Studies in rainy day colours

The colours in both these cards are fairly indicative of the weather we have had for the past few days.  Again, torrential rain, towns not far north of us are being flooded tonight for the fifth time in 12 months.    For the driest continent on Earth, this deluge is truly ridiculous.  

Initially, I was trying for the graphic of the tie, but the colours didn't quite work.  I have gone with a pretty but not too fancy female card - I hope.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, vellum

Patterned paper - Teresa Collins Carolina Breeze

Stamps - HA Year Round Sentiments

Ink - Memories Unicorn

Die - MFT Fishtail Flags

Butterfly - Jenny Bowlin

This next one, I had real trouble deciding which way to go with it.  I wasn't sure whether there was a hint of Houndstooth around the hem of the dress.  So, went with minimalist again, stamped the flowers then coloured in the leaves.

What you need
Cardstock - BB Dark Blue
Stamps - HA Pattern Hearts and Flowers
Ink - Memories Unicorn
Prismacolor white pencil
Uniball white gel pen
Gems - Kaisercraft

Last minute ColourQ

An unexpected day off has given me the chance to participate in one of my favourite challenges.  My daughter took a tumble at school yesterday, hitting her head so as a precaution she is home today just in case anything develops.  She seems to be OK though.

I have been wanting to do some more colouring, particularly watercolouring, so I have used this set from Hero Arts.  This technique is a bit hit and miss for me in terms of evenness of colour but it looks lovely in real life ..... really!

What you need

Cardstock - PTI kraft;  SU red;  watercolour paper

Stamps - HA Pattern hearts and flowers, Sending Smiles Messages

Ink - Staz On jet black;  Versafine Onyx Black;  SU Cherry Cobbler, Pool Party, Gumball Green

Gems - Kaisercraft

February PTI Blog Hop

Monograms, for me, are one of the most elegant designs I know.  The clean and simple versions are my favourite.  We had one on our wedding invitations many years ago, an intertwined I and C which I loved.  So I was overjoyed to see it as this month's blog hop theme.  

I seem to be on a bit of a red, white and black bender at the moment, but when thinking minimalist, black and white with a dash  of colour makes it for me.  There are tonnes of images out there and the style that appealed to me was this design.  I have computer printed our name, stamped my all time favourite wreath and diecut the "J".  

I have to say, this Ritz Glitter is brilliant!  I have always found using it messy, but once you rub over the glitter on the diecut, there was none anywhere else.  

I popped the J up for a bit of dimension and remembered my stash of tiny 2mm gems

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, black, pure poppy

Stamps -  PTI Wreath for all Seasons

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Die - PTI Upper case

Ritz Glitter - Fire Red

Gems - Pizzazz Aplenty

Font - MS Engravers MT

The weekend that was

Now, this was a challenge.  The colours are a couple of favourites, but how to use them with this sketch. Hmmm  I didn't want to put Island Indigo card over the top of the Pool Party so went with vellum.  It is hard to see but the vellum is stamped with white flowers and then stitched

What you need

Cardstock - SU Pool Party, white, vellum

Stamps - SU Fifth Ave Floral;  TE Treasure Life

Ink - PTI white

Thread - DMC 598

So to my other card of the weekend - pink, black and white, wonderful.  I have tried the layering thing again, but with plenty of white space still.  I have used one of the older Mojo Monday sketches that I really loved.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, black;  SU basic grey

DSP - SU Brights Collection

Stamps - Verve Amazing Wishes

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Die - MFT flourish

Ribbon - PTI Smoky Shadow satin

Flowers -  Prima

An afternoon's hard work !?! ....

 Not really....  it was nice to have the time to catch up on a few colour schemes and sketches that didn't happen late last month.  Like this one ..

Now Vintage/Shabby Chic isn't in my comfort zone and as I have said before, I am very jealous of those who achieve it so effortlessly.  Not sure why I opted for brown tones, except that it is easier for me to get that vintage look with these hues.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI rustic white, cream;  BB dark brown

Patterned paper - MME Miss Caroline Howdy Doody

Stamps - HA Pattern Hearts and Flowers, Large Flower Background, Year Round Sentiments, Newspaper Background

Ink - SU Early Espresso, Crumb Cake;  Memento Rich Cocoa;  PTI Chai

Dies - MFT Jumbo Fishtail Flags;  SB Classic Circles

Copics - R11, R12, R14, R22

Gems - Kaisercraft

Dark brown ribbon

*****

I CANNOT resist a pink and green colour combination.  It is my all time favourite and again a sketch from the recent past

On the whole, I really like the new SU colours (not sure about Summer Starburst but I guess it will have its uses).  The new pinks I particularly like, but the jury is still out in the Jones craftroom on the stamp pad itself.  Either it takes a bit to get ink on the stamp or it's far too moist.  Still, I am probably in the very small minority on this matter.

What you need

Cardstock - SU white, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Regal Rose

Stamps - TE Make it Amazing

Ink - SU Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Early Espresso

Dies - PTI Zig Zag;  SB Deckled Rectangles, Classic Rectangles

Gems - Kiasercraft

*****

Now this sketch stumped me for a while, how to cut those rectangles.  I used MFT Fishtail Flags off the end of my Bigshot and it worked a treat.  Not much more to say really ....

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, black

DSP - SU Brights Collection

Stamps - PTI Inside and Out:  Thank you

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Embossing Folder - Sizzix Dots and Flowers set

Die - MFT Fishtail Flags

Gems - Kaisercraft

******

OK for my final card for this Sunday before I put the finishing touches to our lamb roast for dinner (my favourite).  I really wanted to have a crack at this colour scheme, very intriguing.  Couldn't find my So Saffron inkpad but remembered this VERY old DSP.  Again this sketch was from a few weeks ago but I just love the simplicity of it.  Night of Navy has always been my favourite "navy" but this new one has a bit more black in it and I love it.

 What you need
Cardstock - PTI white, Midnight Muse
DSP - SU So Saffron
Stamps - The Craft's Meow Timeless Tags
Ink - SU Midnight Muse
Die - MFT Fishtail Flags
Brads - SU

That's it for today.  My daughter is still unwell, listless and a very sore throat, not sure if she will make it to school, though she tells me she has to be there for Maths - maybe we are getting through on that front.

Red and White on White

 Simon Says Stamp

I am a complete sucker for this style of card.  It can be a little tricky with different "shades" of white but the overall effect is really quite stunning.  I find that my most successful white on white cards are the simple ones,  I can over complicate things if I don't stop myself.  I used the Starlite Black ink instead of black as it would look a bit too harsh and that little hint of shimmer looks so elegant.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI Shimmer white, white

Stamps - PTI Inside and Out: Baby

Ink - Brilliance Starlite Black

Die - PTI Ribbon Tails

Embossing Folder - Sizzix Textured Impressions "Medallions, Frame and Damask"

Ribbon - SU white organza

Pearls - Kaisercraft

*****

Next up, what I think maybe one of my favourite cards and certainly a design I will use again.  I didn't want to change anything about the sketch, just love its simplicity and it works so well in red with a hint of black.  

What you need
Cardstock - PTI white, Pure Poppy
Patterned Paper - PTI Pure Poppy collection
Stamps - Inside and Out:  Birthday
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Dies - MFT Jumbo Fishtail Flags;  PTI heart
Glitter Ritz - Fire Red
Black thread

I hope to be back later today with a few more cards. It looks as though we will have an on-again, off-again rainy day, and with a sick daughter, I don't think we will be going anywhere.

WMS Christmas Card Challenge - February

The February Challenge - incorporate a heart or 2 ... afterall, it's Valentine's Day this week.  So, as I have limited WMS stamp sets on this front, I had to go with a more lateral look.  Also I have been so inspired by the latest in the Online Card Class Series - Clean and Simple 2, that I wanted to try a graduated background.  I used the colours from a previous ColourQ challenge (yes, one I missed while we had no power), 

The stylised heart is from Florentine Frippery and isn't it amazing what you find when you are looking for something else.  I found these Kaisercraft frames I have had for quite some time, I assembled the card, only to discover that the natural colour of the frame was just too "flat".  So I have coloured it, somewhat riskily in situ, with a Copic marker

Details for this challenge can be found in this post. It is lots of fun and each month is hosted by a different WMS addict (next month it's me!)

What you need

Cardstock - BB cream;  SU Early Espresso

Stamps - WMS Florentine Frippery, Compliments of the Season 2

Ink - SU Raspberry Ripple, Early Espresso, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink

Twine - Peppermint, The Twinery

Copic E79

Gems and Frame - Kaisercraft

Cloud 9 February 2013 Blog Hop

It has certainly been an eventful few weeks around South East Queensland.  The predicted rain event that I mentioned in my previous post did occur, dropping approx. 30cm (12 inches) of rain in a little over 24 hours.  Couple that with gale force winds and you have a recipe for flooding.  The creek at the back of us did rise quickly, but stayed well clear of the house.  But we weren't quite prepared for losing power for 3 days in very warm humid conditions.  We are definitely having some extreme weather events around the globe at the moment.

Add to this a delayed start to school and it has been a very mixed up time.  I am hoping that as school enters its second full week, a routine of sorts is starting to form.  I know the kids are quite tired as the timetable and activities are quite different in Grade 5 and that has taken some getting used to.  So I have absent from the blog, enforced initially, but we had a bit more time to relax this weekend (last weekend was just full of cleaning).  

So to this wonderful photo. I have picked out the Kraft, hearts and who can't resist the pink stripes.

What you need
Cardstock - PTI Kraft, Pure Poppy
Patterned paper - SU Brights Collection
Stamps - Wplus9 A pocketful - Valentine, Magical Moments
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black;  Versamark
Embossing Powder - Superior Filigree
Dies - PTI Hearts
Punches - Martha Stewart, SU
Glossy Accents
Corner Rounder - We R Memory Keepers

Edited to Add:  had I looked more closely at my addictive challenge blog list I would have noticed that this card also qualifies for the Pinspired challenge - gotta love pink and red.

  I have had the Magical Moments stamp set on my desk for a while, a good friend from work left fairly suddenly as her husband accepted a job in Melbourne.  She is of Indian descent and is smitten with peacocks.