Baby Lachlan Thanks

It is cold, wet and dreary here again in the Red Centre - I certainly was NOT expecting this type of weather when we moved here (almost a year ago now!). We were teased on the weekend with some lovely hot days (but it did not stay for too long)..... so, I was out in the sunshine, not inside crafting.

I have been working on a project for a friend of mine though. She asked me to make some thank you/announcement cards for her little man who arrived a couple months ago. He really is a darling little boy; dark hair, blue eyes, and I'm sure he's been here before. He has been very spoiled, so she asked for quite a few cards. I wanted to make them cute, but keep it simple enough to make a whole stack without sending myself cross-eyed.

I pulled out the ever trusty and oh-so-cute Bundle of Joy and used traditional boy colours - Night of Navy, Bashful Blue and Crumb Cake (which also fit the Annabelle Stamps Say It With.... Brown and Blue challenge this week). I used my blender pen to colour the giraffe, and added a bit of depth by adding a second layer of colour to the middle of the spots.

Even though I haven't shown it here, the front is quite simple, just a Night of Navy panel torn at the bottom for a photo to be mounted on (and it's a very cute one!).

This project also fits the bill for Pixie Dust Studios 'Sweet Baby' Challenge this week. I have only just found their blog and it features some very talented crafters!

Thank you for visiting and when I finish these thank yous, I have a ton more cards I need to make before the end of the month that hopefully I'll be able to share sooner rather than later!

Stamps: Bundle of Joy (retired)

Card: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue

Ribbon Rose for Annika

I have been a very bad friend and have not yet made a welcome card for a good friend's little girl who arrived into the world a few months ago.... I have had every intention, but lacking inspiration, until the Just Add Ink colour challenge from a few weeks ago (Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Crumb Cake), which I didn't play along with due to lack of time (and the move may have had something to do with it to!!). I was stoked when the Challenge appeared again on ESAD - one of the Stampin' Community groups I am on (albeit using ONLY those colours, no neutrals!). Plus, this gorgeous inspiration from Stampin' Celebration helped too:

The colours linked in and I drew inspiration from the gorgeous flowers and made a ribbon rose:

I'm so please with how this turned out. Annika took up a bit more space on the card than I had planned, so my rose stem didn't make it to the card.

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Petals Jumbo Wheel (retired)

Card: Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Afternoon Tea DSP (retired)

Ink: Versamark

Other: Pretty in Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Timeless Type Alphabet

Christmas Scrapping

I held a Christmas in July cardmaking session back in July using half an I Wish Simply Scrappin' kit. There is SO much in those kits that I also made a few other projects with only a couple of extra pieces of cardstock - including a couple of scrapbook pages - and still have bits and pieces left over!

The Nipper page is 12"x12" and is actually the first Christmas page I have scrapped for Luana. This was her first visit ride on Nipper at the Magic Cave and she had a ball (but didn't think too much at all of the Santa visit). I added a bit of interest across the page using the snowflakes from Snow Swirled stamped in the same colour as the cardstock. The Nipper title was done using the Big Shot.

I also had enough bits and pieces to put together this 6"x6" page of us with my grandparents. They met us at the airport when we flew in, just before Grandad went to his second to last chemo treatment, so it really was a special Christmas - being with the ones I love.

Thank you to the Stampin' Royalty DT for giving me the push to share these with you. Their challenge this week is 'Anything but a Card'.

Thanks for visiting!!

Stamps: Snow Swirled
Card: I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit (retired), Chocolate Chip, Old Olive

Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

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

Other: Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Timeless Type Alphabet

Papercraft Star Debut

We have been hit by some nasty bugs this week in our house, so I was happy to be able to sit down today to make a card. However, I am writing this post slowly in between settling a little person back to sleep.

I have been introduced to another great challenge blog recently, Papercraft Star, and have been able to play along with their recipe challenge this week:

- 5.5" x 5.5" card base

- 5" x 5" mat

- score mat 5 times at 1/4"

- 3 flowers (die cut or punch)

- 3 buttons and twine

I teamed the recipe with the colour challenge over at Pile It On (haven't played with them for a while): red, yellow, brown and green - I've used Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, Soft Suede and Certainly Celery.

I still haven't unpacked all my craft gear, so originally thought to use some of the Blooms Die Cuts for the recipe but still can't find them. However, I did find some old Accents and Elements that had self adhesive die cuts that fit the colour challenge and paired them with some Riding Hood Red buttons from Button Bouquet. Instead of threading hemp twine through the button holes, I 'wove' the twine behind the petals of the flowers to create another layer of the flower. Here's a close up:

I scored the Certainly Celery Prints DSP three times across the bottom and twice along the right hand side - you can just see it in the photo.

As this card was made for someone special who is a bit under the weather at the moment, the sentiment from Like It a Latte was just right.

Fingers crossed all are on the mend now....

Thanks for visiting!

Stamps: Like It a Latte (retired)

Card: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Prints DSP (retired)

Ink: Riding Hood Red

Punches: Oval, Scallop Oval

Other: Button Bouquet (retired), Hemp Twine, Accents and Elements (retired)

Welcome Baby Girl

Yay! I have been able to sit down tonight to play! A colleague of mine asked me to make a couple of baby girl cards, and it's taken me a while to get around to making the second one, but tonight was the night.

I have been visiting a new challenge site CASE Study Challenge Blog for a few weeks now and have been meaning to play along; tonight is my debut! Each month a muse is chosen (this month is Mariana Grigsby) and each week they provide a gorgeous card to inspire us! I have worked with the layout as my inspiration for this card.

This card is also a bit of a homage to retired product - a couple of stamp sets, DSP and Close to Cocoa (such a good colour for baby projects). I stamped the teddy from Bundle of Joy onto some Candy Lane DSP and fussy cut it out before mounting it on a 1 3/4" circle that had been sponged with Close to Cocoa ink and edged with Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette Scallops. A panel of the reverse side of the Candy Lane DSP was taped across the Close to Cocoa card base, with scallop edges of Riding Hood Red and Pink Pirouette. A sweet greeting from Nursery Necessities and some Pink Pirouette ribbon provided the finishing touches.

Head on over to the CASE Study Challenge Blog and check out what the muse and Design Team have to offer - it's sure to inspire!

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Nursery Necessities (retired), Bundle of Joy (retired)

Card: Close to Cocoa (retired), Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, Candy Lane DSP (retired)

Ink: Close to Cocoa (retired)

Punches: Scallop Edge, 1 3/4" Circle, Word Window

Other: Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)

Fourth Birthday Party This Way

We've had a busy day of birthday parties today - two in the one day, overlapping in time and thank goodness at the same location! So, last night I stayed up making cards for the birthday boys.

My card today was for the first party and this picture featured over at Stampin' Royalty for this weeks challenge provided the inspiration (and it's also in the current catalogue!):

I took inspiration from the pennants and the colours of the lollies in the jars - nice and bright for a 4 year old full of energy!

As this card was for a boy, I cut the scallops off the pennant stamp from the new set Party This Way and strung them together with hemp twine (and mounted them with dimensionals); the '4' comes from the BDay Party RubOns - a great collection of birthday rubons. I created a bit more of a party fell with a cluster of balloons, and used Stampin' Write markers to colour the arrow.

This card contains 5 layers, so also fits the bill for this weeks Pile It On Challenge - Layers. It's been a while since I joined in over there.

It's still raining here; I thought living in the desert we'd hardly see rain, but apparently it's the third wettest year in recorded history.... So here's hoping it settles soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Party This Way

Card: Yoyo Yellow, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Yoyo Yellow, Real Red, Bashful Blue, Green Galore

Other: Hemp Twine, Bday Party Rub-Ons

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

Birthday Unicorn

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post - we moved house at very short notice, so I had to pack up my stamping gear (I didn't realise how much I actually have until packing it all!), and we are slowly getting through the unpacking. I'm hoping to get some stamping done this weekend; maybe tomorrow while Paul watches his team in the footy (AFL) final.

Anyway, I have a card for you that I made for a gorgeous little girl who turned 2 at the start of July. She's the twin to the little darling who received this card. I bought Pretty Pony for Luana, but couldn't resist inking it up for the girls; a unicorn for one, and a pegasus for the other. I used my blender pen to add some colour to the mane and added some magic with Dazzling Diamonds.

This almost didn't make it to the intended recipient as Luana saw it and fell in love with it.

Hopefully it won't be so long to my next post.

Thanks for visiting.

Stamps: Pretty Pony

Card: Pixie Pink, Pink Passion, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Certainly Celery Prints DSP (retired)

Ink: Pixie Pink, Pink Passion

Other: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Linen Thread, Sherbert Buttons (retired), Soft Subtles Brads (retired), Dazzling Diamonds

Helping Hudson Challenge 9 - Colour

The last challenge for the Helping Hudson fundraiser was a colour one. We could choose ANY colour we wanted, and could use as many shades as we wanted in that colour, but only ONE neutral. I didn't realised how little I worked with just one or two colours these days....

I really wanted to do a card in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum (especiall as Pale Plum is retiring in 9 days.....), but ended up with the pinks - Pretty in Pink and Pink Pirouette - with Whisper White as my neutral.

I used this sketch from Annabelle Stamps as a starting point (with a little bit of artistic licence), and also a card featured in this months Impressions.

I pulled out another couple of products in the new catalogue - the A La Carte stamp For You Flower with the coordinating Fancy Flower punch. I stamped the flower in Pink Pirouette 5 times and used the 1 3/8" Circle Punch to punch out the centres, then stamped the flower twice on Pretty in Pink and used the Fancy Flower punch. Four of the word circles were used for the base panel of Pink Pirouette mounted on Pretty in Pink. I added some Pretty in Pink brads in the corners. The petals of the flowers were curled a bit to add dimension and each layer was mounted with dimensionals. The little 'for you' was cut from one of the Pretty in Pink flowers and mounted in a little bit of Pretty in Pink card. To finish, I broke open (yes, it hasn't been used yet....) my wide Pink Pirouette ribbon (retired) and used a little bit of linen thread to tie it off at the side of the card.

This photo doesn't do the card justice - it really is quite sweet - so I'll try to take a better pic tomorrow.

Well done again the everyone and particularly the Helping Hudson team for helping Hudson get his KidWalker!!

Thanks for visiting.


Stamp: For You Flower
Card: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette
Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Fancy Flower
Other: Soft Subtles Brads, Pink Pirouette 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread

Helping Hudson Challenge 8 - Technique

Here we are, post #2 for tonight. Challenge 8 over at Helping Hudson is a technique one where we were challenged to use embossing AND sponging as they were the two most favourite techniques in response to a question posed earlier in the fundraiser.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with this challenge, but was inspired by this fabulous card by the very talented Kim Badelt. A good friend of mine announced her engagement a few weeks ago, and I hadn't yet made a card for the lovely couple, so decided to use this challenge to do so. What is more romantic than Paris?!

I pulled out my brand new Artistic Etchings set and paired it with Newsprint DSP - both are from the new Catalogue coming out 1st September! I clear embossed the Eiffel Tower and sponged Melon Mambo over it. I second and third generation stamped the round stamp around the edges and also lightly sponged them. This panel was mounted on an angle on a panel of Melon Mambo the same size which had the edges distressed. I also frayed the edges of some Melmon Mambo ribbon and attached it with staples to a Basic Black card base.

Thanks for visiting!


Stamps: Artistic Etchings
Card: Basic Black, Melon Mambo, Newsprint DSP
Ink: Melong Mambo
Other: Clear Embossing Powder, Melon Mambo Polka Dot Grosgrain 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

Helping Hudson

One of the things I love about being part of Stampin' Up! is the community spirit and support.

Helping Hudson is a fundraising project established to help the son of a fellow demonstrator.

Gorgeous Hudson has complex medical conditions and has had a challenging start to life. He has recently been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and receives extensive physiotherapy. His parents have noticed his frustration with not being able to make his body do what he wants it to and have looked into purchasing a KidWalker. A KidWalker is a mobility aid that will help him learn to walk and take him another step further on the journey to independence.

Helping Hudson is a fundraising project put together by a group of stampers to help raise the funds needed to purchase this valuable piece of equipment. Hop on over to the Helping Hudson blog to make a donation and purchase fabulous tutorial packages, and there are blog challenges and giveaways too.

One of the challenges this week is a colour challenge, so I put together a welcome card for another wonderful little boy who has just joined the world - Jasper.

I used little images from Nursery Necessities to create a background, and pulled out my BigShot for the letters. It's such a cool machine!

Thanks for visiting and head on over to the Helping Hudson blog and make a donation!

Stamps: Nursery Necessities

Card: Baja Breeze, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Baja Breeze, So Saffron

Other: Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain, Large Star Punch, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet

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

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