Mojo Monday & Mixed Media Card Challenge...

For all of you who may be interested (and who wouldn't be!!!) Julee is celebrating a fabulous 400 milestone with Mojo Monday, and as an extra special celebration, there are a couple of DT spots open as well!

I flipped the Mojo Monday sketch to create a collage card. The base layer is Tim Holtz tissue paper, painted with gesso front and back. When the gesso layer dries add some Gelatos and watercolour the moth. The good thing about using Gesso as the base is that you can use wet wipes to rub back the colours, and reduce or remove any creative misadventures! The word strips, corner and Flourish are from Kaisercraft, together with a doily from my stash, Heidi Swapp clear butterfly diecut, and Making Memories notepaper stamped with this gorgeous Verve "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams" sentiment.

  

Why don't you join in the Mojo Monday celebrations!

Also playing along with Mixed Media Monthly 

A Year of Choices (Photo Inspiration) and

Watercolour Bloghop with Pretty Pink Posh too!

Don't forget to join in the fun at the Mixed Media Card Challenge too, 

this month we are featuring Collage cards.

 

Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop (Thanks a Latte)...

Just wanted to say...

for playing along with the fabulous Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop.

As a special Coffee Lovers Holiday treat, I have included the recipe for a special coffee flavoured eggnog cocktail - as we celebrate Christmas in the midst of Summer here!

Mocha Nog Punch

10 parts Kahlúa Mocha

5 parts Absolut Vanilla

20 parts eggnog

Combine ingredients and serve in a punchbowl with a floating ice block.

Hint: Freeze ice with coffee beans for decoration.

Card created using Kaisercraft papers, and this gorgeous Verve sentiment stamped in Rich Cocoa (what else!) on a Mama Elephant cup diecut. Inked with Distress Ink Vintage Photo and layered on two MFT Dienamics heart diecuts. Verve are joining in the fun as one of the fabulous hop sponsors, check out the links below and on Amy's blog.

How YOU can play along...

• Everyone that links up with newly created holiday coffee/hot holiday drink project is eligible for one of the fabulous prizes from the sponsors below (No back linking). The Inlinkz will be available on Amy's blog until 11:55 pm Pacific Time on Friday, December 12th to link up.
• There are also random 5 prizes for people that comment on ALL of the linked blogs (see list on Amy's blog) before 11:55 pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 14th.

EXTRA BONUS GIVEAWAY if you comment on this post, this post or this post (my Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop posts), you will also be in the running to win a FABULOUS Winnie and Walter The Big, the Bold and the Merry stamp set.

A BIG THANK YOU to our fabulous sponsors:

17 Turtles, Add A Little Dazzle, a●muse studio/Chris Franco

Butterfly Reflections Ink, Color Cast Designs, Create a Smile

Hero Arts, Kraftin' Kimmie, Kreative Kymona

Latina Crafter, Neat and Tangled, Newton's Nook

Paper Smooches, Pickled Potpourri, Poppystamps

Reverse Confetti, Stamp Academy, Stampin' Up/Veronica Zalis 

STAMPlorations, SugarPea Designs, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps 

The Alley Way Stamps, The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, Two Paper Divas

Verve Stamps, Whole Wild World, Your Next Stamp

Also playing along with Mojo Monday, Color Throwdown and
Virginia's View All Things Distressed (I even distressed the edges!)
and Verve Favorite Things Dare.

 

DeNami Valentine Blog Hop...

So glad you can join us for the DeNami Valentine Blog Hop! Don't forget to hop along, be inspired and comment to be in the running for your chance at one of TWO $20 DeNami Gift Certificates.

The first card features the fabulous DeNami Design Rock Band Chickies, with a little heart added to his drum kit, and the second features DeNami Design Chickie Long Legs, peeking from behind the valentine. Both cards feature papers from MME Cupid's Arrow and Carte Bella Devoted.

When: The blog hop starts on January 12, 2014 at 6 AM, PST, and you have until January 13, 2014, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: DeNami Design are giving away $20 gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

If you've hopped here from the FABULOUS Valentine's feast by Dana Seymour, you're on the right track, and need to head off to visit the super lovely Paulina Nakamura next!  If you get lost, don't forget to stop by DeNami Design blog to see the whole list.

Card 1 is inspired by this sketch from Mojo Monday, and card 2 is inspired by this sketch from Seize the Sketch, and colours from Colour Me.

What a Verve Smooching behind a Paper Curtain...

... Today its Cool to be Nauti!

Had such fun paper piecing this nautical scene using Paper Smooches Sailing Boat and cloud diecuts, paired with Paper Smooches waves and sentiment stamps.  Added into the mix are the Verve anchor and ships wheel die cuts, the ships wheel is used to create the sun.  Papers are from Fancy Pants Down by the Shore with Simply Said Vintage Bliss wood veneer paper.

Playing along with the Paper Smooches Cool Shades,

Curtain Call Feeling Nautical, Mojo Monday sketch and

Simon Says Stamp By the Sea

Mojo Monday Colour Q

What better way to celebrate 300 Mojo Monday sketches than with a Verve stamped and die cut card!  Playing along with this weeks gorgeous Color Q colours - I went with a nautical theme - which ended up all stars & stripes too :)

This is one of those cards that I'd do over - I love the concept, but I was in a rush to get it done and posted before I took the kiddies out for the day.  All said and done, I much prefer spending more time with the kids and less on my cards - plus, it's easier to re-do my cards LOL!

Getting Inky with Patterned Paper...

Just a quick post for today - couldn't resist having a play even though my crafting area (aka dining room) is being painted today, and looks even more of a crime scene than usual LOL!  Whilst having a play with Pattern Play Homework, clear embossing and inking over patterned paper, I thought I'd also join in Mojo Monday, Paper Smooches Sparks Butterfly Challenge, Simon Says Stamp Birthday Celebrations, and Little Red Wagon Be a Negative Nellie too.  Sentiment, leaves and butterfly are all Paper Smooches & butterfly die.  I used Broken China Distress Ink, together with a combination of papers from Pebbles, My Mind's Eye and October Afternoon, with a few Kaisercraft pearls too.

 

BE Inspired to... Chillax

HELP!!!  Sorry this post is late - I've been having issues with Picasa - apparently my quota is filled, and they won't let me access it to delete files until I upgrade my account and pay them to do so, and then once I have upgraded my account I can't downgrade it again!!!  Has anyone else had this issue and worked out a way to resolve it?  Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!!!

Anyhow, onto my card for the day!  I have done so many snowmen cards this month, it must be as we see so little snow in Australia it's easy to only romanticise the best of it!  Todays creation was inspired by The Alley Way Stamps BE Inspired #16, I loved the layered snowflakes on the Christmas stockings.  My favourite snowman is from Jolly Holiday, and the trees include one from Trees Company too.  Sketch is based on this weeks Mojo Monday, using my die cut snowflakes from My Favorite Things in lieu of circles.  Colour scheme is inspired by this weeks Color Throwdown - I love the mix of blues and green - and threw a little silver in too with my Heidi Swapp letters.  I thought this was perfect for Addicted to CAS Snowflakes Challenge, and Little Red Wagon Boy Oh Boy too!  Papers are a mix of Fancy Pants, Basic Grey and Pebbles.

Why don't you join in TAWS BE Inspired Challenge before December 6

You could win some FAB stamps too!

This made me smile...

There She Goes on a Mojo Throwdown...

Had so much fun getting messy with inks last week, thought I'd have another go!  Inspired by this gorgeous photo from There She Goes, this lovely pastel palette from Colour Throwdown, and fab Mojo Monday Sketch.  Papers are a combination of Prima Songbird Collection (fussy cut and pop-dotted), Echo Park This & That and MME Miss Caroline, My Favourite Things scalloped border and hearts die-cuts, love this birdhouse die-cut from Marianne Design and the gorgeous sentiment is There She Goes Day or Night. Got inky with Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo and twine is The Twinery Buttercup.

We're off for a short change of scenery - have a GREAT weekend!

The Alley Way Moxie Fab Mojo Monday

  

Hope to just squeeze in for the gorgeous The Alley Way Stamps BE Inspired Challenge and Mojo Monday Challenge, and couldn't help but add this to the ever popular Gingham Challenge at Moxie Fab World.

Just in case you are wondering how I was inspired by the BE Inspired photo, other than the gorgeous colour combination of green, brown, light tan, teal and burnt orange, you may remember the sayings "Proud as a peacock" and "Pride comes before a fall", well what comes after a fall?  Someone asking "How are you???"  Obvious isn't it LOL!

I just love The Alley Way stamps for paper piecing, their stamps are just so cute, including this sheep and hay (used as grass tufts) from ei-ei-o, and the sentiment is taken from the "ewe" and "ho" from "horse" from Get MOOvin' and the "are" and "w" from Chatterbox.  Papers are a mix of gingham from Lily Bee Design and Echo Park, with the spots from Echo Park too. All the stamping is in Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip, and the scalloped circle die cut is Spellbinders.  I took a bit of liberty with the Mojo Monday sketch by using my sun as a flower and moving the sentiment banner to the base of the card - just don't tell anyone ;)

Hope you have enjoyed a wonderful weekend :)


Update -  I participated in The Alley Way Stamps / Ribbon Carousel bloghop recently, and had not realised what an impression Laurel Seabrooks card had made til I went back and checked it out (pun intended!) again today.  Her gorgeous creation can be seen here. 

Tell you why I DO like Mondays :)

Who couldn't love Mondays with these three great challenges!  Todays inspiration comes from these funky colours at Colour Q, this great sketch from Mojo Monday, and this weeks Ribbon Challenge at There She Goes.  And if that wasn't enough, TGS has a fantastic sale on this week, with proceeds going to the Make a Wish Foundation!

LOVE, love, love this funky colour combo, and I have been itching to try these gorgeous puppy stamps and sentiments from There She Goes.  In case you can't read it, the sentiment reads "A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the nicest things you can be".  The puppies are coloured using black, red and pumpkin Marvy Markers - I added some spots to the smaller dog and gave them matching pumpkin-coloured noses and red collars.  I paper pieced the grass and die cut and pop-dotted the heart shape from My Favourite Things.  The papers are a mix from Kaisercraft and SEI, but would work fantastically using Stampin' Up papers too.  This gorgeous ribbon and cute paw-print brad are from my stash.  I knotted an extra piece of ribbon around my the flat piece across the page - it's much easier to end up with the words where you want them using this method! 

I hope you are having a glorious weekend too - and looking forward to Monday :)

This made me smile too!

Mojo Monday on a Saturday Afternoon...

Inspiration from this weeks Mojo Monday, tipped over!  Papers are a mix from My Mind's Eye On the Bright Side - Two, Authentique Gathering and Kaisercraft Devonshire Collection, the little pearls are from Kaisercraft too.  The nested frames are from Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Rectangles, and the scalloped edge from My Favourite Things.  I love this sentiment from Verve Stamps Blue Skies.  Even though my style leans more towards CAS, I do enjoy playing with pretty papers, layer upon layer upon layer - and it gives me a chance to practice my sewing too :)

Hope your dreams are safe today too!

PS.  Linky tool is not working on Mojo Monday site at present,

hoping to load this up when it gets fixed.