A Little Christmas

Hello!

I'm really not sure where time disappears to these days.... my baby is almost 6 months old and my big girl only has 3 weeks left of Preschool!

Whilst I've been busy with life in general, I have been making a few cards; I have a new page on Facebook too (Natasha's Creations - look for the mermaid card) that I've been posting too a bit more than here.

Today, I wanted to share with you a Christmas card I made for a recent workshop - super simple but I think it looks really effective.

Must be off to bed, but enjoy and have a great week!

Thanks for visiting

Just Add .... Baby

The challenge this week over at Just Add Ink is Just Add.... Baby. My baby is the whole reason I haven't been crafting much lately :) But, I thought I'd share with you the thank you card I made for the midwife who helped welcome our darling Bethanie into the world - she was fabulous!

I used the Clean and Simple Fall To Layout 140 and pulled the colours from the Nursery Necessities DSP - with Pretty in Pink as the base colour of course! The little bodysuit from the (now retired) hostess set A Slice of Life is a bit cute and a couple of buttons next to the Family Phrases greeting just add that little something.

Thanks for visiting and hopefully I'll have a bit more to share with you soon!

Mermaid Punchart

Hello!

I did not realise it has been 2 months since my last post. Being a Mum of 2 is certainly keeping me busy, but I wouldn't have it any other way :) My little cherub is now 3 months old, and my big girl is 5!! I don't know where the time has gone. Here they are:

We have had a lot of birthdays to celebrate over the last couple of months, and I must confess I am running VERY behind with the cards. I have been managing to get cards made for the parties Luana has been invited to though... It's just the cards I have to post that are incredibly belated...

This card today was inspired by the latest Just Add Ink challenge Just Add.... Something from your stash, as well as the birthday theme of Under the Sea (or more specifically, mermaids!). I pulled out my Trip Flower Punch (which I haven't used until now) and Soft Sky cardstock and ink for the challenge. I tried to look for a punch art mermaid online, but only found one which didn't really fit with what I had in my head, so I managed to put together this lovely lady. She was a little fiddly (with the scallops for scales) but must say I am rather pleased with her! And the birthday girl loved her too which was most important!

Must be off and try to get something productive done before bed.

Thanks for visiting!

Rock'n'Roll Melon Mambo Butterflies

I must apologise for my lack of blogging this month - but I have a great excuse! I had a very successful night at my craft desk the last weekend of May and had every intention of photographing and posting the cards on the Monday, but instead I welcomed our second beautiful daughter into the world - Bethanie. Since then, I've been caught up being a Mum-of-two and not knowing where time disappears to!

Here's our gorgeous girl at one week old - I don't know where the last month has gone! If you would like to see more photos of my cherub, check out this post at Katrina Barr Photography's blog.

I have managed to make a few cards, and made tonight's last weekend for a little friend of Luana's birthday. The girly colours and 'garden' inspiration courtesy of the Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge were just perfect, and the flowers in the (rotated) Inkspirations sketch suited the rock'n'rolled butterflies brilliantly.

Not going to write a long post this time - must try to make the most of the time I can get to the craft desk while Bethanie is sleeping and I'm not!!

Thanks for visiting,

Natasha

Super Cool

I guess there is an advantage to playing the waiting game at home on maternity leave, and that's being able to have a bit more time for crafting (in between naps and being a SAHM again that is!). This 6x6" page allowed me to play along with two challenge blogs I love but have not had the time or energy to play along with for SO long - Just Add Ink and Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

This page is for Paul and I used the lovely cool colours of this week's JAI challenge to complement the "Super Cool" title and the layout from SSSC was perfect - thanks! I love this photo of Paul and Luana. They were playing around with their sunnies one day, being "Super Cool", hence the title!

I kept it quite simple - I don't like 'crowding' my little pages and the sparkly thickers accents worked well I think. I was thinking there needed to be something in the bottom left corner, but after a few days, I think I'm happy with how it is... After all, a very wise crafter once said "if you keep fussing with a project, leave it!" (thanks Karen G!).

Have to do the preschool run in a bit, but hopefully I'll get a bit more done at my craft desk before then.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Tidy Alphabet (retired)

Card: Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizzazz Patterns DSP, Whisper White

Ink: Perfect Plum, Baja Breeze

Other: Scallop Edge Punch, Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, Thickers Alphas (non-SU), paper piercer

Two Little Birdies

Spring has Sprung in the Northern Hemisphere (although it's getting colder here - single digits most nights, but I guess that's what you get living in the desert!) and the girls over at Stampin' Royalty are celebrating by having a bird themed challenge. I don't have many bird stamps, but I do have the two-step bird punch which I haven't used much... so I thought I would share this darling card that I made for my Auntie's recent engagement. Being birds, it also fits with this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge - In the Garden.

I kept it quite simple ans was inspired by the colours from the Elegant Soiree DSP - Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede. I punched out two birdies and mirrored them (ie used the opposite sides of the DSP for the bodies and wings) and popped them up with dimensionals over a second generation stamped Baja Breeze flourish from the SAB set Bliss. The greeting was from the Summer Mini set, Well Scripted and that's the hardest parts of the card! I also sponged the Very Vanilla with Baja Breeze and distressed the Soft Suede to soften the overall look of the card.

Hope you're having a great weekend wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Bliss (retired), Well Scripted (retired)

Card: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Elegant Soiree DSP

Ink: Baja Breeze, Soft Suede

Other: Two-step Bird Punch

Another Baby Shower Card

So many of my friends and colleagues have had babies recently, or are expecting in the next month or so, so expect LOTS of baby cards on here over the next months - including my own announcement cards.... yes, we are well and truly on the countdown now!!

So, on the theme of babies, today's offering was made for a colleague's baby shower. She is expecting a little boy mid-June and this week's challenge over at Annabelle Stamps is Say It In..... Monochromatic. I used this as inspiration and pulled out Night of Navy, Marina Mist and Bashful Blue - what a winning boy combo!! Loved pulling out my markers for this one, and finding Punches Three again!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Punches Three (retired)

Cardstock: Marina Mist, Whisper White, Night of Navy, Summer Picnic DSP (retired)

Ink: Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue

Other: Wide Oval Punch, Subtles Brads

Turquoise Pick a Petal

I know it's very late in the year to be finishing a calendar, but I'm almost done with Mum and Dad's! My lack of energy after work the last few months has really taken it's toll on my creativity and productivity...... Fingers crossed I'll be able to get a bit more creating done in a couple weeks time before our life changes completely again.

Today I made the title page for Mum and Dad's calendar using this week's bright and cheery Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge, and Just Add Ink's Just Add a Flower for inspiration.

I haven't used Pick a Petal for ages, and thought this colour combo was the perfect opportunity. I teamed the Tempting Turquoise petals with one of the huge Sweet Stitches Designer buttons from the current Autumn-Winter Mini in Daffodil Delight for the centre - pretty cute, huh? All mounted on a background of Pretty in Pink that had been wheeled with a retired wheel that I can't for the life of me remember the name of (and I haven't yet unpacked all my old catalogues to look it up), with the edges scored and left plain. Of course, a calendar title page needs the year on it, so Timeless Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits came to the rescue again.

Thanks for visiting!

Natasha

Stamps: Pick a Petal

Card: Pretty in Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight, Pink Flamingo DSP (retired)

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Pretty in Pink

Other: Sweet Stitches Designer Buttons, Timeless Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits

Happy Easter 2011

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, and for those of you here in Australia that you were able to enjoy our extra-long weekend. In the NT we're a bit lucky and also have a long weekend this coming weekend.

I didn't actually have time to do any crafting over the break as I was visiting family, but I was able to buy up BIG at the KaiserCraft clearance store!! I'm almost glad I don't live any closer as that could be very dangerous :) I did make up some Easter cards before we left though for our nearest and dearest, using this weeks Stampin' Celebration challenge for inspiration - Easter Eggs of course, and I also pulled the colours of Pink Pirouette and Cool Carribean.

This card proved quite a challenge for me - I really didn't know what to do. The trusty egg from A Good Egg came to the rescue using retired Candy Lane DSP! I teamed it with 'Happy Easter' from Well Scripted which featured in the retired Summer Mini and the lovely butterfly from Thanks for Caring in the current Autumn-Winter Mini. I used Pink Pirouette and Orchid Opulence markers to ink up the butterfly and rock'n'rolled the wings in Cool Carribean - I was very happy with the result. The wing was popped up with a dimensional. The background was wheeled with Baroque Border in Crumb Cake on card of the same and mounted on a Cool Carribean base. I pulled some Orchid grosgrain ribbon out of the bottom of my ribbon box to provdie the finishing touch.

And here are the little bundles of eggs I quickly whipped up for colleagues and child care and preschool teachers - cute, if I do say so myself!

Enjoy the rest of your week and thanks for visiting!!

Stamps: A Good Egg, Well Scripted (retired), Thanks for Caring , Baroque Border Wheel
Card: Cool Carribean (retired), Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Candy Lane DSP (retired)

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Cool Carribean (retired), Orchid Opulence (retired), Crumb Cake
Other: Orchid Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)

Flower Bunch

The weather is getting cooler here in the Centre, but I know it's warming up on the other side of the world, so it's fun to play with all the Spring themed challenges that are around at the moment.

This bunch of flowers is for a friend of mine who lives quite some distance away - we did actually see her on her actual birthday, but as we were away from home I didn't have her card made. Luana helped her plant some flowers while we were visiting so a flower pot card was perfect for her - using this weeks Colour Q challenge for the colours, and Stampin' Royalty's Spring challenge as inspiration.

I found the tutorial for this flower pot card on Splitcoast Stamper's quite some time ago, but didn't save the link - sorry. I have made my own adjustments over time too :) I inked up the large flower from Punched Posies (hostess - retired) in Tangerine Tango, then rock 'n' rolled it in Cherry Cobbler, and used the Fancy Flower punch to save me cutting!! The 5 petal flower from the same stamp set was stamped in Kiwi Kiss ink on cardstock the same colour and punched out using the 5 petal flower punch for the leaves. The centre of the middle flower is a 1" circle of Cherry Cobbler flower punched out and attached with a dimensional. The pot is Kraft/Crumb Cake cardstock and tied together with some retired Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon. Finally, I stamped Happy Birthday from Well Scripted (retired) in Cherry Cobbler straight onto the pot.

I hope this little piece of Spring brings a smile to my friend's face - and yours too!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Punched Posies (retired), Well Scripted (retired)

Card: Crumb Cake, Kiwi Kiss, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Cherry Cobbler

Punches: Fancy Flower, 5 Petal Flower, Scallop Edge, 1" Circle

Other: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon

Welcome Henry

Hello All,

I hope you've had a lovely relaxing weekend. Tonight I have a couple of cards to share with you - this first one is to welcome a gorgeous little boy into the world; the son of a friend of mine from my Uni days (many moons ago).

I used the colour challenge from Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge - it's been a while since I've played over there - and ended up using almost all retired product.... Isn't is great when you can use bits and bobs up?!

I love the giraffe from Wild About You (retired), and he suited the So Saffron perfectly. I edged the Whisper White in Not Quite Navy ink, and mounted it on Not Quite Navy card. The card base was Sahara Sand, which I stamped with the background circle stamp from Delight in Life (retired) and mounted a panel of retired So Saffron Prints DSP on this, onto which I directly stamped Henry's name using Best Friends Alphabet (retired) in Not Quite Navy ink. A couple of stars and So Saffron brads provided the finishing touch.

Thanks for visiting tonight!

Stamps: Wild About You (retired), Best Friends Alphabet (retired), Delight in Life (retired)

Card: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, So Saffron Prints DSP (retired)

Ink: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron

Other: Small Star Punch (retired), Subtles brads

Sing

Tonight I have yet another 6x6 page to share with you. This one I am ever thankful to the latest Inkspirations Challenge for - this sketch was perfect!! (Although I did rotate it)

I'm not a fan of red and pink together, but this photo needed it! Luana just HAD to wear her pink headband with this dress, so I ran with those colours - Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Night of Navy and Whisper White. A Scallop Circle from the Big Shot matted the photo, and I wanted to keep with the music theme, so used the Music Notes wheel for the panel across the page. This was layered with (retired) Real Red Polka Dot ribbon - the reverse side - and Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon. I pulled out some retired Berry Bliss DSP for the background - the watermark flowers provided just the softness I was after - on a thin Pretty in Pink border and mounted everything on Night of Navy. Lucky last, the Big Shot came to the rescue again for the title!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Stamps: Music Notes Wheel

Card: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Berry Bliss DSP (retired)

Ink: Night of Navy

Big Shot Dies: Scallop Circle, Timelss Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits

Other: Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain (retired), Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon

For Mamma

My Mamma is having an operation this week, so I thought I'd make a card for her to let her know we're thinking of her at this time.

She really likes earthy tones, so I used this week's Inkspirations Colour challenge - although the Poppy Parade did throw me a bit.... but I think this has worked!

I stamped the For You stamp from Punch Bunch (Sale-a-Bration; retired) three times in each of the colours - Poppy Parade, More Mustard and Cajun Craze - punching out the scallop circle, then the circle and fussy cutting the flowers (the big one also had a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds added). I then inked up the Sanded background stamp with More Mustard and Cajun Craze, and created a faux suede strip in Poppy Parade. The edges of the Very Vanilla were sponged in Cajun Craze, and everything mounted on background card of the same. A few Antique Brass brads and some paper piercing finished it all off.

We're thinking of you Mamma and hope you're back on your feet super soon!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Punch Bunch (SAB retired), Sanded

Card: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Poppy Parade

Ink: Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Poppy Parade

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle

Other: Metallic Brads, Dazzling Diamonds

Magical Pony

I am ever so slowly catching up on my backlog of cards that I have - February is now done!! Just have March and the 5 birthdays for this week (yes, that's right, 5 birthdays this week!), plus finishing my calendars..... maybe by Easter.....

This is one of the cards I made last night for a special friend of Luana's who turned 5 (better late than never I say), and I am rather happy with it, I must say. Many thanks to the latest Mojo Monday sketch and ColourQ Challenge for the inspiration.

I wanted to make this card just a touch more special than usual as turning 5 is a big deal!! The pony from Pony Party was stamped in Early Espresso and I coloured her mane using a Pink Pirouette marker (and her hooves) and blender pen with ink pads for the Crumb Cake and Early Espresso (so the colour was a bit softer) before adding some sparkle with Dazzling Diamonds (sparkle always makes things more special! and you can *just* see it in the pic). I also very lightly sponged around the grass in Certainly Celery. The rest just really fell into place from the sketch - such a great one to use - thanks girls! I did reach for a little bit of retired product in the Certainly Celery Prints DSP and Pink Pirouette striped ribbon (actually the first time it has been used.... oops).

Happy Birthday to a very grown up girl - you will be receiving this in the post VERY soon.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Pony Party, Great Friend

Card: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Prints DSP (retired)

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery

Other: Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain ribbon (retired), Dazzling Diamonds, Scallop Trim Edge Punch, Timeless Type Alphabet Junior Sizzlits

Happiness

My goodness, time does fly.... I didn't realise it had been so long since I posted on here. The last six or so weeks have definitely been full-on; we had a couple of great weeks away catching up with family and friends, we moved house (last time for a LONG time now!) and yes, I'm growing bigger every day! Less than 7 weeks of work now. I have also been trying hard (when I have the energy) to finish some pages for calendars before the middle of the year this year! I *may* just get there (and then should start next year's calendars so this doesn't happen again!).

This fortnight over at jac-inks Papercraft Challenges, the challenge is to use any combination of the current In Colours. So, I used the colour of Luana's dress as inspiration and used Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz for this page (with a hint of Early Espresso) - gorgeous combo if I do say so myself! I used markers to ink up 'happiness' from the Tres Chic (retired) background stamp for the title and the flower down the bottom was created using the fabulous line flower from Punched Posies, which is only available until tomorrow! I am really happy with how this page turned out - pure happiness! Thanks for visiting. Stamps: Tres Chic (retired), Punched Posies (Level 2 Hostess - Summer Mini), Great Friend Card: Blushing Bride DSP, Early Espresso, Whisper White Ink: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz Other: Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brad

Love is in the Air!!

There are so many heart, love and Valentine related challenges around at the moment, you can't help but smile! I haven't yet made Paul's card and the day will be lucky to be acknowledged in our house as it will be a SUPER busy day for us (we're moving into our OWN home!). However, I do have a love card to share with you that fits a number of challenges....

I have used the hearts, Rose Red and chocolate elements of this weeks Stampin' Celebration inspiration - don't those cakes look scrummy?! And the colours also fit the first challenge for jac-inks Papercraft Challenges (neutrals plus one) - go check them out!! Just Add Ink, Stampin' Royalty and Pixie Dust Studio all have love and heart challenges this week, so I just had to throw my hat in the ring too.

I am really happy with how the card turned out. I have previously only used Sense of Time for masculine cards, but thought the clocks were perfect for this sentiment from Occasional Greetings. I turned my hand to collage stamping again and distressed and inked the edges to keep with the vintage theme. I highlighted the key words of the sentiment using my Rose Red marker, and coloured the rest with the Chocolate Chip one. The main heart was stamped off in Rose Red then rock'n rolled to give a bit of dimension and 'warmth' and a couple of stamped off hearts were stamped on the clock and background. The brads in the corners and the middle of the clock added the finishing touch.

I'm doubt I'll get back on here over the weekend, so I wish you all a wonderful Valentines Day with those you care about.

Thanks for visiting!





Stamps: Sense of Time, Occasional Greetings, I {Heart} Hearts
Card: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Rose Red
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red
Other: Brights Brads, Jumbo Brads

Magical Princess

We attended another party for one of Luana's child care friends today, and my brief for the card was 'princess' and 'pink'. At least this one made the grade this time!! (The last time I made a card for a birthday party I was told it wasn't pretty enough!). Thank you to Annabelle Stamps for the awesome sketch and Scrapmaster's Colour Combos for the colours!

I did add a tiny bit of Certainly Celery so the princess wasn't 'floating' and some Blush Blossom for her skin, but apart from that stuck to the colour combo - perfect for a pretty princess!! I used my Stampin' Write markers to colour this lovely lady and added some sparkle to her crown and wand with Dazzling Diamonds.

Hope you have had a great weekend and thanks for visiting!!

Stamps: Pretty Princess (retired), Scribble Jumbo Wheel, Pony Party

Card: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Regal Rose Patterns DSP (retired)

Ink: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Crumb Cake, Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom

Other: Word Window punch, corner rounder punch, Circle Scissors Plus, Dazzling Diamonds, Subtles Brads

Let's Party!

Stampin' Celebration is another blog I check every week, and it has been WAY too long since I've played along. They have the most awesome inspiration collages and I have been lucky enough to be featured as a Pick of the Party a couple of times :)

This week, they've had a bit of a makeover and are celebrating in a big way, so I wanted to try real hard to play along to show my support. Here's the inspiration pic - birthday!!

I decided to run with the party theme and share with you a couple of 6x6 pages I made for Luana's third (Party Time - above) and second (happy birthday - below) birthdays.

Party Time links in a bit more with the bright colours of the balloons in the inspiration pic. I used one of my go to stamp sets, Eastern Blooms, with my Stampin' Write markers to add highlights to parts of the petals after they had been stamped off - love the two tone effect!

I must admit this would have to be one of my favourite pages; so bright and cheery - just like my girl!!

This page obviously links in with the balloons (2 balloons for birthday #2) and also the more muted colours of the bottom left pic. There's a little bit of sparkle on the balloons too which the photo hasn't picked up too well.

Head on over and visit the girls at Stampin' Celebration - it's a lot of fun!!

Thanks for visiting!

Bright Birthday

Today I have a card for you that was inspired by two challenge blogs I look at every week but don't get to play along with as much as I'd like. The sketch was provided by Papercraft Star:

and the colour combo by Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Challenge:

I adore these colours together (and of course, there's Rich Razzleberry). I pulled out quite a bit of retired product for this one, and my Printed Petals which hasn't seen ink since Convention - oops. I am really happy with how this turned out - thanks girls!

This bright, happy card will be making it's way to Germany this week for a dear friend's birthday (that I remember every year, and make a card for but never send. It will happen this year!).

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Printed Petals, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Card: Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Regal Rose

DSP: Pink Flamingo (retired), Regal Rose Printed (retired)

Other: Word Window Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Playground Buttons (retired), Brights Brads, Fairytale Ribbons (retired)

First Dance Concert

Happy New Year to you!! I hope 2011 is filled with love, laughs and adventure!

Today I have one of my favourite pages that I did of Luana just before her first dance concert. She was SO excited!! As her hair is so curly (and short then) I wasn't able to put it up in a 'proper' ballerina bun, so I curled it as tight as I could. She adored dressing up and wearing make up too! I was a VERY proud Mum that night, albeit a little sad as Paul couldn't make.

I have had this page done for quite some time, but not posted it. Stampin' Royalty gave me the prompt this week with their scrapbooking challenge! Thanks girls.

Scrapping this page was a little harder than I first thought; I think it was the shimmery dress, so I ended up with a black background with Brushed Silver, Tempting Turquoise and Melon Mambo highlights, and lots of Dazzling Diamonds!! My memory is a little fuzzy at the moment, so I won't write a recipe, but if you want details, let me know and I'll put them in.

Must head off to bed as we're back to work tomorrow after the long weekend.

Thanks for visiting!