Bird On A Branch

Hi!

Last night I decided to have a go at the current challenge at Stampin' Royalty. I quite liked the colour combination they came up with for the challenge:



Isn't it a pretty combination? Here's the card I came up with:



It took a bit of playing around and fiddling before I was happy with the placement of the elements on this card, but in the end I was pleased with the result. I distressed all the edges and added faux stitching around the panels. I also distressed the Cottage Wall DSP.

Stamps: Season of Joy
Ink: Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery
DSP/Card Stock: Cottage Wall DSP, Certainly Celery, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White
Other: Bird On A Branch Punch, Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty In Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, White Signo Gel Pen, Chit Chat Rub Ons (retired), Rhinestones and Flower punchies (both non SU)

Catch you later,

Tina

Cottage Garden Thank You

Hi!

I had the weekend 'off' from study, so I tried my best to get a lot of crafting done. I didn't as much as I would have liked done, as I was busy shopping for fixtures for our new bathroom. I did get a card done for the current Just Add Ink challenge.

This week it was a colour challenge:



Interesting! They are all very strong colours. Here's what I come up with:



I was quite pleased with the finished card. I stamped off the Melon Mambo ink once before stamping the card because I wanted to reduce the intensity of the colour just a fraction. The butterfly has 2 layers. The top one is attached with a small rhinestone brad and the wings were bent up a little. The Elegant Eggplant panel was raised on dimensionals.

Stamps: Cottage Garden
Ink: Melon Mambo, Elegant Eggplant
Card Stock: Taken With Teal, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White
Other: Small Rhinestone Brad, Paper Snips, Sponge Dauber, 1/4" Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Chit Chat Rub on (retired)

Catch you later,

Tina

Beautiful Zoe Part Two

Hi!

I'm back with the second page of my 'Beautiful Zoe' layout. Brooke had sent me a few pictures of Zoe in her gorgeous flower girl dress and so I felt it needed a second page.



I tried to keep the same design elements happening as before, but because I was using more photos the placement of the strips was a bit more random than the first page. I'd also run out of Felt Fusion flowers, so I used the flowers from the Pretties kit and added a button to keep the Baja Breeze theme going. A few more half pearls and I was done!



Stamps: En Francais Background Stamp
Ink: Sahara Sand, So Saffron, Ruby Red
DSP/Card Stock: Ski Slope DSP (retired), So Saffron Patterns DSP, Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Baja Breeze
Other: Pretties Kit, Black Brad, Sponge Daubers, Button Bouquet Designer Button

Catch you later,

Tina

Brooke's SAM Challenge #10 Layout

Hi!

Brooke's once again having a go at a Stamp A Memory creative challenge. Brooke's youngest son has been diagnosed with Aspergers, and so she has used the Asperger's Awareness Ribbon as inspiration for her shaped layout.



Here's a close up of some of the details:



I'm pretty impressed with the shape she has used. It was quite tricky to translate from a small picture to a 12x12 layout. She's done a great job! Brooke also had her first go of the Big Shot machine to create her title. She agrees that it's much quicker and easier than stamping the title.

Catch you later,

Tina

Beautiful Zoe

Hi!

I finally finished my big uni assignment last night and I desperately needed some creative time so I decided to have a go at the latest Stamp A Memory creative challenge. We were challenged to create a shaped layout, not the usual square or rectangle. I was originally going to do a house shape as we have just started an extension to our house, but one of the other entrants beat me to it! I decided to do a circular layout instead.



This is my beautiful niece Zoe. She was recently a flower girl for a debutant ball and had a fabulous time dressing up like a princess (including a tiara!) and being spoiled rotten all day. The photo was taken by my very talented sister, and Zoe's mum, Brooke. To help Zoe stand out a bit more from the background I printed two copies of the photo. I mounted the first on Sahara Sand card stock and then used my paper snips and scalpel to carefully cut around Zoe and the butterfly she is holding. I raised the cut out on dimensionals and layered it directly over the whole photo.



A subtle effect, but it really gives the photo a bit more oomph!

I used lots of pieces of the Pretties Kit, Flower Fusion Too felt flowers and a Filigree brad to dress up the layout.



I love how the accents give a soft feel to the page without overwhelming the photograph.



I got my colour inspiration from the Sweet Slumber Speciality DSP. Even though I didn't use the DSP I was able to use the colours. It's one of the things I love most about Stampin' Up - how easy they make it to colour coordinate and to come up with stylish colour combinations. They've already done the hard work for me.

Stamps: En Francais Background Stamp
Ink: Sahara Sand, So Saffron
DSP/Card Stock: Ski Slope DSP (retired), So Saffron Patterns DSP, Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Baja Breeze
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Die, Pretties Kit, Flower Fusion Too felt flowers, Filigree Brad, Black Brad, Clear Rhinestone Brad, Paper Snips, Scalpel, Sponge Daubers, Dimensionals

I have a few more pictures of Zoe as a flower girl, so I'm hoping to complete another page to make it a double page layout over the weekend. I'll post it when I'm done!

Catch you later,

Tina

Punch Art Baby

Hi!

Last night at Punch Art Tuesday on the Swap Sisters website we learned how to make punch art babies. Here's my baby on a card:



Great for a new baby card. We were challenged to put the baby on a card along with two elements. I chose ribbon and brads.

DSP/Card Stock: Brocade Blue and Apricot Appeal Hostess Patterns Pack II DSP, Brocade Blue, Apricot Appeal, Creamy Caramel, Blush Blossom, Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: LOTS of punches, Brocade Blue 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Brocade Blue Brads, Chit Chat Rub Ons (retired), Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet Die

Catch you later,

Tina

A Confession

Hi!

My confession is that I've been a bit of a slack blog friend lately. I have received 2 Beautiful Blogger awards recently and I just haven't managed to get them onto my blog to say thanks. The first came from Gardenia on May 2nd, and the second came from Tui Nathan on the 12th. I'm very sorry my blogging friends - I do appreciate the awards!



So now I need to tell you 10 things about myself. Hmmm...

1. I have 3 children and a fabulous husband. My children are Master 7, Miss Nearly 5 and Master 2 1/2. They keep me very busy!

2. I am a stay at home mum, but before that I was a high school teacher. I think primary school teachers rock - I couldn't deal with the little ones!

3. I am currently studying a Masters in Professional Accounting but I have run out of steam and will graduate this year with a Graduate Diploma. I might go back in a few years to complete the Masters.

4. When I go back to work I'd like to get into adult education.

5. I have always been a creative person. I love knitting, crochet, cross stitch and sewing, just to name a few. I love trying out new crafts.

6. I am very musical, but I don't get to indulge much anymore. I taught myself piano at around 5, so my mum put me in lessons. I also play the clarinet and saxophone well, and have basic skills on the guitar, trumpet and flute. I have performed at the Opera House.

7. I don't wear a watch. This was inspired by David Koch who takes his off as soon as he gets home from work. He doesn't like to be under any time stress at home. I liked the idea and haven't worn a watch since. I can always find out the time in other ways.

8. I love vegetables. My family prefer salad, but I could eat veggies every day of the week and not get (very) sick of them.

9. I'm a bit of a people pleaser and sometimes get too caught up in what is best for everyone rather than what might be best for me. I guess that's part of being a mum!

10. I miss my family lots. They are mostly all in NSW and I'm in Adelaide. I don't get to see them very much. On the other hand, I'm glad we are in Adelaide as my youngest son has some disabilities and the facilities in Adelaide are the best in Australia for him.

So that's all about me.. Now I'm meant to give this award out. I give it to anyone and everyone who wants it. I'm a sharing kinda person!

Catch you later,

Tina

Lovely as a Tree Birthday Card

Hi!

A quick post today because I should be studying...

I made this card a few days ago. I wanted to try out a new technique - using a mirror image. Here's the card I made:



I stamped the trees onto the Very Vanilla card stock and then stamped them again onto the acrylic sheet that came with my stamp positioner. I then flipped it over, lined it up and pressed it onto the card stock. Easy peasy! I layered this panel under the Soft Suede panel, which I raised with dimensionals.

I'm not sure if the card is finished enough though. I keep thinking it needs something else, but I just can't quite put my finger on it. Any ideas?

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Vintage Labels (retired 2010 SAB)
Ink: Soft Suede
Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Other: Stamp Positioner, Word Window Punch, Sponge Dauber

OK, back to the study for me!

Catch you later,

Tina

A Flower For All Seasons

Hi!

Today I thought I'd have a go at Just Add Ink's latest challenge. The very clever ladies decided to combine the latest challenge with a Blog Hop. Each blog demonstrated a different technique and to enter the challenge you had to pick a technique to try. I decided to try watercolouring a la Sarah Klass!

Here is the card I made. I used the same stamp set but different stamp. They are great for colouring.



Here's a close up of the watercoloured panel:



I liked Sarah's technique of colouring all around the image, but I didn't have the courage to do that in case I ruined my image. Instead I coloured a little shadow underneath so the basket wasn't hanging in space.

Stamps: A Flower For All Seasons, Happy Moments (retired SAB 2010)
Ink: Stazon, Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Sahara Sand
DSP/Card Stock: Regal Rose Hostess Patterns Pack, Watercolour Paper, Old Olive, Whisper White
Other: Aqua Painter, 1/4" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon

Catch you later,

Tina

Sunshine and Laughter

Hi!

I was a very lucky girl during the week. I received this lovely hand stamped card from a friend:



Isn't it beautiful!

My very good friend Joy made this card. We were friends in high school, but lost touch after everyone went their separate ways when high school finished. We got in touch again after I posted a comment on Facebook about being the guest designer on Stamp A Memory and another friend realised that Joy and I were both card makers and put us in touch again. It has been fantastic getting to know Joy again and see the lovely cards she makes.

Joy has a blog, Less Is More, that you should check out. She is a designer for a couple of companies and she is very talented. She has also recently posted photos and videos of her craft room. She has a very clever partner, Darryl, who is making her some custom designed furniture for her room. I know I drool all over my keyboard any time I see the photos!

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend. We have just started on a 12 week 'journey' to extend our house. I've been doing lots of packing and cleaning to get ready for it. We have an electrician coming tomorrow to install fans in our bedrooms and some new power points. Also a plumber coming to lay the pipework ready for the slab to be laid later in the week. It's taken a year to get to this point, so it's very exciting now it's finally started! I'll try to post some photos in the next couple of days.

Catch you later,

Tina

Brooke's May Stamp A Memory Entry

Hi!

This post is about my friend Brooke, who decided to have a go at the current Stamp A Memory challenge: to scrap a not so perfect photo. She picked a Christmas photo.

Here is her layout:



A close up of the cute little Santa punch art (love the glitter!):



And here is the original photo:



Brooke's done a great job of this layout!

Catch you later,

Tina

Scrapping Precious Photos

Hi!

A few years ago I was given a copy of a photo of my mum when she was a very little girl. It's been floating around in a box in my photo cupboard ever since. I just wasn't sure what to do with it. I never found a frame that was suitable and I wanted to do it justice. I finally decided I was going to scrap it, but it took another couple of months to get up the courage to do it. I've never scrapped with old photos before and I wanted to get it right.

Last night was the night to take the plunge! I had been playing with some Perfect Plum on a different project and thought it would look good with the black and white photo. I used the following sketch from the Art With Heart team challenge for May:



I know it's meant to be a card, but I thought it would work nicely with the photo I had. Here's my layout:



Isn't it a great picture of my mum? Here's a close up of the photo and journaling:



The journaling reads: "This is one of my favourite photos of my mum. Taken at Christmas 1949, I think it captures great wisdom in such a young, innocent face. Beautiful!"

Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pale Plum Marker
Card Stock: Close To Cocoa 12x12, Very Vanilla, Pale Plum
Other: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Timeless Type Alphabet Die, 1/4" Very Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Sponge Dauber, Paper Snips

Close to Cocoa and Pale Plum are retiring at the end of August. If you need to stock up on card stock, markers, ink pads and reinkers, do it sooner rather than later. The US is already running out of some colours and it won't be long before Australia does too!

Catch you later,

Tina

A Sweet Little Box

Hi!

The very talented Gardenia over at A Little Less Useless is running a monthly 3D challenge. This month the challenge is to make something new that is 3D using die cuts and it must include either blue or green. Phew!

Here is a sweet little Hexagonal Box I made today for the challenge:



Here's a close up of the Bird on a Branch on top. These aren't actually from the SU punch, but die cuts I was gifted recently. I also used the Polka Dot embossing folder:



Now, Gardenia is also giving away some awesome blog candy this month. If you want to be in the running you need to go to this post and follow the instructions there.

Card Stock: Brocade Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Regal Rose
Other: Big Shot, Polka Dot Embossing Folder, Sponge Dauber, Bird and Branch Die Cuts, Rhinestone (non SU), Hexagon Box Template (non SU)

Catch you later,

Tina

Mother's Day Cards

Hi!

I hope all the mothers that read my blog had a fabulous Mother's Day yesterday - I know I did!

I thought I'd share with you the cards I made for my mother and mother-in-law. I wanted to make extra special cards, so I went for a Tri-fold card for one of them. It was my first attempt at making one. I found the instructions on SplitCoast Stampers. Here is the front:



And here is the open card:



I found it a little tricky, but worth the extra effort.

For the second card I decided to go back to an old favourite: Fifth Avenue Floral. I love watercolouring that rose image! I usually colour it in pinks, but this time I thought I'd give it a go with Rich Razzleberry. I think it worked beautifully!



The Very Vanilla panel and the sentiment panel are raised on Dimensionals to add a bit of depth to the card front.

To go with each card I made up a little mini album filled with photos of my children with their Nanna/Grandma. In some of the photo slots the kids drew pictures and wrote about why they loved their Nanna/Grandma. I got this brilliant idea from the very clever and talented Ros Davidson.

Trifold Card:
Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Ink: Regal Rose
DSP/Card Stock: Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin' Kit DSP and Regal Rose Textured Card Stock, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Regal Rose Card Stock
Other: Stickers from Love Sparkles Simply Scrappin' Kit, Chit Chat Rub Ons (retired from Summer Mini), Flowers and Brown Brads (non SU)

Rose Card:
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, En Francais BG
Ink: Black Stazon, Rich Razzleberry
Card Stock: Watercolour Paper, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla
Other: Rich Razzleberry 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon, Sponge Dauber, Aqua Painter, Dimensionals, Chit Chat Rub On (retired from Summer Mini)

Catch you later,

Tina

Some More Scrapbooking

Hi!

Did you know that May is Scrapbooking Month? Maybe that's why I'm in a scrappin' mood lately! Today's layout is inspired by Stamp A Memory's latest challenge: to use a not so perfect photo.

I chose these photos of a recent family holiday. My brother in law works at a flour mill and often has to drive a massive tractor to load the train with flour. On the last night of our holiday we took the children up to the mill for a ride in the tractor. They thought it was the best part of the holiday!



The photos aren't great - they were taken at night, are a bit grainy or blurry, the light on the tractor is glaring and the kids have red eye in them. But they tell a story, and that to me is the whole point of scrapbooking. Otherwise they're just a whole bunch of photos slapped into an album.

Here's a close up of the punch art tractor:



Stamps: Classic Stars Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel
Ink: Versamark, Black Stampin' Write Journaler
DSP/Card Stock: Chocolate Chip Patterns DSP, Garden Green 12x12, Whisper White, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel
Other: LOTS of punches, Big Shot, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Die, Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

I hope you can get some scrapbooking done this month to celebrate Scrapbooking Month.

Catch you later,

Tina

Some Scrapbooking

Hi!

Last night I was in a bit of a scrapbooking mood, so I decided to have a look through some recently developed photos. I came across some photos of a cricket match my husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law had recently played. It's an annual match between two law firms played for fun and pride. Unfortunately our team lost, but we all had such a fun day it didn't matter too much. My husband won a bottle of wine for Best on Team, so he was pretty happy too!

Here's the double layout I completed:



I had a lot of photos (over 110), so I just picked my favourites. I cropped some to 4x4 and left the others at 6x4. I wanted the uniform look for the spread. I also included a tiny picture in the journalling box, as it was the only one I managed to capture of my husband bowling.

Here's the left side:



I used Summer Sun and Bravo Burgundy as they matched the colours in the team uniforms.

And here's the right side:



No stamping on this layout, but I did use the Big Shot and Timeless Type Alphabet Die to create the title. I love how much easier this is with the Big Shot!

Card Stock: Summer Sun 12x12, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Bravo Burgundy Stampin' Write Marker
Other: Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet Die

Catch you later,

Tina

A Pregnant Lady

Hi!

No, the pregnant lady is not me - there'd be a very serious conversation in my house if it was me! Here is my pregnant lady:



We learned how to make this piece of punch art in another online class at Swap Sisters. It was lots of fun and the card would be perfect for a baby shower.

Last Friday at Swap Sisters we also learned how to make our own rub ons. The sentiment on the card was my attempt at making a rub on. I can see lots of potential with this skill, but I think I'm going to need a bit more practice!

If you think you'd like to join this online community, please let me know and I'll arrange for an invitation. You don't need to be a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, you just need to love the products.

DSP/Card Stock: Sweet Always DSP, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose, Acetate
Other: LOTS of punches, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Dimensionals, Crop-A-dile, Crimper, Paper Ships, Printer

I hope all the mums out there have a fabulous Mother's Day on Sunday.

Catch you later,

Tina

All A Flutter

Hi!

As some of you may know, we've been having issues with our gas supply this week. As a result we had no hot water for 3 days. Hot water's kinda crucial when you have children! Thankfully my neighbour and very dear friend allowed us to go to her house to use her bathroom. The kids thought it was great fun, as they got to use their torches to go next door. It was a real adventure for them, but a real pain for the grown ups!

I decided to make my friend a card to go with a box of chocolates as a thank you for her kindness, which was very much appreciated. I don't know what we would have done without her! Here's the card:



I was able to have a play with some of my new things as I was making this card: Polka Dot Background stamp, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and Melon Mambo ink. I'm so glad Melon Mambo is going to be one of the core colours come September. I think it gets a bit overlooked by the very popular Rich Razzleberry, but it is a fabulous colour and well worth adding to your colour collection.

Stamps: All A Flutter (Autumn Winter Mini), Polka Dot Back Ground Stamp
Ink: Melon Mambo
Card Stock: Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper
Other: Aqua Painter, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Chit Chats Rub On (retired from Summer Mini), Dimensionals

Punch Art Kangaroo

Hi!

Last Tuesday night at Swap Sisters the very clever Anne Brignall taught us how to make a kangaroo using our Stampin' Up! punches. The challenge was to then use the kangaroo on a project. As usual I have left my project til the last moment, despite my kangaroo sitting all forlornly on my desk for a week.

To make up for his lonely week, I decided to make him a lovely sunny green hillside to bounce through. Here's what I came up with:



Now, a kangaroo isn't really a kangaroo if he can't bounce. I decided to give him a bit of bounce by attaching him to the card using a small piece of zig zagged cardstock. It acts like a spring so that he has some movement. Here's a close up so you can see what I mean:



DSP/Card Stock: Hostess Patterns Pack II DSP, Creamy Caramel, Kraft, Basic Black, Real Red
Other: LOTS of punches, Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker

If you'd like to join Swap Sisters so that you can benefit from the classes and tutorials we hold on line please let me know and I'll arrange for an invitation to be sent to you.

Catch you later,

Tina

Soft Suede Vase

Hi!

I just thought I'd share a card I made a little while back. It was a quick and easy card to put together and uses the new In Colour Soft Suede in combination with Apricot Appeal. Not a combination I would have thought worked, but I quite like the look of them together with hints of Whisper White.

Here's the card:



I drew some spirals in the centre of some of the flowers with the thin tip of my Apricot Appeal Marker, and some dots in others using the thicker tip.

Apricot Appeal is one of the colours that are being farewelled at the end of August, so if it's a colour you love you'll need to stock up soon. When time gets closer I imagine sales of farewelling colours will become 'while stocks last', so get in quick! There's a link to the chart of colours that will be retiring on the right side of my blog.

Stamps: Best Yet (level 1 hostess set)
Ink: Apricot Appeal Stampin' Write Marker, Basic Black Stampin' Write Journaller
DSP/Card Stock: Hostess Patterns Pack II DSP, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Other: Soft Suede 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Curly Label Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Oval Cutter (non SU)

I also made the same card in Melon Mambo and Very Vanilla, but silly me forgot to take a photo before I gave it away. Oops! It looked very pretty though.

Catch you later,

Tina