Flight of Desperation

Ok, may’be not that bad. But I honestly nearly chucked the towel in with this weeks challenge set by Makeesha. I got 50% of the way through with my first card idea and then went urgh – THIS IS NOT WORKING!!! It was nearly 9:30 pm (close to my bedtime). But a cup of hot milo made by my hubby restored some energy, enough anyway to still have a go. So after that preamble here is the inspiration pic.


And here is my card.

I found a piece of Urban Garden DSP that I felt had echoes of the inspiration pic, in colour, and the long vertical flower stalks reminded me of the stripes on the bedspread. I just needed to add some colour – the turquoise from the bedspread. So I grabbed my Pocket Silhouettes and stamped it twice on the DSP, I lengthened the stems on one with my Turquoise marker and a ruler. I layered this altered DSP over a matte of Tempting Turquoise and then over a card base of Basic Gray. Given the flowers on the DSP I decided to girly it up a bit more and so I also scalloped the bottom of the Turquoise layer. To finish the card front I added some narrow Turquoise ribbon threaded with a pewter ribbon slide, a little Turquoise butterfly to fly over the flowers trailing “friendship”. The body of the butterfly was anchored with a glue dot so its wings could lift above the card. To stamp the friendship trail, I used my Basic Gray marker and inked up part of the friendship stamp from Think Happy Thoughts and used my stamp-ma-jig to stamp it twice, once inverted. Finally to balance out the white in the butterfly I added a little layer of white behind the holey scalloped border.

In the end a result that wasn’t too bad for “late” night stamping dramas.

Recipe: All SU unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly, Pocket Silhouettes, Think Happy Thoughts
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White
Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Basic Gray
Accessories: Urban Garden DSP, Fiskars Threading Water border punch, narrow Tempting Turquoise grosgrain ribbon, Pewter hodgepodge ribbon slide, Corner rounder punch, Stamp-ma-jig, Glue Dot, SNAIL adhesive.

New Aussie Challenge

Hi all,

just a quick message to let you know about a new Australia blog challenge thats starting up in mid August. The challenges will run once a month. The hosts (Rebecca Bodini (Bizzy Bec) and Cheryl Joshua) are launching the new blog with some blog candy.



Go check it out here if your interested.

Teddy Bear Birthday

Hi there,

Well this has been the first time I’ve been able to do a Mojo Monday sketch for ages. But when I saw this week’s I just knew I had to have a go and it would be perfect for a birthday card I needed to make. Here’s the sketch.

I wanted to make a birthday card for a little 2 year old girl and so I decided to pull out an old favourite of mine – Favourite Teddy Bear. A good friend used the set to make a lovely card for my daughter when she turned two (Hi Sam) so with this memory in mind I began.

I stamped the teddy first in Versamark and then Timber Brown stazon. Then I embossed with clear embossing powder. To fit him in the circle decided to pose him sitting down, by carefully trimming his legs off and then repositioning them. I got this idea from a card they had in one of our past Stampin Up catalogues. His front leg is up on a dimensional as is his party hat. A pressie and some balloons, projecting off the central circle, finish him off. For the colour theme for the card I decided to go with Rose Red, Regal Rose and So Saffron. To give the card some texture and also to convey the happy birthday message, I passed my top Saffron layer through the cuttlebug using the Happy Birthday folder. Then I cut it into three equalish sections. These were mounted over a Regal Rose layer that had been stamped with a little flower background. All the teddy accessories – hat, pressie, balloons (and the teddy) were coloured using my aquapainter and ink from the ink pad lids to coordinate with the colour scheme. Once they were mounted on the card I swished them over with 2 way glue and added the glitter. To finish off the card I added some Regal Rose ribbon, as per the sketch, although I did move the bow to the other side - it balanced the balloons better that way.

Hopefully the birthday girl will like it!

PS: It was raining here this afternoon so my photo's are a bit yuck, once the sun returns I will come back and edit in some new pic's.

Recipe: (All SU unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Favourite Teddy Bear, Fresh Fillers
Cardstock: Rose Red, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Versamark, Timber Brown Stazon
Accessories: Circle Nestabilities (classic and scalloped), Cuttlebug Happy Birthday folder, Clear embossing powder, Aquapainter, Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, 2-way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Something old something new

Hi there,

for the first time this year I felt like I lost my Mojo, courtesy of head cold that struck last Friday. I really liked the colour combo that Makeesha picked, for this week's challenge, but could any idea penetrate the fog in my head – nope! So it was definitely time to get inspiration from someone else’s great work. I had seen a card I liked instantly (scroll down to the second card) on Debbie Olson's blog and decided to CASE it for this challenge. Firstly here are the colours for the challenge.


And here is what I came up with. I rather liked the result actually.

For the something new component I inked up some new rubber – the large Fifth Avenue Floral rose (this set was definitely not on my wish list when I first got the catalogue but I had seen so many lovely cards in blog land it ended up on my get soon list). I stamped this in Rose Red on the top Rose Red layer. I also stamped two flowers, in Rose Red, on Very Vanilla. Then I stamped it, overlapping, inked up with Mellow Moss on Very Vanilla. This panel was laid over a Always Artichoke with a eyelet border along the bottom, and a Mellow Moss layer at the top. To colour the two Rose Red flowers I used ink from the lid of the Rose Red ink pad and my aquapainter. First trying to give it a overall base wash and then slowly adding layers of colour to deepen petal highlights. Once that was done I cut out one flower in its entirety, the second I cut out only the central portion. To finish up the flowers I added some little vanilla half pearls to the centre of each and then added crystal effects to the inner edges of the petals. The crystal effects really gives the petals some dimension and shine, hard to see in the photo unfortunately.

To accompany the flowers I stamped a branch from Touch of Nature, twice onto Always Artichoke and Mellow Moss, then loosely cut them it out. Then I turned them over so you have a cardstock branch but no stamping to be seen. These were arranged around the flowers, which I had mounted up on dimensionals. The final touch was the sentiment, including something old and new. New the “happy birthday” from Think Happy Thoughts” and the old with a retired Mellow Moss button threaded with some retired Moss gingham ribbon. The inside, as usual was finished off simply to match the front. Oh and I rounded the the top left and bottom right corners of the card.

Recipe: All SU unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Think Happy Thoughts
Cardstock: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, Mellow Moss, Rose Red
Ink: Mellow Moss, Rose Red
Accessories: Eyelet border punch, 1 ¼ circle and ¾ circle punches, corner rounder, Mellow Moss button, Mellow Moss gingham ribbon, glue dot, aquapainter, Kaiser vanilla half pearls, crystal effects, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Party Time Part Three

Hi there,

Yep I’m still posting about my first workshop. Today I want to show you the thank you card and little pressie I made for good friend, very talent stamper and now upline Sam. Sam very kindly provided any supplies I didn’t have and needed to both prepare for, and use for the workshop.

The choccie pack


The card is a different colour version of one I made for an earlier Inkspiration sketch challenge. For Sam’s card I have added an extra layer and omitted the black brads from the two upper corners. The flower was created using one of the Trendy Trees stamps. I first stamped it in Whisper craft ink onto Riding Hood Red cardstock, then dusted with white embossing powder. For the centre of the flower I first inked up the stamp in versamark and then in Riding Hood Red before dusting with clear embossing powder. Then using the 1” circle punch I just punched all the circles out. For more in depth details please go back to my original post. The only other difference is that I used Candy Lane DSP for both panels of the card. Finishing details include lots of piercing, some black gingham ribbon and a black brad.

To accompany the card I bought some very yum chocolates and made a little package to surround them. I cut a strip of Riding Hood Red that was the same width as the choccie pack, then scored it twice at the bottom about 1” apart to make a little base. The cut another strip of cardstock to make the flap that was attached at the top of the back. The flap is secured with an adhesive Velcro dot. I rounded the front of the flap by placing a cup over the end then using my craft knife to follow that guide – it worked quite well!! Some more Candy Lane DSP decorates the bottom of the front and then flap section is decorated with a little scalloped circle element, continuing the Trendy Tree theme. This time I rocked and rolled the tree top stamp, inked in Pink Pirouette, in Riding Hood Red.

Recipe: (All SU unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: White craft, Versamark, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: White and clear embossing powder, Candy Lane DSP, Black gingham ribbon, scallop edge punch, 1” circle punch, word window punch, corner rounder punch, black brad, mat pack and piercing tool, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive, double sided tape.

Beach Time

Hi there,

Well its that time of the week – I’m posting my entry for Makeesha’s challenge. This week it was a sketch.


It’s a great sketch and I couldn’t resist using one of my newest stamp sets and doing something a little fun with it.

I decided to make the big circle element the sun, well the sun setting over a sea scene with the happy holiday makers on their way home. The base of the card is Soft Sky (from my retired stash) that I stamped with Sanded (stamped off once). I used my small oval punch to make the waves on the Baja and Pacific Point layers and also for the suns rays. Both wave strips were stamped with Sanded stamped off once, in the appropriate ink colour. Then I paper pierced just below the edges of the “waves” and the suns rays. For the beach and the sea bottom I used strips of Sahara and rolled my Sandy Shells wheel over then tore the upper edges. I stamped the car twice, once direct onto the central circle element and then again. Once this second one was coloured I paper toiled it out and mounted it on dimensionals above the first image. To colour the car and the fish I used my aquapainter and ink from the lids of the ink pads. The last touch was a little beach flag for the bottom corner. Oh and then I used coated the surfboard, car windows and wheels and all the fish eyes with crystal effects. The most appropriate sentiment I could think of for the scene was Holiday Happiness.

Wishing you all a good day and some stamping

Recipe: (All SU unless other wise noted)
Stamps: Just Beachy, Sanded, Sandy Shells, So Many Sayings
Cardstock: Soft Sky, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango
Ink: Sahara Sand, Summer Sun, Tangerine Tango, Pacific Point, Soft Sky, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Circle nestabilities, Piercing tool, Small oval punch, Crystal effects, Striped pumpkin pie ribbon, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive

Party Time Part Two

Hi all,

Well in this post I want to show you the second make and take card from my first workshop. Since I showcased Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red and the eyelet punch in the first card, for my second I decided to go with Kiwi Kiss and Baja Breeze and the scallop edge punch.

As you can see I made two colour variations again, the Riding Hood Red/ Kiwi Kiss was my original concept but since I wanted to use different in colour I went with the Kiwi/Baja version. Using the scallop edge punch to make “frame” was an idea I first saw on Ngaire Anderson's blog, but rather than making it a complete frame I left one end open so I could tie the bottom of the card in to the top. I could never find again the blog where I first saw Bloom Away stamped in a monochrome format but not long after Marelle Taylor also posted some monochrome stamped images on here blog here.

So details, well the base card is stamped with Sanded, it provides a great backdrop to Bloom Away. Then I’ve placed a layer of white between the Kiwi and Baja to accentuate the frame and divide the colours. The Bloom Away waratah was stamped in Kiwi (twice but one is for the inside) then cut out. That is mounted on dimensionals on a Kiwi panel with rounded corners. A knotted Kiwi striped grosgrain ribbon separates the image and sentiment. The sentiment is framed and mounted on another strip of Kiwi cardstock, the ends of which have been round off using the 3/4" circle punch. Finishing touches include piercing the scallops and the bottom edge of the Baja layer and adding silver brads to the two upper corners.

Recipe (Card one)
Stamps: Sanded, Bloom Away, Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Scallop edge punch, Corner rounder punch, Word window and 3/4" circle punch, Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, mat pack and piercing tool, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Recipe (Card two)
Stamps: Sanded, Bloom Away, Trendy Trees
Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Scallop edge punch, Corner rounder punch, Word window and 3/4" circle punch, Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon, silver brads, mat pack and piercing tool, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Party Time Part One

Hi there everyone,

Well I had a lot of fun as a guest designer for Makeesha Byl and I was definitely kept busy. That hasn’t changed as I went straight from the last challenge to preparing for my first workshop and that is where today's post comes in. The focus concepts for the workshop were to use this years in colours and border punches. Here is the first make and take card.

As you can see I made two colour variations. I decided to go with the Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red version for the workshop. The idea for how the image was stamped I first saw on Di Barnes blog and she referenced Marelle Taylor as the originator. Marelle used the So Saffron, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango combo. The Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose and Riding Hood Red combo I came up with.

As to how you stamp it – well ink up the entire stamp in the lightest colour (Don’t Stamp), then press the lower two thirds of the stamp into the mid colour (Don’t Stamp) then press the bottom third into the darkest colour, blend where the colours change with a blender pen or sponge dauber– now Stamp It!!

The stamped image is balanced by adding a circle sentiment in the upper corner and a bow at the bottom. Rounding the upper corner also provides a link to the circle sentiment. Finishing details include stamping a small flower, cutting it out mounting on a dimensional and adding a brad to the centre of the sentiment. Adding a brad to the corner of the stamped image and down the bottom a strip of DSP and some ribbon provide interest. The eyelet punch provides a decorative finish to the bottom of the card. To finish the inside I also stamped Upsy Daisy but its important to stamp it off first or the image will be too dark.

Recipe (Card one) All SU unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Seeing Spots
Card Stock: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Candy Lane DSP, Red Riding Hood Taffeta ribbon, Eyelet punch, Corner rounder punch, 1 3/8” and 1 1/4 “ circle punches, silver brads, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Recipe (Card two) All SU unless otherwise noted
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Seeing Spots
Card Stock: So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Ink: So Saffron, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Haiku DSP, narrow white grosgrain ribbon, Eyelet punch, Corner rounder punch, 1 3/8” and 1 1/4 “ circle punches, gold brads, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive.

Time for Tea

Hi there,

This week Makeesha’s challenge was an inspiration one. Here’s the pic.


Firstly thanks to Keesh and the design team for their great examples, I didn't have time to blog hop and comment this week - but I loved them all! Even with those great inspirational samples it was kind of hard to figure out where to start with this, as the picture above the afternoon tea was quite a feature. So I tried to bring both elements into my card. I couldn’t go past a cup of tea as the feature as I love my cuppa’s.

I made my cup by first punching a Chocolate Chip 1 3/8 square, then rounding the bottom corners, then overlaying this (on dimensionals) with a 1 1/4 punched square of Regal Rose DSP, again rounding the corners. The handle was made using the small oval punch. I wanted to have a steaming hot cup (something you don’t often get as a Mum) so used part of a swirly element from Scribble This. The cup is framed by a Chocolate Chip scalloped panel, made using the scallop edge punch. That took some fiddling and luck but I did get it to work in the end. That panel is laid over a background of alternating strips of So Saffron, and Regal Rose DSP separated by some Rose Red stitched ribbon. This background hopefully echoes the colours in the picture above the tea. Finishing details include piercing of the scallops, crystal effects on the steamy swirl and brads. It’s always special to share a cuppa with a friend (and I was lucky enough to do that twice on Monday (hi Cathy and Sam) so what better sentiment than “friend to friend”.

Recipe: (All SU unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Scribble This, Pocket Silhouettes
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Scallop edge punch, 1 3/8 and 1 1/4 punches, corner rounder, small oval punch, mat pack and piercing tool, crystal effects, Rose Red and So saffron brads, Rose Red double stitched grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, SNAIL adhesive, double sided tape, So Saffron and Regal Rose DSP.