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

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

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

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)

Baby 'K'

It's been great this week to get back into some cardmaking again and some challenges! Seriously, last week I was so tired from having a blast at Convention (not to mention the midnight hot chocolate at St Moritz cafe - YUM) that I fell asleep on the couch every day after work and my bedtime averaged 8pm.... Must be getting old... But tonight I havea sweet little card for you that I made for a colleague to take to a baby shower. Mum-to-be knows she is have a little girl, and they have chosen a name starting with K. This weeks Scrapmasters Paradise Colour Challenge is just perfect for baby girl cards (you might even see it used again over the weekend yet; plus it's been ages since I've been able to play along), and the Inkspirations sketch this week was perfect for a monogram.

Thanks for visiting!!

Stamps: Nursery Necessities, Jumbo Outline Alphabet

Card: Creamy Caramel, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla

Ink: Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle, 1 1/4" Circle

Other: Soft Subtles Brads

An Unexpected Post

I wasn't planning on being able to join in with this weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge, but I have been home today with a little girl who is not 100%. We've done a bit of resting, a bit of crafting and a bit of playing.

I must admit I was quite apprehensive about this colour combo - such bright colours! But the being woken up multiple times in the early hours of this morning must have worked for me, as I though they would work well with the citrus from Tart & Tangy and I think this latest Taylored Expressions sketch works well with the colours too.

For the base card I actually used glad/cling wrap to create the mottled effect - so happy with how it turned out!! I used the citrus stamp in the three challenge colours to represent oranges, lemon and limes :) A little bit of ribbon and a little bit of bling down the bottom and we're done!

Taylor is running a card drive over for the Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses from Sanford Medical Centre in Sioux Falls at the moment, to give cards to parents who have lost newborns. Please pop on over to her blog to check it out and donate. I will try to make a dragonfly card later in the week.

Stamps: Tart & Tangy, Best Yet (Level 1 Hostess)

Card: Green Galore, Only Orange, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Green Galore, Only Orange, Summer Sun

Other: Corner Rounder Punch, White Grosgrain Ribbon, Clear Rhinestone brads

Super Bright

You know how there are times when you think 'wow, those colours are bright'? Well, this is one of those times :) This weeks Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Combo is SUPER bright!

I think kid's birthday cards are a great excuse to use bright colours, so put these ones to work on a card for a 4 year little girl using this weeks Taylored Expressions sketch. Pink Flamingo DSP was the obvious choice for me to pull out, and I paired it with a flower from Blooms Die Cuts - big, bold and beautiful!!

Stamps: A Little Birthdy Cheer, Best Friends Numbers (retired)

Card: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Whisper White

DSP: Pink Flamingo

Ink: Pink Passion, Tempting Turquoise

Punches: Word Window, 1 3/4" circle (Summer Mini)

Other: Blooms Die Cuts, Playground buttons (Summer Mini), Real Red Polka Dot Ribbon (Summer Mini), Circle Scissors Plus (Summer Mini)

For Grandad

My Grandad's birthday was a bit over a week ago, but it has taken me a while to find the inspiration to make his card. Luana and I spoke to him on the day (he adores Luana - his only great grand-daughter at present), and he was having an ok day, which is a really good thing as it was day 4 after his most recent chemo treatment. We're still keeping our fingers crossed that this was his last.....

My inspiration finally came from Samantha's latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Combo and Makeesha's Inkspiration Inspiration challenges:

Keesh's picture made me think warm and rustic, so it worked well with the Creamy Caramel in the SPCC colours.

I thought I might try my hand at collage stamping, and I think the result has worked; I actually received a FANTASTIC response from Paul (more enthusiastic than 'that's really nice darling'!!), so I might have to try it again. I stamped a panel of Very Vanilla card with the Weathered background stamp inked in Creamy Caramel. On top of this I stamped the clock and cogs from Sense of Time in Basic Grey and Close to Cocoa respectively. After distressing the edges, I sponged them in Creamy Caramel and mounted the panel on distressed Creamy Caramel and Basic Grey panels. The background card was stamped with second-generation Weathered. The tag was created using the tag punch, just sliding the pre-cut tag in through the end, and was swiped with Creamy Caramel before adding a Jumbo Brad.

I can't wait to put this in the post now!

Stamps: Sense of Time (retired; Spring Mini), Cheer & Wishes, Weathered

Card: Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Basic Grey, Creamy Caramel

Other: Tag Punch, Aged Brass Jumbo Brad

It's Simple.... Love You

Super simple card for the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge. I'm actually trying to think ahead a bit and have been hiding this one from Paul as it is likely to end up being his Valentine's Day card!

I fuddled around a little bit with stamping the hearts (from Wagon Full of Fun) on Pretty in Pink and Apricot Appeal card in the respective colours, and then the centre part on Whisper White, but it just didn't work for me... hmmm. As you can see, I ended up stamping in those colours directly onto the Whisper White card base, having the focal heart in Real Red. I thought I'd try out using rub ons directly on to ribbon - very easy and a nice effect! For the folded part of the ribbon, I used glue dots and sticky strip in strategic locations to keep it all fastened!

What a challenge Samantha!! I really have to think with red and orange tones :)

Stamps: Wagon Full of Fun (Summer Mini)

Card: Whisper White

Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pretty in Pink, Real Red

Other: Fashion District Rub ons (retired), Real Red Wide Grosgrain Ribbon

Saffron Birthday

I'm already behind this year on birthday cards - how can that happen so early in the year?! Must be the whole increase in workload thing.... It was my Mother-in-law's birthday this weekend, and this is the first chance I've had to make her card.

I must admit, when I saw the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Combo, I thought 'how on earth am I going to work in that Only Orange?' But I must admit, I think I did ok!! I used a base of So Saffron Washington Apple DSP, teamed with Walk in the Park DSP (retired) and took it from there, with further inspiration from this week's Mojo Monday sketch.

I wanted to keep the stamped images not too bold, so pulled out Burst into Bloom which was one of the first sets I ever ordered. I stamped the larger flowers in second generation Only Orange and the greeting in first. The double flowers are held together with an Only Orange eyelet (still have quite the stash of eyelets!), and some So Saffron ribbon (from the recent ribbon bundle promotion) provided the finishing touch.

When I finish the present, this card will be winging it's way down south, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity tonight to catch up with the other cards I need to make!!

Stamps: Burst into Bloom (retired), A Little Birthday Cheer

Card: So Saffron, Only Orange, Very Vanilla

DSP: Washington Apple, Walk in the Park (retired)

Ink: So Saffron, Only Orange

Other: So Saffron 3/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired), Only Orange Eyelet (retired)

Another Note of Thanks

So many wonderful people have helped us out during our recent move and I've slowly been getting through the list of cards to make. The latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge provided the inspiration; it's been AGES since I've played along with this challenge.

I pulled out So Swirly once again (I couldn't find it for a while as I'd packed it separate from the rest of my stamps - SO glad it's appeared again) and coloured it with Real Red and Lavendar Lace Stampin' Write Markers. I've kept this one simple and flat - no dimensionals (!). It's hard to see, but there's also a little bit of piercing either side of the sentiment.

These colours would also work really well for Christmas...

Luana's fast asleep, so will try to have more of a play tonight.







Stamps: So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Card: Real Red. Lavendar Lace, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Lavendar Lace
Other: A Perfect Day Rub-ons (retired), paper piercer

Bright Celebration

Second post tonight!! I think I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things, but we'll see how the next couple of months go.... I think this is also the earliest I have EVER made an entry for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (and I've missed the last few weeks too...).

I teamed this sketch with the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge:

Once again, I've had to substitute colours - Pixie Pink for Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise for Bermuda Bay.

I quite like this colour combo - I actually used Pixie Pink and Tempting Turquoise for Luana's First birthday invites, and for her second Christmas cards (wasn't into cardmaking for the first). Have never thought to team it with Orange though...

I rotated the sketch and used a flower for the dreaded circle - I really should invest in a circle cutting system - any recommendations? I will have better access to papercraft supplies soon...
I put this card together for a friend who has a birthday coming up. Really quite simple tonight - two different Tempting Turquoise DSP's from Pink Flamingo, and a few petals and centres from Pick-a-Petal. I inked just 'celebrate' on one of the greetings from Sweet Little Sentiments (Level 1 Hostess Set) with an Only Orange Stampin' Write marker and stamped it discretely in one corner. Done! I love straight forward cards.


If you're up for some blog candy, head over to SPCC and become a follower for your chance to win! Samantha puts together great colour combos, with great prizes to boot!








Stamps: Pick-a-Petal, Sweet Little Sentiments (Level 1 Hostess Set)
Card: Only Orange, Whisper White
DSP: Pink Flamingo
Ink: Only Orange, Pixie Pink

Cocoa Daisies

We have had a busy weekend (to finish a heavy week), and the next few won't be any more relaxing than this one I'm sure! We did one of the walks at Edith Falls yesterday that we've been meaning to do for AGES. Paul has done it with the School Holiday program before, but I hadn't ventured in that direction yet - and the last time I did a walk at Edith Falls I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Luana!!
We had a lovely day paddling (me slipping on wet rocks into the water!), laughing and picnicking, only to find out just as we were walking back we'd only made it to Long Hole Pool, not Sweetwater Pool like we had intended... that was still a further 2km on. Oh well, it was a lovely spot to pass a few hours and we'll head back to Sweetwater when Luana is a bit older and won't have to be on Paul's shoulders quite so much!

After such an energetic day yesterday, we just caught up with a few things around the house and had coffee with a friend today. I was able to sit down tonight to make a card after Luana had gone to bed. It feels like ages since I've sat down and felt somewhat inspired.

Tonight I put together a card using the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge and Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge:

I substituted Close to Cocoa for Soft Suede, although I do think this combo would work better with the Soft Suede. I shadow stamped the daisies from Upsy Daisy by using first and second generation stamping in Close to Cocoa, moving the stamped to the right a bit in between. This was mounted on a thin border of Close to Cocoa card. I also inked up the greeting from Great Friend in the Spring Mini with Close to Cocoa and used a blender pen to take the ink off 'friend' before using my Green Galore Stampin' Write marker to add colour. This was punched with the 1 3/8" circle punch and mounted just off a Close to Cocoa punched circle the same size. The strip of DSP comes from Candy Lane, and it's a bit hard to see but the edges of the Green Galore are sponged and swiped to soften the effect a little.

I'm not sure about the green, but I thinks it's a sweet card non-the-less.

I'm off to bed now for a well earned sleep! Pity I need to work tomorrow!

Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Great Friend (Spring Mini)

Card: Close to Cocoa, Green Galore, Whisper White

DSP: Candy Lane

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Green Galore

Punches: 1 3/8" circle

Revisiting Bodacious Bouquet

As you know, I have been laying a bit low this week; I have had the intention of completing a few cards for challenges, but have missed the cut offs.... oops. I have, however, organised myself to get a card made for the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Challenge. I was a bit lucky and made the Top 5 a few weeks ago for SPCC #6 (see the other winner's here) but haven't been able to enter in any other challenges until now. Samantha put together some great combos!


We don't have Crushed Curry here (yet - I'm still keeping my fingers crossed it will arrive at some stage), so I've used the retired Marigold Morning - I thought it was just a bit more subdued than Summer Sun. I also thought flowers were the way to go for this combo, so out came Bodacious Bouquet - such a great set!

I have left it a bit late in the day again for the is photograph properly (we went to a Teddy Bear's Picnic this morning - such fun!) - but each of the flowers has Dazzling Diamonds in the centre which adds a nice bit of sparkle. Lots of fussy cutting with this one, and all card layers were distressed too. The sentiment and layered flower on the corner of it have been popped up by dimensionals.

Hope you've enjoyed this blast from the past!




Stamps: Bodacious Bouquet (retired), Fifth Avenue Floral
Card: Pumpkin Pie, Pale Plum, Marigold Morning (retired), Whisper White

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Pale Plum, Marigold Morning (retired)

Other: Dazzling Diamonds

One for Birthday and One for a Best Friend

Luana's sleeping, Paul's been trying to figure out the Wii and is now watching footy, so that leaves me just to potter - don't you love lazy weekend days like this?! We have a long weekend here for this one; we had Show Day yesterday which was quite long (I'm glad it's only here once a year!) but a really good day. Luana's now at that age where she's really gets excited about things, but doesn't quite get the whole commercial aspect. I know that will come all too soon. Luana was lucky enough to have her face painted (twice! she rubbed the first one off):


This is the second one. The first was pink - of course! We also had the opportunity to go up in a helicopter for a quick ride. This was both Paul and Luana's first time in one and I'm not sure who was more excited! They even gave Luana little purple ear muffs to wear! We were lucky enough to see our house while we were up too:

It's in there! We live in a block of units.

Anyway, enough of our Show experience, onto a couple of the cards I have been making this week. I haven't had the time to play along with Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch much lately, but made the time for this one - it's great! I thought it would be just the layout for a little girl's birthday coming up.

I've rotated the sketch, and moved the brads a bit...

The centre of the flower is from Time to Party - such a cool set! I used the retired 1/4" circle punch to punch out a 3 stamped and edged in Apricot Appeal and attached it with a bit of a dimensional to make it stand our a little bit more. The 1 3/8" circle punch fits the large circle just right! A little bit of Certainly Celery card punched with the scallop edge punch provided the grass (and linked in with the scallop circle flower!). The Almost Amethyst DSP is the retired Prints from last year. So Swirly was wheeled in the background, and the ice rhinestone brads finished the sketch - albeit down the bottom instead of the top.

As I adjusted the sketch a little bit, I thought I'd make another card that fit it better, this time using the latest Scrapmaster's Paradise Colour Combo.

What great colours, but we don't have Rich Razzleberry (am SO hoping it will be released to us in a Mini or something - I think it's GORGEOUS and will be really disappointed if we miss out!), so I substituted Perfect Plum as another reddish-purple.

Quite a straight forward card, but I think we often forget about the versatility of wheels. Scatter Sunshine was wheeled in Baja Breeze and mounted in Perfect Plum. The greeting comes from Garden Whimsy, and I stamped the spiky flower from Simply Said across the diagonal for a bit of a background. A little bit of Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon and a couple of layered Baja Breeze felt flowers from Flower Fusion Too with pewter brads added the finishing touches.

Now, Luana's still sleeping, so I'm off to make some more cards!

Third Birthday Card

Stamps: Time to Party, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel

Card: Almost Amethyst, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Paper: Apricot Appeal Patterns, Almost Amethyst Prints (retired)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst

Other: 1/4" circle punch (retired), 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop circle punch, scallop edge punch, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, Ice Rhinestone brads

Best Friends Listen card

Stamps: Simply Said, Garden Whimsy, Scatter Sunshine Jumbo Wheel

Card: Kiwi Kiss, Perfect Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Baja Breeze, Perfect Plum

Other: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Flower Fusion Too, pewter brads