THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, CHRISTCHURCH

I am a little disorganised, but have every intention this week of bundling up a whole lot of cards to send off to Victim Support in Christchurch, New Zealand.  Please see this post at Just Add Ink to find out how you, too, can help, if you are a papercrafter. 

I am a New Zealander, and an Australian, and can hardly put into words how deeply affected I feel by last week's destructive earthquake in Christchurch.  As I am sure so many of you can relate to, I feel utterly helpless, but WANT to do something, anything, to show that I am thinking of all those living through the nightmare of the earthquake's aftermath. 

I made this card using a recent colour combination from an Inkspirations Challenge.  This is one of what I hope will be many cards that I'll be sending off to Christchurch.

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, All A Flutter, En Francais

Card:  Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Marina Mist

Ink: Tangerine Tango stampin' pad and marker, Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker, Jet Black Staz-on inkpad

Other: Tangerine Tango striped grosgrain ribbon (retired), Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Wide Oval punch, Beautiful Wings embosslits die, Stamp-a-ma-jig

EXTREME ELEMENTS FOR JUST ADD INK #57

As soon as I saw this week's colour combination over at Just Add Ink, I knew I wanted to use it to make my nephew's birthday card.  Challenging colours, but good for a boy, I think.

At first I struggled to incorporate the Daffodil Delight, but I'm pretty pleased with the way I ended up using it.  I stamped the grungy stars, from Stampin' Up!'s Extreme Elements stamp set, in Daffodil Delight, then 'rock and rolled' the stamp in Cherry Cobbler ink.  Cool, hey?!

Stamps: Wonderfully Worn, Extreme Elements, Birthday Wish (retired)

Card: River Rock (smooth and textured), Cherry Cobbler textured, Confetti White

Ink: River Rock, Cherry Cobbler and Daffodil Delight stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: Clear embossing powder, Small Star punch (retired), White brads, edge distressing tool, sponge dauber, mini glue dots

"SALE-A-BRATION" BLOG HOP

Today I am taking part, with 10 other friends who are Stampin' Up! demonstrators, in a blog hop to share some ideas on using the gorgeous Sale-A-Bration stamp sets from Stampin' Up!  Sale-A-Bration is a very exciting time, for demonstrators and customers alike - free stamps are on offer, people!  For every $100 of Stampin' Up! product purchased before 31st March, you get to choose one free stamp set.  There are four exclusive sets, not available to purchase, to choose from.  Once the end of March rolls around, the sets will no longer be available.

You may have just come from the lovely Nikki Sadler's blog, but if not, don't worry - just click on the link at the end of my blog post, to visit Sue Madex's blog, click on the link at the end of Sue's post to visit the next blog, and so on .... you'll end up doing a complete 'circuit'. 

Now, for the projects I have to share with you.

On this first card, you'll see elements from two of the Sale-A-Bration sets - Sweet Summer, and So Happy For You.  The latter set has some great sentiments in a gorgeous font; love it!  In fact, I love all the sets, so I won't critique them - you can decide your own favourites!  I was inspired by Alisa Tilsner's card, in creating my focal point for this card.  I am very happy with this colour combination, and how the card turned out.

Stamps: Sweet Summer, So Happy For You

Card: Crumb Cake, Concord Crush, Perfect Plum, Old Olive, Whisper White

Ink: Perfect Plum, Concord Crush and Old Olive stampin' pads

Other: Blender pens, Stamp-a-ma-jig, 1 3/4" Circle punch, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, Eyelet Border punch, Concord Crush poly-stitched ribbon, sponge dauber, stampin' dimensionals, paper snips

For Christmas, I received some new stamping goodies.  One of my new toys is Stampin' Up!'s Fancy Favor die, which cuts the cutest little box.  I've picked a colour combination from my Color Coach (great set of card swatches, with all Stampin' Up!'s colours, and suggested combos), and made a sweet little gift bag, by punching holes in the top, and tying ribbon to make a closure.  The 'tag' on the front uses the Punch Bunch Sale-A-Bration set.

Stamps: Very Vintage jumbo wheel, Punch Bunch

Card: Poppy Parade, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Poppy Parade stampin' pad and marker, So Saffron stampin' pad, Baja Breeze stampin' pad and marker, Pear Pizzazz marker

Other: Fancy Favor XL Bigz Die, 1 3/8" Circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, Crop-a-dile, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, sponge daubers, stampin' dimensionals

I've also used Punch Bunch to create a tag to hang off the pram handle on this baby card:

Stamps: Baby Bundle, Punch Bunch

Card: Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, Regal Rose textured, Watercolour paper

DSP: Rose Red Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Daffodil Delight stampin' pad and marker, Regal Rose stampin' pad and marker, Rose Red stampin' pad and marker, Basic Gray marker

Other: Aquapainter, Square Lattice embossing folder, Scallop Edge punch, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Daffodil delight brad, Tag punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, kitchen string

Lastly, I've made a card using a sentiment, and tiny butterfly stamp, from So Happy For You.  I was inspired by this week's Inkspirations Colour Challenge to use the colours that take me back to the 1970s! (I'm sure I had clothes in these colours!)

Stamps: So Happy For You, Punch Potpourri (hostess set)

Card: Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Early Espresso

Ink: Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango and Marina Mist stampin' pads, white gel pen

Other: Basic Rhinestones, Scallop Edge punch, Boho Blossoms punch, Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Early Espresso brad, Paper Daisy

The next blog on today's blog hop is that of my lovely friend Sue Madex.  Go see what gorgeous creations she has to share, then continue hopping, to get inspiration for using this year's beautiful Sale-A-Bration sets.  We all have lots to show you!

Here's a complete list of all the participants in today's hop, in case you lose your way:

Ros Davidson

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


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


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


Sue Madex
http://www.madexcreations.com/


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


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


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


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


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


Kathryn Ruddick
http://www.katlodesigns.com/


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

POCKET SILHOUETTES "THANK YOU" CARD

A friend, who I haven't seen enough of in recent years, attended one of my card-making classes this past weekend, and I'm pleased to say her love of stamping seems to have been re-ignited!  Theresa has ordered Pocket Silhouettes and Sincere Salutations, two stamp sets that I love, and get a lot of use out of.
With this in mind, I thought that I'd pop a card in the post to let her know I am really pleased she came to my class ..... hopefully we'll share many more stamping sessions in future!  Now that the card should have safely reached its destination, I can put it up here to show you.

Stamps: Pocket Silhouettes, Sincere Salutations

Card: Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede

DSP: Elegant Soiree Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede and Marina Mist stampin' pads

Other: Wide Oval punch, Eyelet Border punch, Lots of Tags sizzlits, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Beautiful Wings embosslits, sponge dauber, Very Vanilla taffeta ribbon, mini glue dots, Basic Pearls

"HELLO, YOU" BUTTERFLY CARD

I have a couple of classes coming up, in which we'll be making cards with butterflies on them.  Stampin' Up! has a number of stamp sets, and Sizzix dies, with a butterfly theme ..... it wasn't easy to design only 4 cards to showcase the products, I can tell you!

When I came across this gorgeous card by Lucy Abrams, I knew I wanted to incorporate the colours and layout in one of my class cards.  Here is the simple, but I think rather sweet, result of my efforts:

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly; Music Notes wheel; Hello,You

Card: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Pretty in Pink

DSP: Very Vanilla Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake stampin' pad and marker, Pretty in Pink stampin' pad, Versamark inkpad

Other: Butterfly punch, Rhinestone brad, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack, Very Vanilla satin ribbon, mini glue dot, sponge dauber

Please ignore the fact that I have stamped the Music Notes wheel upside down (apparently) ... not being of a musical bent, I decided I'd use artistic licence!

If you live in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, I'd love to have you join in one of my classes ..... see the CLASSES tab up the top of my blog for details!

A SWEET BLOG AWARD

I have been awarded, by Kasey, this lovely award:

which translates, from German, into "Dearest Blog".  How nice is that??  The premise behind this award is to draw attention to new blogs, or blogs with fewer than 3,000 followers.  I've been blogging for a while now, but my humble (yet loyal) band of followers number only in the 30s, so I definitely qualify!

Thanks, Kasey, for being inspired enough by my creations to show this recognition - I am very touched.

Now it is my turn to pass this award on, to a few other people whose 'fan base' is not (yet) overwhelmingly large.  It is always difficult to narrow down bloggers to pass awards on to.  Some of my favourites do not have a function on their blogs, to allow followers.  However, I would encourage you to check out the following gorgeous blogs, of some of my dear stamping friends, and super-creative women!

Helen Heil - H2 Designs

Tammy Hanlon - Stamp with Tam

Rachel Jackson - Stamping with Rachel

Leonie Hegarty - A Stamper's World

Nikki Spencer - My Sandbox


Please visit each of these blogs, and share some comment love; I am always inspired by these women.

INKSPIRATIONS COLOUR CHALLENGE #58

I'm back with yet another colour challenge card; just love having a palette decided for me!!  My mind is full of ideas for this week's colour combination at Inkspirations ... I can see myself using these colours together again and again.

My most urgent task in the card-making department is to have a card made for my brother-in-law.  I'm not sure that I'm going to have it reach him by tomorrow (his birthday - yikes!), but it'll get there soon after.  I kept it simple, given that it's for a guy, who doesn't like fuss, and probably doesn't keep cards! 

Stamps: Medallion, Seeing Stars, So Happy For You (Sale-A-Bration set)

Card: Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Ink: Tangerine Tango stampin' pad and marker, Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker, Marina Mist stampin' pad

Other: Star brads, Colour Spritzer tool, sponge daubers, Star punch, Small Star punch (retired), Stamp-a-ma-jig