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