Paper Smooches Birthday Fishes...

Super Summer colour inspiration at Paper Smooches this month, great to keep your mind off the cold winter mornings! Created using Paper Smooches stamps and sentiment, Lil Inkers sun and stitched circle diecuts, together with an MFT scalloped border for the waves. Created the watercolour sea then layered the paper pieced scene.

Playing along with

Paper Smooches June Colour Challenge

Seize the Birthday Beachy Birthday

Through the Purple Haze At the Beach
We Love To Create Mixed Media
Simon Says Frame It

Hope YOU Made the Nice List...

Early Christmas celebrations @ the grown ups table!

Reached 38 degrees celsius here today, but a fabulous day none-the-less!

Wishing you and yours the most wonderful Christmas and holiday season 

and here's to an amazingly awesome 2017!

Featuring fabulous Paper Smooches stamps and sentiment and 

playing along with Paper Smooches Happy Holiday Challenge,

The Merry Christmas Challenge Santa

Can You Case It #143 

  

P.S. A CAS(E) of Merry Christmas...

So happy (and a little sad) to be able to join in the (second) last ever Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge! 

I must admit, Paper Smooches were the first ever stamps I won, and they will always hold a special place in my heart! Lucky for me (and YOU), challenges will be continuing over on the Paper Smooches blog!

A quick and cheerful Christmas card created using Paper Smooches dies. Diagonally cut a piece of Basic Grey paper from my stash, then negative die cut two Paper Smooches Poinesttia holly leaves, and used the positive pieces to create my second sprig of holly. Die cut Paper Smooches Christmas Words sentiment, together with a half dozen holly berries and assembled on an angle, inspired by this weeks fabulous CAS(E) this Sketch. Colours, diecuts and holly inspirations from this weeks Muse - Christmas Visions.

   

P.S. A Retro Christmas...

One last entry for the (second) last ever Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge! 

Paper Smooches will always hold a special place in my heart! Lucky for me (and YOU), challenges will be continuing over on the Paper Smooches blog!

Another quick and cheerful Christmas card created using Paper Smooches dies and stamps. Cut a piece of Authentique paper from my stash using Paper Smooched Borders 1 wavy die multiple times to create "snow drifts". Stamped a couple of rows of these fabulous Paper Smooches Warm Hearts trees to create the tree border. Added the too cute Paper Smooches Warm Hearts  snowman, and red hearts, assembled and stamped the snowman in position in the snow drift, and last of all added the Paper Smooches All Yule Need sentiment.

 

Layout inspired by this weeks fabulous Retro Sketch.

P.S. For FUSION Fun this Fortnight...

Did you miss me... I missed you!!!

Not quite Back to School for us here in Australia, but Back to Spring!!!

Inspired by the fabulous bright colours and theme, together with this fortnights amazing sketch from FUSION, I created this teacher themed card using Paper Smooches Falling for You paper pieced apple and Giddy Bugs sentiment. Looks like a few of our Design Team had the same idea incorporating pencils into their cards this fortnight. I had such fun creating the "wood" in my pencils by punching a scalloped circle then creating a doughnut shape with a smaller circle cut from the centre of the scalloped circle. Then cutting wedge sections from the donut as the "wood" and trimming a strips of coloured paper to size as the coloured lead and painted sides of the pencils. Papers are a mix of Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine, Prima Sunny Days and American Crafts Amy Tangerine Yes Please.

Hop on over for more gorgeous bright inspiration

from the rest of the fabulous FUSION DT

Betty J - Deanne K - Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sandie Munro - Stephanie Severin

Hope to see you playing along, can't wait to see what you create! 

Remember you can play along by being inspired by 

the photo, the sketch or BOTH.

Please check the linky for the days left to play with us.

Also playing along with the fun and fabulous 

ANYTHING GOES at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge and the fabulous Virginia's View Geometric Patterns!

 

PS Happy 4th Anniversay - Hogs & Kisses...

Happy Fourth Anniversary Paper Smooches

I thought I'd try and kick myself out of my mojo lull by joining in the fun with Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes, this very cool Freshly Made Sketches and Addicted to CAS Hugs and Kisses. Don't forget the Paper Smooches Designer Challenge is on at the moment too!

Created the large heart by using the small Paper Smooches Hearts die cut, enlarging on the photocopier by 400% and using this as my template to fussy cut the large heart. Cute little hog is from Paper Smooches Green Acres, and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches We Connect. Papers are from Kaisercraft, including the gorgeous red embossed paper for the hearts, the little hog is stamped onto Gelatos on watercolour paper then fussy cut, with die cut alphas from MFT.

Also playing along with 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge H is for Hearts, Hugs, Hogs...

AAA Cards Love, Love, Love, Happy Little Stampers Embossing,

Crafty Cardmakers Love, Love, Love,

Inspired by Stamping Colours & Hearts

I'd LOVE it if you could play along with this months 
Mixed Media Card Challenge - LOVE too!

This made me smile...

This made me smile too...

LOVE Ewe - Mixed Media Card Challenge

I thought I'd have a bit of fun with this months Mixed Media Card Challenge - LOVE and created LOVE Ewe card using this super cute Paper Smooches Party Posse lamb, combined with Paper Smooches Hearts Dies and Love Word sentiment die cuts. Background woodgrain paper is from Kaisercraft, with the sheep and string of hearts created using Gelato crayons and watercolour paper.

There's some more fabulous inspiration from the design team over on 

the Mixed Media Card Challenge blog.

Looking forward to seeing your fabulous LOVEly creations!
Link up before Fabruary 25th.

Also playing along with Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes, 

CAS(E) this Sketch and the Card Concept Clean and Layered challenges.

Coffee Bean Shaker Card - Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop...

Playing along with the fabulous Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop.

As a special Coffee Lovers Holiday Blog Hop treat, I have created the ultimate coffee and card lover's indulgence - a Coffee Bean Shaker card, with Gloria Jeans Mocha Java blend! It smells divine!

Created using these Christmas papers from Glitz and gorgeous Paper Smooches stamps stamped in Rich Cocoa (what else!), all inked with Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Because of the depth of the beans I cut three layers of foam and sandwiched them together for the walls of the shaker. Paper Smooches are joining in the fun as one of the fabulous hop sponsors.

How YOU can play along...

• There are also random 5 prizes for people that comment on ALL of the linked blogs before 11:55 pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 14th.

Hop over to Amy's blog for the InLinkz list.

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. Much appreciated if you are / become a follower too :)

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

Joining in the fun @ Paper Smooches Sparkes Anything Goes and

Virginia's View All Things Distressed 

 

FUSION - Embossed Ombre

This fortnights FUSION features a gorgeous triple layered celebration cake in ombre icing! I couldn't help but create a wedding / anniversary card for the occasion. The Paper Smooches Fishtail Flag was cut from watercolour paper and washed in LuminArte Sky Blue and Blue Grass, with the Paper Smooches Always and Forever Always and Ampersand die cut from excess watercoloured paper. The background is embossed with Lifestyle Crafts Roses, and the single rose was also fussy cut from embossed cardstock. Added a few MME enamel dots, and pop dotted the rose and ampersand to finish.

Remember you can play along by being inspired by the photo, the sketch or BOTH.

I can't wait to see how you are inspired by this fortnights FUSION. 

The Design Team have some FABULOUS creations to inspire you!

Amy Tsura - Betty J - Deepti 

Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan

Michelle Folland - Michelle Lupton - Stephanie Severin

Please check the linky for the days left to play with us.

Hope to see you playing along, can't wait to see what you create!

Also playing along with Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes.

PS. Tag You're Christmas!

I've been meaning to play along with the fab Tag You're It Challenge for ages, and decided to combine this last minute entry with my Online Holiday Card Class Day 1 Homework (inspired by Debby's gorgeous tag card), Less Is More Colour Challenge - Non-Traditional Christmas, Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes, and Addicted to CAS Tags. Created using Paper Smooches Christmas Word dies, Lawn Fawn Tag You're It (although I probably would do the next one in Paper Smooches Stitched Tag) and Lil Inkers Stitched Snowflake. Version two added a border in the same cardstock colour as the sentiment and snowflake.

HINTS for Mass Production:

• Die cut the tags first, then the "Christmas and "Merry" from the striped tag, then the negative space can be used to line up the coloured letters.
• Using striped paper makes it easy to align the word dies.
• If you die cut the white base of the tag from thicker cardstock (or even chipboard), you don't need to worry about pop-dotting the tag.

 

Do what you love, love what you do...

I got to thinking about why it is we do what we do, after reading Darnell's thought-provoking post, and realised when I'm in a ditch of doubt or lack of creativity, I always need to refocus on simply doing what I love and loving what I do, and anything else is a bonus. After all, the world now knows of the fate during their lifetime of such greats as Monet, Van Gough and Cezanne (see this article of 10 Famous Artists Who Had to Deal with Rejection During Their Lifetime). Not that I am in ANY way placing myself anywhere near the company of these luminaries, but it just goes to show, in order for them to keep creating, they too had to simply focus on doing what they loved and loving what they do.

With that in mind, I simply could not go past this spectacular photo prompt from this weeks Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge, and combined it with this fabulous Retro Sketch by Tracey, because it's what I love to do! 

Created using a mix of Paper Smooches dies, Reflections Flowers and Big Bloom flowers on a Polaroid base, with Love Word sentiment, all pop dooted against this gorgeous American Crafts timber grained patterned paper. The patterned paper flowers are a mixture of MME, Echo Park and American Crafts.

Remember, have FUN and enjoy the process, and if you can recognize something you love in what someone else creates, let them know, it doesn't hurt to spread the love ;)

I hope you get to do what you love and love what you do a little this weekend!

P.S. Pucker Up

Thought I'd have a little fun with this fortnight's Curtain Call Smooch inspiration, and used my Paper Smooches Royal Cuteness, paired with this Fruitastic "Pucker Up" sentiment. Based on one of my favourite Retro Sketches sketch by Lynn.

 

Playing along with Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes, 

Retro Sketches Any Sketch, Curtain Call Smooch,

 and Virginia's View CAS  challenges.