Simplicity

I was blog hopping the other day when I stumbled across this fantastic blog by Susan Raihala called Simplicity. The woman is a genius and I find her work soooo pretty and inspiring, especially since I have a bit of a fear of empty white space on cards. Make sure you stop by and have a look at her blog and read this absolutely hilarious post, which I'm sure many of us can relate to!

I made a couple of things over the weekend, but the first card I made for Keesh's sketch challenge (which you can see here) was really bugging me. The flourish cut-out was just not right so I ripped it off and replaced it with a smaller square sentiment box. The photo makes it look a wee bit washed out, and the text stamped in pink isn't that light IRL.



I wanted to make a simpler card after seeing Susan's wonderful projects and I picked another paper from SEI's Mimosa collection called Mint Julep, which is also shimmery. It goes really well with Kiwi Kiss, but I find it a challenge to match it up with any other colour aside from white.



I didn't like the first one I made (top), so I tried again and I think it's much better. There is a boo-boo with the first card, but thankfully the paper is forgiving enough that I can get away with it. I tried (again) to capture the shimmer of the paper, and I think you can just about see it in the next photo.



And last of all, I started making my christmas cards. I think it's a bit too much, though. I'll try a simpler (faster) version next time. I entered this card as part of a competition, so I put a lot of glue and glossy accents on that darn bow to make sure it doesn't come apart. That bow is goin' nowhere!



Anyway, have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #12, entry 2!

I really wasn't satisfied with the first card I made for the sketch challenge so I sat down to try and make another one. I gave up completely on the oval though, so I'm not sticking strictly to the sketch. Both cards are very similar but I prefer this one to my first try. I'd love to hear what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!

Haiku blossom

Just wanted to quickly add a photo of a card I made for a friend's birthday recently. I used the inkspirations sketch #11 and took the colours from the Haiku DSP.



TTFN!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #12.

I love sketch challenges, so I had to participate in the latest inkspirations challenge from Makeesha.





As always, it's a great sketch but it was SO difficult for me to make this card! It wasn't the background, or the three elements down the bottom, or the stripe across, or even the two elements at the top left.....it was the darn oval! Try as I might I couldn't make anything that looked good, even after 4-5 versions of the oval. So 3 hours and much cardstock/ink/patience later, I gave in and went with two stamps from the "Yummy" set. I think it still doesn't "fit" the card but it'll have to do, for I'm fighting with it no more. The Sei paper is soooooooooo pretty and it's shimmer-y, which you might just be able to see in the photo below. The ribbon has a bit of shimmer in it, too.



Anyway, I'm off to veg in front of the TV and unwind. Thanks for looking!

Beck, if you're reading this DON'T look any further!!

Hi all! It's my bestie's birthday on Sunday and I wanted to make a colourful card for her, and it sure is colourful!

Stamp set: Smile (retired).
CS/paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant, Bo Bunny Bubblegum paper.
Ink: Versacolour 82 Black, Summer Sun marker, Pumpkin Pie marker, Real Red marker.
Other: Maya Road butterfly rubons, paper piercer, mat pack, dimensionals, clear embossing powder.

Apologies for the poor photo. I'll try and take a better photo with natural light and update it later. I went crazy with the Heart to Heart punch and cardstock, and I spritzed the Whisper White slightly in an effort to make it look less stark. It detracts from the paper piercing, but it looks much better than with plain white card! The rubon butterfly is from Maya Road and stuck to Bo Bunny paper and then cut out. You can't see it from the photo, but the sentiment is heat embossed with clear powder.

As a complete aside, I just had to show you all my gumboots that I bought to wear to the farm. I think they're a hoot! Our lab currently has a cohort of lambs at a farm about an hour out of Adelaide, and we were required to go up everyday for the first month or so.

I bought these boots to wear so that I don't have to worry about water, blood or other bodily fluids from the sheep. :) We did get pus jetted out at us, too......but I'll leave it there and not gross anyone out any further!

Also, I now have a follower, which is very exciting!!!! Hi Nicole! And I have to thank Amy Fleming and Lee-Anne Barry for their lovely comments in the previous post. It's always great to hear from people. Hop over to their blog and have a look, their stuff is awesome! Anyway, better get back to it. Thanks for stopping by!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #11

It's been a long while since I participated in an inkspiration challenge, but I've finally found some time to sit down and try it! This is the sketch we were given to work with.

Stamp sets: Echoes of Kindness, Best Yet, Short & Sweet.
CS/paper: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, watercolour paper, Sangria patterned paper (Sei).
Ink: Summer Sun, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Always Artichoke, Versacolour 82 Black.
Other: Clear rhinestone brads, clear embossing powder, aquapainter, 3.5cm circle punch, 3.2cm circle punch, 6cm circle punch, dimensionals.

I love the Sei's Mimosa collection of patterned papers, and I really wanted to use the Sangria print in a card. It's so bright and pretty! You can't really tell from the photo, but it has a bit of glitter on it. However, I think the paper is really busy and doesn't really work for this card. The rhinestone brads didn't really stand out on their own, so I placed pieces of Kiwi Kiss cardstock underneath to make them stand out. The Kiwi Kiss circle ended up looking a bit bare, so I stamped a little heart with Versamark to make a background. Perhaps I should've used a flower instead. Thanks for stopping by!