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!

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

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

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

Welcome Emmy

Wow! Two posts in two days - maybe this is the start of what used to be :0) It's amazing what wonders a four day weekend can provide!

As I said yesterday, I have quite a backlog of cards to get through (better late than never!) and this card was made to welcome a darling little girl into the world who is the daughter of a good (school) friend of mine. My friend is NOT a fan of pink - and I did warn her when Emmy was born that it is very difficult to get little girl clothes that aren't pink... So, I turned to the trusty Sweet Always DSP for the colour palette (still girly and bright pinks are ok). Emmy turned out to be a bit longer than I thought with the Big Deal Alphabet, so the card evolved into the latest Just Add Ink sketch (which is fab I must say).

I stamped 'e' a second time, fussy cut it out and popped it up to add a little more dimension; some sponging softened the edges. I added the 'not-pink' flowers from Flower fusion and a flower brad, and the thin Chocolate Chip ribbon from Seaside provided the final touch.

The post office is only open two days this week up here, so I'd better get a wriggle on and get this parcel sorted so it does reach Emmy before her first birthday.

Thanks for visiting!




Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet (retired)
Card: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP (retired), Sweet Always DSP (retired)
Ink: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie
Other: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Flower Fusion (retired), flower brad, Seaside Ribbon Originals (retired)

Sweet Elephant

We still have a few boxes to be unpacked (most of them being my craft boxes), but I still found enough to be able to make a card to celebrate the birth of a baby girl. It's a bit of a homage to retired product too - I'm really going to miss having Wild About You in the catalogue - it will still be getting a workout from me, and Sweet Always DSP, well, maybe I should have ordered a few more packs to keep me going!

I used the Just Add Ink sketch challenge as inspiration - isn't the bow so sweet?

Using the Sweet Always DSP for colour inspiration, I stamped the elephant twice - cutting out just the ear from one and mounting it with dimensionals. The background stamps on the small panel from Always third generation stamped in Regal Rose and Pumpkin Pie so they didn't over power the elephant, which was also mounted using dimensionals. The corners of the panel were rounded with the Corner Rounder punch and I used the Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon for the cute little bow - it's fabulous to work with!

Hopefully I'll get more unpacked this weekend and have a bit more to share with you over the next few weeks.

Thanks for visiting!









Stamps: Wild About You, Always

Card: Pink Pirouette, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Always DSP

Ink: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie
Other: Corner Rounder Punch, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon

Helping Hudson Challenge 7 - Sketch

This week is the final week for the Helping Hudson fundraiser and I was so pleased to read today that Hudson will receive his KidWalker!!!

I've played along with all three challenges this week (and am putting my entries in by the skin of my teeth). This first one was a sketch challenge, which I paired with the current Just Add Ink Colour Challenge.

My very first thought when I saw these colours was Christmas, so I decided to run with it, but I did add a bit of Very Vanilla....

I have used the lovely Snow Swirled set, with the Real Red tree as the feature. I added some sparkle with Dazzling Diamonds, but that hasn't come up well in the photo (will try to take a better one tomorrow morning). I also stamped off some snowflakes after inking them up with Chocolate Chip ink for the background. The panel was edged with Chocolate Chip ink and mounted on the same cardstock, and a greeting and some Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon finished the job!

I have two more posts tonight, but well done the the Helping Hudson team!!

Thanks for visiting.


Stamps: Snow Swirled
Card: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Other: Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds

Helping Hudson and Just Add Ink

The girls over at Just Add Ink are supporting the Helping Hudson fundraiser and this week have set the weekly challenge theme of 'Wheels' to tie in with it.

I paired this with the sketch challenge from Helping Hudson to create this gorgeous (if I do say so myself!) pegasus card for a very special little girl. The circles and the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel as the background meet the JAI criteria!

I used a blender pen to add colour to the mane, tail, wings and hooves and lots of Dazzling Diamonds to make it that bit more magical!

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to head over to the Helping Hudson blog to lend your support.




Stamps: Pony Party (Autumn Winter Mini), So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Card: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White
Ink: Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery
Other: Circle Scissors Plus, Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Dazzling Diamonds

Asian Simplicity

I have been itching to ink up my new Asian Artistry stamp set but hadn't quite found the right project until it was time to make a friend's birthday card. She lived in Japan for quite some time and her decor is definitely Asian inspired, so this was the stamp set for her card.

Also, I knew this was the set to use when I saw the lovely sketch at Just Add Ink this week:

and the Inkspirations colour challenge was just right too:

I wanted simplicity to be THE feature of this card, so just popped up the little birdie, swiped the Whisper White in Old Olive ink and ran my fingernail along the Rich Razzleberry to add a touch of texture.

I must apologise for the dark photo, but as those of you in Australia know, it has been SO cold here in the Alice the last few days (coldest day in 66 years yesterday!!) and added to that natural light has not been abundant due to all the clouds hanging around... The Todd is almost flowing again though.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Asian Artistry (Level 2 Hostess Set, Autumn/Winter Mini), Starring You

Card: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive

Fifth Avenue Rose with Dimension

I really should be heading to bed, but I'll just share this card with you tonight too...

For the first time, I have been a bit organised and actually registered to enter a couple of cards in the local show.... then the hard part was deciding which cards to actually put in; I haven't been to an Alice Springs Show, so have no idea what the standard is like or what the judges look for. Anyways, this is one of the cards I put together as an option, but it didn't make the cut (Paul preferred a different one).... but it fits a couple of challenges: Just Add Ink - Just Add Patterned Paper and ABC - X is for Xtra Dimension (there are 4 layers to that rose - I tried 6 but it looked a bit weird!!).

I used last weeks Mojo Monday Sketch (#144) as a basis. The satin ribbon is folded a bit at the edges, but the square panels are a bit big to show the full effect.

I'm quite happy with how this one turned out (especially as it was a late night effort). I just guess Paul doesn't like flowery/girly cards :)

Thanks again for visiting!

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral

Card: Kraft, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Urban Oasis DSP

Ink: Baja Breeze

Other: Vintage Brads, Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Fashion District Rubons (retired)

Tini's New House!

A work colleague (and friend of mine) has just taken the plunge and entered the property market, so I made this little card for her housewarming.

I HAD to use this week's Just Add Ink Colour Challenge of Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant and Melon Mambo, because she has recently purchased a Taken with Teal coloured top for work that I adore, so I bought one too, to not wear to work - but they do have different neck lines!!

Good Neighbours was the perfect little stamp set for this card (and the first time it's seen ink to be honest), finished with some of the gorgeous Melon Mambo polka dot grograin ribbon.

Just a quick one tonight but thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Good Neighbour (retired)

Card: Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Taken with Teal, Elegant Eggplant, Melon Mambo

Other: Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon

Vintage Eggplant

When I think Vintage, I think browns and sepias, soft images and edges and distressing. Not generally my forte! However, I think this scrapbook page may qualify as vintage (it does use the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel after all) even though the only brown tone is a little bit of Sahara Sand... As you can see, there's lots of distressing, and even though the photo doesn't show it, the edge of the sentiment was sponged in Old Olive to 'take the edge off'.

Even if Vintage isn't your thing, hop on over to Just Add Ink and check out the entries for this week's Vintage challenge - they are awesome.

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel, Whimsical Words (retired)

Card: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Whisper White

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Sahata Sand

Other: Old Olive Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware

Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act 24 Plus Just Add Ink Sketch

Although I try to play along with Stacey's Curtain Call Colour Challenge each week, I have missed the last few... oops, sorry Stacey. But not this week!! Although the colours were a little challenging, I've made something in time! And it's using another favourite, retired stamp set, Terrific Tulips. I've kept it quite simple again, just a bit of two step stamping, some more glad/cling wrap background stamping, some light sponging and some distressing.

I'm not quite sure why the colours were such a challenge this week... Maybe it was the combo of Tempting Turquoise and Garden Green?? From having a squiz at the other great creations, I'm not the only one who was stretched. But that's why we play along, isn't it!

As I was working out how to play with the layout, I remembered the VERY versatile sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink this week. Just the thing!

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

Stamps: Terrific Tulips (retired), Fresh Cuts

Card: Tempting Turquoise, Kraft, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Garden Green

Other: Hemp Twine

Urban Suite

This weeks challenge over at Just Add Ink is an open one, Oh my goodness!! What to do?! I need more direction than that! I thought I'd share with you the present I made for my manager's 30th.

I wanted to make something that she could use, and had the option of using to help 'remember' the big event.

The card I made her was the inspiration for the colours and stamp set - her bridesmaids wore black, and the Urban Oasis DSP provided the additional colour palette of Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze. I wanted everything to co-ordinate too. I made this card using the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 56 - see the entire post and recipe here.

I made photo boards (inspired by Makeesha) for Paul's birthday a few years ago, so thought this would work for this occasion too. I hadn't yet added the little clip at the top to hold the photo when this was taken. The bottom Baja Breeze flower is not completely taped down, so the photo can slip under it to be held in place. The Kiwi Kiss lily has been paper tolled to add some dimension.

Lastly, I made a squash book to hold her memories of the night. These are such great little books and not too hard to put together - a tutorial can be found over at Splitcoast Stampers.

And here it is open - plenty of space to put in photos and/or write about the birthday bash. Another great thing about these books is that you can make them longer if you need to, just add an extra couple of pieces of card.

Hope you've enjoyed these projects!

Is there anything better than Chocolate?

I think this little 6x6 page is the most challenges I've managed to put in to one project - Makeesha's Inkspirations Colour Challenge, Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge, Just Add Ink Easter Challenge and ABC P is for Paper Piecing!! How about that?!

I must admit, I really like this sweet page. Luana LOVES chocolate (have no idea where she get that from {GRIN}) and I managed to get this photo of her last year devouring an egg. We had made the decision to stick to only a few little eggs from Easter Bunny... wise of us!! She didn't end up anywhere near as covered in chocolate as the year before.

These colours from Keesh are FANTASTIC and gave me the perfect excuse to pull out my retired Loves Me DSP and the coordinating Flirty ribbons. I have another project in mind for these colours, but will have to see if I have the time to make it . I thought the ribbon was a cheeky way to add the 'scallops' from Taylor's sketch too, as it's a bit frilly :)

I know it's only little, but the Easter Egg has been paper pieced - I stamped it in Chocolate Chip ink on DSP and Taken with Teal, cut the zig zags out of the Teal and pieced it together.

Can't wait to play with the photos I take this coming Easter!

Stamps: Wagon Full of Fun (Summer Mini), Tidy Alphabet (retired)

Card: Regal Rose, Taken with Teal, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

DSP: Love Always (retired)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Other: Flirty Ribbon (retired)

Just Add Ink Debut

Just Add Ink is a new challenge blog that I've noticed popping up on a few blogs - in fact one of my friends featured in the Top 5 last week!! (Yay Leah!!). I was looking for a nice bright colour combo for a colleagues birthday card today and Just Add Ink Challenge 7 provided just the inspiration...

These colours are just gorgeous together and I just had to pull out my Kaleidoscope DSP; Joy Fold cards work SO well with DSP, so the card comes together quite quickly (a bonus as I put this together today at the last minute 'cause I fell asleep early again last night).

A closer squiz at the 'holder' part - I managed to line up the petals on the circle with the petals on the greeting part of the card.

A peek at the inside.

Tini loved it, so I was quite chuffed, and she had a great afternoon!

Happy Birthday Tini (21 again!!).

Stamps: All Year Cheer II (retired), Friendship Blooms (retired)

Card: Green Galore, Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White

DSP: Kaleidoscope (Summer Mini)

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, So Saffron, Pink Passion

Punches: 1 1/4" circle, 1 3/8" circle

Other: Vintage brads, 5/8" Jumbo brads