Trexxie's Travelling Tributes

Maggie Lovers first ever Challenge

2011-11-07T12:00:00.001+11:00

Hi There, A quick post to show the card I am entering into the first ever Maggie Lovers challenge - Christmas using Pink and Brown or Red and Brown. After finishing this card in semi darkness I have realised in the light of day my embossed glittery stamp does not quite pop the way I would like on the green - the plan was to have Tilda's and Edward's clothes stand out on the green - but I will be mindful of this in the future.

Check out the challenge, Magnolia lovers, a new one starts today. (Yes, I like to cut things fine!) While you are at it, check out shopbron. Bronlyn has recently acquired an exclusive Magnolia stamp to be sold in her online store - Koala Cuddles Tilda. You won't find her elsewhere and it's a cutie!!

I'd also like to say I am thinking of Bron and her family regarding their very sad news. May the love of those around you help through these dark times. xxx

I hope to be back tomorrow with another post from my daughter - she is now talking of me creating her own blog! I can barely manage my own!!! Ha! She has got the bug. Thankyou to all of you who left a comment for her on my last post for the La La Land Crafts for Kids challenge. She was completely thrilled! :)

La-La Land For Kids Contest #3

2011-09-28T14:25:00.002+10:00

Hi There,

My daughter Allanahh (4) is quite the craft enthusiast. She loves painting, colouring, pasting - and stamping!! She is very excited to be entering a card into a challenge for the first time and earning 'Marci Dollars' to save and purchase her own stamps!! Check out the La-La Land Crafts For Kids blog so that your kids (up to age 17) can join in too! Every entry earns a Marci Dollar - how cool is that!! The current challenge is to use your favourite colour - Allanahh loves all colours of the rainbow, especially pink and purple, but she finally settled on pink as her featured colour. :) Enjoy!!

Pearl Paint Resist

2011-09-25T00:23:00.009+10:00

Hi There!

I have recently started on a canvas piece, something different, while following along as a student in Jennifer McGuire's Inspiration Showcase. There was a class each day for twelve days and I can't begin to tell you how packed this series was, with tips and techniques that are just amazing! So fun! Sadly, the class is now over and I thought I might share a card that I made using a technique that I have learned. I have use resist techniques before, but this time I stamped with a pearl paint and allowed it to dry before I used Distress Inks to colour over the area. I then punched the bird and branch from a Stampin' Up! punch and coloured the pieces with the same colour Distress Inks and spritzed them with Perfect Pearls in the colour Perfect Pearl which I had mixed with water in a bottle. I also coloured the strips of paper along the top and bottom of the card with Distress Ink. The gems are adhered using the Imaginicse i-rock, which is my new fun tool!

I am entering this card into
1) the latest Scrapbook Boutique Challenge: Create a project that has the colours Berry, Pink, Aqua and a touch of pearl and
2) the September Inspiration Challenge at The Stamp Spot.

Items used to create this project:

InLinkz.com

Night Owl

2011-07-25T04:55:00.001+10:00

Hi There!

So, I seem to be making a habit of staying up late on a Sunday night! I must remedy this and try to find a decent hour in which to make cards - if only life didn't get in the way!!

My card this week is the final one for Summer Camp - I'm sure there will be more of these in the future, so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested.

I actually used stamps from four different companies on this card - I like to spread the love!! I recently received five stamp sets from Waltzing Mouse Stamps and I have to say I am completely in love!! I have been eyeing Claire's stamps for quite some time and finally gave in to temptation. Her gorgeous Halloween stamps so make me wish we celebrated here in Australia - just so I'd have a justifiable excuse to play with them. Here I have used a font stamp of hers that is just beautiful. The image I have used is GinaK Designs, from a darling set I plan to make good use of. I totally adore the background stamp I used here from Darkroom Door.Finally, I used a Stampin' Up! tag stamp - too cute!

Supplies
X-Press It Blending Card
American Crafts Cardstock: Emerald
Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass
Versamark Ink
Memento Ink
White Embossing Powder
Darkroom Door: Damask Background Stamp
Waltzing Mouse Stamps: Say It Loud Stamp Set
Gina K Designs: Vintage Chic StampTV Kit
Copic Markers: G05, YG03, B00, B05, 0
Glossy Accents
Nestabilities: Labels Twenty
Kaisercraft pearls (coloured with copic YG03)

I hope all is well with you and I'll catch you soon!!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

'Summer' Camp continues...

2011-07-18T04:29:00.001+10:00

Hi There!

A really quick post as it is the middle of the night - 3.50am to be exact! But, I finally got around to making a card for Camp and have honoured to the commitment I made to myself to make the card each week! Mind you, I have made some other cards for birthdays this week, though most of my week has been taken up moving half the house around! We all swapped bedrooms, so it's kind of been a chaotic week! Oh, and we took the boys to see Harry Potter (3D) this week - I haven't read all the books yet, so I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but my son tells me that a lot was missed out. Isn't that always the way though?! I wonder what spin offs will come of it. For those of you that have enjoyed the world of Harry, this may be of interest: it doesn't end here!

This colour combo is lovely with the pop of red. I think I could have made my sentiment stand out a little more, it is more of a subdued thankyou.

Thanks so much for your comments last week, I really appreciate them and send you hugs!

Supplies

Kraft cardstock
Memento Ink: Rich Cocoa
Versamark
Flowersoft: Nut Brown
Darkroom Door Stamp Set: Full Bloom Collection Vol1
Darkroom Door Background Stamp: Stone
Gelly Powder: Chocolate Shake
Stampin Up! Embossing Powder: White
Prismacolor Pencil: Crimson Red
Kaisercraft Pearls: Snow White
Copic Marker: E35

Thanks for peeking, signing off to get some sleep!!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Traffic Lights

2011-07-08T03:43:00.007+10:00

Hi There! Hands up if you've ever been to see an osteopath. I have suffered with back and neck pain and tension for years and hip pain since my daughter's birth 4 years ago. I just learned to live with it all - until recently it has been bearable. Lately though, it's affected my sleep and the constant pain has been just too much. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a great deal - not after the first visit, at least. To my surprise however, as soon as I sat up after the session I had remarkably better range of movement and less tension since I can't remember when! I feel much better that I did, but it hasn't taken the ache away completely. Hopefully future visits will assist with that.

I am learning some handy tips on Summer Camp and have seen many gorgeous creations. One of this weeks Guest Designers, Kathy Racoosin, made a card that really stood out for me. Jennifer McGuire's tutorial this week involved a technique that she discovered by accident. Melanie Bauer, who is hosting the blog, suggested we give it a whirl - and really, who am I to say no to Jennifer McGuire?!!

After playing with this colour combo for a while, I realised they reminded me of traffic lights - so I went with it!

This technique has been dubbed by Jennifer as Kissed Embossing Powder and I used my Twinkling H20s for the first time - so fun!!! It's difficult to see the beautiful glittery shimmer in these photos, but the shine of the clear embossed area is evident in the first photo around the image I painted red with my Twinks.

Supplies

Black and White Cardstock
Distress Inks: Shabby Shutters, Spiced Marmalade
Twinkling H20s: Poppy Red, Ginger Peach, Fresh Oregano
Spellbinders Nestabilities: Standard Circles Small, Standard Circles Large
Liquid Pearls: Buttercup
Red coloured icy pole stick
Stazon Jet Black Ink
Hero Arts Stamp Set: Hello Circles
Stampin' Up! Stamp Set: Tiny Tags

Warm Wishes to you All, 'til next time and thankyou so much for taking the time to pop in!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

How to vicariously enjoy summer.

2011-06-30T20:26:00.004+10:00

Hi There! Eight months to the day and I have decided to try and pull myself together and start sharing again. It really is a commitment to keep a blog going and I completely and utterly admire those who post multiple entries each week. Either they don't sleep or have super duper organisational skills and focus!

So, what has finally given me the push I needed?? The Summer Card Camp! Yay!! I think this will really help to inspire my creativity and perhaps give me a better understanding of design. It may be winter time here but I look forward to seeing so many great cardmakers sharing their creations and warming my heart!! Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire have put this together - two amazing artists (and prolific bloggers). It is almost the end of week 1/4 already and there are 24 amazing guest designers to be featured including Joy Taylor, Jill Foster, Ali Edwards and Nichol Magouirk. Sadly I believe registration for this is now closed, but I hope to commit to at least sharing my camp creations over the next few weeks and you are sure to see many more of these in blogland. Perhaps you are already signed up and are seeing these colours everywhere you go!

My card using these beautiful colours :)

Supplies

White Cardstock

Distress Inks: Dried Marigold, Worn Lipstick, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist: Patina (on card base)

Kaisercraft Pearls (snow) coloured with copics YR04, BG01

White Embossing Powder

Rainbow coloured Vellum

Xyron create-a-sticker (to adhere Vellum)

Versamark

Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eighteen

Hero Arts Stamp Set: Find Joy

Darkroom Door Stamp Set: Full Bloom Vol2

Thankyou so much for taking the time to pop in!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Create

2010-10-30T22:19:00.000+11:00

Hi There,

The card I have to share today is inspired by the sketch challenge on Sarah's Inkurable Stampers blog which also stipulates the use of at least 3 stamps. I really had no clue what to do when I started this card and it is a little different from what I first thought I might do - I guess I was limited by what I actually have. I thought I had a reasonable collection of things like stamps, but there is always more I ~~want~~ need.

I started by embossing a love heart in gold from Stampin' Up! set Hearts and Posies onto black cardstock. I masked the heart and then stamped the Music Background from Victorine Originals and embossed it in silver. I placed the four squares onto red cardstock stamped with Darkroom Door French Script Background stamp in white pigment ink from Stampin' Up! and placed it onto the black card base. On the left is a Cuttlebug embossed piece which I stamped with a love heart. The Edwardian border punch used is from Fiskars by Cristina Re. The sentiment border from Pink Paislee Fancy Frames is embossed in black and the sentiment from Hero Arts set Treasure the Moments is again in white pigment ink from Stampin' Up! These two stamps seem made for each other! Finished off with a gold ribbon from my stash.

I just want to shout out to a wonderful person I have met out there in the blogging/crafty world with whom I have shared some information about the difficult time I have had this year. She is totally amazing and has been very supportive, encouraging and more than helpful these past few weeks. Thank you so much Zoe - you are one of a kind. xox

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Just a Note

2010-10-15T00:56:00.002+11:00

Hi there,

I have a card to share that I had a chance to make this evening, just in time to enter the latest challenge on the Scrapbook Boutique blog. The challenge requirements were to use the colours pink, brown and white, so I had some fun with Nestabilities Labels 9 and Petite Ovals, some stamps (Hero Arts Everyday Sayings and Autumn Leaves Spring) and Distress Inks Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap and I added a chipboard piece and a pearl.

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Check this out!

2010-10-14T22:53:00.001+11:00

I know I have been MIA this month - I have been floating about and I have been blurfing, but this month has proven a difficult one for a number of reasons and I will attempt to share a card soon. I want to say thanks to those of you who haven't abandoned me!

Meanwhile, Bec of Bizzy Becs has a brand new blog and to celebrate has candy on offer! Check it out here!

New Home

2010-10-01T21:58:00.003+10:00

Hi there!

Today spring weather has really started to show its face. It must be something to do with daylight saving time beginning this weekend! I do prefer DLS and the weather as it gets warmer - I am definitely not a winter person.

Well, my sister and her fiance have finally moved into their gorgeous newly-built home after waiting twelve months longer than they initially thought they would have to. It's a beautiful abode and of course the occasion called for a card!

(Right click on photo and select 'View Image' for larger image).

This great image came from a stamp I borrowed from a friend - I have told her she's not getting it back!

I water coloured this image using ink and an aquawash pen (pen filled with water and has a brush you screw onto the end). Fun! I just found this video which demonstrates how I used Stampin' Up! ink to colour:

I then used Flower Soft glue on the shrubs surrounding the house and sprinkled a mix of colours to create gorgeous flowers! Flower Soft comes in many colours, mixed and plain and is great stuff for furry critters too!!! I used the Spring mix and I then added to this some glitter - hee hee - I couldn't resist! The image has been layered onto brown cardstock embossed with the Cuttlebug Tiny Mosaic folder

I stamped the sentiment using Lawn Fawn's Harold's ABCs - you know how much I love this set of font stamps! The little heart stamp comes from Lawn Fawn's Sophie's Sentiments.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes

Allsorts - Plain and Simple

and

Stamp Insanity - Embossing

That's all for tonight! I'll say it again - GO PIES!!!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Spring Swing

2010-09-29T23:00:00.003+10:00

Hey there!

Now, don't tell me you have not enjoyed the sense of freedom that comes from a good old-fashioned ride on a swing! I remember how much I loved the swing when I was young and I even remember the words and tune of a song I made up when on the swing in my Nana's backyard one Christmas day! I was eight at the time. I have to say, I still enjoy a swing ride even now!

I adore the retro-type image I have used on this card which I have made for the best friend of my Little Princess who is turning four. Chosen of course, because she loves the swing!

(Right click on photo and select 'View Image' for larger image).

I stamped the image three times in VersaMark and heat embossed them in the three different colours, then cut and embossed the squares with Nestabilities. I pop-dotted them onto the lilac cardstock. I cut the fourth square with a scalloped Nestie and stamped in Versamark the happy birthday sentiment from Lawn Fawn's Sophie's Sentiments and heat embossed it also. The words of the stamp are side by side, but being a photo-polymer stamp, it bends easily and I placed the word I wanted to stamp on the edge of a small block and bent the other word up and out of the way. This way I could stamp the words individually, one below the other, without having to cut the stamp in half. :) I love photo-polymer stamps!!

I pop-dotted the scalloped square onto green cardstock, on an angle, which I then adhered to the lilac cardstock and placed some bling around the sentiment. I stamped a background onto the right side of the pink card base and adhered a rectangle of dp onto the left. I placed the lilac square on top at an angle, my idea being that movement is the whole point of this card. The card was then decorated with the flowers to which I added some clear Kindy Glitz.

I am entering this card into these challenges:

Scrapbook Boutique - Colour Challenge using pink, lilac, white and green

Creative Card Crew - Flowers

Incy Wincy Designs - Anything Goes

Bizzy Becs - CheerFull Spring

As we head to a re-match this weekend of the AFL Grand Final I have to sign off saying GO PIES!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

It's a Boy's Birthday!

2010-09-24T00:33:00.005+10:00

Hi There, I will try to keep my entry succinct this evening as I have some more crafting to do! LOL

This birthday card was for a friend of my twin boys whose birthday was on the weekend.

With three different cogs wheel stamps positioned on a clear block, I inked them up in red and stamped on the base of the white card, turning the block after each re-inking. I then went back with the bolts and screw stamps and individually stamped those in black. I then stamped Happy Birthday in Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I then ran a strip of red cardstock through my precious Cuttlebug and placed it onto a strip of black, which was then adhered to the cardfront.

The stamp set I used is called 'robots2build' meaning you design your own from different options of body, legs arms and head. Lots of fun multi-step stamping! I had my son choose the stamps. I then coloured this guy in with copics, again utilising the limited colours at my disposal! The grey was all done with one pen, darkened in places by going over the area numerous times. I stamped the head and body a second time and cut out the inner area of the body and pop-dotted these onto the base image. I have since realised I should have probably done that to his feet also! I covered the cogs on his body, coloured red, with glossy accents and I placed clear rhinestones to the buttons on the side of his body, which I coloured yellow with a copic marker.

I then punched holes and placed eyelets in the corners with a cropadile and placed small pieces of yellow carstock behind the holes to give a bit more impact.

Products used:

{Stamps} of Life robots2build

Memento Ink Tuxedo Black

Memento Ink Lady Bug

Copic Markers C-3, Y06, R29

Glossy Accents

Rhinestones

Cuttlebug folder Spots and Dots

Black eyelets

We R Memory Keepers Cropadile

I am placing this card into these challenges:

Truly Scrumptious - Sketch challenge

Digi Doodle Shop - Embossing

Charisma Cardz Challenges! - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Birthday

Ai Factory - Anything Goes

The Creative Cottage - Birthday Boy

Thanks for peeking!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Distress!

2010-09-22T22:21:00.006+10:00

Hello There! Where does a week go? Mine has been exceptionally busy; I've had a few to cards to make and hope to share over the next few days. I just wish I could work faster. I look at the blogs of some amazing talents who are just able to turn their masterpieces out at the rate of knots - I take 2 hours just to decide how I want to create something and chop and change as I go along - and then when I'm finished I'm still not sure - something is missing, doesn't look quite right... Am I the only one who has these doubts or insecurities?! I keep hoping with experience my confidence will grow and my design abilities will improve. I know I need to grow my stash of embellies too; I think that might be part of my problem. At the end of the day, I find it difficult to be objective about my work. Ahh, if only these things came easily to me!!

So having said that, any constructive criticism is welcome.

This card was made at the request of a friend for her daughter's 12th birthday. Green is her favourite colour and she loves nature:

The bird stamp is from the same set as my last card, this time clear embossed onto white cardstock and then coloured over with distress inks. I distressed the edges of the white cardstock and layered it onto brown, which I also distressed. I made a box flower as shown in this tutorial, but only used scalloped circles:

Products used:

Inkadinkadoo clear stamps Gem Stone Birds
Stampin' Up! Sincere Salutations
Versamark
Clear embossing powder
Tim Holtz Paper Distresser
Distress Ink Crushed Olive
Distress Ink Frayed Burlap
American Crafts Glitter Cardstock
Colorbox chalk ink Orchid Pastel
Kaisercraft bling
Wool, feather, butterfly, dp paper from stash

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Scrappy Frogs Challenge Blog is after Handmade Flowers

Crafty Catz are looking for Chocolate and Green

Cute Card Thursday's theme is Tweet and a Flutter

Daring Cardmakers wants to see All Up in the Air

I have been fortunate this week. I received my wonderful prize from Merry at Merrymade Cards and Crafts

Letraset Aqua Markers, paper flowers and Merry handmade crotched flowers

Sticker sheets from The Sticker Store

She also surprised me with a lovely card and some Cuttlebugged pages. I love that most of the pages she sent me were embossed from folders I don't yet have! Thankyou Merry!

Today I received some gorgeous ribbons from Marcia from The Stamp Spot as a prize from her 1st birthday celebrations last week.

Thankyou for the lovely card and congratulations Marcia! May there be many successful years ahead of you!! :)

I was also lucky enough to win a $25 voucher from Scrapbook Boutique last week for their Magnolia challenge! Thankyou so much Evelyn!! The challenges are fun and the new challenge is a colour inspiration challenge using the colours pink, lilac, white & green. Open to Australian residents.

On the weekend I won a Facebook challenge put to followers by the talented Zoe of Make It Crafty. She asked for a 135 character ad to entice new followers to join in. It was then put to a vote requiring followers to choose their fave and I was lucky enough to receive a $35 voucher to the Make It Crafty online store. Find her Facebook page here. As a follower you will be entitled to inside information, challenges, prizes and an occasional discount. Lots of fun to be had! There is a free digi stamp in the offing at the moment from the store for a limited time. If you have an interest in copic colouring, be sure to take a look! Zoe is very helpful and has a lot of energy and ideas. Thanks again Zoe!

Phew! That's it for now. Back soon!! :)

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Get Well Soon

2010-09-14T22:30:00.002+10:00

Hi There! Well, it seems my daughter is slowly getting better, thank goodness! At least for most of the day for the past two she has been more like herself. I guess I'll be chasing her in circles once again instead of being paged from the kitchen to the lounge room couch/beanbag with a heat pack on a regular basis!

This card is for a friend who has had a few difficulties health-wise this year and last week had a life threatening reaction to who knows what. Hopefully the medicos work out what caused it so it doesn't happen again.

I am placing this card into the following challenges:

Raise the Bar is looking for orange, brown and green

Stampin' Sisters in Christ are after real or faux stitching somewhere on your card/project

Pollycraft is requesting autumn colours

and

Paperplay Challenges is also asking for work featuring autumnal colour schemes.

Products used:

DCWV dp from the Whimsy stack
Inkadinkadoo clear stamps Gem Stone Birds
Stampin' up sentiment from Sincere Salutations
Versamark
Colorbox Chalk ink Lime Pastel
White embossing powder
Chocolate embossing powder
Uniball Signo Broad white gel pen
Spellbinders Nestabilities petite ovals
Ribbon from my stash
Rhinestones in clear and green

Today I was lucky enough to receive a surprise in the mail as the result of entering a Facebook mini challenge set by Kelly Marie of Lawn Fawn. All of the entrants received this surprise and I want to shout out a big Thankyou for my oh-soooo-cute Heebie Jeebies! There is a new release week with sneak peeks going on over there on the Lawn Fawn blog with lots of chances to win a giveaway. Run, don't walk!

One more thing - when you visit, take a minute to check out my sidebar - you will find candy that you might like to add to your own blog! My newest addition is Ying's Birthday Blog Candy Giveaway. Yum!!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

More Colours Needed! (or, My First Magnolia)

2010-09-12T16:00:00.005+10:00

Okay - I know it - I need a class in copic colouring. Thank goodness I am taking a class next month (I can only hope that it helps). In the meantime, thank goodness for You Tube! I appreciate those who are kind enough to spend time sharing their knowledge and skills for the benefit of others. One person whose tutorials I have been watching lately is Suzanne Dean. She helped me colour Tilda! I currently have only the Set A of 36 Ciao markers, so really not many colours that will blend together well. I do have Set B winging its way to me and I found that there is no E000 in the Ciao range, so I ordered a sketch marker too. No sooner had I paid for it, I received an email to say it was posted - can't ask for better service than that!! Anyway, I did the best I could with what I have and it only took me all day to make this card! LOL. Granted I had numerous interruptions as my daughter is still unwell and we spent the day in the ED of the local hospital on Friday. I have had too much of hospitals this year and really, 2010 can't finish soon enough for me.

My first real attempt at using copics: Tilda with Peony is for a friend who celebrated her birthday this week:

I am entering this into the following challenges:

Scrapbook Boutique is looking for a project using a Magnolia Tilda stamp

Craft Your Days Away is asking for Girly and Glitter

and

Southern Girls Challenge first ever challenge theme is Anything Goes

A quick run down of products used:

Magnolia stamp Tilda with Peony
Darkroom Door background stamp French Script
Lawn Fawn stamps Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments
Copic Markers
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black
Distress Ink Milled Lavender
Colorbox Chalk Orchid Pastel
Sakura Gelly Roll pen Clear Star (used on handmade flower and Tilda's peony)
Uniball Signo white gel pen
Spellbinder Nestabilities Label 8
We Are Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Lace from stash, one piece coloured with copic marker
Butterfly and pearls from my stash

Before I sign off, I would like to thank Merry of MerryMade Cards and Crafts as I was the second prize winner of her generous blog candy giveaway. Do yourself a favour and visit her blog, she rocks! :)

Thanks for looking!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Happy Birthday Mate

2010-09-08T22:25:00.005+10:00

Hi There! Wow, the last few days have been a bit rough with my Little Princess having been quite unwell and leaving Wonderful Man and me with little sleep through the night. She has been to the GP three days in a row and is hopefully on the mend, but she has been in a lot of pain. She is a trooper though and thankfully she has some brighter moments. I just hope her pain stops soon. It is awful to watch her go through this and not be able to do much to help other than comfort her.

My Dad actually 'commissioned' me to make this card for his mate! He told me what he was after and I searched ebay for a stamp that fit what he had in mind. I was really trying to find an image of a man with a walking stick, but I am pretty happy with this one nonetheless. I am sure there is something out there and I hope to come across it sometime. You can probably gather by the card that my Dad's mate has a good sense of humour and the two of them are often heard giving each other a ribbing! I am happy too that I managed to find a way of getting flowers and a bit of glitz onto a card without it appearing feminine!

Supplies
Hero Arts Background stamp Clouds
Hero Arts stamp Slanted Tree
Art Impressions stamp Norm
Versamark
Gold embossing powder
Gelly Roll Stardust Clear Journal Glitter Pen
Eyelets
Copic Markers
Colorbox Cats Eye Inks
Stickers from my stash
We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
We R Memory Keepers Cropadile

I am entering this card into a few challenges:

Merry from MerryMade Cards and Crafts would like to see a coloured image and some form of sticker

Crafty CardMakers have a Spotlight Challenge on glimmer and sparkle

and

Cards for Men's theme is long summer days.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention! I won two great stamp sets as a newbie on the Inkurable Stampers blog. Thankyou Sarah! This month's theme is Shoes!! :) Sarah also has Gothic Arch challenges. Take a peek at her blog and join in!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Happy Father's Day!

2010-09-06T00:00:00.004+10:00

Hi all! I hope you had a relaxing/creative/fun-filled weekend! Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads out there!! I thought I would share the cards I made for my fantastic Dad and for my super Father-in-Law. Again these are fun cards and perhaps a little cheeky - both these characters have great personality!

The feline stamps I used are from the Circus set from Sparkle n Sprinkle. The quality of these stamps is just superb and they are very well priced; the postage costs for me in Australia were minimal. The images are coloured with water-based markers. I used DCWV dp on both cards. The squares of paper on the tiger card were originally black and off-white, but I used a water-based yellow marker to colour it up. I have used Lawn Fawn's Bannerific once again, this time along with Harold's ABCs which are The Best font stamps - they line up perfectly side by side and close together - no silly looking spaces between letters. I actually thought I would struggle to fit the sentiment onto either of the banners, but as you can see, they fit perfectly! The sentiment and banner on the tiger card are embossed in silver and the faux stitching was done with a silver Uni-ball Signo Broad gel pen. Distress inks coloured the background on both cards, but I am currently lacking green, so the grass was done with chalk ink! I must add greens to my stash, pronto! (Especially as it's my favourite colour...!)

I have entered these into 2 challenges -

Paper Romance Challenges is asking for Furry Friends

and
The Corrosive Challenge blog is seeking For the Guys

I feel a little guilty for not having made a card for the Wonderful Man in my life - he did make me a Mother's Day card earlier this year. <3 I sadly ran out of time. However, the Teen of the House cooked pancakes for breakfast, the Pre-Teens were up at the crack of dawn making cards and the Little Princess had make n takes (lol) from a couple of places. All in all, I think he's forgiven me! Happy Father's Day Handsome!!

Feel free to leave a comment, it would be great to hear your thoughts. :)

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Be Seein' You!

2010-09-02T21:33:00.003+10:00

Hi There! This card was a lot of fun to make and it is bright and cheery, like the person for whom it was made :)

The dance teacher of my children is a uni student and she is leaving this weekend to venture interstate and complete her degree. It is a great opportunity for her; we'll miss her dearly, though we know we'll see her on her visits home. She's a gem to be sure - one of those generous people who give and give and expect nothing in return. She is also highly motivated and I know she'll go a long way in life and we wish her every success.

I am entering this card into two challenges: Lawn Fawn's Facebook Mini Challenge - Quote: 'Use any type of letter stickers (for example, Thickers) and Bannerific together in a crafty project by Thursday night (September 2nd) to be entered to win a prize' and Card Positioning System blog's CPS Sketch 182.

The card:

I used the Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug embossing folder on white cardstock, rounded the corners and placed it onto the card front. I then stamped in Stazon each of the gorgeous Lawn Fawn creatures from the set Critters In The Sea onto various colourful card stocks and cut them out. I pop dotted the whale as he is the star of this card! I stamped the whale's spout and 'have a whale of a time' from the same set, curving the sentiment to fit between the whale and dolphin - gotta love that you can do that with clear stamps! Lawn Fawn's Bannerific stamp was then adorned with American Crafts foam Thickers Rockabye - not a goodbye, but a 'Be Seein' You' or 'Be Sea-in' You'!?! LOL. I added pearls to finish it off and pop dotted it onto the card front and placed Cotton Candy Stickles on the hermit crab's shell.

Have a great night!

May your days be filled with inspiration,

Emboss Resist

2010-08-31T23:53:00.010+10:00

Well, I can't get enough - of all the different amazing techniques that I am encountering as a new crafter, that is. Going back a mere 10 months ago, as I put it to a friend a couple of days ago, I didn't even know I had a creative itch to scratch. My oh my has it opened my eyes to a new and exciting world. I just want to try everything I see... and yet, that's just not going to happen is it?! At least, not as soon as I would like. Humph - no fair!!

One of the techniques however that I have had a particular hankering for is emboss resist. For this technique alone, there are so many variations on how it can be done. The first I saw and have tried is what Jennifer McGuire calls a Layered Emboss Resist. It was so fun to do and I know I have much resistance in my future! You can watch Jennifer's tutorial here:

Just magic! I am entering my attempts into a challenge set by Sarah of Inkurable Stampers, a blog I have only found this week after the purchase of my first Darkroom Door stamp.

The stamps I have used on my card include Darkroom Door Background Stamp French Script and Hero Arts Clings Poppy Background. The inks include yummy Distress Inks Barn Door and Worn Lipstick on the red card and Broken China and Tumbled Glass on the blue version. On the base of both cards I stamped Hero Arts Clings Cling Dots in Stampin' Up! Whisper White pigment ink. I rounded the top right hand corner with the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper and then tied a ribbon around the front of each card. For the red card I stamped the French Script onto the white cardstock in Barn Door and then stamped the Poppy Background in Versamark over the top and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then used Worn Lipstick to colour the poppies and Barn Door to add definition and a deeper colour. I then used copic markers to fill in the stems of the poppies. I did the same for the blue card, starting with Tumbled Glass, highlighting with Broken China. I layered these onto blue and pink pearlescent cardstock respectively and pop dotted them onto the card fronts. I stamped Happy Birthday from Hot Off The Press Mix Your Messages stamp set onto the same pearlescent cardstock and cut and embossed them with a Nestabilities Labels 8 die. I pop dotted these also, after attaching a cute dragonfly brad in white.

I went to Paperific on Sunday with a friend. We arrived at opening, obtained our free bag celebrating the 10th Birthday of the expo and took only 20 minutes for lunch, leaving at closing time, only because we had to! It was too much fun! I added to my Distress Ink colours which I am looking forward to playing with and coveted a beautiful die cut machine that does everything! Hmmm....one day....a girl can dream....

May your day be filled with inspiration,

It's a Boy

2010-08-26T03:13:00.004+10:00

Hi there! Here I am posting again; this time I have tried my hand at a different challenge set by Everything But the Kitchen Sink. This is for Challenge 21 which is being hosted by the gorgeous Kelly Marie Alvarez of Lawn Fawn. If you haven't checked out her blog or stamps and you love cute, then you must take a look - the stamps are seriously adorable and she is so generous! I was lucky enough to win a stamp set from Lawn Fawn last week through Scrap Time which was fantastic. Scrap Time is also well worth taking a look at - Christine shows new products and techniques in videos that are downloadable (is that a real word?) through i-Tunes.

Back to the challenge! The inspiration given by Kelly Marie:

Her front loading washing machine! The sketch:

And my card:

And with matching envelope:

I used DCWV 8"x8" printed cardstock from the Animal Crackers stack to cover the base of the card and to line it up without messing it up I used the simple technique Kelly Marie shows at the beginning of this video:

I stamped the free falling monkey from Hero Arts Clear Design stamp set Playful Animals onto the brown cardstock and again onto cream cardstock and paper pieced the ears and face. The yippee! is from the same set. I then used my Cuttlebug and cut him out using a Spellbinders Nestabilities circle die. The leaves were punched out with Stampin' Up! Extra Large Two Step Bird Punch and I glued them down and covered them with Dimensional Magic to add some interest and shine. After pop dotting the circle to the card base I used Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments on yellow cardstock and pop dotted the banner to complete the card.

That's all from me tonight, time to get some sleep. Thanks for visiting!

May your day be filled with inspiration,

I {heart} Die Cuts!

2010-08-24T15:13:00.006+10:00

Hello! Funny old day in Melbourne once again - pouring down buckets this morning, sunshine by school dropoff time and now it's looking a little dismal again! Oh, they do say variety is the spice of life and being kept guessing is kind of interesting...!

Well, I have found a bit of time to craft this week - yay! I've been busy making invitations for parents of a friend who are soon celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary. 50 years - an amazing milestone! The invitations I have designed meet the new challenge set by Scrapbook Boutique. This is their second challenge and requires a project to include two or more die cuts that have been self-created; whether the machine be manual or digital it matters not.

As I have said, I've not been card making for long, but after You Tubing many videos I quickly fell in love with the Cuttlebug and it's capabilities and it was my Christmas gift last year. :) It has served me well to date! This card uses Nestabilities Petite Ovals and the Cuttlebug Ornamental Iron cutting die. It is a gatefold card, scored using a Scor Pal. I have placed gold brads in the centre of the die cuts on either side of the opening of the card and secured a cord to one so that it can be wrapped around the other to hold the card securely closed. A touch of gold on the card to represent the occasion!

The stamp at the base of the card is Hero Arts Slanted Tree which I heat embossed using Versamark and chocolate embossing powder. I rounded the corners at the top with the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

I love a matching envelope, so I stamped on two corners of the envelope with the Slanted Tree stamp.

Oh - and did anyone notice I said I {heart} die cuts???!

Why don't you join in the fun and enter your own creation for this challenge? The prize is a $25 Scrapbook Boutique Gift Voucher and is open to Australian residents only.

May your day be filled with inspiration,

Asian Influence

2010-08-14T22:57:00.004+10:00

Hi there! I hope this post finds you well and finding more time to craft than I do! Sometimes it's a little difficult to stamp and/or cut with a gorgeous 3yo who wants to do everything you are doing with those oh-so-sharp - *divine* - Tim Holtz scissors! I'm thinking I'll need to have some late night sessions to get the few birthday cards that need doing by the end of this month. I'm sure many can relate to everything I'm saying here!

The card I am posting today is being entered into the CPS Sketch challenge179 which looks like this:

My take on this sketch :

The patterned paper I have used is from two different sheets by Australian designer Alison Ellis - Eastern Elements - Wind Medley and Eastern Elements - Earth Block. This range is beautiful.

I have used a Martha Stewart punch combo Deco Fan (shell) - one punch cuts the corner and the other punches the edges. I haven't seen these locally, so I purchased this online from Scrapbook Boutique.

I hand made the flower and the organdie ribbon and cardstock are from my stash.

The cute Happy Birthday stamp is from The {Stamps} of Life set, banners4all and I used Versamark ink with Alison Ellis Design gold sparkle embossing powder.

To round the corners I used the We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper.

My twins play in a football semi final tomorrow, so I better get some sleep - plenty of cheering to be done early in the day!

May your day be filled with inspiration,

Happy Accidents

2010-08-08T17:55:00.001+10:00

Hi there! I have really only become familiar with blogs this year after taking up card making in the latter part of last year. I have been enjoying the creations I have viewed and am often in awe of what talent exists! I am learning that unless you have an amazing natural gift, it is practise along with trial and error through which betterment comes. Oh - and perhaps some occasional frustration when things don't turn out perfectly! On that note, I think the best advice I have read is 'there is never a mistake in card making'. So happy accidents will be my thing!

Having said that, please excuse the little smudges and the not-so perfect embossing on this card! I made 'Home Tweet Home' for a friend and her husband and their two little ones after her hubby's three months working interstate. I was eager to use these newly released stamps and am very happy with them. I have also entered this card into the first ever challenge held by Scrapbook Boutique. A first for me too! The challenge involves a card to be made with the colours blue and yellow. I have used copic markers to colour the birds, distress ink for the background, patterned paper for the leaves and I stamped on the base of the card. I love my nesties and don't think I will ever have as many as I want!

2010 has not been a kind year to me and my family, for reasons I will not go into right now, but discovering the joys of creating something to give to others is giving me therapeutic benefits of a sort. Without it, I would not have something to focus on to help me through these trying times. I have much to learn - about card making, blogging and life, so bear with me as I muddle on through! I'd love to hear from you! :)

May your day be filled with inspiration,

Trexxie