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!

Pink Cat Studio Has Arrived!

LOOK... LOOK! Pink Cat Studio is in THA HOUSE! As you could imagine I was so excited to find these stamps in my mailbox this afternoon I just had to whip out the set I got for myself and try them out! Pop on over to Stampin' Stuff to see what else came in the mailbox today!

In store now are... yeah... Pink Cat Studio *grin*, a whole HEAP of Green Tara flowers, stunning Leaf Garland ribbon, mesh ribbon and adorable reindeer ribbon too! Then there is string, leaves, Christmas charms... ahh... it's all too much excitement for me! So, off you go... check out the new stuff!

Stamps: Pink Cat Studio - Christmas Kitty

Sparkle!

It has been a while since I last blogged but I'm back! I managed to get sick on my birthday for the third year in a row... blame that on Matt... he always brings home diseases a few days before our birthdays (2nd and 3rd July). After having nearly a week off work for that sickness I managed to turn mutant and had three massive cold sores on my mouth which kept me from work for almost another week, I also couldn't hear through one ear for three days and when I went to the doctor for that he didn't really care... he was more concerned about my mouth.. turns out it was infected.. ewww! Matt went away during that time and when he called to see how I was he was shocked to find all I had eaten for two days was popcorn and iced coffee. It was all I could get through my mouth! Cutlery was out of the question! Anyway, enough about all of that... it wasn't exciting (or pretty) it was just the best part of two weeks on the couch watching seasons of Supernatural over and over drinking tea and iced coffee from a straw. *groan*

So, to the CHALLENGE! Nikki would like us to go crazy with the sparkle and shimmer this week so I watercoloured a dragon (yes, in green.. I need to work on more colours hey!). I put some Twinkling H2O's on his body and Kindy Glitz on his wings. He looks rather shimmery and sparkley in person. I took this notebook to work so I have something bright and cheery to look at all day!

Have a great weekend to those who still have time... for me, its 9:20 pm on Sunday so its almost over... back to the grind until next Saturday!

BLOG CANDY EXTRAVAGANZA!

You will certainly want to check this blog candy out! Crissy is giving away seven AMAZING prizes on her blog... oh they are great! There is so much fun stuff there I want to be able to enter!!

It's a Jungle Out There

And it is too! When I was watercolouring this image (it took hours!) I watched Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now the bit in that movie that makes me squirm each time is the part with the leeches. Even though you don't actually see them, having them in the water scares me. I didn't have a whole lot of reason then to be worried but I do now....

I went walking a few weeks ago with my dad in the rainforest. It is a rough, barely used walking track to a really nice waterfall, I was taking photos, enjoying the view when I looked down and I had a leech on my leg! After screaming and jumping around for a bit I got it off (well, dad did... I wasn't touching it)... little did I know that leech was creating a diversion while I was being ambushed by a gang of more dangerous, blood-sucking leeches!! ARGH! I had about seven on each foot and they were getting in my shoes everywhere! This went on for a few hours... every time we stopped walking I had to take my shoes off and pick them off... then they got stuck to my fingers... EWW! Well, the end of the story is my foot didn't take too kindly to such an attack and I got what I now call 'Blimp Foot' where my foot and ankle (or Cankle as it was then) got so swollen it resembled a blimp for a week that I couldn't drive the car or walk further than the toilet... and had to take three days off work! I looked pretty silly limping with no shoe (double EWW!) though the doctor surgery to get anti-biotics.

The END!

Now to the card... this is WALKABOUT WALLY! He has decent footwear on while he is trecking but as my dad found out that day, the leeches still get through your socks and down to your toes even in boots. Wally might need leech proof socks...!

What's The Buzz?

What IS the buzz you say?? Well... this week for the High Hopes Challenge, Lacey would like us to use stars or stripes... or both even! I chose stripes because I really wanted to use stripy Hunny Bear. Remember, if you want to join in our challenge, pop on over to the High Hopes blog for the details and if you put a link to your card in the comments section you will go into the draw to win the stamps that Lacey used on her card this week!

That isn't the only High Hopes news that is buzzing... hang around the diva blogs this week and we will let you in on the excitement!! I can't wait!!

Oops Ellie and Seymore's Sick Day

Remember this post? I gave a tiny sneak peek a while back of a couple cards I was working on. Well, now they have been published! They are in the Collectors Issue - Vol. 15 No.01 of Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft.

This time I was asked to make an 'I forgot' card and a sick teen without actually using the words 'Get Well Soon'... these stamps were perfect and I when I was reading the email I immediately knew which stamps I wanted to use. I used Oops Ellie and Seymore's Sick Day.

Beary Sweet Notebook

This is Beary Sweet Sign and he is certainly sweet! I made this notebook for a friend that is moving to our unit at work. I have the idea in my head that my notebook is gold. It has been years in progress and I figure, if it's worth asking, its worth writing in the notebook... that way I don't have to ask again. So, I thought it would be worth giving her a notebook too to make her feel welcome.

It took me a while to think of something to write on the front of the sign but then I thought about it for a while and figured... when I get to a tough spot (usually about debits and credits!) I always think to myself 'what on earth did they say again??' then I go check my notes.

In person Beary is so rich with colour and shimmers he looks so CUTE! It will be a little bit sad to give him away but it's not as though I wont still see him everyday!

Meet Milton!

It's challenge time again and this week I used Milton (Mudzie's geeky brother) and Garden Gate. This one took me days to watercolour but I am so happy with the outcome. I was a little worried that with so much going on with the garden gate it wouldn't stand out very well behind Milton but I was wrong... it looks great.

So anyway, this week Jeanne would like us to use up our scraps. The pattern paper I used on this card is stuff I have had in my stash for what seems like years... probably not but I have had it for a very long time and there is only a tiny bit left. They last time I used it was on this card with Juliette's Leap of Faith way back in August last year.

Two cute owls...

Sitting in a tree! Everytime I look at this stamp I can't help but go "awwwww". I got some inspiration for the layout of the card from Sketch & Stash. I was a bit stumped about what to do with the card until then! This is a stamp where the Twinkling H2O's really come into their own. The photo isn't fantastic but in person the colours on these owls is really rich and shimmery. I like the More Mustard on their heads graduating into Close to Cocoa. I got that idea from Rachelle Anne Miller website... she has great ideas there of what colours you can use on her stamps to really bring them to life. I would never have thought of these colours together!

So, I resorted to the flowers and wire again (if you haven't been following my blog for long, I got hooked in a big, big way around Christmas... I almost needed flower and wire rehab).

If you look carefully, I also put some metallic rub-ons around the edges of the card. It stands out better IRL but doesn't most things on cards? Your agreeing with me right now aren't you? Now you're smiling now because I'm right? *grin*

What up dawg?

This is a simple card but I think it was enough! Odie Dog is cute in his own so I don't think he needs a whole lot more around him to bring a smile to someones face.. well certainly not mine anyway. I think he is just adorable! You know, I watercoloured this image the third night we were in our new house. I had just received the stamps the night before they were to be released and wanted to quickly get a card done. Well, I didn't get that card done until this week but it is better late then never!

SMILE! Odie is...

One Hopefull Ant

This is Hopeful Ant... isn't he sweet?? I made this card for this weeks High Hopes Challenge. Nikki has provided us with a fun sketch to work with this week and I realised it was really fun to not have to think too hard about what you are going to do with the paper! I don't use sketches very often which I think is where I am going wrong!! I have been looking around this weekend for a few sites that do sketches. So here is a question for you, what is your favouite card sketch site? I occasionally join in on the SCS weekly challenge but I would like to know if there are any others hanging around out there that are great too!

Oh, before I trundle off to do some watercolouring, remember if you do decide to join in on the High Hopes Challenge, link your card to the thread on the HH blog (the link is above) and you will go into the draw to win the stamps used on Nikki's card!!

Hope you are back on your feet...

I made this bright card a few weeks ago for my new friend Heidi (hello!) but I wanted to make sure she received it before I posted a photo of it. Heidi hurt her leg so this image was perfect, I thought. The stamp is called Coles Laid Up!