Grunge style

With all the goings on in December there are also a lot of birthdays in our family. So it was great to have a card already made that I had put aside for this special birthday. My nephew turned 13 this year a big milestone. Hard to believe that he is off to high school this year.
This was a card that I had made for one of our stamp club challenges - the theme black and white only. I had been trialling the bits and pieces that I had put together from stampn up to come up with a grafitti style that would suit cards for teenagers. Using my sanded background stamp (SU) together with my colour spritzer tool, sponge daubers and alphabet stencils I had a play with the look that I was trying to create.

Colours: black and white
Stamps: sanded and in the stars (SU)
Finishing Touches: black and white embossing powder, black brads (SU)

Christmas cards

To say that this Christmas time has been busy is putting it mildly. All the grand plans I had for doing cards early in the year just seemed to get put off somewhat until the ultimate last minute where I did post before Christmas but know that they wouldn't get there til after. Still it meant that I made more of an effort with our letter that has much more to say.

With so many design buzzing around in my head, I went for something way more simple and was very pleased with the end result. A big thankyou for the idea from Amy R as I was drawing a bit of a blank as to what to do. You can see her designs here.

After doing so many using my stamp spots (SU) it certainly made up my mind to start buying the larger stamp pads. I think the end result would have come out better as well.

Big NOTE TO SELF: Get busy on your christmas cards wayyyyyy earlier next year!!!!!

Colours: certainly celery, Handsome hunter, real red, pretty in pink, night of navy, brocade blue
Stamps: snow swirled
Finishing touches: Ribbon (various unknown, rhinestones (Kaiser)

Our baby is one!

It is so hard to believe that a year has gone by already and my baby boy has turned one. He is so grown up. But who wouldn't be when you have 3 older brothers to catch up to.

I have been mulling over the idea for his card for some time. I got the inspiration from one of his t-shirts. Everyone says you are forever changed when you look at the world through stamping coloured lenses. With the aid of my card swatches I matched the colours that I was looking for. Along with my patchpal puppy stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps I thought it was a good match. I am looking forward to doing some more with similar ideas.

Colours: riding hood red, baja breeze, chocolate chip, certainly celery

Stamps: patchpal puppy and paw prints(CDS)

Finishing touches: happy birthday embossing folder, striped riding hood red grosgrain ribbon and chocolate chip and certainly celery grosgrain ribbon (SU), brads - vintage (SU), copper embossing powder, heidi grace chipboard wild daisy

Mainly Music Thanks

It was a pleasure to be able to organise a thank you to our two awesome leaders at Mainly Music. Due to different circumstances we are finishing up with this being our last session so it was important to say a big thank you to them for all their hard work. Everyone pitched in towards a gift and I made some cards to go with them. I kept them Christmas themed along with the thank yous

Colours: bravo burgandy, very vanilla, so saffron

Papers: heidi grace wild daisy glittered paper

Stamps: alphabet (see D's)

Finishing touches: heidi grace chipboard wild daisy, burgandy ribbon (celebrate), daisy punch, brads - vintage (SU), green glitter

Super Dad

A super dad deserves a special card for his 60th! Certainly never says enough for all that he has done for us. I always seem to plan what I want to do well in advance and manage to pull it together in the end. This being the night before heading down country.

I was very pleased with how this one turned out from the colours to the images. Male cards are always harder to do. I picked out things that represent Dad and went from there. It certainly drew on a lot of sets that I have. The colours from the ribbon gave the base for the colours that I used.

Colours: chocolate chip, close to cocoa, bashful blue, very vanilla

Stamps: dress up billy (PCS), tool time (CDS), Leaf (Megilo), Just beachy (SU), alphabet (unknown)

Finishing touches: traffic lights squares embossing folder, jigsaw stencil, sanding block, fiba tape, copper embossing powder, ribbon (unknown) brads- vintage (SU)

Feeling a lot like Christmas

Where did last month go? I know we have been sick for most of it. Kind of thrown a spanner in the works of all the projects that I intended to do. Never mind one thing at a time. I just don't have the time to blog about them thats all.

This is a card that I did for our last stamp club for the year. The challenge was to create something for Christmas using Christmas colours and a neutral. I had seen buttons used to make a christmas tree at Jillibean soup and wanted to try it out. With this as a starter it was a case of finding colours to match. I am loving using my kraft paper as a neutral base.

Colours: kraft, so saffron, always artichoke

Stamps: snow swirled (SU)

Finishing touches: buttons, so saffron ribbon and lines thread (SU), copper embossing powder and glitter, pearls.

A birthday wish

A birthday card for a special lady. Happy birthday Cherie. I am amazed at the awesome stuff you bring to the table each month for us to create.

I always enjoy doing something different from the usual. This no stamp card came together with a lot of help from my Heidi Grace chipboard set and some embossing with the cuttlebug.

Colours: baja breeze, tangerine tango, blush blossom

Finishing touches: heidi grace chipboard pieces, striped grosgrain ribbon - tangerine tango (SU), paisley embossing folder, rhinestones, anchor its

A big thank you

I have been wanting to try out my new kraft paper so this was a perfect time to do it. This is a card that I made for a fabulous lady who has been on our kindergarten committee for some time and more recently as treasurer. We couldn't let her go without treating her.

I kept it fairly simple with circles as a base and one colour. The ready made flowers were a bonus. I love the effect that the circle of friendship sentiments stamps (Stampn up) give. Having started out with quite a different idea I was still pleased with the end result.

Such a fun stamp set

I always seem to get an idea in my head for a card that never quite turns out as I pictured in my head. But this one was actually better. I wanted to do something special for this family, something a bit different from the usual baby card ideas. I love the All in the Family set from Stampn Up because you can custom the people to fit the people you are making the card for. I had lots of fun putting this one together. I wasn't sure quite what colours I was going to do but after digging around I came across my Heidi Grace orchard kit and the sentiment that I have used inside fit really well so I went from there. The boys in the family had fun picking out who was who when I gave them the card.

Colours: chocolate chip, close to cocoa, creamy caramel, old olive, always artichoke, blush blossom, certainly celery
Papers: orchard scrapbooking kit (Heidi Grace)
Stamps: all in the family, once upon a time and little pieces (SU)
Finishing touches: orchard scrapbooking kit (Heidi Grace), certainly celery ribbon, vintage brads, paper piercing tool and white signo pen (SU), copper embossing powder

It is Finished

I sneaked in a bit of scrapbooking time this afternoon to finish the last page in the album I have been working on. So good to have finished what I started out. The dinosaur stickers have been sitting in my stash for an age. I bought them for this layout and have been wanting to do it is sooooo long. Now I can say they have been used. They are Stand Out stickers from Provo Craft. The photo never seemed to do the pages justice (especially when you can't see the full title -Dino Romp)

The big bro page has to be one of my favourites in my latest layouts. Mainly because I love the photos. I used to use quotes a lot on my pages and haven't for a while so I thought that it fitted well.' You don't raise heroes you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it is only in your eyes'. Walter Shirra Snr. My boys are growing up fast. I realised as I journalled the details from the moments that already I am forgetting the important things that happened. Therefore I am on even more of a mission to get scrapbooking those photos that have been sitting around .

A little closer to finishing

It is always great to feel like you have achieved something. I am only a couple of pages away from finishing the pages that I wanted to do to finish an album. For once I am feeling better about how they are coming together. A little less busy and therefore not taking so much time. It puts back the fun into scrapbooking. This one was made easier with the background page I used. I just needed to add a couple of embellishments and it was done. Once again there was a billy stamp from Pink Cat Studios dress up billy collection that finished it off. I also love the clear dome pieces that you can add stamps to make your own 3D pieces. Here I used them with the music notes and you rock words.

A page and a card

This is a card I made with pieces I had left from the page that I completed. A friend had been on a retreat where one of the ladies had done just that. On completing a page you have all the coordinating bits so why not make a card. So I thought I would have a go. I guess I will have to do a few more before I pass judgement on how effective it is. It didn't take much time to put together. I usually put all my scraps into one bag until I have a few to put away. This is where I got my pieces for these cards. Always after new tips for getting things done.


This is the page that the pieces were from.
Who says you can't have lots of photos on a page? I had only allowed one page for this layout and thought I wouldn't be able to use all the photos I had. But after some creative cropping I was pleased with how it came together. I loved how the colours worked together. Retro again. I seem to recall a similar photo of me with my parents outside this same tent when I was young. Ahh the memories.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 43

I have been doing a few baby cards of late and had wanted to use my train to make a boys card. I have a friend due next week so I had a chance to finally have a play. I have a couple of other ideas that I wanted to try as well as we don't know whether it is a boy or girl. Having seen this weeks Sunday Sketch Challenge I thought this one would work really well. The train is a set that I found at the Warehouse that I had got to make birthday invites a couple of years ago. I used the Teddy from the Dress up Lily stamps from Pink Cat Studio and the rattle is from the all year fun from Stampn up. After trying to decide what colours I would go with I went for a retro theme when I found the striped patterned paper. Nice to have a change from baby blue!

Colours: tempting turquoise, chocolate chip, so saffron, pumpkin pie, brocade blue, white
Papers: Sandylion
Stamps: Train (unknown), dress up lily (PCS), all year fun and best yet (SU), Congrats (unknown)
Finishing touches: Fiskars embossing plate, black embossing powder

Stamp Club Challenge November

This months challenge was to make a card using a circle, ribbon and a brad. Sounded simple but was a little tricky keeping to just that. I caved and added a few extra layers and used embossing to embellish. I used my newest stamps from stampn up Once upon a time. I specifically got this set to go with my Whiff of Joy medieval stamps. I love the characters and am looking forward to playing with colouring the dragon and other stamps that I got in my set. They work really well for boys cards.

Colours: pacific point, chocolate chip, really rust, white
Stamps: once upon a time (SU), Medieval collection (Whiff of Joy)
Finishing Touches: grosgrain ribbon striped - pacific point and vintage brads (SU), copper embossing powder, orange glitter

A fun layout to do

I never thought I would come back to my Creative Memories days of doing layouts on to white background but I find with the change in style I am using it works really well. The layouts I have been doing are the last few to finish my Creative Memories album. It is certainly interesting to look back at the layouts I did in the beginning. Quite a lot has changed. But the key ingredients are still there that have been the reason I started scrapbooking in the first place. The stories. A legacy of memories to pass on.

I really had fun with this one with a little help from google images. I always love layouts that turn out better than what you imagined they would.

A project long overdue

Whenever I sit down to scrap I usually have a plan about what I am wanting to get done. On this occasion however I managed to get sidetracked onto a pile of things that have been sitting there for a while needing to be looked at. Being me I seem to have creative block when I have piles of unfinished bits especially when they are in sight. So I was able to tick one more thing of the list of to do's. I had made the outfits using my Klutz paper fashion kit, about a year ago for a retreat for goody bags and they were left over. I have been making cards to sell at kindy and wanted to add them to the box. I chose a simple layout and matched up colours with a bit of patterned or embossed paper with a bit of ribbon and I was suprised how quickly they came together. Looking forward to getting back to my projects again.

Busy girl

Despite the fact that we have been stuck at home with colds (me included) I have been out and about a fair bit. Off to movies, helping set up kindy garage sales and a mum's night out over the last week. I have managed to complete a couple of pages as I work my way through my page packs to complete the album.

Scrapbooking Update

Despite scrapbooking being my first love it seems to always take a back seat with the cards that need to be made. But I finally had a chance to get back to the pages I had planned. It makes it easier when the packs are sorted as I can sit down and get straight into creating. Being out of it for some time I have been blog hopping to find some inspiration and check out the new styles so I can refine my own style and exactly what I want to get across in my work. I discovered Melanie Louettes site and have drawn inspiration from her simple layouts and clean lines. I enjoyed working with a different style. The embellishments I used are from the billy stamps from Pink Cat Studio. They finished it well.

A Special Page

A very special page indeed. When someone passes away the photos you have, especially with your children, are very precious. I chose to use the Heidi Grace Orchard Scrapbooking kit as many of the sentiments fitted and the colours worked well with the photos that I had. It also meant that it took very little time as it was all done ready to use. No stamping required.

Using the Scraps

I had finished making a card for a birthday party that my son was off to and going to put the leftovers into the bag to be put away as I usually do when I had one of those light bulb moments. I had several pieces of paper that I hadn't used because they weren't quite right and thought how because they worked well with other pieces I had in the bag I should use them up. I have been meaning to make some more thank you cards for kindy to use so it was the perfect fit. Once I started of course it was hard to stop. A simple layout, an effective result.


Clockwise from left
Colours: baja breeze, brown
Papers: metro collection(Wall street), Simply chic (American crafts)
Stamps: lots of thoughts (SU)
Finishing Touches: 5/8" grosgrain ribbon-bajaj breeze and square scallop punch (SU), buttons

Colours: kiwi kiss, so saffron
Paper: patterned (unknown), wild daisy (Heidi Grace)
Stamps: lots of thoughts (SU)
Finishing Touches: 5/8" grosgrain ribbon-kiwi kiss and square scallp punch (SU), buttons

Colours: bravo burgundy, brocade blue
Paper: patterned (unknown)
Stamp: circle of friendship(SU)
Finishing Touches: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon-brocade blue and circle scallop punch (SU), buttons

Colours: choc chip, pink pirouettte, regal rose
Papers: patterned (unknown)
Stamps: circle of friendship (SU), background stripes (own design)
Finishing Touches: 1/4" grosgrain ribbon-choc chip and circle scallop punch (SU), buttons

Enjoy

Baby Cards

My DH asked if I could make some cards for people at work for gifts from their social club. There have been several babies born over the last few months so I have had a chance to create something special for them. I just love the patchpal stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. They make great baby cards. Combined with different sentiments stamps there are so many different things you can do. I always take up the challenge to do something girly as well.

Colour: pink pirouette, regal rose
Stamps: patchpal giraffe (CDS), alphabet stamps and congrats stamp (unknown), in the stars (SU)
Paper: various patterned papers, corrugated card
Finishing Touches: pink cotton, black and white embossing powders, pink glitter, pink ribbon

Colour: bashful blue, so saffron, certainly celery, white
Stamps: patchpal puppy (CDS), in the stars (SU)
Paper: designer series paper
Finishing Touches: blue cotton, copper embossing powder

Colour: white, rosered, lovely lilac, pink(bazzil)
Stamps: Dress up Lily (PCS), natural beauty, baroque motifs and circle of friendship (SU)
Finishing Touches: cuttlebug embossing folder-stylized flowers, hodgepodge hardware (SU), pink ribbon, rhinestones, black embossing powder, dazzling diamonds

Been meaning to post

I haven't had a chance to post over the last weeks as the first weeks back in the term are always hectic getting back into routine. I have been busy in my scrapbooking space and completed some layouts and cards. Most of my cards have been for birthdays so I can't spoil the suprise. Here is one I made for a friend. I hadn't made any using my Klutz paper fashion kit for a while and I had fun combining it with the Heidi Grace Chipboard pieces.

Colours: Blush Blossom, Baja Breeze, White
Stamps: Basic Font (Fiskars)
Finishing Touches: Cuttlebug embossing plate -argyle, Heidi Grace chipboard alphabet and borders and tags, Klutz paper fashions kit

Scrapbooking update

I said I would keep you posted on the progress with my scrapbooking pages. Well I started a couple more while out at a friends for our monthly craft night catch up. Thank goodness for my Revolutionize layout kits because I didn't have a chance to sort much but they were all ready to go. I just had to add a few extras to finish them off. I was especially pleased with how the chef turned out on my Panpakes layout. I used my Billy stamps and accessories from Pink Cat Studio. Since then I have been back onto cards. Now that I am up to date with the birthdays I will get back into my pages again.

Mojo Monday

Here is my take on this weeks Mojo Monday challenge. I have used the sketch to create a card for our stamp club challenge for this month. We had to make a card using Psalm 23:2 as inspiration 'he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me by still waters. I put together different sets and had a play with my All in the family set and stamp a ma jig (SU) to get the person lying down.




Colours: Baja breeze, Chocolate chip, Pale plum, Old olive, Garden Green
Stamps: All in the Family, Boho Backgrounds, Background Sampler (SU) and Blown Over (CDS)
Finishing Touches: Striped grosgrain ribbon, 1/4 inch gross grain ribbon, vintage brads, black embossing powder

Stamp club challenge

Our challenge for this month was to create a card using complimentary primary colours. I picked blue and orange to have a go at a card that I found on Ellen Hutsons site by Debbie Olsen. Using different stamps and effects I was quite pleased with the result. It looks better IRL





Colours: Night of Navy, Tangerine Tango
Stamps: Sanded and Lots of Thoughts (SU)
Finishing Touches: Hodgepodge Hardware star brad, vintage brads, copper embossing powder, orange cotton

Cards for Boys

Having four boys I tend to create more ideas for boy cards and pages. This is a card I created using my Gizmos and Gears stamp set from Lizzie Anne Designs. I started with the colours in the patterned paper as a base and went from there.



Colours: only orange, garden green, cream
Stamps: gizmos and gears (LAD)
Paper: striped patterned paper (Reminisce)
Finishing Touches: orange ric rac ribbon, black embossing powder, cuttlebug embossing folder-spots and dots, buttons, linen thread(SU)

Back into scrapbooking

After spending a night sorting my pages using my Revolutionize Page Layout kit I am back into creating layouts. It has certainly been far too long. I am looking forward to getting these pages done. Will keep you posted on the progress