JAI #103 : STAMPIN' UP! SCALLOPED HEART OF HEART EMBOSSLITS

Even though I've joined the Just Add Ink Design Team, I don't 'officially' start until next week's challenge.  So, this week I am playing along for fun, as I love to do (and will probably continue to do when it's my "off" week with the Design Team).

This week, Mae's challenge is to "Just Add Red and White", keeping in mind that Valentine's Day is upon us.  I don't subscribe much to the lovey-dovey Valentine stuff, but do like to make cards for friends who mean a lot to me (to give year round).  As I lay in bed last night, I envisaged exactly what I wanted to make, so it came together very quickly this afternoon.

I'd bought Stampin' Up!'s Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslits die, but hadn't yet used it.  It was PERFECT for the card I had in mind.

I had a hard time photographing my card, because we have really high winds in Melbourne this afternoon.  It's hot, humid, and there are reports of lots of little scrub fires around the suburbs.  Thankfully, no fires around here, but the wind is extreme.  I ducked outside, quickly snapped a photo of my card (in not-great light), and came back in to the airconditioned comfort of the house!

My card is simple, but I love it.  I think it beautifully showcases all the 'bits and pieces' that Stampin' Up! has in one colour (in this case, Real Red).

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts

Card: Whisper White, Real Red smooth & textured

Ink: Real Red stampin' pad

Other: Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslits, Stripes embossing folder, Full Heart punch, Itty Bitty shapes punches, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Real Red corduroy button (retired), Brights button, Basic Rhinestones, Itty Bitty Buttons, Heart to Heart punch, Brights glimmer brad, White bakers twine, mini glue dots, Tombow liquid glue

SOME VERY HAPPY NEWS!

I am thrilled to share with you, that I have been chosen to join the amazing Design Team at Just Add Ink, my favourite challenge site!!

I've been a huge fan of Just Add Ink since the site's inception, and regular followers of my blog will already know that I take part in the challenges just about every week.  The friendships I've developed with the other members of the Design Team have added so much to my life already, so I am beyond excited to now be an 'official' member of the team! 

Hopefully soon I'll have some creations to share with you (the boys are back to school, and life can almost return to 'normal' after the looooooooong summer holidays!).  In the meantime, here's the official announcement on the JAI site!

Thanks to the Design Team, for the honour of joining you all, and for making me so welcome!

SC 0025/12: PINK PIROUETTE & EARLY ESPRESSO

It's been a while since I've played along with Sunny Challenges.    I really enjoyed spending time in my craft room today; this is my second card for the day - woohoo!  The challenge this week is to use Stampin' Up!'s yummy Pink Pirouette and Early Espresso together, using this sketch as the basis for your project:

I have used Very Vanilla as the accompanying neutral; here's what I came up with:

I stamped the maidenhair fern image, from Growing Green, onto the long Early Espresso panel, and the two Pink Pirouette panels (as well as on the sentiment oval).  I wanted it to be subtle, and am really pleased with the outcome - although it's hardly visible in the photo!  Can you see the stamping in this closer shot?:

Do you like the desserty look of the paper flower??  I started off with a flower made with Very Vanilla cardstock.  It was sprayed lightly with Frost White shimmer mist (shimmer paint missed with Isocol), then spritzed with Pink Pirouette and Early Espresso markers (using my Color Spritzer tool).  To finish off, I lightly sponged the edges of the outer petals with Pink Pirouette ink.  A glimmer brad fastens all the layers together.

Stamps: Growing Green, Happiest Birthday Wishes

Card: Pink Pirouette smooth and textured, Very Vanilla, Early Espresso

Ink: Pink Pirouette stampin' pad and marker, Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker

Other: Frost White shimmer paint mixed with Isocol, Basics Glimmer Brad, Basic Pearls, sponge daubers, Nestabilities, Color Spritzer tool, Very Vanilla seam binding, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, sticky strip

JAI #102 : JUST ADD KATHY TANNER

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink, is to draw inspiration from the gorgeous creations of Kathy Tanner, a member of the Design Team.

I scrolled through Kathy's blog and found a number of cards that I wanted to CASE, but finally decided on this card.  If I'd read Kathy's 'recipe' before starting, I would've realised that her card base is Crumb Cake .... but, I thought it looked like Soft Suede, so that's what I started with!  After consulting my handy Color Coach from Stampin' Up!, I decided on the colour combo of Soft Suede, So Saffron and Riding Hood Red.  I thought Very Vanilla would be a little less stark than Whisper White with these colours.

Like Kathy, I used the Just Believe stamp set, but as a slight variation, after stamping the main image on Very Vanilla card using Versamark ink, I embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  I then sponged So Saffron ink over the top.   Here's a close-up of the embossed image, so you can (hopefully) see the subtle sparkle:






...... and my card in its entirety:

Stamps: Just Believe, Kindness Matters, Happiest Birthday Wishes, Parlor Prints

Card: Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Riding Hood Red

Ink: So Saffron, Soft Suede and Basic Black stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: Iridescent Ice embossing powder, 1 3/8" square punch, paper snips, Subtles brads, Paper Piercing tool and Mat Pack, sponge daubers

JAI #100 : JUST ADD CROWNS

This week my favourite challenge site, Just Add Ink, is celebrating a huge milestone - it's their 100th challenge!  To commemorate this auspicious occasion, since a letter from the Queen isn't forthcoming, we're being encouraged to submit a card or other papercraft project with one or more crowns on it.  My friend Helen ran with the "or more" suggestion (love her card - check it out here).  I, on the other hand, have kept mine very simple.

What first sprang to mind, when I mulled over how I could incorporate a crown on a card, were rich, regal colours.  I chose to use Concord Crush with Brushed Gold, and Shimmery White cardstock for my embossed images.  I wanted my card to have a clean, formal look about it (and I think the end result somewhat resembles a tuxedo - what do you think???!!).

Stamps: Parlor Prints, Established Elegance, Curly Cute

Card: Concord Crush, Brushed Gold, Shimmery White

Ink: Versamark inkpad

Other: Gold embossing powder, XL Tag punch, In Color Glimmer brad, Itty Bitty shapes circle punch, Whisper White satin ribbon, Basic Rhinestones, mini glue dots, stampin' dimensionals

US TRIP PART 3 : LAS VEGAS

Since I'm on a roll, sorting through my photos, I can share with you the final instalment of our fabulous holiday.  I thought this would take days, but it's amazing what one can achieve when ignoring the housework!

Our trip ended in Las Vegas.  I wasn't keen to go there (I expected I'd hate it, as I'm neither a drinker nor a gambler), but agreed to it so I could at least say "been there, done that".  Well, was I in for a surprise.  I LOVED Vegas!!  It's a bit drab during the day, at least on the outskirts of the city, but it comes alive at night, and is surprisingly clean.  We had only 2 full days there - one was spent travelling to the Grand Canyon by helicopter, and the second was set aside solely for shopping (and boy, was the shopping good!).  We had half-days either side, which allowed for lots of walking around, and taking photos, and, oh, did I mention shopping?

The hotels on the Las Vegas strip are incredible.  We stayed at the Venetian (not great timing, since 140,000 convention attendees descended on the hotel for a Consumer Electronics Show ... but, as you'll see, we struggled through).


Take a look at the roof of the front entrance to the hotel:

The outside of the hotel, at night:

This shot was taken INSIDE the hotel.  Gondolas (and singing gondoliers) move through canals inside the hotel.  The ceilings are painted to look like the sky, and the light changes depending on time of day.

We flew by helicopter from Las Vegas, to the Grand Canyon (a 45-minute flight, at 300 km/h).  Not easy for me, being rather unhappy with heights and not liking to be 'not in control'!  However, our rather dashing pilot put my fears to rest, and I was able to relax and enjoy the return trip.  Here we are, landed in the Grand Canyon, about to enjoy breakfast set up by the pilots of the three helicopters landed at the same time:

We were delighted to see tiny rock squirrels (told you I love squirrels!), scampering up the cliff face.  They came very close and weren't afraid to steal crumbs from the pastries being eaten by the human visitors.

This shot was taken as we were flying through the Grand Canyon.  Incredible experience (once I got over the major discomfort of being in a helicopter), and awesome views.

This photo was taken on approach to Las Vegas:

We played "how the other half live", enjoying breakfast in the Penthouse Suite at the Venetian hotel.  Our friends had upgraded to the penthouse suite for their stay, and we were allowed to visit :)

Nearing the end of a big day of shopping at Premium Outlets North, Ethan agreed to mind our bags while we browsed at watches and bags.  We came back to find the poor little guy fast asleep (I thought he was mucking around, but he wasn't).

These are just the SHOPS at Caesar's Palace!!!  The opulence that gambling money pays for!

And that, my friends, concludes my summary of our trip.  We created a lot of great memories, and weren't really ready to come home, but I am looking forward to getting settled back into our usual routines (apart from the relentless running around for cricket training and games!).

US TRIP PART 2 : WALT DISNEY WORLD

Back again, with some of my favourite shots from our trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  I have a huge soft spot for Disneyland (I've been 5 times to the original park in Anaheim, California), so was pretty excited to be venturing to the MASSIVE Disney complex in Orlando. 

We had a great time, but in my book, Disneyland beats Disney World, hands down.


Here's an overview of our few days in Orlando:

The Disney Monorail stopped in our hotel, which was pretty cool - very convenient.  The transportation system was amazing, but Disney World is so big that a bus ride between two of the parks can take 20-30 minutes.

You can't get much more Disney than this (the castle in the Magic Kingdom)!

Jack and Ethan with Donald Duck in Frontierland (Jack was a bit reluctant, but it's pretty cute, don't you think?!)

Mickey and Minnie topiaries; just one of the cute Disney touches throughout the parks.

Candy apples.  Can't imagine anyone eating them, but they look gorgeous.

My beautiful boys:

Andrew and Ethan partaking in the strange custom of eating smoked turkey legs.  People everywhere were eating them, and we thought they looked gross, so the boys tried them.  Waste of $20 - they threw them out after a couple of bites!

How did our kids ever manage to amuse themselves at breakfast before iPhones and iPods were invented????  (Good to see the art of conversation is not lost.)

One of the gorgeous views on the safari we took in Animal Kingdom (the best of all the parks):

Andrew celebrated his birthday while we were away.  We enjoyed a special meal in another of the Disney hotels.  Jane, our friend, had bought several gifts, and wrapped them all in Disney brochures (since we had no wrapping paper).  I thought that was pretty cute.

Okay, I'm off to sort through the Las Vegas photos now, so I can share the last instalment with you!