Where are the serviettes?

I was showing my friends at my card club some of my cards and when one of them saw this card, they commented on the lovely serviette that I used to make it. What serviette?? I stamped that!!! All of it!!!! This was then followed by a lot of oooh’s and aaah’s.

This is one of my favourite cards and I estimate I’ve made at least a dozen of them. I’ve also made up two gift sets with them as well. One was a door prize for our catalogue launch last month and I made another for my upline – coz it’s her birthday next week. Happy Birthday Mads!!

• Stamp Sets – Wild Roses, Friendship Blooms
• Card Stock – Old Olive, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink.
• Ink – to match CS
• Accessories – Stamp-a-ma-jig

I got the girls yesterday at our Stamping Day to make this card. One asked how long it takes to make and I said off the cuff, ‘ About 10 minutes”, so then the clock was on! Well I did it in time ,but I have to explain that I’ve done it so many times and in multiples that it gets quicker as you do it. Hopefully someone went home yesterday more confident about using the masking technique with their stamping art work.

A bunch of flowers

…for me!! Not a real bunch though. When I name my cards I try to incorporate the stamp set name and the colour name/s. So this card ended up being called Lavender Orchid Rose. How delightful!!

• Stamp set – Wild Roses, Leaf Prints
• Card Stock – Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
• Ink – Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace, Old Olive, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
• Accessories – Grosgrain ribbon, Rubons, Punches, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Standard Wheel.

I’ve had a very flat week as far as creating cards goes, (wish I could say the same about issues with the children – aahh life!!). So I was really pleased that yesterday I got to host our team building/stamping day at my home. We all contributed a card to make for everyone, and I now have a couple of new designs to used for workshops in the next few weeks!!

After everyone went home, I got all enthusiastic about making some more cards, and what you see above is one of them. The card is based on a sketch challenge set by Alisa for May. I had several attempts at this layout and wasn’t happy with them, but this one I am.

I got my delivery of the new ribbons from the Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and Catalogue, so I had to find a way of incoporating some into the card. Old Olive was the first Classic Ink Pad I ever bought from SU, and you know what, I still love that colour!! It was the first colour I also pulled out of my share pack. I also got a share in a rubon pack, which is what I used for the ‘friend’ sentiment. Love designs and lovely to use.

Anyone interested in the pink glow on the rose image? Basically I ink first in Pretty in Pink, and then ink over the top with Lavender Lace, and then stamp it to the paper. I’m not afraid to cross over the ink colours, the key is to be selective about what colours you choose to do this with, ie; use lighter colour first and used colours that are close on the colour wheel.

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Pomegranate berries

Another card from the Oh, So Lovely stamp set by Stampin’ Up! If I remember correctly, this is the first card I made from this set. I also have to comment here, that I find I use the hostess sets the most often, Baroque Motifs excepted.

I don’t often use ribbons and bits and bobs on my cards much either, but since I lashed out and bought the ribbon I had to get it onto a card some how. I like how they look on cards, but somehow I feel a bit awkward when I try to use them. I used;-

• Stamp Sets – Oh, So Lovely and Linen BG
• Card Stock – Pruely Pomegranate, Very Vanilla, Outlaw DSP
• Ink – Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate, Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink
• Accessories – Purely Pom double stitch ribbon.

What else can I tell you about this card. The BG was double stamped in the Pink and Pom inks. I usually double stamp the Linen, either in a light and dark shade or 2nd generation stamp straight over the top. It gives the image more depth and texture. The Outlaw DSP was just a left over scrap from a previous card. I really wanted to use some of this paper without cutting out a new size so I made the scrap fit. I also used Choc Chip to stamp the main image as Black Stazon would have been to harsh a colour to use.

I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment. Don’t be shy.

While I was waiting….

…. for WordPress to work for me ( i wasn’t able to insert pictures earlier) I thought I’d attempt to make a card. I’ve been all out of sorts today and cards I’ve made earlier were disappointing, so I thought I’d write a post for this blog. Wrong. Ok then, back to making a card, and this time I’m much happier with the end result.

My inspiration came from Michelle at http://michellescraftypaper.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/index.html .

She left a lovely comment on my blog serveral days ago, so naturally I had to go and check out who she was!!! I like the way the image spills out of the frame. I was going to go for a sketch look-a-like but I went off on another tangent. Here is what I used and did,

• Stamp Set – Oh So Lovely
• Card Stock – Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Very Vanilla
• Ink – Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Mellow Moss, Brocade Blue
• Techniques – Masking, Watercolouring with inks

I deliberatly stamped the main images with dye ink, because I knew when I came to watercolour, that the outline would soften. The ‘yellow’ stem was part inked with choc chip and Pumpkin pie. I then chose So Saffron to colour the small flowers, which led to the More Mustard choise of matting. The panel behind the main image was stamped with the texture stamp from the set, in So Saffron. Some more goofing around resulted in the last Choc Chip mat being used as you see it in the photo.

Here is a close up of the watercoloured image.

 

I’ve been tagged!!!!

My fabulous upline Madonna at http://madonnadunn.com tagged me and I have to tell seven weird or interesting things about myself. Here goes;-

1. I didn’t want to be a Stampin’ Up! demo. I called Madonna up via the ‘Locate a Demonstrator” on the SU website and said “I don’t want to buy anything except some ink pads, so don’t try to talk me into anything else. Stampin’ Up! is just not my style. I just want ink pads!!” 45 minutes later I’m asking her to come over with some paper work. We’re both still marvel at how it came about as she didn’t try to sell me anything, we were just having a chat!!! The rest is history.

2. I have two children born on the same day, two years apart. How convienient for me!!

3. I installed my own rainwater tank. I got a quote for $600 from the plumber. My finances were a bit down (hey I just bought the tank!) so I bought a mattock, hacksaw, spirit level, piping and a pot of glue and did it myself.

4. I use to make and trade Artist Trading Cards, which is how I got into stamping.

5. I’m currently doing farm work, planting brocolli. I’m looking at getting back into Aged Care. Hmmm… let me see… farm work- no responsibility, goofing around and well paid, versus Aged Care- responsibility, being sensible and less pay. I’ll really miss koala spotting at the ends of the rows if I go back to Aged Care.

6. I didn’t get my driver licence until I was 24. I was too nervous. I was made a superviser at a factory that I was working in, and figured if I was thought responsible enough to do the job than I was responsible enough to drive. As for working in factories, never again!!! I found it very hard to relate to the other workers. Different mind set I guess.

7. I worked on an isolated construction site once in the Whitsundays. 300 blokes and only about 10 girls were there. It was one of the best times of my life. I was always treated with a lot of respect and dignity by all those rough and tumble fellas. And we seemed to have a party nearly every night!!! They thought I was some kind of Shirley Temple and were quite shocked when I happen to let a s*** word slip one day. LOL

Phew, now that’s out of the way I do believe I need to tag someone else. MADONNA…. help me out here. I don’t know anyone yet. I shall post my tagees when I know what I’m doing.

Thanks for dropping by for a read.

 

Bronco Blues

I made this card as a challenge for a Cyber Stamp Night earlier this week. The challenge was to CASE someone elses card and either change the stamps or colours. The card I CASEd is here;- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/896267?cat=10562

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I went for changing the colour combination and I really like how it turned out. I had a friend visiting on the night I made this and she made one as well. Well.. actually, I don’t have this stamp set and she does, and what are friends for!!! I used….

• Stamp Sets – Bronco Buster, Wanted, In the Spotlight, Boho Backgrounds
• Card Stock – Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Creamy Caramel and Outlaw DSP
• Ink – to match card stock
• Accessories – Circle punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I don’t have the paper piercing mat pack yet and I really wanted to add the dots framing the Bronco. Then I remembered that I’ve got the In the Stoplight Hostess set with the really groovy dotty stem. Just perfect for the job. I should have used the SAMJ but I was so excited to be part of my first cyberstamp that I rushed it.

CASEing someone elses card was kinda cool. It’s the first time I’ve done a straight case as I always felt I’d be cheating if I did. I would never have created a card like this otherwise and it was still a challenge just the same.

 

 

Happy Mother’s Day….

….to all the wonderful mothers out there. You’re doing a great job!!!

I went to Brisbane yesterday for my regular monthly Card Making Club. What a great day I had. Two of us had birthdays, including my good self, and there were plenty of hand made cards handed out.

Today I thought I’d make a card for the Elite Challenges. The challenge was to use the Stampin’Up! Baroque Motifs stamp set. I ordered this set the first day of it’s release and it hasn’t sat idle the whole time I’ve had it. I just love it. So here is the card I made.

I’m not sure where the idea for the colour combo came from. I was thinking of using Orchid Opulence and as I was going thru my ink pad box the other colours were nearby and I thought they looked good together!!! So then it was a matter of getting the matching card stock. Too easy!!! I knew before hand that I wanted to do the emboss resist technique, so I was off the make the card. I really like the way it turned out.

I used —-

• Stamp sets – Baroque Motifs, In the Spotlight
• Card Stock – Brocade Blue, Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace, Whisper White
• Ink -  Brocade Blue, Orchid Opulence, Lavender Lace, Mellow Moss, Versamark
• Accessories – Clear EP, White grosgrain, circle and 5-petal punches
• Technique – Emboss resist.

Thanks for looking in.

Clearly, something is amiss.

Nothing was going right with my attempts to post the other day, and it is now apparent that I’ve made a post that make no sense. Ah well, here we go again.

Drum roll please – ….and here is the card!!!!

 

 

I made a card just like this at my last workshop for the hostess. I was demonsrating the watercolouring technique with the dye inks on watercolour paper. The guests were amazed at how easy it was. It’s a great image to show off this technique – it has large simple areas to colour and it’s kinda cute too!! Here is what I used -

• Stamp set – Boatloads of Love
• Card Stock – Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, and Stampin’ Up Watercolour Paper
• Inks – to match card stock, River Rock and Whisper White
• Stampin Dimensionals to pop up clouds.

I think I’ll be demonstrating this card several times during the year, judging by the popularity of it at the last workshop.

 

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If I only knew….

….how to drive this bloggy thingy, I’d have had more entries in. Ah well, I’ll try agian.

I’ve waffled on in the last few attempts and I don’t want to go thru it all agian. So I’ll go straight for the card, eh?