FUSION #1: STAMPIN' UP!'s SECRET GARDEN ... AND MORE *BRIGHT* FLOWERS

**This is my second post for today - please scroll down to see my latest "Sent With Love" post.  Thank you! **

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There is a brand new card challenge blog on the block - it's called Fusion, and here's the first challenge:

 

Whenever there's the option of doing one challenge or the other, I feel compelled to combine them both .... so my card's all about the chevrons, and bright flowers.  It's a bit hard to see in this photo, but the Basic Black panel has been embossed with my Chevron embossing folder (you can see that in the close-up photo below):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stamps: Secret Garden, Confetti, Itty Bitty Bits, Sweet Essentials

Card: Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Whisper White, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie

Ink: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Pumpkin Pie stampin' pads, Jet Black Staz-On inkpad

Other: Secret Garden framelits, Boho Blossoms punch, Itty Bitty shapes punch, Neutrals brads, Chevron embossing folder, Basic Black Scallop Dots ribbon, sponge daubers, Brights button, White baker's twine, Basic Rhinestones, Bitty Banners framelits, stampin' dimensionals, multipurpose liquid glue

 

 

 

 

 

 



"CUTE BY THE INCH" OWL CARD

Thanks to my awesome Stampin' Up! customers excitedly placing orders during Sale-a-bration, I was recently able to earn the "Cute by the Inch" stamp set I'd had my eye on.  This set of stamps has some very sweet images in it; not the least of which is the owl.

It was about time I broke out the Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper, that I just HAD to have, but that hasn't been shown much love lately.  I'm really into earthy tones, and these papers are perfect for 'brown and green' projects.  Here's the card I made last night:

Stamps: Cute by the Inch, Confetti, Tiny Tags, Itty Bitty Bits

Card: Crumb Cake, Wild Wasabi textured, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green

DSP: Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper

Ink: Wild Wasabi, Crumb Cake, Garden Green and Chocolate Chip stampin' pads

Other: 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch, Medium Jewelry Tag punch, Itty Bitty Shapes circle punch, Neutrals button, Linen Thread, sponge daubers, mini glue dots

JUST ADD INK #54 .... "LOVE DEFINED" VALENTINE

Here's the colour challenge over at Just Add Ink this week:

LOVE what the girls come up with, week in, week out.  Now, I know this combination has been touted as a "girly girl" one, but I decided it'd be perfect for a Valentine's card for hubby.  He's a bit of a no-nonsense, non-card-loving (sacrilege, I know), unsentimental guy.  He'd prefer not to get a Valentine's Day card, since we really don't recognise Valentine's Day.  But, hey, it's another excuse for me to create, so I'm running with it!

I've just bought some of Stampin' Up!'s cute little Note Cards, in Whisper White (thanks Bron Eastley for MAKING me get these!!).  They are a gorgeous size - just shy of 9cm x 13cm.  They come with envelopes, and cost only $9.50 for 20.  Contact me if you don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and would like to order some!

Here is the un-girly card I've made for this week's challenge:

Stamps: Love Defined, Itty Bitty Bits

Card: Whisper White, Note Card, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Regal Rose textured

Ink: Soft Suede stampin' pad, Early Espresso marker, Rose Red stampin' pad and marker, Regal Rose marker

Other: Itty Bitty Shapes punch (circle), aquapainter, Linen Thread, 1 3/8" square punch, sponge dauber, Nestabilities, edge distressing tool 

BLOG HOP - STAMPIN' UP! SUMMER MINI

Yippee - I've stamped!  After a rather long hiatus, I've spent a little time in my craft room the past few days.  I returned from holidays with a chest infection and vertigo, so my creativity hasn't exactly come flooding back, but I do have a few cards to share with you!

Today I'm taking part in a blog hop, with 8 friends who are also Stampin' Up! demonstrators.  In our projects, we've used products from Stampin' Up!'s Summer Mini catalogue.  You can view the catalogue online by clicking on the cover in the right-hand sidebar of my blog.  There are lots of YUMMY things in this Mini; they are available only until the end of March.

You may have arrived here after seeing what the incredibly creative Amy Buchanan has made ... but, if not, no problem.  Just follow the links at the end of each blog post in today's "hop", and you'll get round all 9 blogs, and hopefully get lots of great ideas for using the new products.

The first card I have to show you is made with the gorgeous Aviary stamp set.  This is one that I'd coveted since seeing it on US blogs well before it arrived in Australia, so there was no question about me buying the stamps!  I've also used the adorable Itty Bitty Bits flower stamp, and co-ordinating Itty Bitty Shapes punch, to create some sweet embellishments.  The crochet trim's new too.  Take a look:

Stamps: Aviary, Itty Bitty Bits, Sincere Salutations, Daisy Dash jumbo stampin' around wheel

Card: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

DSP: Love Letter and Newsprint Designer Series Papers

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Crumb Cake stampin' pads

Other: Itty Bitty Shapes punch, 1 1/4" square punch, scallop square punch, Basic Pearls, sponge dauber, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Victoria 5/8" crochet trim, mini glue dots

Next up is a simple, but I think rather sweet (can I say that about my own cards?!), card for a baby boy.  The new products I've used are the Baby Steps stamp (gorgeous little elephants, with the sentiment attached, and at only $13.95), Square Lattice embossing folder, Pinking Hearts border punch, and Itty Bitty Bits with the Itty Bitty Shapes punch (there are 3 tiny punches in a set, for $30.95 - great value!).  I just love all of these products - Stampin' Up! doesn't go far wrong in my eyes!

Stamps: Baby Steps, Itty Bitty Bits, Confetti

Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Bashful Blue

DSP: Crumb Cake Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake and Real Red stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad, Whisper White craft stampin' pad

Other: Square Lattice embossing folder, Pinking Hearts border punch, Mat Pack and paper piercing tool, Bashful Blue brads, mini glue dot, sponge daubers, Itty Bitty Shapes punch (3/8" circle)

Lastly, I have made a card using the Love Defined set.  It is a beautiful set of 8 stamps that are very versatile.  Don't you just love the 'grass' with hearts at the top?  I stamped the grass in Blushing Bride and Pink Pirouette inks, and (even though it doesn't show in the photo), stamped it off on the oval sentiment panel.  The sentiment is from a new set called Well Scripted; the font combinations are so beautiful - love them.

Stamps: Love Defined, Well Scripted

Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette

DSP: Crumb Cake Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pink Pirouette, Blushing Bride, Melon Mambo and Basic Black stampin' pads

Other: Basic Rhinestones, Square Lattice embossing folder, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, sponge daubers, Wide Oval punch, Lots of Tags sizzlits die, Heart to Heart punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Well, that's it from me, so it's time to visit the blog of Alisha Watson - she never fails to amaze me with her out-of-the-box ideas.

Here's a list of all the participants in today's blog hop, so if you lose your way, just pop back here and you can click on anyone's link to visit their blog.  Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!



Ros Davidson
http://www.rosdavidson.typepad.com/

Di Dunk
http://www.stampartbydi.typepad.com/

Judy May
http://www.judymay.typepad.com/

Kathryn Mangelsdorf
http://klm55.blogspot.com/

Nikki Sadler
http://www.inkyart.com.au/

Tina Gillespie
http://scissorspapercard.blogspot.com/

Amy Buchanan
http://www.fashioninggreatimpressions.com/

Christine Blain (that's me!)
http://www.christineblain.blogspot.com/

Alisha Watson
http://www.ratherbstampin.typepad.com/



JUST ADD INK #46

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is to "just add .... critters" to a papercraft project.  I struggled with this one ..... I sooooo wanted to use my owl punch, or "Aviary" stamp set, but was determined to use a stamp set that has been neglected for a while.  I decided upon the cute little hedgehog from "Fun & Fast Notes", one of the first Stampin' Up! sets I bought.

I am having  a lot of fun making tiny embellishments with the new "Itty Bitty Bits" stamp set, and co-ordinating punches.  I like how the four-petal flower I've used kind of complements the flower border stamped along the bottom of my card (that stamp's from the hostess stamp set "Because I Care").

Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Itty Bitty Bits, Because I Care

Card: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Concord Crush, Chocolate Chip, watercolour paper

DSP: Chocolate Chip Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Jet Black Staz-On inkpad, Chocolate Chip stampin' pad and marker, Concord Crush stampin' pad and marker, Crumb Cake stampin' pad and marker, Blush Blossom marker

Other: Top Note die, Wide Oval Punch, Nestabilities, Word Window Punch, Modern Label Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, Basic Rhinestones, aquapainter, Concord Crush poly-stitched ribbon, mini glue dots, sponge dauber, Stamp-a-ma-jig

INKSPIRATIONS COLOUR CHALLENGE #50

I'm back, with blog post number 3 for the day!  This week Makeesha's challenge is to use the following colours on a papercraft project:

Because I'll be working tomorrow (boo hoo), I grabbed the opportunity today to make a simple friendship card that fits this challenge.  My personal challenge was to leave all the edges of the card "un-sponged"; it wasn't easy!  I've inked up my new "Love Defined" stamp set again; I'm loving it!  The background is stamped in Versamark ink, and I've used markers to ink up the little Rich Razzleberry flowers (from Itty Bitty Bits - another gorgeous new set).  The marker colour is a little softer than the bold ink from my juicy inkpad; I wanted a softer look to complement the ribbon colour.  Stampin' Up!'s taffeta ribbons are all slightly lighter in colour than the other styles of ribbon.  The tiny little flowers have been punched out using one of the new Itty Bitty Shapes punches - too cute!

I've taken this photo in fading light outside, so it's a bit out of focus, but hopefully you can still see all the details.

Stamps: Love Defined, Perfect Punches, Itty Bitty Bits

Card: Tempting Turquoise (smooth and textured), Whisper White

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Pear Pizzazz stampin' pad and marker, Tempting Turquoise marker, Rich Razzleberry marker

Other: Top Note die, Curly Label punch, Itty Bitty Shapes punch, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Rich Razzleberry taffeta ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, 2-way glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds, stampin' dimensionals, mini glue dots

CURTAIN CALL COLOUR CHALLENGE: {ACT 58}

Look at this fabulous colour combination provided by Stacey this week:

The possibilities, with these colours, almost give me heart palpitations!!  LOVE them.

Here is my first attempt with the colour combo.  I was dying to use my new "Take A Sip" Stampin' Around Wheel; it pairs perfectly with the tiny cup from the new "Itty Bitty Bits" stamp set released in Australia today.

Stamps: Take A Sip wheel, Sincere Salutations, Confetti, Itty Bitty Bits

Card: Crumb Cake, Concord Crush, Whisper White

DSP: Whisper White Patterns Designer Series Paper (from the Neutrals stack)

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad and marker, Basic Gray stampin' pad, Basic Black stampin' pad, Concord Crush stampin' pad and marker, white gel pen

Other: Wide Oval punch, Lots of Tags sizzlits, sponge dauber, Whisper White 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Concord Crush poly-stitched ribbon, Itty Bitty circle punch, mini glue dots, Tombow multi glue, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

I'll be sharing with you shortly another card that I have made using this colour combination, so please check back in later!

"WE STAMP FOR LARA" COLOUR CHALLENGE

Tonight I made a sweet little 10cm x 10cm square card, which is a size favoured by my beautiful and very talented friend Chris (she makes the sweetest cards, and always inspires me).  This week there is a colour challenge going on at the We Stamp For Lara website.  If you haven't already joined in on the fun, there's still time to go into the draw to win some prizes (including a Big Shot, generously donated by Angela Sargeant), and take part in a lot of stamping fun, whilst helping to raise money for some much-needed equipment for a very special little girl.  Click on the "We Stamp For Lara" button to the right of this post, to find out how you can be a part of it all.

Here is the card that I made tonight, and was too impatient to wait until daylight to photograph!

Stamps: Punch Potpourri, Short & Sweet, Itty Bitty Bits, Bella Toile

Card: Whisper White, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, More Mustard

Ink: Blushing Bride, Regal Rose and Pear Pizzazz stampin' pads

Other: Square Lattice embossing folder, Word Window Punch, Full Heart Punch, aquapainter, blender pen, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Itty Bitty flower punch (*NEW*), Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Basic Pearls, stampin' dimensionals, stampin' sponges, Tombow multi glue