Keeping it simple


I wanted to enter two challenges with this card but i just couldn't find a vibe. Im struggling a little bit with guilt of owning so many ink pads and stamps and not using them so i went back to basics.. No colouring (well the vellum was pink and i coloured it!! does that count.)

I love the Kaszazz swirl and lets face it, it can be used on anything to give it a bit of jazz... this card however is just not jazzy! I wasn't goign to post a photo but i just sat down in the craft room and looked at it and thought you know its not that bad, someone will appreciate it. A teacher may end up with it (sorry teachers of the world)

The two challenges I participated in for this card were ABC Christmas Challenges which is A is for Angels (ie. Angel wings.. I have fairies... but no angels so the wings are it!)
and Friday Sketchers. I quite liked the sketch this week, and had these fabulous ideas of doing a "lead light' effect on the bottom windows, i did try it but really didnt like the outcome. I will be trying this sketch again in the future though.

Lesson's learnt from this card.... sometimes ideas do not come to light!

Also, its driving me nuts. I am looking for a tutorial for using nestabilities with cuttlebug embossing folders, so the nest makes a frame in the card front with the embossing of the cuttlebug folder behind it. I have looked all day for the tutorial which i knwo exists and I cant find it. If anyone wants to send me a link for it... it may put me about of my misery.

Im officially banned from card making until i clean up my sewing/craft room AGAIN!!!




I absolutely love this image, from My Greeting farm

I have completed the challenge from the
Lord Have Mercy challenge blog

I know Christmas is over, but this is the first card in a batch that I will complete for Christmas 2010.
For people who know me.. they will get a laugh from that as i dont send Xmas cards. That should show the people that get the cards how much they mean to me when they get a card in 2010~ (Sandra..watch this space!)

Christmas Challenge Blog

I just stumbled across a new blog which is going to challenge us all to complete 25 xmas projects through the year! Now how many of us have said recently I am going to be more organised for xmas in 2010.. Well here is your chance!
ABC Christmas challenge will be setting a challenge fortnightly for us all to play along with. Now this is one that I plan on participating in as often as I can!
They also have a bloghop set up for a prize to start things off!
Im off to play.
Pen

Dual challenge


I just bought this fairy image from The Greeting Farm, Digi Images. I wasnt sure if i loved it but I coloured her up and wow.. she is a cool image! Uncoloured I felt she looked a bit sinister!

I even am impressed with my colours. I used vellum on the wording thinking it met the criteria for a different challenge but that challenge also had a sketch with it. The vellum is underneath the bling!. I have had that bling since joining Kaszazz, i put it away and didnt want to waste it. Well a year on I figure time to use it. The bling circle fits the 1 3/4 circle punch that kaszazz sells too.. Im very impressed with that. I knew it worked that way but wasnt really aware of how nice it looks!

The first challenge my card fits into is from Inky Impressions, challenge was Add Embossing (Dry or Heat) and Glitter or Flocking.


The Second challenge this card fits into is from Splendid Stamping (the greeting farm)
Splendid Stamping Sketch Day 2 (12 days of xmas), I followed the sketch for that day and used the beautiful Autumn Fairy on the card..

Bee Crafty challenge card

I used a Bee Crafty freebie for this sketch challenge. I have to send an RSVP to a couple for a wedding, and i felt this little girl was a cute flower girl. Now that the card is finished I am thinking its a bit too young for the couple who are both in their 40's, but they were the original motivation!

The challenge for Bee Crafty is
How to play: This fortnight you must make a craft item (card or other) which features CIRCLES. It must also include DIGI somewhere, you don't have to use a 'Bee Crafty' image. Submit by Saturday 2nd January (Midday UK) by posting on your blog and commenting below. The PRIZE is one of Bee Craftys downloads.



Ingredients
Bee Crafty Freebie image
Copics, Kaszazz card, Remnants of coloured papers, Stampin Up punches, Nestability Circles, buttons from the sewing box, thread, Dotty ribbon from the remnant box

Challenge Card - Crafts for Eternity





Another challenge card today, for Crafts for Eternity. Iquite like this card, I am still finding colour coordination hard but im getting there.

This beautiful little girl is from Bizzy Becs Digi Downloads, she came with the hibiscus paper that is behind the main image and the groovy girl tag (voucher).

Oh i just realised i was meant to include a song title in the Card somewhere..so i've just added pretty in pink to the card.. (ie. like the movie) and disaster strikes ..pretty in pink looked dreadful as i hand wrote it... back to the drawing board and I have decided CELEBRATE is a song title and can be incorporated onto the card! Phew!


ingredients
Bizzy Becs Digi Download Images and Digi paper
Copic markers Ciao's
Spellbinder nestabilities
Odds and ends from the craft box to embellish
Kaszazz card stock for base of card and for printing digi stamps
Bazzil remants in pink and black
Remnants of ribbon

A Christmas Poem

I just blog pinched this from Cheryl at My Card Making Haven... I love it.


Crafter's Night Before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas,
I’m glued to the tree.
I’m wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock or ink pads or lace?
Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that’s when I heard him ... “Hi Santa” I said
He replied, “You know ... good girls should be in their beds”.
“I know I should Santa and now I’ve been caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought”
“Well, let’s take a look in this room where you work”.
He shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.
“You’ve got enough crap, I’ll see you next year!

Friday Sketchers


 



Another attempt at the Friday Sketchers challenge, this time following the sketch to the letter. I have found that I do have that many coordinating papers and that I have a lot of greens maroons and reds in my scrap container, anyone see me having "colour" issues sometime soon!

Challenge Card complete

 


This is the card I came up with for the Creatalicious challenge and the Inspirational Sketch Challenge.


Creatalicious Challenge is something old, something new, something torn something blue, I used old cardstock for all of the card, new copic's for the colouring, I tore the edges of most of the cardstock...thats a bit therapeutic!.. and of course the birdy and some of the papers are blue.

The Inspirational Sketch Challenge sketch is as below

Inspirational Card Sketches

Recipe book:-
Distress Inks - Weathered Wood and Antique Linen
Pink petticoat Chirp Up Set
Copics (love love love them) used on cheap watercolour paper that is no good to use with SU markers.. nice to know its perfect for the copics)

A touch of Kaszazz

I was reminded last night that i was a Kaszazz Consultant.. (reminded as my blog doesn't really have much in the way of Kaszazz in it lately) so here is a card to rectify that. I love this little lady, she may be my favourtie Kaszazz stamp, whenever i want a pretty girl image I always head back to this beauty. I have used all Kaszazz products here except for the cuttlebug embossing, and the copics on the colouring! This card is a tad girly for me, I can pretty much take it for granted that the kids will steal it for a birthday card for one of their friends.


Meant to add I got the sketch idea from Friday Sketchers I havent linked to them as yet because i didn't follow the sketch exactly.

Christmas Card

This card has been bugging me for ages, ive been making xmas card for three weeks trying to nail it. Well i played with my copics today after being given some basic information on their use from Cheryl from My Cardmaking Haven. I bought an image that i felt was appropriate from My Digital Pencil too and off i went on my merry little colouring way, i printed 6 images and have coloured 4, trying different combinations as i went along. I had a merry old time!

I used this sketch idea from The Sugar Bowl and I came up with the following card.
I used many remnants for the card, i had to cut into some Kaiser paper for the background but other than that... its remnant city! Ive used distriss inks to edge the card and the edges of the stamped images. Some Kaszazz gingham ribbon on the edge purely as I felt it needed some.


Friday Sketchers
I used Digital Scrapbooking Artist to design the card, Im actually aiming to use that software prior to cutting into cardstock. This card is actually printed on gloss card and then ive added embellishments and a stamped image.
Makes for a quick card but it really doesnt have the "wow" factor or the achievement factor when making a card.
I still like it though.

Scraps and flowers!



I have finally attempted a challenge card, i must admit i dont love it..but im bored and I just wanted to make something.
I think this would actually be OK if i had a nice colour behind the pattern blocks of card.. I just didnt have any scraps that worked!
i will attempt another card but this is OK as a start point.

I got some SU stamps last week.. thats the little poinsettia image, which i colours with SU markers on watercolour paper.. a nice little habit to get into when bored.. i sat there and watched Masterchef and coloured images.. (yeah i have NO life)

Pop on over to Creatalicious Challenges and look at everything that others have created!

My first digital scrap project

 



I was just playing with elements and photos and the like and thought Ok i may as well print it!
Pen
Posted by Picasa

Picasa

 


I got a new laptop today that has Picasa built into it, i just used the simple editing tools to play with an old photo.
im sure it can do more than that, but i like simple..and EASY.. and as a bonus it has an easy upload tool for blogging..

woohoo.
Posted by Picasa

More Gimp edits


im getting the hang of this, slowly.
now i have to learn to cut out the image and lay it over another image, or colour.

Gimp, photo editing program


wouldnt it be nice if things were easy, this process of making the photo black and white then adding eye colour should be easy shouldnt it. Well it is fairly easy once you know how.. but really..i want one click simplicity.
adding this photo to show that a bit of patience can get the results yoru after

A birthday card for the special party on Sunday


Im loving this card, i used my new stampin up markers and how nice are they, bright and popping off the page!
this card is still drying you may not be able to see it, but there is kindyglitz on each of the cirlces SB paper, and on the edge of the petals, glossy accents on the shoes and crown and beads...
i love this Kaszazz Stamp, its one of my favourites

Post it notes



Have you ever thought... hmm paper would be good right now!
I quite often write on my hands as i dont have paper handy, other than unprofessional.. its a bit gross!
I came acros this tutorial last night which is so simple, and it makes a cute little cover for a pad of post its. Ok its a bit gimicky but imagine the mess if you just chucked post it's in your bag. I think i may need to pop a little closure on it somehow.
Post it note tutorial here

Birthday Book


Im going to a party for a wonderful friends daughter next week, she is turning a massive ONE year old!
I made her a little guest book to commemorate the day, we can all sign it.. and when she is 21 she can laugh at us all saying look at how old you all are now!

Universal Studio, Animal Actors


I just did this last one prior to heading for bed. There is something to be said for sleeping in till midday then staying up late to scrap! Its so quiet! i do have to work tomorrow though so bedtime it is.
I did a whole heap of lettering on this but it took the focus off the pictures. I have simple used white gel pen to journal the event instead of masses of lettering!
Im loving the film strip that i cut on the pazzles!
incase your wondering about some mounts being rounded and others not, i used the cut outs from the film strip as mounts (waste not want not), they were rounded... so i left them as is!

night night

I think this rates as one of my favourites



When i first saw this Kaszazz workshop (on the website) I didnt like it, but once i got the stamps and saw them stamped out.. i fell in love!
This rates as one of my favourites!
Im currently searching my craft room for a missing dragonfly... Its meant to be mounted on the large ivory piece giving it a 3d effect! I think i may need to restamp it, Oops! Oh and i just remembered the bling!
the bling is on each dragonfly and just under the three dragonflies (small)... now it looks finished.
im a happy girl tonight I really am loving craft at the moment

More xmas layouts



I have more xmas eve photos to scrap from our 2008/09 holiday to canada, Big White. So i repeated the recent red and white layout in antique colourings for these pages. Im not sure that copper is the right choice for the embossing but its Ok.
I have to do some wording for under the main photo.
It makes me want to get back to canada, really soon every time i look at the photos. HoHum!

I won a prize!


I dont normally enter "blog candy" giveaways on sites, as i dont feel my work is good enough. But i stumbled across a giveaway that only required me commenting on the blog and linking to it, now lets face it, it cant get much easier than that. Add to this that the blog was lovely and right up my alley!
Anyway I won... the link is in the side bar for Sarah Paris, check out her site. I will post some photos of what i make with the prize once i get busy.
Here is my prize, a digital download to use for my card making!

Puppy Love




Im smiling. Ive had my Pazzles machine for a year now (i got it at last years stitches and craft).. and Ive not used it to any great extent. Well guess what, someone suggested i get a brayer to help me with the paper lifting off the cutting mat issue.. and WALLAH every single cut has been perfect. I cleaned the machine today, it was all gunked up with adhesive.

This layout is of my puppy, Izzy Beautiful. I think the layout could do with one more photo but i havnet got any more to put on it. I was going to put the wording Izzy down the inner side of the right page but i changed my mind. I will leave it as it is for now. I have 400 photos to scrap .. this basic layout will do!

Pen

Christmas Layout



I have wanted to do this layout from Kaszazz for weeks now, i have had the stamps for ages and the papers and just havent got my act together. Well this afternoon i cleaned out the craft room (formally known as the sewing room) and off i went.
if i taught this workshop i think i would use red ribbon the whole way through, im not a fan of the white rik rac. there is an option to put a bow on the bauble but rik rak and bows just dont mix!!

i hope you like it, let me know what you think!

Photos

i just got home from craft camp, we spent two nights at Merroo in Kurmond NSW (near kurrajoing) with great people, fantastic and creative crafters, and and good friends. A lovely time was had and much laughter was occuring,, especially in my room at 2am ... (oops)

I have posted some photos of some of the things we did, the christmas page is a bit blurry sorry about that.

dont you love the butterfly stamp, that was a generous freebie donated to us at camp! I love it and i love the technique we did with it, with acetate..

Im very keen to go again next year but im waiting "oh very patiently" for the girls that went with me to tell me if they are going again.. i also have a friend that wanted to come this year but had to drop out wanting to come.. fingers crossed!

oH i won a prize on the pages that have the flowers and the "unconditional love" heading on it... thats special to me as i spent a lot of time thinking about my grandfather while i coloured each of those flowers. I'm yet to finish the layout, so it came second even though it wasnt finished.. it needs some journally and something dark on it..its a bit too busy and light for me at the moment.

the oh la la book was made on friday night with sheree (my roomy) she made two of them like a mad woman.. and matching cards and beautiful gift envelopes to go with it all.

my craft room looks like a bomb site but i have a slow organisation plan in place... it wont take long to get it right.

keep checking out this blog its going to be updated much more regularly!

Pen








im on a roll



of course still not 100% happy. I cant seem to get my head around laying objects on the card in a manner that grabs me.

Playing with layouts



Im actually going to enter the card challenge at camp, this card is way out of my comfort zone.. im not sure if its the colour combinations or what, i dont hate it. but im not 100% thrilled either. I still have some more time to play.

Creatalicious Challenges


Ive never joined in on a challenge website before so its time to jump in with both feet...

Here I go...
How wonderful would it be to join in on the challenge, have fun be inspired and maybe be lucky enough to win the blog candy that they have up for grabs!
Creatalicious Challanges Blog Banner

Back to the blogging


Guess what, Im going to start posting on my blog again...
I'm going to craft camp in two weeks and am in the process of trying to plan what im taking. I cant take my whole craft room with me..but I want to!

I have started preparations by buying a tin to decorate, this will hold my cuttlebug and nestabilities goodies. I certainly wont be losing my tin in a hurry...
I didnt decorate the lid as i wasnt sure how to navigate around the tin handle. I may pop some flowers or the like on top of it. I am going to spend some time tonight adding some lettering and decorations to the front of the tin too, so there will be no doubt about who it belongs too.

I was also given the idea to pop my nestabilities onto magnetic L plates to keep them organised. Unfortuantly only one set fits on each L plate. I was previously using DVD cases to store them in, but that is quite bulky and not conducive to "travelling to camp".

Oh, I was at Scraploot yesterday at prospect and splurged on a set of "limited edition" craft books. Think the australian craft magazine without the advertisments and with many more ideas for cards. I cant stop looking at the books and they are never being "borrowed" by friends (saying this as the one friend i would of lent them too..bought them too)

Now what else. I am wanting to make some mini albums and found some inspiration at Scraploot in the shape of paperbag albums, I didnt even realise it was a paper bag until i really started investigating the album i was fondling. I have come home and found online instructions and really I'm quite surprised at how easy they are to make.
I have to pick my daughter up soon from dancing so I'm going to have to detour past the local shops to get some paper bags. I think the "Australian" version of lunch bags are much smaller than the "American" though. Never fear as the whole idea of mini albums can be replicated using bazzil card stock anyway. The paper bag idea grabbed me as the bag openings provide secret pocket openings.

Back to camp... do i take my sewing machine with me... To sew cards??

Ok thats it for now. More soon.

Pen

a big photo addition

I bought myself an envelope template last week, I had put off buying it for a long time as i felt it was a waste of money.. but im very happy that I got it.  I use it with tablex card stock that i got for $1 at penrith markets to make made to measure envelopes.
Below is a 5inch envelope made from a 21cm square piece of tablex (which is just a low gsm cardstock)

Here is my now 13 yr olds birthday card, i started making her a blingy type card with glitter and swirls and I really didnt like it. So I went back to basics.. I like going back to basics!  Chelsea liked her card.. she was very interested in knowing why the dragonflies were the same colour as the card and the ribbon.. (got to love the in colour range from SU)






Here are some recent cards that I have made, and luckily enough i took photo's of them.  the first was a simple but elegant wedding card, the inside in printed on shimmer card stock and i loved how it turned out, im not normally a prepurchased embellishment type of girl, but i was given the wedding dress for this card as it looked quite empty without it. Thanks Deby!

This card sat on my desk for weeks and weeks, simply as a butterfly stamped out on white card, i had no idea what to do with it.  I eventually came up with this card and was really happy with how it turned out.  I was initially saving the green dot paper on the card for a male card.. but inspiration had other things in mind!

The next few items are a variants of a Kaszazz workshop. I fell in love with the Bear and I had to have her!  I used prismacolour pencils and gamsol to colour the card and tag and dimensional magic to make the flowers pop.   The bear is still one of my favourite stamps!




I meant to add these photos last week, here are the other 4inch cards to go in the little gift box that i made to compliment them.







I often find it really hard to come up with ideas, that make things look different.  I also am not that great on coming up with layering, sketch and symetrical ideas.. im happy with these but of course i can see room for improvement.