More Good News (and some pics)

Hello again,

Happy Australia Day!

I am just back from a good ole Aussie BBQ with friends to celebrate Australia's nationhood. The stereotypic way to spend a beautiful day here in Tassie.

Actually I have spent most of the day doing the washing after our week long jaunt to Bruny Island - there was masses of it!! Thank you so much to my poor long suffering Mum who let me use her washing machine as mine has decided to give up the ghost after 10 years of hard service.

Whilst waiting for the machine to run its course I decided to make a card (of course! What else do you do when the washing is washing??) A dear friend of mine had a baby boy whilst we were on Bruny, soooo having been craft deprived for a whole week GASP, I made a new baby card for them. Here it is:

The sketch is Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge 212, I also tried a new technique Faux Mosaic, which was the Technique Lovers Challenge on Splitcoast this week. (The Faux Mosaic is the thin panel that the lion is popped up on, you can find a tutorial here). Give it a go, it's fiddly but fun!

Card Recipe: (all products are Stampin' Up!)

Stamps: Wild About You, Warm Words

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Spring Break DSP

Inks: Versa Mark, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: White EP (embossing powder), Clear EP, Sticky Strip, Lg & Sml Oval Punches, Scallop Punch, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Thanks to Tracey Old (A Stampers Touch) for the idea of layering up the segments of the Lion for a 3d effect. (I embossed him with clear EP to give him a bit of shine and to make him stronger to cut out - his tail is a bit fiddly)

Anyway, as promised here are a few pics from our week on Bruny. For those of you who aren't Tasmanians, a little geography... Hobart, Tassie's capital city is on the River Derwent. Bruny Island is in the mouth of the River Derwent, and can only be reached by Ferry. It is a wonderful place to be because, even though you are only 50 mins away from the city centre (Ferry permitting!) you feel like you are light years away from anything!

This year for the first time my little guy took a friend to Bruny for the first few days. They had a ball, here they are fishing in my Dad's boat. (My little guy is the one on the left, he looks so grown up and moody in this pic lol!).

Here is some of their catch! A beautiful Flathead and a really nice Cod. Thanks for catching dinner fellas!

And here toasting Marshmellows on the rocky beach in front of the shack.

As you can see we had a ball!

Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment I love to hear your thoughts. Back to work tomorrow :(

Claire

I'm baaaack!!

Yay! Back from a very mellow week of fun in the sun and sea. Well actually the weather has left a bit to be desired over the last few days - gale force winds on Thursday left us with no power for most of the day. Since then it has been too rough to get the boat in the water. However, hanging with the family is never a hardship and we have had a nice relaxing time. I will share some piccys soon!

Anyway, how excitement! I came home to find I had been nominated for a blog award! Never had one of those before. Thanks Tracey for nominating me.

The rules for this award are as follows;

Add the award to your blog

Link the person who nominated you

Nominate several other people

Leave a message on their blogs to let them know

My nominees for this award are ... drum roll pleeeease!

Lynda Moss Stampinkins

Ann Wills CraftySquirrel

Donna Centamore Butternutsage Designs

Tracey Old A Stampers Touch

Sarah O'Halloran If Only I had Chocolate

They are all incredibly inspiring in many different ways. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

Thanks for dropping in - I have some cards to make, so I will be back soon!

Claire

Nothing to share

Nothing to share today. Just letting you know that we are off to Bruny Island for a week of fun in the sun. Lots of swimming, fishing and relaxing, Tassie's notoriously fickle weather permitting! Will share some photos when we get back after Australia Day.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Evolution of a card KW CI 38

Wow! This was so not the card I set out to make for this Colour Inspiration challenge!
I have been racking my brains since Kristina posted CI 38 about how on earth I was going to successfully combine them. Eventually I decided that maybe they would work for a "brayered sky" type of thing. So I set off to Michelle Zindorf's wonderful blog tutorials to refresh myself with the finer points of the technique. I often find my brayer more than a little challenging! Anyway, whilst browsing I happened upon this tutorial, and decided to give it a go in the inspiration colours. I am really surprised and pleased with the way it turned out! It actually reminds me of the enormous Emperor Bush moths we get down here in Tassie.

Card recipe:

Stamps: Natural Beauty, Carte Postale, Baroque Motifs

Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Inks: Ruby Red, Pretty In Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Versa Mark, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Versa Marker, Stamp and Write Markers, Clear Embossing Powder, Sponges, White Gel Pen, Jumbo Eyelet, Ribbon

Technique: Emboss resist

Hope you like it. I would love to hear your comments. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Claire

Bright and Breezy

Hello, just taking some time out from designing cards to update my display board. (It desperately needs a revamp as I have my first workshop for 2009 on Saturday! These ladies are lovely "regulars" and deserve to see something new and exciting on display) As I am on holidays, I am enjoying the opportunity to play with my stuff, in between trips to the beach and other fun family things.

Anyway, I am loving the new Bali Breeze DSP (designer series paper) from the Summer Mini. The colours are so bright and cheerful. Perfect for our Aussie summer. So, I have made a little set of 10cm square notecards to showcase the DSP and the Eastern Blooms Stamp set, also from the Summer mini. Here they are.

I will make a little box and some envelopes for them and share those later.

Card Recipe: (All products are Stampin Up! unless otherwise stated)

Cardstock: RoseRed, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White

Inks: Rose Red, Taken with Teal Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Accessories: Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals, Ribbon.

I also have another challenging colour scheme to take on. This one is even tougher than the last one! Thanks Kristina. You can check out the challenge here.

Please leave a comment, I really like hearing what you think. Thanks for dropping by.

Claire

A challenging colour combo

Well, as promised here is my entry for Kristina Werner's Colour Inspiration #37. Oops! I have just realized that I posted the wrong challenge at the end of my last post. THIS

is the right one!

I have decided to have a crack at Kristina's challenge as a part of my New Year's Resolution to really try and broaden my horizons with my colour combos. The challenge is a great one, and seems to attract some very talented card makers each week. (I have been stalking it for quite a while now). For those who are not familiar with it, you can check it out HERE. Basically Kristina posts a colour combo, you design a card or scrapbook page using the colours and link it to Kristina's blog, within a given time frame. Kristina then chooses her fave 10-15 submissions.

So, without further ado – here is my entry. Apologies for the crappy photo, but I'm not sure when exactly the challenge closes as it is in US time. So, I will post now, and retake and replace the pic in the morning! (Edited to add: I have replaced the pic, the colours show a little better in daylight, and at least this one is not blurry!)

Card Recipe:

Stamp Sets: Eastern Blooms (Summer mini) Paisley Background

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Soft Sky (as we don't have Baja Blue in Oz yet) Whisper White, Bali Breeze DSP

Inks: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: White Gel Pen, Brads, Ribbon, Dimensionals

Technique: Emerging Colour

Sketch: Sketch Challenge 196 Splitcoast Stampers

Would love to know what you think, leave a comment and let me know! Really appreciate you stopping by.

Claire

Embrace Watercolouring

Hello again! I seem to have the "blogbug" at the moment, and feel the need to upload another new creation to share with you. After my recent disasters with the Embrace Life Stamp set I felt the need to have another go with it, and try and create something that I actually like! Anyway I was visiting my girlfriend Lynda recently and drooling over these images that she had coloured with Copic Markers. She was also kind enough to show me how to use them. Anyway, not owning any of these cool but very expensive pens, I blurfed (blog surfed) around a bit until I came across this tutorial for getting similar results with SU markers and watercolour paper. I have had a pack of watercolour paper in my stash for a while now, but it was very dusty, so I decided to pull it out and give it a go.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Embrace Life (Summer Mini)

Cardstock: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Bali Breeze DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Watercolour

Inks: Basic Black Ink Pad, Rose Red, Regal Rose, Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery and Old Olive Markers

Accessories: Rose Red 1" Double Stitched Ribbon (Summer Mini)

Technique: Watercolouring

Sketch: Splitcoast Stampers Sketch Challenge SC 207

What do you think? I like the intensity of the colours you get with this technique. Unfortunately I have misplaced my Stazon black ink in the hurley burley of Christmas stamping, and my basic black bled a little. However, overall it looks OK I think. Would love to know what you think, leave a comment, it would be great to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

PS You might want to check back later. In line with my resolution to be more adventurous with my colour schemes, I am going to try and attempt some of Kristina Werner's Colour Inspiration Challenges. This is the one for this week. Stop by later and see what I have done with it.

Worst Card Ever ...

Probably my last post for a few days, as I am back to work tomorrow L. Thought you might get a giggle out of seeing possibly the UGLIEST card ever made! I did it for an, SU demo only, challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. The challenge was in three parts. First a colour combo, Baja Breeze (which we don't have in the Aussie catalogue yet, so I substituted Blue Bayou), Blush Blossom, and Cameo Coral. Now those of you that know me, will know that I cannot bear the colour Cameo Coral and studiously avoid using it – ever! As for Blush Blossom, I have 3 pristine , untouched sheets, that have been sitting in my stash since I first bought a pack of mixed soft subtles 18 months ago! So obviously the colour combo alone was going to test me out.

The second part of the challenge was a sketch. This sketch:

No probs, sketches are very useful starting points for cards when you need an inspiration boost. There are literally hundreds of card sketches on Splitcoast Stampers You can check them out here.

The third part of the challenge is a technique, this month it is Sparkly Stained Glass. Again, no prob, I love checking out new techniques and this was one I hadn't tried before. However, between the colours, the sketch and the technique, somehow my card became very busy and soooo not me! Anyway TA DAAAA

What do YOU think?! Fill in the poll and let me know. Lynda (Stampinkins) says she has made one worse – but I don't believe her … At least I am living up to my New Year's resolution, to be more adventurous with my colour choices!

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire

Last Chance to Play

Back to work on Monday L. So I'm using today as my last chance to have a play with my new stuff from the Summer Mini. Today I have been having a go at Colour Blocking. I have used this technique before in my scrapping but had not thought about using it for a card, until I stumbled across a whole gallery of them on Splitcoast Stampers! It was quite inspiring, here are my attempts.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Live Your Dream

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Basic Grey, Old Olive, Whisper White, Orchid Opulence

Inks: Soft Sky, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive.

Technique: Colour Blocking

Accessories: Vintage Brads, White Gel Pen, Sponge, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Eastern Blooms

Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Not Quite Navy

Inks: Purely Pomegranate, So Saffron, Mellow Moss

Accessories: Eastern Elegance Rubons, White Gel Pen, Sponge, Stamp n Write Markers

Technique: Colour Blocking, Marker direct to Stamp

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Ocean Commotion, Polka Dots and Paisley

Cardstock: Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Blue Bayou

Inks: Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi

Acessories: Sponge, White Gel Pen, Ribbon, Crystal Effects

Technique: Colour Blocking, Masking

I have made a New Year's resolution to try and move out of my comfort zone when it comes to colour choices and combinations. I have tried some new combos with these cards – no Gruesome Guava (sorry Groovy Guava) or Cameo Coral just yet. I'm building up to it!! Keep checking back to see if I have managed it! Would love to know what you think. Thanks for dropping by.

Claire

Frantically Festive!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to everybody! I hope you all had a fun and fabulous festive season. For me here, every day since Christmas Eve there has been an event to go to, or friends and family to catch up with. It certainly has been a social whirl and lots of fun! Just a little exhausting though …

Not much time for crafting I'm afraid, though I did find time to make a birthday card for my DH (darling husband) who celebrated his birthday on Christmas Eve. Here it is:

It is a double challenge combo, as it combines the Faux Silk Pop , technique lovers challenge and the sketch challenge number 188, on Splitcoast Stampers. It was VERY nice to have a break from Christmas projects!

Card recipe:

Stamp sets: Ocean Commotion (from the new Summer Mini), Polka Dots and Paisley
Cardstock: Bordering Blue, Night of Navy, Mellow Moss, Really Rust
Inks: Bordering Blue, Mellow Moss and Really Rust
Accessories: Vintage Brads, Stampin' Dimensionals
Techniques: Faux Silk Pop and Masking.

I also wanted to share with you some of the gorgeous handmade Christmas cards I received from some of the wonderful people I have spent time with this year, in my capacity as a Stampin' Up! Demo. It was really lovely to receive these in the mail, thank you so much to the people who took the time to create them and send them to me. I really love them! Here they are:

Finally, I would like you to meet one of the new members of our family. My little guy received a Fish Tank for Christmas. So, for his birthday (30^th December, I told you we had been busy around here!!) he received some fish to go into it. Here is one of the new additions – his name is Felix. Felix had three other companions in the tank, unfortunately the move was too much for Whizzer and he joined the big aquarium in the sky this afternoon. The others are still going strong, and in a week or two they will hopefully have some brightly coloured companions!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a wonderful time over the festive season. I'm looking forward to sharing more crafty ideas with you in 2009.

Claire