OLW99

This week's One Layer Wednesday challenge is to be inspired by a picture on Susan's Pure Inspiration Board on Pinterest. I was inspired by many things, and this is what happened...

Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Bring on the Cake

Card: Baja Breeze, Whisper White (on inside)

Ink: Soft Suede, Versa Mark

Other: White embossing powder

I made this card for a friend who had a birthday on Monday! Eastern Blooms happens to be a stamp set she really likes, so it was a good choice :) And it didn't involve any candles like the card I made her last year for her big '0' birthday!

Three of something

It was such a surprise today to find the card from my last post showcased at Less is More. Thanks Mandi and Chrissie, it is such an honour! 
The challenge at Less is More this week is to make a one layer card with three of something. I have chosen three techniques in applying ink, stamping, sponging, and colouring!

This card is for my Mum. She has taken my kids home to her house , to give them a holiday, and to give me some time to get work done for uni. I miss them terribly, but I'm so grateful for the time — I wouldn't have been able to do what I have this week if they were here. They are all having a wonderful time.

Less is More 74

This week the challenge over at Less is More is to use their header for inspiration. I was inspired...

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, Music Notes (wheel)

Card: Whisper White

Ink: Soft Suede, Basic Black

I can't remember the name of the stamp set the sentiment belongs to, sorry! It is floating around out of it's original package, but it is definitely SU. I think it may have been in a mini catalogue, but I can't find it. There was another one in the set with a bee (bee happy), and one with an owl — does anyone remember?

I have been working hard on an assignment for uni today, in between doing washing and other such things, looking after my kiddywinkles and baking scones for brekky! So I felt that a little creative therapy would be good tonight...  and it was! :D

A 40th Birthday

Just popping in to share a card I made for a friend's 40th birthday. A group of us gathered at the Hyatt on Sunday to celebrate — we had a lovely morning sipping coffee & eating (far too much) delicious food. It was really nice to take time out of the busyness of life and spend it together. 

Stamps: Just Believe, En Français

Card: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Silver Shimmer Paper

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Riding Hood Red, Night of Navy

Other: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlits Dies

And now I have to get on with some work for uni!

Have a great week.

Something more to say & Something shiny

To start with I just want to add to what I said in my last post. In fear of saying too much about my separation, I didn't say all I wanted to, and I don't feel I spoke with my true voice. I just wrote it as "matter of fact" without much about the journey of it. So I would like to share a little more with you. It is difficult to say much about what happened because it is something you don't usually share with the world, but what I do want to say is that the decision was not made lightly. It was years of dealing with some very deep hurt and trying to hold it together (my marriage that is), and months of wrestling with the idea of separation and the ramifications for the children and myself. It truly has been a journey, one that has been difficult, but one that has grown me as a person, and for that I am grateful! The same can be said for my experience with cancer last year. It was hard to face, but I have come out of it a stronger person, with a greater appreciation of life, family and friends, and with a greater desire to live with passion! So there you have it... something more, now said!

And now for something shiny :) It has been some time since I entered a challenge! This one is for the Less is More "something shiny" challenge. What shines is the glitter I have added to the leaves — hopefully that counts as something shiny...

Stamps: Watercolour Vine (wheel), So Happy For You 

Card: Pear Pizzazz, Not Quite Navy

Ink: Not Quite Navy
Other: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter 

The inspiration for this card came when I was at Uni last week. I was sitting behind a fellow student who was wearing this beautiful cardigan, pictured below. I was so distracted by it and couldn't help but (during class) run away with ideas of how I might turn the design of the cardigan into a card!

I do learn in class too!! Just so you know :)

A Journey

Life is a journey that sometimes goes where you would never have expected or planned. That has been the case for me, and is partly the reason I haven't blogged for so long. In September last year my husband and I separated. It has been a long and difficult road, both in the months leading up to that point, and since. I am doing okay though, trying to take one day at a time, and am blessed to have a wonderful network of family and friends who are loving and supportive.

At the end of last year I also made a decision to go back to Uni. It is busy, but I am loving what I'm doing (Bachelor of Midwifery at the University of Canberra).  It seems to be working in with my circumstances fairly well and I feel it is the right thing for me at this point.

And now for some cards...

I thought it appropriate to share these few as the first blog entry since last year. 

Stamps: The Open Sea (Summer Mini Catalogue), Life Definitions, French Foliage

Card: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla

Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Other: Linen Thread

The next card I made for this One-Layer-Wednesday challenge, "Dudes Rule", but I didn't get it uplaoded in time to enter it. Oh well, the whole point is to inspire creativity, which it did.

Stamps: The Open Sea (Summer Mini Catalogue), Bring on the cake, French Foliage

Card: Shimmery White

Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Other: Linen Thread

Here is a multi-layer version, which I prefer!

Stamps: The Open Sea (Summer Mini Catalogue), Bring on the cake, French Foliage

Card: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Shimmery White

Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Other: Linen Thread

I have made many more cards over the months, and hope to share some of them with you before another ten months pass by!!! 


It's so good to be back :)

A Challenge & a Birthday!

This week's Less is More challenge is to make a card using the colours of your nation's flag. I love the combination of red, white and blue, so this was fun, and I just loooooove red so I have used it as the main colour…

Stamps: Just believe

Card: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Riding Hood Red (textured)

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Versa Mark

Other: White Embossing Powder

The next card is not for the LIM challenge, but I wanted to share with you what else I've been creating this weekend. It was my precious friend Toni's birthday yesterday and she celebrated last night with a small group of friends — one of those relaxed evenings chatting, eating chocolatey desserts, drinking coffee… LOVELY!

It was a big "0" birthday, so I decided it would be fun to put that many candles on the card. It took forever to stick all the bits together and those candles were soooooooo tedious — I had to use tweezers to stick the flames on! But it was definitely well worth the effort ;)

Stamps: Solid Stripes, Bring on the Cake

Card: Whisper White, Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue,

Crumb Cake, Peach Parfait

Ink: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy

Other: Night of Navy 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Linen Thread,

Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder,

Cupcake Builder and Scallop Trim Border Punches

Something Fruity

Hi there bloggers! Just popping in quick to enter a couple of challenges. Inkspirations have a colour challenge and over at Less is More they are "Feeling Fruity"! I thought the colours would suit the fruit theme.

Once again I was in a dilemma over whether or not to add ribbon — I felt that the sentiment was floating a bit and needed to be more grounded. Now that they're on the screen in front of me here, I think I prefer it without…

Stamps: Tart & Tangy

Card: Whisper White, Concord Crush

Ink: Concord Crush, Peach Parfait, Pear Pizzazz

Other: 1 1/4"Square Punch, A Perfect Day Rub-Ons

Concord Crush 1/2" Stitched-poly Ribbon (Card 2)

More or Less…

The other day I was discussing design with my graphic designer hubby. We commented on how some card makers feel the need to use everything they own on the one card, possibly because it's there — they have purchased it and want to use it. Sometimes I'm guilty of the same thing. Often, if I show my hubby a card I've made he says something like "if you get rid of the ribbon it would be great". Too many design elements can overcrowd each other and look messy, which has lead me to believe that limiting the number of elements helps keep a card clean and simple. Although hubby agrees with me, he also believes that you can have a design with lots of elements that also looks good. So… he challenged me to create a good design using lots of stuff!

When I saw that this week's Less is More challenge involves buttons and ribbon, I thought it a great opportunity to enter the challenge and also take on hubby's :)

Stamps: Love & Care, Heard From the Heart

Card: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Pink Pirouette

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede

Other: Light Pink Gingham Ribbon, Designer Button,

Scallop Trim Border Punch, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

In this card I have managed to include ribbon, a button, a punched border edge, glitter and a sentiment that uses two different fonts! I wonder if I could have squeezed in a couple of different patterned papers somewhere as well!

Anyway, I am pleased with the result… a good amount of "white space" to balance the other stuff definitely helps.

Okay… so I have shown hubby the card and he likes the design, but feels I misinterpreted the brief. What? What does he mean then? Well… I will try again to create something that uses LOTS of stuff. Can I do it? We will see ;)

LIM — Circles

This week's Less is More Challenge is circles. After making a card and being disappointed with the outcome, I went to the web for some inspiration. I searched for "circles in design" in google images, and was very inspired — there were so many great ideas including a spiral bookshelf! Anyway, I came across this image of a business card and it just cried out to me.

Orange and lime green are not usually colours I would put together (too "seventies" for my liking), but they are colours that a friend of mine loves. She is a real fan of orange and has a collection of funky orange things in her home. And when she and another friend visited me in hospital, they brought some gorgeous orange tulips!

So… I decided to use the design of the business card (with some small alterations) to make a card for my friend Dylan ;)

After a little stamping and a lot of fiddling with circle punches, the card finally came together — and I am really pleased with the end result…

Stamps: Seeing Spots

Card: Whisper White, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede

Other: The full range of SU's Circle Punches

jac-inks Challenge 13

Hi there again! I am back with the latest jac-inks challenge — Monotone! I really enjoyed this challenge and have made a couple of cards for it…

Stamps: Easter Blossoms, Sincere Salutations, En Français

Card: Whisper White, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Riding Hood Red, Ruby Red

Other: 3/8" Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes

Card: Whisper White, Old Olive

Ink: Old Olive

I was really happy with the way the first card turned out — red does happen to be my favourite colour, and I just love that blossom stamp! I thought that the sentiment might get lost in the background, but it was dark enough to be noticed.

The second card is similar to some I've done before. I penciled in the border and stamped the sentiment along it, then using an Old Olive marker I ruled over the penciled line from one side of the sentiment to the other.

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #78

I really love the colours for the current Inkspiration challenge. They are soooooo pretty and I just had to create something using them.

I decided to experiment with watercolour paper and the "Awash with Flowers" stamp set — an appropriately named set for this card don't you think? I wet the paper before stamping the solid images and also sprayed them some more with a shimmer spray, which allowed the colour to bleed into the paper. Once dry, I stamped the outline images over the top using Crumb Cake ink. I don't mind the "washy" look of the flowers, I think the softness suits the pretty colours…

Stamps: Awash with Flowers, Bring on the Cake

Card: Very Vanilla, Kraft, Rose Red

Ink: Rose Red, Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake

Other: Water Colour Paper, 3/8" Kraft Taffeta Ribbon

Ladybug Love

This post is all about my daughter Zali's love of ladybugs! And it all ties in nicely with this week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge — make it personal — and is also another one layer with legs for the less is more challenge!

The ladybug theme has come up a few times in the last week or so (more than the usual amount it does with Zali), firstly, when we were reminiscing over Sesame Street's "ladybug picnic" song from way back in my childhood, and then during the week while grocery shopping, I found some adorable ladybug muffin cases and had to get them for Zali.

So… it seemed appropriate for this challenge to make a ladybug card for her — just to tell her I love her and that she's cute as a bug ;)

Stamps: Just Believe, Bugs & Kisses

Card: Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Pear Pizzazz

Other: 1/8" Real Red Taffeta Ribbon (card 2)

The card in the second picture is the one that Zali actually received. I decided to add some ribbon because I thought the scored lines on the original were not quite enough. I thought I liked the ribbon better, but now I'm not sure. Anyway, Zali was thrilled with the card and that's all that matters! She was also thrilled with the muffin cases!

Earlier in the year I made cupcakes for her birthday party and the muffin cases might have been good then. Anyway, I did find some gorgeous ladybug candles at the time, which each cupcake featured. They were so cute, and Zali was very happy!

And just in case you haven't seen "Ladybug Picnic", or you want to reminisce with me, here it is for you…

We are still singing the song…

Love

Shell