KWerner Color Inspiration #43 & Keesh's Inkspirations Sketch Challenge # 5

For a long time now I have been promising myself I would try a double challenge - and finally I've done it!!

The wonderful colours from Kristina have worked out so well with the fabulous sketch challenge from Keesh. I mean - how could you go wrong using inspiration from these two very talented stampers??

I ended up using both my Eastern Blooms and my Embrace Life sets - I just decided the flower from Eastern Blooms went better in the layout and it's dotty centre mirrors the Cuttlebug embossing on the Pumpkin Pie layer - which is why I decided to colour the spots in Pumpkin Pie too....

My First Card for Magnolia Down Under Challenges

Can you guess what the theme of our very first challenge is??? Kellie set this challenge and decided it should be Red, Tilda and Autumn. March 1st is the first day of Autumn here in Australia so the challenge is quite fitting.

I actually coloured up my Tilda with my Watercolour Crayons and Aquapainter to start with - but just couldn't get the depth of colour I wanted for the red. So out came my red marker and the red parts got a colour boost! I used a retired SU set called Trees Three to do the Autumnal background, using Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red for the leaves. I just LOVE being a member of this DT so I showed this off by using the Tilda holding the heart - which has Dazzling Diamonds all over it and looks fabo IRL.

Check out the Magnolia Down Under Challenge Blog to see what Kellie and Kristy got up to for this challenge - and hopefully you'll be inspired to play along too....

Two Great Reasons To Smile!

I have had such a busy couple of weeks - but oooooh soooooo exciting!! Firstly I have to tell you about the SCS Bushfire Appeal Lisa Hjulberg and I have been putting together. As the result of many emails we are starting to get together a FABULOUS prize list and are hoping to have the Prize Gallery up and running soon. I'll have updates on my sidebar under this wonderful logo that Beth Silaika from Freckled and Fun designed for us. We will be acknowledging everyone who is helping out with donations so PLEASE be sure to support them back - these people have been amazingly generous - without hesitation!!!

As a SU demonstrator I am SOOO proud of the company I have signed up with - not only are they running their own fundraiser - with $34,000+ already being raised, and still counting - but they answered my call for help and a HUGE box of goodies arrived at my door for prizes....What an amazing company! I'll be bundling them up into individual prizes for the fundraiser.

We ARE still looking for donations of papercrafting supplies and/or handmade goodies to add to the prize list - so PLEASE think about helping out and email me at rdpam@hotmail.com if you can - it's just like giving away some Blog Candy but with the fire victims benefitting. Please be aware that we need the P&H costs of your prize to be a part of the donation - and there is a strong possibility that it could be international. I will be contributing by paying the postage of all the SU supplies I received.

If you can't help out with prizes I sincerely hope you get on board and enter the non raffle once it's running - it's going to be a lot of fun!

My OTHER exciting news is that Kellie Winnell has started up a Magnolia Down Under Challenge Blog and has asked ME to be one of her DT members!! We both share a love for Tilda and her friends and I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this new venture. Kellie has also been offered sponsorship by Magnolia Stamps themselves - how exciting!! Kristy Young is the the other very talented stamper who is part of the inaugural DT. The Blog has it's official opening TOMORROW, March 1st! We are also looking for a Guest DT member for April - so check out the blog and join in the FUN FUN FUN!!!

Midnight Madness Inspiration Challenge #7

Ok - I've found another fun challenge to play along with!! I wasn't going to try this one as I don't have many stamps with cupcakes on - and then I spotted this Tilda among my pre-stamped images - so of course I HAD to give it a go!!

SU Cardstock - Whisper White, Pixie Pink, Tempting Turquoise

Cuttlebug with Swiss Dots folder and Nestabilities

Other SU Bits - Chunky Glitter, Tempting Turquoise Ribbon, Spring Pictograms Stamp Set

60th Birthday Guest Book

When my lovely new niece-in-law asked if I could make a guest book for her father's surprise 60th birthday party how could I refuse - especially as she was sooo happy with the one I made for her wedding last year. I found this one a bit harder though because Dennis is very much the photographer of the family and Naomi found it difficult to actually find photos with her dad in!!! Everyone TAKE NOTE - I know not many of us like seeing ourselves in a photo - but think of your family - these photos are THEIR memories of YOU. I admit I was always one of those people too - but have been making more of an effort lately not to hide from the camera!

I found this 60 book at Spotlight (an Aussie store similar to Michael's in the States) - the 60 is a separate layer to the other 2 - it was perfect!

Because I had very few photos to work with I was rapt when I found a card (sorry - mass produced!!!) that was for specific dates - and I got the last one for March 5th!! I chopped it up a little and glued it to the inside cover.







Apart from the one actual photo I used on the front cover I decided to use the few remaining photos on the "signing" sheets. I didn't want to make signing difficult because of bulk and hard edges though, so I actually printed each photo onto the corners of a sheet of Very Vanilla CS and then cut the pages to size. I then used my trusty Crop-a-Dile to punch the holes before adding some clear plastic hole protectors. I'm really happy with how it's worked out - it's always hard to make something personal for someone you don't know!

Splitcoast Helps with the Victorian Bushfire Appeal!

This month has seen the most devastating bushfires in Australia's history. People from all walks of life have generously given what they could to help those who have lost loved ones and/or everything they own. Rebuilding lives will be an ongoing effort for many months if not years.

My dear crafting friend Lisa Hjulberg from The Craft's Meow has emailed me with an idea for a fundraiser with 100% of profits going to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. Last year Peggysue and Jenn Balcer, crafters from SCS set up a non raffle to help the victims of the Midwest floods in the US. These same wonderful crafters have offered to help Lisa and myself set up a non raffle for our Aussie fire victims. The fact that the US Stamping community is willing to help our Aussie victims shows how far reaching this disaster has been felt.

What we desperately need to make it a success is prizes. So I am asking for donations of papercrafting supplies and/or beautiful hand crafted items from companies and individuals. Lisa will be co-ordinating the donation of prizes in the US, while I am organising Australian support. If you can help please email me by February 28th as we would like to get the non raffle up and running in early March. We ask that you take a photo of your prize to be pictured in the Prize Gallery and email it on to either myself or Lisa for inclusion in the gallery. There will be a separate winner for each prize. Once the non raffle is drawn and won, we then ask you to post that item to the winner with the p&h costs being part of your generous donation. With respect to postage please be aware this will be an international fundraiser and the winners could come from anywhere.

The link is in the process of being set up at SCS and I'll let you know when it's up. If you can't help with a prize donation please consider entering the non raffle. We're also trying to organise a logo for this fabulous event so watch out for that. Please also feel free to advertise it on your own blogs!

And here is the link from the flood non raffle so you can see how it was done - www.splitcoaststampers.com/about/nonraffle
In my experience crafters are some of the most generous people I've known and I can't thank you enough for your consideration of support for this worthy cause.

KWerner Color Inspiration #42

Firstly let me say I would NEVER have put these colours together on my own! When I pulled out the card I was really surprised to see how well they worked together. I guess this is why I enjoy doing these challenges - it makes you think outside the square....

And talking of squares - I jumped right back in to do this challenge - square punches that is - LOL! I have had to change the Kiwi Kiss for Old Olive though - it's not a colour we have here in Oz yet - maybe in the new catalogue?!?!?!

Tool List - Scallop Square Punch, 1 3/8" Square Punch, Crimper, Cuttlebug with Swiss Dots folder

Stamp Sets used - Mostly Flowers & Congrats (SAB)

I haven't inked up either of these sets before - it's always fun to try out new things!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired #19 Challenge

This weeks challenge from Cuttlebug Challenge blog was to use embossed acetate in your design. It must have been fate because my SU order arrived and there was my new Fishy Friends set just waiting to be put together, inked up and used for this challenge! I decided on my Divine Swirls folder to simulate ripples of water after cutting out a circle of acetate using my Nesties. I then used the smaller circle to cut the front of the card and stick in the acetate to make my fishy's bowl. My fishy's background was also cut out in a circle and then stuck to the inside of the card. The rest is fairly self explanatory - but feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Colours used - Pretty in Pink, Old Olive

Keesh's Inspiration Challenge #4

I found the cool blue and white of Keesh's picture very inspirational this week - I had soo many ideas rambling around I feel I was designing in my sleep!!! I think it was because of all the pictures of the terrible bush fires we've had in Victoria, some of which are still burning, that this card was the idea that won out. The touch of colour wrapped around the word "hope" has a lot of significance at the moment - along with the regeneration of nature symbolised by the flowers. This all sounds very deep - but the fires have become such a topical issue at the moment. Even for us city dwellers as the smoke hovers overhead and makes our throats dry. And everyone knows someone who knows someone affected directly.

It was interesting to look at the finished card and note the words "create" and "believe" are the only two other complete words!!!!

Stamps sets used : Pick a Petal, Tres Chic

Colours: Whisper White, Ballet Blue, Rose Red

Edit - I just wanted to thank Ramona for the idea of highlighting a word from the Tres Chic stamp - see her gorgeous version here.

Nicole's Sweet 16

I have a good friend who loves House Mouse stamps (Hi Deb!) - so when her lovely daughter turned 16 there really was no other choice but to use one of their stamps on the card. I had also told Leigh at 'Cause I'm Me that with her and Jean's gorgeous House Mouse cards I was almost afraid to post one - LOL. She sent me an email letting me know she'd love to see one on my blog, so this is for her too.

I decided to make it teenage friendly with some bright colours and funky flowers. I used Pumpkin Pie, Elegant Eggplant and Lavender Lace. Of course my Cuttlebug got a work out too - I cut all the flowers and numbers using Cuttlebug Dies, and the main image was cut and layered using my Nestabilities. The background was also embossed using my Divine Swirls folder. I blinged it up with some coloured rhinestones and Dazzling Diamonds frosting on the cupcake.

I was really happy with how it turned out - and got a lovely text from the birthday girl - so it was smiles all around!!!

HAPPY SWEET 16 NICOLE

KWerner Color Challenge #41

These are such strong colours this week and my card ended up nothing like I had planned! I've used the wonderful Embrace Life set and decided on some black and white embossing. I softened it up with some red glitter and half pearls. The sentiment is from the level one hostess set For a Friend. I stamped it with Versamark, embossed with black EP and then coloured the words in with my white Gel Pen. Once I added the glitter I decided to run the gel pen around the edge to make it stand out more. The rest of it is pretty self explanatory. I really like it's simple elegance - but think these colours just lend themselves to elegance.

Please note - we don't have Riding Hood Red in Australia so I have used Real Red...

Another High Hopes Challenge #17

I decided to give this challenge another go with my other High Hopes stamp - I think this little guy is sooo cute! I'm always calling my kids "cheeky monkey" so maybe that's why it grabbed my attention.

The colours I've used this time are Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie - a couple of my favourites. I found this tree at a local scrapbooking shop and thought it was the perfect embellishment - although I did have to trim off a few branches to make it fit the space...

High Hopes Challenge #17

Ever since I saw Amy Wegener's site Stampin' Stuff several weeks ago I knew I would have to get me some High Hopes Stamps. Amy is the most amazing artist - you just HAVE to check out her work!! Luckily for me I had ordered a stamp from a local stamp shop and when I went to collect it she had just received a new shipment - and had High Hopes Stamps - Yippeeeee. I bought this little fella and then inked him up for this challenge - from the High Hopes Blog. I've stamped him in Versamark and used black EP before colouring in with my SU Watercolour Crayons and Aquapainter.
This little guy has a Going Gray embossed strip to simulate his rough hide - though he looks too cute to have anything rough!!! I gave him a yellow ribbon because it historically signifies homefront support for troops - and these fires have been likened to devastation left by wars. A bit deep there - but my intention was to make a gesture of support to our fire victims.

SU Aus/NZ Joins in Helping Bushfire Victims

Stampin' Up! have decided to help out the Victorian Bushfire Appeal by donating 50% of the retail value from sales of the following stamp sets from now until 31st March, 2009

Priceless
Seeing Spots
Baroque Motifs
Live Your Dream
Looks Like Spring
The Snowflake Spot
Bodacious Boquet
Polka Dots & Paisley
G'day Mate
Be Happy

Many of these sets will also be retired on 31st March , so now is the perfect time to pick them up. Click here to see the flyer . I have decided to make this offer even more appealing in the hope to boost the donation - I will be deducting my comission from all sales of these sets, so you save an extra 20%. Also remember that Sale-A-Bration is still running until the end of February, so if your order reaches $100 (before the commission is deducted!) you will also receive a free SAB stamp set.

Cards for Fire Victims - Can You Help????

My dear friend Kellie sent me the idea below - I have been feeling like my creating has been frivolous in the light of things happening in Victoria this past week - maybe this will give it a purpose!!!

Here's the idea...............................

See the original post at http://sandie-sandiesplace.blogspot.com/

Sandie had a call from her sister ...............
A local craft group in her town is running a Card Drive for the Fire Victims.I am going to run one too. Would you like to join in?????All you need to do is make some cards or if you have any in your stash made up already. Then you can either pop $5.00 in the card yourself or maybe friends and family would like to give you the $5.00. (The idea would be for the victims to buy something just for themselves)PLEASE MAKE CARDS BRIGHT AND CHEERY. I THINK SENTIMENTS SHOULD BE SOMETHING LIKE "THINKING OF YOU" THAT TYPE OF THING.ON THE INSIDE OF THE CARD JUST WRITE WORDS OF SUPPORT AND COMFORT - NOTHING TOO DEEP or RELIGIOUS AS CARDS WILL BE GOING TO ALL WALKS OF LIFE. ALSO KEEP IN MIND TO MAKE SOME CARDS FOR THE KIDDIES - THEY WOULD LOVE TO SEE A BRIGHT CARD TOO.I will then organize for these cards to be sent to the fire victims. I will not be sending them through the post - I will arrange for them to be delivered to them so they get to the right people.If you would like to join in please send all cards to me. You can contact me via email for my postal address. (Just click on my Profile at the side bar to find the email link -ta)Thanks for your support.

Keesh's Inkspiration Colour Challenge #4

This week's Colour Challenge from Keesh is just what I needed - the excuse to create something with these gorgeous colours was a welcome break from the devastation and heartbreak of the Victorian Bushfire Disaster currently playing out in nearby towns. We have all been deeply affected but among the stories of despair are stories of hope and heroism too. The human spirit is an amazing thing!!

My husband really surprised me last night - I'd asked him to pop into the supermarket on his way home and pick something up for the bushfire food drive my daughter's school is running - he came home with FIVE bags of groceries!!!! All around Australia and the world people are doing what they can - on behalf of those in need my heartfelt thanx goes out to everyone!!!

But onto my card - and there's a story to it!! You may notice that the base is NOT Whisper White but Very Vanilla!! Ooops! It was late last night when I decided I needed to do something about the challenge - to get away from the news for a bit and make something pretty! Unfortunately the light in my stamping room is useless - I usually work during the day with the natural light - so when I grabbed the CS to tear up, stamp and emboss I was sure it was white! It wasn't until I'd finished it and took it into the other room that I thought - hmmmmm! Never mind - it's not THAT important in the scheme of things - AND the flower centres ARE white! It's a fairly simple design - a bit of stamping and embossing, some felt flowers from the Summer Mini, white flowers and rhinestone bards from the Pretties box. I made the leaves using my oval punch and scoring it down the middle - I've seen this idea before - I think it was Nancy from iStamp!

Cuttlebug Be Inspired #17 Challenge

The theme for this challenge is LOVE and luckily for me the pre-stamped images I'd ordered had arrived on Thursday and these cuties from Magnolia Stamps were among them - talk about perfect timing! I sat down yesterday and coloured these guys in using my SU Watercolour Crayons and Aquapainter - I just love the look I get from these. I also used the same colour crayons to add some dashes of colour to my Pretty in Pink heart before I sent it to the Cuttlebug for embossing. The folders I've used are Divine Swirls, Swiss Dots and Forest Branches. Everything was layered onto Ballet Blue CS and a Certainly Celery card base.

This is also the first opportunity I've had to post a card with my new watermark - thanx again to Nancy!

On a Sad Note -

Yesterday was a great day to be sitting in my house with the air con going and colouring - Melbourne recorded it's highest temperature on record with 46.4 oC/115.5 oF. Unfortunately in the extreme conditions bushfires have caused loss of life and devastation to many families in areas close to the city. I was a volunteer fire fighter in my teens and early 20s - and fought in the infamous Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983. Yesterday's fires have brought back many memories I thought I had long forgotten! My heart and thoughts go out to those affected by fires and those still battling on the fire fronts.

If you want out help please support the Salvation Army who are in there trying to help those in need. Donations can be made to The Salvation Army’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal by calling 13 SALVOS (137258) or by going online to www.salvationarmy.org.au/donations. Donations are tax deductible.

New Look Blog!!!!!!

WOW - I'm sooo excited. The gorgeous Nancy from Card Worthy has designed this wonderful new blog banner for me - aren't I lucky!!! And with Nancy's generosity The Starlight Foundation in Australia has benefitted too. I'll be putting the details on my side bar soon - just wanted to get it up for now and show off.

A BIG THANK YOU TO NANCY - YOU'RE A TRUE STAR!!!

KWerner Color Challenge #40

It's been a long week this week - the kids are back at school after the Summer Holidays and I'm back at work. I work at a school so am lucky enough to get the school holidays off too! It's been hard to get back into the routine of things - everyone's tired and grumpy at the end of the day. The continuing heat doesn't help - it just sucks all your energy away. We have one more day of extreme temperatures to get through tomorrow and then it looks like some milder weather - phew.

Anyway - it was really nice to have a day off work today to catch up on housework and some sewing for Sarah's year 12 camp next week - I'm embroidering jackets for her and 3 friends for their dress up night!

I also managed to sneak in some creatin' time - ie MY TIME. Kristina Werner had her new colour challenge up - and my initial reaction was YIKES! I seem to think that most times I see the colours though - LOL. It actually was a lot easier than I thought.....

I've used a Whisper White Card base and layered on some Taken with Teal that had been run through my Floral Screen CB folder. I had a small piece of my teal and white ribbon left which I put on. I then stamped the background using the stem from the Embrace Life set in Old Olive. Originally this was going to be a square but I decided on something different - I used my nestabilities to cut out consecutive circles from the same piece, creating 2 rings and 1 circle. I used the Nestabilities again to cut out a scallop in So Saffron to pop under my circle. The flower is stamped in More Mustard onto So Saffron CS and then shadowed with my So Saffron Marker. Some 1/2 pears add some more interest. This was then stuck to the card using Dimensionals.

I'm really happy with how this turned out - but best get back to my housework

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Keesh's Inkspirations Sketch Challenge #4

When I saw Keesh's sketch challenge for this week I had the idea of using some mini chipboard clipboards (say that several times really fast!!) I had in my stash for the main image. Unfortunately when I pulled them out they were a bit too big for what I had in mind so I pinched the clip off and made my own!

After deciding on a Certainly Celery card I then layered Rose Red DP over Regal Rose CS - having punched holes out of each layer first. I placed a large green bit of bling in each hole - I wasn't going to but couldn't help myself! I wrapped some Certainly Celery ribbon around a strip of Regal Rose CS and added a bow. The bow is my first attempt at following Lisa's (the Craft's Meow) tutorial - thanx Lisa - it was fun! This strip was popped up on Dimensionals.

The main image is fairly simple - I tried a few options but my creative mojo is still on strike after our heatwave - it got to 45.1oC/113oF here on Friday - YUK. Anyway, enough dwelling on the heat - back to my card - I ended up stamping the swirls and small flowers from Priceless and the sentiment from Spring Solitude. My "clipboard" is also put up on Dimensionals. A big paper flower and some chunky glitter finished it all off.

I had to laugh when I saw my finished card - I realised I loved pink and green together but then I went to type up my post and saw my laptop and mobile sitting next to each other - hmmmmm, there's a theme here!! LOL

Cuttlebug Be inspired #16

The Cuttlebug Be Inspired Challenge this week was to add distress to your creation! I think I may have gone a bit overboard when I tried to dry the edges of the Very Vanilla rolled edges off with my heat gun and started melting the ribbon though! After my initial hissy fit I decided it added a quirky touch and decided to distress/melt more of the ribbon! Sometimes our mistakes can work out - LOL. I used the retired Always set to stamp the heart and 3 flowers. I ran the heart through my Tiny Bubbles folder and then used my bone folder to flatten the bubbles off - this made the CS very pliable and a bit leathery. The Real Red layer was given torn edges, went through my Swiss Dots folder and then the dots were sanded back. The Very Vanilla layer was given torn edges before going through my Divine Swirls folder. I then wet these torn edges and rolled them back a bit. The 3 flowers were cut out and covered with Crystal Effects before being popped on with Dimensionals. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet.

I must apologise for not posting over the past few days - the heat wave in Melbourne (we've broken records!!) really sapped my energy and dried up those creative juices. I was also struggling to organise a party for last night in the heat! Here's a little picture from the night - our 25th anniversay - thank goodness the temperature dropped as we were planning on spritzing our guest with tank water at regular intervals if necessary - LOL.