Babies, babies, babies

So many of my friends are expecting babies in the next month or so, I thought I'd better get the jump on putting together some ideas for these precious arrivals. Most of them have found out they are having girls, so I don't have to stick to a neutral colour scheme.

This first card I actually toyed with making for the Poppin' Pastels swap I'm involved with this month (check out Nerine's that she was going to include, but decided against it - it's gorgeous!). I decided against it, even though I really like it, as the card I am swapping showcases the technique a bit better - I will post it soon.

In true baby girl style, this one uses Pretty in Pink card, as well as Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa. Close to Cocoa and Barely Banana ink was used, as well as Versamark for the pastels to stick to. Bundle of Joy and Paisley provided the images and background respectively and it was finished with Barely Banana eyelets (set with the crop-o-dile of course) and light pink gigham ribbon.

We have had one eagerly awaited bundle arrive already, so this is the card to celebrate:

The colour scheme was actually inspired by a beautiful sunset I saw a couple of weeks ago while have dinner with Luana out on the balcony - we get some awesome colours up here - and is Pale Plum and Apricot Appeal. I used Stampin' Write markers to colour the giraffe from Bundle of Joy, and the name is courtesy of Alphabits - thank goodness for the Stamp-a-ma-jig!! Cream grosgrain ribbon (trying to finish existing stock before purchasing Very Vanilla) and a buckle from HodgePodge hardware provided the little something to finish it off.

Hopefully I will get to meet little Alexandra really soon. The next arrival is due early-mid July, but the twins could make an appearance at any stage! Will keep you posted!

Warm Penguins

I am involved in yet another swap at the moment (keeps my inspiration and motivation going) which needs to involve the technique Poppin' Pastels. When I first joined the challenge I thought, yep I can do this no probs, but it has proved far more challenging that I thought.... As you have probably gathered, I prefer bold, strong lines in my card making, so the subtle effect of the pastels has been a bit hard to get my head around. I had this great idea for using the penguin from Wild About You but it didn't quite work how I thought, so here's what I ended up creating:

I still used the penguin from Wild About You with 2 of them 'coloured' using pastels (Almost Amethyst and Apricot Appeal) and 1 stamped with Almost Amethyst ink and attached using Stampin' Dimensionals. I used a cotton bud for this attempt, which I think is why I didn't quite get the effect I was after... On the middle panel, I clear embossed one of the backgrounds from Itty Bitty Backgrounds then masked the 'snow' and sponged the sky with Bashful Blue. This was mounted on Almost Amethyst card, and the Bashful Blue card base was masked and I sponged on the snow with Whisper White Craft Ink, then used the same background stamp for more falling snow. I finished the card with a greeting from Like it a Latte (very hard to see in this picture sorry - 'sending warm thoughts your way...') stamped in Almost Amethyst.

I think I managed to salvage this one!

Sending warm thoughts to all of you lovely people who are experiencing the chilly weather at the moment!

Ta Nanny!!

I've been meaning to post this card on here for a while, but it has eluded me thus far. Mum came up a few weeks ago to look after Luana while I attended a workshop in Darwin. Both of them had an absolute ball and one little person was very spoiled... I sent this down to Mum just to say thanks. And Luana wrote in it too!

The colour wheel provided the colour combo: Rose Red and Barely Banana card with Certainly Celery Prints DSP. The ta! is Cameo Coral using the Big Deal Alphabet. All in the Family and Family Favourites were used for the little girl. She was coloured in using Soft Subtles Stampin' Write markers and ink pads with the aqua painter. The round tab punch was used to create the circle, and the slit punch was used for the scalloping.

Thanks Mum!! Can't wait to see you again really soon!

Orange....

My friend Mel set a colour challenge earlier this week and basically told me I had to participate (just joking Mel!). But it did provide me the inspiration to whip up a couple of cards that I'm actually quite happy with, even though orange really isn't a colour I usually use.

Mel set the colour challenge of Only Orange, Basic Black and Whisper White using a gorgeous photo as inspiration. This is the first card I came up with, which actually kills 3 birds with one stone: Mel's challenge, my friend's birthday and Nerine's challenge (make a birthday card for a 30-40 year old female using at least 1 punch and at least 1 piece of ribbon).

The colours are self explanatory and I used Looks Like Spring (again!!) for the flowers - stamping off repeatedly for the background, and using the coordinating Spring Flowers Bouquet to punch out the little black and orange centre flower. Time Well Spent provided the 'friend' which was 'inked' using a Stampin' Write marker. This was finished with Only Orange eyelets (retired) set with the crop-o-dile and Basic Black grosgrain ribbon. A white gel pen was used to add a little detail to the main flower background.

I also had to make this one once I got started. It's folded 'off centre' (I don't know the proper term, but the bottom layer is about 1cm wider than the top). Once again, colours are as above and Baroque Motifs provided the images. Tangerine grosgrain ribbon (retired) on the longer part finished it off. I really like this one and want to try it with white embossing and Tempting Turquoise....

Hope you like these too Mel and Nerine!!

More Faux Tiling

When I learn a new technique, I tend to make a few different cards to try things out, and the more I do in one hit, the 'less' time through the week I'm playing (Paul gets a bit upset when I take over the dining room table.... and nothing is safe with Luana around). Anyways, a few weeks ago when playing with the faux tiling technique for Mel's demo swap (see my previous post), these area few I came up with.

I knew I wanted to do something with the fleur de lys from Carte Postal but this actually turned completely different to what I had in mind. I used River Rock, Blue Bayou (love these colours at the moment) and Whisper White card, and Purely Pomegranate and Old Olive ink. I distressed the edges of the Blue Bayou and the background is the Baroque Border wheel. I coloured a piece of Whisper White ribbon with Purely Pomegranate ink and didn't realise how long it would take for that to dry so ended up with coloured fingers!! A little 'buckle' from Antique Brass HodgePodge Hardware was used to finish it off - tying a piece of ribbon just didn't work this time! I am really happy with how this turned out - just need an envelope to fit it now...

This one turned out pretty close to what I imagined. The very cute ladybirds (big and small) are from Garden Whimsy and the friend sentiment is courtesy of the Level 1 Hostess Set For a Friend. Purely Pomegranate and Pale Plum inks were used, as well as Pale Plum and Old Olive (and Whisper White) card. The little dots underneath 'friend' and the flower were filled in using a white gel pen.

Garden Whimsy provided the inspiration for this card, and without actually meaning to, I used all the current In Colours. Card used was Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi and River Rock, and inks used were Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky - the smaller butterfly was inked with Soft Sky, then rock 'n' rolled with Blue Bayou - I like the effect. Lastly, it was finished with Wild Wasabi double stitched ribbon. This one does look better IRL.

Must go and get some sleep, but check out Stampin' Up! for the latest fabulous offers - will post more info soon. Keep your fingers crossed that I'll be able to make a few cards Sunday while Paul is out canoeing down the Katherine River (crocs and all).

Tried Tie Dying!

I have finally handed up my last assignment for my first diabetes educators subject - yay! That's why it's been a while between posts.... Another reason is that last week at work I was really busy with Mataranka S*ports and Arts Week - a fabulous week where around 200 primary school kids from mainly the Katherine East region came together for a week of fun, sports and arts. And they didn't even realise they were learning!! I was there to hold the food sessions for 2 days, and we had some great creations emerge - we made Vegie Man faces with the younger kids and mini pizzas with the older ones. In the breaks (which those of you who work with kids know aren't really breaks) it was great to catch up with the other activities, one of which was tie dying. I have never done this before, so I took the opportunity to give it a go and tie dye a water bottle bag. (Thanks Caroline!!) This is my effort (not bad for a first timer I thought!), but as predicted, it has been claimed by Luana!