Three Challenges

The SBS Challenge for this week was to use ovals on your card. What a great excuse to get out my CM Custom Cutting System again. (I really do think this is the best cutting system you can get.) When I saw that Nerine's Layout challenge for this week also included an oval I was tempted to make one card to cover both challenges but I got on a roll this afternoon so I have two separate ones. All these cards use watercolouring techniques. I have used Watercolour paper from SU for my watercolouring. I find it is far superior to other watercolour papers I can buy in our limited shopping centre and Whisper White cardstock just doesn't work half as well.

The first card (below) is for the SBS challenge. The stamp is from Big on Spring. I was practicing watercolouring using the Stampin' Write markers. I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job of staying within the lines! The main colour is Real Red. I wanted to make a Valentine's Day card but it took ages to choose a background. This DSP is from East Coast Prep. I was worried that it was too bright but my husband assures me that it isn't.

After that card I did stick to Nerine's layout. I only recently purchased Sassy Stems and I am loving it! It is fabulous to watercolour - using Watercolour Wonder crayons or Stampin' Write markers with an Aquapainter. The colours here are Always Artichoke, So Saffron and Regal Rose, all from my favourite SU colour family - Rich Regals. I usually mix up my colour families but today I felt like sticking within the one family. The DSP is from the Le Jardin pack. I roughed up the edges of the ovals using the Cutter Kit.

Now for a third card I made this afternoon. This one used the Friday Sketchers sketch # 37. Again I stuck with colours from one colour family - this time Earth Elements. I used Sassy Stems again! The flowers are coloured using Watercolour Wonder crayons and an Aquapainter with Summer Sun, More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie. I traced the flower stems with Old Olive and then coloured the vase very lightly with Not Quite Navy. The base cardstock is Not Quite Navy. I used Pumpkin Pie DSP from the Bali Breeze pack for the bottom half. Over that is More Mustard textured cardstock. The ribbon is Old Olive 5/8' grosgrain. The image is mounted on Old Olive cardstock with Stampin' Dimensionals. The buttons are from the SU Earth Elements buttons mix. I tied a small piece of Linen thread through them before adhering them with Crystal Effects.

Whew, what a productive afternoon! You know, I might just keep going into the night. I cooked a very good steak for dinner tonight and becuase I cooked I don't have to wash up! Look out for more creations tomorrow!

12 Months of Christmas

My SBS sister Janet has started a challenge called 12 Months of Christmas. Each month she will give us a simple layout and we are challenged to make multiple copies (as many as we wish) of the layout as a Christmas card. This way, we won't be in a rush to make all our Christmas cards at the end of the year.

This is the sketch from Leslie for January. Below is the card I made.

The base cardstock is Mellow Moss. I used the Christmas trees from "Figures of Speech", coloured direct to rubber with Stampin' Write markers - So Saffron, Mellow Moss and Close to Cocoa. I punched out the image with a 1 inch punch and mounted it on a Square Scallop punch. The sentiment is from Occasional Greetings, gold embossed on So Saffron. This is mounted on Regal Rose and then Close to Cocoa. The ribbon is Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain and Mellow Moss Taffeta.

I was looking for an un-traditional colour combination as I'm really over Red and Green for Christmas all the time.

I hope you like this one.

Debby's Challenge

There is a challenge in blogland at the moment and I have been tagged!



The challenge is to go to your My Pictures folder, select the 6th folder and then the 6th photo within that folder. You are then to post that photo on your blog and give the story behind it.

This is the photo:

Yes, that is me, belly dancing! Not much of a story really - this was our end of year "dance". I really enjoyed belly dancing but haven't been able to keep it up since we moved as there is no teacher here. By the way, the top I am wearing was hand-beaded by me! Pretty clever aren't I! It took ages and I haven't done any more beadwork like it since.

I am supposed to pass this challenge on to 6 other people:

1. Nerine

2. Mel

3. Karen

4. Natasha

and there I run out of people I know in blogland who haven't already participated so 4 it will have to be.

SBS25 Challenge 10 - Candy

This is the fabulous candy that my SBS sister Janet sent me for winning our CASE Challenge over Christmas. It arrived yesterday.

There are some great embellishments, 2 oversize clothes pegs just begging to be decorated, a pack of alphabet on chipboard and another of alphabet brads, a scallop rectangle punch and an SU stamp set which I didn't previously have! How lucky am I!?! Thank you Janet so much. You are awesome!

Below is the card that came in the box with the candy. Just beautiful. Once again, thank you Janet for all the hard work you do with our group. I really appreciate it.

Bubble Bath Jan 2007

I have finally completed a scrapbook page!

Today is a public holiday here in Australia so I had lots of time to play with the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets. If I am lost for inspiration I use our SU catalogues as a starting point. This 12x12 scrapbook page is based on a 6x6 one in the Sale-A-Bration catalogue.

I had to use Sahara Sand for the base instead of Kraft. The letter "C" comes from the On Board Simon Lower set. It is covered with Certainly Celery DSP. The stamped heart is from the SAB set Polka Dot Punches. The other hearts come from On Board Accents and they are covered with So Saffron. The blue is Bashful Blue. This is such a peaceful colour combination! I love it.

I used the scallop border punch for the Certainly Celery border along the bottom.

These are some of my favourite photos of my daughter. They were taken at my Mum's house 2 years ago when we discovered that you don't need to use much bubble bath mix when the spa jets are on!

Gable Thanks

I made this little box using the tutorial from SCS this week in Weekly Inkling. It is a perfect size for a little thank you gift I had to give.

The base cardstock is Pink Passion. I wheeled it in Whisper White with the Bodacious wheel.

The image on the front is the larger flower image from Bodacious Bouquet inked in Pixie Pink and then rolled in Pink Passion. It was stamped on Whisper White, cut our and Dazzlin Diamonds applied in the centre using the Tombow Multi-purpose adhesive.

I then stamped the flower a second time on another piece of Whisper White. This time I added the 3 leaves which were stamped in Green Galore. I adhered the cut out image over this, but offset the petals it make a "fuller" flower. I mounted this on Green Galore for a final, bright touch.

The sentiment is from Short and Sweet and is attached with Silver Cord (retired, sorry). I finished it up with Taffeta ribbon in Whisper White. I love this bright little box.

I hope this little gift is well received.

Sketch and Stash Challenge #2

I had to make a card for a wedding acceptance this week. I was at a total loss as to what to do. Usually I take the colours from the wedding colours but this bride is not having any bridesmaids! Anyway, I decided to start with the image and work from there. I have only just purchased Sassy Stems after admiring many creations made using it for months. When I chose this image I knew that the flowers had to be red (Rose Red), the vase blue (Brilliant Blue) and the stems green (Garden Green) - of course. The rest just flowed from there.


I used this weeks Sketch and Stash Challenge card layout - I just made a mirror image.

I didn't have an appropriate sentiment for an acceptance but decided that Thanks (this one from Live Your Dreams) was close enough.

I hope that my friends like this card. I'm not really sure. What do you think?

Two Cards, Three Challenges

I made this card last weekend for the Friday Sketchers #34 sketch challenge. I know, it is a little late. Oh well.

The base cardstock is Soft Sky textured. I used Afternoon Tea DSP (my favourite) mounted on Chocolate Chip for the horizontal panels. The image is stamped on Whisper White textured cardstock and mounted on Chocolate Chip.

I got over excited with setting the eyelets using my Crop-a-dile (what would I do without it?) and set eight when the sketch only called for 4. Oh well. The horizontal panels are connected with Copper thread (retired).

The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip on Whisper White textured cardstock and punched with the large oval punch. I then mounted it on Groovy Guava textured cardstock and handcut around it.

The flowers are punched from Groovy Guava textured cardstock using the Three for You punch. The centres are brads from the Soft Subtles set.

I really like this card. But then, I love anything made with the Afternoon Tea DSP.

The card is for 2 challenges - my SBS group challenge to use an unusual colour combination and a Sale-A-Bration challenge for a swap I am part of.

The colour combination is Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi and Pumpkin Pie! Very unusual.

I used the Polka Dot Punches set - one of the free sets you can choose from when you spend $100 or more with me in January or Febraury. I also used Congrats which can only be obtained the same way.

The base cardstock is Bashful Blue. I stamped the heart from Polka Dot Punches in Pumpkin Pie classic ink on Whisper White. For the sponged heart, I used the waste rubber left when I was mounting the stamp set as a stencil and sponged with Wild Wasabi classic ink on Whisper White cardstock. The sentiment is stamped in Pumpkin Pie and Bashbul Blue on Whisper White.

The DSP is, what else, from the Afternoon Tea pack. Everything was adhered with SNAIL except the Pumpkin Pie heart for which I used Stampin' Dimensionals.

I really like this card too. It will probably go to friends whose wedding is on February 14 - yes, Valentine's Day.

Mel's Weekly Challenge #4

My sister demo Mel sets great challenges every week. This is week it was a triple challenge:

1. Colours - Whisper White, Orchid Opulence, Barely Banana and Certainly Celery. She took this colours from a fabulous photo (see it here).

2. Technique - Kissing.

3. Accessory - Stampin' Dimensional or 3D Glue Dots

Mel doesn't do anything the simple way!

Here is my contribution:

The base card is Barely Banana textured cardstock. I used the Kissing technique to make the scallop border - I inked up the Paisley background stamp with Orchid Opulence ink and kissed it with the large scallop border stamp from All Scallops. The tulip is from Garden Whimsy - I used the Direct to Rubber technique with my Stampin' Write Markers (Orchid Opulence and Certainly Celery). The main image is mounted on Certainly Celery DSP. Both the main image and the tag are adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

This Thank You card is going off to my Mary Kay Director. She organised a fantastic retreat and workshop for the unit this weekend.

That's it for now. I hope you have a great week.

Thank you Vanya!

My fabulous blogging sister Vanja has given me this award. Isn't she sweet! All I have to do is pass it on to 7 other lovely blogs. Well, it wasn't an easy choice but here they are:

Janet

Leslie

Mel

Natasha

Debby

Deby

Susie

These ladies all have fantastic blogs. I love to visit them. Why don't you?

Sketch and Stash Challenge 1

I found out about this new challenge site from one of my SBS sisters (I'm sorry, I can't remember which one).

The Sketch and Stash Challenge provides you with a sketch and challenges you to use just what you have in your stash (new or old). What a great idea!

I pulled out the I Like it a Latte stamp set. I have had it for a while but haven't used it much. Once I had decided what the image was going to be the rest was easy.

I just had to use warm colours so I chose Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla (for the ribbon) and Confetti Cream. Such warm, yummy colours!

I clear embossed the cup in Close to Cocoa. The steam was stamped in Creamy Caramel on top. The foam/cream on top of the cup was stamped in Creamy Caramel on Whisper White and then cut out and adhered on top of the cup.

The small heart was stamped in Ruby Red (another yummy, warm colour) on Whisper White, cut out and then layered on a Creamy Caramel circle.

I layered the main image on Creamy Caramel and then adhered it with Stampin' Dimensionals onto the Close to Cocoa textured base card.

The sentiment was stamped in Close to Cocoa on Confetti Cream and punched out with the Designer Label punch (I wanted to use the tab punch but it was just a little bit small).

This card makes me want to curl up in front of an open fire with my hands warming around a steaming mug of cocoa or coffee. Unfortunately, I don't live in the right climate for that! Oh well, I just have to dream!

ETA: Thanks Debby for asking about Crystal Effects. Yes, I did use it over the cream on the coffee and the red heart. I clean forgot to mention it.

Sketch Saturday 32

I'm on a challenge kick at the moment. This one is the Sketch Saturday Challenge. This was a great sketch that I just had to give a try.

I used Certainly Celery textured cardstock for the base. the quarter circles are Rose Red cardstock on Rose Red DSP. They were cut as circles with my CM templates then cut into quarters.

The central image is from Pretty Princess set. I stamped it using Staz-On Black on Whisper White cardstock and coloured it using my SU Markers (Rose Red, Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery). This was layered on the Rose Red DSP.

The flowers are from the SU Pretties Kit. They all come white but I coloured these with an SU Marker in Barely Banana. Some bling was needed so I added the pink rhinestone brads.

I think that this card would be perfect for any little Princesses birthday.

Something New

This week's challenge over at Stamp Something is to stamp something new - use a new product, a new technique, something for a new occasion etc. I decided to make a new 3D something - a mini pizza box. The template I used for this came from Jen Del Muro and was designed for Scor-Pal. It is a perfect size for a few chocolates or some gift cards.

I used Ballet Blue for the box and then decorated it with Sage Shadow (cardstock and DSP), Perfect Plum and Lovely Lilac. I love this colour combination (but then it came straight off the Colour Coach so why wouldn't I?).

I don't make many 3D items because I don't seem to use them very often - I think I'll have to change that.

Christmas Cards Received

These are some of the lovely handmade cards I received this Christmas. Starting from top left and going clockwise they are from Sharon, Shazza, Tammy, Janet, my Mum, and Mel.

I love receiving handmade cards - partly becuase I know how much work goes into them I guess.

Thanks everyone!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic New Year celebration.


I have spent the last few days re-creating all the projects in the SU Summer Mini Catalogue so that my customers can see them "for real" and I know how to make them if they ask.


I've also had lots of ideas about workshops, stamp clubs, stamp camps and even maybe a stamping retreat for this year, so watch this space!


In the meantime, I've just discovered that my SBS25 sister, Leslie, has a fantastic blog candy giveaway! Just click here to go to her blog and check it out.


I made a couple of New Year's Resolutions this year - I don't usually do this but 31st December is also my birthday (42 this year) and I've decided that this is the year I make some changes. I want to share one of my resolutions with you all now - so you can hold me accountable!


I RESOLVE TO TAKE MY WEIGHTLOSS JOURNEY SERIOUSLY - THE EVIDENCE OF THIS WILL BE THAT I WILL HAVE LOST 30 KGS BY 31ST DECEMBER 2009!


This does sound like scary but now that I know that have all your support, I know that I can do it. You can check out how I'm going on the right - I've added a weight tracker.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful 2009!