Delicious Diva Sketch Challenge # 1

Well Kellie and Kristy have been up to all sorts of fun together again - but this time with a purpose - LOL. They have created a new challenge blog - Delicious Diva Challenges. They will be running fortnightly sketch or colour challenges with no restrictions on which stamps you like to use!!! This is their very first one - and to celebrate the launch they are offering some fabulous blog candy to the winning entrant!!!




Kristy designed this fabulous sketch - which I decided to flip on it's side! I've used one of my Gorjuss Girls and done her in greens - I do like green - LOL. The punch is a new one I got for my birthday - thanx Deb - xXx. It's by Marta and you can easily do all kind of shapes with it - using the templates and magnetic stoppers - only problem - it doesn't really like CS! It does the SU Whisper White OK though. I'm really looking forward to having a play with the different shapes! We found it at HeavenScent Crafts.

The gorgeous charm in the centre of my flower is from Bizzy Becs.

xXx

Sunshine Stamps Go Underwater!

Hooray for Sunshine and Robbie - their Sunshine Stamps on Etsy Store is officially OPEN FOR BUSINESS...

These gals are 2 of their new images - Big Bertha and Francine Flounder. After all those fabulous masculine images it was sooo much fun to play with them. Francine reminds me a bit of Dory from Finding Nemo - she has that same innocent expression. I think Bertha has seen more of the world and gets a little frustrated by it, and Francine - LOL. I just couldn't help putting them together. I had originally coloured Bertha in purple - but she looked waaaayyy too much like a ribena berry (ie blackcurrant) - LOL. I think the overlay of turquiose calmed her down just enough!

I hope you get a chance to check out the store and give some of these images a go - I know Sunshine would love to hear from you if you do!

xXx

Keesh's Inkspiration Colour Challenge #11 and a Guest DT Spot for August!

I can't begin to tell you how honoured and gobsmacked I was when the amazingly talented Makeesha Byl sent me an email asking if I would be the Guest DT member for August for her Inkspiration Challenges!!!! I have admired Keesh since I joined SU and was ecstatic to meet her at Convention. Her regular DT girls are all amazingly talented too, and some of my SU gurus - LOL. I was determined not to let Keesh down - but my word she threw me a curve ball with this colour challenge!!!! I LOVE all of these colours - but together - hmmmmm! I ended up making 3 cards - one of which made it all the way to the paper recycling bin - the others are here - although I was awake at 5.30am tossing and turning and trying to re-design to no avail - LOL.

This first card was inspired by the wonderful new things I learnt at Stamp Camp last weekend. Both the butterfly and the rose are made from the same SU DP and the SU 5-Petal Punch - how cool! The butterfly is simply 2 flowers each with one petal removed, folded in half and attached - they look so light and gentle IRL. I don't know who came up with these but they were flying all over the room at camp.

I had also asked the amazingly talented Kellie Winnell to show me how she made her roses, see her post here - based on this tutorial. I don't have the blossom punch she used so I used my 5-Petal Punch and my corner rounder (to take off the flower points) instead. It worked a treat! These roses were a hit at Camp too - I'm sure they'll be popping up all over the place soon!

My second card uses my poor neglected Always set - I love the heart from this set but keep forgetting it's there! I've popped the top heart up on Dimensionals for added effect. This one was the card of choice from my daughter and hubby - but my son and I preferred the previous card - so you get to see both - LOL.

I hope I've done Keesh proud - I'm sure I'll see soooo many wonderful entries I'll be kicking myself I didn't think of them first - LOL.

xXx

Stamp Camp Shoe Box Swap

Last weekend I had a fabulous weekend away with 21 other very talented SU demos. We were all asked to provide a shoe box swap to keep us busy over the weekend - I managed to finish them ALL - but 1 - woo hoo. This is the one I came up with. I used the gorgeous new Soft Summer stamp set from the new Spring Mini. The colours I chose were Basic Black, So Saffron and Sage Shadow - the softness of the stamp and the subtle cardstocks went well against the dramatic black.

The flowers were coloured using my SU markers - the only added colours were a touch of Pretty in Pink in the flower centres and Creamy Caramel for the stem. The larger flower was also popped up on Dimensionals. I also added some Dazzling Diamonds to the flower centres and the 2 Saffron "brads". The sentiment is for the hostess set Best Yet - I LOVE this set!!!!

Hope you all have a FABULOSO wekend....the sun is shining here this morning so I'll be able to think of Spring while I do my housework - I wonder how much extra family and creating time we could have if houses were self cleaning - LOL.

Edited to add - A shoe box swap is this - everyone designs a card/project and has their finshed card/project in a box - along with all the CS cut to size, stamps, ink pads and accessories needed to create that card/project. These boxes are then placed on a central table so the other swappers can take them to their work station to complete. Hope that makes sense!

xXx

Mr.Smoothie Thinks You're Sweet!

Mr.Smoothie is another fantastic digital stamp from the garage of Sunshine's Stamps. I had originally decided to colour a Mrs. Smoothie, but she ended up looking more like a Mr. - a quick change of eyeshadow was needed to replace the pink I had started with - LOL.

I've used him here on a belly band for a clear noodle box full of chocolates - Yummoooooo. At least I put the belly band around the opening so I'm not tempted to sneak off with one - LOL. I also added a tag to the handle - I think I may do something similar for my son's party favour boxes - hmmmmm - got me thinking!

I've also just got some new images to play with - they are from a whole different world - I'll be posting a new project soon so watch this space!!!

xXx

Ballet Anya and The Stamp Spot!

Last week all the DT girls from The Stamp Spot got sent a wonderful little parcel of goodies - there were stamped images, DPs and some embellishments, all available over at The Stamp Spot Online Store - now that's the kind of mail I like!!! I chose to use Ballet Anya for my first DT card - and so did Sue - so check out how different she can look by visiting The Stamp Spot and seeing Sue's card too. Obviously she's a popular little image - LOL.

Ballet Anya Recipe
DP - Basic Grey
CS - SU Soft Sage and Rose Red
Sentiment - SU Best Yet
Cuttlebug folders - Swiss dots, Divine Swirls
Embellishment - Satin ribbon, Kaiser pearls, Rhinestone brad

xXx

Sunshine Stamps - Nurse Chrissy

Here is one of the fabulous new stamps from Sunshine Stamps - Nurse Chrissy will be available for sale from August 5th when the brand new Sunshine's Stamps Digital Store opens August 5th - that's a mere matter of a few hours away now - woooo hooooooooo. There are other new images too - you'll have to pop over to some of the other Sunshine Stampers DT to check them out - they're linked here.

I coloured Nurse Chrissy up while I was away at Stamp Camp over the weekend - so had some great advice from one of the nurses there as to what colour a stethoscope was - apparently they can be any colour under the sun - LOL. I decided there was sooo much red and blue that I needed to add in another colour - and for some reason I chose Orange - don't ask me why - maybe it was the couple of wines I'd had - LOL. I hadn't taken much with me to camp - mainly images to colour - so I had to win this DP (from SU Walk in the Park) during a quick quiz on camp to get working on the card. I also then pinched some Pumpkin Pie CS from Princes (aka Kristy Young). The rest was mine!! Only problem - no embellishments :( - so I knotted some 1/4" strips of CS and used them to add some interest - was quite pleased with myself actually : )

xXx

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #19 - Winter

It's Winter here in Australia and that's the theme for this week's challenge over at Magnolia Down Under. I've come up with a fairly simple scene to set my skating Tilda. My daughter is a figure skater so this image was a "must have" in my Magnolia collection. The DP is from SU's Ski Slope series - I LOVE this series!!! It will be available from August 1st here in Australia in the Spring Mini. The trees and snowflakes in the background are from a retired SU set called Trees Three. I've used white EP for the snowflakes. I also added some snow in the trees with my white gel pen and Dazzling Diamonds. The "ice rink" also have Dazzling Diamonds on for extra bling. The sentiment is from Warm Words and just seemed to fir the sparkle of the card.

Most of us are counting down to Spring now, it start September 1st here - the tree in front of the house opposite has started to bloom - it's always early but it signals the beginning of the end of Winter.

Hope you can have a little bit of Winter fun using stamps, cardstock and some embellishments to join in the fun at MDUC too...

xXx

Just Christmas and Birthday Cards Sketch Challenge #40 and Lisa's Challenge for a Sunday Afternoon #2

I've actually combined 2 challenges in this card - mainly because I'm running out of time before I leave for Stamp Camp and want to enter both of these challenges - LOL. The first is a sketch by Karin over at Just Christmas and Birthday Cards - these challenges are helping me get my Christmas cards done and the sketches are always fabulous!!!

The second part of the challenge is Lisa's Challenge for a Sunday Afternoon and this week we had to use a tool that had been sitting idle for a while. I'm not quite sure Lisa will allow me this tool - it's my Christmas Ornament Cuttlebug Embossing folder and I've used it on the Real Red CS!! Anyone who knows me well knows I'm a bit of a CB addict - and I bought a whole heap of embossing folders early on. I'm ashamed to admit that this one has never been used!!! Does that count Lisa???? If not I know I haven't used my snowflake punch for a while - it's my back-up neglected tool - LOL.

The cute little elf image I bought last week and a quilt and craft fair I went to with my sisters. He comes from an Australian company called Fern Gully Stamps - and lucky for me their shop is only a short drive away too! I've popped some Crystal Effects on the bauble to give it a lovely 3D shine. The sentiment is from SUs hostess set - Best Yet and the DP is from the Ski Slope series again - I think it's my Christmas favourite!!

Catch up with you soon - have a GREAT weekend....

xXx

Sunshine Stamps - Super Bird Coasters!

One of my DT commitments with Sunshine Stamps is to come up with projects to showcase these fun digital images. I decided to make some coasters for my son's birthday party with Super Bird. Each one is a different colour and has different phrases - I plan to match the cup colours up with the cars so the boys know which is theirs - of course this is just a theory, we still haven't worked out exactly WHAT we're doing for his party, but I'm sure he'll find a use for these at meal times anyway!

The background is a checkered flag image I found via Google. I just printed it out to fit the wooden coasters I bought from the hardware store. I then added the Super Bird images before varnishing with a fabulous product called Liquid Gloss by CraftSmart. It comes in 2 parts which you mix and pour over your project to give it a finish equal to several coats of varnish. The coasters are now heat and liquid resistant - I've used this product on tiles with great effect. One word of advice - and I learnt this the hard way!!!! - you should SEAL your project before varnishing to stop the "wet paper" look and to make sure the varnish doesn't absorb into the wood. This is the first time I've used it on wood and I'm sure sealing will solve these problems. I was a little upset when I saw the finish on these - NOT up to my standard!!! But my son Toby thinks they're fabulous and that's what counts - I'm not going to sweat the little things. I may put together another set in the future which I HAVE sealed - I'll show you if I do!!!

My last job - to glue some black felt to the bottom of the coasters to finish them off...

xXx