Tinkering with MDS...

Earlier this week Stampin' Up! released MDS (My Digital Studio) in Australia, and because I am going to convention in Brisbane (hooray)...I got a free copy (double hooray)!! This afternoon I thought I'd have me a bit of a tinker with it, you know...push some random buttons and see what happened. Well, I pushed buttons for a good bit longer than I intended to, but I did have a lot of fun.

I find the program is quite intuitive, and those things that I haven't been able to fathom for myself, I got help with from my lovely (and oh-so-patient) upline Di. Thanks Di. I can see we are gonna have some fun with this :-).

Anyhoo...this is what popped out the other end of my button pushing session...

I was not going to write up a supply list, but then I remembered having seen a button labelled 'supplies' somewhere along my wanderings. I just went and checked and managed to find it again...so here it is, a list of supplies (hooray)...

MDS SUPPLY LIST (all by Stampin' Up!):

Background:

Designer Series Paper/Nursery - designer series paper/Nursery - 1

Embellishments

Staple & Stitching/Chocolate - Simple Stitches line 3

Staple & Stitching/Chocolate - Simple Stitches line 10

Taffeta Trimmings/Taffeta Trimmings - ripple regal rose

Staple & Stitching/Chocolate - Simple Stitches corner 2

Basic Pearls and Rhinestones/Basic Pearls and Rhinestones - pearl

small (re-colored = Chocolate Chip)

Stamps

Little Additions/Little Additions - bunny, Color = Chocolate Chip

Punches

Labels & Tags/Labels Collection 2, Filled with: Designer Series Paper/_Designer Kits/Special Delivery Subtle - designer series paper/Special Delivery Subtle - 5

Mats

Designer Series Paper/Cottage Wall - designer series paper/Cottage Wall - pattern 8

Designer Series Paper/Nursery - designer series paper/Nursery - 2

Designer Series Paper/Sweet Details - designer series paper/Sweet Details - 6

Card Stock/Chocolate Chip

If I don't make it back in here again before Easter, Happy Easter! I hope you have a lovely, long holiday weekend.

HEADLINE: 'PUT YOUR PAWS IN THE AIR...

.....THEN SLOWLY HOP AWAY FROM THE PRODUCT.....

NO ONE NEEDS TO GET HURT!!'

BURGLARISING BUNNY CAUGHT WITH HIS FEET ON THE FOIL AND THE TREATS IN HIS TEETH!! 

Check out his bulging belly...that darn rabbit ate the whole lot!

Okay, so I got a bit carried away. I'm prone to that sort of thing. Flights of fancy, tall tales of adventure and intrigue. Too much Trixie Belden as a child I suspect ;-).

But in amongst it all, I was inspired to create some Easter goody boxes for the kiddos, after I saw these beauties made by Kim. Thanks for the inspiration Kim!

I've modified Kim's pattern a fair bit. My lid is just a simple square one that comes right off (along with the rabbit face and ears - all the better to access the goodies ;-). I am still only half way through the second one, but I'll try and get a shot of them both tomorrow, before the kids sit on them or something.

Have a good one!

ETA: I managed to get the second ransacking rabbit finished while Thumper was taking a nap and the kids were watching Harry Potter...

I'd like to point out here that these bunny boxes are NOT chock full of eggs. I ended up putting a whole sheet of crumpled tissue in there with the eggs. They would have packed close to 400g of eggs without the paper stuffing. YIKES!

Blogged to: Livin' Thing - Electric Light Orchestra, Overkill - Men at Work, Firework - Katy Perry.

Easter Punch Art Shadowbox...

Still having lots of fun here with these shadowboxes. The only problem is they take me a couple of days to complete...with little windows of opportunity snatched here and there (during Thumper's nap-time, after bed-time, etc). I much prefer to get my projects done in one sitting (call me an instant gratification-type of gal), but this staggered approach does allow me to think about what I am going to do next, and how I am going to do it, so I seem to be making less boo-boos. I guess that's gotta be counted as a win!

Again, the card front is super simple. I may go back and add a small Easter sentiment on the front too, but I did not have anything appropriate, and I really am just trying for a wrapper effect, the inside being the focal bit in my mind.

Well, that concludes this morning's play-time for me. For some reason my house does not appear to cleaning itself. It must be broken! I shall have to see about getting it fixed....quickly.

I have another shadowbox idea brewing in the old cerebral cortex, but I might leave it to simmer some...you know, enhance the flavours ;-).

Thanks for visiting my place, and have a lovely last-day-of-the-work-week!

JAI Challenge #64 - Chocolate Wrapper Colour Combo MKII

I am being a naughty mummy. I should be packing the house...but while I was feeding during the night I dreamed up another card I wanted to make for the Just Add Ink Challenge this week. My hips are  pleased to say that I do not have any of the inspirational chocolate on hand this time! Can you guess which chocolate wrapper inspired this card?

 

It was this little beauty...

I got the creme egg image from this blog...which quite happily has a lovely looking recipe for mock creme eggs (thanks Carol)! What a lucky find!! I am very proud of myself though. I have not bought a single creme egg (yet) this Easter. There is still plenty of time for that eh ;-).

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Yoyo Yellow (textured), Whisper White, Basic Black and Only Orange (all SU)

Ink: Elegant Eggplant Classic Ink (SU) and Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)

Stamps: Bunny Hugs (SU)

Punches: Modern Label, Scallop Circle, Scallop Oval, Small Oval and Two-step Owl (all SU)

Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Oval Dies (Bizzy Becs), Beautiful Blooms II #3 Die Collection (PTI), Large Brads (SU), Real Red Taffeta Ribbon (SU), White Gel Pen (misc), Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug Folder (Bizzy Becs), Basic Black Marker (SU), Tombow Mono Adhesive (Penwa) and Mini Glue Dots (SU).

You can see that I have trimmed a little off the bottom of the back Elegant Eggplant layer. This was to help make the card stand up. Without it, it just kept rolling over. I had the CB Tiny Bubbles folder in my mind after seeing Bronwyn's scrummy Aero card here. Thanks for the inspiration Bronwyn. Who else thinks my wee Easter chick looks like Big Bird in a dinosaur egg? Just something that flashed through my mind as I was taking the pics.

Now I really must go get some boxes underway. The scale of the task is pretty daunting. I think I am just going to think about one room at a time...otherwise I might quickly end up down the shops in the Easter egg aisle, shopping for some comfort food!

Have a wonderful weekend.

(Blogged to: Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay, Sounds of Then - GANGgajang and Only Girl - Rihanna).

JAI Challenge #64 - CHOCOLATE....

This week's Just Add Ink challenge header said more than just 'CHOCOLATE' I think...but I'm easily distracted (especially when it comes to things with a cocoa base)!

Actually, the challenge this week is to "make a paper craft project inspired by your favourite chocolate bar wrapper".

I had one big problem to get over right away! The words 'a' and 'wrapper' were of particular concern to me. Did it mean that in polite society a girl should only have one favourite chocolate? What about if a girl had many? What about if the girl didn't agree with the Webster's Online Dictionary definition of favourite which states in part: 'one preferred above all others'? Did that mean the girl shouldn't take-part in the challenge? I guess that girl could always go out and buy lots of chocolate and re-evaluate her stance on the matter...couldn't she? It would be an effective way to overcome the problem, surely.

She didn't...go out and buy lots of chocolate that is, but it was fun thinking about it. Instead, the girl chose her current favourite. The one that was sitting on her craft desk (in large quantities), due to it being required for an Easter project for Miss 7's classmates (and the girl having over-estimated how much was required...Oooooops ;-).

Talking about yourself in the third person is supposed to be a sign of madness isn't it? Oh well....I am sure mad people eat chocolate too, so its all good.

Here is the card I made...can you guess what chocolate was on my desk?

How about now...?

YUMMY!

List of Ingredients:

Cardstock: Whisper White and Elegant Eggplant (SU)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko)
Stamps: Think Big Favorites #2 (PTI)
Accessories: 2008 and 2009 Bitty Dot Basics (PTI), Basic Pearl Jewels (SU), Flower Fusion #1 Die (PTI), Flower Fusion #2 Die (PTI), Beautiful Blooms II #3 Die Collection Set (PTI), Spellbinders Dies (can't remember what these ones are called...some sort of label methinks), Tombow Mono Adhesive (Penwa) and Mini Glue Dots (SU).

I had the eggs on hand for the following, very simple project...

I had left these till the very last minute (UGH)...but as today is going to be the last day for this year that the kids attend 'close' education, as opposed to 'distance' education on the boat ;-), I thought I should at least try and make an effort. They took me about an hour to make last night...I started at 9:30 pm!!!!! WHY do I do this to myself? Simple...I wanted to watch Grey's first. PRIORITIES eh?

The small glassine bags are from Sugar B. Supplies on Etsy. I also couldn't resist whacking a bunch of Washi Tape on the back to stick them together. Have I mentioned how much I LOV.......Hmmmm, I think I probably have. Sorry.

Gotta run. Thumper wants food, and then I have to high-tail it to school for the end-of-term assembly, where Miss 7 is going to play some piano. I am SO excited for her.

Have a lovely day,

(Blogged to: Total Control - The Motels, Mickey - Toni Basil and Solid Rock - Goanna).

It's Raining Easter Baskets....

...well, it looks like it is about to rain here, and we sure are inundated with Easter baskets!

As if it were not enough that Miss 5 had made one at Preschool, and another at Daycare this week....I've just finished a bunch for her and some friends to have on Sunday when we have an Easter BBQ and egg hunt at our place. You can never have enough Easter baskets I say!


I used the backing cardboard sheet that comes with each pack of Designer Series Paper (DSP) as the base of the Easter basket, scoring it at 4 inch intervals along the horizontal and vertical. With a few 4 inch incisions, this folds into a 4 x 4 inch square box without a lid. I have stuck it together using a liberal quantity of Sticky Strip....because we all know it is going to see some SERIOUS chocolate egg-hunting action on Sunday.

I have adhered 4 inch-square pieces of Sweet Always DSP onto opposite sides of the box, and trimmed the top with a 1.5 inch strip of a coordinating design, also from the Sweet Always DSP pack. The handle is a 1 inch wide strip of textured Chocolate Chip cardstock, which has been stuck down at each end using SNAIL adhesive, then firmly secured using a Pewter Jumbo eyelet. This baby is not coming off! It will need to be ripped apart!!! ;-).


I have made name labels for each child's basket using a rectangular piece of retired Chipboard, covered in Sweet Always DSP and sanded back. The name has been applied using Rub-ons, and then attached to the basket with a piece of Grosgrain ribbon, through another jumbo eyelet. The label is also decorated with various other coordinating Grosgrain ribbons in Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink and Pumpkin Pie.


On the other side of the basket I have placed a punch art rabbit. I got the idea for this rabbit from a fellow Aussie Stampin' Up! demo, Liam. Thanks so much for the lovely idea Liam!

I have used Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette cardstock for my wabbit, not to mention a whole host of punches including: small and large oval, 1 1/4 inch circle, scallop circle and 1/4 inch circle. His eyes are googly eyes that I got from the local craft shop, and I have adhered him to the basket using dimensionals.

That's pretty much it! They have taken a while, but they look so cute! Hope the kids enjoy using them.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter long weekend, if you are celebrating this weekend.

Best wishes,
Sam.

Bunny Hugs Easter Basket

I made this Easter basket using a fry-box pattern I found on Splitcoaststampers, by rapples.

The colours I have used are Regal Rose and Tempting Turquoise. I have stamped Big Blooms from the Summer Mini catalogue on the basket using Regal Rose Classic Ink. The back edge of the basket has been scalloped using the Corner Rounder punch. I have punched circles of Rose Red cardstock using the 1/4 inch circle punch, and adhered these along the inside front and side edges of the basket.

The handle is a strip of Rose Red cardstock that has scalloped edges, and is affixed on either end using Rose Red brads. I have punched holes along the handle using the 1/8 inch circle punch and threaded Turquoise Grosgrain ribbon through them. There is also Turquoise ribbon wrapped around the basket.

The bunny from Bunny Hugs has been stamped in Black Stazon ink on Watercolour paper and coloured in using an Aquapainter and Watercolour Wonder Crayons. The image has been punched out using the 1 and 1/4 inch circle punch, affixed to a circular Aluminium Edge Tag and stuck to the front of the basket using a Pop-Up Glue Dot.

Bunny Hugs for Easter

Ok, I know its early, but hey...they've been selling Hot Cross buns at the supermarket since just after Christmas, so I'm not the only one!!!

Cardstock colours are: Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, Cool Caribbean and Going Gray. The larger Barely Banana layer is mounted up on Dimensionals. The next layer is Cool Caribbean and has been stamped with the Flannel Plaid background stamp, in Cool Caribbean Classic Ink. The two pink ribbons are from the Flirty Ribbon Originals pack in the Summer Mini Catalogue, and are anchored with Barely Banana brads.

The smaller Barely Banana layer is also mounted up on Dimensionals, and has been torn at the edges using The Tearing Edge. The tag is in Pretty in Pink and has been stamped with the 'Easter wishes' sentiment from the Bunny Hugs stamp set in the Summer Mini. It was punched using the Tag Punch, and anchored using another Barely Banana brad.

The Going Gray layer is also mounted up on Dimensionals (yes, I used about half a sheet for this card). The bunny, basket and eggs are all from the Bunny Hugs stamp set, and have been stamped in Stazon on Watercolour Paper and coloured using an Aquapainter and Classic Ink in Going Gray, Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana and Cool Caribbean.

Thanks for taking a peek!
Sam.