Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Are Q two tired???



I know it's not supposed to be good form to laugh at your own jokes - I have a habit of laughing before I even tell them sometimes ;) but I can't help it - this one makes me smile!  I have a few cyclist friends who I am sure would enjoy it and it would make a cute get well card too :)

Todays inspiration is a combination of this fresh colour palette from Colour Q and this weeks CAS-ual Fridays Jest for the Pun of it Challenge.  Bike paper is from MME Good Day Sunshine, and bike sticker is from Echo Park Springtime.  Sentiment was created using Doodolonomy Fred font - try saying that fast when you're two tired!!!

You're such a dear...



Todays inspiration is a combination of this stunning colour palette from The Play Date Cafe and this weeks CAS-ual Fridays Jest for the Pun of it Challenge.

I actually used my sewing machine for the first time ever on a card!!!  Papers are a combination from Jenni Bowlin and Kaisercraft - including this dear deer (couldn't help myself!) from the Tiny Woods Collection.  Stamped sentiment embossed in Seafoam White is from Hampton Art's Nature set.

Happy February 29th to you!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Jest for the Pun of it...



Another card for CAS-ual Fridays Jest for the Pun of it challenge. I was tempted to go with "Eyes missing U", or "It won't be the same without U" as the sentiment on this.  However, as the "You will be missed" Practicing Creativity Designs sentiment was already on my desk it won the day! Alpha stamps are from Paper Smooches.

Thanks for stopping by - hope U is having a pun day too :)

PS. This made my day!!! I LOVE Skipping Stones Design :)

What's Up? A CAS-ual Playdate...




Todays inspiration is a combination of this stunning colour palette from The Play Date Cafe and this weeks CAS-ual Fridays Jest for the Pun of it Challenge. 

I paper pieced together this gorgeous hot air balloon using a Practicing Creativity Designs stamp, and a combination of papers from Sassafras Sew & Mend, Jenni Bowlin and Kaisercraft.  The cloud is from Sassafras too.  Sentiment stamp is from Paper Smooches Good Gab, and chipboard letters from KI Memories Toy Box.

I love punny cards - this is probably my favourite I have created to date...


Hope to make some more jest for the pun of it soon :)

PS. This made my day!!!


Saturday, February 25, 2012

U Live in Colour...




Perhaps I should have issued a "sunglasses required" warning with this card! 

Inspiration overload from this photo montage from Jay Gee's Nook Challenge, and I based my card on this fabulous sketch from Card Patterns

Utilising lots of scrap paper, I incorporated blocks of colour with scalloped edges using my 1 1/2 inch scalloped square punch (inspired by the flowers & doilies), circles embossed in the background and spots on the patterned papers (inspired by the numerous circular elements), stars (inspired by the pointy pennant banners) and a very colourful overall theme.  I stamped (and masked) the "Live in color" stamp from Paper Smooches onto a punched out tab.  I tied a knot in the twine under the "U" because we all know "U" lives in coloUr lol!

Hope your world is full of colour today!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

I Adore You... More or Less ;)






Another card inspired by this months Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge photo inspiration, and incorporating this great scalloped heart shape Fiskars My Funny Valentine punch, for this weeks Less is More Punches or Die-cuts Challenge.

I loved the colours, dimension and theme from the inspiration photo.  I saw a technique I found in Beck Fleck's Scrapbook PageMaps 2, which used a circle punch to create a 3D ball, so I thought I would try this technique to turn My Funny Valentine punch into a 3D heart.  The heart is created by punching out a series of 5 hearts from red textured bazill.  I attached the hearts to each other using double-sided tape (rather than the glue Becky suggested).  I discovered that it is much easier using this technique when you have double-sided paper or cardstock.  If you do use double-sided paper, then 7 layers created a better visual texture than the 5 layers Becky uses.  The best thing about this is that the heart still folds flat if you want to post it - then pops back to 3D when removed from the envelope!

The cute sentiment from Paper Smooches Good Gab was stamped onto kraft cardstock using Blazing Red StazOn ink. This panel was then mounted onto red linen textured bazzill and pop-dotted onto a textured salmon pink background paper from Grace Taylor.

Hope you are having an adorable day too :)

Loving Paper Smooches...




I just LOVE Paper Smooches funky stamps - and their digital freebies! 

I loved the colours, textures and theme from this months Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge inspiration photo.  I chose a textured salmon pink background paper from Grace Taylor and used the double hearts digital freebie (with a cute arrow to represent the pin in the photo) as a template to create a stitching outline.  I then hand-stitched the outline in red cotton (also taken from the inspiration photo).  The cute sentiment from Paper Smooches Good Gab was stamped in Blazing Red StazOn ink. This panel was then mounted on kraft cardstock (to match the linen colour), and pop-dotted onto red linen textured bazzill.

Many thanks for stopping by :)


Version 2 - carved into the old oak tree

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A CAS-ual Playdate with ribbon...




I thought I'd browse for some inspiration between waiting for coats of paint to dry, and I stumbled upon this gorgeous card by Mary for CAS-ual Fridays Tie One On Ribbon Challenge.  Inspired I created this bow using some super-wide L'il Davies black & white striped ribbon and some hot pink polka-dot ribbon from my stash - to create that splash of hot pink for The Play Date Cafe.  Created a loop of black and white ribbon and secured using red tape (super strong tape), then created and secured a second loop from the hot pink ribbon tightly around the black & white stripes.  Tempted to dry emboss the cardstock with polka-dots, but decided I preferred it plain.  Pop-dotted the black cardstock for added dimension.  The sentiment stamp is a miscellaneous one from my collection.

Many thanks for stopping by - now it's time to check if that paint is dry :)

More or Less Another Hot Pink Play Date...




After doing an almost black card for this weeks Play Date Cafe challenge I thought I'd do an almost white one too - and how could I not incorporate some twine as this weeks winner receives a gorgeous package of twine from The Twinery!  As this layout also features die-cuts I've linked it to this weeks Less is More Diecut & Punches Challenge and ribbons for this weeks CAS-ual Friday Tie One On Ribbon Challenge - hopefully it's CAS enough!

Die-cutting some My Favourite Things flat-bottomed clouds I discovered the only problem with flat-bottomed clouds is that they are flat bottomed lol!  When using them for negative die-cuts, you need to take extra care keeping them straight when cutting them out. 

I dry embossed one of the smaller clouds to pop-dot in front and also the cardstock that sits underneath the negative die-cuts using Cuttlebug D'vine Swirl embossing folder.  Kite shape is cut from a scrap in my stash, and the We R Memory Keepers twine for the kite tail is sandwiched between it and some black cardstock, so the kite could be pop-dotted too.  Tied on the bows onto the twine using double-sided ribbon - hides a multitude of sins if your bow-tying technique is not up to scratch ;)  This gorgeous sentiment is from My Favourite Things Clearly Sentimental About Success.

Many thanks for stopping by, wishing you success in your endeavours today too :)

PS. This made my day!!!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

My Favourite Colour Q ...





What can I say, I just LOVE colour combos with any hint of blue/green, and this weeks combo from Colour Q is a new favourite.  Used my very cute Eiffel Tower die-cut to create these two cards, based on this weeks gorgeous My Favorite Things Card sketch.  Papers are a mix from Kaisercraft, MME, The Scrap Cake and We R Memory Keepers.  Top card sentiment is from My Favourite Things, bottom card sentiment is created from Paper Smooches Alphadots.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

There She Goes with Ribbons...




Whilst I'm waiting for my There She Goes stamps (even more tempting with their 15% off sale), I thought I'd join in this weeks Colour Challenge of Olive, Rose and Razzleberry with papers from MME Lost and Found Two in Blush.  I love this olive crushed velvet ribbon I've been saving for a rainy day - well a special occasion anyway.  I slightly adapted this weeks gorgeous Ribbon Carousel Sketch and added a button-centred flower.  I feel it could have benefitted from some stitching, to keep with the theme - but I just don't trust my machine - or perhaps my sewing ability!

I hope your day is a special occasion!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Right up my Alley...



Check out this gorgeous inspiration photo from The Alley Way Stamps - even if you don't have one of their stamps yet, you can play along by downloading some of their digital freebees!  This Inspiration Challenge still has a couple of days for you to join in :)

I have used this cute ladybird image and the word "sweet" from The Alley Way Stamps digital collection.  I have honed in on a little section above the bedhead for my inspiration - using a combination of yellow polka-dots and plain pink taken from the two banner flags right above the middle of the bed, and added some squiggly text reflecting the wrought iron in the centre of the bedhead, and a jagged grass negative die-cut representing the jagged edges of the banner.

How have you been inspired today?

Monday, February 13, 2012

A Players Mojo...




As soon as I saw this weeks Mojo Monday Challenge I thought of including playing cards as the background elements for this sketch, but it wasn't until I saw this weeks colours at the Paper Players Challenge that I knew which colours I had to use - this combo of red, teal, soft suede and vanilla would have to be one of my very favourite ever!!

Papers I have use are from MME Out & About.  I have tucked in a tiny sliver of Making Memories ribbon so you can just see the scalloped edge.  Love the My Favourite Things oval die-cut. Senitiment is created using Journalling Hand font.

Hope you come up ACES today too!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Taking a Colour Q...




Kept with the bird theme from this weeks Colour Q inspiration palette.  As you can see I am still having fun with negative die-cutting clouds from My Favourite Things :)  The bird is from MME, I replaced the chest panel to more closely match this weeks colour palette with papers from Making Memories.  Sentiment is created  using Journalling Hand font.

Almost forgot to add this in the celebrations over at The Pink Elephant Challenges too - this week is birthday week so inspiration is anything Ella pink.

Hope someone makes you feel ten feet tall today!


PS I feel ten feet tall after receiving this!!!