Saturday, September 27, 2014

Creative Scrappers Sketch #278

Good afternoon everyone.    I have another page I'm sharing today using a sketch from Creative Scrappers.
I was all enthusiastic and suggested to Jean that we do some scrapbook sketches.   Mmmmm well once again, a wee bit over ambitious!!!!    The photos I've used aren't gorgeous scenes, or wonderful days at the beach etc, just pictures of what I was taking to a friend's place for a day's sewing. lol    For some reason, I'm not very good at travelling lightly.    I try but end saying 'Oh I better take this or that in case I need it!'. 

So before I unloaded the car, I took some photos of exactly what I did have with me and this is the resulting page using the sketch.    This page nearly didn't happen because I thought people want to see scenes etc but after some more thinking, I decided that it's all about MY pages and MY way of scrap booking.
One thing that is fairly awesome, is that I've managed to do some sewing on this page without any problem at all.  The letters, flair and extra bits are from the Scrappy Canary August kits.

Thanks for visiting today.  Keep well.
 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Scrappy Canary September Sketch Challenge

Good morning everyone.  Yes, I know.......a very neglected blog.   My apologies.    I have been making cards and doing some classes but life has been hectic lately.    Once again, I'm trying my hand at scrap booking.    Did you notice I said 'trying'.  I can make cards, work out what's right and what's not right with them but when it comes to this sort of work......I am stumped.   The best I can do is follow a sketch, well try to anyway. lol
Last month for the August sketch challenge at Scrappy Canary, I won it.  Random draw....I couldn't possibly have won it on my work. lol
So here I am again, entering September's sketch challenge.
I used another photo from the same selection as the last two lay outs.  That way they'll all match, I hope. 
The end result is the second time around.......the first attempt, well, most of it is in the bin.   I kept the top section and changed the base page.  All the bits except the base page are from the this kit and this one.  The backing paper is Stampin' Up from the SAB dsp pack this year.
It's a miserable day here today.   Overcast, coolish and wet.    I personally don't mind BUT we are in the middle of the crushing here and goodness knows when the cane will get cut now, all the paddocks will have to dry out.
I'm going to try another sketch today....Creative Scrappers sketch #278.   I also have to do my teddy box.....here.   It's so cute.
That's all from me today.   Keep well everyone. 
 

Friday, August 29, 2014

Scrappy Canary August Sketch Challenge

This is the second page I did for the Scrappy Canary Sketch Challenge. I really enjoyed doing both pages.  The other photos I have that were taken on the same day will be pocket scrapped.  So the two full pages will fit in quite well.
Once again I used mostly items from the Scrappy Canary kits with a few bits from my stash.
Thanks for visiting. 
 

Scrappy Canary August Sketch Challenge

I recently subscribed to an Australian business, called Scrappy Canary who supplies monthly kits for scrap booking.   This month they have a sketch challenge.   Now I haven't done a full scrapbook page since 2009 so I am extremely out of practice but this is what I came up with today.
I used the bits and pieces that came in the three kits I subscribed to and some extra things that I had in my stash.
Actually I'm quite pleased with my efforts.  
Thanks for visiting today.
 

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sailing In To Say Hello.

Good morning.   I have another card to share today.  
This one uses Pion Design Shoreline Treasures papers. These are fabulous papers and I love them all.  I paired the papers with Marianne Dies.  The greeting is from a set by Joanna Munster, Inspired By Stamping.
The net is some of the linen cast net that I was given and the shells are from a packet I purchased at a DIY craft shop here in Mackay.
Thanks for visiting today and hope everyone keeps well. 
 

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Join Me For A Coffee?

Hello Everyone.
I'm back!   My computer had to go in for immediate and urgent repairs.  Fortunately all good now AND I have a new photo program......Photoshop Elements 12!!  Yaaaayyyyyy. lol
I managed to edit this photo with my new program.  There certainly is a lot to learn about it.
Anyway on to the card.  This is the first card I made with my new Maja Design papers called Coffee In The Arbour.   These papers are absolutely gorgeous.
Also on this card, I used some other new toys.   The metal corner has been embossed with Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing Enamel.  The teacup, saucer and spoon is a new Marianne Design die set. The pretty, pretty lace is new too.  The ribbon is some I've had for years.  The frame is called Tiffany by Memory Box.
Thanks for visiting today and I'm pleased to be back with my large computer screen where I can see everything.  
 

Saturday, June 21, 2014

McAleese Lookalike!!

Good morning everyone.
I'm back this time with a card that I made especially for a friend's brother's birthday.
He used to drive McAleese semis so Lex wanted a semi trailer in McAleese colours on the card.
Here is the result.   The inspiration for the layout and embellishments are from this card by Ans Gilbert.
At first this card just wouldn't work but once I coloured the darker blue stripe with a bit more Island Indigo, I forged ahead. 
The base is SU Naturals White with a layer of Island Indigo.  In my recent stash buying, I bought this dsp by Kaisercraft called Base Coat Cracked.  It's actually a picture of a brick wall that has been rendered a few times.  I picked out a corner that looked like bitumen coming off road base....which I might add is what quite a few of our roads look like.  lol
Then a piece of Silver Foil Sheet was run through the Tim Holtz Diamond Plate embossing folder.  I matted this onto Basic Grey.   For this card I had the wonderful opportunity to use my new Gilding Paste.  Love this stuff.  It smells like shoe polish.  I rubbed Black Gilding Paste over the checker plate, gears, number and had a marvellous time with it.  rofl
 My semi trailer is a Stamp It stamp coloured with Prisma Colour pencils with the dark blue stripe over coloured with Island Indigo ink and blender pen.  For the background of the semi, I stamped the World Map stamp after stamping off first.
Tyre tracks from Rev Up The Fun have been stamped on the Smokey Slate layer and to clean my stamp a bit, I stamped randomly over my checker plate piece.
The grid paper is from Soho Subway and then with my old spiral punch I made it look like paper from a notebook. 
Enjoy The Journey seemed appropriate for the card and this has been stamped onto another piece of Soho Subway dsp.
Black photo corners, screw top brads, gears, paper clip, an age number and ticket provided embellishments for the card.
I had a wonderful time distressing, gilding, stamping and embellishing this card.
Lex loved the card and she is positive her brother will too.

The rest of today will be spent in making a couple of cakes and two potato bakes.  I also have to cut up kabana, cheese, heat up cheerios, butter bread rolls and worst of all, cut up onions. sniff, sniff.
My son is having a 21st birthday party here tonight.  Eeeeekkkk!!!!
Wish me luck! lol
Enjoy the rest of your day and keep well.
 

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Dare To Dream.

Good morning.
I'm showing today one of the cards that my Saturday ladies made in their class yesterday.
The inspiration for this card came from this one by Stamping Shanni.
I used a stamp from a new Stampin' Up set called Traveller.  The Australian/New Zealand new catalogue goes live on the 1st July.  
The base is Crumb Cake, next layer, Midnight Muse, then Crumb Cake again.   I stamped the World Map with Soft Suede onto Very Vanilla twice.  The join from stamping twice is under the ship's log piece which has been stamped on Crumb Cake and layered onto Midnight Muse.
To tie in the Cherry Cobbler that I stamped the ship with, I used some mesh that I bought from Sharon at the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.
The edges of all the layers and the banner have been distressed and inked lightly with Soft Suede.
The rope around the image is from Sharon too.  The anchor, which is from The Open Sea, I stamped in Midnight Muse then cut out. Along the rope on the anchor, I glued the frayed string and then threaded it through the hole, knotted it and tucked the end up under the oval.
The banner was die cut and then 'Dare To Dream slightly bent to the curve of the banner and stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig.
Hemp twine and a button made a wonderful nautical embellishment.
A very fine line of Multi Media Matte around the oval so my knotted rope would stick and a compass charm completed the card.
Hope you have a wonderful day or night as the case may be.
Keep well.
 

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Big Catch!

Can you see it?   The big fish?? lol  I had a lovely time designing this card because I was having a chuckle all the while.  This card was inspired by a card made Cootje - here.
I used a base of Stampin' Up Early Espresso.  On to that I layered a piece of creek pebble dsp that I purchased while I was away at camp in March.  The image is from Joy Crafts Fishing Fun paper block. I chose this particular image because I felt that it was more of a creek or dam than the ocean and would go with my 'pebbles' well.   The green layer is Wild Wasabi (I think) and the hessian paper is one out of the Kaisercraft Base Coat range.
The woven jute ribbon is from Linda at the Funkie Junkie Boutique.  This jute ribbon is fabulous BUT it is interwoven with nylon, like fishing line so it's a bit of a nuisance to try and fold. The grass die is Impression Obsession and I use it a lot.  The man in the boat silhouette and fish dies are from Joy Crafts.  I die cut the smallest fish out of silver card and added a bling eye.  The fishing 'line' is some hemp twine.  The Big Catch stamp is from one of the matching stamp sets in the Joy Crafts Fishing Fun series.  Unfortunately I cannot purchase the other one. It's mostly in Dutch but I just love some the images and words in it.  Pity.
Last but not least, is my Gone Fishin' sign.....an old stamp by Stylish Images.  Love it.
The ladies in class who made this card were thrilled with it and they had a chuckle too. lol
Thanks for visiting my blog.
 

To The Beach!!

Well I'd love to go but unfortunately it's a busy day here in my household. lol
Please excuse the quality of the photo, a. it's a very grey murky day here and b. the camera wouldn't keep still (yep, I was shaking).
I have another class on Friday with my ladies from Mackay.  
Due to the fact that I love beach themed papers and embellishments, there will be quite a few beach/boat/fishing themed cards in the coming weeks. I only hope the ladies won't get tired of them.
This card uses Graphic 45 By The Sea range of papers and stamps.  The sketch is from LOTV ideas to inspire sketch. I started with a base of Stampin' Up Naturals White.  The blue layer is retired Not Quite Navy.  The check out of By The Sea is gorgeous.  I added two panels of the starfish/anemone paper as per sketch and that's where I went off on a tangent.  The finished card looks nothing like the sketch.  Oh well, so be it.
The sign and wording 'To The Beach' are stamps which match the Graphic 45 By The Sea range of papers.  The birds and grass are Impression Obsession dies and the umbrella is a Memory Box die. The birds have been sponged with Weathered Wood distress ink.  
I added shells, fussy cut from the papers, I think there is a check on the other side.  Then a piece of fishing net with some actual shells attached finished off the card.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog.
Hope you like my card.
Cheers,
 

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Treasured Memories.

Do you remember going to the beach and looking for shells along the high tide mark?  I do.  I loved the beach when I was a kid and still love walking along the beach when I get a chance.
This card was inspired by this card by Primia.
I love it.  Thanks Primia.

OK, I started with a base of  Stampin' Up Naturals White.  Next layer is Night Of Navy.   The dsp is Fab Scraps which I purchased from Charlotte's Web and Daisy Chain Scrapbooks.
I used three different papers of the same range.  Love them.   The image is from the Nellie Snellen Vintage selection.
I layered the image onto Kraft card stock then Night Of Navy.  The hessian and cheesecloth are from Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  'Treasured Memories' are a Kaszazz stamp set.
I then arranged some different flourishes and flowers at the side of the image to mimic the colours of the seaweed and ocean.  Also to give a bit of a lift to the arrangement, the apricot flowers and glass spray highlighted the little girl's hair.  A cluster of pearls with some little shells and my card is finished.
The photo doesn't pick it up but there is Clear Rock Candy distress stickles on the ocean and dry Clear Rock Candy distress glitter on the sand.

The ladies will be making this card in class tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure they'll like it.
Thanks for visiting today and hope you like my card.
 

Monday, June 2, 2014

Twin Boys.

Well I'm back again with another card that I made some time ago.  A friend of mine needed a card for twin baby boys so this is what I came up with.   I think there was a card some where that was my inspiration but 
I'm sorry, can't remember where.
The image is from Doodle Pantry and can be found here.
The papers I used are Kaisercraft with textured Stampin Up card stock.  A bear at each end of the 'clothes line' added a cute little touch.  All up quite a simple but effective card I thought.
Thanks for visiting today,
Enjoy your crafting.
 

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Beware Of Trains!!

Well once again, I'm behind with my blog.   I have plenty of made cards but haven't put any on here.
Well I'll make a start with this one.   
I have a class next week and a number of card orders.  One of the orders is for a male in his early twenties who works for Aurizon (what we used to call Queensland Rail).  So I combined his card with my class. I'm sure my ladies will like this card.

OK, on to details.  I started with a base of SU Early Espresso with a layer of Cajun Craze.  The dsp is retired SU Well Worn.  I love these papers, so perfect for the images I'm using at the moment.
My train, which is an image from Studio Light, has been layered onto Not Quite Navy, then Early Espresso.
I have distressed the edges of my image and layers but didn't ink them.  Inking them, sometimes, make the card too dark and in this case I didn't want that sort of look.
My pointing finger is a stamp by Deep Red.  Deep Red make some fabulous stamps and I've managed to collect quite a few. lol
My railway lamp and sign are also images from Studio Light.  I attached some Antique Brass brads to the sign. Oh I forgot to say, that the sketch I've used is  Deconstructed Sketch #146.
I had chosen some other gear type charms for my wheels but wasn't really sure so I sent a photo of them to my Train Driver OH, who gently indicated that perhaps the teeth around the gears I had chosen weren't really suitable for train tracks and that the wheels should be a smooth circle!  pmsl  He did approve the lamp though!!!
So with a little banner punched from some of the dsp to match my Not Quite Navy layer and my toothless gears to represent wheels, my card is finished.
Thank you for visiting my blog today.
Enjoy your crafting everyone.
 

Sunday, April 20, 2014

White Wicker Basket Of Flowers.

Back again.
This time with a class card the ladies made a few weeks ago.   While away in March, I visited a paper craft shop in Nambour called Daisy Chain Scrapbooks.    I found some wonderful goodies there and yes, I did purchase them. rofl
This was one of them.....12 x 12 paper depicting white wicker work.  I remember basket chairs made out of the plastic wicker work and I think there is still one at the farm in my old bedroom.  I had a child size one too. 
I actually think this card is based on a Mojo Monday sketch, #337.  Well onto the card.  I used a base of Stampin' Up Naturals White because the dsp wasn't quite white enough for Whisper White.
Then a layer of  Blushing Bride because I wanted to use some K & Co papers I have had for ...well let us say, a very long time.  The next layer, of course, was the dsp from Daisy Chain.  Then I found in my lace stash, this absolutely gorgeous floral lace.  Well I had to use that didn't I because it went so well with the daisy paper I was using.   Then came the image problem?  Mmmmm well I knew I didn't have anything suitable in my stash, I also knew I wanted the image to have a basket in it to match my dsp and I also wanted daisies to be in the basket.  So I went googling, new word, I've just coined it.  lol   The image I  found was perfect.  So I adapted the size and printed it out on Whisper White card stock.  It matches in quite well because the lace is white.  I then die cut the image and matched the size of it to fit into the Blushing Bride nestie I used.  I'm sorry but I can't remember which one I used, oops, yes I can.... Stately Circles.
I added a metal corner from Linda's shop, The Funkie Junkie and embossed it with Ranger Antiquities Weathered White embossing powder which Linda also has in her shop.  It can purchased in Australia as well of course.  I used some pretty green bling on the centre of each of the lace flowers and a bow made from seam binding from Sharon's shop, The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  The colours I used were perfect with the card's colours.  I tied the bow this way by Deborah Saaranen.  Mine ended up a bit more scrunched up than Deborah's but the ladies didn't seem to mind.  They loved the card.
I think that's it.
It's Easter Sunday lunch time here.   I was flat out yesterday afternoon.  Two trays of Apple Crumble and one of Potato Bake got made and one of the Apple Crumbles delivered to Ilbilbie which is 10 minutes down the road (Bruce Highway). The Ilbilbie Hall Management Committee were catering for a function at the Cape Palmerston Holiday Park.  I volunteered to make one of the Apple Crumbles.  Hope it was enjoyed.  Today it's washing time because I have a feeling we are in for more rain. 
I also have card orders to complete, so really had better get on with them.

To Leslie, who is wonderful and comments on my blog posts regularly....thanks so much for liking my cards and I'm glad you like the links. I hope Wally and Lulu are enjoying their Easter.  Hugs to them both.
Here are links to Leslie's blog and to Wally and Lulu's blog.  Enjoy everyone, both blogs are well worth looking at.
Take care,
Happy Easter.
 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

For The Bride And Groom

Goodness, I hadn't realised just how long it has been since I posted a card.  Time gets away from one.   It's Easter Saturday here today and after doing some housework jobs, I intend to get down to card making.   I do have an Apple Crumble to make this afternoon but that shouldn't take too long, especially if I do the apples this morning.
On to my card.  This card was an order for a friend of mine.   The wedding card had to be in vintage pinks and cream.   I chose to 'case' this card from an advertisement in the March issue of  Australian Simply Cards.  The advertisement was put in by Fat Cats Card Corner.  When I first saw this advertisement, I immediately rang Kaaren and asked to be sent the dies. lol
I didn't get the flower dies.  I decided that I could use my Wild Orchid Crafts flowers instead.

My base is Stampin Up Blush Blossom (retired) card stock.  I added a layer of Very Vanilla using the Spellbinders Elegant Labels 5" x 7" die set. The next layer is, once again, Blush Blossom, using the next matching die in the set.  I added an extra layer here, using a Label Four or Label Four Small die.   I can't provide a link to the Label Four Small die because they have been discontinued.
Then came the fun part, adding my roses and leaves to make an arrangement that is pleasing to the eye.
The leaves die I used is gorgeous.    It's been a worth while investment because I've used it many times since this card.  It's called Curvy Leaves Die.  
To finish off the card, I added a sumptuous silk bow using silk from Sharon's shop Stamp Simply Ribbon and a greeting on layered banners.

I do apologise for terrible background my card has photographed on but the photo I did have ready for this post wasn't right.  For some reason, the vanilla card stock was white.  So I had to edit another photo, this one.  The photo editing program I was using, has decided not to work anymore.   I'm not computer savvy enough to work out why so I had to use another program.   Methinks it's time for my computer to have an overhaul and perhaps a new photo editing program needs to be purchased.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Hope you like my card.
Happy Easter everyone.
 

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Secret Garden.

I've had the Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers for some time but haven't used a lot of them. They are so pretty that really I couldn't bring myself to cut into them, but one can't hoard everything so I used them today.
This is the card the ladies will be making in class tomorrow afternoon.
These ladies just like to make cards without learning techniques and stamping so I'm pretty sure this one will go down well.
The base card is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla with the next layer being apricot Bazzill.  I love the blue with the apricot in the papers, so I felt that the blue silk threaded through the lace with a blue silk ribbon bow would be a perfect contrast to the pale peach roses.  I tucked a couple of little ivory sweetheart blossoms in amongst the roses to pick up the lace and doily ivory colour. The leaves are from my favourite leaf die at the moment, Elizabeth Craft Designs Curvy Leaves and they've been cut from Always Artichoke and Pear Pizazz.  The pretty, pretty eyelet lace is from Linda at The Funkie Junkie.
Sharon from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store has silk ribbon and seam binding kits to match the Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers.
I cut the image and Baja Breeze layer with Deckled Rectangles Nestabilities.  
Thanks for visiting my blog today.
Keep well everyone.
 

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Shabby Tearoom #212 Pretty In Pink For Cardabilities #96

Good evening all.
I had an order to fill, three cards, two engagement and one wedding.  The stipulation was that they had to be pink and cream/white and have a vintage look.
This is one of the engagement cards.  I used Cardabilities sketch #96.  Fortunately, the criteria of the Shabby Tea Room challenge #212 is to include white and /or cream, pink, green, flowers, lace and/or ribbon. So I qualify for both challenges this week.
I used a base of Stampin' Up Whisper White, then a layer of Blushing Bride.  The designer paper is Magnolia and is old now....I've had it at least a couple of years.
My pretty doily is one from Meg's Garden and was square.  I cut it in half diagonally and tucked it under the blushing bride layer.  The swirls are Magnolia and I cut them from white glitter card stock.  Onto these swirls I layered some die cut leaves, which once again, I think is a Magnolia die.  Garden Green is the colour card stock I used here.  Then out of some flowers from my stash, I created a bouquet.  It's all glued down firmly with Multi Medium Matte from Ranger.
A little stretchy lace across the bottom and a greeting finishes off the card.
Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Keep well.
 

Monday, March 24, 2014

Baby Girls For Mojo Monday 337

 Good morning all.
I'm here again with two baby girl cards.  These two cards were orders from two of my class ladies.  The other  ladies in the class didn't want to make baby cards. lol

I used the latest Mojo Monday sketch #337 as my starting point and went from there.  The top card was inspired by Sharon Wheet's card called Stork Delivery.  I loved Sharon's idea of the embossed vellum with the doiley peeking through the Tattered Angels frame. 
As I was using Stampin' Up Blushing Bride card stock, I inked the frame in the matching ink and sprayed it liberally with pearl Glimmer Mist.  I backed the vellum with blushing bride card stock and embossed the same greeting, 'Welcome Baby', that Sharon used, in white.  I do wish I could find a lovely cream embossing powder.  Next it was a matter of following the sketch but I added some shabby seam binding with pink twine, all from Sharon's shop, Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, on the other side of my frame.  The papers are from Kaisercraft called Bundle Of Joy....I think.  Having come this far, the top right hand corner was bothering me.  So out came my embossing powder again and I white embossed a metal corner and sponged with distress paint.  Well I'm thinking that's what I did.  This was early last week after all and I've had a full week. lol

The next card was has been done differently.  I decided that as much as I liked the embossed vellum in the frame, that I didn't have time to do it again and that I should make the next card a bit differently.  I stayed with the same sketch but changed the elements I used.
For the centre image, I used a die cut from the paper and added a die cut lacey circle to frame it.   Instead of the embossed metal corner, I added a pretty venise lace butterfly with a hand painted tri bud to the top right hand corner.  The papers had a very pretty scalloped border so I used it under the lace instead of the larger polka dot piece as is on the first card.

Both are pretty cards and the ladies were very happy with them.  I must mention that the metal corner, venise lace butterfly and tri bud are from Linda's shop, The Funkie Junkie Boutique.
Thanks for visiting today and hope you like my cards.
 

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Enjoy The Journey!

Good morning everyone.
I have a class card to show you today.   This is one of the cards the ladies made in their class yesterday.  I must admit while making this card, I was a bit dubious about the result BUT have totally changed my mind and now I love it!!
I would like to thank Monica, once again for the inspiration she provided me with to make my card.  It was this card that took my fancy.
I turned Monica's sketch on it's side and went from there.  

The base card is Stampin' Up Black, then a layer of Naturals Ivory.  The papers are a combination of a few current and retired sets from Stampin' Up.....Howlstooth & Scaringbone, Newsprint and Modern Medley.
The plaid, check or whatever you want to call it, lol, reminded me of an old travel rug which went very well with my vintage ute.  I used a very old EK Sucess punch for the Tangerine Tango arrows with silver brads through them. The star is SU Silver Foil and once again the punch is retired.  I used the last skerrick of flax and cotton trim to add some texture.  Reminder to oneself to order more. lol

The gear and washer have been anchored together with a silver brad and with a glue dot then attached to the star.  I doubled dimensionals to keep the height of the star level with the image.
The ute has been stamped on to Basic Grey card stock with Black Versafine ink and fussy cut to layer onto Naturals Ivory card stock which has 'Enjoy The Journey' stamped on the bottom, once again in Black Versafine ink.  The ute and wording are from the same Tim Holtz stamp set called The Journey and are clear stamps.  I still wasn't really happy with this card until I decided to sponge all my paper elements with Vintage Photo distress ink.  Voila!!  What a difference!!!

I had proceeded this far when I ran out of puff.  I couldn't think what to put in that last bottom corner to balance the card.   I wanted to steer away from cogs and gears because I had used them profusely on two previous cards with the ladies.  So has to resort to my usual practice, scanning stamp sets and rummaging through stamp drawers. lol
Success......Stampin' Up set called Postage Due.  The little travel post stamp with the vintage car on it.  Perfect!!!
The image corners have been balanced by using old fashioned photo corners and of course, like I said, I used Vintage Photo distress ink for my sponging.

I realise this is a long post but I thought I might amuse you with my card designing troubles. lol
Enjoy your day!!!
 

Monday, March 17, 2014

Football Anyone??

I'm back again everyone.
I was asked to make a birthday card for an eleven year old boy who is interested in football.
Well, I was stumped.  My boy is nearly 21 now and I had no idea what to do.   I saw this sketch from Sketchy Colours #202 and Monica's card and bingo, I had my idea.
So off I went to find a picture of a football.  Now I must explain here, that we are talking Rugby League football as played in Australia.
I wanted an orange ball to go with Retro Fresh dsp from Stampin' Up.  That in itself was a challenge, I didn't realise there were so many different coloured footballs used nowadays. lol
I used my new On Film framelits and Make Note This And That rotary stamp on this card.  The corner is actually silver card stock as is the film die and stars.  The arrow was stamped then die cut.  I love the new Natural Chevron ribbon in the new Stampin' Up mini catalogue.  The papers, Retro Fresh, seemed to lend themselves to a younger style of card.  I am stoked with the way it's come out.
All the supplies are Stampin' Up except the football boot charm.
Hope you like my card and thanks for visiting my blog today.
 

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Sweet Sorbet Case Of Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

Well here I am again with a couple of cards I decided to do on the spur of the moment.   I was visiting the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge blog when I saw this card by Sarah-Jane, one of the design team.  I liked it but wanted to make it a 'Leigh' card.  So I did. 
The base is Stampin' Up Whisper White with a layer of Crisp Cantaloupe. The dots are from the papers in the saleabration catalogue called Sweet Sorbet.  I didn't care for these papers at first, but they are growing on me.  I added a panel of Sahara Sand stamped with the Hardwood background stamp in Sahara Sand ink.  The burlap Sarah-Jane added looked good, so I included it on my card but trimmed the ends with a 'v'.  On to a white doiley I added Pistachio Pudding leaves with three roses which I coloured Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe and Pool Party. I used natural string in figures of eight to make my bow and tied it on to the metal button.  The greeting banner has been given some height with dimensionals and is tucked under the button with a glue dot.  A gorgeous rhinestone flourish finishes off my card.

The second card uses the same elements but the rhinestone flourish and greeting are different.

Hope you like my cards and thanks for visiting.
 

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Time Flies!!!

Good morning everyone.   I'm back again to show you another class card the ladies did last Friday. 
When I saw this stamp by JustRite....I had to have it.   lol  
The sketch I used is this one from Sunday Sketch & Stamp.
I started with a base card of Stampin' Up Naturals White.  Layered on to this is Early Espresso.  The papers are from Kaisercraft Art of Life paper pad with the roman circle numbers piece from an old collection from Bo Bunny called Timepiece.  The ribbon is May Arts woven stripe from Sharon's shop.
I used a combination of Tim Holtz mini gears and brass charms for the cogs.  The clock hands have been punched out using a very old punch from EK Success.  Underneath the watch hands is a small washer, another Tim Holtz product.  I love the effect the watch hands, washer and cog gave when layered onto each other and attached with a Tim Holtz mini brad.
Onto the actual watch face.  The idea for this came from this card by Deborah Saaranen. I stamped the image with Black Archival ink on to Vanilla craft board,  then coloured around the outside with a distress marker.  The inside border has also been coloured with a distress marker....sorry, I can't remember which ones now.  I sponged with a dauber, distress inks onto the watch face to age it and also to give it a pearly look.  I then put four layers of UTEE over the lot.  After doing nine of these watch faces I was absolutely over UTEE. lol  When the clock faces were completely cool, I pierced a hole through each one and added a large black brad to the centre of the clock to give it a bit more dimension.
I just had to add wings to my clock to match the greeting I used, which is a Vilda stamp, despite my friend Jean, having a very real aversion to wings on things. lol
My wings are stamps that I purchased on ebay some time ago and are from here I think.  I stamped them in Black Archival ink and then sponged vintage photo distress ink over them.  The Time Flies greeting has a little butterfly on it.  I covered this over with a cog to keep in with the male theme.
Despite the card looking quite simple, there was quite a bit of work in it but I am extremely happy with the way it turned out.
Thanks for taking the time to visit today.  I hope you like my card.
Keep well.
 
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Saturday, March 8, 2014

Cardabilities Regals.

This card evolved from my friend's wish to use her Stampin' Up Regals Designer Series Paper Stack and full set of Regal ink pads.   So I put my thinking cap on and this is the end result.   The sketch is from Cardabilities #94.

The card base is Stampin' Up Whisper White.  I wanted a very neutral layer for this creation, so searched and searched, rummaging through packs of paper until I came across this year's Sale-a-bration dsp, Sweet Sorbet, to which I hadn't given a second look.  Success!!!!   Sahara Sand is the colour of the neutral paper from that pack.   I then cut and stamped different banners from the framelits and stamps called Hearts A Flutter out of the Regals dsp stack and Whisper White.
These were layered at different heights and depths onto a white doiley with a Crushed Curry edgelit trim and coordinating embossing folder piece placed across the top with dimensionals where needed.
The flowers were created using Petite Petals and matching punch.   Once again in the regals colours.  There is one Elegant Eggplant flower to create a 'pop'.  The leaves are from the Little Leaves embosslit. The flowers and leaves were inked at the edges using matching ink and sponge daubers which gave them a whole new look.
Beautiful Wings were die cut in other different regal colours and placed strategically on the card with one large butterfly as a focal point.  All flowers and butterflies were dressed up with some bling.  As I've said before, my go to stamp set for greetings lately is Express Yourself and the best wishes from this set was a good size for the greeting banner.

Well my friend was absolutely delighted with her class card and left very happy.

Thanks for visiting today and for taking the time to comment.
Keep well everyone.
 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Butterflies In A Garden

Good afternoon from a cloudy, sunny day here in Queensland.  Yep, the weather can't make up it's mind.  It's cloudy for a while then the sun comes out, then the clouds are back.  I do hope it rains in the places that are dry and drought stricken.
Onto my card today.  A friend of mine loves butterflies and this was the basis for me making this card for her class this morning.
I chose Meg's Garden papers and fussy cut the butterflies as well as the extra flowers to add dimension. This layer was then added to my base card which is Stampin Up Primrose Petals card stock which was a very good match. On the fence line, Petaloo velvet flowers have been randomly attached to have them peeking out of the fence.  In the top left hand corner, a white pearl flourish covers an otherwise blank space.  A couple of Petaloo velvet leaves, a pretty pink silk bow and another flower nestle in the bottom left corner.  I felt the card needed something else and Jean suggested, a pearl pin with the greeting attached on a Tim Holtz memo pin.  Then over the some of the flowers and butterflies, I spread some Clear Rock Candy distress stickles which gives a lovely subtle sparkle.

Thanks for visiting today and hope you like my card.