A Time for Spring!

It's actually Autumn here in Australia , but A Time for Spring is the name of the paper collection from Fancy Pants Designs that I had some left overs to use up.  So I have three cards today doing just that,  all of which are playing along with some Card Challenges.

I thought all three of these designs (sketches) were perfect for using up some of my leftovers.

My first card uses the Sketch from CAS on Sunday which is a versatile CAS Design.  I thought would be perfect for a quick Thank You Card.

Paper:  Fancy Pants Designs

Sentiment Stamp:  Stampin' Up!

Ink:  Early Expresso (SU), and Versa Magic Tea Leaves

Other:  Beautiful Wings Embosslits Folder, Corner Rounder Punch

My second card uses the sketch (turned) and photo inspiration (colors and spring feel) from Fusion Card Challenges.

Paper:  Fancy Pants Designs

Sentiment Stamp:  Unity Stamp Co

Ink:  Early Expresso (SU)

Other:  Beautiful Wings Embosslits Folder

And my third card today uses the Sketch from the I Heart Card Sketches Challenge. 

Paper:  Fancy Pants Designs

Sentiment Stamp:  Verve Stamps

Ink:  Pretty In Pink (SU)

Thanks for stopping by!

Cards in Envy - Paper Strips instead of Ribbon

Hi Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and St. Patricks Day!  I went to the cinema with the boys to see Oz the Great and Powerful so it was kinda fitting given its a story about a Green City.....lol.

Anyway today starts another Cards in Envy Challenge and this week we want to see you use strips of paper instead of ribbon. Be sure to pop over to the blog to see all the wonderful inspiration from the Design Team.

My take on this is quite simple, I have taken a strip of paper and a marker in the same color to add some definition to the strip to resemble a grosgrain ribbon.  We are heading into Autumn here, so I had a bit of play with some seasonal colors for this one.  The stamps I have used are a combination of Unity Stamp Co and Stampin' Up!

Thanks for popping by and I do hope to be admiring your take on this challenge this fortnight!

The Poodles Parlour Farewell Challenge

Sadly this fortnight's Thank You/Thanks Giving Card Challenge will be the last for the Poodles Parlour as Jacqui has had to make the hard decision to finish up in order to concentrate on some personal issues she is currently experiencing.  So it seems fitting that we finish with a Thank You Challenge - as all the DT would like to say thank you to you our wonderful supporters and thank you to Jacqui for giving us the opportunity to be on the team.

I can't resist cute animal digi's or fun pun sentiments so I have combined the two for a quick CAS Thank You Card.

I do hope you will play along with our very last challenge this fortnight!  For more DT Inspiration featuring more wonderfully cute images from the Digi Garden be sure to head over to the Poodles Parlour Blog.

Magical Mondays - Anything Fall

Hi Everyone!

I am a bit late with my Magical Mondays post this week for Paper Cupcakes/There's Magic in The Air, there just seems to be not enough time in the day of late nor do I want to bombard you with more than a couple posts per day!

This fortnight we want to see you create Anything Fall related!

For my card I have used the Paper Cupcakes Image - Harvest Geese!  And staying true to using up my scraps and old stash, I have teamed it with some old Stampin' Up! papers.

There's lots of signs in blog land this month of the arrival of autumn, so lots of challenges you can combine with our Anything Fall Challenge over at There's Magic In the Air!  So I do hope you'll play along.

For lots of lovely fall inspiration showcasing the wonderful designs from Paper Cupcakes be sure to head over to the TIMITA blog and check them all out!

I have heaps on the creative horizon this week so stay tuned.  I will be back a bit later today to share my Day 3 - Use Primary Colors and Day 4 - Fallen Leaves cards for the 31 Day Card Challenge.

My Heart Pieces - Anything Goes

Good Morning and a big hello to all my new followers.  I have loved reading your lovely comments left for me this week, I do so appreciate them.  I am hoping to repay some visits over this coming weekend as I've been a bit slack the past few days as I have been trying to get ahead on some DT projects in the middle of having a big tidy up of my craft room and attempting to move it back into the office.

Yesterday a new challenge kicked off over at My Heart Pieces Digitals Challenge Blog.  Anything Goes!

I've been in Autumn Card Mode this week, so while having all my warm toned papers out I decided to go with the adorable image called Celebrating Autumn and create this card!  I have colored my image with my Tria Markers, the papers are from Stampin' Up! (retired) and the Sentiment for Unity Stamp Co.

I must say I have never seen anyone with a pumpkin on their head and Halloween and fall aren't really celebrated here to a great extent but I have seen them do this with a watermelon in the warmer months which are what we are heading into now.

Anyway I'd best be off have lots more to do.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

S.W.A.T September Sketch

Happy September Everyone!  Spring has sprung and it's also Father's Day and my Sister's Birthday today which all signifies a busy month ahead for us here!  The past few days we have seen some beautiful fine weather but there is still a touch of winter in the air.  I am eagerly awaiting for the first of our Spring orchids to flower and have been checking on them each day to no avail.  But it won't be long now and when they do I will be sure to take some photos.  Our garden is a hub of activity at present with all the birds busily preparing for the mating season, new lambs and goats are all around us on the neighboring properties and today I spotted two baby pelican's following their mother across the pond on the way into town.

Being the beginning of a new month, it means that its time for a new Challenge over at Sketches with a Twist.  It was my turn to decide on the twist this month so I have chosen embossing either dry or heat embossing to be included on your layouts/cards this month.

Here's my card using some lovely Autumn Themed Papers from Stampin' Up! and sentiment from Unity Stamp Co!  The butterfly is also a Stampin' Up! Stamp whilst the flowers are all from my stash.  I used a woodgrain embossing folder to include the twist on this card!

This month we are also teaming up with Outback Scrapping which means you have a chance to win a $50 Voucher to spend at OutBack Scrapping.  So for all the details on how to be in the running please see here.

Also my lovely fellow DT Members have once again outdone themselves with an array of wonderful layouts for your inspiration using the sketch and twist so be sure to pop over and check them all out and I do hope to see you playing along with us this month.

PTT#83 Anything Goes!

Hi Everyone!  Being the last Tuesday of the Month means that September and Spring are just around the corner for us here in Australia.  It also means lots of card making for me as September sees lots of birthdays being celebrated by my family and friends.

Being the last Tuesday of the month over at Party Time Tuesdays it's time for an Anything Goes Challenge and for today's card  I am using the delightful scarecrow image from Digital Delights and some Autumn Themed Papers from Stampin' Up!.  Isn't he adorable, I have colored him with my Tria Markers and have put him out to work in the fields protecting the crops.

This week our sponsors for Anything Goes are 

Also just a reminder that tomorrow is a very special blog hop in honour of our very own Party Planner Jen Scull who has been battling Breast Cancer since early February.  This hop is aimed to bring a bit of Sunshine into Jen's day and will kick off from the Paper Make Up Stamps Blog 12.00am (EST USA) time on Wednesday 29th of August.  Simply follow along hopping for your chance to win a multitude of prizes being kindly donated by a number of our wonderful sponsors.  You may also like to purchase the special Digi Stamp Set which is being offered by PMS with all proceeds going to Jen called Jen's Sunshine.  The images of this set are those being featured throughout the hop.

I do hope you will join in the fun of both our Anything Goes Challenge and the Hop! 

One Layer Thank You!

Hi Everyone! I am going to start my post today by saying Thank You to all my lovely readers, Yes You!

I really do appreciate each and everyone of you for popping by, following and leaving your wonderful comments for me.  They really do brighten my day.  So Thank You!

 I haven't spent that much time in my craft room these past few days as my spare time has been taken up by setting up my new computer as well as learning the ropes of it all.   You might remember that my laptop had a coronary just before Christmas and since then I have been using my Dad's Laptop.  So we finally bit the bullet and we brought  a new computer for the office.  It's an All in One, Touchscreen with a big screen that has taken a bit of getting used to.  The fantastic thing about it apart from being able to read the screen easily, is the wireless router/modem because I can copy my files straight from my Dad's laptop without having to download them to disk and now that we have also had our laptop fixed, we all have a computer to use with internet and printer access so everyone is happy!.  Don't you just love new technology.

Stamp:  Poppies from Unity Stamp Co KOTM, Sentiment by Stampin' Up!

Cardstock/Paper:  Time to Create Ribbed Black Cardstock and White High Resolution Paper

Ink:  Ranger Archival Black, Stampin' Up Baja Breeze and Cherry Cobbler

Other:  Spellbinders Nesting Circles, Sponges, SU Black Brads

I had a request for a Thank You Card, so knowing how little time I have had I went for a bit of a CAS Design - a one layer card.  I created a simple mask by using my spellbinder circle die to cut a hole in a piece of cardstock the size of a card front.  I placed this over my card front, stamped my poppy (first time used) in black.  Then sponged with blue ink and filled in the circle avoiding the poppy.  Once done I took some red ink on another sponge and colored my poppy, and for a touch of shimmer went over the top of my red sponging with some Twinkling H20's.  To finish I stamped my sentiment in the bottom right hand corner and added three brads.

I love one layer cards such as this, as they are easy to reproduce in a matter of minutes when you have a few cards to make.  I made 10 in total, but used different base cards, some black, some baja breeze blue which I made without the brads for a bit of a different CAS look.

Thanks Sew Much

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a wonderful weekend.  I spent Saturday catching up with some housework, even managing to break the vacuum and then on Sunday we had lunch out with Rod's Mum and his sister and one of our nieces who were visiting.  Saturday would have been Rod's Mum and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary, and just over a month since his dad had passed so we were all trying to keep his mum's spirits up.   My niece than came back and spent a few hours with Rod and I,  helping Rod empty the spa out for winter, playing with the cats and then we did some crafting.  We made some collage fridge magnets, two had birds on which Tani was going to keep for herself and the other had a vintage girl and we put the word Cherish on it.  She was giving this one to grandma.  We so enjoy spending time with our nieces and nephews its just a shame they live so far away.  They grow up so quickly.

Apart from this I didn't venture into my craft room much at all over the weekend but was back into the swing of things this morning finishing off a few DT projects and making a Thank You Card for my Dad to give to a lady who did some adjustments to a pair of trousers he recently purchased.  It is this Thank You Card I am sharing with you today.

As the lady didn't want to be paid for doing this sewing task for my Dad, he brought her a box of chocolates and I said I would make him a card to give with them.

The Cardstock, Papers and Ribbon are from Stampin' Up!.  The image of Dress Form is from one of my Unity KOTM's and the sentiment I created using my Times New Roman Alphabet from Just Rite Stamps.  Flower and pearl are from my stash.

I'll be back tomorrow with my Magical Monday Post for Paper Cupcakes and my Party Time Tuesdays Project for our Monthly Anything Goes Challenge, and if you are looking for some other challenges to play along with today there is still time to join this months sketch challenge at Sketches with a Twist, the Color Inspiration Challenge at Platypus Creek Digitals and the very first challenge which is Anything Goes at My Heart Pieces Challenges.

60 Cards for Mum

The past few weeks in between DT projects, a few projects just for me, family stuff and being sick I have been making 60 Cards for my MIL to send to all those family and friends who sent card and flowers for my FIL passing.  Here's a sneak peak at some of my designs.  I tried to keep them fairly CAS due to the quantity required and me not wanting to make 60 of all the same one.  Inside Mum asked me to include a short verse.

Coloured image & layers framing it with a bit of embellishment to finish.  This is the first time I have used this Crafty Individuals Stamp.

Water Colored Rose with a hand drawn frame on white and layered on angled color background.

My Favorite Unity Rose just had to make it on at least one card.

Water Color with Handrawn &/Watercolor Frame.  Dragonflys and Butterflies were used on a few of these cards. This one is from a Ippity Kit by Unity Stamp Co,.

Script and Floral Stamp coloured with Twinkling H20's, layered on colour with added ribbon and bling.

Quite a few of my Darkroom Door Nature/Floral Themed Stamps were used for these cards.

Thanks so much for popping by, I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend.  We have had a week of the most glorious Autumn Days.  My hubby has been cooking today so I am looking forward to some yummy minestrone soup for tea with warm and toasty bread which is such a wonderful meal for the cooler nights which we are now experiencing.  We are however yet to have the fire on.  I think this coming week I will finally need to pull out all my winter clothes and pack my summer ones away.

PTT #68 Colour/Picture Inspiration

I just love the latest Challenge at Party Time Tuesdays this week, because the Colour Inspiration is none other than tones of Purple which is my all time favorite color.  They were chosen in honor of "Wear Purple for Peace Day' which is celebrated on May 16.

I am a bit late getting this post done, as I had my card half made before I got sick, so I only put the finishing touches on it this morning.

Don't you just love this delightful fairy in a Tea Cup, it is from DtsArts who is one of our sponsors this week along with Kenny K.   I have lots of purple in my stash except for markers (this challenge brought that to my attention, so it will soon be rectified following a little online shopping...,hehe) however I had made do.  I used some Echo Park Papers, with Stampin' Up Cardstock and Sentiment Stamp and finished with some flowers, die cut flourishes and bling, which is everything a fairy needs right?

Be sure to check out all the other wonderful purple or as Dawn calls it Plum Crazy Creations over on the Party Time Tuesdays Blog and whilst there find out a bit more about our wonderful sponsors too!

Watercolor Wash Backgrounds

This morning I was asked by a close friend to make some thank you cards for her to use to send to those people who have been sending her and her family lots of love and support during a difficult time.  I jumped at the chance to be able to help her out and immediately knew what I was going to create.

Daffodil Card - Used Dark Room Door Stamps, SU Sentiment & Cardstock, SU Ribbon and Small Oval Punch, 

Clear Embossing Powder and Brown Archival Pigment Ink.

Butterfly Card - Uses Unity Itty Bitty and KOTM Background Stamps, SU Sentiment & Cardstock, 

Black Archival Pigment Ink and Purple Chalk Ink

Both Cards Backgrounds were created using SU Markers and Ink Pads

  

This gave me the perfect excuse to play and I made the background papers using a Water Colour Wash with Felt Tip Markers Technique.  This technique will give you a totally random and different result every time you use it,  and it is quite a quick, easy and fairly mess free one to try.

A QUICK HOW TO - WATER COLOUR WASH WITH FELT TIP MARKERS 

To start you need a Plastic Page Protector Sleeve that you use in your Ring Binders/Folders, and some Water Based Markers.  I have used my Stampin' Write Markers.  For my backgrounds for today's cards I have chosen colours similar in tone.  Eg various purples and various yellow/orange tones.  But playing with mixed colours etc will give you totally different effects.

I have put a white piece of cardstock behind my plastic sleeve to enable better viewing of this technique in my photos.  The second step is to randomly scribble and colour all over the plastic sleeve with your chosen colours.

Once you are happy with your scribble, using a spray bottle, spray some water over your design on the plastic sheet.  Again experiment with different amounts of water to achieve different effects and results.

Once you have sprayed the water, its time to take your piece of paper/cardstock you want to create the background on and press it face down over the wet design on the plastic sheet.

Keep pressing into the wet design until you have covered all your piece of paper/cardstock, you may even like to scribble and repeat the process to add further interest/colour.

You may like to use your piece of paper/cardstock like this, but for today's cards, I went one step further by taking out my Re-moldable Rubber Stamp, which I had some designs already pressed into it saved.

This side had been pressed into chicken wire.

This side was pressed into the seed pods of a plant

Using a darker colour in the similar tones of my water wash background piece I randomly stamped over the surface to achieve the following effects.

Using the side of the stamp that had been pressed into chicken wire

This was using the side of my moldable stamp that had been pressed into the back of a rattan chair

This was using the side that had been pressed into the seed pods of the plant.

This Watercolour Wash Technique is one of my favorite background techniques.  I use it often, and adding to it by random stamping over the top truly does give you infinite possibilities.  You should try it.