You are a peach

Good afternoon everyone, I am sitting in the craftroom mucking about with stuff this afternoon and thought I would share with you a very CAS style card that I made for the Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge - draw inspiration from this picture ...

and here is my card ...

I have used the orange and peach stamps from the Fruitastic set.  This is one of my favourite sets from Paper Smooches.

materials used - smooth white, AC melon, cricket cardstock; Pink Paislee 'prairie hill' papers; Paper Smooches 'fruitastic' stamps; Staz On jet black ink; Prismacolor pencils; black journalling pen.

Thanks for looking.

Happy Birthday

Hey all, this week the lovely Sue, a DT gal over at Annabelle Stamps Blog, has created a beautiful card using what I would call a blackboard technique - stamping on black cardstock with white ink and then colouring the image in with pencils.

this technique works best with silhouette stamps ... here is a close up of the flowers

it really is like colouring on a blackboard ... crikey am I showing my age as when I was at school the teacher wrote on blackboards - not sure on this but I think nowadays they use whiteboards :-)
I based this card on a Papertake Weekly sketch and I chose #42

I also included buttons in the flower center for Crafty Catz - cute as a button challenge and Party Time Tuesday - anything goes.
materials used - AC olive, Kaisercraft seafoam, smooth black cardstock; Basic Grey 'hello luscious' papers; Color Box frost white ink; Annabelle Stamps 'designer flowers' stamp set; Prismacolor pencils; 16mm pistachio satin trim; buttons.
Thanks for looking.

Lets splash around

Hi all,  today started out as a terrible day in the craft room with the end result being a card that was just totally wrong! so in the recycle bin it went.  However I restarted after a break and came up with this card for The Alley Way Stamps 'be inspired' challenge ...

Inspired by the colour combo of red, pink and white I used the flamingo from the Tropic Topic set, stamped them on velum and turned one over so they face each other and coloured the images with Prismacolor pencils ...

when colouring on vellum I find the finish is nicer when you colour on the back side of the image ... here is a closer look ...

I have made this into a valentines card for the challenge over at CRAFT

materials used - Bazzill piglet, C'D dutchess cardstock; smooth white pearlescent paper; vellum; Cosmo Cricket 'tea for 2' papers; The Alley Way Stamps 'tropic topic' stamp set; Staz On jet black ink; Prismacolor pencils; Sizzix tipsy heart dies; Couture Creations 'tied together' embossing folder.

Thanks for looking.

Annabelle Stamps Sketch challenge

Hey all, did you see the new stamps over at Annabelle Stamps blog last Friday?  gorgeous weren't they.  If you missed the release then just click HERE and this will take you to the posting.
Otherwise this fornights' challenge is a sketch one - AC155.  Pop on over to Annabelle Stamps Blog for all the details:

and here is my take on the sketch ...

I have used the gorgeous 'Lil Monsters Balloon' set.  I have stamped the lil monster twice on white card and the 'xxx' on white card and cut out a frame, matted it and then framed the 2 monsters.  The title was stamped on blue card and the title frame was stamped on green card using 'shape it up' stamp set and I then diecut it using Cuts by Design 'shapes 1'.  I then cut out a frame and layered it over the title on blue card.

I would like to enter this to the anything goes challenge at Through The Craftroom Door, the 'just take 2' challenge over at Crafty Creations - use 2 identical items, I used lil monster twice and the 'out of this world' challenge over at Cute Card Thursday, anything that is not from this world ... ie. monsters!
materials used - C'D harborside, montego card, AC mantis card; Echo Park 'so happy together' paper; Annabelle Stamps 'lil monsters balloon' and 'shape it up' stamps; Staz On jet black ink, Versa Color lime ink; Kaisercraft rhinestones; Annabelle Stamps cuts by design 'shapes 1' dies.

Hello

A quick CAS styled card this morning.  Using the colours from the cool shades challenge over at Paper Smooches SPARKS blog - Royalty: fushcia, teal, grey and navy.  A lovely collection of colours.  I teamed this up with the great sketch from Retro Sketches #47 to come up with this card ...

you are probably wondering which Paper Smooches stamp set that I have used ... apart from the obvious one of 'hello' which is from the alphadot set but the hexagon flowers are from the Vogue Abode set!  I used the hexagon trio and flipped it upside down to create a flower!
Here is the sketch I followed ...

materials used - white card; Lawn Fawn 'bright side' and Kaisercraft 'pina colada' and 'offshore' papers; Paper Smooches 'alphadot' and 'vogue abode' stamps; Versa Color black ink; Ranger glossy accents.
Thanks for looking.

2 Pram cards

One of the most popular cards that I have made for other people are these pram cards.  I had a lady request a boy and girl one.  I enjoy making them and I have to admit I am getting quicker at completing them!

I did have an idea the other day with regard to the top part of the pram (the hood part of the pram) to see if I can create it to move and in my mind it works but it is another thing to actually put it into action!
I have made this card for the challenge over at Crafty Creations - just take 2, use 2 identical elements ... well you can take this as 2 prams or 2 buttons etc!  Also so Papertake Weekly Challenge blog - tie up your loose ends - add a bow and Kaboodle Doodles - ribbon.
materials used - Kaisercraft white card, AC Pacific card, C'D Amaryllis card; Kaisercraft offshore and DCWV spring fling papers; Spellbinders - petite scalloped circles large, standard circles large nesties and sprightly sprockets dies, MFT little open scalloped edge and mini wavy pennants dies; VC sky blue and opera pink inks; buttons; fabric lace; Provocraft swiss dot embossing folder; pink and light blue 6mm satin trim.
Thanks for looking.

Rainbow card

Hi ya, I so enjoyed making this card, it was somewhat messy to make - my fingertips were covered in ink after making the rainbow! but I love the end result ...

I have made the card for Cupcake Crafts - make a scene, Quirky Crafts Challenges - 'rainbow bright', Feeling Sketchy - sketch and Top Tip Tuesday - layers.  Here is a close up of my rainbow which I made cutting concentric circles and then inking each one individually ...

materials used - smooth black, purple, green, light blue and yellow card, AC cricket card; CC Design 'umbrella logos' stamps, Stampendous 'flower vases' stamps, Annabelle Stamps 'all things grow' stamps; Brilliance rocket red, Color Palette summer green, summer blue, autumn orange, Versa Color violet, canary and indigo inks; Light blue 16mm grosgrain; Kaisercraft pearls; Staz On jet black ink; Creative Memories circle cutters; CC Design grass border die; MFT flat bottom clouds dies; Prismacolor pencils.
Thanks for looking.

On your wedding day

Chatting to my sister this morning, who is going to a wedding today and didn't have one of my handmade cards to give the couple, and she asked me to make a few 'spare' wedding type cards.  I asked her why she didn't ask me earlier and I could have sent one over to her (she is in NZ) :) so here is a spare wedding card!

and on the inside is the second part of the title ...

I have made this for the picture inspiration challenge over at Scrapbook Boutique

and also Cute Card Thursday with the theme 'diamonds are forever' hence all the bling on the card!
materials used - Kaisercraft apple and yellow dot embossed cardstock; Fancy Pants 'be mine' papers; Kaisercraft wedding stamps; Staz On jet black ink; Sizzix swirl die; Prima flowers; Kaisercraft rhinestones; lace; 6mm yellow satin trim.
Thanks for looking.

Tag gift box

A productive day for me today ... We are going to see my family in NZ next month and normally I don't bother about chrissy presents for my sisters ... an unwritten and verbal agreement between the 4 of us ... but off course every year there is always some sisters that buys something ... so I stress over what to get everyone so every year I end up making them little gifts made out of paper and card and they seem to love it so here is something that I made for one of the sisters (not sure which one yet!)

I think this set suits the younger sister.  This was made from a score-pal tutorial and the acetate slides on and off the box - fun to make!
I have made this for the challenges over at Cupcake Mondays and Crafty Catz Weekly challenges which both had 'anything but a card' challenge.
materials used - C'D atoll cardstock, AC cranberry card, smooth white pearlescent card; Paper Inklings rubons; Prismacolor pencils; Acetate; 16mm stitched black grossgrain; Silver cord; Spellbinders labels 4, petite scalloped circles large, circles large nesties.
Thanks for looking.

the looooong & short ....

I said to myself this morning that I am not going in that craft room today ... and what happens ... I go for my walk this afternoon and come up with an idea for the super cool challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays -

CFC86: Create a CAS card that has one long side and one short side.
3 x 6, 4 x 8, etc. No standard A2's for this week.

So I just had to create a tall and skinny card (180mm x 80mm) and I really took inspiration not only from the rule of one long side and one short side but also from the title ....

and here is the inside ...

Normally I don't do anything on the inside but it was rather fun to have the other half of the card in the inside!  I would also like to enter this into the challenge over at Top Tip Tuesday - fur or feathers.

materials used - Yellow embossed cardstock, smooth white, C'D brownie, Kaisercraft seafoam card; Echo Park 'so happy together' paper; Paper Smooches 'chubby chums' 'alphadot' stamp sets; Staz On jet black, Versa Color black inks; Prismacolor pencils; MFT branches with leaves die.

Thanks for looking.

hey monkey

It has cooled down a little bit today but it was a very hot night.  So this afternoon I made a very quick card ... maybe for my nephew ... not sure?  I followed a fantastic sketch from Retro Sketches #46. 

Here is my take on this easy to use sketch ...

I thought this monkey image really suits him as he will be turning 13 next month and he is probably a little old for me to be calling him 'a little monkey' ... maybe I should change it to 'you big gorilla' LOL

Anyway I would like to submit it for the challenge over at Top Tip Tuesday - fur or feather.

materials used - Kaisercraft coffee bean cardstock, smooth white; Echo Park 'so happy together' papers; The Alley Way Stamps 'tropic topic' stamps; Staz On timber brown ink, Versa Magic night sky ink; Prismacolor pencils; Basic Grey trim.

Thanks for looking.

let the rainbow

Hello, this months challenge over at The Stamp Spot blog is a wonderful sketch from the lovely Jessica ...

I sort of made the circle aspects a bit smaller than what it is on the sketch but the general idea is there!

I think whenever you have a sketch that has a series of circles on it one of the circles HAS to be a button! and this sketch is no exception I have incorporated a button in it especially for this weeks button challenge over at Kaboodle Doodles challenge blog and also for the anything goes challenge over at Through the Craftroom door.
Materials used - teal, white and grey cardstock, Bazzill apricot cardstock; MME 'a mothers love' papers; CC Designs umbrella logo stamp set and die; Cuttlebug circle dies;  Staz On jet black ink; button.
Thanks for looking.

hello

Hello everyone, it is building up to be a stinking hot day here in Melbourne ... in fact all over Australia!  So it is the perfect opportunity to stay inside with the doors shut, blinds down (except here in the Craft Room!) and make cards :)
This morning I made a card following the sketch for the Guest Designer spot over at My Favorite Things. 

I enjoy taking their stamped images and thinking outside the square and for this card I continued on with the theme of a ball of twine and made it flow into the title ...

here is a close up ...

This is a very versatile stamp with 4 titles in it, but for this card I made up my own simple title because it was going to be written in twine!
I have used the mini banner day die and white felt to create a little banner border and then decorated it with rhinestones.  The colours chosen are for the challenge over at Party Time Tuesday -

materials used - grey and white cardstock, AC blue jay card; Making Memories, Basic Grey and Lawn Fawn papers; Staz On jet black ink; MFT 'knit happens' stamps; MFT mini banner day die, Sizzix ovals; Prismacolor pencils; white felt, Kaisercraft blue rhinestones; The Twinery twine; 1/8" yellow eyelet.
Thanks for looking.

I love you moo & moo

Hi all, a quick CAS valentines card this morning.  I have followed the sketch from Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge blog and have used the colours from this weeks challenge over at The Pink Elephant.
Here is my card ...

I love the farmer stamp out of Paper Smooches 'green acres' and I love it even more that you can add pigtails to make it a 'farmeress' (any such word?)
materials used - white and red cardstock; Echo Park 'so happy together' papers; Paper smooches 'green acres' and 'chat bubbles' stamps; Staz On jet black ink, Brilliance rocket red ink; Prismacolor pencils; washi tape.
Thanks for looking.

so grateful for you

I never thought this would be possible but I managed to make a CAS using a Mojo Monday sketch challenge :)  Typically their sketches are quite involved with lots of elements and the sketch I used is no exception but for some reason inspiration hit me and I kept it simple using all the elements ... basically I cheated and used, what I love to call Washi tape, "lazy paper".  Check out my card here ...

as you can see I layered my washi tape like patterned paper ... it is great not to measure instead just lay and rip!  My center embellishment is made up of 2 scalloped circles that have be folded concertina style to form a rosette ... here is a close up ...

as you can see I pretty much stuck to the sketch ...



I would also like to submit this card to CASual Fridays - 'round of applause' incorporate a circle, Southern Girls - thankyou, Crafty Catz - buttons and bows and Through The Craftroom Door - anything goes.
materials used - smooth white and yellow cardstock; Echo Park 'so happy together' papers; Annabelle Stamps 'squared posies' stamps (title); Staz On jet black ink; Spellbinders Standard circles large and petite scalloped circle large nesties; Annabelle Stamps cuts by design 'christmas ornaments' die; Washi tape; 10mm yellow gingham; buttons.
Thanks for looking.

celebrate

hi ya all, hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Yesterday I made a quick celebration card using glitter glue and I have learnt in the past not to photograph or handle the card until the glue is DRY!  So here is my 'celebration' card for The Pink Elephant challenge blog and I have incorporated bling - glitter for Party Time Tuesdays

here is a close up of the balloons ...

materials used - AC melon card, Kaisercraft seafoam card; Lawn Fawn 'bright side' collection; Annabelle Stamps 'shape it up' stamps; Staz On jet black ink; Couture Creations glitz'n glamour crystallina glue; Twinery twine; MFT mini tab quartet; Signo white gel pen.
Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Guest Designer for Annabelle Stamps :)

Hi all, I am super excited to tell you that I am to be a guest designer for Annabelle Stamps for the next few months.  I have been a huge fan of Annabelle Stamps and frequently participate in their challenges over at Annabelle Stamps blog and they also have a community over at Stamp Embellish Create.
To kick things off Annabelle has a great colour challenge for you to do and you have 2 weeks to complete it ...

and here is my card using the flowers from Ballerina Rose and the tag from Shape it Up stamp set and Cuts by Design Shape 1 dies

materials used - AC olive, melon cardstock, smooth white cardstock; Annabelle Stamps 'ballerina rose' and 'shape it up' stamps; Staz On jet black, Versa Color canary inks; Annabelle Stamps Cuts by Design 'shapes 1' dies; Prisma colouring pencils; Couture Creations tied together embossing folder; 10mm yellow satin ribbon.
If you are struggling for inspiration then why not pop over Annabelle Stamps Challenge blog to view what the wonderful DT girls have made using these 3 colours.
Thanks for looking.

knit happens

Just before Christmas I did a little bit of retail therapy online and I picked up this stamp set from MFT 'knit happens' I love the sayings that goes along with this set and in particular the 'knit happens' :)  I have finally got round to playing with it this afternoon.  I have followed the sketch from MFT Wednesday stamp club, used something 'new' for Crafty Creations challenge blog and Papertake Weekly challenge blog.

It is a nice and simple sketch

materials used - AC cricket, Bazzill marmalade cardstock, smooth white cardstock; Jillibean Soup 'watermelon gazpacho' papers; MFT 'knit happens' stamps; MFT mini tab quartet dies; SPB labels 18 nesties; Prisma pencils; Staz On jet black ink; Kaisercraft rhinestones; orange daisy trim.
Thanks for looking.

hello

Hello everyone, Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge blog has a great challenge this week ...

At first I thought oh yeah a dial phone and then I saw the word Vintage ... and I thought crikey I remember the dial phone and we had one when I was younger and now it is regarded as Vintage ... OMGosh I must be old!  It also bought back fond memories of a situation I was in when my nephew who was then around 8 and I was only 36 and I took him to a 'hands on type museum' and it had a dial phone there so I told him to jump on and ring me on the other phone ... he promply starts to push the numbers and he says it doesn't work and continued to push the numbers ... for a split second I thought that is he stupid or what and then I realised he has never seen a dial phone before :)  I laughed and showed him what to do ... he thought what a stupid phone to have!  Anyway here is the card I made ...

I even made it so that it 'dials' ...

some how giving this to anyone that is under 35 years old might be lost on them!
I would also like to submit this to the Vintage challenge over at Kaboodle Doodles ... albeit a little retro vintage!
materials used - smooth black, red and white cardstock, Bazzill Kraft, Kaisercraft coconut cardstock; Cosmo Cricket 'tea for 2' papers; Paper Smooches alphadot and vogue abode stamps; Versa Color black ink; Creative Memories circle cutters; Carl 10mm circle punch.
Thanks for looking.

The Stamp Spot DT post - If friends were...

Hi all, recently I have discovered a sure way to have my stamps aligning correctly when they have matching dies.  The Stamp Spot recently had a great stamp sale and in the CC Designs category there are the stamp sets 'umbrella logos' and 'watering can logos' and both had their respective dies to go with it ... so me who can't resist a bargain went ahead and bought them ... well for those that know CC Designs they are rubber mounted and after a few attempts at aligning the stamp and die together via a  stamp positioner and failing miserably ... I proceeded to look on the internet and couldn't really find a solution. 
Dismayed but determined to come up with a solution it just hit me to use the equivalent of a stamping mask ... instead I termed it a 'die frame' ... after the first attempt there was a rather LOUD woo hoo coming from the craft room and the only person I could share my joy with was poor Neil :)
So I set about to make a photo tutorial to show you the way to stamp and diecut successfully ... now I am not sure if this is the way that everyone uses ... if so, then I am very slow in the uptake LOL!
Here is my card using the CC Designs watering can logos and die ...

If you would like to know how I used the watering can stamp and die together then just click HERE ... it will take you to my post where there is a short photo tutorial.
materials used - smooth black and white cardstock, C'D kiwi, AC spinach; CC Designs watering can logos; Color Palette summer blue, Versa Color pacific, black, Staz On jet black, Versa magic night sky inks; CC Designs watering can and grass border dies; Crayola pencils; Tombow grey N75, Marvy leaf green 48 pens; Kaisercraft pearls
Thanks for looking.

Home is where the heart is ...

One thing I love about cardmaking is making another version of a previous card ... for this step card the original version took me nearly 8 hours to make (... I need to get a life!) but for this one I learnt my lesson and did far less fussy cutting (ie. got myself a 'grass' die!) and omitted people from it just so it didn't take me so long ... this one took me only 2 hours to make!

and a side view ...

I enjoy making step cards and this is perfect for the anything goes challenges at The Pink Elephant, Through The Craftroom Door and Crafty Catz and also for the 'new' theme challenge at Cute Card Thursday.
materials - AC spinach and white cardstock, Bazzill Whirlpool cardstock, smooth green cardstock; Echo Park 'so happy together', Jillibean Soup 'apple cheddar' papers; MFT woodgrain fence, flat bottom clouds dies, CC Designs 'grass' die; Paper Smooches 'spring groves', Maya Road 'home is where the heart is' and MFT mini banner day alphabet stamps; Versa Color black and turquoise inks, Brilliance red ink; Kaisercraft flowers and pearls; Acetate.
Thanks for looking.

get well soon old girl

Hi All, I am suppose to be doing birthday cards lately but I haven't been inspired to do so.  So since my eldest sister is going to have an operation to 'cure' her snoring problem I thought I would make her a get well card ... and I decided to really emphasise that fact that she is getting older I added 'old girl' to it :) .... don't you just love sibling rivalry?  even if we are both over 40!

I have followed the sketch from Feeling Sketchy but I was too late to link it up! and I would like to submit it for the anything goes challenges at Through the Craftroom Door and Crafty Catz.
materials - red cardstock, Bazzill whirlpool card, smooth white cardstock; Echo Park so happy together paper; Paper Smooches alphadot stamps; Bugaboo hurt a little digi stamp; Versa Color black ink; Prisma pencils; MFT royal leaves dies; Spellbinders standard circles large nesties; Paper flowers.
Thanks for looking.