String Embellishment Tutorial

Here is a video on how to make a quick and easy string embellishment for a card or scrapbooking layout.

View the video on You-tube - http://youtu.be/C_BAIXI468E 

 

Heard you were a little dragon

I made this card for a friend of mine that was really sick just after new years. There seemed to be a lot of sickness around then. I spent two of the three weeks I had off from work sick!

This is Seymore's Sick Day and Tail Not Waggin' and I made it as bright as I could while still managing to fit in as much of my beloved olive green as possible! At some stage I will try and move away from olive green but it is my favourite colour so that is tough!

High Hopes Challenge #100

The gang is back with art and MEGA PRIZES!

• 1st prize is $100 worth of High Hopes Stamps*
• 2nd prize is $50 worth of High Hopes stamps*
• 3rd and 4th prizes will each receive $25 worth of High Hopes stamps*

* retail value. Unmounted or cling mount.

This week is the High Hopes Challenge #100 and it spins me out because I remember our very first one! I haven't joined in in a challenge for quite some time but for this one I didn't really want to make a card. I have been a bit hooked on 3D stuff lately so I made a little scene on a mini canvas.

To cut a long story with a craft knife short, I used the cutie Dwight, Remembrance Tree and Rocks and cut them all out! I always start these things before I realise how long it will take to do it. For a tutorial on how I watercoloured the little guy, click here.

TO THE BLOG HOP! The next person on the list is Andrea so head on over to her blog. If you have come in half way you can find the details on the hop at the High Hopes Blog.

Happy Birthday

It's Lenny again! I made this sunny card for a friend for her birthday last week and I am really happy with how it turned out. It is oh, so, bright! I LOOOVE that paper. The colours are so me! The stamp is Lenny's Love Me Not's and Amuse, Relax... It's your day.

I have been getting a few people ask me how I watercolour lately so if you want to know, check out the tutorial here. I am going to update it soon with some new piccies too. Stampin' Stuff is a bit low on Twinkling H2O's but I should have more in in the next week or two.

Happy Halloween!

I know Halloween isn't huge in Australia but that doesn't mean we can't get excited by the colours, right? I love this time of year for craft almost as much as Christmas. I don't do anything about Halloween but I just love looking at blogs and seeing the fun bold, bright purples, greens and oranges.

This year I decided I was going to make some cards so here is the first one, hopefully I will have a chance to make more! The stamp I used is from High Hopes and is called Witchy Poo Stirrin' Brew and I also used Silly Spider and Happy Halloween. I added a bit of Artistic Wire to the card and used some old paper I have in my stash... I don't even remember which brand it was but it had the colours I was looking for.

There is a category at Stampin' Stuff dedicated to Halloween and spooky stuff so, even if you aren't getting into Halloween this year, why not have a blast with the colours anyway... that's my plan!

The High Hopes Challenge for this week is also to make a Halloween card so if you want to go into the draw to win some rubber, hop on over there and take a look at what the Diva's have come up with!

Farmer Clemmm had a farm....

I just realised I completely forgot to show a piccie of the farm yard cards that were published recently! It was in Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft and the issue was Vol. 16 No. 3.

The three cards were using Party Cow, Party Pig and Farmer Clem!

Here are my pics so you can see them more closely.

Blog Hoppin'

I hope you have had a rest after the Dustin release Blog Hop because there is another one on right now!

Do you want win some fantastic MelJen's Design rubber? If you said yes (and who wouldn't!) go to the High Hopes Blog for the details and start the hopping! In order to go into the draw to win you need to leave a comment on each Diva blog including the High Hopes blog as there will be winners drawn randomly from random blogs so you wont know which ones!

The next blog from here is the amazingly, fabulous, brilliant..... LACEY!

HOP... HOP... HOP!

MelJen's Designs - Sneak Peek!

WOOHOO! High Hopes has another artist! Joining Dustin is Melissa Jenkins. Here is my very first MelJen's card and it is using Sunflower Buggies. I had a ball colouring this flower. It is so flourished and cute... ah! It was great!

High Hopes Blog Hop

It's time to hop! If you would like to go into the draw to win some amazing High Hopes Rubber than head on over to the High Hopes Blog and start the hop.

To go into the draw, follow the hop order (starting at the HH Blog) to each of the Diva blogs and leave a comment on each one. Make sure you leave a comment on each blog because FOUR WINNERS will be drawn randomly from four Diva blogs and you won't know which one!

Now to my card! The stamp I used is quite a favourite of mine because a BBQ'ing dragon is just so funny and everyone knows Australian's like to BBQ! The stamp is called Flame Broilin' and the sentiment is Fire up the Grill. The card is pretty straight forward, watercolouring (tutorial here) with inks and Twinkling H2O's. I also hand drew some little sausages and glued them to some artistic wire so they could be twisted into shape.

Alright... that's enough from me... I don't want to hold up up along the way!

The next blog to visit from here is the lovely Alex's blog!

New Release - High Hopes Rubber Stamps

It's sneaky peeky time! Here is just one of the brand new High Hopes stamps that is being released on Monday. Dustin draws the cutest little animals and this one is one of my favourites of the release. The stamp is called Bear-ly Inspired.

All of the High Hopes Diva's are posting creations using the different stamps from this release so be sure to check them out!

The new stamps will be on sale on Monday 14 June 2010 at Stampin' Stuff.

One for the men

This weeks High Hopes challenge is hosted by Danielle and it is to make a masculine card. I think it might be Fathers Day soon somewhere across the other side of the world! For us it is in October... I think... I should probably look in to that.

I used Tractor, Rocks and Sun on my card this week. The tractor was supposed to be red but comes across a bit pink after I put the Twinkling H2o's on. The paper is my trusty Crate Paper... GEE I love that stuff! I am getting a bit low now and it is pretty old so eventually I am going to have to part with it!

As always, if you are going to join in on the High Hopes Challenge, go by the High Hopes Blog for the details and to link to your card. Then you will go in the draw to win the weekly rubber prize from Tina! WOOHOO!

Party Time!

It's party time at the High Hopes Challenge blog! This week we are making birthday cards and I chose to use Gavin the Gift Givin' Dragon on my card and some Basic Grey pattern paper. My Labels 1 Nestabilities also made an appearance (first time in AGES). If you would like to join in the party time fun, pop on over to the High Hopes Blog to see how you can go into the draw to win some rubber stamps from Tina!

It's a Girl

I made this card for my sister because she had a baby girl last week. It was quite a surprise because the whole time I pictured her having a boy! It was good timing too because this weeks High Hopes challenge is hosted by Sirpa and it is to make a card or project for a baby or young child.

The stamp I used was Kanga& Joey and put on some Prima Flowers, some ribbon, Kaisercraft Pearls and a Jenni Bowlin Stick Pin.

As always, if you would like to go into the draw to win some rubber (this week it is the adorable Cheeky Sean) then make your own High Hopes card and link to the High Hopes blog and Sean could be coming to your house!

Sketch Time!

It's time for a sketch!! This weeks High Hopes Challenge is hosted by lil' ol' me and I whipped up a sketch. I say whipped but it actually took me quite a long time! I couldn't decide on colours! The stamp I used on my card is Chopper's Chilaxin' and the papers are from Dream Street. I used some cute Sunris Prima Flowers that I have had laying around for a little while (they have a nice little texture to them) and made some flourishes from Black Artistic Wire.

To go into the draw to win some fantastic rubber thanks to Tina and Bethany, head over to the High Hopes Blog for more information and to leave a link to your entry card!
Here is the sketch... feel free to do with it what you like. I kept it quite basic so there is heaps of room to add bits of pieces and run with it!

Enjoy!

Filled with Bubbles!

How are you going this fine Sunday morning! The days of the week all mush into one for me sadly because I work but the weekends ROCK!

Here is a card I made a while back (it was a collection of three but I always forget to post it). The stamp is called Dwight and Filled with Bubbles. Dwight is one of Dustin's little babies and he certainly knows how to draw an adorable dragon hey!

I put a little Made With Love charm hanging from the sentiment with some Artistic Wire. I think I am going back through a 'wire on everything' phase like I did a few years ago... ahh... if it works, do it.

Colours of your home country

This weeks High Hopes challenge is a tough one! Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to create a card or project using the colours of your home country's flag as inspiration. Well... considering what the Australian flag really does look like you can see I struggled a little with this challenge. I ended up substituting the white for yellow (sorry!). Turns out I have NO pattern paper with a rich blue and red either!

The stamp I used is the very cute Scuba Kitty and Catfish. He was a joy to colour and I am really impressed that I even used a different blue (for the water) that I usually use. Gee I am a creature of habit... I always have set colours for things and I tend not to break away from them much!

Well... I'm off to bed. We have a public holiday in Queensland tomorrow so it is a long weekend! WOOHOO!!

Good Enough to Eat

My card is late this week but only by a little bit! I had my card almost done except for the sentiment last night when Matt's sister arrived for dinner. We made a roast pork and chicken in the webber and they turned out perfect! Joanne made the gravy because Matt and I aren't too good at that bit and while she was eating she said 'Good gravy'. Perfectly rehearsed Matt swung into one of his favourite Simpsons quotes and ended it with 'Thank you... it's just brown and water'. I have heard it a million times when he has liked the gravy but yesterday it just seemed funnier. I almost spit my food out laughing.

So! In a moment of insanity I made that my challenge card sentiment. Jeanne wants us to do food related cards or projects this week. That can be food related images, recipe cards, lolly jars (ohhh... candy!) or anything you like. You can interpret it however you like this week.

The stamps I used are Medicine Man, Bubbling Brew, Bush and Rocks and the paper is by Crate Paper which are way up there on my list of faves!

This is the inside of the card:
Remember to swing by the High Hopes Blog for more details of the challenge and to see which rubber stamps are up for grabs this week for one lucky participant!

Little Gems

Nikki has challenged us to use Gems, Pearls or Beads this week for the High Hopes Challenge. I made a card using Sea Floor, Treasure Chest, Diver Dan and Stanley Sea Snail. I used Kaisercraft Pearls, a Rhinestone Brad and some clear and blue beads to hang the treasure map charm.

This is only a short post today because I really have to go to bed but if you would like to join in, pop on over to the High Hopes Blog for more details.

Easter Cards!

This weeks High Hopes Challenge is hosted by Lacey and she would like us to make an Easter or Spring themed card. The stamp I used is called Bunny Blooms and I used Kaisercraft Devonshire pattern paper and some Green Tara Mesh Ribbon. I even used my Cuttlebug and embossed some pattern paper and put some gold Metallic Rubons on it. I can't believe I thought of so many different things I haven't done for a while on one card!

So, if you are going to join in the challenge this week, whip on over to the High Hopes Blog for the details and make sure you put a link to your card so you go in the draw to win some stamps!

Have a great week!

A Good Friend...

Well… I’m a bit late with my post but you know what they say… better late then never. This weeks challenge is hosted by me and it is a card recipe. Brown, Orange and a circle. The circle doesn’t have be paper though, buttons and brads are still round!

The stamp I used on this card is called Stretch and he is one of my first High Hopes images that I ever purchased! I found HH just before the Jungle themed stamps were released and they are still way up there as my favourites!

If you would like to join in the High Hopes Challenge, pop on over to the blog to leave a link to your card and you will go into the draw to win our weekly rubber prize!