Buttons, Buttons, Buttons

I have a bit of a bright card on offer for you today, and I think it's quite cute! This card actually turned out not much at all like I had in my head when I first sat down at my craft desk...Almost every aspect of it apart from the colour of the base card is different!

When I first saw the following sketch from Taylored Expressions, I wasn't quite sure where to go with it. I made another card based on this sketch using circles, but wasn't 100% happy with the colours.... so, I pulled it out again for this card.

My inspiration stemmed from a container of Big Buttons I have on my shelf from last year's Summer Mini - love those bright colours! - and I teamed it with the co-ordinating Sweet Stitches DSP. After a bit of swapping and changing of the size of the buttons, and whether I'd use Melon Mambo butterflies or buttons, here's the final result!

Thanks for visiting and have a great rest of the week.

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

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)

Curtain Call Colour Challenge 42

I'm slowly making my way through the backlog of cards I need to make, and tonight the Curtain Call Colour Challenge and the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge helped me make my sister's birthday card :)

This was a great colour combo to work with, but I substituted Pumpkin Pie for Peach Parfait, Certainly Celery for Pear Pizazz and Chocolate Chip for Early Espresso as we don't have these colours in Australia yet - and I'm really looking forward to playing with them soon!! Our new catalogue starts in 2 weeks!!

Karen provided another fabulous sketch this week too which is so versatile!

I pulled out a few retired bits and pieces for my sister's card, but also inked up Cottage Garden for the first time; I am quite pleased to see it staying in the new catalogue. I used a bit of masking and stamping off, and added a half pearl from the Pretties Kit to finish it off.

Thanks for visiting and I'm planning to get through a few more cards this weekend, so hopefully will have some more posts for you soon.

Stamps: Cottage Garden (Autumn-Winter Mini), Happy Moments (retired), Itty Bitty Backgrounds (retired)

Card: Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla

DSP: Au Chocolate (retired)

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip

Other: Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit

Celebrating Color Throwdown's 100th!!

How awesome is that - 100 challenges! I haven't been playing along with Color Throwdown since the beginning (I think they were in the 30's when I discovered them) but I have played along a few times, and the colour combos are always great. To celebrate the 100th Challenge, there are heaps of wonderful prizes up for grabs and STACKS of awesome inspiration.... And a doozy of a colour challenge....

I think it's the pink and red together that gets me.....

I pulled out my (new) two step bird punch for this one (isn't he so cute!), and used a scallop circle to help me with the effect of the clouds in the background.

Congratulations girls on 100 challenges - I know I'll be sticking with you for the next 100!!

Stamps: Heard from the Heart (Autumn-Winter Mini)

Card: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

DSP: Certainly Celery Prints (retired), Urban Garden, Regal Rose Patterns, Ski Slope (retired)

Ink: Baja Breeze

Other: Extra Large Two Step Bird Punch (Autumn-Winter Mini), Scallop Circle Punch, White Gel Pen

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

Pearls and Flowers

A super quick post today as we're heading out to the Show again. Thanks Karen and the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge for the inspiration for this one!

Thanks for visiting!

Birthdays are Always Sweet

I thought I'd run out of time to officially play with this weeks Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge - but I've just made it!

For tonight's card Ihave kept it VERY simple and have not embellished, as this is for a friend who loves DSP, but doesn't really like fancy and fussy designs (you may recall me making a couple of cards for her last yeat before I was happy!). So, I focussed in the Sweet Always DSP and used a rather sweet stamp from Time to Party with some paper piecing.

Another July birthday taken care of!

On a completely separate note, we went to the Show today and Luana had a great time - patting cows, checking out the other animals, slipping over in the mud (ok, not such a great time then....), playing on a HUGE bouncy 'castle', collecting stamps and goodies for the Yellow Brick Road Showbag (and whatever else she could score) and riding on the same ride (a train convoy thing) she has chosen for her ride every year since she has been able to make a choice!!

Here she is playing a fishing game at the Emergency Services display....

She was strapped into a hoist and there was at least half a metre between her feet and the ground!! She 'caught' a frog and was so proud of herself - Mummy and Daddy were very proud too at how brave she was!! We weren't sure how she'd go with it.

Hope you're having a great weekend too! Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Time to Party

Card: Regal Rose, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sweet Always DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie

Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle, Scallop Edge, Corner Rounder

Warm Wishes with Roses

I love the fact that there is so much in Stampin' Up! that coordinates, so it makes it quite easy to put together effective projects without too much stress! I had this rose from A Rose is a Rose floating around as a UFO when the box it was originally on did not survive the move. Put it together with some Bella Rose DSP, add a few half pearls and a greeting and you're done!

Plus have great sketches to work with helps too - thanks Karen and the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge!!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: A Rose is a Rose, Cheer & Wishes

Card: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose DSP

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss

Other: Pretties Kit

Retro Pears

It was another colleague/friend's birthday this week, but I was having difficulty trying to figure out what type of card to make... The other girls were relatively easy - one is more 'classic' and the other quite girly - but putting my finger on the right style this time.... one of the other girls suggested I go 'retro', so this is what I came up with (quite fitting for a dietitian with the pears too!!).

I have kept it quite simple as my friend isn't into frills and flounces; I quite like the effect of the layered ribbon and this is the first time I've used my corduroy buttons!!

I realised after I finished it that although I made this for a female, it could quite easily be suitable for a male too (I think it's the colours...), so it fits the Stampin' Royalty 'Masculine' challenge this week.

Now to get cracking on my brother's birthday card...

Thanks for visiting!







Stamp: Birthday Wish (retired)
Card: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Good Morning Sunshine DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Other: Corner Rounder Punch (non-SU), Kiwi Kiss Corduroy Buttons (retired), 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon

A Little Bird Told Me.....

Since this years IB&C came out, I've been looking Cheep Talk and a little while ago I finally bought it, but today is the first time it's seen my ink pads!! It's been a little while since I've played with Color Throwdown and I LOVE these colours!!

I have no less than 12 birthdays in July, so this will take care of one!! Better get cracking on the others too now.....

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Cheep Talk, A Little Birthday Cheer

Card: Night of Navy, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

DSP: Urban Garden, Pink Flamingo, Certainly Celery Prints (retired)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Cameo Coral, Night of Navy

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/4" Circle

Other: Paper Piercer

Faux Suede Flowers

I've seen faux suede used quite a bit around the blogs lately, and Shelli also demonstrated it at Convention, so I thought I'd give it a go with this card to add more texture to the flowers, and the backing ovals behind the greeting. I think the flowers would pop a bit more with more layers, but I made it as an option for a friend's grandmother, so I wanted to keep it flattish for the International post.

Tonight my inspiration has come from Colour Q and Sketch'n'Color; I didn't realise it had been so long since I'd played along with Colour Q....

The flowers actually look quite sweet with the scallop circles and the larger flower flower from Boho Blossoms; I gently swiped the edges of the Apricot Appeal layer with Cameo Coral ink, and the layers were gently scrunched a bit to add some extra texture.

Thanks for visting!

Stamps: Priceless, Vintage Labels (retired), So Swirly Jumbo Wheel

Card: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Ruby Red, Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal

Ink: Cameo Coral, Ruby Red, Always Artichoke

Other: Cream Grosgrain ribbon, 5/16" Jumbo Brads, Scallop Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch

Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act 33

Another week has flown by and here we are heading into a long weekend. Our original plans for camping this weekend have been postponed to later in the year, but we may head out to the Finke Desert Race for a bit; it's such a huge part of the Alice Springs culture, we really should participate a bit while we're here.

Tonight's simple offering is for a friend whose birthday was a few weeks ago and I hadn't yet made a card.... Thanks Stacey for the great colours once again!

For the flowers, I inked up the retired set Blooming with Happiness for the very first time! I used the skirt from the dress to create a background and layered a couple of the 5 petal flowers onto a Night of Navy one. I was reading a Fifi and the Flowertots book with Luana last night, and the cornflowers in it made me think of these flowers... you might see a few more of these over the next few weeks!

I'll pop this in the post for my friend this weekend, so hopefully it will get there before next weekend - better late than never!

Thanks for visiting!









Stamps: Blooming with Happiness (retired), A Little Birthday Cheer
Card: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP (retired)
Ink: Night of Navy
Other: Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/8" Jumbo Brads, 5 petal flower punch

Warm Birthday Wishes

I am very much drawn to cool colours, so this week's Curtain Call Colour Challenge is certainly one with colours I wouldn't normally reach for, especially in that combination (what?! no blue or green in there!). It is quite a lovely colour scheme though.

I also thought this weeks Sketch'n'Color challenge was a bit of a doozy when I first saw it, but was pleasantly surprised at how the card came together with using the different sized felt flowers from Flower Fusion.

I also thought I'd try gathering ribbon on this card too, which was a bit of fun and I like the effect!

Not sure who this card is going to be for, but I have a lot of birthdays coming up in July, so I'm sure it won't have trouble finding who it belongs to.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Vintage Labels (retired)

Card: Summer Sun, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Patterns Pack II DSP

Ink: Regal Rose

Other: Flower Fusion, Vintage Brads, Rose Ribbon (non-SU)

Vintage Spring Flowers

Vintage is one of those styles you may have noticed I've been trying my hand at a bit lately. Shelli held a great session on Vintage Style at Convention, and I was happy to learn that basically 'anything goes', so I'm quite happy to be finding MY vintage style. I figure I'm on the right with this card as Paul said it looks "old".....

This fortnight's challenge over at ABC Challenge is V is for Vintage and I really wanted to use the flower I had made, so the Taylored Expressions sketch this week was just right - and it came together quite easily using the DSP as the main panel. I thought the half scallop circles were enough detail without adding brads too.

One of the aspects I think of when thinking Vintage is texture, so I used my fingernail to roughen the edges of the greeting panel, and I am so happy with how the flower turned out!

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: A Little Birthday Cheer

Card: Old Olive, So Saffron, Springs Flowers DSP (retired)

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Other: Scallop Circle Punch, Jumbo 5/16" Brads

A Couple of ColourQ Cards

There are always awesome colours to work with over at ColourQ, and this week Arielle has given an additional task of challenging a friend to play along as well, so I challenged my good friend Nerine to join in! I know she's been stamping and scrapping a bit lately, and I know I always find challenges great inspiration.

As we don't have Crushed Curry, I have substituted Summer Sun - I think it works better than Marigold Morning which I tried last time....

I wanted the flower to be THE focus of the card above so have kept everything else simple and understated. I did add a couple of rows of paper piercing to the top and the bottom of the Brilliant Blue base to tie in with the flower.

I almost wasn't going to post this card, but when I came back and looked at it again after a few hours I thought 'yeah, I do like it'... VERY simple, just a little bit of paper piecing. A wonderful friend found and sent me this Just Beakause stamp set for my birthday because I love toucans (I'm toucantash on SCS!) and was really disappointed I didn't get this set before it retired. This is the first time I have used it in a card - I've only inked it up once before but that toucan is in my UFO stash. Isn't that little toucan SO cute though?!

This card could suit for either a male or a female birthday - such versatile colours!

Thanks for visiting again!

Happy Birthday

Stamps: All Year Cheer II (retired), Friendly Flowers (retired)

Card: Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Brilliant Blue, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise

Other: Filigree Designer Brads, Certainly Celery Ribbon (retired), paper piercer

Birds of a Feather

Stamps: Just Beakause (retired)

Card: Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Brillant Blue, Summer Sun, Certainly Celery

Spots and more Spots!

Paul announced Friday night we were heading out for drinks this weekend for a his work colleague's birthday, so I thought I should put together a card for her. She's young and very sporty and funky, so flowers and 'super-girly' were out of the question. The bold funky colours of this weeks Colour Throwdown and the groovy sketch over at Mojo Monday were just what I needed to work with, so I made a card and a wine tag to dress up the bottle a touch.

Here's a closer pic of the card. As there are SO many spots, I have left the brads out of the sketch - they would have been lost!!

We had a lovely afternoon and Luana fell asleep virtually as soon as we walked in the door!

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Seeing Spots, Lots of Thoughts (retired)

Card: Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White

DSP: Pink Flamingo, Good Morning Sunshine, Bella Rose

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red

Other: Oval Punch, 1 1/4" Square Punch, Corner Rounder, 1 3/8" Circle Punch

Dazzling Eastern Blooms

I almost forgot a friend's birthday - thank goodness for FaceBook reminders :) So this afternoon I put together this 'dazzling' number using Sketch ' Color Challenge #9 and Eastern Blooms, one of my fall-to sets. It was very bright outside when I took the photo, and I didn't realise 'til I'd downloaded it that it was rather crooked - sorry (just adds to the charm!)

I've added a little bit of scoring detail to the top and bottom of the card (which doesn't show up real well in the pic) and LOTS of Dazzling Diamonds.

I must say a big DANKE to Nadia and Andrea who chose this card as their winner last week. Thank you so much, you made my day.

Thanks for visiting.


Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Birthday Whimsy (retired)
Card: Whisper White, Basic Grey
Ink: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun
Other: Dazzling Diamonds

Colour Q plus

This weekend so far has been great; lots of cuddles/sleeps/watching movies together on the couch with my girl (Toy Story 1 and 2 have been on Playhouse Disney), a bit of housework, coffee with friends and plenty of opportunity to stamp! I have finally made a few cards that have been on my list for a while, and will be in the post Tuesday (we have the Anzac Day public holiday tomorrow).

I always have intentions to play along with Colour Q each week, but the best intentions don't always come to fruition... this week is different! And to make the most of it, this card also fits in with three other challenges: ABC Challenge - S for Sparkle, KWernerDesign - one layer and (again) Pile It On - Is Spring Finally Here? Four challenges in one project is a record for me (I've only managed it once before).

Gee, one layer cards are a challenge indeed!! I did lots of masking with this one and added a border with some scoring. Dazzling Diamonds added the sparkle in the middle of the flowers - I'll try to take a better photo in the sunlight tomorrow to catch the sparkle a bit more.

Another card I'm quite pleased with this weekend! Let's see what tomorrow will bring.

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Embrace Life, Cheer and Wishes

Card: Whisper White

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Bravo Burgandy, Yoyo Yellow, Green Galore

Other: Dazzling Diamonds

Curtain Call Act 25 with Inkspirations Sketch 21 - It's Bright!

Just a quick post this morning as I have to take Luana to her first dance class of the term.

This week the Curtain Call Colour Challenge is a tribute to a few Bold Brights that are being retired, but it hasn't turned out as lary as it could have :) I'm not totally devasted that Only Orange is leaving (it is a useful colour at times), but it's a different story about Pixie Pink. I use it quite a bit, especially for Luana projects. Makeesha's latest Inkspirations sketch (only released yesterday - can you believe I've made a card for it already!) provided the sketch for this card for a friends upcoming birthday.

A close up of the flower for you. I sponged a strip of Whisper White with Yoyo Yellow ink for the band, and the top flower is stamped off with sections highlighted using a Stampin' Write Marker. I curled the petals around my paper piercer to give them a touch more dimension.

Must go and get this girl to dancing!

Thanks for visiting again.

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, A Little Birthday Cheer

Card: Pixie Pink, Yoyo Yellow, Green Galore, Whisper White

DSP: Kaleidoscope (retired)

Ink: Only Orange, Green Galore, Yoyo Yellow

Other: Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/8" Jumbo Brads