Featured Stamper - Flowergal36!

Sunday means it's Featured Stamper challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers and this week it is Flowergal36 who has the most amazing gallery!!! You should stop by and have a look if you haven't seen it already! I have chosen this card by her to case.
I've change the image, one colour (used red instead of sage), added paper and a sentiment and embossed instead of stamped the vertical panel.
I started off with a Chocolate Chip base card, matted with Very Vanilla (pierced of course! :) ) and then matted again in red and topped with some yummy Wassail paper by Basic Grey. The red bazzill vertical panel was embossed with the Christmas Ornaments embossing folder and then matted with Chocolate Chip and knotted some ivory satin ribbon around it like Flowergal36. The other panel was stamped using The Cats Pajamas reindeer (which is think is gone now, but you should check out their stunning new release, either the clear Elegant Christmas or the rubber reindeers Big Reindeer and Small Reindeer which I just love....will have to save my pennies I think! ) in Close to Cocoa. Then for the first time EVER I actually sponged the edges! Not normally the sort of thing I do, but I have to say.....I kinda like it! I sponged in Creamy Caramel and then Close to Cocoa and then added some ivory pearls to the flourishes in the horns. Then I cut out the scalloped panel with my nestabilities in chocolate chip to mat it on and popped it up. I decided to add a subtle sentiment by Lizzie Anne Designs in Close to Cocoa in the bottom corner to finish it off.
That's all for today, thanks for visiting! :)

Another Farewell...

Our school principal (and member of our church) is leaving after many years to take up a position overseeing schools. He has laid a wonderful foundation for our school and he and his wife (who is also a teacher there) will be greatly missed.
I was approached by Admin if I could cover a book that will be used for parents and friends to write their farewell's in.
I began with a basic A5 sized Spirax book that I got from ABSA and covered it with some Always Artichoke striped paper from the 'Holiday Harmony' DSP set that will retire on Monday (I think I should order some more before then!!). The I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip Card, matted it with Always Artichoke and then topped with Very Vanilla. I then stamped the large flourish from 'Baroque Motifs' (SU) in Always Artichoke (stamped off once) in the centre. The sentiment was made with my much loved, Just Rite Stampers, found at The Little Online Card Shop using the Small Letter set for the border (in Chocolate Chip) and Special Occasions Font for the centre (in Always Artichoke). Cut the scallop circle and large circle with nestabilites, the inner circle with a 1 1/4in punch and popped the centre with pop dots. Finished off by adding some chocolate coloured satin ribbon to the corners, making one into a flat bow and topping with a cream pearl from Kaiser.
I sure hope they like it! That's all for today, thanks for visiting! :)

A Guava Birthday...

Today's card was made fairly quickly as I needed to make some birthday cards in a hurry.
I started with some bazzill that was a really close match to Groovy Guava that I found in my scrap box. Then I found some green that was very similar to Always Artichoke and then topped it with some pale yellow/cream coloured card that matched in well with the Heidi Grace 'Orchard' stripe paper that I was using. The main image is from 'Bloomin' with Beauty' (or Bloomin' Beautiful for the USA) - I really love these flowers! - coloured it with my Groovy Guava and Always Artichoke stamp pads and a blender, pierced the border and matted on the same green and guava cardstock. For Australians, 'Bloomin' with Beauty is only available from Stampin Up! until the end of November. The sentiment panel is from Just Rite . I've used the birthday sentiment from their '10 Designer Centers and Borders' which I found at The Little Online Card Shop that I stamped in Groovy Guava and cut it and the scalloped border with circle nestabilities. Finished off the card with some green gingham ribbon and some silver brads.
That's all for today, thanks for visiting!! :)

Featured Stamper - Ebethneu

This week the Featured Stamper at SCS is Ebethneu who has a huge gallery of great ideas to wander through. Congratulations Elizebeth! I have chosen her Stay Goldencard to case. As per the rules, I've changed the colours, paper, sentiment and embellishments. I didn't have the exact stamp, but used something similar.
I started with a Very Vanilla card base, matted with Chocolate Chip (pierced edges), Close to Cocoa and Creamy Caramel and then a layer of paper from the "Outlaw" DSP (which is still available in Australia's main catalogue). Along the bottom is a strip of Creamy Caramel card that I've punched with my Threading Water Punch (Fiskars), knotted some ribbon and pierced the bottom. The corners are from the 'Vintage' die set and used with the cuttlebug and I've added a cream pearl in each corner. The main image is from 'Pocket Silhouettes' (sorry not available in Australia yet) and stamped in Creamy Caramel and Chocolate Chip on Very Vanilla and pierced the top edges and matted on Creamy Caramel and a Chocolate Chip scalloped layer using rectangle nestabilities. The sentiment is from 'Short and Sweet' (retired), stamped in Chocolate Chip on VV, matted on Chocolate Chip and punched out with oval punches.
Stamps - Pocket Silhouettes, Short and Sweet
Paper - Outlaw, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel
Accessories - 'Vintage' die set, Threading Water punch, ribbon, cream pearls, rectangle nestabilities, mat pack and piercing tool, sm and lg oval punches.
That's all for today, thanks for visiting!! :)

Competition Entry...

I ordered some things from Bizzy Becs this month which enabled me to play in this month's competition. This month it was a sketch challenge and all entries had to be in by this Friday, 28th November. I decided to use this sketch as a good-bye card for a couple at our church who are moving to a new town.

This card started with a Soft Sky base, matted with Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava (pierced edges) and then some of this gorgeous new Afternoon Tea paper. The small squares in the corners are Soft Sky matted with some matching paper. The long rectangle panel is Soft Sky matted with Wild Wasabi that has been embossed with the cuttlebug and the Swiss Dots embossing folder and the ribbon around it is also Soft Sky. The main image panel is Groovy Guava, matted with Wild Wasabi and then the white layer has been stamped with the vase of flowers from "Bloomin' with Beauty" and coloured with markers and Groovy Guava (and more piercing!) and popped up. The sentiment panel has been stamped using Just Rite products which can by found at The Little Online Card Shop . The edge came from the '10 Designer Centers and Borders Set' stamped in Groovy Guava and the letters from the 'Small Letter Set' stamped in Black. The scalloped edge and the designer border were cut out using the large circle nestabilites and the centre was punched out with a 1 1/4in circle punch and popped up.

That's all for today, thanks for visiting! :)

Just Rite Set

Well so far we have been spared any further storm activity, here's hoping it stays that way!!

Today's project is a journal and matching card that a friend asked me to make for her sister-in-law's 40th birthday. The request was for "girly, pretty, pink and green", so this is the finished product.

Isn't this pretty paper? In a cheap pack of Clover paper that I found in a discount store. I've used a pink base for the card, matted with white (and pierced the edges with my SU mat pack :) ), then matted with green and then the paper. Then I stamped the single flower from Stampin Up's "Bloomin' with Beauty" (or Bloomin' Beautiful for North Americans) in black and coloured with markers, matting with pink and green (and more piercing!). The sentiment is done with the 1 5/8 Just Rite stamper and the small alphabet around the outside and the '40' is done using the Special Occasions font. The centre has been punched out with a 1 1/4 circle punch and popped on top. The rest were cut out with the circle nestabilites. The card was finished off with kaiser pearls in the corners and some green gingham under the image panel.

The journal followed the same process as the card to make it look like a matching set, although I covered the Spirex book with the paper and used the Spiral Punch from Stampin Up so that the paper goes around the spiral binding. Instead of using the same sentiment panel, I've used a border from Just Rite's '10 Designer Centers and Borders' and the receipient's initials for a traditional monogram.

The Just Rite products are hard to find in Australia at the moment, although you can get them through Andrea at the little online cardshop but you have to be quick, they are selling fast! Secondly the "Bloomin' with Beauty" set from Stampin Up is only available in the current mini catalogue (in Australia) until 30 November.

Thanks for visiting!!! :)

We prayed for rain....

and boy did it come!! For those of you who don't know, most of the state of Queensland has been in severe drought for many years, I live in the captial and our dam supplies got down to 16% at one stage. We have had some rain to boost supplies and then this week it all happened...

Sunday we had a severe electrical storm that caused huge amounts of damage to a suburb barely 30mins away. We thought it was over --- nope Wednesday the mother of all storms came through and dumped up to 200mm of rain in some places (the main dam got 75mm) - our roof leaked but that was all luckily. There was flooding everywhere, roads and rail lines were cut, yet more damage to already affected areas. Surely that was the end of it? Nope, last night down it came again, causing more flooding and destruction in various parts of the city. Thankfully the roof was fixed that afternoon and held, so no leaks, even with the hail that came down. I'm thankful it wasn't the size of the hail that hit Blackwater in central Queensland where it was reported that some were 7 inches across and the size of rockmelons! So today we breathe and say what else will happen. The forecast is for yet more storms tonight and tomorrow and rain next week!!!! Reminds me of a 1921 poem by PJ Hartigan "Said Hanrahan"........"...We'll all be rooned if this rain don't stop." Or perhaps the classic by Dorothea MacKellar written in 1904 My Country ..."Of droughts and flooding rains..." which reminds us that this wild weather has been around for centuries.

Here's hoping that the coming storms not as bad as they think, pray for us, we're probably going to need it!!!

Lunchbox Tin

A friend of mine asked me to make a lunchbox tin for a boy. Now I find boys much harder to make for than girls, but I think it turned out OK.

The tin is by Provocraft and can be found or ordered from most local scrap stores. I've used Stampin Up's Outlaw designer paper (currently available in the Australian Catalogue), choosing two co-ordinating papers, one for the top (including the lid) and the stripe for the bottom. I've used the small and large tag punches for the tag hanging off the handle, one in Chocolate Chip, the other in Very Vanilla. The star is from "Toy Box" that I've stamped in Sage Shadow and popped up, the 'c' is from "Tidy Alphabet" which has been stamped in Close to Cocoa. Both of these sets are now retired. The name on the front has been stamped with Headline Alphabet (now retired) in Close to Cocoa on Very Vanilla, cut out and popped with pop dots.

Stamps - Headline Alphabet, Tidy Alphabet, Toy Box

Paper - Outlaw Designer Paper

Ink - Close to Cocoa, Sage Shadow

Accessories - Twine, Chocolate grosgrain ribbon, pop dots.

Thanks for visiting! :)

A Card for My Grandma

My Grandma's 87th birthday is this week-end - we've always been very close so I had to make something pretty for her. Unlike most people I know she's not into pinks, purples or blues.... instead she prefers 'Autumn Tones', which is always difficult for me.

I decided to use this pretty vase of flowers from Stampin Up's 'Bloomin' with Beauty' (or Bloomin' Beautiful if you are in the US/Canada - if you are in Australia you have until November 30th to get this set!), colouring it with Groovy Guava, Always Artichoke and Close to Cocoa. I've used the Circle Nestabilites by Spellbinders to cut out the circles and added a pewter spiral clip knotted with Groovy Guava ribbon. The base card is Always Artichoke, matted with Groovy Guava which I then put through the Cuttlebug with the 'Birds and Swirls' Embossing Folder. The stripe paper is from Heidi Grace "Orchard" range and I finished off with some pewter brads in the corners and the sentiment from 'Elegant Cheer' (sorry this isn't available in Australia yet --- I'm very lucky to have some friends in the US!). I think it turned out OK, I'm not sure if it is really 'Autumn Tones' but I hope Grandma likes it anyway!

Thanks for visiting!! :)

Featured Stamper - Kendra

This week's Featured Stamper over at SCS is Kendra. I chose this card to case from her huge gallery!
I've change the embellishments and sentiment and moved the sentiment panel and also changed the colours.
The base card is pale pink bazzill, matted with white (and pierced the edges) and matted with green. Then I've placed a layer of Clover paper over the top and tied some pink gingham ribbon around it. I've used my mega rectangle nestabilities dies to cut the scallop layer (and pierced the scallops) then used the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the white layer. The flower is from the "Live Your Dream" from Stampin Up! - it has been stamped using orchid and sage versacolor cubes and cut out and glued on top. The centres are Kaiser pearls and smaller ones have been put in the corners. Finished off by stamping the sentiment from "Short and Sweet" (now retired SU), punched out with the small and large oval punches (added some more piercing.....yeah I know, I couldn't help myself :) ) and popped it up with foam squares.
That's all for now, thanks for visiting! :)

Featured Stamper Challenge

This card was made for the Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper Challenge. This week the featured stamper was Wendybell, you can find details here . I started with a black Bazzill card, matted with River Rock from Stampin Up and White. The white layer has paper piercing around it, done with my Mat Pack (Stampin Up). The paper is River Rock stripe, found in the Holiday Harmony Paper pack (now available until Nov.30 from Stampin Up), and added some white Francheville brads in the corners. The main panel has been cut out with my Rectangle Nestabilities (Aussies can find these at Bizzy Becs ). The main image is from the Upsy Daisy set from Stampin Up (sorry, this isn't available in Australia yet), stamped in black. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet and punched out with the small and large oval punches (all SU). Finished off with a silver spiral clip and knotted River Rock ribbon.

Black and White Christmas

Christmas is coming and lately I've become very fond of Black and White Christmas cards. This one was done with a sketch from Verve Stamps . It starts with a black bazzill card base, matted with white. Then the small black layer to the top left is stamped in Versamark and embossed in white, using 'Snow Swirled' by Stampin Up. The white layer to the right is matted with black and the same image is stamped in black and clear embossed. The sentiment is stamped in black from the same set. The scallop border is done using the Threading Water Punch from Fiskars. The main image is done using two sets from Verve Stamps .... Artful Elegance and Fairy Tales . The flourishes outline and hanger are stamped in black onto the white layer - the circle is stamped in Versamark and white embossed, punched out and popped up for a bit of dimension.

It all begins somewhere...

Well, I've finally done it --- I've leapt off and joined the Blog world. Can't guarantee how it will go, but I'm sure it will be an interesting ride!! :)