My First Sweet Pea Card

With Kristy's store - Delicious Papercrafting - set to open any day now I thought I'd make my very first Sweet Pea card. I managed to get a couple of these gorgeous stamps from Kristy when I was over at her house and was checking out the goodies she had in for the store. These images are just beautiful - sooo much detail that they just seem to come alive when you're colouring.

I've used my black and clear Spica pens all over this gorgeous gal - you just can't see it in this light. I've take the picture on the left to show you how glittery she is - unfortunately the picture isn't as clear as I'd hoped but at least you get to see her sparkle! I have added some stickles to the flower arrangement for some more obvious sparkle.

The DP is from Basic Grey - some 12x12 sheets I found in my stash. One day I'm going to sort through my stash and work out exactly what I have there - but for the moment it's a bit like a treasure hunt - LOL.

xXx

Queen For The Day - A Quirky Mother's Day Card

I recently got this FABULOUS Kraftin' Kimmie Queen stamp from Kellie at Tickled Pink Stamps. I thought she'd make a fun and quirky Mother's Day card for my mum. My mum is not the tradional "vase of roses" gal and I think this will suit her to a "T"! I figure Mother's Day is the perfect day to give her time off from cleaning the castle and for making her feel like a queen - LOL.

Kellie also challenged us to use buttons with our creations this week - can you see the 3 on here??? I decided I didn't have any buttons in my vast stash that would be regal enough - so I popped some plain white ones on and covered the holes with pearls. The flowers also came from Tickled Pink Stamps Store and the DP is from Webster's.

I've also used my Spica pens on her - she has a very slight shimmer all over her veil - and more shimmer on the gold trim of her crown. My mum isn't into a lots of frills and fuss so I didn't want to glam her up too much - LOL.

LOVE YA MUM!

And now here's a little bit of fun for YOU!....

Kellie and the Pink Ladies and I have decided to put together a challenge blog for you all. And while it’s great to have weekly and fortnightly challenges as we all love entering them, time is not always on our side. So we have decided to go MONTHLY giving you all plenty of time to get that relaxing craft time we all know and LOVE…

Coming May 8th  - so write it down -  book it in - you won't want to miss out with a Tickled Pink MAJOR PRIZE give away for our first challenge. Become a follower as you will NOT want to miss it!

For now how about a stamp give away…..? YEAH, all you have to do is pop our challenge badge on your blog/sidebar and link to Mr. Linky and you could be the lucky winner…. What’s the stamp? NOW that is a surprise coming in May! Be one of the firsts to own your own…. You have until the challenge opening and the winner will be announced on the challenge post on the 8th of May 2010… Jump over HERE….. NOW to get your name in to win!

xXx

"It's Show Time" at The Burtonesque Dolls with a Blog Hop!

Welcome to the start of what we hope will be a funtastic crafting adventure for all. The Burtonesque Dolls  are open for business and we're starting with a fun Blog Hop so you get you meet the DT in all their crafting glory.

If you've arrived here from Catherine's blog you're on your way. But if you've just happened upon this post you can always go back HERE to the START to check out the fabulous prize on offer and the rules of the game.  

The theme for our blog hop is the movie Beetlejuice. I used the movie poster to inspire me. The B&W stripe DP is a free digital paper from the wonderful Jak Heath. Beetlejuice's suit inspired the use of this particular paper. I've used Magnolia Stamps Bride and Groom for Barbara and Adam. The haunted house is a colouring page I found HERE on the internet. The movie quote was also found on the internet and just seemed to suit the card.

Before you go here's the clue you need to collect from me....

" Could go searching for victims in the London fog "

Before you go to the next stop in the blog I have this little prize for someone who comments on my blog. I'll be selecting a winner using random.org on May 4th - the date we have our very first challenge!!! My prize is your choice of 3 wonderful digital images from Spesch Designer Stamps.

Now head off to Jen's blog to collect the next clue.

Good luck and have fun!

xXx

Sammi's Challenge - Using Shades of the One Colour

I recently received an email from the lovely Sammi from Mad for Markers. She asked if I would be a guest designer for her next blog challenge - to use shades of the same colour, ie a monochromatic colour scheme. I love any opportunity to play so of course I said YES - the housework can wait - AGAIN - LOL!

As you can see I decided to use sepia tonings and create a vintage style look. Using the cracked glass technique on my image just added more texture and interest. I must admit to having a problem or 2 "cracking" these guys - I popped them in the freezer and forgot about them - OOPS! When I cracked the image several hours later parts of the embossing lifted right off the paper - aaagh. After doing this TWICE - I'm such a ditz at times and get distracted easily - I discovered some hints! DO NOT reheat the embossing from the top - it can push the parts that have started melting away as the other parts are still hard!!!! DO heat from UNDERNEATH the image - you get a much better re-melt!

I've used the following Copic colours and paper - all available from Sammi's store - Mad for Markers!

Thanx for having me Sammi.

Face - E000, E00, E02, R20

Hair & Clothes - E11, E31, E33, E34, E35, E43, E47, E49, E51, E55, E57

Paper - Neenah

xXx

Mo's Challenge #28 - A Recipe

This week Mo's Challenge DT have a recipe for us, one of the non -fattening types. We need to use 1 Ribbon, 2 Buttons or Brads and 3 Designer Papers on our creation.

After I coloured up my image I found this week's Friday Sketchers layout would work perfectly for 3 DPs. I used some Basic Grey papers and some build-a-brads from Stampin' Up as 2 of my "ingredients". The ribbon is left over from a present my daughter got - she knows to save ALL ribbons for her hoarding mum - LOL.

You can't see it in this picture but I've used my clear spica pen to add some shimmer to Little Lee's outfit and to the frosting on the cake. Lee's wings are even more glittery - with a good coating of dazzling diamonds.

xXx

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #43 - Charms

This week over at Magnolia Down Under Challenges we are asking you to use charms on your entry. I was all ready to colour up my Tilda and Edwin pirates and use my piratey charms when I saw this little cutie stamped out in my stash! It was one of those Aaaaw moments. I had stamped her off from Kellie sometime last year - and I think it was time she came out to play!!! Luckily I had this cute dummy/pacifier charm in my stash too - it was bought in another Aaaaw moment - LOL.

I love seeing the older style Magnolia's come out - you forget how really cute they are - and how much Tilda has grown - this was her at about 6 months old - hehehehe. The DPs are from Magnolia and were brought at Kellie's store - Tickled Pink Stamps - as were the yellow flowers, leaves and lace. The white flower was from my stash!

Now it's YOUR turn - but don't forget to see what the other MDUC DT have created - amazing inspiration for all!

xXx

Mother's Day From Spesch Stamps

Yesterday Tracey sent her Spesch Stamps DT an email saying she wanted to release this gorgeous Mother's Day image today and if anyone had a chance could they put a card together - after all - Mother's Day is only a couple of weeks away here in Australia. This beautiful image would also be gorgeous for a baby card.

I already had her printed out ready to colour - and a bit of time - so off I went for a play! She was just FABULOUS to colour and everything just seemed to work - don't you love it when that happens - just wish it happened more often!!! And having just checked the Spesch Stamps Blog I can tell you the DT have done a fabulous job to come up with some truly gorgeous cards. But if you get a great image half the battle is done!

My layout was inspired by one of Mo's Challenges DT - Sandy - when I saw her DT card for this week's challenge I knew I would have to CASE her layout sometime - I just didn't think it would be this quickly - LOL.

My DP is from Stampin' Up - I just loved the colours - I am a bit of a green lover though!

xXx

Faux Wood Frame - A Tutorial for Tickled Pink Stamps

To make the wooden frame I've used on THIS card and THIS card is actually fairly simple - and yet it's sooo effective! Kellie asked me to put together a quick tutorial for the Tickled Pink Stamps Blog and I thought I'd share it here too - just in case you want to try it out for yourself.

All the supplies I've used are from Stampin' Up - so if you don't have these colours you may have to experiment a little!

Supplies:
More Mustard Card Stock
Inks - Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa (retiring soon!), More Mustard and Whisper White
Scissors
Paper Cutter
Black Pen

Start off by dragging your inks across the cardstock from one side to the other side - don't worry too much about being neat - it will just add to the wood grain look.

You'll need to use More Mustard first, then Close to Cocoa, then Chocolate Chip and then Whisper White.

Make sure you leave a little drying time between each colour otherwise the "woodgrain" lines can blend together!

You should end up with something that looks like this! Now make sure you leave a GOOD half an hour for this to dry before moving on - or use your heat gun to speed up the process - the white ink takes FOREVER to dry!!! The original tutorial I used for Faux Wood stopped here - but I felt the white needed toning down a little and popped some more streaks across it.

I used another layer of More Mustard and Close to Cocoa - in that order. If you like you can also use a dash of Chocolate Chip - it depends how dark you want your finished "wood" to be - and how heavy handed you were with the lighter colours!

So this is your finished A4 sheet of Faux Wood - you'll be able to make several frames out of this one sheet - let me show you HOW!

Start off by deciding what you want the finished size of your frame to be. For demonstration purposes this one is 1" wide and will be 5" square. So I cut 1" strips and then cut them to 5" lengths - you'll need 4 of these.

On the back of each strip number them from 1 to 4 and lay them out in order.

Overlap the corners and cut diagonally across. By overlapping and keeping them in sequence the corners should fit together well - even if they aren't cut quite straight.

The first frame I made I used my hubby's set square and tried to cut nice accurate 45o angles - unfortunately they didn't fit together properly as they were all cut slightly different. I also find my method ensures I get the size of frame I want - and EASILY - we ALL like EASY don't we - LOL!

So here is your frame - just ready to be stuck together and used on your project. Just use some tape on the back to stick it together. You can also "pop" your frame up on your project with dimensionals like any other image you use - it's now a design element! Just one last thing to give it a "real" frame look...

 

Add some dots to the corners with a black pen to give the impression your frame had been "nailed" together.
 
Now that doesn't look too hard does it???? I'd LOVE to see YOUR finished project if you give this a go!

xXx

Mo's Challenge #27 - A Sketch

Mo's Challenge Team have a fabulous sketch this week - I just love sketches - the variety of ways they are used always astounds me!!!

I've been wanting to use this gorgeous Bridal image for a while now - I have a few weddings coming up so thought I'd make a start on the cards! I thought the beautiful lines of her gown just needed to be paired with simple elegant colours and textures so she's still the focal point. I hope I've achieved that.

I have to thank the inspirational Norma for her tutorial on using border punches for framing - check it out HERE. I wasn't sure this one would work but I'm rapt with the result! You never know until you try!

The rest of the card is pretty self explanatory - there are roses, ribbon, cuttlebug folder and I've used my markers to colour...

xXx

Magnolia Ink Subscription Offer from Tickled Pink Stamps

Do YOU love the Magnolia Ink magazine??? Would YOU like to make sure you don't miss out on them for the next few months??? If the answer to these questions is YES then Tickled Pink Stamps has the answer for you. Kellie is offering a limited number of 5 issue subscriptions - check it out HERE. The pre-order for the next single issue is listed too if you just wanted to go one at a time - we're up to Magnolia Ink #4.

And how exciting for Kellie - that's HER card featured in the ad for the next issue - and isn't it just tooo cute!

Sorry - Australian residents only!

xXx

Life's a Fairy Tale at Tickled Pink Stamps

Magnolia's Fairy Tale Collection is currently on pre-order over at Tickled Pink Stamps - they only went on pre-order last Friday and Kellie's already sold out of many of the stamps! But don't stress - she has just listed her second pre-order of these beauties.

To coincide with the release Da Boss Lady asked the DT to use one of the Fairy Tale images on an easel card. What a hardship - LOL. I decided to make mine into a scene from Cinderella. The gorgeous princess carriage is one of the new release digis from Whimsy Stamps. The lace, orange flowers and DP were bought at Tickled Pink Stamps back when it was Magnolia Down Under. I found the shoe sticker in my stash - it was originally lilac so I coloured it with my white gel pen, followed by one of my blue copics and then doused it in dazzling diamonds - NOW it fits my colour scheme - LOL.

And did you notice the "Fairy Godmother" fluttering over the carriage to keep an eye on things??? Isn't she CUTE! Once again the photos just don't do the glitter justice - maybe one day - sigh!

I'm also going to enter this into Bec's Creatalicious Challenges - they are asking you to create something that has both flowers and wings on it - what a fun challenge!

xXx

Using Nestabilities For Easel Cards - and a Special Thanx

Before I begin my post I want to thank a very special lady. My fellow DT friend, the lovely and ultra talented Jodie from Oz kindly offered to help me out yesterday. I've been trying to figure out how to turn my blog into 3 columns - and have even tried a couple of times without success - I'm not really the most computer literate amongst my peers. Jodie hopped onto my blog and within minutes I had 3 columns - unfortunately for my DH Jodie is my hero of the moment - LOL. I was hoping Jodie would post some of her marvellous creations here for me to take credit for at the same time - but alas you have to put up with my work - you can check out hers HERE ....

Thanx again Jodie - these are for you

Now onto my regularly scheduled post - ENJOY.......

Over the past couple of days I've received 2 emails from lovely ladies wondering how I make my nestie easel cards - how do they attach, what's the secret - LOL. The first lady asked me for some diagrams for a circle card as she wasn't sure about my written instructions - so I decided to quickly put together a photographic tutorial for her. The VERY next day the second email request arrived  - it's nice to feel like you're inspiring people to try new things!!! Once again I emailed off my pictures. It did make me wonder if anyone else out there would like them but was afraid to ask- so thanx to Dawn and Diane here they are for you too. PLEASE don't be afraid to email me with questions - I really don't cyber bite and will do my VERY best to help if I can...

For me it was the amazing Debbie Dolphin who inspired ME to make the nestie easels - so thanx Debbie - this is for you too.

If you want to check out the finished easel cards I've done there's a label called "Easel Cards" on my side bar - if you click on that it will come up with all the posts I've done with Easel Cards.

I hope this has helped...

xXx

Spesch Stamps Introduces "Engagement"

YAY - I made it onto Tracey's Spesch Stamps DT for the next few months - Yipppeeeeee. Not only do I think she's found some fabulous artists to design for her - but she's also a lovely lady and I wish her every success in her new venture!

I'm not due to start my DT spot until May but when Tracey sent us this image I couldn't help but colour it up and help her introduce it's release. I have an engagement to go to today of a young lady we've lived next door too for 17 years. Kate has always been a sweetheart and I'm soo happy that she's found someone spend her life with - you're a lucky guy James!

I decided every gal needs a ring with bling so I used my Gold Spica pen on the ring band and dazzling diamonds to make the stone sparkle -  you can see it better in the picture on the left. Some stickles on the flowers and the red rhinestones add some more bling to help celebrate this happy event.

When I asked my neighbour if she had any ideas for an engagement  present for Kate and James she told me they were saving for a new TV and would appreciate a gift voucher for one of the electronic stores so they could pool them together - EASY! I decided to incorporate a gift card holder into the inside of the card - just to make the presentation a little more special!

My sentiment is computer generated and the DP is - of course - from one of my Basic Grey paper pads - but I've forgotten which one - oops! I should have posted this on release day yesterday, but my neighbours know I blog so I didn't want to risk ruining the surprise! I've scheduled this to post as we are partying along next door - am sure I'm currently chatting someone's head off while sipping a champagne or two - LOL.

Because I'm posting this today I'm also going to enter this into this week's Totally Gorjuss Challenge - this week the theme is "Charming" - to use charms on your card.

xXx

Anya Ink #2 - Pink and Sparkly

We have such a fun girly challenge this week at Anya Ink - pink and sparkly. Once again I have to lament the fact that photos just don't do glitter justice - but hopefully you can see how much sparkle and bling this gal has. Each of the panels and the white flower is trimmed with some crystal stickles - while Anya's dress and bow, and the white punched lattice, are all smothered in Dazzling Diamonds. On top of that there are the hot pink Kaiser rhinestones for even more sparkle. AND I do believe if you could see me right now I'd be sparkling like crazy too - I always seem to be covered in glitter. I was once asked if I was a Kindergarten teacher because I was always sparkling - LOL.

Once again I've used my Basic Grey paper pads for the DP - these are from the Bittersweet (hearts) and Green at Heart (hot pink behind the doily and the leaves) ranges. I got the square doily from The Stamp Spot and have found that the edges curl up nicely if you stick it down in the central panel.

Now here is my "crunchie" moment - ie blonde on the inside - LOL. I was frustrated that the leaf spray only curled one way and my DP was one sided. I won't tell you how long it took me to think "Doh - cut it upside down". I tell ya I live with waaaayy too many blondes, it's rubbing off - LOL.

So grab your sparkles. glitter and bling and come and join us for some fun! And don't forget to check out the rest of the AMAZING DT inspiration at Anya Ink.

xXx

Mad 4 Markers Challenge #1 & Totally Gorjuss Challenge #25

Sammi has started off her Mad 4 Markers Challenges with a beauty - to use Copic colours E00, R20 and BG15 in your creation. Now if you don't have those colours you can still enter if you use the closest colours you have - she has a fabulous prize on offer but the challenge finishes soon!!!

I used one of my poor neglected Gorjuss Girls stamps and a fairly simple layout - the teal has enough impact without too much fuss, but it's absolutely gorgeous paired with pinks - a combo I don't think I would have used without this challenge. Can you guess where the DP is from - yup one of my fabulous Basic Grey paper pads - Porcelain.

Since I've used my Swiss Dots embossing folder on the background I'm also going to enter this in the Totally Gorjuss Challenge #25 - Texture.

Skin - E00, E02, R20
Hair - E57, E55, E31
Eyeshadow - E11
Dress and boots- BG15, BG49
Apron and Stockings - R20, R00, C1

xXx

Mo's Dream Team GDT Challenge

Mo's Dream Team have a sketch this month for those interested in a GDT spot in May. I figured I may as well try out as I usually enter the challenges anyway - LOL.

I've had this image for a while - and I'm really trying to make sure I use the ones I have BEFORE I get any more, but every now and again I can't resist a new release - LOL. The DP is from my Basic Grey, Green at Heart paper pad - it reminded me a bit of wallpaper. I found some really cute quotes on the internet about cats - so I printed them off for the back panel of the sketch for a bit of fun. One says "Time spent with cats is never wasted" and the other one says "When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her." Now I'm not sure this poor kitty is feeling terribly amused and I'm sure he would prefer to waste time elsewhere - LOL.

xXx

I'm Tickled Pink About Sweet November

Recently I saw THIS amazing easel card on Norma's blog and thought I'd use the idea for Kellie's Pink Ladies' DT challenge for Tickled Pink Stamps. Kellie asked us to combine one of the gorgeous Sweet November images with ribbon. With everything going on last week I finally got around to finishing my card yesterday - oh OK - I admit - I only started it yesterday - LOL. Last night I spent some time blog hopping and came across Fran's DT card for this challenge - I had to laugh - we are obviously in synch this week! What can I say - she's one talented gal so am happy to be in synch with her - LOL.

This is Fidget Goblinspider and is one of the Sweet November cuties that Kellie has at Tickled Pink Stamps. The ribbon was pinched off one of my daughter's birthday presents - my reward for all the hard work organising the party - LOL. I've had this butterfly punch for years - these guys have been punched out and then coated with Dazzling Diamonds. The DP was a scrap from my stash- I think it's Basic Grey - I'm a bit of a Basic Grey fan if you hadn't noticed - LOL. I tried to make it look like she was floating in a garden - I think I pulled it off!!!

And don't forget Kellie has the personalised stamps for order - even for overseas stampers!

EDIT - If you've been waiting for the new release Kraftin' Kimmies they are IN STORE NOW - along with some fabulous sentiment sets!!!
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