Festive Friday #38

Hi!

Time for some Friday Christmassy inspiration from the new Festive Friday Challenge.  This week Nicole has designed a sketch for us to play with.

I loved this sketch - it allows a lot of room for playing and could be interpreted in soooo many ways.  Here's how I chose to use the sketch.

I used the new In Colour Midnight Muse as the base of my card, with Brushed Silver as the matt.  I quite like this rich new blue to play with.

The centre panel was embossed and then I used some Frost White Shimmer Paint on a sponge dauber to dab lightly over the panel.  Most of the paint settles on the raised sections of the cardstock, but little bits also land on the lower sections.  I like the 'dusted' look this gives.

Stamps: Snow Swirled, For My Family
Ink: Midnight Muse
Cardstock: Midnight Muse, Brushed Silver, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Sponge Dauber, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Dimensionals

I hope you can play along with the new Festive Friday challenge.

Bye for now,

Tina

French Foliage

Hi!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!  I thought I'd post today's card before the weather warms up too much.  You see, it is one stamped using winter/autumn colours and now that it's spring the colours don't match the season anymore.  Do you ever get 'stuck' on things like that? lol

This card was made as a sample for my monthly stamping ladies.  I love the simplicity of the card - so easy to make but it looks so good.

After I photographed the card I looked at the picture of the inside and thought I probably should have stamped the splatter stamp over the leaves, like I did on the front.  Oh well, maybe next time!

Stamps: French Foliage, Just Believe
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, More Mustard
Cardstock: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla

Bye for now,

Tina

Lolly Bags Stampin' Up! Style

Hi!

If you've been reading my blog lately you'd know that my youngest had a big week last week.  He had his final day at Kindy (preschool) on Wednesday, he turned 5 and had his graduation from Kindy on Thursday and on Saturday he had his 5th Birthday Party.  We invited his friends to the local pool for a pool party!  We all had a blast and there were 10 very tired children come Saturday night.  I'd imagine there were some very tired grown ups too.  I was so tired Saturday night I opened my Stampin' Scrub and almost wrote in it before I realised I hadn't picked up my notebook!

Anyway....  I thought I'd show you the very quick and easy lolly bags I made for his friends to take home.  It was based on an idea I'd seen several times floating around on FaceBook.  First I gathered the materials I needed.

I love the Googlie Eyes from Stampin' Up!  They are self adhesive, which means you only need to pick them up off the backing sheet and stick them straight onto your project.  No more messing around with glue to stick them on.  Bonus!

Here's what I made with the materials above:

Butterfly lolly bags!  Aren't they the cutest???  I chose the Floral District DSP because I thought it coordinated well with the colours of the Smarties.   Here's the rest of the flock?, flutter? of butterflies.  What do you call a group of butterflies?

Oops, I spy one with no eyes!  Oh well!  I suggested to the mums that they could stick a magnet onto the back and use it on the fridge once the lollies were gone.

So there you go, a quick and easy way to make some lolly bags.

Bye for now,

Tina

New Annual Catalogue Blog Hop

Hi!

Here we are once again on another blog hop.  I love blog hops - they are such a wonderful way to spend some time gaining lots of inspiration.  The only thing better is stamping time!!!  There are 7 of us on this hop today so it won't take you long, but you're bound to find some fabulous ideas along the way.  We are all focusing on products from the New Annual Catalogue  The blog before mine is the clever Margaret Knoops.  Start or stop anywhere, it doesn't matter - just keep following the links to hop round the circle until you get back to where you started.  Please leave some comments along the way - we all love to know what you think of our projects.

My projects today were made for a special purpose.  My youngest finished preschool last week so they were made as gifts to give to his teachers and aides.

I made each teacher a card and decorated a candle to go in a goodie bag with some wine and chocolate.  I used the Floral District DSP as the basis for all my cards.  Here's a closer look at the stamped panel, cut using a Floral Frames Framelit.

The butterfly from Papillion Potpourri was stamped directly onto the panel, and then a second time onto a scrap of cardstock without reinking.  This gives a more muted effect with the colour.  I then punched it with the new Elegant Butterfly punch, curled the wings and adhered it with a glue dot over the top of the first butterfly.

The handprint isn't a stamp - it's Hudson's actual handprint.  I rubbed his hand on my Daffodil Delight ink pad and then stamped his hand onto the cardstock.  He had great fun 'helping' me.  I did it just before bathtime so I didn't have to worry about inky handprints everywhere!

Here's the same card and candle, just in Rose Red.  I made three sets at the same time in a bit of a production line.

The candles were bought as a set of three, I just cut a small strip of DSP to stick to the glass and tied some coordinating ribbon around the DSP.  I popped them in a cellophane bag and tied the top with more ribbon.  How lucky to find candles that colour matched the DSP so well!

Finally, the Baja Breeze card.  This one was for the Director of the centre, who is a man, so I tried to tone down the 'girliness' of the cards.  I kept the butterfly though, as I thought it was a great symbol of how Hudson has grown and changed while he's been at preschool.

Here they are together.  I had fun making these special gifts, and I hope the recipients love them.  It's hard to say but I think I like the Baja Breeze set the most - but I am a bit partial to blue!

Stamps: Notable Alphabet, Papillion Potpourri, Daydream Medallions, For My Family
Ink: Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight
DSP/Cardstock: Floral District DSP, Confetti White (retired), Rose Red, Rich Razzleberry, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Floral Frames Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Rose Red Seam Binding Ribbon, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Rich Razzleberry Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Glue Dots
Non-SU: Scented Candles, Cellophane Bags

Now you're off to see the fabulous creations over at Di Dunk's blog.  Please remember to leave a comment before you go, just click on the but below that says "Comments".

Bye for now,

Tina

Just Add Ink #136: Just Add Kids!

Hi!

It's Friday!!!!  Delys has come up with a fab challenge for us at Just Add Ink this week - Just Add Kids!  It's especially good timing for myself and Christine, as our youngest boys both had birthdays this week so we were able to kill two birds with the one stone.  Brilliant!

My little man Hudson is severely vision impaired and so I incorporated a lot of textures and contrasts into this card for him.  Basic Black and Daffodil Delight provide a strong contrast in colour for him. The bottom Daffodil layer has been embossed using the Chevron embossing folder for a bit of texture.  The 5 is cut from chipboard so it is raised from the card.  I painted it with crackle paint for a bit of added texture for his little fingers to find!

I pierced around the two Window Frame Framelits, although in hindsight I should have pierced from the back so he could feel the bumps more.  The truck is in two layers, popped up on Dimensionals, and the wheels have been covered in Crystal Effects for a bit more texture.  The card took a long time to make, but I'm very pleased with the outcome!

Another truck on the inside.  Yellow doesn't have much contrast on white, so I stuck with black and white for the inside.

I hope you can play along with us at Just Add Ink this week.  If you don't have a kid's birthday coming up, make a card anyway - they're always handy cards to have in the stash for when your children forget to give you the birthday invitation until the night before the party (or even worse, on the day of the party!).

Stamps: I Dig You, Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired Hostess), It's Your Day (retired)
Ink: Black Stazon, Daffodil Delight
DSP/Cardstock: Polka Dot Parade DSP, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Chevron Embossing Folder, Window Frames Framelits, Typeset Alphabet Dies, Piercing Tool, Piercing Mat, Festive Paper Piercing Pack, Paper Snips, Dimensionals, Crystal Effects, Crackle Paint (non SU)

Bye for now,

Tina

A Pretty Party Card

Hi!

A super quick post from me today, as I have been very busy this week.  My youngest starts school next term and I've been in flurry of activity organising his enrolment and all the other little bits and pieces he needs!

The card I have for you was one made as a Make and Take at a party I did a couple of months ago.

There's a few retired items on this card - the Rhinestone brads and the birthday sentiment, but these are both easily substituted with new products from the catalogues.  I love the colour combination I used on this card: Wild Wasabi, Regal Rose and Whisper White.  Wild Wasabi is fast becoming a favourite colour of mine!

I hope to see you again soon - I have a Just Add Ink card ready for the new challenge on Friday, and on Saturday I am participating in a blog hop showcasing projects made featuring products in the Annual Catalogue.  There's sure to be lots to inspire, so don't forget to come back to see them.

Bye for now,

Tina

Guest Designers: Rob and Ada Gillespie

Hi!

A little something different today!  A few weeks ago Ada was invited to the birthday party of a classmate who she told me was mad on Star Wars.  She therefore wanted to make him a Star Wars card.  Hmmm.... So I handballed the job to my Star Wars mad husband, Rob!  Rob and Ada put their heads together and this is the card they came up with.

Not bad!  Even I recognise the Death Star out in space.  Here's a closer look.

I spy a snowflake stamp from Snow Swirled, and also one of the border stamps from Bordering On Romance.  Who knew they could be used to help create a futuristic space ship? lol

I think they had run out of ideas before they got to the inside!  Oh well, from all accounts the birthday boy loved the card.

Bye for now,

Tina

Festive Friday #36

Hi!

It's that time of the week again - a new Festive Friday challenge!

This week Nicole has found this gorgeous picture of a table all set out for a Christmas meal to inspire us.  Must be an Aussie table, as it looks like prawns on the plates!

I took my inspiration from the candles this week.  I had also just received my new Stampin' Up! order with the Festival of Prints DSP stack, so I had to use some of the paper on the card!

Isn't it gorgeous paper?  I made the flames of the candles using the wing section of the Bird Builder Punch.  They were punched in So Saffron and sponged with More Mustard ink to give a more flame-like effect.  The middle candle was popped up on Dimensionals.

I had an extra candle made, so it went on the inside to jazz that up a little!

 

The Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch also adds a touch of interest to the inside of the card.

 

So will you find time to play along?  I hope so!

 

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard

DSP/Cardstock: Festival of Prints DSP stack, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper

Other: Bird Builder Punch, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, Basic Jewel Rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Antique Brad, Sponge Daubers, Chit Chat Rub Ons (retired)

 

Bye for now,

 

Tina

Back On The Open Sea

Hi!

I was most excited to see The Open Sea stamp set made a return in the Annual Catalogue.  I had bought it to use in a class while it was current in a mini catalogue, but hadn't really though it would be a set I'd use much. I was wrong!  I liked it a lot and I'm glad I'll be able to use it again.  Today's card was one I made while the past mini was current but never got around to posting.

OK, the little sentiment has retired, but you could easily switch it out for something else.  I stamped the Sahara Sand panel when it was still in one piece and then cut it in three to make the background.

I liked the look of the Night Of Navy anchor over the Sahara Sand map so I repeated it on the inside.

Stamps: The Open Sea, It's Your Day (retired), Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired Hostess)
Ink: Sahara Sand, Night Of Navy
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Night Of Navy, Riding Hood Red
Other: Mini Silver Brads, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Dimensionals

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event Reject Layout: Need 4 Speed

Hi!

Here is the last of my posts on the layouts I completed for Stampin' Up!'s Heartfelt Events.  I will show you the first layout I created, and eventually rejected, soon, but first a picture of me with two of my layouts at the Melbourne event.

I was pretty chuffed to have my work up along side some very well know Stampin' Up! scrappers!

This was the first layout I made with the Heartfelt Events in mind.  I like the layout, I just didn't feel it was quite up to the standard I was expecting of  myself.  I think I just strayed a little to far out of my usual style and I didn't feel it was quite working.

I used a lot of Silver Foil Smooch spray to simulate the mud and dirt that goes along with the quad bikes.  The spray is a great way to break up a background and give it more interest.

I hope you can see in the above photo, but I also scored lines around the photos to help highlight them.  I also sanded the edges to lift the photos out of the background.  It's a favourite technique of mine!

And here's how messy my scrap space got after a week of solid scrapping and not tidying up between layouts.  I had stuff everywhere!  I'm not usually quite so messy! 

Thank you to my beautiful husband for taking up the household slack while I was scrapping my heart out for the wonderful company I love being a part of, and thank you to Stampin' Up! for inviting me to submit some layouts.

Ink: Silver Foil Smooch Spray, Basic Grey Stampin' Write Marker
Cardstock: Garden Green, Brushed Silver
Other: Big Shot, Typeset Alpha Dies, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Sanding Block

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI #134: Just Add Polka Dots

Hi!

Yes, it's Friday, and another JAI challenge.  This week Trish has put forward a challenge to Just Add Polka Dots to our projects.  I needed to make a baby card, and I though the polka dots were a cute touch.

I made this card a little while ago, so it has a mix of old and new products.  A sad farewell to the Fox And Friends stamp set, and also the satin ribbon.  The colour I have used are two of the gorgeous new In Colours - Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals.  Does Raspberry Ripple make you think about a huge ice cream cone?  Mmmmm, yum!

I stamped the frame and sentiment in Raspberry Ripple and the turtle in Primrose Petals.  They are such lovely, complimentary colours.

Some more retired stamping on the inside!  Oops, I should think a bit more when choosing my products for projects!

Stamps: Happy Moments, A Word For You, Fox And Friends (retired), Well Scripted (retired)
Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Primrose Petals
Cardstock: Primrose Petals, Whisper White
Other: Big Shot, Labels Collections Framelits, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Whisper White Satin Ribbon (retired), Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Dimensionals

As usual, I hope you can play along with us this week at Just Add Ink.

Bye for now,

Tina

25 And Counting Christmas Card

Hi!

I had a party today where I demonstrated some Christmas cards to the lovely ladies present.  It reminded me that I had a Christmas card in my 'To Blog' file that I hadn't shown you yet.

This card is a bit of a mix of old and new.  I used the old Letters To Santa DSP, and also the retired stamp set Season of Joy.  The new is a brand new stamp set from the Annual Catalogue called 25 And Counting.  It's the perfect set for Advent Calendar type projects, but I thought the lovely 25 image worked beautifully as a tag on my card.

Some lovely, simple stamping on the inside - lots of space for writing a Christmas message to your recipient!

Stamps: 25 And Counting, Season Of Joy (retired)
Ink: Old Olive
DSP/Cardstock: Letters To Santa DSP (retired), Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Other: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1"Circle Punch,1/16" Circle Punch, White Baker's Twine, Whisper White Satin Ribbon (retired)

Bye for now,

Tina

Heartfelt Event Day At The Beach Layout

Hi!

As promised, I'm back with the last of the layouts I submitted for display at the Heartfelt Events around Australia and New Zealand.  If you've seen my layouts displayed at an event, I'd love to know!

This is a photo I've scrapped before, but it's one of my favourites of my three children.  As I think I probably won't get the layout back from SU I didn't mind scrapping it again.  We were on a weekend away at the beach and although it was too cold for swimming, it was a lovely day for a walk along the beach.  I spotted the pier and thought that underneath it would make a perfect place for taking a casual portrait of the kids.  I think you'll agree that I was right!

As I mentioned previously, I was a little challenged by the lack of alphabet dies, as we were unable to use anything that was retiring.  I got around this by printing the title straight onto the DSP from my computer and printer. I got really lucky that they lined up perfectly!

When I scrap I very much like to keep the focus on the photos, and this layout was no different.  It did need some embellishment though, so I decided to make some flags using my pennant punch and a few toothpicks.  They are so super-easy to make and are a lovely feature on the page.

DSP/Cardstock: Storytime DSP, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla
Other: Perfect Pennants Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Dimensionals, Tombow Adhesive, Mini Glue Dots, Computer and Printer, Toothpicks

Thanks for looking at my layouts for the Heartfelt Event.  I'll be back soon with a 'reject' layout.

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI Scrap #9: Just Add a Sketch

Hi!

Happy Spring!  I have been enjoying the wonderfully warm and sunny weather in Adelaide that has heralded the start of Spring.  I hope you are enjoying similar sunshine!  Well, not only is it spring, it's also the first Sunday of the month, which means it's time for a new scrapbooking challenge at Just Add Ink.

This month the very clever Ruthy has designed a sketch for the challenge.

 

Isn't it fantastic? There are so many different ways you could play with this sketch - we'd love to see your interpretation!  You could use one large photo, or you could use several smaller ones and cluster them together.  That's what I chose to do for my layout.

 

 

I used some of the gorgeous new Storytime DSP as the basis for my layout.  It has similar colours to those in the shirt Hudson is wearing in the photos, so it was a perfect match!  The colours I used are Riding Hood Red, Pool Party and Very Vanilla.  I simplified the sketch a little.  I ran out of room for the flags at the bottom, so I substituted some trim from the Tasteful Trims Die, as well as a smaller rosette.

You may be wondering about the title of my layout - The Fortress of Hudsontute.  The layout shows Hudson getting his first "big boy bed".  The fact that it's a ginormous disability friendly bed didn't escape the notice of Alex and Ada, who promptly got into it for a play and explore.  They named it the Fortress after the Fortress of Solitude in Superman, made a sign for the side of the bed and stuck it on.  Almost a year later the sign is still there and the name has stuck!

I had to include some photos of the sign and the big kids in the bed, so I made a pull out section that slips in under the main block of photos.  How happy does Hudson look to see and try out his bed in the photos!

Ink: Pool Party Stampin' Write Marker
DSP/Cardstock: Storytime DSP, Pool Party, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla
Other: Big Shot, Tasteful Trims Die, Alpha Die (non SU), Rosette Die (non SU), Round Tab Punch (retired), Boho Blossoms punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Pool Party Designer Printed Brads, Poppy Parade Glimmer Brads (retired), Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Crystal Effects, Sanding Block

I hope you can play along with us this month at Just Add Ink!

Bye for now,

Tina