KWerner Color Challenge #38

I didn't think I'd get to do the challenge this week - they usually close on a Thursday (Kristina's time) and I was out of reach of all my stamping gear and a computer! I luckily(??) got woken up early this morning by my dog - so thought I may as well have a go at getting the challenge done in time. I checked out Kristina's blog and it was still open! So off I padded in my pj's and slippers to my stamping space - hadn't wanted to wake DH up by dressing!!!

The first thing these colours said to me was "butterfly" - don't know why - it could be the sleep deprivation! I decided to use my Garden Whimsy big butterfly and stamped it twice after inking it up in Pumpkin Pie and rolling the edges in the Ruby Red. I cut one out and used some Crystal Effects to stick it down - it also gave it something to "sit on" as the central fold is quite small and weak. I added some bling to the butterflies body and antennae with some orange (I say Pumpkin Pie today!) rhinestones from my stash. I also used my Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder to add some texture to the strip of Pumpkin Pie.

One more thing - a little hint from my pal Ramona - click on her name to check it out properly. I wasn't sure if I had any Ruby Red CS left - but I found some in my scraps box and knew it was the right colour because I used Ramona's idea of having a key tag with all the colours of CS on! Great idea Ramona - it's not just useful for colour matching while you're shopping!!!!

I better go and pop it into the challenge before I run out of time - be back soon with more!!!

Three Blog Awards - wow do I feel loved!

The lovely Jasmine over at Jazzy Stamper left this blog award for me just before I went off camping. It was such an honour and it also gave me the chance to check out Jasmine's work - another talented Aussie lady you should check out! My plan was to use some of my time away to decide who to pass it on to - there are soooo many lovely and talented people out there it's NOT an easy decision to make. Needless to say I didn't make ANY decision while I was away as my laptop was left at home as we had no internet access where we were going - aaagh. I've decided to stick with Aussie bloggers for this one - sorry you out of towners!!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. The winner gets to put the logo on their blog.

2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award.

3. Nominate 5 blogs for the award.

Here are the 5 that I nominate for this Kreativ Award - for a variety of reasons but mainly because I love what they do and who they are!

Ramona Michaluk

Kellie Winnell

Rainbows by Robyn

Debbie Minter at Hubby's Headache

Liam Pucher at Inspirestampin
I came home today from a wonderful week of camping near the beach to find that the wonderful Michelle at Stamp and Smile had kindly awarded me this blog award - wow it's great to know that someone I admire so much holds me in this regard. I have decided to be a little bit of a cheat on this one - it goes to all the recipients of the other 2 awards on this post! These blogs have become favourites because I feel a connection to the bloggers as well as an appreciation of their talents. Blogging has become such a big part of the Stampin Up community and my life, and I feel the shared interest in these wonderful products has added benefits I hadn't dreamed of. I know there are many more talented bloggers out there - and I'm in awe of all of you. It's not always easy to "put yourself out there" ....but it's a lot of fun!!!!!

I just love the idea for this award - and have become good cyberfriends with the lovely Kellie Winnell who passed it on to me. She is a fun lovin' lady whom I can't wait to meet for real.

"This is called The Proximity Award. These blogs believe and invest in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers, who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their awards”.

These lovely bloggers not only inspire me but are very generous with sharing their talent and work - and I'm feeling that many of them are becoming good cyber buddies too - it's amazing what a little comment on a blog can lead too. If you haven't checked them out - DO SO!!!!

Makeesha Byl
Karen at Luv to Stamp
Sam at Ryemilan's
Michelle at Stamp and Smile
Nancy Riley at iStamp
Donna at Butternut Sage
Jean at Stampin Cos It's Fun
Becky Roberts at Inking Idaho

Back from Camping!

Hi Guys,

Wow - it's was so nice to see all the lovely comments that have been left while I was off camping with my family! I was hoping to be able to post a comment and holiday snap or 2 while I was away - but we were out of all internet and mobile phone range - it nearly killed my 16 yo daughter!! What nearly killed me was the fact that my plastic sleeve of stamped images got left behind - I was planning on a little colouring in while I was communing with Nature - ah well!

I'll post something really soon - have to check out what all those other lovely bloggers have been up to as well.....thanx for bearing with me while I get back into the swing of ELECTRICITY!!!!

xXx

KWerner Color Challenge #37

Well when I saw these colours I went - OH NO - I think they are gorgeous colours but had NO idea what to do with them! I really surprised myself and had no trouble at all!! The first set I grabbed was the Hostess Level 1 set , A Little Bit of Happiness. I stamped the leaf set in Chocolate Chip and then used my ink pads and Blender Pens to watercolur them. I had to swap in Soft Sky for the Baja Breeze as we don't have that colour in Oz. I also used my Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder to add some more "nature" to the look.

I've been trying to make more masculine cards - I find these hard to do, especially when a birthday is coming up and I "have to" do one NOW! This is going into my stash for one of these times!

Another Little Purse

Here's another little purse for you - a bit brighter this time! This one I stamped in Versamark onto a base of Regal Rose CS using the large stamp from Baroque Motifs and then embossed using white EP. I sponged some Regal Rose ink over the top - and a touch of Rose Red. The flowers are stamped in Rose Red. A white paper flower and a diamonte brad finished it off. The strap is made from layering a strip of Whisper White over a piece of Regal Rose - thought I'd mention that detail as you can't see it here!!

Now for the rest of my day - I managed to sneak this in before a day of yucky cleaning - I do love it when I'm done though - it's not hanging over my head while I'm trying to be creative! OK OK I'll stop procrastinating - here I go - off to clean - LOL........

Thank You Prezzie!

WOW - I can't believe it - I have my 25th wedding anniversary coming up on January 25th - of course I WAS a child bride!!!! LOL. To celebrate the occasion we have decided to have a few (if you can call 70 a few) family and friends coming over at the end of the month. We have also decided that this gathering will be our present to one another. As a result I get to kick back and have someone in to do the catering - yippeeeeeeee!!! A dear friend of my sisters is starting her own business and she has taken on the challenge. To thank her for the stress I'm putting her through I made this cute little purse box which I saw on Mel McCarthy's blog - Mel Stampz - the link for these purses is here. I'm planning on filling it with chocolates - you can't go wrong with chocolate can you!?!? I also made a little Love Note Thank You card. I figured Sky Blue and Whisper White worked well for a Silver Anniversary, simple yet elegant, especially with the 1/2 pearls. The brad in the centre of the flower is from my stash - I think it's from Kaisercraft.

Here's a little wedding pic from 25 years ago - my daughter couldn't believe all the lace and ruffles - and she's decided bow ties are just "awful"!!! Ah well - fashions and styles may change but the memories are of a very happy day!

I'm planning on making more of these little purses - with some stamping, cuttlebugging (of course!!) and some brighter colours too - so keep tuned!

Love You Card!

This is the first Valentine's day that I've been in the position of being a "public" cardmaker! It has caused me to think long and hard about what I wanted to do about it. You see my dearly beloved dad passed away on February 14th - and even though it was quite a long time ago now - Valentine's Day hasn't been celebrated in my family since. I hope you can understand why I won't be posting many - if any - cards for this day - I just don't have the heart or joy for it. There are some stunning cards appearing in Blogland if you are in the need for inspiration though!

That all being said - I did decide to use this gorgeous stamp from Big on Spring and the colour pink - but it's NOT a card for any other occasion than to tell someone I love them! I've stamped onto the flower using Going Gray and the big swirl from Baroque Motifs. I also decided not to completely cut the scallop edge - I quite like the look of the pink peeking through. The heart was stamped separately, cut out, glittered up and then given an outline of Rose Red before being popped up on dimensionals. The pink base was stamped, coloured and then run through my Cuttlebug script folder - I really DID try NOT to use my Cuttlebug - but in the end I just HAD too - LOL. I gave the card a Basic Black CS base to give it strength and it works well will these more subtle colours.

I had interesting critiques from my family when I showed them - hubby liked the colours, 10yo son thought it was too busy and 16yo daughter loved it!

Another WeiRd and WaCky LonGish CaRd

I thought I'd have another go and making a card using the WeiRd and WaCky LonGish template from Amazing Creations. Apart from the fact that I had sooo much fun doing the last one I thought I'd share with you a special you have been offered as readers of my blog!!!!

I had an email yesterday from Amazing Creations letting me know they had seen what I had made with their template and had liked it - yippee! They also asked me to pass on a special offer to you guys of a 10% discount on these templates if you order during the month of January 2009 and mention my blog!!! (This offer doesn't include p&h.) How cool is that!?!?! They currently only have 2 of the different templates in stock but are hoping the others come in soon. Note that the tri-fold templates can be used to make a trifold card or, if you don't add the 3rd section, a bi-fold card like I made - these are much more versatile to use. Hope some of you can take up this offer - and no - I'm not on commission - LOL - I just enjoy helping out Aussie companies who have great products!

For my card here I've used some more of my Christmas wrap teal and white ribbon, Taken with Teal CS, Saffron CS and Whisper White CS. The stamp sets are eastern Blooms and Short & Sweet. A little bit of Cuttlebug embossing too - I just can't help myself - LOL.

KWerner Color Challenge #36 Take 2!

OK OK, I know I made a boo-boo with the colours on the previous card - but I still prefer that one! Guess it's because it's a little wacky - it appeals to my inner child! Anyway - I decided to make another card for this challenge - this time using the right pink, although I realised I didn't actually have a sheet of Pretty in Pink and just found these scraps in my scrap box so I hope I did get it right - LOL!!!!

For this card used the Embrace Life set and a couple of different Cuttlebug folders - I do LOVE texture! I also used my Versamark pen to help emboss just the flower stamens in white. I had used my white gel pen but they just didn't pop enough for me. I had to re-outline the stamens using my Rose Red marker. I added a white brad to the centre of the flower, and then had to stick it together again as it split down the middle - oops! The center panel is popped up on Dimensionals as is the flower. To see my other challenge card for these colours click here., or just keep scrolling down if you're on my blog already - it's the next post!

KWerner Color Challenge #36

Wow - what a gorgeous colour combo for this week's challenge - I adore these colours together!

A long time ago before I was really into card making - yes, there was such a time LOL - I bought a template to make an odd shaped card and matching envelope. I thought this challenge would give me the opportunity to finally give it a go. It was really easy to use and I'm really happy with the result. The template comes from an Australian company called Amazing Creations and I have linked the page for these on their website for you here.

I used the one called "WeiRd and WaCky LonGish CaRd & EnvelOpe" - what a mouthful!!!! It's great that the template comes with an envelope to match - I'm not sure you'd get the card into a standard envelope!

The central piece is a window and the "flower garden" is actually fixed to the inside of the card. The stamps I've used for the card are the Scribble Jumbo Wheel and a sentiment from Spring Pictograms. I've also used the luscious Flower Fusion felt flowers from the Summer mini , white brads, white Taffeta ribbon and some punches. I also used the same stamps to embellish the envelope.

Oooooops - In my excitement to do this challenge I realise I've used the wrong pink - my humblest apologies - I grabbed Pink Passion instead of the softer Pretty in Pink!!!!

I thought I'd add in this picture of the inside of the card too!