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

Circle Circus Celebration

Circle Circus is one of those sets I love. I have stages where I'll use it heaps, then it has a little bit of a rest, then it gets pulled out again for a workout. I'm in one of those using it heaps again phases!!

I love the bright colours in Luana's dress in this photo, so wanted to pull them for the page. The Chocolate Chip and spots come from my dress. The Circle Circus elements fit with Taylored Expressions latest sketch too!! I've rotated it, adjusted it a bit and replaced the circle with the photo though... I know it's not a card, so I hope Taylor doesn't mind :)

This is one of my favourite photos, and I'm so happy with how this turned out.

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Circle Circus, Sweet Serendipity (retired)

Card: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Green Galore

DSP: Bella Rose

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Pixie Pink, Gable Green

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

Other: Filagree Designer Brads, Vintage 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

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!

Happy Easter!!

The reason for my lack of blogging lately is I have been working on my Easter cards and finishing Mum and Dad's calendar (Paul's is still a work in progress....). I wasn't planning on posting my Easter cards just yet, by the Stampin' Royalty challenge this week is EASTER, so I thought, why not.

I send Easter cards with a photo of Miss Luana to immediate family and godparents each year, as I figure then they at least get semi-regular photos of our princess. As I make quite a few, I like to keep them simple! The gorgeous striped ribbon from the retired Sweet Shop Ribbon Bundle provided the inspiration this year - but I didn't have enough to make all the cards, so I pulled out the Certainly Celery from the Ribbon Bundle that was available last year. Not a bad substitute, but I did like the stripes... You can't see it in this photo, but the strip of Almost Amethsyt DSP on the inside of the card has been punched with the scallop edge punch.

Here are the cards that Miss Luana made for her grandparents (with very little assistance):

And check out the Easter page I made a few weeks ago here for an Inkspirations Colour Challenge - it made the special mention group!!

Wishing you a wonderful Easter with your families - can't wait to see mine!!

Stamps: A Good Egg

Card: Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst, Whisper White

DSP: Almost Amethyst Prints (retired)

Ink: Apricot Appeal

Other: Sweet Shop Ribbon (retired) Certainly Celery ribbon (from Ribbon Bundle - retired), Scallop Edge punch, Soft Subtles brads

Title Page

I was looking for some inspiration (late) last night to make the LAST page for Mum and Dad's very late calendar. Mum's favourite colour is green, so Kelly Jo's Colour Chef Challenge of White, Light Purple, Light Green and Light Pink fit the bill! It has been AGES since I played along with a Colour Chef Challenge.

The light this morning hasn't picked up the colours real well - still trying to find *that* spot in the house! I thought I'd try my hand at button flowers, which I have been seeing everywhere recently, and keep the page super clean and simple; after all, it's barely going to see the light of day with the calendar pages stealing the glory!! All of the edges were inked in the corresponding colour too, but it's hard to see.

Thanks for the inspiration! The calendar is finally finished!

Stamps: Live Your Dream (retired), Best Friend Numbers (retired)

Card: Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White

Ink: Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst, Pretty in Pink

Other: Sherbert Buttons (Summer Mini - retired), Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon

A Touch o' the Irish

It's St Patrick's Day tomorrow!! I love St Pat's Day; when I was at boarding school, our chef was Irish so we used to have Aussie-Irish day and everything was green or green and gold; kangaroo for breakfast, green iced doughnuts for recess, Aussie BBQ for lunch and traditional Irish Stew for dinner. I read somewhere that it is the day EVERYONE claims to be {a little} Irish!!!

In the spirit of St Pat's Day, I have joined in with the latest Stampin' Royalty Challenge - GREEN - and paired it with this gorgeous Sweet Sunday Sketch:

I actually wanted to use the Heart to Heart punch to make 4 leaf clovers, but couldn't quite make it work. As it is, I think this card still needs a little something.... You can't see it in this photo, but I've added some sparkle to the rock'n rolled butterfly wings.

Also, I wanted to share with you this card I made a while ago, 'cause it's GREEN!!!

I made this for our gorgeous godson who's grandfather is Irish, and I wanted him to know it's important to be proud of his heritage. And how could he not be with such a strong Irish name!! You can bet your boots this young man and his family will be celebrating tomorrow!!!

May the Luck of the Irish be with you tomorrow and all year through!!

So Kind Card

Stamps: Priceless

Card: Green Galore, Glorious Green, Whisper White

DSP: Kaleidoscope

Ink: Green Galore, Glorious Green

Other: Dazzling Diamonds

Lachlan Patrick

Stamps: Polka Dot Punches (retired), Pure and Simple Upper Alphabet (retired)

Card: Green Galore, Glorious Green, Whisper White

Ink: Green Galore, Glorious Green

Other: Paper Piercer

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

Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act 19

I have had such a busy week at work that I have been too tired to even think of stamping, so I told Paul that's what I was doing tonight!! A friend came over and it was great to have someone to talk to while playing.

I am STILL working on Mum and Dad's calendar and had every intention of using Makeesha's last Inspiration Challenge to scrap Luana in her dance gear, but missed that one so I've used the latest Curtain Call Colour Challenge which is a lovely combo. I have substituted Perfect Plum for Rich Razzleberry as I don't have any - yet!!

We bought her some tap shoes last week so will have to make sure to take some photos of that tomorrow!!

Stamps: Bold Butterfly (retired), Flitting By Jumbo Wheel (retired), Best Friends Alphabet (retired)

Card: Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Perfect Plum, Bashful Blue

Other: Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit

Curtain Call Colour Challenge Act 18

Tonight I have been working with yet again another gorgeous colour combo from Stacey's Curtain Call Colour Challenge. I love Ballet Blue and don't use it anywhere near as much as I would like.

I paired it with the square option of the latest Mojo Monday sketch challenge - my mojo isn't in full enough force at the moment to attempt the circle (lol). I made a 4 1/4" square card (so it would fit in a standard size envelope), but I think I should have made it a bit bigger to pull of the large bow a bit more successfully.

This card started out in my mind as a Mother's Day card for my grandmother (trying to be organised) as she loves earthy colours. However, it didn't end up that way! I finally inked up my Boho Backgrounds set which has been sitting on a shelf for a good few months now. The larger circle was stamped twice in Night of Navy and once in Ballet Blue. One of the Navy circle was punched out with the scallop circle punch and the other I fussy cut the middle part of. The Ballet Blue one had the larger solid circle part punched out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. The upper layers were popped up with dimensionals, but it's a little hard to see that in this photo.

I will be using both the colour combo and the sketch again - they're so versatile!

Stamps: Boho Backgrounds

Card: Kraft, Night of Navy, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Old Olive

Punches: Scallop Circle, 1 3/8" circle

Other: Vintage brads, 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Fashion District Rub-ons (retired)

Woo Hoo!!

Wow!! Just wanted to share with you that this card won the Inkspirations Colour Challenge 18!! I am so stoked. Thank you Keesh :)

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

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

First Time for a ColourQ Challenge

I've seen another colour challenge appearing frequently on blogs I visit, ColourQ, so I thought I'd pop on over and check it out myself. Arielle has put together some great challenges, so I thought I'd play along when I can. I missed last week, but not this week!!! Aren't the colours just great?! I am planning on using them for a scrapbook page for Mum's (very late) calendar too, but have run out of time tonight (and I'm not sure if this challenge is cards only or not).

The son of my friend in Germany is turning 3 soon. I have been a terrible friend and have not kept in fabulous contact (they last time we saw each other in person was 1999), and now I feel extra guilty as I received a care package from her the other day with some lovely bits and bobs for Luana and Haribo lollies for me - they are so good!! So, I have organised myself and made this card for her little man. Those animals from Animal Stories in the Summer Mini are just too cute! I've also edged the Whisper White mounted panels in Real Red to add a little bit more dimension.

Now I just need to remember to send this so it arrives in time for his birthday!

Stamps: Animal Stories (Summer Mini), Best Friends Numbers (retired)

Card: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow, Whisper White

Ink: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Yoyo Yellow

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

Other: paper piercer