Stampin Royalty #297 - Pinspired

So much for more posting in 2015!  Life has been pretty full on in this household - my daughter in the first year of high school so academic expectations have ramped up, although I think it's the interest in boys and social life that has increased here.  Ballet has been given the flick and it's now all about rowing (sadly seasonal), so we need to find another outlet for exercise.  I think lack of motivation on my part was particularly key to the silence over here.

The highlight of my year, apart from significant birthdays and wedding anniversaries was the trip to Scandinavia which we arrived home from last week.  It has been a part of the world I have always wanted to visit and it didn't disappoint.  A bit over 2 weeks in duration and covering Helsinki (Tallinn for a day), Copenhagen and Stockholm. All charming and unique, the people friendly and helpful and the wealth of history made my heart sing.  The weather was perfect, and all were fantastic walking cities.  The food was amazing, with several memorable meals, the downside was that for Australians, it was expensive, but we went knowing that.

Helsinki

Seaplane Museum, Tallinn

Copenhagen

Stockholm

So it was really just a taste, my husband, who has been working in the north of Finland was fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights on 4 nights and took the most wonderful photos.  Need to go back for that.

So to the challenge - Pinspired.  

Suzanne Dahlberg - My Mind's Eye paper (SSS)

With Christmas fast approaching, and card stocks low, there will be a concerted push to create, and create quickly.  I love the simplicity and elegance of Suzanne's card, letting the paper work its magic. I coloured paper with ink as none of my papers match Blackberry Bliss which was my starting point. 

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white;  gold foil

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Sweet Little Sentiments

Ink - SU Blackberry Bliss;  PTI Lavender Moon;  Memento Sweet Plum;  Versamark

White embossing powder

Spring Colours

I'll just say - we are hoping for an Autumn.  When summer goes from September to April, we are a bit over sunshine and hot days.  Last year we had no Spring and it will be interesting to see whether we get a proper run into winter.  Even then, it won't be cold by northern hemisphere standards.  

Enough moaning, whatever the season, these remain my favourite colours, so fresh and lovely.  In thinking how I would attack this,  Virginia's layers challenge was a great starting point.  

Initially the plan was to use Copics for the background colour, but I don't get my Distress inks out enough, and I think, they gave a better gradient of colour.  The cover plate I have had for ages and really pleased I thought to use it.  

 What you need
Cardstock - PTI white; SU Cool Caribbean, black
Distress inks - Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry
Die - Clearly Besotted (sentiment);  MFT Cover up
Glossy Accents

On Tuesday, we are off to Ballarat, an hour north west of Melbourne for my cousin's wedding.  If that isn't special enough, my daughter is her one and only bridesmaid. To say she is excited is an understatement, as Catherine is also her Godmother.  Tuesday will be the first time we see her dress.  We know the basic design but it will have to be hemmed and a few final adjustments.

It will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up with our extended family who we haven't seen for some time.  This card is the card we are giving the happy couple, a complete CASE of one of my favourites from Marika Rahtu.  Unfortunately my water colouring was nowhere near her standard so I have resorted to Copics and die cuts.  It is really nice to make a card larger than normal so you can add more layers and detail.

Hope everyone has had a lovely Easter break, and look forward to the Autumn school term!

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.

Some old and some new stamps

We have had a beautiful week of warm to hot weather, highly unusual for August.  But it has been great for getting some outdoor renovations done.  We are only part way through but hopefully by next weekend we should be all done, then I will have a long awaited undercover area to keep laundry dry during our summer storm season.

I saw the cue word for this challenge and new exactly what I would do.

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white, New Leaf; X-Press It blending card

Stamps - PTI Vintage Picnic

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Copics

*****

Right at this moment, my daughter has 2 friends over and they are decorating a cake for Book Week at school this week.  Now this has been a challenge, as I have only very basic knowledge in this department and we had to find black icing, as the theme is All things to do with the Universe.  In the end it wasn't hard to find, and we are using cake pops for planets.

Oh Boy, the noise!!

So here is a peaceful card.  This is my first foray into the Clearly Besotted Challenge - a palette of my favourite colours.  Love the variety of butterflies in this set 

It's a little bit hard to see the pale pink stamped butterflies and they haven't shown up well in the close up.  

What you need

Cardstock - PTI white;  SU Pear Pizzazz

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Happy Everything, Butterfly Wishes

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black;  SU Regal Rose, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink; Memento Rose Bud

Dies - Clearly Besotted Butterfly Wishes

SU gems