Card swap catch up....

Thank goodness...I was beginning to think I hadn't taken a photo of this card to post!! This was the A&B card swap effort for last week. I really love the pink/cocoa colour combination and the new Berry Bliss dsp in the new SU catalogue is just gorgeous.

I really like how this card turned out, I think I CASEd someone from Splitcoast but not sure who it was...sorry!! Having said that I might even try this design out with some of the other fabulous ds papers from the catty and see what happens xoxoxo

Stay tuned!! Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Another Card swap

This was the card I made for my beautiful friends Ally and Bronny for our weekly card swap. I think this one was sent at the end of May and was CASEd from the wonderful Alisa Tilsner's blog. I really love the delicate images in the 'Artfully Asian' set and it has such versatility. I will have to have more of a play round and see what come up with. Need to practise my sponging/daubering too!!! Lol!

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Bronny!!

This is the 'All Purpose' box and card I made for my very special friend Bronny for her birthday. I put some of the new Dove individually wrapped choccies inside just to spoil her.

Thought I had better make the card to match because I just love these Heidi Grace papers and haven't used them for a while.

Glad you liked your pressie Bron!! xoxoxo

Gift boxes for Nieces

I love how these gift boxes turned out...they are so easy to put together and decorate using the fabulous Kaisercraft storage crate kits and painted wood figures from Spotlight. It takes a little time to paint the pieces but once that is done its all about the decorating....which is the fun part. The girls both seemed to like them too which is a bonus!!!

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

More birthdays!!

This card I made this morning for our niece Elizabeth who will be 8 next week...I have CASEd a card I made with the lovely Bronny a few weeks ago and got to play with my new oval punch - woo hoo!!! Sorry, I am easily excited when it comes to card toys!!!

Happy birthday Lily xoxoxo

Our other niece Natalie had her 2nd birthday a week or so ago so this is the card I made for her this morning....very pink and girly to go with the Dorothy the Dinosaur tracksuit we bought her.

Happy birthday Natalie xoxoxo

I have also made the girls a storage crate each for their bits and pieces using the fabbo Kaisercraft kits from Spotlight...will post them later (best be off to take a photo before I give them away, hey!!) hence the colour schemes for the cards!!

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Brendan!!

It was our nephew's birthday on Tuesday and I made this card for him using a sample of the new SU Outlaw DSP...came together fairly easily thankfully!!! I used Earth Elements markers to tizzy up the cake and make things a bit more masculine.

Happy Birthday Bren xoxoxo

Happy Birthday Amy xoxo

These are the birthday cards I made for my 'Belle' for her 7th birthday. The first was inspired by a card Ally made for Nigel for his birthday - made girly of course!! - and the last was inspired by a beautiful card Marelle Taylor's daughter made and posted on her Mum's blog. I did however use a different stamp set.

We had a lovely afternoon tea party for her with a riotous group of school friends and family...there was no need for party games as the kids entertained themselves pretty much - not hard on a Friday afternoon really!!! A good time was had by all.

cheers xoxox

Mother's Day treasures

These are the beautiful things my daughter Amy made and bought at school for Mother's Day. On the left is the card she made and the gorgeous pot plant all the kids created for their Mum. On the right are her purchases from the school's Mother's Day stall - bowl of Rocky Road always a crowd pleaser!!!

Here is a close-up of the fabulous pot plant, sad to say not looking quite so healthy now but the planter will live on!!

Thanks for looking xoxox

Long Time Friend

I ummed and ahhed about this set then decided to get it with the Earth Element crayons and am realy glad I did.

I saw this design on the Splitcoaststampers - love the gallery on there with all the SU stampsets sorted alphabetically and too many wonderful creations displayed to cope with sometimes!!! I was delighted to discover that this design was by an Aussie! - Alana Galagher who has a gorgeous blog...check it out!!!!

Of course I had to CASE the design which features the spotlighting technique apparently, who knew!! and this became my card swap with Ally and Bronny last week. Having fun finding new things to try...and to surprise the girls with each week....keeps me on my toes!!!

Enjoy, thanks for looking xoxo

Lovely Roses in Winter...

I love this stamp set...these cards came together so quickly and there was no taping required!!!

The first one I stamped onto Confetti Cream card with Regal Rose, Rose Red and Purely Pomegranante for the roses and Wild Wasabi and Garden Green for the leaves. The sentiment is in Pomegranate.

The second I stamped onto Confetti White card with Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant for the roses and Old Olive and Garden Green for the leaves. The sentiment is in Eggplant.

Easy and effective....might have to make some more for emergencies!!!

Thanks for looking

Happy Birthday Ally xox

Well a special friend had a birthday this week so I got to work and did some creating...hope you had a great day honey xoxoxo

I made this card with the 2006 retired set 'Buds and Blossoms' it has glitter on bits but don't know if that really shows up to well in the photo..sorry!

I made this box also..love the Kaisercraft kits!!!

Thanks for looking xoxox

Who can resist....?

Had a play with the crayon resist technique after seeing a piece by Jenni Oliver in a Stamping Papercraft mag from January I think - Vol 12 No 11, page 10



Totally love the effect of this technique even on plain white card instead of glossy ('cause I didn't have any!!! Lol!!) I think I gave these cards to Ally and Bronny a few weeks ago for our weekly card swap.

I have actually made up a couple more since and will endeavour to post them soon....had a whole A4 sheet to play with..very cool!!!

Go Jenni Oliver I say....she is a very clever lady, and she loves the Mixed Bouquet stamp set too so she must be okay!!!

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Happy Birthday to my Darling...

It was my darling husband Nigels birthday yesterday and these are the cards I made for him...one from me and one each from the kids...how spoilt is he!!!

I CASEd the Stems card above from Tracey Eaton, whose blog I have recently discovered (going back there again!!) and I CASEd the Petal Prints card from 'hmm318' on the Splitcoast site...lots of wonderful designs there, heaps of clever people!!!

The Wild About You card is another copy of a card I made with Georgina recently and I used Not Quite Navy and Taken with Teal to give things a "manly" feel...and the lovely Scribble card is one I made from a Carol Dunstan recipe in a recent S&P mag.

Feeling quite blessed to have access to so many creative and talented people through the multitude of different media we have access to these days. How can you not make a card for someone you love when there is just inspiration in abundance all around!!!

Well must get dinner done...bye for now xoxox

More lovely Stems...

I really loved the design of the Stems cards I made with Georgina so I decided to play with the colours a little and use the Sweet Shop and the Seaside ribbon originals to dictate the colours.

I love these ribbon sets and was sad to see them retire...particularly as I did not 'discover' them until early this year! How did that happen!!!

All in all a successful venture...will keep that recipe for future reference for sure! Thanks Georgi!!

PS - the Apricot/Amethyst and Celery/Apricot cards were this weeks card swap bonus for Ally and Bronny xoxoxo

So love the Stems!!!

I totally love the Stem Silhouettes stamp set. These are some cards I made at a workshop with my lovely friend Georgina the other night. These cards are just so elegant and universal that I couldn't wait to make some more....stay tuned!!!

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Last of the Bud-fest!!

For this card I have used the gorgeous but retired 'Flirty' ribbon originals with Perfect Plum/Pale Plum and Taken with Teal/Cool Caribbean ink combos and Mellow Moss for the leaves I think.

I really love that sometimes it is the simple things that can make a spectacular card...it doesn't have to be elaborate to be beautiful. Who knew that Stampin' Up had so many cool and versatile wheels!!!

Okay so I will lay off the Buds for a while!! xoxoxo

Buds obsession!!!

Ok, so clearly a little obsessed with the Bud Basics stamps and wheel!!! A little hard not to be when with single roll, some ribbon and a sentiment a pretty card like this can be created. This is the card I made for this weeks card swap with Ally and Bronny....and I made extras to share with a wonderful group of women I will be spending my Wednesday mornings with.

Just the same really as the card I posted previously but with different ribbon...I did say it was an obsession!!! Well there is another one that I can't get to go where I want it in this post so will do it separately...just to prove I had a bit of a bud-fest!!!

Thanks for looking xoxo

Another Card swap creation

I have CASEd this card from SplitCoast but do not know who created the original...sorry. Really love the 'Because of You' stamp set which has now retired from the SU catalogue. I have used Confetti Cream card with Almost Amethyst and Blush Blossom, Ivory organdy ribbon and coloured in with with my aqua-pen with Amethyst and Pretty in Pink inks. My beautiful friends Ally, Bronny, Kel and Jacqui got this one last week as their 'happy mail' surprise.

Something for Jas

Following on in the same vein...I made this card and box of goodies for my beautiful friend Jas who is having a bit of a rough time at the moment. I really love being able to sit down and make a card for someone I care about. It really is very a very personal exercise fo me and rewarding to see not only the end result but the enjoyment the recipient gets from the effort. I guess that is why I enjoy playing with my stamps and bits and creating little pieces of love for people xoxoxo

Really loving the Bud Basics!!!

More Easter Surprises!!

These are the little "Sunnyboy" parcels I created following instructions from the marvellous Marelle Taylor. I gave these ones to my gorgeous friends Ally, Bronny, Kellie and Jacqui...had to wait until I had given them all out before I posted them. Only problem was they are even smaller than the previous boxes so not much chocolate in them unfortunately....sorry girls xoxoxo Looking after your health!!!

Cheers xoxoxo

Easter Surprises

I made these little boxes for Josh's Pre-School teachers and Amy's teacher for Easter. They follow the 2-4-6-8 pattern for an A5 size piece of card I picked up from Georgina...very easy to do and really fun to decorate. Can't fit much in them though which is a shame when you are dealing with CHOCOLATE!!!

If you would like the 'recipe' let me know.

Thanks for looking xoxoxo

Had a coffee...good to go...I've been tagged!!!

I was tagged by Bronny Carpenter and have worked how to do the link thing so here we go....

Apparently, the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

So...7 things about me:

1. I have a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Food Technology but have never worked as a Food Technologist!
2. I did work experience for uni at the Sara Lee factory here on the Central Coast....many a cheescake went to the seconds shop as a result!!!
3. I am an only child.
4. I lived in Wagga all of my school life, living on the Central Coast is the next longest time in one place.
5. My favourite place to be is with family and friends....after that....Lord Howe Island!!!
6. My favourite colour is green and all its hues
7. My favourite dinner is Chicken Korma - thanks Ally!!

And now...who to tag....Jasmine, Ally, Kendall, Jo, Lisa, Georgina and Cheryl. All wonderfully creative and inspiring.
Have a great day xoxoxo

I've been tagged!!

I've only just realised that I've been tagged by Bronny Carpenter. Thanks for your wonderful comment, Bronny!

Apparently, the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

So...not really knowing what I am doing, here goes!! Actually I need to work out how to do the linking etc so will be back shortly!! xoxoxo

Celebrate a Friendship

Well this is my card swap effort for this week....having a fantastic time swapping cards each week with two gorgeous and creative friends Ally and Bronny.

It really is lovely to receive 'happy' mail each week and makes me sit down sometime before Wednesday each week and be creative...how cool is that!!! What is also very cool are the beautiful cards I have received in return....creatively gifted these girls xoxoxo

Must say though...don't know how I missed the Ribbon Originals section in the SU catalogue for so long and why I have only just discovered the stampin wheels!!! I will be going through the new catalogue with a fine tooth comb!!!

Thanks lovelies for being wonderful friends and always a creative inspiration xoxoxo

Something Special

It amazes me how many very clever card-making minds are out there. I CASEd the design for this card from Marelle Taylor who is one very switched on lady. I love her creations and eagerly await news of updates to her blog to see what she does next!

I made these cards for two very special ladies I have become good friends with recently - Kellie and Jacqui. It really is nice to sit and make a card with someone in mind and then have the pleasure of sharing the end result with them. Thankyou for your beautiful friendship, may we only grow stronger in it the longer we share it. xoxoxo

One for the girls xoxo

This is a card i made for my beautiful friends Ally and Jas...CASEd the basic design from Ally but changed a few little things.
I used Rose Red, Certainly Celery and Apricot Appeal card, Rose Red & Certainly Celery ink, the Butterflies and Blossoms roller, small flower from the Delight in Life gift set and the butterfly outline from the Love without end set both of which are no longer available unfortunately. However these elements could easily be replaced with similar things from other sets that are out there. The ribbon is from the sweet shop range.

Ally and Jas - Thankyou for being such wonderful, giving friends. I love, love, love our Monday mornings together.

More Gorgeous Grapevine...

Colour variation on a theme with the Gorgeous Grapevine stamps, using the weathered background again with Creamy Caramel card & ink, Cranberry Crisp card, ink and ribbon. Really love my background stamp...who knew they were in the catalogue!!!

Card for Matt

I made this card for my wonderful friend Ally's husband when he went back to "school" for his job and had an exam on the very first day!!!!.

Have used the Gorgeous Grapevine stamp set from Stampin' Up, Weathered background stamp, Always Artichoke and Bravo Burgundy card and inks.