddenly we had direction for her 5th birthday invitations!! I must say, I was rather relieved as up until this moment, Miss 5 was adamant it was to be a princess and a pirate party!!! Oh my brain hurt trying to think of an invitation that would cover such a diverse theme! So I would truly love to thank prefusely, Tamara Conroy for her amazing swap!

“I think just a princess party mum.” *mummy dances with joy on the inside*

So here is Tamara’s gorgeous creation,

Card by Tamara Conroy 2009

Isn’t it amazing? How clever is the use of the punches? It is so classy and sassy and it truly caught our attention. So, after a little play, this was what I came up with for my princess’ 5th birthday party………

Image © Jujybean ~ Stamped Images ©1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

For the dress I’ve used the Scallop Circle Punch and Large Oval Punch. I decorated the skirt with the Retro Mix Roller Wheel (Summer Mini Catalogue) first before punching out the ‘pleats’. To create the puffy sleaves I punched around a Scallop Circle using the end of the Large Oval Punch. Being a princess party, bling was completely necessary so dazzling diamonds was a must as well as a bit of bling on the glittery star wand.

The background of the card is stamped with a stamp from the Sprinkles stamp set using Versamark for a more watermark effect. For a more 3D look, rather than embossing with the heat gun, I used my Crystal Effects™ to leave a raised shiny look over the letters.

Verdict? Miss almost-5 was suitably impressed *mummy dances yet again for joy*

Baby shower invites from a proud aunty

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 June 2009 03:47 Written by Ju Tuesday, 26 May 2009 10:55

I am SO EXCITED as my sister became a MUMMY for the FIRST TIME almost two weeks ago now (it’s crazy to think more than two weeks have already passed!) On top of this I am also VERY HAPPY that we got the first baby shower in! Yes that’s right, we planned TWO baby showers, lol! The first one was a big celebration for everyone, guys and girls (we figured my sister’s husband had a part to play in all this so he should enjoy the celebrations as well, hehe)

For the first Baby Shower Invite I found inspiration for the design from another blog I stumbled across at the start of the year. I just really wish I had thought to note the blog down! *note to self* My only self critique for this invite is perhaps next time, making sure the invite fits INTO an envelope!! I went nuts, had so much fun, created 27 of these cute things and then realised *gah!* they don’t fit into an envelope! So the poor things had to be wrapped within an A5 envelope! *more notes to self: envelope template*

Stamped Images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

Stamped Images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

My sister knew she was having a girl hence the pink already on the invite. This set is retired but I really like the card design and wanted to show you something a little different. To keep the card shut I used some elastic craft string and threaded a bead on it to act like a handle. This way you could stretch and then loop the string around the black brad on the right.

This Baby Shower was more a gathering of family and friends to eat, drink and increase the excitement of the princess’ impending arrival! Seeing as there were so many people, we didn’t play games which is why we planned a second Baby Shower with a much smaller group of girls. You can’t have a baby without cutting string and guessing how big the belly is or having a wager on when and how big the baby will be!! You just can’t!

As the second party was to be a night of giggles and silliness, I decided to create some fun invites……

© 2009 Julie of Jujybean Creations

It was amusing to watch reactions as the invited guests received a rather bulky envelope and then to watch them open up the nappy rather cautiously, hehe.

But the MOST AMUSING part of this second baby shower was catching up with my sister on the Thursday morning (the day before the shower) to grab a few bubby items for games, then heading out to the shops to buy everything else including prizes, then to get home in the afternoon to receive a call from my sister saying her waters had broken!!!!!!! Must’ve been the pep talk I gave my niece, lol!

So now we are plannning a Baby Celebration

Supplies – Baby Shower Invite #1
Stamps: Bundle of Joy (retired)
Paper: Basic Black (106561) Pixie Pink (108596) Whisper White (106549) Watercolour Paper (105019)
Inks: Pixie Pink (101212) Staz On Jet Black (101406) Markers – Pixie Pink (105112) Chocolate Chip (100071)
Accessories: Aqua Painters (103954) Vintage Brads (109109 – I used the black ones) Black Gingham Ribbon (104832) Crystal Effects™ (101055) 2 Way Glue Pen (100425) Dazzling Diamonds (102023) Crop-o-Dile™ (108362)
Own Stock: Craft elastic string, beads, eyelets (retired)

Supplies – Baby Shower Invite #2
Paper: Pink Passion (108595) Confetti White (106557)
Accessories: 1/16″ Circle Punch (101227)
Own Stock: pins, nappy covers

If you would like any of the Stampin’ Up! products featured (excluding retired products) click here to place an order

Happy Birthday to me!

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 June 2009 03:49 Written by Ju Tuesday, 19 May 2009 07:09

Talking about big years and invitations…….I turned, ahem, 30 this year *eeep* and so felt it necessary, if not obligatory, to have a ‘do’. My husband and I have our birthdays close together so I felt uncomfy just having a thing for me so we decided on a joint celebration (this of course allowed more leverage in party planning….”it’s for you too you know” hehehe, ah so cheeky) I wanted a celebration a bit more fancy than a ‘party’ but not quite a cocktail one. I had been eyeing off a stamp set to make the invites and was so sad when it was retired but they say all things work out for a reason! I am SO glad I ended up using “Voila”! Its such a fun set that can easily be dressed up or down…..just like a pair of jeans

Stamped images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

Stamped images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

Jules thanks for the ribbon tip too!! Really added that extra touch by having one continuous piece of ribbon and not needing to use any adhesive to keep it there!

I then ummed and ahhed over whether to stamp the chef on glossy or watercolour only to be taught I can still watercolour on confetti paper! Oh that was so great and so easy! I still did the cheesy platter on glossy though for a bit of extra shine.

Stamp: Voila (116432)
Paper: Basic Black (106561) Real Red (106578) Confetti White (106557) Glossy White (106555)
Inks: Whisper White (101731) Staz On Jet Black (101406) Basic Black (101179) Bold Bright Markers (105538)
Accessories: 5/8″ Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon (109052) Crop-o-Dile (108362) Blender Pens (102845)

It really was a beautiful night with gas heaters, fairy lights and wayyeeeee too much yum food. But I just have to show you our centrepiece! “Cake!” by Liz Harris wowed everyone once again with her amazing creation! It just didn’t seem right to not share it with you!

© "Cake!" by Liz Harris

Isn’t it just the cutest thing?! And look…….mini hubby & Me!…..

© "Cake!" by Liz Harris

If you would like any of the Stampin’ Up! products featured in this post click here to place an order

Bling for double figures

Last Updated on Wednesday, 3 June 2009 03:49 Written by Ju Tuesday, 19 May 2009 06:44

One thing that I absolutely love to do are invitations! I don’t know why but sometimes my inspiration gushes out when I am trying to come up with an invitation idea and then will stifle when I try to make a card! Weird. I have some gorgeous friends and this year, their daughter turned 10! (It’s scary when i can now say I remember her being little, lol!) Her colour theme was red and the thought of having red lanterns as decorations was discussed. As soon as I heard ‘red lanterns’ I just knew that I had to somehow stick with that……oh and be able to still post them, lol!

I have never played with beads or the like before so I had ALOT of fun with these. Thankfully there were only ten to make but when I do invites I love to make an extra one so the guest of honour gets a keepsake invite. By the time I made invite number ten I was in the flow! The first couple were very fiddly as I had to find my inner co-ordination…….not as easy as it sounds.

Stamped images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

Just using the outline of the Heartfelt Thanks flower made for a very sophisticated look. I made a little accent with one by colouring the edges in with watercolour pencils then softening with blender pens. I then cut the flower out and stuck it on with dimensionals.  I carried the flower look over to the envelopes…..

Stamped images © 1990 - 2009 Stampin' Up!

But as you may be able to tell, the invite was too big for the envelope *doh* so I had to slice open both ends of the envelope to slide the invite in. To stop the invite from then falling out I used a metallic brad from my own stock to secure the top of the envelope within the loop of the invite, if that makes sense. So even though the invite may slide around the brad is stopping it from going too far.

Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks (116372) Short & Sweet (116410)
Paper: Real Red (106578) Whisper White (106549)
Inks: Real Red (103133) Whisper White (101731)
Accessories: 1-3/8″ Circle Punch (104401)
Own Stock: Beads, craft wire, eyelets, glitter, envelopes