JUST ADD INK #66 - JUST ADD A FLOWER

With Mother's Day looming (at least in the southern hemisphere!), the girls at Just Add Ink have laid down a challenge this week to make Mums smile by adding a flower to a papercraft project.

Whoa - what a broad challenge!  I didn't quite know where to start, and was majorly tempted to make something with one of my fab-o flowers a la Joanne Leddy, but I instead opted to pare it back to basics, and go with a super-simple stamped image.

I'm not sure if the cards for the JAI challenge are meant to be specifically for Mother's Day ... hopefully this qualifies, because I think my little (rather Parisienne) girl is rather sweet.  This is one of my non-Stampin' Up! images that I coloured while we were away at our cabin over Easter.

Stamps: Bluebell (Sugar Nellie), Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Card: Basic Black, Blushing Bride, Beckett Expression Radiance Super-Smooth white card

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad

Other: Framed Tulips embossing folder, Basic Pearls, Decorative Label Punch, Prismacolor Pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits

COLOR THROWDOWN #138

I'm having a little break from the normal "Stampin' Up! only" transmission, to share some of the results of my weekend away, armed with my Prismacolor pencils and some cute stamped line images.  I have always loved colouring .... as a child, I was never bored if I had a colouring book and pencils, and I still find it therapeutic and relaxing.

Here is this week's challenge at The Color Throwdown:

I have chosen to pair Night of Navy with Real Red .... I was inspired to use this kind-of-nautical colour combination, after colouring my little subject's top in red and white stripes.  Here is the simple, but I think pretty cute, card I came up with:

Stamps: Trendy Trees, Sugar Nellie Stamps "Day Dreamer"

Card: Night Of Navy textured, Real Red, Whisper White

DSP: Celebrations Designer Series Paper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Night of Navy stampin' pad

Other: Square Lattice embossing folder, Pinking Hearts border punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Prismacolor Pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals

COLOUR Q CHALLENGE #81

I've been away for a couple of days over Easter; I trekked off to our cabin, armed with my beautiful Prismacolor pencils, and some stamped images to colour in.  I had a lovely time, colouring to my heart's content, when I wasn't busy reading a WHOLE book (bliss)!!  I have missed the deadline for this week's ColourQ Challenge, but thought I'd show you anyway the card I made using the following gorgeous colour combination:

Here is my card (photographed in the glary sunshine - hope you can still see it okay!):

Stamps: Hello, You and CC Designs Nora On A Swing

Card: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette textured

DSP: Old Olive and Pink Pirouette Patterns Designer Series Paper

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pink Pirouette stampin' pad, Whisper White craft stampin' pad

Other: Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, Nestabilities, Modern Label punch, Old Olive 1/8" taffeta ribbon, sponge dauber

COLOR ROUNDUP #31

When I saw the colour combo Holly at Rubber Redneck came up with this week, I was determined to do something other than a boy card, which sprang to mind straight away.  Don't  you think these colours are perfect for a card for a male?  I do - but (foolishly) wanted to challenge myself further!

So, I decided I wanted to incorporate butterflies on my card.  I really made this one hard on myself, I think!  I toiled for ages to come up with something that my stubborn mind was happy with (since I wouldn't let myself make that male card that the colours were screaming out for).  We have just returned from a couple of days away, and I made a card .... of course by the time I'd made it, the light outside was fading, so here is the poor photograph of the end result!

Stamps: All A Flutter, Because I Care

Card: Crumb Cake

DSP: Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy, Crumb Cake and Bashful Blue Patterns Designer Series Papers

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Night of Navy and Crumb Cake stampin' pads

Other: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Night of Navy 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge dauber, mini glue dot, stampin' dimensionals

Here is the first card I made, that I decided was a reject, but that I don't mind so much ... I just think the whole orange thing is not working on it.

Stamps: En Francais, Medallion, Teeny Tiny Sentiments, Butterfly Prints

Card: Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Pumpkin Pie

DSP: Sweet & Sour Designer Series Paper

Ink: Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie and Night of Navy stampin' pads, Versamark inkpad

Other: Clear embossing powder, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Basic Rhinestones, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals, sponge dauber

BLOG HOP - STAMPIN' UP! AUTUMN-WINTER MINI CATALOGUE

Today I am taking part, with 6 friends who are also Stampin' Up! demonstrators in Australia, in a blog hop to showcase products from the gorgeous new Autumn-Winter Mini catalogue (that runs through until the end of July).  You can view the catalogue by clicking on the picture in my blog's sidebar .... or, if you don't already have a demonstrator, and would like a hard copy sent to you (Australia only),  please email me.

You may have come to my blog from the ever-sweet Nikki Sadler's blog, but if not don't fret!  You can take part in the 'hop' by following the link at the bottom of each blog post, and you can make your way around all 7 blogs that way.

I have chosen to focus on a couple of stamps that make it super-easy to make cards for the males in our lives.  I know a lot of people struggle when it comes to making cards for men, but I love making them (probably because in my corner of the world I am rather outnumbered by males!), so I hope to give you some ideas.  Stampin' Up! have increased their range of A La Carte (single) stamps .... each of the featured stamps in my post today costs less than $15.
The first two cards I'd like to share have as the focal point the new Motorcycle stamp, that costs only $13.95.  I love that it packs just as much punch, when stamped as a line image, as it does when it's coloured in.  First up is a card in autumnal tones; I drew inspiration from the colours in the luscious Autumn Spice Specialty Designer Series Papers (seriously beautiful).  I have created More Mustard ribbon by using a marker to colour Whisper White taffeta; cool, hey?!

Stamps: Motorcycle, Bring on the Cake

Card: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Naturals Ivory

DSP: Autumn Spice Specialty Designer Series Paper

Ink: Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker, Crumb Cake stampin' pad, More Mustard marker

Other: Circles #2 Bigz die, Tasteful Trim XL Bigz die, Whisper White taffeta ribbon, Color Spritzer tool, Word Window punch, paper snips, Sticky Strip, Circle Nestabilities

My next card uses the same Motorcycle stamp, and Bring on the Cake stamp set (fantastic birthday sentiments in that set - I just love it), also in the Autumn-Winter Mini.

Stamps: Motorcycle, Bring on the Cake

Card: Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler textured, Very Vanilla

DSP: Newsprint Designer Series Paper

Ink: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake stampin' pads

Other: Neutrals and Regals brads, Linen Thread, Mat Pack and Paper Piercing tool, Stamp-a-ma-jig, stampin' dimensionals, paper snips, stamping sponge

Now for a couple of cards using the Sail Away stamp, that is $14.95, and the perfect size for a card front.  This, too, is another stamp that looks great 'just stamped' (no colouring in required).  In this first card, I have stamped the yacht directly onto a piece of Blueberry Crisp paper - don't you think it looks like the perfect, slightly stormy, sailing background?  I paper-pieced the sails, by stamping the image again onto a co-ordinating paper from the same pack, and cutting out just the sails, then sticking them over my original image.  I think this adds a bit of lightness and interest, so the panel doesn't look too gloomy!  The sentiment is stamped on a wide ric-rac die cut from the new Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, to mimic waves.

Stamps: Sail Away, Bring on the Cake, Sanded

Card: Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy, Pacific Point

DSP: Blueberry Crisp and Botanical Gazette Designer Series Papers

Ink: Not Quite Navy and Sahara Sand stampin' pads

Other: Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Crop-a-dile, Jumbo Eyelets (pewter), kitchen string, sponge dauber, stampin' dimensionals

My last card also uses the Sail Away stamp.  I have used the colours from a striped sheet of paper in the Play Date pack - totally 'out of the box' for me, but I love how it turned out!

Stamps: Sail Away, Seeing Stars, Teeny Tiny Sentiments

Card: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive

DSP: Play Date Designer Series Paper

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Old Olive stampin' pad, Tempting Turquoise stampin' pad, So Saffron stampin' pad

Other: White embossing powder, Word Window Punch, Modern Label punch, Top Note die, Square Lattice embossing folder, Circles brad, Whisper White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals

Next stop on our blog hop is the blog of my talented friend Judy May; I am sure she has something very beautiful to share today!!

If you lose your way, check back in here, as I've listed below all of the participants in today's blog hop.  Enjoy visiting all of our blogs, and please leave us some comments, so we know you've been to visit. 

HAPPY EASTER, everyone!!

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


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


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


Christine Blain (c'est  moi)
http://www.christineblain.blogspot.com/


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


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


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

THIRD POST FOR TODAY, AND 3 CHALLENGES IN ONE!

I have had such a nice first day, of the 5-day break we get for Easter / Anzac Day; as you can probably see, I've been playing in my craft room!  Here I am, with my THIRD blog post for the day (I assure you, this is an aberration - but, boy, it's nice to have the time to create).  I have made a card that fits three challenges, which also is a bit of an aberration; it's not easy for me to combine colour, sketch and theme challenges!

This is my first entry over at The Color Room, a site I've just discovered.  Here is the luscious colour palette for this week's challenge:

The site is frequented mainly by very talented scrapbookers, but cardmakers are also welcome to share our creations.  For those who want to use the above colours to make a card, here's this week's suggested sketch:

Thrown into the mix for my card, is the new challenge just announced today over at Just Add Ink.  The challenge is to "Just Add Mateship/Friendship", in recognition of ANZAC Day, which we celebrate on April 25th in Australia and New Zealand.  We owe our freedom and way of life to the courageous ANZACs, and those who have fought for our countries since.  I'm very proud to say that I am both a New Zealand and an Australian citizen.

Now that I've outlined all the criteria, I'll show you my card.  Although it doesn't show very clearly in the photo, I just wanted to point out that I stamped the Medallion stamp on the Taken With Teal panel - in Versamark ink, because I sold my Taken With Teal inkpad when that colour retired from Stampin' Up!'s range last September .... would've been good to have it for today's card!

Stamps: Medallion, Very Vintage stampin' around jumbo wheel, Oval All

Card: Confetti White, Taken With Teal, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Rich Razzleberry

Ink: Versamark inkpad, Early Espresso stampin' pad and marker, More Mustard stampin' pad and marker, Rich Razzleberry stampin' pad and marker

Other: Early Espresso 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Rich Razzleberry satin ribbon, Neutrals brad, Color Spritzer tool, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Itty Bitty shapes circle punch, 1 3/4" x 7/8" Oval punch, Scallop Oval punch, stampin' dimensionals, sponge daubers, Fancy Flower punch, 5-Petal flower punch, Boho Blossoms punch

"NATURE WALK" FROM STAMPIN' UP!

Earlier this month I ran a couple of card-making classes, to 'show off' the scrumptious new products in Stampin' Up!'s Autumn-Winter Mini catalogue.  We make four cards in every class, and I thought I'd share with you my favourite.

I was very taken with this card made by the supremely-talented Teneale Williams; my eye was drawn immediately to the Bravo Burgundy she used.  It's a colour I don't give much love to, but I was determined to design my own version using Bravo Burgundy as a starting point.  My trusty Stampin' Up! Color Coach suggested I team it with River Rock and Baja Breeze - I thought "what the??!!", but you know what?  The colour combination is FANTASTIC, and I am determined to use it again; love, love, love it.  Here's the card we made in my classes:

Stamps: Nature Walk, French Foliage, Friends 24-7

Card: Bravo Burgundy, Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla

Ink: Bravo Burgundy stampin' pad, Baja Breeze stampin' pad and marker, River Rock stampin' pad and marker

Other: Modern Label punch, blender pens, Basic Pearls, Stamping sponge, Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge dauber, edge distressing tool

Since this is my second post for today, I want to just remind you that you NEED to come back over the weekend to check out the blog hop entries posted by a group of us Australian Stampin' Up! demonstrators!  We'll have more great ideas for you, for using products from the Autumn-Winter Mini catalogue.