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