Magnolia Down Under Challenge #14 - Moving to the Country

This week's challenge over at Magnolia Down Under Challenges is "Moving to the Country". My card isn't so much about moving there as being there. The lovely relaxed lifestyle, the pets and the wild birds! I also think this Tilda with her patched jeans and big spotty bow looks like a country girl - so natural and unaffected!

I found the swing seat stamp at the recent papercrafting show I was at - it came from HeavenScent Crafts and is perfect for Tilda to sit on. I love looking for companion stamps for my Magnolia's - have a couple more to show you in the coming weeks! Bec over at Bizzy Bec's has also gotten into the Tilda furniture mode and has designed some pieces she'll be releasing soon - check her blog out here for some sneak peeks!

And of course you have to go over to MDUC and see what the rest of the DT have done - before trying it out yourself!

xXx

The Highs and the Lows

WOW - I have had such an interesting few days - and unfortunately not all good!

The Highs - I won 2 challenges - amazing I know!!! I won the Whiff of Joy challenge over at Bizzy Becs with this card - and have a wonderful pack of goodies heading my way - how lucky am I!?!?

I also won Keesh's Inkspiration challenge this week with this card - a true honour given the standard of her past winners and all of the entries, I'm sooo glad I perservered with it after several horrible attempts.

I was also awarded 2 wonderful blog awards which I will get around to passing on soon - I don't want either Carolann or Emily to think I've forgotten or that they are not very much appreciated!! Life is a little chaotic at the moment and there seem to be days I'm just running around in circles...

The Lows - Two of my wonderful SU family have lost close family members - my thoughts are with you and you know where I am if you need anything! Take care guys xXx

A Birthday Card for my Sister

My sister loves this stamp from Stampavie so it was the perfect choice for her birthday card. Her birthday was actually a couple of weeks ago and we've been trying to catch up in person, but sometimes things get in the way. Both Sharon and her son Liam have been unwell and then my work and Liam's schedule got in the way! In the end I popped it in the post!

I used the largest Nestie for the image so I cut another one out in brown to sit behind it - all I did was split it in half and nestle it underneath the main image - I did have to trim off the "points" to make it sit better - but I'm happy with the extra definition it gave the card! I've used Crystal Effects on the owl's eyes, it really makes them come to life! I've also used Dazzling Diamonds on their little tummies and the stars.

Sharon called me today to thank me for the card so I know I can post it now! She guessed I had used the owls - she knows me to well!!!

Luvya Sis!!

xXx

An 18th Birthday Card!

This Saturday marks the 18th birthday of one of my daughter's friends. The girls have been friends - on and off like most kids! - since they were at kindergarten together 14 years ago!!!! Boy does that make me feel old!!!! I recently bought the Miss Anya Collection from The Greeting Farm after being enabled by my friend Lisa over at Craft's Meow - she sooo had to twist my arm ; ) - LOL! This set of 3 is sooo perfect for teenage girls - my daughter loved them so figured her friends would too. I've coloured this with a combination of Copics and a cheaper version of marker - I need to hone my skills before I go all out with buying Copics! I've used my Cuttlebug to emboss the background, and to cut the numbers and purple flower. Colours are Cameo Coral, Real Red and Elegant Eggplant.

Keesh's Inkspirations Inspiration Challenge # 7

Have you seen the DT girls cards for Keesh's challenge this week - wow - amazing!!! It did however make it very hard to clear my head of their stunning creations and come up with my own take! I found my first, and OK 2nd and 3rd, layouts were poor re-creations of what I had already seen. I HAD to come up with something new!!!

I ended up with this at 11.20 last night - the final bit of glue had been applied and I left it sitting on my desk to dry while I dragged myself off to bed!! It doesn't have as much colour as I would have liked, but something had to give. The only non SU items I used were the butterfly punch - one I've had for years, and the big red flower. I've used DPs from the Bella Rose set (the background), the Urban Oasis set (the leaves) and the Holiday Treasures set (the houndstooth check). Thank goodness for the current DP special which enabled me to get all these papers! I've used a Build-a-Brad for the flower centre - I LOVE these!!!!

Anyway - I was happy with the whole effect when I woke up to it this morning with fresh eyes - hope you like it too....

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #13 - Under the Sea

Have you ever had one of those ideas that just doesn't translate to card??? I'm quite happy with the final result for this week's MDUC challenge but it is soooo not what I had planned!! I hate to think how many unsalvagable bits of CS I popped in the recycling bin - and how many time the design concept changed, but I got a card done in the end!!! My idea was not so much "Under the Sea" but what is under the sea - so I've done an aquarium, and Tilda seems to be enjoying watching the fishy antics!!!

I've used all sorts of different stamp sets to achieve the final result so I'll list them below. I also had several different Tilda's coloured up to try out - so I have a little stash of them to use for future cards now.

I can't wait to see what the rest of the DT come up with for the challenge - and what everyone else does with it too...so why don't you put on your thinking caps and come over to MDUC to play along.

xXx

Stamps Sets - SU
Fish - Fishy Friends (retired), Seaweeds - Pocket Silhouettes, Waves - swirl from Season of Joy, Sentiment from Short & Sweet.

A Little Bit of House Mouse!

I've had this image sitting on my desk, all coloured up, for some time - just waiting to be inspired to put it together! I've really been struggling with my mojo and finding time lately for my stamping "therapy". I can't believe I was inspired by my 10yo old son's friend who did some stamping for his mum! This image is my friend Deb's who loves House Mouse! She kindly let me stamp it off and I sat colouring at the ice rink while our daughters trained. Unfortunately the rink lighting isn't the best but it's such a great opportunity to colour! Am thinking of dragging along a lamp next time!! This stamp appealed to both of us as our hubbys and kids - and OK us!!! - are often sitting at the computer for long periods at a time - although I've NEVER managed to be THIS bad - LOL! I've added a little Crystal Effects to the computer screen, the bear's nose and the coffee mugs which gives them a shiny dimension IRL.

These are the projects that inspired me to finish my card! Leigh is Deb's 10yo son and it looks to me that he has a real artistic flair! Deb is a librarian so this image really appealed to her - and what a great job Leigh has done with it!! Look at the details - the hand cut heart, the hand cut shaping of the main image, the torn paper inside and he's designed his own logo for the back!!!






Leigh also made Deb her very own HM bookmark with another of her images - once again he's hand coloured and cut the images by himself!! Deb came home from work to be presented with these by her proud son!! Think I'll have to show them to young Toby - do you think he'll take the hint ;)

I think I'll have to get young Leigh his own catalogue and some SU punches for his birthday - LOL

Great job Leigh - your mum is one lucky lady!!!

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #12 - Flutter by Butterfly

I thought I would be using Miss Tilda for a butterfly based card but I couldn't resist this image of Edwin and his butterfly net! I made his little cheeks a little redder than normal because those cheeky butterflies have had him running around!! Once again I have used my aquapainter and water colour crayons to paint all the Magnolia images - the fence, the butterflies and Edwin. I love this medium but also enjoy playing with other mediums - seeing the differences makes life interesting.

I have used the Chocolate Chip inkpad to "thump" the background texture on - such a simple yet effective look, especially for boys.

On a side note - I have torn a tendon in my right shoulder and some of my friends laughed when I told them and believe I have "stamper's shoulder" - is there such a thing - I hope not - LOL!!! It's not going to stop me stamping - but the vacuuming is too hard at the moment, what a shame!!!!

Hoping all is well with you and that you can come along and join us at MDUC this week - or just pop in to see what the DT girls have done...

xXx

Some Cards and a Blog Award!

Firstly I apologies for not posting as regularly as usual - I think I was a little flat after Convention - which seems strange because I was sooo fired up when I left Canberra! Maybe it was heading back to work straight away that did it - I wanted to play not work!! It's also amazing how my few days away from home can create soo much housework!!!

I am currently preparing a display for the Picture to Page Papercrafting Show which is on this coming weekend in Melbourne. I'll be on the Stampin' Up stand on Saturday if you want to pop in and say "hi" - it's at The Whitehorse Club, 298-336 Burwood Hwy, East Burwood - Mel.Ref 62C7

I've used a number of cards I already had in my stash but I did need a few more to co-ordinate the display properly. I made these up on Mother's Day - it was wonderful to sit and stamp without worrying about what else I should be doing!! I love the guys from Holiday Line-Up and can't decide which group is my favourite. These guys just have some colours "washed" over in places using my Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss stamp pads and blender pen! The striped DP from Urban Garden gives them a really funky feel I think.

This card is a direct CASE from the fabulous Dawn Griffith - she has a wonderful video tutorial here. It uses the crayon resist technique. I have seen some fabulous different colour versions of these lately but Dawn's colours co-ordinated perfectly with the rest of my display! Check out Zarna's and Lisa's versions too - gorgeous! These lovely ladies were the inspiration for me trying the card out - so thanx!
This one was inspired by one of the swaps I received at Convention - from Andrea Lowcock, check out her swaps here. I was in desperate need of a place to start when I saw the box of swaps, and I ended up with way too many ideas in the end - LOL. I have changed her design around a little - but loved the whole concept of her card - and yes, you guessed it - it matched my display!! I've also added Dazzling Diamonds to the Pacific Point leaves on the main image - a little bling never hurts - LOL

Now for the wonderful blog award Kellie Winnell not only passed on to me but had designed herself!!!! The idea behind the award is this - to quote Kellie - "I feel that there are a lot out there that are award for the creative sides of things and I love them, but few to just appreciate the people that follow and comment on your blog which to me nothing makes my day more than having gorgeous comments left on something you created, really lifts the spirits and makes my day." I'm soo with Kellie on that - it's amazing how a few comments can change a bad day around!

I'd like to pass this on too....in no particular order....because these gals always end up making me smile!!!! Check out their fabulous blogs too!!!

Kellie Winnell - yup she deserves it even if it IS her award!!!
Lisa Hjulberg
Michelle Yungbauer
Emily Wundrock
Marcia at The Stamp Spot
Cheryl Joshua - I know Kellie gave her this award but she always brightens my day too!
Kristine B from Ink Something

I know, I went over 5 recipients too - but it's tooo hard not too!!! Trust me I could have kept on going - I enjoy reading every single comment left on my blog - OH OK - there were a couple I had to delete that weren't so enjoyable!! Thanx to everyone who leaves comments - it really is appreciated!

xXx

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #11 - Thinking of You

This weeks theme at Magnolia Down Under Challenges is "Thinking of You". I decided on a bit of a romantic feel - having Tilda laying there thinking of her fella. I could have done with a bigger card though - it's looking a little overcrowded - maybe because I needed Edwin to be just a little bit smaller. I think they make a cute couple though - and it was nice not having to cut around Tilda so carefully for a change!


I'd also like to wish all the Mother's out there a very special Mother's Day today - have a great day!!!

xXx

Kellie's 20,000 Hits Blog Candy!!

The very lovely and talented Kellie Winnell has had 20,000 hits on her blog and is celebrating by offering up this fabulous blog candy!! She certainly deserves the success because she's a fabulous crafter and a wonderful person! Please stop in and say "HI" while you check out her stunning creations! I'm soo pleased I can call Kellie my friend and that I have been able to see her grow and grow - you go girl!

Bizzy Becs Whiff of Joy Challenge

Bizzy Bec has a challenge running until May 22nd using a Whiff of Joy stamp and lace. I only have a couple of Whiff of Joy stamps and the other one is a chair - may try that one another time! I love this image from the Winter Collection and with the cold weather outside it certainly felt like the right stamp to use. I've played with my Copics again - am loving these! I also masked the little girl and stamped the large snowflakes in Soft Sky (retired) and Versamark so I could add some glittery EP. The smaller snowflakes are just in the Soft Sky. These stamps are from the retired SU set The Snowflake Spot. I've used my Eyelet Border punch to fulfil the lace criteria. This is soo sparkly IRL - with the snowflakes and Dazzling Diamonds on the girls ear muffs, muffs and boots!

And can you tell - I have some new Nesties - Labels 2!!!

KWerner Color Inspiration #51

It seems to have been ages since I've had a chance to participate in Kristina Werner's colour challenge - it's great to be able to play again. It was also great to be back in my stamping room after Convention. I've had all of these fabulous ideas rumbling around my head and all I wanted to do was stamp - but there was the house to get clean, work to go to, washing to get done and a new vacuum to buy - I haven't bought my new iron yet - so can't do any ironing yet - what a shame!!!! Am wondering how long I can put buying it off - LOL
It's Autumn here in Melbourne - only a few short days to Winter! The colours for the challenge reminded me of the fall colours - the trees seem to be ablaze with stunning reds and oranges! That was my inspiration for this card and colour combo! AND it gave me the perfect excuse to use this fabulous tree from Thoughts and Prayers - I just can't get enough of it!!! The idea for the heart in build-a-brad on the tree is a CASE from my fabulous upline Yvonne - here's her post where she gives you a tutorial on using the BaBs too, and check out the stunning card!!!

Convention 2009 - Canberra

Oh where do I start - I had such a wonderful time away and met sooo many wonderful people and got to know many others better. I also learnt some fun new things to try out with my stamping. I think the highlight of the weekend for me was being able to meet some blogging friends - they are as lovely IRL as they are on their blogs - it was like we were old friends.

We left on Thursday full of enthusiasm for the days ahead. When we arrived at our hotel our lovely upline Yvonne had made us each a gift - a tag for our convention bags and a care pack - we felt so spoilt. Oooh - have just noticed the chocolate - had forgotten that so I best be off to see if it's still around!!!

That afternoon we went on a bottle shop hunt in the guise of sightseeing - and were successful - yippeeeee. After a few wines we decided to start swapping - poor Yvonne and Keesh had about 40 ladies in their room all excited about starting swapping early. There were cards, people, chips and cheese all over the place - it was such a fun way to start (but I'm glad it wasn't my room - LOL)...

This shot of Yvonne, Kristy and Kellie was taken before the mayhem began....

and this was during......

I'd also like to share some shots of some of my fabulous blogging friends - and some name dropping too - from all over Australia!

Jean (Stampin Cos It's Fun), Me and Karen (Luv to Stamp)


What a couple of sweethearts these gals are! Karen has one of my very first Favourite blogs - it was soo great to meet her - and Jean is a fellow House Mouse lover and a fabulous SU demo too.



Me and Leigh (Cause I'm Me)

Leigh has such a fun and bubbly personality and I'm glad we managed to catch up - we were sms'ing all Thursday afternoon as we tried to find each other - it was worth the effort!



I have a fabulous picture of me and Mandy Schiller - Mandy has the loveliest smile and I was so pleased to find her amongst the 450 or so demos. Unfortunately my computer doesn't want to upload her photo - will try and sort it out later.... on to the next picture!


Me and Debbie M (Hubby's Headache) We kept missing each other and then Robyn pointed Debbie out to me and I ran over to say Hi Debbie - it's Debbie - LOL. I have promised Debbie I'll finish the step card I've started - she's done some amazing ones and has inspired me to give it a go too.


I also met Sam Post (Ryemilan) and Ange Kelly (Creative Inspirations) - but the whole event was soo frantic I didn't get a chance to get a pic - hopefully next time! I did manage to have a lovely chat with Ange, just wish it could have been longer.

During the event it was funny running around trying to read people's name tags and seeing if you knew their names - I was amazed how many I did!!!!

Saturday evening was the dinner and awards night - and I managed to get some glam shots.



Robyn (Rainbows by Robyn) and my roomie Ramona







The lovely and very talented Makeesha

And the lovely and talented Jenni

And then we had the quieter trip home on Sunday, we were all a little tired and finding it hard to believe it was all over. I arrived home to find both my iron and my vacuum had been broken while I was away - unbelievable!!! I was a bit slow at work today too - will be looking forward to getting through work tomorrow and then being able to spend some time catching up on what all my favourite bloggers have been up to over the past few days!!!

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #10 - Mum's the Word

I am hoping this post magically appears when it's supposed to as I'm heading home from Convention today, this computer stuff still gets to me sometimes - give me paper or fabric any day!!!!

WOW - Week 10!!!! It only seems like yesterday that Kellie sent me an email with the idea of starting her own blog!! I'm soo glad she did and even happier I'm on board!

This week's theme is "Mum's the Word" because next Sunday is Mother's Day here in Australia. What a fantastic time to jump on board and give the Magnolia Down Under Challenge a go - you get to play the challenge AND make your mum a card!!

A few weeks ago I posted a card made from scraps on my desk - THIS is the card I had just finished making! My mum loves strong colours, yet she certainly enjoys soft flowers too - so I think this card will fit be perfect for her - and since I know she can't check my blog out I know it's safe to show you!

Go and check out what the rest of the DT has been up to and then see what you can do!