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

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

For Dad

Hiya All,

I'm so sorry it has been so long since my last post; with interstate courses, being sick, celebrating a little person's birthday, having visitors and reorganising lots of bits and pieces I haven't had much time to stamp (and if I have, I haven't had the time to photograph it then blog!). So, hopefully what I post tonight will be worth the wait....

I thought I'd missed out on last weeks Inkspirations Colour Challenge, but was quietly pleased to find out today it had been extended a week. I took Keesh's advice and made a Father's Day card for my Dad (even though I have a heap of July birthday cards and welcome baby cards that need to be made) - and he was sitting across the table from me while I was making it :)

I wove strips of faux suede cardstock in Close to Cocoa and Not Quite Navy for the base of the greeting from Greetings Eight, which was stamped in More Mustard and mounted on the same. The More Mustard panel at the bottom of the card was dampened, scrunched a bit and sponged to add texture before being paper pierced around the edge. I even decorated the inside of this one too!!

So, here are a few pics of what I have been up to over the last few weeks....

Luana celebrated her fourth birthday with a ladybug themed party (invites and card to come in a later post).

We took Mum and Dad out exploring the East MacDonnell Ranges and we had a great time at Emily Gap and Trephina Gorge:

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Greeting Eight

Card: Not Quite Navy, Kraft, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla

DSP: Urban Oasis

Ink: More Mustard

Other: Paper Piercer

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

Girly Birthday Cake

Luana had her first Alice Springs birthday party on the weekend. She had an awesome time on the bouncy castle and the climbing wall, and it was great to meet some more parents in town. The theme was Princess Party, and I had every intention of using Pretty Princess, but then saw this Inspiration Challenge from Stampin' Celebration and just had to play along:

The cupcakes and flowers were just too sweet to pass by..... I have been visiting Stampin' Celebration since they started a couple of months ago and love the Inspiration Challenges they come up with, but must admit this is my first time playing. Isn't this weeks Inspiration just so girly and gorgeous?!

I teamed this challenge with the latest Inkspirations sketch challenge, being hosted by Cindy this week.

Cindy has issued an additional challenge of 'using something from your stash you have been hoarding for a long time'. Well, I pulled out two stashed products - Certainly Celery Prints DSP (I think it's about 2 years old now....) and Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (this is the first time it's seen the light if day since I bought it!!).

It's really hard to see and it hasn't come out as well in the Pink Pirouette as it does with darker colours like Chocolate Chip, but I used the small swirl from Priceless to kiss the cupcake icing to simulate the swirls of the knife (my icing is NEVER smooth!).

Hope you're having a great week and thanks for visiting!!

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday. Priceless

Card: Pale Plum, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Prints DSP (retired)

Ink: Pale Plum, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, Rose Red

Other: Clear Rhinestone Brads, Dazzling Diamonds, Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Oval Punch, Scallop Circle Punch

Luana and Pop

Last weekend I finally did a few more scrapbook pages I have been meaning to for AGES, including this one. It was taken at Christmas time, hence Luana in red and white striped leggings(!!), so red in the layout was a given. This weeks Inkspiration Colour Challenge provided the other colours, which I hadn't considered before the challenge - sometimes I get so caught up in colour I forget about the neutrals...

We don't get to see Paul's Pop very often (actually, we've only seen him 3 times since Luana was born), and Luana is his only great grandchild, so the time we spend with him is super special; I know it drives Paul's Auntie nuts, but I try to take as many photos as possible when we're with them.

I'm looking forward to our next visit down there early next year - Luana will REALLY be able to hold a decent conversation with Pop then :)

Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet, Tidy Alphabet (retired)

Card: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Grey Patterns II (Hostess Gift 09/10)

Ink: Real Red, Basic Grey

Other: Playground Buttons (retired), linen thread

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

Puppy Love

When I lamented a few weeks ago that Pixie Pink was being retired because it was my 'Luana' colour, Stacey recommended Melon Mambo as the replacement. Great minds must think alike {GRIN} as I had been contemplating that replacement not long before I wrote that post. Anyway, here is my first Luana project with her 'new' colour, and it's using Stacey's latest Curtain Call Colour Challenge and the latest Inkspirations Inspiration Challenge being hosted by Kirsty this week.

Flowers were a given this week, and the colours matched beautifully with the dress Luana is wearing in the photo. She's holding Angus who was only a couple weeks old at the time - he's the puppy of a friend's dog and Luana LOVED him and his siblings. We can't have a dog here though as we're renting...

The page hasn't photographed as well as I'd hoped - sorry, but here's a close up of the big flower:

Lots of layers and rock'n rolling. Such a fabulous, easy technique. This was the first time I have inked up my new Vintage Vogue stamp set AND used the clear mount stamps - they are fabulous!! I'm a huge fan. The eyelet border punch detail also matched the edging on Luana's dress.

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Vintage Vogue (Autumn Winter Mini), Tidy Alphabet (retired), So Very (retired)

Card: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery, Whisper White

Ink: Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette, Certainly Celery

Other: Eyelet Border Punch, Sherbet Designer Buttons (retired), Linen Thread, Soft Subtles Brads

Sweet Cherries for You

Just a simple card tonight using Inkspiration's lovely colour challenge and Taylored Expressions' fabulous sketch. I'm quite a fan of the multiple-square sketches - I find they are good to work with especially when the mojo has decided to take a break for a bit, and it's a fabulous way to use up small pieces of DSP.

This card was really born out of this weeks Pile It On Challenge - Make it Sweet. My first thought was cakes... maybe because of the gorgeous cupcake logo this week. But, being a dietitian, I then thought 'cherries are sweet too' so decided to use them paired with the Summer Picnic DSP, which suited Keesh's colour challenge perfectly too. Gotta keep the everyday foods front of mind :)

The cherries have a little bit of sparkle on them, and the greeting has been popped up with dimensionals in the middle, but taped down at either end to give a banner-type effect. The Whisper White circle under the cherries has been sponged with Bashful Blue to soften it.

Thank you for visiting again!

Stamps: Tart and Tangy, One of a Kind

Card: Real Red, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Whisper White

DSP: Summer Picnic (retired)

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Bashful Blue

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

Other: Blooms Die Cuts, 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

Getting Organised for Mother's Day

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break. We had a great, but busy weekend with family which was wonderful. I started back at work today, so a super short week, but not one without it's challenges!!

After packing EVERYTHING away before Easter (much to Paul's delight), I pulled a few bits ad pieces out tonight to play along with the latest Inkspirations Colour Challenge from Makeesha and the latest Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

Yet again, the colours Keesh has challenged us with are just gorgeous together, and I'm not so scared of circles now I have the Circle Scissors Plus!!

I stamped the large circle after cutting it out, using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to help with the placement of the words. The edges of the circle were sponged in Creamy Caramel, and I 'stretched out' a few scallop circles to frame the circle. The smaller flower was stamped in Creamy Caramel, then rock'n'rolled in Brocade Blue and finished with a half pearl from the Pretties Kit. I also used a hat pin from the same kit for the first time ever!! To soften the Creamy Caramel panel, I 'sponged' it with the same ink using scrunched up glad/cling wrap. I really like the effect it gives.

Not sure who this one is going to yet... Mum's a fan of green, so I'll probably make another card for her.

Stamps: Wonderful Favourites, Baroque Motifs

Card: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Brocade Blue, Very Vanilla

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Brocade Blue

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 1/4" Circle

Other: Pretties Kit, Circle Scissors Plus

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)

Return of Bold Butterfly

Do you have a favourite stamp set that has been retired for a while, but you still can't resist reaching for it? Mine is Bold Butterfly. It was one of the very first sets I bought, with the coordinating Flitting By Jumbo wheel of course, and I just LOVE it! Looking at Makeesha's Inspiration Challenge, and pairing it with the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 57, I just had to pull it out again.

I thought I'd keep the 5 panels on the sketch quite basic for this one and just scored Whisper White card. I also played a bit with ribbons and adding the sentiment as a tag on this one. I'm thinking the wings may need a bit of Dazzling Diamonds though.... I'll post a better photo tomorrow too.

Must be off as I have a couple projects to finish for my boss's 30th birthday.

Stamps: Bold Butterfly (retired), Short & Sweet

Card: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red

Other: Rose Red 1" Double Stitched ribbon, Turquoise Grosgrain ribbon, Word Window punch, Sherbert Designer buttons (Summer Mini), Circle Scissors Plus

Listen to the chorus of the Brontesaurus....

Remember that song? I sang it all week when I was making my cute little stegosaurus cards (see this post and this one), and I've been singing it all this week since I made this super cute brontesaurus card for my Godson's 1st birthday.

This weeks colour challenge from Makeesha worked really well with what I was wanting to do, and I paired it with Taylored Expressions 100th Sketch (Taylor's celebrating this week (and rightly so!), so go and check out her blog).

I had so much fun designing this dino, and he's not quite as fiddly as the stegosaurus. The hardest part was trying to get the small oval into the right place in the punch to trim it down a bit.

The circles in the sketch let me pull out my brand spanking new circle scissors plus - it's great!! I distressed and inked the edges of the 'hill', and popped up the dino circle as well as the dino with dimensionals.

Thanks girls for helping me make this special card. Our little man had a great birthday party on the weekend; Happy First Birthday buddy!!! XXXXX

Stamps: Family Phrases, Itty Bitty Backgrounds (retired)

Card: Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla

DSP: Brocade Blue Prints (Level 1 Hostess)

Ink: Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss

Punches: Small Oval, Wide Oval, Word Window, Crop-o-Dile, Small Star

Other: Circle Scissors Plus, Paper Piercer, Vintage Brads, Lots of Letters On Board Chipboard, Journalling marker

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