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