My Last Post for The Stamp Spot

Well it's time for me to move on and leave The Stamp Spot DT. Marcia is in the middle of re-organising where she wants her team to go and I wish her all the very best with her future - it's been an absolute blast being on the DT and I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to make some fabulous friends and challenge myself along the way!

I loved this Stampavie image when I saw it and thought it was the perfect choice for my farewell card! It's one of the new stamps Marcia has listed. I also added a touch of sparkle onto the roses with some crystal stickles.

The DP is from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush paper pad. The paper pad, roses, stickles, pearls and doily are all from The Stamp Spot Store. I didn't bother with adding a sentiment - I thought the "You and Me" at the top left said it all!

After I made this I noticed I used the same layout as my previous card - it always amazes me how you can get such a different look though - it's one of the reasons I love sketches.

xXx

Another Mini Easel Card

I decided to make another mini easel card for my Stamp Spot Wednesday - these are sooo much fun. I've been mainly using my gorgeous Greeting Farm stamps for these posts but Marcia does have products from several other gorgeous stamp companies at her Stamp Spot Store - this cutie is from Inky Impressions.

You can also buy Nestabilities at The Stamp Spot. I've used my circles and large scallop sets here. Once again my DP is from a Basic Grey paper pad - I just LOVE these for cards. The downsized pattern means they are the right scale for cards!

Edit - these papers are from the Kioshi paper pad by Basic Grey for those that asked.

I've used a touch of crystal Stickles on the flower edges and on  Angelica's headband - it gives it just the right touch of sparkle!

So pop on over and check out the wonderful range of images, tools and embellishments Marcia has instore HERE.

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

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

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

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

She's Cracking Up!

This week with my Rachelle Anne Miller stamp I decided to try a new technique - cracked glass - you can find the tutorial HERE. I've been wanting to try this for some time and Marcia's challenge for her Stamp Spot DT to use the same stamp for a month was the perfect opportunity. I figured the cracked glass made the image look more antique so decided to complete the look by colouring her in in sepia tones and sponging the edges before I embossed and cracked her. I kept the theme going by dragging out my poor neglected distressing tool to age the edges of all the layers. I do love the look of distressing and just don't use it enough - must be my neat freak streak!!! It certainly doesn't appear where my crafting space is concerned - LOL

I've used the fabulous Friday Sketchers sketch #86 for inspiration for the layout of my card.

The DP I've used is from Bo Bunny - Flutter Butter - and is available from The Stamp Spot Online Store. And don't forget Marcia's fabulous moving sale over at TSS store too - there are still some wonderful bargains to be had before February 19th, 2010.

I must say this has been a fascinating challenge to be given - and the other DT girls seem to have been having a great time with it too!
xXx

A Sweet Little Lantern

Firstly I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and help with respect to my last post about SPAM - and I'm glad I may have helped some of you too. I have switched on Comment Moderation but not word verification - a happy medium as I can see what will get published BEFORE it gets published but I won't burden you with funny words! After looking at the SPAM it was definately a way of communicating so I'm not sure if word verification would stop this if real people were involved! Ah well - I'll see how I go - Live and Learn!

Now onto this post.................

Wednesdays are my DT day over at The Stamp Spot and as I mentioned to you last week Marcia has challenged her DT to use the same stamp for the whole month! This week I've made a cute little fairy lantern for a special little girl. To make sure there are no horrible accidents I'm going to be popping in a battery operated tea light to illuminate the lantern at night.

This stamp is a actually a fairy by Rachelle Anne Miller but I decided to clip her wings so she wouldn't take up the whole of the lantern. I toled the small mushroom again to add some extra dimension too. For some fairy sparkle I've outlined the lantern's "glass" with Ice Stickles - as well as popping some stickles onto her headband and the stamens in the white flower. Some green rhinestones finish off the bling - and what little girl doesn't like bling - or big girls for that matter -  LOL.

This fabulous lantern was originally designed as a Halloween lantern by the very clever Donna at Butternut Sage Designs - check her spooky version and the instructions out HERE. I had meant to make a Christmas version but it just never happened!

Don't forget to pop over to The Stamp Spot Online Store for Marcia's fabulous moving sale too - you can pick up the stamp and the stickles there while they are all a BARGAIN!!!

Now to work out what to do with this cutie for next Wednesday!!!

xXx

Paper Tole Time at The Stamp Spot

For The Stamp Spot this month Marcia sent each of her DT a stamp to use for inspiration this month. I received this cute Rachelle Anne Miller stamp - Lily:Magic Fairy. I've decided my challenge with this cutie is to see how many different techniques I can come up with - this week I've paper toled her. I love the this look as it gives the image a more 3D effect - an effect I've added to by using a paper flower in her hair.



I based my colour scheme around some gorgeous Basic Grey DP I bought from The Stamp Spot Online Store. It's from the Indian Summer Paper Pad - and I love the fact that the scale in these paper pads is reduced - it works perfectly for cards! The whole range is gorgeous though - I had trouble deciding which one to use!!! I've used this week's Mojo Monday sketch - I love their sketches but very rarely find time to get a card entered - so this will be a first for me!! The Flowers are layered Kaisercraft flowers (available at TSS Store) - something I've been playing with recently - I love layered flowers! The sentiment is a digital ticket from Bizzy Bec's Digital Store. All CS is from Stampin' Up.

Just don't forget to see what fabulous things the other The Stamp Spot DT girls get up too with their stamps - and check back next Wednesday to see what I've come up with for mine!

xXx

A Scrapbooking I Will Go!!!

Well it's a new year and I've decided to try my hand at a bit of scrapbooking!!! I've never been a scrapbooker but then 18 months ago I wasn't a card maker either, and it's a new decade so time to attempt a new challenge!!! I decided to use some of the gorgeous DPs and embellishments I had in my DT pack from The Stamp Spot - and came up with a page for my first DT day back there - this is an 8"x8" layout - start small - LOL - I have a whole Debutante Ball album to begin soon........

I had also bought some wonderful Kaiser rub-ons from The Stamp Spot last year - I've always loved the look of rub-ons but have had "issues" transferring them properly - but these worked fine - maybe because I didn't leave them to last and then worry I was going to stuff everything up if I messed it up  - and then messed up because I was stressed about it - LOL!!!!

I chose a couple of pictures of my son and nephew spending time together at St.Kilda beach on New Year's Eve - my nephew was staying with us from London so wasn't used to hot walks along the beach at this time of year!!! We had planned to go for a swim after a wonderful lunch and before heading home, but the beach was strewn with jelly fish - YUK - check out this picture of my son dodging them. The storm clouds were starting to roll in so it was all happening - the storm hit later almost causing the midnight fireworks to be cancelled!!!

The CS is from Stampin' Up but all the DP's, rub-ons and embellishments are from The Stamp Spot Online Store. I hope you pop over to The Stamp Spot Blog and check out what other fabulous inspiration the DT are coming up with too - the rest has done everyone's mojo the world of good - LOL.

xXx

Hippo Birthday to You!

It's Wednesday again and that means it's my turn to post a DT card over at The Stamp Spot Blog. Today I've used this cute image from Stampavie - Lelo Designs, Hippo Birthday. I've coloured him in with my markers basing the colours on the We R Memory Keepers DP that is perfect for boys - it was almost a shame to cover some of the fun images up. I've used my diamond plate embossing folder on the blue CS - I LOVE this folder for boy's cards! I also distressed the edges a bit as I don't know any little boy who is super neat all the time - LOL.

The stamp, DP, buttons, cuttlebug folder and nestabilities are all available from Marcia at The Stamp Spot Online Store - although the nesties do need to be pre-ordered and are currently listed at 15% off!

I can't believe Christmas is soo close - I still have sooo much to do - so apologies for this being short and sweet! I hope you are all enjoying the festive season - but not toooo much - LOL!!!

xXx

Fun and Funky Wednesday at The Stamp Spot

This is my second post for today - be sure to scroll down to check out Lisa's fabulous birthday blog candy - she has 5 prize packs on offer....

Now onto today's card - it's my Wednesday card for The Stamp Spot...

Last week I bought this gorgeous limited edition 80's Anya from The Stamp Spot Store and I just had to ink her up straight away. I love the cute legwarmers and off the shoulder top - a look I never mastered myself in the 80s so will finally master it now in ink - LOL. I chose this fabulous Bo Bunny Kitchen Spice DP to go with her - the combination is fun and funky and suits the 80's look - but would also look fab in many other layouts- I love stripes and checks!!!! Some gorgeous embroidered ribbon, rhinestones, doily and flowers embellish the final card.


All supplies are from The Stamp Spot Online Store except the CS - which is from SU.

Sorry this is a short post - the silly season is upon us and I have a mountain of things to do before I can get the Christmas tree set up!!! It was actually fun to make something that wasn't for Christmas for a change - LOL.

Take care - and I'm hoping to find some time soon to catch up on my bloghopping too - it's such a crazy time of year!!!

xXx

Basic Grey Christmas!

It seems to me that the Christmas craziness has begun early this year - the week's seem to be racing ahead and there's sooo much to do!! I saw my DD off to schoolies today, have a weekend of stamping away coming up - and relatives arriving for Christmas in less than 2 weeks - aaagh!!! I think the one sanity in my life is my crafting!!! And since it's Wednesday today I get to play over at The Stamp Spot Blog - LOL.

Have you noticed - NO COLOURING!! And virtually NO STAMPING either!!! But with these gorgeous Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses papers it would be silly NOT to make them the feature event! I love these papers sooo much I picked up the whole paper pad from The Stamp Spot Online Store early on! This little village scene is soo cute, and combine it with the cuttlebug ornaments embossing folder it makes a fairly quick and easy card - which still has a bit of a wow factor! So remember to look at your DPs as main images and not just for backgrounds - and with all the fabulous papers Marcia has instore at The Stamp Spot I'm sure there's something for everyone!! The snowflake is a Spellbinders die - I'm just LOVING this die!!

xXx

Christmas at The Stamp Spot

One of the things I love about being on a DT is that sometimes you get to play with things you wouldn't usually have - and it's always fun to see what goodies arrive in my DT kit! This angel from Stampendous is one of those things! Marcia over at The Stamp Spot sent me a stamped image to play with and I have decided she's just gorgeous. I had seen this stamp before but had honestly only given it a passing glance! But to have the image stamped in front of me and then to see it come to life with colour - hmmmm - I think she'll be on my next order!!! It just goes to show you need to REALLY look at images sometimes and imagine them stamped up!

My daughter saw this card sitting on the coffee table and asked who had sent it - because she really liked it! She was surprised when I told her it was mine - and not finished yet, I still had to put on the bling! She thought it was soo not my style - but that again is the fun of experimenting! I actually love this card and the papers from Bo Bunny have been the perfect choice. I used both sides of the paper and was surprised how different they were - but how fabulous they looked together!

My image has been cut using my nesties - with the same size nestie being cut in 2 colours to frame her - I trim the end points off and then split them in 2 down the middle. To bling her up I added Dazzling Diamonds to the tips of her wings and the base of her dress, and some Kaiser pearls on the card.

The beautiful stamp, DPs, flowers and nesties are all available from The Stamp Spot - and don't forget to stop in at The Stamp Spot Blog to see what other fabulous inspiration the DT have for you!

xXx

Summer Hits The Stamp Spot

I can't believe Wednesday has come round again! Today is my day for posting my DT card for The Stamp Spot. Since the weather is heating up here in Melbourne I felt this Miss Anya was the perfect choice to ink up! I've added some black stickles on her sunglasses and cut her out with my nesties.

Once again I've used some of the challenge items Marcia popped into our DT kits. I really struggled with the large die cut behind my flower - it was just too flat for my liking!!! Soooo - after staring at it over the past few weeks I thought why not cuttlebug emboss it for some texture - I used the script folder! Much better!!! And then it just seemed easy to place - how funny that such a little thing can help the creative juices flow!

The fabulous DP is from Sassafrass Lass and comes with the beautiful faux stitched edging! Everything is available from The Stamp Spot Online Store with the exception of the punches I used for the sentiment and the flowers.

I love the exotic and Summery feel of this card - even my 11yo son gave this one the thumbs up - LOL

xXx

Double Up!

I'm being a little cheeky this week as I'm busy ferrying my daughter to and from exams and revision visits with her teachers. I'm doubling up my Stamp Spot Wednesday with the current Anya Ink Challenge - hope you don't mind Marcia!!! Anya Ink are asking for paper toling this week - a really fun challenge that can add sooo much depth to your work for just a little bit of effort. Tracey has a wonderful step by step explanation of how to paper tole an image here.

Apologies for my photo - my PC is at the computer doctors and the photo software on my laptop isn't as user friendly - maybe I should just learn to take better photos - LOL!!

You can find this gorgeous Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses DP and the adorable Christmas Sweeties stamps from The Greeting Farm over at The Stamp Spot Store. The bottom snowflake and the fur trim have been given the Polar White Flower Soft treatment - this is also available at the store. I've also added a little bit of Dazzling Diamonds for some snowy sparkle!

xXx

Marcia's Challenge for The Stamp Spot DT Continues!

As I told you a couple of weeks ago Marcia sent her DT some fun new products to play with and this week I've used some of the gorgeous Felt Ribbon - this is the Raspberry but it does come in other colours - check them out HERE. It went beautifully with this wonderful Basic Grey DP from the Indian Summer series. The muted tones mixed with the pink gives you a lot of scope to play with other colours - so I went with Chocolate Chip - LOL.

My image is one of the adorable gals from Inky Impressions - Angelica's Heart Socks. These images are just gorgeous and have sooo much detail in them - but once you add some colour to her eyes she seems to just come alive. I've used my nesties and cuttlebug embossing folders to create the "frame" for Angelica to sit in - she looked a little lost popped up on the felt ribbon. But I did find a home for a little felt offcut at the top of the frame - it just seemed to tie everything together. Some rhinesones and pearls were added for a little bit of bling.

The sentiment is from SU but all the rest can be found at The Stamp Spot Online Store.

The glue is probably still drying as I post this as I'm a bit behind today!!! Hope I'm better organised next week for my Stamp Spot Day!!!

xXx

Boys Will Be Boys

I've gone with a fairly simple card this week for my day at The Stamp Spot - it's been a little crazy in my part if the world! The senior high school students are finishing up and I both have a daughter in year 12 and I work at a High School - so "muck up" week is here big time for me - LOL.

I have decided to go back to a more innocent age - my son's! He has a number of friends turning 11 and 12 so I thought I could use this for one of them. I think Skater Ian is perfect for a boy's card - and mixed with bold colours and cuttlebug embossing he looks fabulous. I do have a confession - I cut the wheels off his skateboard by mistake - so he's now sporting ones made of buttons - hope he doesn't mind - LOL. The fabulous DP I've used is from Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend range and it called Driver's Ed - how perfect for this image!

I just had to use a Greeting Farm stamp this week as Marcia has just received some brand new ones instore - check them out here. And don't forget her marvellous paper sale, new embellishments and other fabulous new stamps!

Don't forget to stop in and check out what the rest of the fabulous The Stamp Spot DT have been up to too.

xXx