Twelve Days of Halloween - Day 4

If you're interested please scroll down for my Magnolia Down Under Challenges card posted earlier today!

Ooops - It's been a crazy weekend and I nearly forgot to post my card for the Fourth Day of the Twelve Days of Halloween - that wouldn't have helped anyone out would it - LOL. For all the ongoing information about the competition and prizes check out the Simply Betty Challenges blog HERE. Me and the rest of the gals from  The Burtonesque Dolls are helping out our neighbours with this one in place of our regular challenges.

On the 4th day of Halloween my ghoul love gave to me four crazy Ravens

... incorporate Ravens and this line from Vincent...

"His voice was soft and very slow As he quoted The Raven from Edgar Allen Poe: “and my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted? Nevermore…” "

I used a Memory Box DP and cut a raven on a fence out using my craft robo. I added some texture to the bottom of the fence with one of my Tim Holtz embossing folders. The quote was printed out using my computer and then I just distressed it a little with some ink and my thumbnail. I used the gorgeous boy from the "Sweet and Toxic" set from The Greeting Farm - I liked the fact that he has wings - it ties him in to the theme of birds and ravens!

xXx

Burtonesque Dolls Challenge #16 - Vincent

This week at The Burtonesque Dolls we have been asked to create a card based on Tim Burton's 1982 poem and short film Vincent. The premise of the story is that young Vincent Malloy dreams of being just like Vincent Price and loses himself in macabre daydreams. I decided to use Creeper Crew Jack from The Greeting Farm to portray the imaginative Vincent. I found the background pattern on the internet and thought is was twisted enough to suit my card - LOL. A quote I also found on the internet became my sentiment - and seemed appropriate as Vincent Malloy struggles with the reality of others!

If you're needing some more inspiration don't forget to check out The Doll's amazing creations at TBD blog HERE.

xXx

Mo's Challenge #26

I wasn't sure I was going to get a chance to play along with Mo Manning's Digital Pencil Challenge this week but I made it - I haven't crafted in over a week and boy have I missed it!!! When I saw Mo's new pirate releases I just couldn't help myself - they were perfect for this challenge which is to use black, white, kraft, and any other colors you'd like.

I've merged 3 different images to create my little scene. I had originally decided to try and just stick to adding one other main colour - but I just couldn't help giving First Mate Kate a jaunty red pirate scarf. I've used a build-a-brad from Stampin' Up to tie the sentiment to. The sentiment and skull and cross bones are from The Greeting Farm pirate set. I coudn't fit the whole image into the b-a-b properly and looked a bit like an alien's head - LOL - so I stamped it again underneath to get the full cross bones effect.

Now to finish all the DT projects I have on my current "to do" list - and to catch up on my blog hopping - life is finally starting to return to normality after the weekend's events - LOL.

xXx

Another Shameless Plea for Votes for the TGF Battle!

YAY - My team made it through to the next round of the TGF Battle!!! The competition is getting tough and we really need YOUR support!

The lovely Kristy Young - aka to her friends as Princess - had to come up with a scrapbook page featuring a Greeting Farm image. How appropriate that she used a gorgeous picture of her lovely daughter Madi and Princess Anya! Madi has obviously pinched her mum's crown for this picture - or maybe she's just a "princess in training" - LOL.

We'd LOVE you to vote #1 for Delicious Delights HERE. Thanx to you ALL for your support along the way!

PLEASE NOTE - THIS IS NOT MY WORK BUT KRISTY YOUNG'S

xXx

The Battle Continues!

Last week Debra James did an AWESOME job to get our TGF Battle Team - The Delicious Delights -  into the next round. Now it's MY turn! This week's challenge is to create an easel card. I love easel cards but it's amazing what extra pressure there is when you are responsible for your team-mates too - LOL.

I've gone with a shaped card using my Nestabilities Labels #1 set - in fact I used 4 out of the 6 dies for this card! The largest 2 have been used for the card and mat, and for added interest I've set it on point. The smallest 2 dies have created the "seat" for Miss Anya - the pink layer is cut down slightly from it's original size to create the thin green border.

The leaf die is a Stampin' Up exclusive Sizzlits die that I bought last year - not sure I've actually used it before but I may be hooked - LOL. The DP is from my Basic Grey Porcelain paper pad and is beautiful in soft tones of pink and green. Most of the flowers are from Kellie's store.

I used a mixture of Copic and Touch markers on Neenah paper - which is available from Mad for Markers here in Australia.

VOTE 1 for The Delicious Delights....Yay team!

xXx

The Battle Royal

This fabulous creation was made by the ultra talented Debra James for a challenge over at Splendid Stamping for the Greeting farm.

The challenge is for a team of 4 to 5 people. Each team member takes a turn to submit one card/creation for the challenge. These are voted on with the top teams going through to the next round.

Our team is called "Delicious Delights" and made up with Kristy Young- our Team Captain , Kellie Winnell, Debra James and Myself.

This weeks challenge is Going Retro and using the colours in this picture.

Each week you have the chance to vote for 3 of your favourite cards and teams with the least amount of votes will be eliminated. The winner will be the last team standing .....

The voting has already started - and you only have until Tuesday evening TGF time - so that's Wednesday morning Melbourne time!

*****All entries will be located in the- galleria HERE at the Splendid Stamping Blog.Please click on the Link as it will take you straight to the voting page to vote for Delicious Delights.
*You must be registered to vote - so please take a few minutes to do this if you're not already registered.*

Next Wednesday the top 45 teams will be announced and they will advance to the next round so Please, Please vote for our team.....Delicious Delights... we would love to be standing at the finish line And Debra has put sooo much effort into this AMAZING creation!!! Inky Fingers Crossed.....................................

xXx

Anya Ink Challenge - Guest DT Spot

This week I have the honour of being a GDT for Anya Ink. The challenge this week is "bling" and I have gone for a really old fashioned "Hollywood" glitz feel for my card. I wish you could see this IRL - it sparkles beautifully. I have used crystal stickles on all the edges as well as in the lace work created by my Martha Stewart punch. I have used my Copic Spica gold pen to give my "Marilyn" a sparkly gold lame dress and shoes. Her wrap has been covered in Dazzling Diamonds for more bling! And what does an old fashioned gal like as much as sparkle - pearls! "Marilyn" is sitting on a shelf of pink and cream pearls - with more placed around the card and on the satin bow.

To finish off the Hollywood feel I have computer generated a sentiment which was a famous quote by the late, great Marilyn Monroe herself. The DP is from my Basic Grey Porcelain paper pad.

BREAKING NEWS - Anya Ink has a new owner - my wonderful friend Kristy Young is taking over the challenge and has some exciting plans! But first she's having a new DT call!!! So what are you waiting for .... check out the requirements HERE and GOOD LUCK!

Now grab your bling and one of your TGF stamps and come along and have some fun over at Anya Ink!

xXx

A Joy Fold Card For The Stamp Spot

Wednesday is my DT day for The Stamp Spot and I have been showcasing some of the fabulous new stamps Marcia has in now she's re-stocked after her move - this one is Princess Ava from The Greeting Farm!

I've made my very first joy fold card thanx to the wonderful inspiration I've been seeing from Kylie over at INKlings from Kylie's Kraft Room. The final temptation was the tutorial she's posted HERE - and she has it on both imperial AND metric!!!

Once again I've used a Basic Grey paper pad for the DPs - and Marcia now has these listed under a separate heading HERE to make them easier to find - thanx Marcia!!! The roses are also from The Stamp Spot Store - and the nestabilities and cuttlebug folders can be found there too! I have used one of my Martha Stewart border punches and the sentiment was computer generated by me and says "Sometimes you have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince...".

I'm going to enter this into the Anya Ink Challenge this week too - the challenge is embossing! I was sooo excited to come in the top 3 last week with my baby t-shirt - and I will be reporting on the wash tests soon..... I need to pop it through again!

Enjoy the rest of your week

xXx

Is Your Baby Girl a Little Angel???

This month Creatalicious Challenges asked us to create a little something and this week Anya Ink have asked us to make something other than a card! I was starting to wonder what to come up with for these challenges when I received an email newsletter from Christine Wooden from All That Scraps.In the newsletter there was a wonderful tutorial by Diane Zechman for using Copics on baby onesies - HOW CUTE!!!! Diane has the tutorial on her blog HERE if you want to check it out!

Well as you can see I HAD to try this out - what an adorable gift you could make - with a matching card, box - the list is endless! Obviously I have used a baby's t-shirt instead of a onesie - but the concept is the same. It was really quick and easy to do - once I had the shirt washed and dried! The only hard part was not being able to blend my copics as easily as on CS.

I have painted on fabric before and was tempted to paint over the image with textile medium - but I stuck to the tutorial for this one. My next job is to test how water safe this is after washing - stay tuned - I'll let you know how it goes.

xXx

A Sweet Treat From The Stamp Spot!

Isn't this Lolli Anya just the sweetest little gal around?? She's one of the new images Marcia will have instore at The Stamp Spot once she's all unpacked from her move! I couldn't resist getting this cutie when Marcia offered her DT some of the stamps early and I thought my Wednesday post for The Stamp Spot blog was the perfect time to showcase her.

This is only a small card - about 4" square - but I love that there's still room for embellishments and some fun! It's made from the 3 largest Labels 2 Nestabilities and was inspired by THIS wonderful easel card by Debbie Dolphin - I love the way this clever crafter uses shapes! I hope I can pass this inspiration on to others!

To add to all the sugary sweetness of this card I've sugar coated the lollipop with some Dazzling Diamonds. The DP is from one of my Basic Grey paper pads that I got from The Stamp Spot. Marcia also has roses instore for your embellishing pleasure.

Hope the rest of your week flies by - the weekend is on it's way. It's a 3 day weekend for us here in Melbourne with the Paperific show on too - wooohoooooooo - my kind of weekend!!!!

xXx

Oh, Alice - Chapter Two

Well I'm not sure what got into me while I was putting this together - but boy did I have fun! It's great to go a little crazy sometimes and Johnny Depp's version of the Mad Hatter can't be anything but a little on the wild side - LOL. This week Oh, Alice have a wonderful sketch to play along with. I figured time plays a large part in the story so I pulled out my SU set "A Sense of Time" - the clock face, the gears on the background and the sentiment are all from this set. The clock face has been sprayed with gold glimmermist for some interest! I found this wonderful wool on sale and thought it would be fabulous to add some funky fun texture.

Do you recognise my Mad Hatter??? He's TGF's digi stamp Hugh - and I've popped a clipart tophat on his head and added the 10/6 label above the ribbon. I thought his wild hair was just right for the Mad Hatter! And don't you just love his green eyeshadow?!?!?! Johnny Depp's character has green eyes but eyeshadow was the best I could do here! The DP is a mixture of TGF and Basic Grey.

xXx

The Last of my Ribbon Challenges for The Stamp Spot!

Phew - I made it to the end of the month and managed to use all the ribbon and lace Marcia sent me for her Stamp Spot DT challenge. I've used it in a very traditional way - as a simple embellishment. I didn't have enough to tie a bow - but a knot can often be just as effective I think!

The DP is from Basic Grey - from another of their paper pads - this one is Figgy - an older Christmas one! I LOVE these paper pads because the pattern is downsized from the 12x12 papers to fit the 6x6 - so they are a perfect scale for cards! Most of the DP's I use are from paper pads so I'm glad Marcia stocks them at The Stamp Spot Store! And aren't stripes fun!!!! You can change the whole look of a card by the way you orientate the stripe!!!

This Greeting Farm image is one of the new ones Marcia will have in stock soon - isn't she cute!?! I had started colouring her for the Anya Ink challenge - blue, grey and cream/white - but the lace dictated a browner tone - so I changed along the way!

I've use this week's fabulous Mojo Monday sketch for the layout.

And don't forget to check in at The Stamp Spot blog to see what wonders the other gals come up with!!!

xXx

The Stamp Spot Ribbon Challenge Continues...

Another Wednesday so another DT card for The Stamp Spot from me - and the ribbon and embellishment challenge continues!!! Well I'm almost out of ribbon so I figured this little piece would have to go a looong way on my card! It's become just a fun little embelishment now but it did help to dictate the whole colour scheme of my card - LOL.  I found this fabulous DP in the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper pad I got from The Stamp Spot a while ago. The rich burgundys and pinks look fabulous with the pale blue - and the blue "berries" on the DP helped tie it all together too. I've used my SU Tres Chic background stamp to liven up the blue CS.

My layout is based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch but as I haven't fulfilled all the elements I won't enter it there - but it was a fabulous source of inspiration when I was feeling lost!

The flowers are layered Kaiser flowers with pale blue Kaiser pearl centres. These are both available from The Stamp Spot Store. Be aware that The Big Moving Sale is almost over, it ends this Friday ... so if you haven't grabbed your bargain yet, you need to do so pretty quickly!

Also - the store is going to be closed for a fortnight from the 20th February. You will still be able to place orders, but they won't be invoiced, packaged or sent until after the start of March. Most of the product will be in transit for the move.

So pop past The Stamp Spot Store and get your hands on those things you've been eyeing off for a while! And then get ready for all the new stuff Marcia will be unpacking once the move is complete!

xXx

Laced Up For The Stamp Spot

Well it's week 2 of Marcia's ribbon and embellishment challenge for the DT over at The Stamp Spot. I like trying new things and often use a challenge as a good excuse to try something different. I've never used lacing on my cards before and thought this thin gingham ribbon would work well - so here we are - all laced up! The fabulous large pink rhinestone brad was also in my DT kit - it suited fairy Chloe beautifully!

My CS is SU but I got everything else from The Stamp Spot store. The Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP was from the Christmas collection 6"x6" paper pad - and Marcia still had one in stock when I checked.

I've been inspired by what the rest of the DT has come up with using their kits - why don't you pop over to TSS blog and be inspired too!

And don't forget it's the last few days of The Stamp Spot's Moving Sale!!!

xXx

A Sneaky Day Change For The Stamp Spot!

No - your week isn't flying past faster than you thought - it IS Tuesday today - LOL!!! I know my usual DT day for The Stamp Spot is Wednesday but sometimes we DT have things on that get in the way of posting to our regular schedules! This is one of those occasions and Sue and I have agreed to swap days this week - it's great working with these lovely gals and even greater when we can help each other out!

For the month of February Marcia has asked her DT to highlight some of the wonderful ribbons she stocks instore. You may have noticed I don't often use ribbon - not sure why really as a good piece of ribbon or a beautiful bow can be such a highlight on a card - and I certainly have enough hiding in my craftroom!

For this card I've tied this lovely brown lace into a bow and nestled it amongst some roses. All supplies are available at The Stamp Spot Store with the exception of the base CS and sentiment stamp and punches. The DP is from Bo Bunny - I LOVE their papers!!! I've used 3 of the 4 sides on here - who needs to know how to co-ordinate when the hard work is done for you!

I'm sure I'll get some wonderful inspiration from the rest of the DT on using ribbon this month - hope you have time to pop in and check their work out too.

And  don't forget - Marcia's sale is still on instore until February 19th!

xXx

I Could Just SCREAM!!!!! - Plus TGF Relay #4 - Prince Ian

So scream I WILL - AAAAAAAGH!!!! That's better - have it out of my system - LOL! Why scream you ask??? My wonderful telecommunications provider has had me pulling my hair out for the past 48 hours! I have had no home phone OR internet - and when we rang AGAIN earlier this afternoon we were told this would probably be the case until NEXT TUESDAY!!! WHHHAAAAAATTTTTTT!!!! Needless to say my neighbours and I have been fuming in the street - it's amazing and scary just how computer reliant we are! Over the past few hours our uni student kids need to enrol online, my kids have sold some toys on ebay and I can't access the seller's info, and - most importantly -  I NEED TO BLOG - LOL.....

I went out and bought a pre-paid internet modem so I wouldn't be completely cut off and as I was trying to get it up and running my computer came back online!!!! WHAT - it's only Friday evening???? But I'm NOT going to complain - I'm just ducking on quickly in case it's only short term!!!

LUCKILY for me The Greeting Farm relay had to be stopped due to unforseen circumstances so I didn't miss out on finishing the race - and luckily I had discovered this BEFORE my internet went down or I would have been going a little nutso - Oh OK - more nutso than usual - LOL!!! I did get my last fabulous digi image to play with - and you can get him FREE too - check it out HERE. I wanted to finish off what I started so here is my Prince Ian - better late than never!!!

I decided every Prince needs a Princess and/or a castle - and since Princess Anya is still on my wish list and not in my stamping room I had to give this guy a castle!!! I was inspired by THIS fabulous tri-fold castle by Deneen Treble - but as I believed time was limited I used it as inspiration to come up with a simpler card. I started with a standard 5 1/2" square card and used a version of Deneen's to come up with the turrets. The back is simply shaped into a pitched roof.

I used my cuttlebug to add some "stone" like texture to the turrets and some "wood grain" to the door! My wonderful new nesties from The Stamp Spot (currently on sale!!) and one of my new Martha Stewart border punches got a work out too! DP is from The Greeting Farm's Sunny Glen range and all CS if from Stampin' Up.

If any of my Aussie bloggers want to check out some awesome prices on MS punches I got mine HERE! They arrived in a couple of weeks and were well worth the wait - and the shipping was ridiculously cheap - I've had stamp sets cost me more than my FOUR new punches - I know - I do LOVE to shop - LOL!!! But I figure I need to make sure my crafting room is fully stocked BEFORE I quit my job and have no more cashflow!!!

Anyhow - enough of a good thing for now - I need to get this posted... just in case!!! I sincerely HOPE I'll be back soon!!!

xXx

TGF Relay #3 - Toby Cub

This is my second post for the day - scroll down to see my Stamp Spot DT card! I just realised that the colours and distressing are similar - even though I made these several days apart. I am obviously in a blue, distressed mood - maybe it's the thought of going back to work tomorrow  - LOL.

There were TWO problems playing with this little guy - getting him printed off as my DD17 is sleeping in the office while we re-do her room!! And we ALL know how WELL teenagers sleep in!!! I was getting REALLY close to trying to sneak in!!! I had Toby sitting there on my laptop just waiting to be printed off for what seemed like AGES - probably because it was...

 The other problem - DS11 who is HATING being teased about how this cute guy in a nappy is - why you ask??? My son's name is Toby too - LOL.

I used an old Friday Sketchers sketch for inspiration - this "speed stamping" as my friend Lisa puts it - is a challenge - so I needed a little help! I think I need to do some "training" if I decide to play along in future relays - LOL

I've used a favourite colour combo - kraft, blue and white. And this time I went with a more conventional sentiment - a digi ticket from Bizzy Bec's. The DP and CS is from Stampin' Up

Tomorrow's relay card will be a REAL challenge! I'm out this afternoon so will miss the preview and it's back to work tomorrow. I am SERIOUSLY thinking it might be the PERFECT night for takeaway for dinner so I can get it done - LOL

xXx

TGF Relay Day 2 - Charlotte

PHEW - I nearly stuffed my first entry up and missed out - I popped my email info in the wrong spot and was wondering why my next image hadn't come through - LOL. But I got it there in time and Charlotte dropped into my email box within half an hour! Luckily TGF had shown us the new image and I had my card all mapped out in my head!

When I saw Charlotte she reminded me of a teenager with some 'tude (I'm told this is short for attitude - LOL). Last week I saw THIS fabulous card by Kristine Breach and decided I would CASE it sometime. This was the perfect opportunity!!! I don't have a set of teenage sayings so I came up with this one on my computer - a little bit of teenage "spelling" helped me get the message across in the right style!

Phew - another one done!!! Am off to limber up for the next one - a.k.a. tidy up my work space - LOL

xXx

The Greeting Farm's CHA Relay!

When I popped into some of my friend's blogs this morning they had some really cute cards made with this FREE digi image from The Greeting Farm! TGF are offering a series of free stamps for playing along in their relay - if you get a card done and entered within the time frame you get sent the NEXT freebie emailed to you to play with - and so on! You can win up to 6 free stamps!!! Check out all the info and get your Mer Ian HERE. I thought this was such a fun and unique idea I had to give it a go - not sure I'll be able to get them all done though!!!

I've used my curvy cutter and my divine swirls cuttlebug folder to create the waves. I was going to pop them up on dimensionals but felt they would sit too high - so I popped some white waves in between and coated these with Dazzling Diamonds. The DP is from Bo Bunny and all my CS is from Stampin' Up. I computer generated the sentiment and tried to make it look a little wavy too!

I also coated Mer Ian with Glimmer Mist to make him shine - but have discovered it can make the printer ink bleed a little so be warned!!! I had to quickly dry mine off using my heat gun before it got too bad!!!

xXx

Anya Ink Challenge - Flowers

This week Anya Ink have an easy challenge for The Greeting Farm lovers - to use flowers!!! This is open to all sorts of interpretation and I've tried to use flowers in a variety of ways - my floral DP (which was left over from my nephew's wedding), the flower on this Madelynn Twinkle Tot's hat and the handmade 3D flower.  The flower is made from 10 layers of white tissue that I've punched scallop circles out of and held together with a red diamonte brad before scrunching the layers. There's a great tutorial HERE by Dawn McVey but the tissue version was inspired by Patti Lee HERE.

The layout this week follows Mojo Monday's sketch #122 - but you've probably noticed I've flipped it onto it's side. All CS is from SU.

I can't believe another weekend is upon us - the Summer holidays are nearly done and my son and I will be heading back to our respective schools for a new school year in about a week's time. My daughter finished High School last year and is beginning the next phase of her life - University!!! We are very proud that she has achieved her goal and was offered a place in her preferred course - Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance) - the hope is she'll know how to help her poor old folks settle into retirement with comfort - LOL.

Enjoy your upcoming weekend!

xXx