FTL 134

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!

Soaring by to say hi

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 122

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!

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!

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!

Inkspirations sketch challenge #39

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!

Where are you, Mojo?

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!

Missing mojo

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!

Taylored expressions sketch challenge #110

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!

Plum

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!

Watercolours and faux batik

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!

We're back on air!

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! :)

The case of the vanishing post...

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

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

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!

Cherries jubilee

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

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!!!!

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!

A break in transmission

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! :)

Sketch challenge #13

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! :)