Addicted to Ink

FTL 162

2011-10-16T17:52:00.002+10:30

Here is by take on the latest Clean & Simple sketch challenge using PTI's Botanical Silhouettes as well as Half & Half.

Thanks for stopping by!

FTL 159

2011-09-25T16:08:00.002+09:30

It's been a while since I last participated in a challenge, so I decided to make a baby card using the latest Clean & Simple sketch. I took some liberties with the sketch by omitting the sentiment and adding a bow.

I love the little diaper stamp from PTI's Night Night Moon set. Thanks for stopping by!

Slacker

2011-09-10T18:01:00.000+09:30

Has it really been 4 months since I last posted anything? Really??? Talk about slack! I apologise profusely, but my muse has been away and shows no signs of coming back. See exhibit A below...

I made this card for a friend's birthday, and I was very desperate (I don't create well under pressure) and short on time. I cringe whenever I look at this photo, especially considering the ginormous mistake I made which meant the card had to be flipped around and opens left to right. My cards at the moment are very hit or miss. Sorry for the crummy card, Zhi, I'll make it up to you!

Now onto exhibit B below, an A5 card made in desperation using my Cricut. Again, I cringe. Enough said.

Still, there is a glimmer of hope in a card I made when a friend gave birth to a wee baby girl (hello Annabel!).

I also bought some new goodies from my fave store, PTI. I especially like their Wonderful Words dies and matching stamp set, which I used on a birthday card.

Soooo.........I needed a belated birthday card for my awesome personal trainer whose birthday was last week but I didn't know about. With the absence of any creativity, I fell to CASEing a card by Maile Belles, changing the colours a wee bit. I kinda like it. The peach colour makes it so fresh and bright. And the satin ribbon is just beautiful stuff.

And another birthday card, this time for a super awesome gym instructor who is always fabulous and full of pep. Her classes are the best! It's another CASE, and the original is by Gina K. I loooooooooooove this PTI set!

A close up of the glitter on the flowers, courtesy of a clear Spica pen.

Well, that's all for the moment. Hopefully I'll get back into the rhythm of card making again. Fingers crossed!

It's just paper

2011-05-08T20:21:00.006+09:30

I made this card for my aunt's birthday, and it nearly drove me nuts! The chiyogami/yuzen paper is so thin and delicate that the Cricut kept ripping it apart. I wasted an entire A4 sheet of the stuff trying to cut the fan out and was almost in tears. I finally figured out (after the entire episode) I'd have to interface the paper on thin CS, probably with JAC paper. Why didn't I think of it earlier???? D'OH! Ah, well. I keep telling myself it's just paper. :)

I got a shout out on the Wee Memories blog for this card, and I'm absolutely thrilled to bits!! Hoot hoot hooray! Thanks for stopping by!

FTL 139

2011-05-08T19:59:00.005+09:30

So, it's been a hole month since I've posted anything, but I have a good excuse.....really! My BFF got married last month, and it was absolutely beautiful! Anyhoo, onto the latest FTL sketch from the fabulous Clean and Simple Stamping ladies.

I had to make a super quick card an hour before leaving the house for a baby shower. Talk about last minute.....and I don't create very well under pressure. However, my muse is on holiday and I had no inspiration prior to my last-minute panic.

I just adore PTI's Night Night Moon stamp set, not that I've used it very much. The little diaper stamp is soooo cute, as well as the duck and the bottle. They're pretty sure the baby will be a girl, but I'm not fond of pink and chose to go yellow and green. Thanks for looking!

FTL 134

2011-04-03T15:00:00.011+09:30

I just adore pretty butterflies and as a result, I have many butterfly stickers/rub ons/patterned paper etc. I've been hoarding my stash of Maya Road butterfly rub ons, but I finally broke into the packet for the latest FTL sketch challenge.

It seemed like such a good idea at the time, until I started fussy cutting the darned things. I was sorely tempted to throw in the towel after cutting 3!! I just love these rub ons, though.

ETA: I've just realized my card also counts for the Wee Memories colour inspiration challenge, and the photo they've used just grabbed me immediately. I love rainbows! Thanks for stopping by!

ABSC 36

2011-03-27T20:13:00.010+10:30

I really like the latest Annabelle Stamps sketch and when I saw it, I immediately thought of PTI's Take Three series. I needed a birthday card, so I decided to add in the sentiment. Apologies for the poor photo, but I couldn't take the photo in natural light. Thanks for stopping by!

FTL 132

2011-03-20T09:12:00.004+10:30

Wow, it's been a while since I made any cards or participated in any challenges! So after a long hiatus, here is my offering for FTL 132.

It feels so good to be creating again, and many thanks to the Clean & Simple Stamping team for another fabulous sketch! Thanks for stopping by.

Papertrey Ink's 4th Anniversary!

2011-02-13T21:07:00.004+10:30

Hello all! So, it's been almost a month since I last made a card because I've been so busy having fun with Project Life! Still, this February is Papertrey Ink's 4th anniversary, and they're having an extra special release over at Nichole Heady's blog. The first Make it Monday challenge was to use similar sentiments to make a card and I couldn't resist playing along, especially since participating gets you in the running for a $250 PTI gift certificate!! Be still, my heart! Without further ado, here is my creation.

Happy anniversary, PTI!

Project Life

2011-01-29T18:06:00.008+10:30

Hello all! Apologies for the silence in blogland, but I've been busy with my new love!

Yes, I bought a 2011 Project Life kit, and it arrived on the 18th!! See that slightly maniacal grin on my face? I think I frightened the postman a little when he delivered it, I was grinning like a crazy person and trying not to snatch the box from his grasp. Discovering Project Life was like a lightbulb moment for me. I've always wanted to scrapbook but found it way too difficult. This way, I get to put my photos together, be all matchy-matchy (you know I love matchy-ness) but don't have to worry about layouts. I decorated the cover of my album with some black vinyl, which is just awesome to use. And quite addictive.

Wanna know a little secret? I bought a 2010 Project Life kit, too. *blush* I just couldn't resist, the colours were so "me" and I love the design. Obsessed? Probably. Ambitious? Possibly. I'm using the 2011 kit as a weekly scrapbook for the year, while the 2010 kit is intended to be a scrapbook about me, with no timeframe in mind.

Love that vinyl! So, I spent all of last weekend catching up on my journaling and sorting/editing photos. Am up to date for the first 4 weeks of the year!

So, there probably isn't going to be a card up this weekend either, as I have some work to do and am sorting/editing photos to go into my album. Normal transmission should resume shortly. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Soaring by to say hi

2011-01-16T16:29:00.004+10:30

I have several cards to make this weekend, and this one is for someone who inspires me and who could use a pick-me-up at the moment. Love bright colours! I used the FTL 123 sketch again, just 'cos I love it so. :-)

Colours courtesy of the SU! colour coach, but I grabbed Cherry Cobbler by accident, instead of Riding Hood Red.

Also, a big shout out to those who stopped by and left comments, you guys brighten my day! Thanks for taking a look!

FTL 123

2011-01-15T18:03:00.007+10:30

Have I mentioned how much I loooooooove sketch challenges? The Clean & Simple sketch challenges, in particular. Love what the team does each week!! This week is no exception.

I had a look through my "inspiration" folder and came across a past challenge over at PPA. Love the colours!

And here is what I ended up with.

The colours look a bit off because the lighting wasn't very good. Love PTI felt!! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

FTL 122

2011-01-08T15:57:00.003+10:30

Clean & simple sketch challenges have started for 2011!! Here is the first sketch for the year.

I pulled out the Urban Garden paper from the previous SU! catalogue and threw in some stitching with the sewing machine. It was only after I had happily stitched everything that I realized I didn't have anything for the flower elements, so I resorted to cutting out some of the flowers from the DSP.

I made a small blunder with the sentiment, which is why you can't really see it at all. Thanks to the C&S blog for another great sketch!

U r awesome!

2011-01-08T07:26:00.006+10:30

Thought I'd share some cards I made last week but couldn't upload because the recipients hadn't received them yet. The first one was made for a friend's birthday, using my brand new Banner Builder set from PTI. Love the matching dies!

I was playing with the SCAL2 software for the Cricut and decided to try incorporating a word into the card base, inspired by this card by Kristina Werner. It was surprising how easy this was to make! Love the Cricut and SCAL!

I was reading Michelle Wooderson's blog the other day, and discovered Becky Higgins and the Project Life phenomenon. I was completely blown away by the idea and have promptly jumped on the bandwagon, having ordered my 2011 kit two days ago. So now I'm impatiently waiting for it to arrive. I've wanted to make scrapbooks for ages, but have always found it difficult. I've already started taking photos for this week, and I can't wait to start! Will update once I receive the kit and start. :-) Thanks for stopping by!

My new baby!

2011-01-01T17:16:00.007+10:30

After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, I gave in and bought a Cricut Expression!! It arrived before the Christmas break, so I've been having a lot of fun during the holidays experimenting with cutting stuff. It's so awesome!!!! I love it. :) I also bought Sure Cuts a Lot, and it's just mind-blowing what you can do with the software.

Introducing the first card I made using the Cricut Expression! I wanted to keep it really simple, and cut into some yummy Bo Bunny paper. I've also started dabbling in glass etching, which is so easy and quite addictive. :)

Anyway, that's all I have for today before I run off and finish something for a friend. Wishing you all a happy new year, and thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-26T10:58:00.015+10:30

Hello all! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas!! :) Mine was awesome, spent with family and with lots of food. Mmmm. And big news!!! I bought myself a Cricut Expression and have been busy spending time with it. Happy birthday and Merry Christmas to meeeee!!!

Apologies for the lack of blogging over the past month, but I was frantically finishing off Christmas cards and making Christmas presents. I made cards of two sizes this year with the smaller 10cm × 10cm card given to those I don't know as well (such as my colleagues) but still wanted to give cards to. This year's card was inspired by this card (about half-way down the post) created by Nichole Heady who is the awesome co-owner/creator of my fave craft store, Papertrey ink. Seriously, I think I mention PTI in every single post. :) The smaller tree was punched out using a Martha Stewart punch. I dragged out my mother's sewing machine and taught myself to use it (the user manual is great!) and I think sewing on cards can get quite addictive!

And this is what a pile of ~46 odd Old Olive die-cut trees looks like. That's a lot of crankin' through the Big Shot!

I also made calendars for my friends using PTI's calendar page die, which also meant more cranking through the Big Shot. 6 calendars (including one for myself) and one cover for each = 78 calendar pages. I was really, really bored by the time I finished die-cutting them! Here's what they look like, all bound with my Bind-it-all! The one at the end was the prototype, hence the wonky-ness. All subsequent calendars (and the original) were reinforced using re-purposed cereal boxes. :D I love how they turned out. Well worth the time spent stamping and trying to figure out stuff. I haven't made mine, though. Ran out of time. :)

I used the same stamps for each calendar, but mixed up the order so no two calendars are identical. I also embossed half the pages and nearly toasted my fingers in the process! I still haven't started on my own calendar yet as I ran out of time, so hopefully I have it done before 2011 rolls around. :D

I have yet more photos of cards etc., but I'll leave them for the next post. Before I go, I'll share this photo I took of 60 (of the 78) die-cut calendar pages, arranged by month. So pretty!

Thanks for stopping by!!

FTL 117

2010-11-21T14:37:00.008+10:30

It's really warming up here in Adelaide, with the temperature today at 32 degrees. Here comes summer! Anyway, here is the latest Clean & Simple sketch.

I used some of the fabulous PTI vintage cream felt for the flowers and what makes PTI felt awesome is it's so thick, soft and velvety. *swoon* I've been hoarding my stash of PTI felt, but it's high time I used some. Still, it did hurt a bit when I cut into the roll. ;)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #47

2010-11-07T09:59:00.007+10:30

Makeesha has another great sketch challenge up on her brand new challenge blog!

I flipped the sketch and made a card for a friend who is taking her driving test next Sunday. It's a bit early, I know, but I'm confident she can do it! It was also a perfect opportunity to use my brand new Enjoy the Ride set from PTI. :) I tried colouring in a bit of shadow under the car to stop it "floating", but I didn't too well. I also grabbed the wrong marker at one point, which is why there is a darker grey blob on the left. Anyway, I really love this stamp set, it's so cute!! Thanks for stopping by!

FTL #113

2010-10-24T17:10:00.005+10:30

It's been ages since I took part in a Clean & Simple sketch challenge! Apologies for the crummy photo, I haven't the time to take another until later in the week but I'll try for a better one.

The flowers were stamped in Whisper White ink and coloured in using copics, an idea that came from Nichole Heady (3rd card down). I originally planned on using PTI's Linen & Canvas impression plate, but accidentally used one that was already on the Big Shot from a previous card. I only realized it was the wrong plate when it was about half-way through! D'oh! There wasn't time to make another, so I stuck with it. Thanks for stopping by!

One layer card

2010-10-23T07:33:00.005+10:30

Hello everyone! Apologies for not updating the blog for a while, I've been a bit lazy! However, I've made lots of stuff, and I'll slowly start posting them.

I absolutely LOVE some of the new Stampin' Up! colours, notably Daffodil Delight and Peach Parfait. I still think the names are corny, though. :) I teamed Daffodil and Peach with Pumpkin Pie to make my first ever one layer card. Go me! This is the 4th (or 5th?) version of this card, and I really like how simple it is. And did I mention I love the colours?

Let me just say that I found the stamp-a-ma-jig absolutely essential! I tried stamping without it, and it was a disaster! I'd really like to try this with more colours, but I have to sit down and figure out which monotone colours go well together. Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch challenge #41

2010-09-26T12:50:00.004+09:30

Makeesha has designed another awesome sketch, and with Christmas coming soon I decided to try and make a Christmas card.

I wanted to add a touch of colour with copics, but the cheapie acrylic stamp didn't take memento ink well. And I completely forgot to emboss the base with the polka dot folder, even though I had everything out and ready to go. Oops. Anyway, thanks for taking a look! :)

Welcome, baby

2010-09-19T17:42:00.004+09:30

A friend has just had a baby boy (Congrats, Julia!) and I had to make a little baby card using PTI's Night Night Moon paired up with Card Patterns Sketch #65.

I've just started using the sewing machine to stitch on cards, and I'm in love! I'm still learning though, and the stitching on this card went slightly wonky on both sides. Thankfully, the stamped panel hides the odd-looking parts, but I really need to figure out how to keep the cardstock straight! And perhaps get a smaller needle. Thaqnks for looking!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #39

2010-09-12T13:31:00.006+09:30

Hello all! It's been a while since I participated in an Inkspirations challenge, so here is the sketch for the latest challenge over at Makeesha's blog.

I sat down to make a card on Friday, and it really didn't work. It's boring, blah and bleargh. Not happy.

So I tried again using a technique I've been meaning to try, Versamark and chalk! I used a gorgeous set of chalks from Kaisercraft that have a pearlescent sheen to them. Love them!

If you've been visiting my blog you'll know I love bright colours, especially rainbows! I tired taking a photo of the shimmer, but you can barely see it on the stamped flowers. I would've loved more flowers stamped on the card, but I found it difficult to stamp on the CS using clear Versamark! Case in point, the off-centre circle in the middle of the orange/yellow flower. Still, I love the rainbow and I can't wait to try this technique again. Thanks for stopping by!

Beautiful blooms II

2010-09-11T08:14:00.004+09:30

Just a super quick post today as I've been really busy over the past week. The room swap happened last weekend and I'm now busy sorting out stuff and giving items a new home. It boggles the mind how much stuff I've accumulated!

Things I've learnt from making this card are to stamp before sticking the flower on (the button prevented a nice even stamp) and to stamp before using the impression plate. And I'm still addicted to Beautiful Blooms II and the matching dies. PTI rocks!

For Nichole

2010-08-30T21:22:00.004+09:30

Divine felt

2010-08-25T19:59:00.003+09:30

Ahhhhhh......I love PTI wool felt. It's so gorgeous and dies cut through it like a dream! I have to admit I'm a bit of a hoarder with some of my craft supplies, and I think PTI felt will be one of those things I won't break into as often. That is, unless I have a spare roll of felt handy. I really must break this habit. Any suggestions? :)

Enough rambling and on to a card. I used a past FTL sketch (#101) and my new Beautiful Blooms II dies.

Thanks for stopping by!

Did I mention...

2010-08-20T18:36:00.005+09:30

that I'm addicted to PTI's Beautiful Blooms II dies? I've only used one of the three die sets so far and without any of the matching stamps. But I loooooooooove them!

Apologies for the crummy photography, but I didn't get a chance to photograph the card in natural light. Now for exhibit #2.

Some people think that black is an unlucky colour to use on a birthday card, but it really makes the colours pop. Thankfully, the person I gave it to didn't care. I'm so addicted to PTI, they're awesome and I can't get enough of their products!

Can't get enough of.......

2010-08-20T14:27:00.013+09:30

Beautiful Blooms II dies from PTI! They're so addictive, especially paired with the leaves/stem image from Four of a Kind. My mojo has been missing for the longest time, so it feels awesome to make something that I'm happy with. I know I'm a bit late for the FTL 103 sketch, but I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon anyway. Their sketches are always fantastic, and this one really got my brain working.

Ahhhh.....I revel in the joy when you love a card that you've made, especially after a long break from stamping. This card makes me happy!

Where are you, Mojo?

2010-08-01T16:16:00.005+09:30

Hello everyone! Apologies for the shocking neglect of my blog, but it's been really crazy at work and at home. The good news is that I'm getting a new bedroom/craft room that is bigger and will have more storage space! It's taken a lot of planning (about 4-5 months) and effort but I'm nearly there and about ready to move in, give or take a few weeks. Basically, my weekends have been spent cleaning, buying furniture, varnishing wood furniture and organizing a time for tradies to come in. I'll have plenty of photos uploaded when everything finally comes together!

I haven't had much time (or mojo) to make anything, but I CASEd an awesome card that Becky Carafa posted on the Clean & Simple blog.

My version isn't as glam as Becky's is, but it didn't turn out too bad. I had to change the colours as I didn't have any of the PTI inks that she used, but I should have stamped the middle stripe with pale plum ink instead of perfect plum. Oh well.

Hope you're all staying nice and warm or cool depending where you are! It's a chilly and windy day here in Adelaide and I'm very thankful for my column heater. Thanks for stopping by!

Linen & canvas

2010-06-23T16:05:00.004+09:30

Greetings and salutations! I made a card last night, which is very similar to this one from a few weeks ago. I tested out my brand new Linen & Canvas impression plate from PTI, and I'm in love!! This plate is just awesome!!

I have the Canvas background stamp from SU!, but this plate is just so much better. I can't stop ooh-ing and aah-ing over the texture on the CS. However, it was only after I adhered the black strip on the card that I realized my stamped panel was upside down! D'oh!! I really didn't have the heart to pull it all up, so hopefully it's not really all that noticable. Wishful thinking. :)

Baby argyle

2010-06-14T16:54:00.002+09:30

Just a quick post (2nd post today! Shock!!), a baby card for a colleague who is expecting a little girl next month. I used PTI's Argyle impression plate and matching stamp set as well as their Star Prints set.

TTFN!

FTL 94

2010-06-14T16:48:00.004+09:30

Since Crab & Company was still sitting out on the table from this card, I thought I'd use it together with the latest FTL sketch to make a birthday card for a friend.

Must dash, thanks for stopping by!

Crab & company

2010-06-13T16:45:00.006+09:30

I thought I'd break out Crab & Company for Makeesha's latest sketch challenge, seeing as it hasn't been inked for a long time. I took a leaf out of Chantelle's book and flipped the sketch, and I really like the way it looks.

I love how happy and colourful the crab looks, but it was such a pain masking him (or her?) before rolling on the background with Versamark. I also like how colouring with Copics turns out of Kraft CS. Must try more if this in the future. Thanks for looking!

FTL 93

2010-06-07T09:45:00.007+09:30

Have you ever looked at a sketch and fallen instantly in love with it? I fell for FTL 93, and I think it's da bomb!

I broke out my brand new Turning a New Leaf set from PTI as well as a sentiment from this year's anniversary set. After several weeks of crafter's block, it was a lot of fun to make something and enjoy the process. I'm tempted to use the same sketch with Fancy Flourishes next. Thanks for looking!

Missing mojo

2010-05-31T15:20:00.005+09:30

Hi all! Apologies for the hiatus in posting, but my mojo went on holiday and neglected to give an ETA on when she's coming back. I did, however, try to forcefully bring her back by participating in the latest Inkspiration challenge but to no avail. Hopefully she returns soon, I miss her. :(

On a completely different note, I'm moving into a bigger room which means I get more space to better organize my craft stash. Yay! We've been cleaning the house out and getting rid of things we no longer need, it's amazing how much stuff you accumulate in 10 years! I'm really excited about changing rooms, but it's a lot of work getting things cleaned up and I also have to get blinds put in as well as a new door. Fingers crossed I manage to get it finished without breaking the budget. :)

Anyway, that's enough waffle from me, thanks for stopping by!

FTL 88

2010-05-03T09:59:00.005+09:30

It seems to be raining birthdays here, and this is a card I made using the latest FTL sketch.

I seem to have unintentionally CASEd the sample card (which is gorgeous!), even using the same sentiment from PTI's Birthday Basics set. Speaking of PTI, their stuff is just wonderful and you should check them out. Be warned, it's addictive. :)

Thanks for taking a look!

Taylored expressions sketch challenge #110

2010-04-25T09:09:00.005+09:30

This is my first ever entry for a Taylored Expressions sketch challenge! Yay! I've been wanting to try them for ages, but never found the time. Make sure you stop by her blog and have a look at her awesome creations!

I'm so in love with SU!'s Urban Garden DSP, both the designs and the colours are gorgeous! Plus, it can be used for both masculine and feminine cards. I was going to leave the grid on the navy CS but it looked plain weird, so I put a mat of black CS under it. The black really makes the colours of the DSP 'pop', in my opinion. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

Addicted to ink

2010-04-20T11:50:00.004+09:30

Hi all! I was scrolling through the photos on my phone when I came across a photo of a card I made in Feb. I forgot to take a proper photo before I gave it away, so apologies for the poor photo quality.

All I did was use a SU! roller with Versamark and then brush Ranger's Perfect Pearls over the top. I think I used 3 different colours, but I can't remember which ones.

On a completely different note, I'm having a lot of trouble with the SU! craft stampin' spots I bought from the States. They're really dry and I can't emboss with them because there isn't enough for the powder to stick to. Plus, the colours look washed out because the pads are dry. I bought them so I could be all matchy-matchy (to quote Susan), but they've been dry since I got them. GRRR!!!! They're not available in Aus, so I can't get the reinkers unless I ask someone in Canada or the States to post them to me, but that will not be a cheap exercise. I'm sorely tempted to buy Tsukineko Versacolour cubes and it's so frustrating to have all the spots but not be able to use them. *sigh* Still, it feels much better now that I've gotten that off my chest. :) Thanks for taking a look!

Sketch challenge #21

2010-04-18T20:12:00.009+09:30

It's time for another awesome sketch challenge from Makeesha!

The PTI design team have been giving tips on making cards for guys and I thought it was high time I made some, seeing as there aren't very many that I've made! I used a pair of fancy scissors to cut the strip of rick rack and the two SU! star punches. Just for kicks, I flipped the sketch and made an identical card.

So now I have not one, but two masculine cards! Sweet. :)

Plum

2010-04-18T09:17:00.005+09:30

I'm really sad Pale Plum is getting the boot come September when SU!'s colour renovation kicks in down in Aus. I particularly love how it matches Perfect Plum. I'm trying to decide whether or not to stock up on certain colours and whether to buy reinkers or CS.....or both! So in tribute to Pale Plum, I made an identical card to this one, using both Plum markers.

Thanks for looking!

FTL 85

2010-04-14T20:33:00.002+09:30

I love the sketches from clean & simple stamping, and I really should try to do more of them. The latest is sketch #85, and it's gorgeous.

I decided it was high time I dragged out the retired SU! Ginger Blossom paper and paired it with the Embrace Life set. I'm not a big fan of Cameo Coral, but it doesn't look so bad in small doses. Many thanks to the clean & simple team for another great sketch!

A quick card

2010-04-02T18:48:00.001+10:30

Hi all! I made a quick card for someone's birthday using the Fall to Layout 84 sketch as inspiration. I did take some liberties with the sketch, though.

Thanks for stopping by!

Watercolours and faux batik

2010-03-30T18:38:00.005+10:30

I tried the faux batik technique the other day, and I love the results! I used a Stamp It stamp and heat embossed the image on water colour paper before applying ink with my aqua painter. I then used an iron to heat the panel between sheets of kitchen towel , which melts and removes the embossing powder. Lots of fun!

I kept the card really simple, mainly because I was struggling to find colours to go behind the panel. In the end, I stuck with black because it makes the bright colours pop. :)

Apologies for the slightly blurry photo. I have to learn how to use my camera's macro settings for close range photography but unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the manual! Thanks for stopping by!

Inspiration challenge #19, take two!

2010-03-21T11:06:00.006+10:30

It's another friend's birthday this weekend, so another card had to be made. I used the FTL82 sketch from the Clean & Simple blog along with Keesh's latest challenge. I love this sketch!

I used Ranger's distress inks for the background, and this is the first time I've used them so I found it difficult to apply smoothly. Still, they're quite easy to use and blend, which is awesome! I also tired the emboss resist technique for the first time, and I love the way it looks (even though I could've just used white powder). I didn't have matching ribbon, so I did without, but I did spritz a mix of water and Ranger's Perfect Pearls to give it a bit of shimmer. Sadly, the shimmer doesn't turn up in the photo. Thanks to Keesh for another great challenge!

Inspiration challenge #19

2010-03-21T10:58:00.004+10:30

I had to make a birthday card for a friend, so I looked to Makeesha's latest challenge for inspiration.

I ran out of white thread half-way through, which explains the two unstitched buttons. The card was finished off at the last minute, so I didn't have time to hunt around for a substitute. It looks so unfinished, to me. Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #19

2010-03-08T10:22:00.003+10:30

It's been ages since I participated in Makeesha's inkspiration challenges, so what better time than now! There are 3 birthday's coming up and I thought it prudent to start now rather than leaving it 'til later. :D

I used a little Hero Arts stamp I picked up at a craft fair and coloured the little girl in using Copic markers. I didn't have any skin-tone markers and used a Blush Blossom marker instead, hence the slightly streaky look of her face. On a side note, I looooooooooove how easy it is to colour using Copics!! The background stamp is also from Hero Arts, called Kanji Poem and I've been wanting to ink it up for a while. The text means Happy Birthday in Japanese, and I printed it out using PSE (Photoshop Elements).

Thanks for stopping by!

Dusty

2010-03-07T09:20:00.006+10:30

Helloooooo there! My, look at the thick film of dust on this blog. :) Apologies for not blogging sooner, but I haven't been making very much lately and things have been busy around here. I thought I'd finally update the blog and put up photos of some things I made last month.

This is a card I CASEd from the fabulous Susan Raihala. I can't find the link to her original post, but she used a different flower from the Echoes of Kindness set in Bashful Blue instead of Saffron. The photo is a wee bit blurry, but the sentiment is embossed with black EP.

My contract with my previous employer expired, and my last day was on the 29th of Jan. I've been very privileged to work with some awesome people, particularly those with whom I shared an office with (poor them!). I used Tim Holtz charm fragments and alcohol inks to make pendants and earrings for the girls, and a key chain for the guy. The flowers and ladybirds were stamped with Versamark and embossed with black EP. I found out the hard way that you shouldn't attempt to emboss too many at a time, for I melted one poor charm fragment. Unfortunately for me, it was one of a pair of earrings. Drat!

On another note, I've been trying to find a way to store sponge daubers without having them float around and getting ink on everything. I found this plastic container at a Big W store (like Wal Mart, for those of you in the States) and it fits PERFECTLY, with 30 going into an entire box. YEAH! I'm absolutely ecstatic! It's the little things that count. ^_^

I'm hoping to get back into the creative swing of things soon, so stay tuned for more posts!

We're back on air!

2010-02-01T11:55:00.008+10:30

Hello hello!!! Many apologies for the extended (and unplanned!) break from blogging, but I was unexpectedly busy over the Christmas/new year period and then had to rush trying to finish things up at my (now) previous job. In addition, my 4 year-old laptop was painfully showing its age, but all is well now with my brand spanking new laptop! It feels so good to be blogging again and I have two or three photos to put up.

These were made using the templates from the PTI website, which I adapted slightly to make the middle bit a bit deeper and added ribbon to act as handles. These were simple and a lot of fun to make so try it if you have the chance. There are lots of other ideas from the PTI design team included when you download the template, providing plenty of inspiration and ideas.

I made these two cards for two lovely ladies who left one of the other labs, using glossy paper and Adirondack alcohol inks. I'm quite happy with the way the second card turned out, but the first was very so-so, to me. These inks are SO much fun to play with and are great for non-porous surfaces such as acrylic. I've really grown to love Ranger products, especially the Adirondack line.

That's all I have to show you for the moment, but I'm working on a bunch of different things so I'll probably have a few things to put up over the weekend. So stay tuned, and thanks for stopping by! :)

This and that

2009-12-13T18:33:00.006+10:30

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. One thing I've ticked off my to-do list is finish making my Christmas cards but I haven't sent them out yet. They've been sitting there waiting to be written in and, in some cases, mailed off and I've finally gotten off my backside and started.

I went with what I thought would be a simple card to make (similar to this one), but just doing 16 was a right pain! Each card takes almost half a metre of ribbon, so I went through 8 metres of red ribbon for this exercise. Thank goodness for the Bow-Easy, which is a fantastic invention that I can use to tie 16 bows in under 5 minutes. The paper on the front of the card is shimmery paper, but you can't see the sheen in the photos. Pretty paper, though. I can't imagine how people mass produce cards, as I don't have the patience. Take Jayne Mercer, for instance, who made over 300 cards! That's an insane number of cards to make! Then again, I've never been a one to give cards for birthdays etc, which I find hilarious seeing that I'm so into card making now. :D

Also, lookee what I bought!

I was given an Eckersley's (art supply store) voucher for my birthday last year and I had to use it before i expired. I normally buy loose patterned paper from there and you had to use the whole $20 at one go. Anyway, the amount bought be exactly 3 Copic Ciao markers so I gave in and bought them, adding in the extra for a colourless blender. I've yet to colour stamped images with them, but they blend together so easily and I love 'em!

As an aside, I was told two weeks ago that the lab wasn't awarded enough grants this year and they can't afford to keep me after my contract expires at the end of January, so I'm hunting high and low for a job. It's a bit difficult in Adelaide, as the market is smaller than cities such as Melbourne or Sydney and about half of the jobs advertised aren't within my area of expertise, so I don't qualify. So, the last two weeks have been a roller coaster and I'm really looking forward to the Christmas/new year break! I can't believe it's nearly the end of 2009!! Even though a lot has happened (like taking up stamping!), it feels like I've blinked and it's whipped by. Oh, another major thing that's happened is that I've finally gotten my learner driver's permit! This is a huge thing, as I'm 10 years over the age at which we can start learning to drive. Go me! :)

Anyway, enough of waffling on. I'd best get the housework done before I run out of weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch challenge #17

2009-12-12T21:06:00.007+10:30

It's Makeesha's final sketch challenge for the year and I can't believe 2009 is nearly over!

I kept the card quite simple and used PTI's Everyday Button Bits, Polka Dot Basics 2 and Birthday Basics stamp sets. I hope everyone has a merry christmas and a fantastic new year and many many thanks to Makeesha and the design team for all their inspiration throughout the year! Thanks for stopping by. :)

The case of the vanishing post...

2009-11-25T08:58:00.006+10:30

I posted a blog entry yesterday and it definitely went up because someone else was able to view it......but it has since vanished into the vastness of the internet, never to be seen again. Oh dear. I'll try posting it again and see if it disappears again. Thankfully I wrote up the entry the night before and saved it (which I don't normally do!) so I won't have to write the entire post out again.
--------------------

I feel like a child let loose in a toy shop!!! I arrived home from work on Monday to find a parcel had arrived for me, and look at what was inside!

This is the second lot of stuff that I've been saving up to buy and bless my Aunt for having the patience to put up with all the boxes arriving on her doorstep and for posting the items all the way here! In fact, I had written off the non-PTI items as it looked like they had vanished in the postal system. I didn't know they had arrived at her place until I opened the box. So a massive THANK YOU to my Aunt for re-packing everything and posting not one, but two boxes over to Adelaide!! I can't wait to start playing with the PTI stamps, especially Giga Guide Lines, and I have so many ideas whirling in my head already. I just with I could take a day of leave off work just to stamp to my heart's content! :)

I came across some interesting 12 by 12 paper over the weekend, and bought two sheets to make cards with them. They're by a company called Stamp-It, and they have various different prints (eg. roses, tulips) on shimmery paper. The shop only had white tiger lily printed paper, so I bought them and made a really simple set of 9 cards, of which I took a photo of 4.

I like the simple and clean look, but in hindsight I realize that white lilies remind me of funerals (which didn't 'click' at the time). So now they look rather funeral-y to me. I planned on giving this set away with envelopes, but now I'm thinking twice. Opinions, anyone? I'd be glad to hear what you think. I took another photo to try and capture the shimmery-ness of the paper.

I think I'll try and get the paper with tulips on them, nice and colourful. We'll see. Anyway, thanks for looking!! :)

Sketch challenge #16

2009-11-22T07:03:00.008+10:30

I was absolutely gobsmacked when I went to Keesh's site to have a look at the latest challenge, to find she'd picked my card as the winning entry for the inspiration challenge number #15!! I'm stunned, and thrilled to bits at the same time. :) Thanks Keesh!

And on to Keesh's latest sketch challenge.

I pulled out PTI's Everyday Button BIts set again, using heart shaped buttons as flowers.

I wasn't planning to add the strip of ribbon, but I wanted to hide the 'join' between the circle element and the saffron band. It's very similar to this card, down to the butterflies and the DSP. Thanks, Keesh, for another fabulous challenge!

All you need is love

2009-11-15T20:05:00.007+10:30

I couldn't resist playing with PTI's Everyday Button Bits set again, this time using heart shaped buttons to make flowers. I used an older sketch from Keesh and made it into a card for a friend of mine who is getting married in 2 weeks.

Not your typical wedding card, but I love the little heart-shaped buttons. And here I was thinking I wouldn't be using this sentiment at all. Have I mentioned previously how much I love this set? :)

I made a card for a friend's 25th birthday and he had a cake in the shape of a pirate ship, so I thought it'd be fun to make him a pirate-themed card. I borrowed the SU! stamp set Ahoy Matey (retired) from a friend and it was fun using it, particularly the matching wheel.

I was colouring the little fellow in using my aquapainter and used a black SU! marker to simulate stubble on his face. In my impatience, I didn't think to let the cardstock dry and the ink bled into the paper, making him look like he had fungus growing on his face! It really bothers me (I'm soooooo obsessive compulsive sometimes), but I didn't have the time to make another one. Still, this set is so cute. :)

Anyway, I'm off to open all the windows in an attempt to cool the house down! The heat really saps all the energy out of you. Thanks for looking!

Starstruck

2009-11-15T15:05:00.004+10:30

It' absolutely sweltering here in Adelaide, with the temperature hovering between 38-40 degrees (100-104 for those playing in Fahrenheit) for the last 8 or so days. Horrible! I'm really not looking forward to summer. Thankfully, the temperature should drop tomorrow to a lovely 28 degrees, which will be a very welcome change.

Anyway, on to Makeesha's latest challenge!

I paired this inspiration challenge with the Fall to Layout #65, and tied to showcase the cool silver foil pattered paper I picked up on sale a while ago.

Thanks for stopping by!

Black sheep

2009-11-07T17:18:00.007+10:30

Octber was a hectic month for us at work, with several cohorts of animals running at once. How glad I am to have that month over and done with! For those of you who don't know, I work as a research assistant with a lab that uses sheep as the primary animal model to investigate the early origins of adult health. One of my colleagues is hosting a party this weekend to celebrate the completion of a part of her project, and she's gone with a sheep theme. The title of the party is "Thank ewe for the music" and there is to be a cake in the shape of a sheep along with a screening of the movie "Black Sheep" which is about zombie sheep. Sooooo, I decided to go along with the theme and a sheep-themed card for my friend!

And on the inside of the card:

I couldn't resist a little pun on the inside of the card. :) I can't for the life of me remember where I saw the little sheep made from punchies, but if anyone knows, please leave a comment so I can give credit where credit is due. I love the eyes on the sheep, especially when they're placed flat on the table and look cross-eyed.

And it makes me giggle every time. :D Anyway, it's almost dinner time, so I'd best be off. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Cherries jubilee

2009-11-05T12:17:00.005+10:30

I was itching to break out the Everyday Button Bits set again, and decided to make another card with Makeesha's latest sketch.

I accidentally glued the cherries to a piece of Old Olive cardstock, instead of Ruby Red as I originally intended. I only realized my mistake when I stuck the entire thing onto the card. D'oh! I'm sorely tempted to yank it apart and re-do it with Ruby Red, but it'll probably ruin the white CS with the cherries on it.

Anyway, the card has a rather Christmas-y feel to it, which reminds me that I haven't yet started on my Christmas cards. Eek! I have to say that before I got into papercrafts in such a big way I wasn't one to post/give Christmas cards or even birthday cards, so now I'm trying to decide whether or not to give out Christmas cards and if I do, who to send them to. Well, best decide quickly as I'm fast running out of time!

I must say thank you to all the wonderful people who have given me comment love. I really appreciate hearing what you think, especially since I didn't really like the little button bird card I made. It makes me appreciate the little dude more. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Chicken licken

2009-11-01T14:58:00.004+10:30

Makeesha has provided us with another great challenge, and it's a sketch!

I pulled out my fab Everyday Button Bits set from PTI and used the wee bird stamp, pairing it with Washington Apple DSP.

Am feeling rather 'blah' about this card. The brads in the corner are way too close but I had already pierced the holes, so I couldn't change their position. Still, the little bird is just too cute! And now I'm off to continue reading Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. TTFN!

Woohoo!!!!

2009-10-25T19:39:00.007+10:30

As mentioned in the previous post, I have some new craft toys to play with! I have to thank my wonderfully patient Aunt who aided my obsession by consolidating various parcels and posting them all the way to Adelaide. Thank you, thank you, thank you Auntie Halcyon!!

I arrived home from work on Friday to find a small card from the post office saying there was a parcel for me to collect. The post office closes at 5pm and upon glancing at my watch, I was dismayed to find that it was already 4.55!! ACK! I dropped everything (literally), sprinted out of the house and only just made it before they closed the door. The lady at the counter must have thought I was rather odd, as I couldn't wipe a huge goofy grin off my face. My preciousness had arrived! It was all I could do to not jump around and squeal like a little girl while standing in the post office. That had to wait until I got home and thankfully, there was no one to see my display of apparent lunacy. I couldn't resist taking a photo of my stash.

It's all sooooooo purdy! I've been saving for a while to buy the craft spots from all 4 colour families from Stampin' Up! and I can't stop opening the boxes and gazing dreamily at their loveliness. No more shall I have to ink a stamp with Versamark and then with classic ink in order to emboss with a SU colour! Nay, I can now stamp with the correct ink and clear emboss to achieve that lovely, raised, shiny effect. Be still, my heart!

*cough* I do apologize. I'm still very excited and overjoyed.

I love love LOVE PTI stamps!!!! Especially the Everyday Button Bits set, because it's just so adorable. Lookee at this card I made:

Not the most spectacular of cards, but I just love it. The addition of buttons to the cute little hot air balloon baskets warms the cockles of my heart and makes me smile. Truly, the person who came up with the idea of pairing up buttons with stamps is a genius. Genius, I say! I've also caved in and bought more PTI stuff, but that's still over in the States. Dangerous company, PTI is.

Aside from some SU and PTI items, I also purchased more 12 by 12 papers from SEI's Mimosa collection. No, that obsession hasn't faded, either. In fact, I not only bought more of the papers, but also several (meaning about 7!) ink blocks to match with the colours on the papers! Now all I have to do is find space to put all this new stuff. Good thing I went on a small de-cluttering spree and threw out lots of old papers/receipts etc. I also found an old piece of Whisper White on which I had stamped the leaf image from Fresh Cuts to form a wreath. I saw it when I was blog-hopping but can't for the life of me remember where!

I used some of my brand new red Smooch to colour in the berries, and it has such a nice, pearly shine to it. I decided not to waste the cardstock and made it into a card. Not too shabby for a piece of card that was about to be thrown out.

And now I'm off to get ready for bed. I've been waking up at 6am (for no good reason) and it's making me really sleepy. I'm off to have one last peek at my goodies (for the hundredth time) before I sleep. TTFN!

Button mojo

2009-10-25T19:26:00.007+10:30

A parcel of items I ordered from the States arrived on Friday, and I couldn't resist inking the stamps up immediately using the latest Mojo Monday sketch for inspiration!

I just LOVE PTI stamps!! This is the first time I've bought any, and they're awesome! I didn't do very much planning when I made this card, and in hindsight I should've used Old Olive card for the base and moved the ribbon lower down on the card. Still, it was great fun to play with the Everyday Button Bits stamp set and all the images are so irresistibly cute!!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Three-in-one

2009-10-17T13:08:00.007+10:30

I missed out on doing Makeesha's sketch challenge last week, so I just had to do this week's which happens to be a colour challenge. I combined it with the latest Mojo Monday sketch and made a birthday card for a friend.

This card is a bit 'blah', to me. The colours of the stamped panel don't stand out or have any pizzazz. I used my clear at you Spica glitter pen to go over the sentiment, giving it a nice sparkle, but I did this after I took the photo and I'm much too lazy to take and edit another. :) I had to use Confetti White cardstock for the base as Whisper White is just too thin and flimsy. I think I might try this challenge again tomorrow, depending on whether or not I can find the time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Glitter is like......

2009-10-17T09:06:00.006+10:30

First off, apologies for not blogging sooner. I had a card made up last week, edited and ready to post, but the past 5 days at work were really hectic. We had a visiting researcher from the States showing us how to do a new procedure, which was absolutely fascinating! However, it made surgeries go for a lot longer and most days we didn't even make it to the office at all. Anyhoo......enough waffle!

This card was inspired by a challenge Makeesha had a few weeks back and it was stuck in my head for two weeks before I could attempt it. It didn't turn out how I envisioned it and I'm rather unhappy at how it turned out, but oh well. This is what the inspiration photo looked like:

I've been wanting to play with crushed velvet flock for a while, and the way the red design "popped" made me actually try it.

Crushed velvet flock (or at least, the brand I used) is a real pain! I was told by a friend that glitter is like the herpes of the craft world, because it sticks to everything. Well, I found this flocking powder even worse than glitter because it went everywhere! It didn't stick to the CS as well as I hoped, but I think it might ust be the way I used the Heat & Stick powder that resulted in a patchy look on the left of the design. Having said that, it left that slightly velvety feel so I guess my experiment didn't turn out to badly. :)

A break in transmission

2009-09-30T09:09:00.003+09:30

Hi everyone! Apologies for the lack of posts in the last 7 days, but I've had to stay at work later and come in during the weekend because the basement of one of our buildings flooded almost to the ceiling last week. We've been salvaging what we can, cataloguing what was lost as well as cleaning up. It's a complete mess!! Pretty much everything is covered in mud and we had a lot of expensive equipment down there, most of which will now have to be thrown out. It's depressing, I tell you.

Anyway, transmission should resume within the next 4-5 days (fingers crossed!). Hope you're all having a good week so far! :)

Second time 'round

2009-09-20T14:54:00.002+09:30

Hi again! I decided to try my hand at the latest Inkspiration sketch challenge for a second time, but this time with different colours.

The hummingbird from the previous card is a bit difficult to see in real life because the yellow is so light. The only other pigment inks I had were blues similar to Brilliant Blue and Tempting Turquoise, so I used the colour coach to pick complementary colours. I'm sure you can see the accident I had with the stamp where the ink didn't make it to the cardstock. I tried stamping the image a second time but it turned out even patchier and I didn't want to stamp the thing again.

I have to admit I was sceptical about using Garden Green, Brilliant Blue and More Mustard together, but it's turned out surprisingly well. My apologies for doubting you, colour coach! The dragonfly is from the same set as the hummingbird (Mindscapes from Inkadinkado) and I love this stamp!

Many many thanks to those lovely people who took the time to comment on my previous posts. I love hearing what you think about the things I make! And now I'm off to clear bits of glitter from my floor. There was a small cloud that came off when I was setting the heat & stick powder and now it's everywhere. TTFN!

Sketch challenge #13

2009-09-19T13:23:00.007+09:30

I'm such a challenge junkie, and I especially love sketches. What I love the most is how challenges push me to create things I wouldn't normally come up with. Keesh has put up her latest sketch challenge and this is what it looks like.

I really wanted to use my Mindscapes acrylic set from Inkadinkado and teamed it up with SEI's Mimosa paper. I used heat and stick powder for the first time to add bling to the hummingbird, but in hindsight I should have clear embossed it. My stash of Kiwi Kiss CS is running very low, so I had to cheat slightly and sponge a piece of Whisper White cardstock with Kiwi Kiss ink to mat the main panel. Methinks it's time to put in another order!

I took another photo to try and capture the sparkle. Love that glitter!

Anyway, hope you're all having a great weekend, and thanks for taking a look! :)

Inspiration challenge #12

2009-09-13T18:09:00.005+09:30

The colours in Makeesha's latest inspiration challenge are really bright and fresh. It just screams summer to me.

And this is the card I ended up making:

I used a Basic Grey acrylic set to stamp in Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise and Summer Sun. Thankfully the DCWV textured paper matches the SU! colours quite well and this colour combo is really growing on me. You almost need sunglasses to view it, though. :)

It's been a slow weekend in terms of mojo, as I started several cards but didn't finish them because they weren't turning out how I envisaged them. Most frustrating! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the card, and thanks for stopping by!

Hi, my name is Pam, and I'm an addict...

2009-09-08T10:41:00.008+09:30

Yes, I admit that I have a problem. Please observe exhibit A:

The latest additions to my collection arrived yesterday, and I'm obsessed with the Mimosa collection from SEI. Only 2 items out of the lot were non-Mimosa items, and they are the Kaiser file set and 2 sheets of Basic Grey Patchwork Quilt paper. And I have another confession. See those two boxes at the bottom right of the photo? They're die cut shimmer accents and glittered chipboard accents that match the Mimosa papers.....and I bought two of each. The online store was having a sale on certain items and you get 20% off your first order. So I kinda went nuts.

Anyway, enough about my buying frenzy. I didn't have much time to make anything this weekend, but I did manage to make two cards. This first one seemed like a good idea at the time, but didn't turn out how I envisaged it.

The sentiment was stamped and I then used a black pen to draw the box around it. I really don't like the join from the word to the outline, though. It just looks wrong to me. Quite disappointing really, this card. But no matter, on to the next one.

I've always wanted to play with pink and grey, so I used Stampin' Up! Basic Grey and pasted a square of Ginger Blossom paper on it. I wasn't going to tie the ribbon into a knot, but it looked a bit empty without it. Apologies for the slightly washed out photo. The lighting wasn't very good.

I went to the Royal Adelaide Show over the weekend, and it was good fun! I haven't been for about 8 years, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I entered some cards of mine into one of the open art and craft categories in the show, and they were on display and I just had to take a photo. They look slightly different (better!) in a glass case. Or maybe that's just me. :) You can see the two cards that won second price at the front of the higher shelf, and they were so cool! I really want to try and make some like that.

And just before I sign off, I must share this photo I took at the show. At first I thought they were statues, but then discovered they were live ducks!

TTFN~

Simplicity

2009-08-31T08:59:00.012+09:30

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!

2009-08-23T18:13:00.004+09:30

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

2009-08-22T20:28:00.002+09:30

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.

2009-08-22T20:16:00.007+09:30

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!!

2009-08-13T08:35:00.006+09:30

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

2009-08-02T13:41:00.009+09:30

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!

Mojo Monday #94

2009-07-13T08:00:00.002+09:30

Wow, it's been a while since my last challenge entry. I think I haven't done any challenges since way before I left on my holiday. Time to get back into things!

With Mum's birthday coming up, I thought I'd use the latest Mojo Monday sketch to make her a card.

I took the colour combo from Stampin' Up!'s Urban Garden paper, and what a great combo it is! However, I took the liberty of moving the circular element, cos it didn't quite look right to me after rotating the sketch clockwise.

Stamp set: Echoes of Kindness, Best Yet, Itty Bitty Backgrounds (retired).
Cardstock/paper: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Grey, watercolour paper, Urban Garden DSP.
Ink: Versacolour 82 Black, Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Night of Navy marker, Not Quite Navy marker.
Other: Aquapainter, clear embossing powder, distressing tool, 3.2cm circle punch, 3.5cm circle punch, stampin' dimensionals, Maya Road butterfly rub on, paper snips.

I love love LOVE how the butterfly turned out! I rubbed one of the Maya Road butterflies onto Baja Breeze DSP, cut it out and stuck it onto the card using dimensionals. It was such a pain fussy cutting the butterfly, although I think it was worth it. Here is a close up of the wee butterfly.

Thanks for looking!

But wait.......there's more!

2009-07-12T20:41:00.004+09:30

Hi again! I was playing with Beck's "Thoughts & Prayers" stamp set yesterday when the idea for this card popped into my head.

Stamp set: Thoughts & Prayers.

Cardstock/paper: Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Old Olive DSP (retired).

Ink: Basic Black, Old Olive marker, Rose Red marker, Pretty in Pink marker.

Other: Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon (retired), distressing tool.

Am loving my new paper distressing tool!! :) I kinda like the way it turned out, very feminine and flowery. I've never put those three colours together, but they look pretty good. Looks like I might be using this combo again! I've borrowed this set from Beck, along with the "Echoes of Kindness" set, so expect to see more cards using those sets. TTFN!

I'm back!

2009-07-12T17:21:00.008+09:30

Greetings and salutations!! I'm back after a looooong while away. I had difficulty getting back into the swing of things after my 3-week holiday plus we're quite busy at work. However, I had a craft day with my best buddy (hi Beck!) and I think I'm getting back into challenges and regular posts!

I made a card about 3 weeks ago for a friend who left us to work in another lab that uses flies and dragonflies (hi Melissa!), hence the term "flying" away. I had to use an A4 sheet to make it, so that the whole lab could write messages in it.

Stamp sets: Border builders (retired), KI Memories Formal Lowercase set.
Cardstock/paper: Whisper White, DCWV textured Brights cardstock.
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Brilliant Blue, Summer Sun, Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Almost Amethyst, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Basic Black, Basic Black marker.
Other: Making Memories Mini Shimmer Alpha stickers, Stencil Station dragonfly stencil.

It was a really easy card to make, except I hadn't made anything in a while (4 weeks, to be precise) and I seemed to be a bit rusty. The dragonfly's wings have a dusting of glitter on them, which you can just see from the photo.

Fast forward two weeks, and I made a card for Melissa's birthday. Seeing as she's just left a lab that uses sheep, I had to use the wee sheepie from the "Pun Fun" stamp set. I don't own the set and I don't know anyone in Adelaide who does, so I SOS-ed the ever helpful Keesh who stamped a few for me and posted them over. Thanks heaps, Keesh!

Stamp sets: Pun Fun, Rough Edges Alphabet, Itty Bitty Backgrounds (retired).
Cardstock/paper: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, watercolour paper, Washington Apple DSP.
Ink: Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Blush Blossom marker.
Other: Aquapainter, scallop edge punch, distressing tool, white grosgrain ribbon (non-SU!).

Sheepie wasn't too difficult to watercolour, seeing as most sheep tend to be white-ish. I lightly went over the body with a bit of Sahara sand in an attempt to make it look less bright. However, I think I only made it look dirty. :D

Anyhoo, that's it from me for now. I still have a challenge entry and another card to post, but I must be off to change before going out for dinner. Will try and post after I get back. Thanks for looking!

Hurrah for holidays!

2009-05-26T18:38:00.007+09:30

Hi! Apologies for the lack of posts lately, but I'm currently overseas on a short holiday! I was so busy trying to get stuff done and get things organized before I left, that I didn't have time to make anything, so I'll just put up some photos of cards I made a while ago but didn't upload onto my blog.

Stamp set(s): Stem silhouettes (retired), Sincere salutations, Just Vine jumbo wheel.
Cardstock/papers: River Rock, Old Olive, Whisper White.
Ink: Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Basic Black, Versamark.
Other: Cream satin ribbon (non-SU!).

This first card was really easy to make and I borrowed the vine jumbo roller from a friend. It's a card that can be given to a guy, which is great cos I don't have many masculine cards and I find them difficult to make.

Stamp set(s): Spring solitude bundle (stamp set + wheel, retired), Sanded (background).

Cardstock/ papers: Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White.

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Blue Bayou, Rose Red, Pacific Point, Riding Hood Red, Perfect Plum, Old Olive marker, Chocolate Chip marker, Versamark.

Other: White grosgrain ribbon (non-SU!).

I tried making a set of cards for my Aunt's birthday last month, using the Spring Solitude bundle from the previous catalogue. I kinda ran out of time (and mojo!) to finish making them, so I stuck to two basic designs, only altering the colours. I hope she liked it, but even if she didn't I figure at least they're practical! :D

The weather here is absolutely awful! It's hot and very humid (~65% humidity!), which makes you feel sticky and uncomfortable........all you feel like doing half the time is standing in the shower! Still, I've been having a blast for the past 3 days and I still have ~2 and a half weeks to go! I can forsee that I'll probably need a holiday to recover from this holdiay, what with all the running around we've been doing. I'll probably not be updating the blog until I get back to Adelaide, but I'm sure I'll have plenty to post about when I get back. See you then!

Yay!

2009-05-14T12:42:00.006+09:30

Makeesha is back with more inspiration challenges, and this one is a sketch challenge. I love sketch challenges!

26/05/109: Edited to add a better photo!

Apologies for the slightly blurry photo, but my photography skills aren't very good. :) It's a really simple card to make, and I've been wanting to try something like this ever since I saw this card made by Kristina Werner using the Sweet Slumber specialty paper and the Heart to Heart punch. I love how this card turned out! I added the sentiment as an afterthought but made a boo-boo when I stamped it, so I had to cover it up with the So Saffron cardstock. And I'm really starting to like this colour combination. Thanks for giving us another great challenge, Keesh!

Stamp set: Short & Sweet.
Ink: Basic Black.
Cardstock/Paper: Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Sweet Slumber specialty paper.
Other: Heart to Heart punch, word window punch, white gel pen, dimensionals, white grosgrain ribbon (non-SU).

Mojo Monday 84!

2009-05-01T21:34:00.010+09:30

I tried to stick to the sketch but the circle thingo I made really didn't look good at all, so I took it off.

This is what it looked like with the circle.

The colours I used were taken from the Fall Flowers DSP (Sahara Sand, Old Olive, Soft Sky) and I embossed the flowers using white EP. Thanks for stopping by!

Hooray for the rain!!

2009-04-27T12:25:00.010+09:30

I dunno about the rest of Australia, but it's been bucketing down here in Adelaide, which is fabulous!! Hopefully we'll get steady rain regularly from now on. Fingers crossed!

I was invited to a friend's place over the weekend for a stamping get-together, and it was great fun! I had a chance to play with the Wild About You stamp set, and it's been bumped higher up on my wish list! It's such an adorable set.

I made another card, but haven't taken a photo of it yet. Will get onto to that soon and put it up. TTFN!

Mojo Monday #83

2009-04-25T11:32:00.005+09:30

It's time for another fabulous Mojo Monday sketch challenge!

I used Kraft for the base card and added a layer of Old Olive DSP (retired) and a scalloped layer of Pumpkin Pie DSP (retired). I think perhaps I shouldn't have used Pumpkin DSP, as it looks really busy to me. Anyway, I glued a piece of vellum onto the card and added a saying from the Reason to Smile stamp set (also retired!) that was inked with Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie markers and layered onto More Mustard CS. The card was finished off with two Flower Fusion flowers and a rhinestone brad. Thanks to the lovely Mojo Monday ladies for giving us a challenge every week!

Crab and Company

2009-04-20T08:56:00.001+09:30

My mojo deserted me over the weekend, and I couldn't really make anything I was happy with. I did manage to use the Crab & Company stamp set that just arrived, though.

I wanted to make a fun card and used some of the new in colours (Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss). My watercolouring needs lots of work! The crab looks like it has some sort of skin disease. Poor crabby. :)

TTFN!

Mojo Monday 82.

2009-04-20T08:48:00.004+09:30

Just a really simple card for the latest Mojo Monday sketch.

I used Always Artichoke CS for the base and layered a piece of Brocade Background DSP onto Choc Chip CS. The lighting makes the Choc Chip look purple! I used Basic Grey ink to stamp both the image and the sentiment, but I think it'd look better without the sentiment. I had to use my new word window punch, though. :) Anyway, thanks for stopping by!

A new blog

2009-04-19T09:10:00.001+09:30

Yokoso! After much thinking, I've decided to move from Xanga to Blogger and the fabulous Kirstie Morrison has designed a new header and background for me! Doesn't it look great? Thanks heaps, Kristie! Head over and visit her blog, her stuff is awesome!

So, welcome to my new blog, and thanks for stopping by!

Spring solitude bundle + happy mail!

2009-04-15T09:00:00.007+09:30

Hi all! My bestie loaned me her Spring Solitude bundle which was a hostess set (with matching wheel) from the previous catalogue, and I've been having a ball with it. It took a while for my mojo to appear though, but it deserted me after I made the second one. I really love the wheel that comes with the set, but can't think of what else to do with it. Ah well, I still have two weekends to play with it. :)

All the cards use a mixture of Old Olive, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie CS. I'm really liking that colour combo! I also used Choc Chip CS, a More Mustard inkpad, an Old Olive marker and a Choc Chip marker. I was trying to cut out some of the flowers (stamped on Pumpkin Pie CS) to stick on the Saffron strip of the thank you card, but it was just too fiddly. I also found it difficult to cut out because the flowers were overlapping and I gave up in disgust. Maybe I'll try again later.

I have to share some mail that arrived in my mailbox recently. The first card is by Dani Fender and I loooooooove the colours she used (my fave colour!) with the crayon resist technique. I can't wait to try the technique out myself. :)

This card was made by Makeesha Byl and I'm in awe of her watercolouring skills. I've been trying to brush up on my technique, but her watercolouring is wicked!

I came home from work one day to find a catalogue packed in this adorable envelope from Kim Gavarra! Isn't the little birdie cute?

That stamp set is on my wishlist, but it's been bumped waaaaaay down cos there is just too much to like in the new catalogue! Thanks for stopping by!

Mojo monday #81!

2009-04-13T20:17:00.002+09:30

Hi all! I decided to try my first Mojo Monday challenge, and this was the sketch we had to use.

I decided to use the Spring Break DSP and follow the colour scheme of the paper. Am loving my corner rounder punch! I stamped the seahorse, fish and shell onto Whisper White CS and cut them out, sticking them onto the card using dimensionals. With the seahorse, I tried to wrap its tail around the cardstock to mimc how they hang on to seaweed IRL. Am a bit unsure of this card, perhaps I could've chosen different colours/paper. Anyway, thanks for looking!

Challenges galore!

2009-04-05T08:55:00.007+09:30

Hi all! I decided to take part on Amy Rysavy's sketch challenge #64 which looks like this

I've been itching to silver emboss the stamps from The Snowflake Spot ever since I first saw them, and Amy's sketch was perfect to try it. I'll probably be disqualified though, as I didn't use any ribbon along the bottom, but I couldn't bear to cover up my snowflakes! I used Night of Navy and Bashful Blue cardstock, along with non-SU! silver paper, silver brads and silver EP. I also used Versamark and Itty Bitty Backgrounds. I love love LOVE the look of silver EP on Night of Navy cardstock! It looks sooooo good in real life, if I do say so myself. Guess what my Xmas cards will be looking like this year. It's rather ironic (the snowflakes), considering it's summer and usually blazing hot over here during Xmas!
And next up is Keesh's latest inspiration challenge!

I thought it was coffee in them mugs at first! But apparently it's soup.

I always think of leaves when I think of autumn, and when I caught sight of the leaves stamp from Itty Bitty Borders, I couldn't wait to try and watercolour it. I stamped the leaves several times on Very Vanilla cardstock to create a wavy border, and watercoloured them using Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip. I had a "Now what???" moment after I finished the border, as all I thought about was the watercolouring! Luckily for me Stem Silhouettes came to the rescue and I inked one of the stamps using More Mustard and Choc Chip. I finished off the card with a strip of Pumpkin Pie DSP, More Mustard cardstock and Old Olive card. I'm happy with how it turned out, considering I hadn't even a rough idea of the finished product when I started.

I was invited to Julia's catalogue launch party over the weekend, and was given free rein to use whatever she had to make a card. I tried out her Good Friend set and stamped the adorable bird using Pacific Point, Choc Chip and Summer Sun. It's a shame my bird ended up slightly blotchy, though. I cut the bird out and stuck it onto Kiwi Kiss cardstock using dimensionals, and added strips of Rose Red, Summer Sun, Pacific Point and Pumkin Pie cardstock. The "Tweet Tweet!" was stamped using Rough Edges Alphabets on Pumpkin Pie cardstock and I used dimensionals to pop them up on the card. Kiwi Kiss is really starting to grow on me, as well as Pacific Point!

I wanted to make a card for a friend's birthday and when asked what her fave colours were, she answered blue and yellow. So Ballet Blue and So Saffron it is! The Ballet Blue looks a lot brighter in the photo due to the crappy lighting. This card came together before I could say 'yea' or 'nay' to anything! I had to try embossing the Reason to Smile set (can you tell I love embossing?) to see how detailed it would be, and it turned out great! I tried it with both clear and white powder, and both looked really good. The white EP would've stood out better on the Ballet Blue cardstock, though. I was too focussed on So Saffron that it didn't cross my mind to swap the colours over. Still, I think it didn't turn out too badly and I hope she liked the card!

Well, it's been a really productive card making week for me! Hopefully inspiration will continue to flow!! Thanks for looking!

It's a new Stampin' Up! year!!!

2009-04-01T11:22:00.003+10:30

Happy new catalogue day! Yes, it's time for yet another fabulous catalogue from Stampin' Up! and what a gorgeous catalogue it is. You can view the latest catalogue on the SU! website.

No photos of cards today, but I'll probably put some up on Friday. TTFN!

Colour challenge #6

2009-03-30T07:38:00.004+10:30

I have to admit, I was rather sceptical about the colour combo in Keesh's latest colour challenge, but it's growing on me.

I made a super simple card for this challenge.

I was going to use Apricot Appeal for the smaller flowers, but reached for the wrong ink pad and grabbed More Mustard instead. Oops. It looks lighter and fresher with Apricot, when I tried it on a piece of scrap cardstock, so I might try these colours again and adding Apricot into the mix.
I also had to have a play with my newest set......Ocean commotion!

I loooooooove this set!! I particularly like the seahorse and the seaweed stamps. I used non-SU! textured cardstock and East Coast Prep DSP, along with Real Red, More Mustard and Wild Wasabi ink. Thanks for looking!

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

2009-03-25T14:11:00.008+10:30

Hi again! I forgot to mention how lucky I was to win not one, but two prizes! One was from the fantastic Kerry Bunting, who sent me a sample pack of the new in colours!!!! The new in colours don't disappoint and I especially love Rinding Hood Read, which goes well with Garden Green (hello Xmas cards!), as well as Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango.

Another prize that I won was from the oh-so-talented Michelle Habib, who gave me a free pass to the UStamp '09 Spring session!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, on to cards. I also forgot to post two other cards that I made over the past 2 weekends. One was for a friend who has since left to do part of her PhD in Denmark for 3 months.

I folded a piece of A4 cardstock in half (non-SU!) to make the card big enough for everyone in the lab to sign. I used Versamark on the sanded background and stamped that twice (never done such a big card before!) and then applied Versamark and white embossing powder, which I then heated. I looooove bling, so I had to use the two-way glue pen to add dazzling diamonds to the embossed part of the card, although you can't quite see the dazzle in the second photo. I scraped the edges of the card over my black ink pad, just to make it more interesting.

This second card was made for a friend's birthday, using Wild Wasabi cardstock. I'll be so sad to see this colour go in April!!

I wanted to make it a really simple card, so all I did was use Versamark and the Flitting By Wheel and white embossing powder. And of course, the all important glitter! I don't know what I'd do without it. Thanks for looking!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #6

2009-03-25T07:54:00.004+10:30

Hi all! Makeesha has challenged us with a sketch, this time, and this is what our card or page was supposed to look like.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and use the sketch to make a card for a dear family friend who is turning 88. Am not completely happy with this card, as it's a bit busy for me.

I used Le Jardin DSP and River Rock cardstock. I had to print the number "88" and the sentiment, as I didn't have any number stamps or sentiment stamps that would suit the card. I went for more of a grey colour because I thought the black would stand out too much, but it ended up looking very pixel-y. Oh well. I used dimentionals to pop up the sentiment rectangle. Thanks for looking!

Colour challenge!

2009-03-12T08:45:00.004+10:30

Just a super quick post tonight! I thought I had until Friday to put up my card for the latest challenge by oh-so-fabulous Keesh, but it ends at midnight! Oops. Luckily I checked. Anyhoo....the challenge colours were:

And this is my offering. I feel I must apologize, as the lighting is horrible.

I reeeeally don't know about this card. It started off with me playing with a stencil set I bought at the craft fair in November. I decided to try sponging/blending colours for the wings, and then thought I could use the challenge blues. Ended up using Soft Sky, Tempting Turquoise and Blue Bayou, which blend quite nicely. Making the dragonfly and adding bling was the easy part, cos after that I didn't know what to do! 2.5 hours, much paper and lots of frustration later, I gave up and layered stamped Blue Bayou on Whisper White and then on Real Red. The saying and the flowers are from the Stem Silhouettes set (retired) and the way the Soft Sky cardstock was cut was pure fluke. I had a scrap of cardstock that could only fit the saying when stamped diagonally across, and when I cut it out the ends turned out like so. It kinda reminds me of butterfly/dragonfly wings. :) I could've jazzed it up, but I'm too tired and my brain feels mushy.

All in all, the card isn't too bad, but I know it could be better. If anyone has any ideas/tips/constructive criticism for me, it would be very much appreciated!!

Now I'm off to recover from a killer gym class. I'm sooooo going to pay tomorrow.....

DIY storage

2009-03-05T07:55:00.012+10:30

And it's time for another of Makeesha's challenges! This time, it was a sketch challenge.

And this is what I made.

I used Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery and Whisper White cardstock, Pumpkin pie DSP, Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon,Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie Summer Sun and Versamark ink pads, clear embossing powder and finally some Vintage brads. Something about this card doesn't sit right with me. I think it's the position of the Whisper White CS. Can I just say how much I LOVE heat embossing?! I broke out my heat gun for the first time, and I've decided I can't live without it. I used the colour combo from the Spring Break DSP, and I love it! I must use it again sometime. The lighting makes the greens look kinda washed out, though.

It's been a while since my last post, mainly because I've been busy making an ink pad holder and have had not much time for cards.

I found the idea from an American demo by the name of Stacey King. Genius! It can fit 60 ink pads (12 in each section) but it sits flat, unlike Stacey's which sits on a slight angle down towards the back by lifting the front slightly. I also added in a shelf on top so I can keep small stuff (eg. SNAIL) within reach. I also made a holder for 12" by 12" paper, as a practice run before attempting the bigger project.

I had to borrow a glue gun to put it together, but after trying it out I had to buy my own. Picked up one from Dicksmith for about $18.93 and I absolutely LOVE it!! However, it took some getting used to and I might have used a wee bit too much glue. If you look carefully, particularly at the photo of the paper holder, you can see where I used too much glue causing it to ooze out and dry. I suppose I could cut it off with a knife, but I couldn't be bothered.

Can you tell I'm extremely pleased with myself? I used a 81cm by 102cm piece of foam core board to make the ink pad holder and shelf, with a little bit left over. At just under $10 for one sheet, it's a cheaper alternative to the Stampin Up! caddy. And a lot of fun to make. I think I was high on glue fumes by the end of the assembly! Ah, customizable storage......how I love thee.

Well, enough patting myself on the back. A friend asked me to make a baby card for her, and I came across this card by Angelique Kelly. It's sooooooooooo cute! I CASED it by using Pretty in Pink cardstock, cut out the shape and stamped the little hearts using Rose Red ink. The glitter was adhered to the hearts and the Baby stamp using a 2-way glue pen, and the scallop circle was punched out of Apricot Appeal cardstock.

Also, I've been working on make a set of square (~10cm by 10cm) cards, but have only finished two so far. The photo was taken under a fluoro light, and the yellow of the cardstock is darker IRL. Hopefully I'll get to finish the other two and post them up next week.

TTFN!

Snuffalumps & Wuzzles

2009-02-19T08:16:00.010+10:30

The talented Makeesha set another challenge for everyone, an inspiration challenge! And I had to try this one, as blue is my favourite colour.

For this card, I used Whisper White Cardstock, Whisper White ink, Brilliant Blue ink, Versamark and non-SU! coloured paper. The stamps sets are Sanded, Polka Dot Punches and So Many Sayings.

My friend Julia surprised me over the weekend with a cute little card, and I had to post a photo on my blog. I love the way you can make a fantastic card using just one colour and white. Thanks Julia!

I was given the chance to use the Sincere Salutations set (thanks Beck!). I posted these two cards in a previous entry, but I think the sentiment goes really well with the Baroque Motifs set and I had to show you all. :)

Apologies for the poor photography, but these were taken at 8.30pm under the glare of a fluro globe.

TTFN!

My first challenge entry!

2009-02-09T08:45:00.007+10:30

I looooooove weekends. It's the time I can sit down and create stuff. I decided to try my hand at Makeesha's latest colour challenge, but I found myself struggling a bit.

I only had Sage Shadow cardstock, a Regal Rose inkpad and a Rose Red marker. And this is the result.

I brayered Whisper White CS with Regal Rose ink, and you can see the little line where my brayer "ran out of ink". I versamark-ed the branches on Sage Shadow CS and coloured the flower and sentiment stamps with my Rose Red marker. I wasn't sure about the colour combo, but I don't think it turned out so badly after all. Thank goodness for the Barely Banana CS, as I was struggling with a colour to use.

With a birthday coming up, I had to get my butt into gear and make a card. However, it's for a guy *cue dramatic music*. Yep, this one was a challenge. My first difficulty was deciding which stamp set to use, as I seem to have a lot of flowers! Thank goodness for Baroque Motifs. Couldn't decide between River Rock and Sahara Sand, so I tried my hand at both. I used versamark first, and then stamped with white to get the "shadow" thing going. I used a ruler to try and align the stamp, which turned out amazingly well for the Sahara Sand card. It looks like I planned to do it almost on top of each other. I originally wanted to place olive ribbon vertically on the right hand side and stick the square element on it, but it didn't work, so I added the Whisper White and stuck it straight onto the card. They both seem a bit boring to me. I'll have to borrow the Sincere Salutations set and use the "Birthay Wishes" stamp on the bottom left in. Hopefully Giuseppe (my honours supervisor 2 years ago) will like this. I haven't decided which one to give him, though. Maybe the Sahara Sand card....

Sahara Sand

River Rock

Better get to work! TTFN.

ARGH!

2009-02-05T09:00:00.009+10:30

I was in the middle of typing a post when I lost the entire thing. GAH! *grumpy* Let's see if I can remember what I wrote......

These two cards were made with Purely Pomegranate CS and the branch stamped image was layered with Cameo Coral (left) and Groovy Guava (right). I used the Coral CS first and wasn't happy with the result, so I tried Guava instead. Still not happy! I think I'll try Regal Rose next, when I eventually get some. The branch image was stamped on Whisper White and coloured with a pomegranate ink pad and an aqua brush. I stamped the sentiment using the So Many Sayings hostess set in white and pomegranate, and amazingly, I managed to stamp it straight (which you can barely see) for the second card! I really must invest in a stamp-a-ma-jig.

I made the next card on a whim, using bright colours. I think I'll have to try again and add a layer of CS under all 4 flowers because it lacks something, to me. The CS isn't from Stampin' Up! and the colours used for the flowers are Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun and Wild Wasabi. The sentiment is also from So Many Sayings (love this set) and stamped in black.

I was thrilled to bits upon receiving a card in the mail on Monday. Snail mail is underrated, I tell you! The fabulous Makeesha sent me this card made with three colours that I love (Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky) and using the Ocean Commotion stamp set, which I've been eyeing for a while. It's soooooooo pretty! Thanks, Makeesha!

As an aside, can I say how awesome Quelches are? For those who haven't come across this, Quelch is made by a fruit juice company (Berri) and consists of sachets of fruit juice (and other stuff, I'm sure) that you place in the freezer and eat as ice blocks. They're heaven in this disgusting 39-45 degree weather (102-114 for anyone playing in fahrenheit) we've been having. A colleague brought a whole bag in to share. Sheer genius!

I had another 2 cards to add on, but they can wait for another day. TTFN!

First post!

2009-02-04T09:05:00.007+10:30

Hello world! I've decided to start my own blog to participate in challenges and upload photos of my handmade papercraft projects. My best friend had a Stampin' Up! party in November, and I’ve been hooked ever since!! I've always loved papercraft, but after seeing Stampin' Up!'s range of products, I was completely blown away. Now I have a wishlist as long as my arm and am constantly lamenting the fact that there is so much that I simply must have. Ah well, slowly slowly. :)

Anyway, without further ado, this is the first card I made earlier this year. I didn’t have a lot of stuff at my disposal, so I kept it simple. You can't really see it, but the pink paper is shimmery, while the Japanese chiyogami paper has gold highlights. The pink and white flowers were made using two sizes of the same punch, and then layering the smaller punchout (white) onto the larger one (shimmery pink). The darker pink flowers were inked on using a sponge dauber and the paper I punched the small flower from (reverse masking). It's very pink, which is funny, as I'm not really a pink person. Still, it's what I had on hand at the time.

This other card was inspired (or should I say, inkspired?) by the wonderful Makeesha Byl. Visit her website and gaze in awe upon her creative genius! I was looking at one of her creations when this popped into my head. It didn’t turn out how I thought it would, but am quite happy with it overall.

I haven’t taken photos of the other cards I’ve made, but I’ll do that soon-ish and put them up. TTFN!