Peas on Earth

Check out these cute peas! I have had my eye on this stamp from Stamp-It since I first started stamping a couple of years ago. I LOVED it. It is surprising I have only just got it now! I started this card a couple of weeks ago but then everything else got in the way. I had a few slack days and then I spent a few days working on an upcoming Stampers Challenge for Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine and then the other days just seem to have disappeared!

I stamped the image twice and cut out the earth and the peas and popped them up on foam tape. They look so adorable in real life! I just wish a camera would catch it!

Anyway, the fun is over for me... time to share... these little peas are now on sale in the pre-loved section of Stampin' Stuff if you like them!

Memo.... thingies....

My sister, Kelly and my niece, Caitlin came to visit this weekend and stayed over. We did a bunch of shopping on Saturday (I was exhausted... I think they were keen for more!) and then Saturday afternoon we did some craftin'! We each covered a Kaisercraft memo thingy... I still don't know their name. I have been holding on to this pattern paper and the matching butterflies for so long I have forgotten it's name too. I am pretty pleased with the outcome but I still have no clue as to where I am going to hang it! Oh, and it also has a matching pen on a silver cord so it doesn't go walkies.

Kelly covered the purple one. We did pretty well considering we only had one craft knife blade and it was broken at the tip. Every time I tried to cut it just ripped the paper up. It all went rather smoothly after we got past that and my tipping the house upside down for the sandpaper that was stored nicely in the draw directly next to me the whole time. Right under the paint brushes that I had been rumaging through all day.

My first tag!

This is my very first Tim Holtz inspired tag! I have been wanting to try some new techniques for ages and I finally did it. Don't worry, I haven't thrown away High Hopes... I'm just trying a few new things for a change!

So... this tag is rather plain when compared to Tim's work but it was still really quite a challenge! I worked on it for hours... just getting the rough inky background was hard but the truth is... it was FUN! Distress ink ROCKS! I love doing the background with the ink and water... just so happens I'm not that good at it. Everything takes practice though! The reason I find it hard is because I like everything to look perfect. I can't see a bit of paper with not enough ink and just leave it like it is... I have to fix it... that's when I usually wreck it!

I tried my best to do this all like Tim does but with some substitutions. I did the Distress Ink background (here's a link to Tim's video), used my new Ink Blending Tool to sponge on some colour around the place (that tool ROCKS too!). I used my Darkroom Door Christmas set from last year for the reindeer. Then stamped a few stars in VersaMark and put Perfect Pearls on them to make a pretty shimmer and rubbed a little bit of gold metallic rub-ons on the reindeer! It's funny how I just summed a few hours work up into just a few sentences... if it was that quick and easy in real life it would get boring.

Medicine Man in Print

I am a bit late posting this because Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft Vol 15 No 2 has been on sale for a little while now but I thought I would let you know anyway. Medicine Man is in it! I made these cards about this time last year and they were the second set of cards that I ever had accepted for publication! I think they just took a while choosing an issue to put them in!

These are my three cards:

Fairy Friends!

Fairy Friends is the brand new release stamp set from Pink Cat Studio and it is being released today! There is a whopping 15 stamps in this set and what's more, I can post up to four of these sets for only $1.65!

This stamp set is so adorably cute so jump on over to Stampin' Stuff to pick one up!

Pawsitively Fabulous!

Isn't this poodle just FABULOUS?! This set is from Pink Cat Studio and I whipped her up today!
I watercoloured her using inks and Twinkling H2O's and I am so happy with how vibrant the colours turned out! It looks better in real life... but that's the way it always is.

Now for a bit of Stampin' Stuff news! I got a whole heap of new stuff in yesterday and it is all listed! I got a bunch of Stamp-It stamps including sets, wood mounted and cling mounted stamps, Tim Holtz tools, Ranger Distress Inks, Perfect Pearls, Flower Soft (I used a bit on my poodle card!) some more Prima flowers and heaps of other bits and bobs like wire, ribbon, eyelets and tools!

Now, I'm off to try out a few of these Tim Holtz things! I have always wanted to try tags like he does. *fingers to temples* channel Tim Holtz... channel Tim Holtz... nah... I don't think its working.. I will have to go watch his demos again... and again... oh and again. I will post some piccies if they are worth the effort!

Who wants some candy! - WINNER ANNOUNCED

THE WINNER IS.... SANDIE - THE CRAFTY SIDE OF ME!

Thanks to everyone who entered for taking the time to come by my blog and leave a comment!

I'm giving away some candy... now, who wants some??!!

You can win:

• A bunch of cute 2.5cm Green Tara Flowers, some copper and green leaves
  
• Bossie's Mood Swing from High Hopes Rubber Stamps!
  
• Mad Cow
  
• Moood Swing
• I've been waiting for heifer to hear from you.

So, how do you enter? Leave a comment on this post before Friday 7 August 2009! If you would like to put a link on your blog to let your friends know, feel free but make sure you let me know in the comment section because that will give you two entries into the draw!!

Go for Gold!

You know what I discovered today? I only have ONE piece of pattern paper with gold on it, one type of gold brads, gold dragonflies and gold embossing powder... and that's it! I discovered I have quite a bit of silver stuff though! This week for the High Hopes challenge we are Going for Gold!

I did an Ila today and did some gold embossing on the corners of the card base and the edges of the image layer. You can't really see it but the swirls on the pattern paper are gold and then there is the little gold dragonfly in the bottom corner.

You know, its been AGES since I last embossed... I had a second thought when I got started thinking I might have forgotten! I also had to actually locate my heat gun... I hadn't remembered seeing it since we moved but I found it in a draw so I must have seen it. I had a lot of fun embossing actually. I might leave my heat gun out and see if that encourages me to do it more often!