Staying Positive for Easter

Term 1 down of the first year of high school - and aren't we glad for the break.  It has been an eye opener for my daughter in terms of assessment and a big step up in responsibility.  This has occupied much of my spare time these last few months as well as becoming a rowing mum.  Don't think this new pastime will work too well with dancing, we shall see.

So, while the creativity hasn't been flowing too well, it was great to come across this sketch and an idea immediately popped into my head.

Given that science is my line of work,  I couldn't resist this stamp set from Clearly Besotted and pairing it with "graph" paper (no idea what brand this paper is).  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI black;  Canson gold

Stamps  and Dies - CB Scientifically Speaking

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black

Black enamel dots

This next card is for my sister in law who has just celebrated a significant birthday and felt she may not have wanted to be reminded of the number.  We will be celebrating with her on Saturday night.  You can't really see it in the photo but instead of sequins or gems I have put droplets of Glossy Accents around the rose.  I can't go past a bit of glitter somewhere, so the black matt has black glitter covering it.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI red, black; X-Press It Blending Card

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Happy Everything, Happy Birthday

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black;  Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics - R27, R39, R59, G21, G24, G28

Glitter Ritz Black

Glossy Accents

This nicely fits with the latest SSS Wednesday Challenge.

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

Last day of holidays .... (BIG sigh!)

 It's back to work tomorrow, still it's been a nice break, though a little hot so unable to achieve all we wanted to around the house.  My daughter has another week to go before school starts and we have the Australia Day holiday next weekend too, so something to look forward to.

Wanted to have a go at these 2 before time ran out.  Tricky colours these and in my head I wanted the colour to be in the cardstock rather than the stamping.  So all stamping is in grey and broke into my new SU colours for Summer Starfruit.  I did think about colouring in the flowers but glad I didn't, as it looks really pretty sitting here on my desk.

What you need

Cardstock - SU Real Red, white, Summer Starfruit, Melon Mambo

Stamps - HAPattern Hearts and Flowers, Year Round Sentiments

Ink - SU Basic Grey;  Memento London Fog

Punch - Fiskars

Gems - Kaisercraft

******

Now, this next one evolved rather than trying to fit in a couple of challenges .... Really!  I started out with my Hero Arts challenge with what I believe is my oldest HA stamp.  I used it in this post many moons ago.  So it was easy to visualise it in Dynamic Duo colours of red and black with a touch of Valentine.  But the design stumped me till I saw the latest Paper Players challenge.  Problem almost solved.  

Trying to be a bit arty, and not go down my usual framing route, I tried for off centre ... not tooo bad.  And finally it neatly fell into the Addicted to CAS embossing challenge.

I am happy with the finished product, especially the little hearts, a punch Jennifer McGuire has used many times to great effect.

What you need

Cardstock - SU Real Red, white, black

Stamps - HA Chandelier;  PTI Lighten Up

Ink - Versmark; Versafine Onyx Black

Embossing Powder - Zing Glitter Black

Die - Spellbinders Classic Squares

Punch - Martha Stewart

Glossy Accents

Perfect pastime on a VERY hot day

 The plan had been to attack some much needed gardening and general outdoor maintenance this week, but the weather here has conspired against us.  All around Australia, there are some very serious bush fires happening, we have had record temperatures fanned by high winds and low humidity. And there seems no respite in sight.

So, I couldn't think of anything nicer to do than attempt some challenges, particularly a new one on the scene.

I think I will just make the Dynamic Duos challenge deadline.  Island Indigo isn't a colour I have used much of but I do like it and now that it is out of the packaging (read languishing on my desk), I will endeavour to use it more.

What you need
Cardstock - PTI white;  SU Melon Mambo, Island Indigo
DSP - SU Brights Collection
Stamps - MFT Lovey Dovey Sentiments
Ink - SU Melon Mambo
Die - PTI hearts border
Gems - Kaisercraft


Now for the newbie - what avid card maker isn't going to love this one.  And what an endless source of inspiration.  I didn't think I would refer to it as much as I do, for all sorts of things.

The ideas I particularly liked on this card, and there is a fair bit of decoration going on,  are the colours and polka dots.  While I don't have a stamp set with several different circles, I did have one with stars so went with that.

What you need
Cardstock - PTI white, black
Stamps - HA Year Round Sentiments
Ink - Memento Pear Tart, Sweet Plum, Bahama Blue, Rose Bud, Tuxedo Black
Gems - Kaisercraft

Tis the season for birthdays ...

After 6 months of almost no cards for school friends, we have a rush in the second half of the year.  I thought these colours would be perfect for a friend whose birthday is next weekend, at the movies.  I can't believe what these kids get to do for parties, it isn't a big cinema so I imagine this group will have it exclusively.  They are seeing "The Sapphires" an Australian movie and dinner will be served during the session! WOW

Anyway, this little friend isn't really a girly girl, so have kept the design pretty simple.  There are grey flowers behind the sentiment but are quite hard to see.

What you need

Cardstock - SU white, black

Patterned paper - ? SU Pumpkin Pie polka dot;  MME Lush 2 turquiose flocked stripe

Stamps - TE Friendship Blooms;  HA Many Birthday Messages

Ink - SU Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie;  Memento Tuxedo Black, London Fog

Gems - Kaisercraft

This is another card I did for a little friend's birthday yesterday.  She turned 5 hence the slightly younger theme.  

This set is from Clear and Simple stamps 1 or 2 releases ago, something so different and great for a few little girls in our life.

May 2012 PTI Blog Hop

Wow, this was a toughy!  So many elements to choose from but I didn't want it to be cluttered.  So obviously I chose the flower bowl, I liked the checkerboard but didn't want too much of it and the grey(?), black and white plate.  

My flower, which I am pretty pleased with, was made by cutting out 1 petal, rubbing the underside of the diecut to make the card a bit more pliable then reattached to give it 3D shape.  I think Melissa Bickford did this quite a while ago, but not absolutely sure about that.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, black, simply chartreuse

Patterned paper - Bitty dot basics 2008

Stamps - PTI Think Big Favourites, Beautiful Blooms 2

Ink - Brilliance Starlite black;  SU Lucky Limeade

Die - PTI Beautiful Blooms 1

Gingham brad - ? can't remember

Gems - Kaisercraft

Sunday Cards

The idea I had for this challenge was a Mother's Day card for my Mum, but it evolved into this pretty number.  Reasonably classic, very CAS but not for my mum next Sunday.

What you need

Cardstock - SU grey, white

Stamps - Verve Great Friend, Because of You

Ink - SU Pretty in Pink, Pool Party

Gems - Kaisercraft

*****

It seems there are birthdays going on everywhere at the moment.  This one is for my brother-in-law, the celebration was today but not sure exactly when the big day is.  It is very hard to see the glittery "50", as my camera is basic and doesn't take the best photos, but it looks very effective in real life.  

As it is Simon Says Stamps 3rd birthday as well I will enter it for that challenge as well

What you need

Cardstock - BB black; cardboard

Patterned paper - SU Mocha Morning;  Doodlebug glitter Lily White

Dies - PTI Wonderful Words, lower case letters, numbers

Other - Kindyglitz (black);  Darice black glitter

Emily's First Birthday

These colours are just perfect for a little girl's birthday, it will be a very different birthday experience for this family as she has 2 older brothers!  I stumbled upon the sketch blog below as I am an admirer of a few of the ladies on the design team, so thought I would have a go.

 So this is my card, had a bit of trouble with the larger sized glitter, it was a bit more translucent than I wanted the number to be but anyway I do like the result.

What you need

Cardstock - BB textured white;  SU white;  PTI orange zest, lemon tart

Patterned paper - Doodlebug bubblegum swiss dot

Stamps - TE Garden Party Blooms

Ink - SU Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie

Dies - PTI, Spellbinders

Felt - PTI Autumn Rose

Ribbon - SU Pumpkin Pie taffeta

Gems - Kaisercraft

Glitter - Doodlebug Sugar Coating tangerine

PTI Fifth Birthday Celebrations

How time flies when you are a successful company, making great stamps and making alot of people very happy (bank balances may not see it that way).  I chose to CASE Maile Belles, though I have used Modern Basics, however,  a similar colour scheme and placement.

And here is my interpretation of her gorgeous card

I wasn't sure I would be able to get any stamping done over the past couple of weeks as my husband decided, out of the blue on a very wet weekend, that the plans for the study cum craft room would suddenly come to fruition.  So I had to move out immediately.  The upside of this, apart from a wonderful dedicated space, is that I had to go through everything, toss out, donate or ... use.  It should be finished in the next week or so, not counting a coat of paint on the walls,  that is definitely a winter job.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white

Stamps - PTI  Modern Basics, Signature Greetings

Ink - SU Lucky Limeade, Pretty in Pink, Poppy Parade;  Memento Tangelo, Sweet Plum, Cantaloupe, Tuxedo Black

Buttons - PTI

Runway Inspired #4

WOW, 2 posts in a day, this is most unusual for me at the moment. I need to get these done before the tennis starts this morning as we are now into the semis of the Australian Open.  I didn't go down this year but we had such a great tournament here in early January that there isn't quite the same need to travel to Melbourne.  Still, I have really loved going in the past as it is a great opportunity to catch up with family.

The challenge - lots of wonderful bright colours

I have gone with Modern Basics as I really need the practice and there are so many amazing and different projects out there that I want to try using this set.  I have gone with a simple birthday card which will be useful for my daughter's friends.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white

Stamps - PTI Modern Basics; Happy Day

Ink - SU Early Espresso, Green Galore, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise;  Brilliance Rocket Red, Sunflower Yellow

Gems - Kaisercraft

Papertrey Ink January 2012 Blog Hop

I know it's only meant to be 1 favourite project but I have picked 2.  I loved the effect of the quatrefoil die white on white but really love the colour scheme of the second. 

It isn't very clear but I embossed some of the flowers from Rosie Posie onto the white cardstock.  In real life it is much more apparent.

What you need
Cardstock - PTI white; Shimmer Aqua (? Canson)
Stamps - PTI Rosie Posie, Happy Day
Ink - Brilliance Pearlescent Jade;  Memento Tuxedo Black; Versamark
Die - PTI Quatrefoil
Embossing Powder - Coloriser (clear)
Gems - Kaisercraft

Today is Australia Day,  a day on which we celebrate the nationhood of our young country.  Unfortunately, with the days of heavy rain we have had,  alot of events have been cancelled.  But I am sure there will be cane toad racing or yabbie catching happening somewhere in Brisbane.

ColourQ #113 and Card Patterns #143

 I love this angel graphic and as we put up the Christmas tree today, it put me in the mood to make a card in these colours.  One problem, I don't have anything in Marina Mist except Blueberry Crisp DSP,  so here is my card.  Of course I cut my twine far too short hence the weeny bow.

What you need
Cardstock - SU Night of Navy, white
DSP - SU Blueberry Crisp
Stamps - SU Bliss
Ink - SU Bashful Blue, Night of Navy
Lace - ? Maya Road
Twine - The Twinery (Demin)
Pearls - Kaisercraft


Enjoy the weekend, my Saturday is consumed with ballet and jazz concerts, but then that's it for commitments.  Next week we are off to Sydney for the Harry Potter exhibition and we have a few other fun things planned.

There is something about 9 year old girls in confined spaces .....

BOY, can they make alot of noise!  My daughter had her 9th birthday party yesterday with a small group of friends.  Very well behaved but can they squeal, especially with Selena Gomez on the iPod.

This was the invitation for the cooking party, at which they made ravioli and a croquembouche as the birthday cake.  I used SU's Domestic Goddess DSP and some WMS gingham.  Win, win. Mum didn't have to do anything for the party - well, till next weekend which is the family get-together.

These were the take-home gifts I put together from a blog post Kim Badelt did last year.  Thank you so much Kim.

Hope she doesn't expect much for next year!  Just a few more teacher gifts to organise and some family Christmas presents and maybe, just maybe, I might get around to a challenge or two.