7 sleeps to go until.....

Hello dear friends!

I have been MIA for a bit due to lots of different things going on. Moving house being one of those things. Hands up those who love moving!! No one?? Really?? LOL. I HATE moving but I am finally down to just the unpacking side of things. Have you ever had to move your craft room? Geez Louise... that was a major feat in itself ;)

I have some very exciting news that I would love to share. In only 7 more sleeps I am going on a big trip overseas. Not only am I going to Europe but the main reason of going is to meet other wonderful ladies from blog land. How cool is that?

My first stop is 5 days in London where I will be staying with Sandie of London Days. 

We will also be meeting up with other ladies from the UK - Here are the mugshots of my partners in crime fellow crafters I will be meeting while in London -

Sandie (ATSM / ATCAS)

Sue  (ATSM)

Monika (ATSM)

Sylvia (ATCAS)

Marina - from over at Inkspirational

Isn't this so exciting? I can't wait to meet all these lovely ladies!!

But! Wait!! There's more...

Once I leave London, I am jetsetting over to beautiful Spain!

And who will I be spending a glorious 3 weeks with?

The wonderful 

Florence

I hope Florence knows what she is in for (and her poor husband). I can't wait to meet her and have an absolute ball seeing the sights of Spain. 

And then we will have a visitor coming all the way from Greece to meet us. 

Marie

Can you believe the 3 of us together? God help Spain!!!

The time has flown so fast since everything was organised last January and I am so very excited to be going. 

I just cannot wait to meet all these wonderful people and have a chat (chin wag), giggle and lots of food and drink together. 

See you soon!! xx

Inspired by Stamping - Gift Card Holder

Hi everyone!

Over at Inspired by Stamping we are still having fun with the New Releases and being National Craft Month, we have a theme each week to inspire you.

This week we are creating Gift Ideas. I have created a cute Gift Card Holder box (tutorial from SCS here) that is perfect for any occasion. I have concentrated on making something for Mother's Day and have used the New Release items from IBS.

The image is from the gorgeous new Sweet Peas set. This adorable image stamps beautifully and is so easy to colour (I have used Spectrum Noir pens). I die cut the image and backing with circle dies and popped them up with dimensionals. I have also incorporated the New Release set with a set from the last release just to show you how easy it is to combine these sets. I stamped the Vintage Tickets and fussy cut them out. With one of them, I used a marker directly onto the stamp just to get the outline of the ticket. For this one I actually combined two stamps from the Mother's Day Bouquet set. I used my marker to just ink up 'To my wonderful' and then stamped 'Mum' beneath it to create a different sentiment.

Don't forget that you can do that with ANY of your sentiment stamps from IBS to create personalised messages.

Here is the Gift Box in the open position -

The inside panel was folded in half and then I used the Fancy Label Dies 2 to create the 'holder' and then the entire panel was adhered to the inside of the box.

This Gift Box has two sections – one to hold your Gift Card and another to pop in a small gift of chocolates or earring etc.

Below you can see that I have used Seam Binding Ribbon along the edge of the box.

Here is a close up of the top – the small panel of card that you see is from the Spring Lilacs Paper Pad.

Thanks so much for looking today. I hope I have inspired you to create a Gift Card holder for your Mum for Mother's Day. Don't forget, this is perfect for ANY occasion!

IBS Spotlight - Gift/Organising Idea

Happy Friday!! Woo hoo!

Over at the Inspired by Stamping blog, we have gone all out to inspire you seeing it is National Craft Month! Each week we have been using different themes for our creations. This week we are showcasing Scrapbook or Organising Ideas.

I would like to show you a little gift/organising idea that I found over at Splitcoast Stampers to dress up your post-it notes. (I have changed the orientation of mine and left out the pencil holder.)

Have you seen the New Releases over at Inspired by Stamping? Holy cow, you are going to LOVE them!! There are new sets that will be perfect for Mother's Day and just about any other occasion that you need to create for.

I started by choosing a piece from the Spring Lilac's Paper set and of course it has butterflies on it :)

Here is the post-it note holder all finished and tied up -

I used the sentiment from the Mother's Day Bouquet set which is a new release. I've combined two of the stamps and embossed them with black powder. I die cut the sentiments using the Fancy Label Dies 2. It has then been popped up with dimensionals.

Aren't those flowers just beautiful? A rose in the middle of carnations which is perfect for Mother's Day!

Here are a couple of shots of the holder open -

And just a few more angles -

This is a perfect gift idea and you wouldn't even have to use post-it notes for inside. You could create you own little personalised paper pad.

Thanks so much for looking xx

STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #8

Hi everyone.

We have a brand new challenge starting right now over at STAMPlorations.

Here it is -

PRIZE

The sketch challenges are sponsored by our sister shop, All About Scrapping. The winner gets to pick 3 DIGITAL products from the shop -- any combination of printable sheets, Photoshop templates, and digital paper packs. The winner will also be invited as a Guest Designer in next month's sketch challenge.

I have used the MOM Subway Art Builders for my card. I have used just one line off three sets to create my own sentiments.

Here is my DT card -

You can find the New Release MOM Subway Builder sets HERE

Thanks so much for looking xx

Inspired by Stamping - Sneak Peek Week

Tomorrow is the day you have been waiting for at Inspired by Stamping. It's New Release Day! Have you been checking out the sneak peeks over the last week?

Today I have a card for you that has an amazing sentiment used from the Mother's Day Bouquet set. This set has a beautiful image and lots of wonderful quotes and single words.

I really wanted to focus on this sentiment – I LOVE it!

Here is a close up of the sentiment – this was diecut using the Fancy Label Dies 2 and then I created a frame with two dies cut at once.

The sentiment is just perfect for our Mum's. I added the row of pearls to express how classy I feel my Mum is :)

I created a simple bouquet of Rose Buds by wrapping the Seam Binding Ribbon around the stems and simply tying it off. I attached the bouquet with Glossy Accents to make sure it wasn't going anywhere!

Here is a close up of my bouquet -

I can't wait to see what you think of these new sets. They are so beautiful!

Now you have had a glimpse of all the New Releases, I am sure that you can't wait to see the entire sets.

And one last photo of my card from a different angle – I really love the purple and white combination and then the added pop of colour from the bouquet.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Anything Goes at ATSM!

Good morning everyone and welcome back to Wednesday where we have a brand new challenge starting over at ATSM. 

I would love to also welcome Darnell as our Guest Designer. You are going to LOVE her card this week!

Anything Goes? Yep, that about sums it up.

We have an AMAZING sponsor this week. Shery from Stamplorations is offering the 'All About You' stamp set as a prize!!

Being on the STAMPlorations DT allows me to use the beautiful stamps that Shery creates. Thanks so much Shery!!

Here is my DT card -

This morning I am holding my card class. You may have seen my previous post where I was going to use one stamp on three different cards. Here is the third card using the butterfly once again. This time I have stamped and embossed on vellum.

I have also used New Release stamps from STAMPlorations called MOM Subway Art Builders. I LOVE the line that says butterfly kisses. I used to always do these as a child ;)

Now, pop on over to the challenge blog and have a look at all the wonderful inspiration on offer from the DT.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges -

CASology - Roots

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

Cuttlebug Mania - For Mum (embossed background and die cut butterfly)

Thanks so much for looking xx

IBS - Create a Card OR Tag

Hi there everyone!

I have created a card today using the beautiful Inspired by Stamping products and over at the blog there is a challenge for you to enter - Create a CARD or TAG.

Please note: You DO NOT have to use IBS products to enter. There is also sketch and colour inspiration if you need it but you do not have to use these either!

I decided to use the sketch to create a CARD -

I played around just a little with the sketch. I substituted the circle for a rectangle.

Here is my card -

I have used the following IBS products on my card -

I Love You Because stamp set

Vintage Roses stamp set

Spring Lilacs Paper

Seam Binding Ribbon

Thanks so much for looking xx

STAMPlorations Monthly Challenge #5

Welcome back, how are you all?

Today I have a card for you which showcases the New Releases at STAMPlorations. The actual release date isn't until the 13th March so until then, how about a Pre-Release sale?

Firstly, onto the challenge -

PRIZE

The winner will receive 2 clear stamp sets of her choice from the Vignette, Patchwork Frenzy, and Subway Art series. (Visit the shop to see the available stamp sets.) Also, the winner will be invited to be a Guest Designer.

A TWIST IN OUR CHALLENGES

Participate in all 3 challenges we host this month and you'll be in the running to win this prize package courtesy of our sister shop, All About Scrapping.

Here is my DT card -

These Subway Art Builder sets are the latest release at STAMPlorations. These just scream 'chalkboard technique' to me. Of course, you will be able to ink up each word individually if you like to create your own sentiments!

You can check out the Pre-Release bargain by clicking HERE

I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges -

The House that Stamps Built - Black, White and one other colour

Paper Minutes - Black and White

Thanks so much for looking xx

Just for Fun

Hi everyone!

Today I was preparing some cards to teach my students at card class next week. I was trying to think of things that they would like to do and decided that choosing a theme would be a good way to get the inspiration flowing. So, I decided to use Butterflies as the common denominator. And then I thought I would be able to show them how to use one stamp in multiple ways.

Once I had the theme set, I made a list of ideas - watercolouring, masking, embossing, 3d etc etc.

I decided we could do some watercolouring. This is something I have tried countless times but it just didn't work. I am a little OCD with keeping things within the lines and the colour having a mind of its own doesn't appeal to me. 

I am happy to say that my first card turned out nicely and on my first attempt. 

Here is what I came up with -

I started with a piece of watercolour paper and just used a paint brush to dab Island Indigo and Pool Party ink randomly on the panel. I even flicked some ink for a spatter effect.

Once this was dried, I stamped my En Francais stamp over the top.

The butterfly was inked with Sahara Sand and then spritzed with water and pressed onto watercolour paper. Then with a paint brush, I dabbed 3 different colours into the white spaces. Once it was dry, I stamped the image again with the Sahara Sand ink to give it a bit more definition.

I am quite happy with the end result.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge -

**********************************************

Having 3D on my list, I decided this stamp would be perfect to create a beautiful butterfly with dimension.

I created a panel for a mask. I die cut a square out of the middle and then used the mask so I could stamp the En Francais script stamp (again). I love this stamp!

I stamped the butterfly 3 times and then coloured them in with my Spectrum Noir pens. 

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges -

Cuttin' and Stampin' Challenge - Butterflies are Buzzing

Muse Challenge #57 - Vicki Dutcher

  I still have one more card to do using this stamp so I better get my thinking cap on!

Thanks so much for looking xx

ATSM #84 - Photo Inspiration

Good morning!

Here we are back again at Wednesday which means a brand new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More!

We have a photo to inspire you this week. You may take any elements (colour, theme, objects) from the photo to create your project.

It's International Women's Day on the 8th of March, so what perfect inspiration for this week's challenge!

Here is my DT card -

I have used the colours and theme in the photo as the basis for my card. This is for my sister - a wonderful woman!!

I have also CASED a card that I received one year for my birthday by Kim Badelt. Kim used Greys and Pinks on my card. I subsituted the grey with black.

This stamp set is one of my favourites and one that I don't use enough. I have stamped the image twice so I could cut out two of the flowers and the middle section to pop up on dimensionals.  I have sponged around a lot of the cardstock which is something Kim does on her cards. I don't use black ribbon very often but it came in very handy on this card :)

The edges have been created by die cutting with my Edgelits - Adorning Accents.

Here is a close up of the middle section -

And in true Kim Badelt style, I even CASED the inside of the card :)

I hope you will join in on the fun this week at Addicted to Stamps and More. There is plenty of inspiration from the DT so go and check it out. 

I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges -

Stamping Sensations - Pretty In Pink

Created With Love - Spring

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

The Pink Elephant - Birthday

Thanks so much for looking xx

STAMPlorations Sketch Challenge #7

Hello! I am back today to hopefully inspire you to join in on our fabulous bi-weekly Sketch Challenge over at STAMPlorations!

Firstly, I will tell you all about the challenge and then show you all the New Release stamps that are available to purchase.

Here is the sketch to have a play with -

PRIZE

The sketch challenges are sponsored by our sister shop, All About Scrapping. The winner gets to pick 3 DIGITAL products from the shop -- any combination of printable sheets, Photoshop templates, and digital paper packs. The winner will also be invited as a Guest Designer in next month's sketch challenge.

Here is my DT card -

I have flipped the sketch but still kept the orientation of the card. 

I measured an inch into my top panel and masked the center with post-it notes.

Using the Art Deco Border Builders, I stamped down the panel. Then I stamped into the gaps. 

Once I removed my masks, I scored down the left and right hand sides to give them more definition. 

The sentiment and feather are from the Trendy Feathers set. The feather was popped up with dimensionals as was the finished panel.

Thanks so much for looking xx

Thank you so much to Mynnette for creating my signature! xx

Now, have you seen the New Releases? 

Starting March, we're releasing clear stamps in the SUBWAY ART BUILDERS Series and we're kicking it off with the MOM Subway Art Builders sets.

The MOM clear stamps have 29 individual words/phrases: four sets have 6 sentiments/subway art phrases each, while 1 set has 5 "mom" words in different fonts. 

Between now and March 13th 2014 (or until our pre-release sale inventory runs out), you can order the MOM Subway Art Builders sets at 30% off. When these stamps are officially released on March 14th, they'll retail for $7 each ($35 for all 5 sets). For our pre-release sale, it's only $24.50 for all 5 sets (shipping is free anywhere in the US; $4 shipping to Canada; $5.50 shipping to all other countries). This is a one-time early bird discount for crafters and stampers.

So, don't forget to get yours before the 13th of March to save 30%!!

CLICK HERE TO TAKE YOU STRAIGHT TO THE EARLY BIRD CHECKOUT!

ATCAS #33

Happy Saturday everyone. It's the first day of March and the first day of Autumn here in Australia. Living in QLD means there is no change of season, which I miss. It is still very warm here and a lot of the state is in drought. My garden is certainly feeling it :(

Over at Addicted to CAS, we have a brand new challenge which is being hosted by the wonderfully talented Harriet.

Here is the code word that has been chosen -

I have used a digi image from our sponsor.

Here is my DT card -

Very simply done. My colouring isn't the best on this one. My little Raggedy Baby Boy looks like he has wet his pants!! Poor thing!! You may not have noticed unless I pointed that out but I thought I would say it before you all started talking behind my back ;)

We also have a wonderful Guest Designer for this challenge - Karen has a beautiful CAS style and I love her cards. Thanks for joining us Karen!

Our wonderful sponsor who is joining us AGAIN is the mega generous Kathryn of

The prize for our CAS Perfectionist will be 5 digis from her store!

Pop on over to the challenge blog to see the wonderful inspiration from the rest of the DT!