This, that and everything inbetween

A sketch challenge

2012-02-01T10:09:00.000+13:00

There's a really clean and crisp sketch for the challenge on Less is More this week.

So I made 2 quick cards so that I could play along. If you're a cardmaker, why not join in too?

I have loads of Oriental/Asian stamps and papers, so decided to dig some out for a play. The chop on the right says "cat" (I hope! LOL) The cat's tail was a bit too long for the panel so I cut around it and overlapped it onto the patterned paper on the left.

Still trying to use up all the Kraft card I have. Quite a challenge in itself!

I'm off to the vegetable garden for an hour or two now to give it some much needed TLC.

Today at my house

2012-01-30T20:35:00.001+13:00

Firstly, dinner from the garden this evening. Very yum. Cabbage, new potatoes, salad (tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, red onion), and Kransky sausages. Yep, even the sausages are home grown!

And 2 quick CAS cards to round out a lovely summer day here.

I have to add this funny pic too. We have huge problems with the mynah birds eating our fruit and tomatoes, so a friend made us this wire trap and we had to put cat or dog food inside to entice the birds through the small opening. So far we haven't got any birds, but Bella, our tabby cat, managed to find her way in there and obviously enjoyed the food too! Right idea - wrong species! LOL

Sew what's up?

2012-01-29T20:47:00.000+13:00

I found some sewing and twine challenges on Splitcoast today, so thought I'd make this quick card that covers quite a few of the requirements.

CAS-ual Friday #37

2012-01-28T13:42:00.000+13:00

I love Fridays! Here are 3 cards I made using the sketch this week on CAS-ual Fridays. (I know, my tree/branch/bird obsession is in evidence again!)

It's a lovely card sketch and I really had fun with it. Thanks CFC girls!

They're mostly Memory Box stamps, with the leaf background on the last card from Innovative Stamp Creations, and the 'lollipop trees' at the top from Unity.

Here I am ...

2012-01-26T19:19:00.000+13:00

I received my freebie Australian Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine today, with my "10 Quick Cards" in it, so here you go if you'd like to see the article:

Thanks for looking.

Another belated birthday card

2012-01-25T19:21:00.000+13:00

I seem to be making a lot of 'late' birthday cards these days! It doesn't say much for my organization skills, does it? LOL

This one covers 2 challenges this week - the CAS challenge on Splitcoast (pink and green), and the Less is More #51, "Cut it Out".

I know I've said it before, but these Hanko cats are very cute! I ran the 'curtain/drape' fabric through my corrugator to get the right look (I hope).

Oopsie daisy!

2012-01-24T10:15:00.000+13:00

The CAS challenge this week on Splitcoast is to use pink, green (celery) and white. I love my pig stamps (and we have 2 real piggies out in the paddock that I love too, Lily and Lisa).

I used to collect pigs (not the real ones) but it got a bit out of hand, as most collections tend to do over time, so now I settle for pig stamps and real pigs!

A manly card?

2012-01-23T14:10:00.000+13:00

This is a handy card to have for an older male, don't you think? All done with chalks and cotton balls, some masking, free clipart and a computer generated sentiment. Quick, CAS and one layer, so it suits the OLW75 this week on Susan's "Simplicity" blog.

CAS-ual Fridays for this week

2012-01-22T17:06:00.000+13:00

A black and white theme this week for CAS-ual Fridays, so ...

a bit of masking and tadaaa ...

If you've seen previous pics of our black and white cat, Boris, you will see why I always think of him as having been the inspiration for a wonderful set of cat stamps by Hanko Designs, this being one of them. The floor rug is hand drawn, masked and then the design (Stampin' Up's Pocket Silhouettes) stamped 'onto' the rug.

Birds, again ....................................

2012-01-21T13:41:00.000+13:00

I can't resist these chubby little WPlus9 birds, so here's a quick one layer card I made today.

And I have to share with you the view from our front deck last evening. I know the colors don't look real, but believe me, the pic hasn't been enhanced in any way. So beautiful.

A very quick CAS card today

2012-01-16T20:46:00.000+13:00

I'd forgotten what fun color blocking could be, and that's the CAS card challenge on Splitcoast for this week, so here's a fun and quick example. (As you can see, I'm slowly working my way through the huge pile of Kraft card I had given to me! LOL)

I also have to post another pic from the garden today. I just wish all my friends lived nearby so that I could send you all big bouquets of sunflowers, as they are too beautiful to keep to myself like this. I gave my DD a big bunch of them to take to her office today, and left another bunch at the library. They are such happy cheerful flowers, aren't they?

How cool!

2012-01-16T15:43:00.001+13:00

I have "10 Quick Cards" in the latest issue of Australian Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine. I'll post pics as soon as I receive my magazine. It went on sale over in Australia last week so I have to wait awhile.

Quick DP card

2012-01-16T14:52:00.000+13:00

This quick card, made with a freebie cloud background from Birds Blog, is for my DIL's niece's second birthday this week. They whole family loves owls, so I was requested to use owls on the card if possible.

Die cut cards

2012-01-10T14:08:00.001+13:00

The CAS (clean & simple) challenge at Splitcoast this week is to use die cuts, so here are a few of mine:

Don't you think these cat images remind you of our Boris? LOL

What makes you think I received a big pack of mixed Baker's Twine this week?

In our garden today

2012-01-09T20:52:00.000+13:00

The view out of our livingroom window. Just part of the sunflower beds along the fence.

Aren't they beautiful?

Bride & groom

2012-01-09T09:52:00.001+13:00

This card is for my cousin's daughter who is getting married next week. I've made quite a few versions of it over the years and it's always a success. I ran the white shimmer card for the dress through the Cuttlebug after cutting it out. I need another one for a wedding in Feb. too. Better get moving ...

Just some cards for today

2012-01-03T13:26:00.001+13:00

Happy New Year everyone. I hope your resolutions are being kept! (I don't make any because I know I won't keep them.)

We've had a house full for the past week so I haven't done much playing, but we're down to only family now and it's raining so I can't get out into the garden for some much needed work there, so made a few cards.

First, an inchie/grid card using a lot of my wonderful silhouette flower/weed/grass stamps in different colors and layers:

A very quick CAS card for this week's challenge on Splitcoast, which has a "beverages" theme:

And another challenge card for the "window" challenge last week on Splitcoast.

2 challenges

2011-12-26T11:51:00.000+13:00

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas yesterday and that you're all enjoying the holidays, relaxing and hopefully getting some time to play with new toys! We had a quiet day as both our children are away.

I've been doing a little more playing with embossing folders smooshed with ink after stamping the cardfront with co-ordinating images like this. I've also found out that if you do your smooshing with dye ink pads and then spritz the EF, then run it through the Cuttlebug, you get interesting (and sometimes not so interesting ...) results! It's fun to play anyway. You never know what you're going to get and I love the element of surprise!

Here's a card for the CAS-ual Fridays challenge #CFC33, to use Kraft card/paper and twine, using the above method.

It also fits the challenge on the Less Is More blog this week, week 47, to use just one word as a sentiment.

And here's another card using the EF smooshing technique and lovely silhouette plant images.

Embossing folder play

2011-12-25T11:32:00.000+13:00

I've been having a play with the embossing folder/ink pad technique (or whatever the correct word is, where you swipe the 'positive' side of the embossing folder with an ink pad, carefully lay down your card on it, then run it through the Cuttlebug.) This is one result that I thought came out quite well.

Some new stamps = new cards!

2011-12-24T11:21:00.000+13:00

I ordered some stamps from Innovative Stamp Creations and Unity a few weeks ago when they had their Black Friday sales, so I've been playing! A bit of a mixture of techniques and styles, but all fun stuff.

We're having a very quiet Christmas this year, with both the kids/families away.

Welcome Emerson

2011-12-23T14:05:00.000+13:00

My daughter-in-law's brother has just become a Dad to a 10 lb. whopper named Emerson Thomas, so I made this card for them, inspired by a similar idea I saw somewhere on a blog (but can't find the link, so my apologies to whoever it was and I hope you don't mind me CASEing it). The blanket is a scrap of perfect fabric I found in my stash, and the teddy I drew and cut from thin cork. It's a tent fold card so stands up really nicely and looks very cute.

CFC32 Signed, sealed, delivered

2011-12-19T17:45:00.000+13:00

This is my contribution to the CAS-ual Fridays challenge for last Friday. Love those rainbow color gradients.

I actually made a couple of cards like this, but decided this one was my favorite.

Here's another one along similar lines.

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see all the wonderful ideas for this challenge.

Chillin' out

2011-12-13T08:22:00.000+13:00

I'm a guest designer this week on the Splitcoast CAS team, where the week's theme is "Chill out". Here's my card for the challenge. Take a browse through the CAS gallery for a feast of chillin' cards.

Harper has been visiting

2011-12-10T22:06:00.000+13:00

Our daughter-in-law and grandson, Harper, now 13 months, were here from Australia for a short visit this week, so here are some pics of our gorgeous little man. He's growing up so fast and is on the move constantly. Isn't he the cutest? (I'm not biased of course!)

Is that daisy edible?

Yum ... fresh peas from Grampa's garden!

Not sure about that Lily Pig licking her lips and looking at me like that!

What a precious little boy he is.

CAS-ual Fridays for this week, and a Splitcoast CAS too

2011-12-05T17:14:00.001+13:00

This is the CAS-ual Fridays challenge for the week, a Tic-Tac-Toe inspiration, to use 3 of the elements given in a card:

As you can see, I went straight across the middle row for my card.

This card is also for the CAS147 challenge on Splitcoast this week, which is to use twine. And (drumroll here please ...!), I was chosen as a Guest Designer on the Splitcoast CAS board for the Winter session starting this week, so am a very happy camper. If you like making Clean & Simple cards, check the Splitcoast CAS board here and join in the fun every week.

While I'm here I'll show you one of the kitschy "Ducks In A Row" sets I make to order, as I also used the chevron paper on one of them. (I have an online store on Felt, a handmade/crafty site here in New Zealand, similar to Etsy. I'm flat out at the moment making ducks and deer heads for Christmas gift orders, and am sure to develop carpal tunnel syndrome if I keep it up for much longer! I cut the shapes by hand with an Xacto knife.)

Back to work cutting deer heads now! Bye. Have a great week everyone.

I'm in a Kraft paper rut

2011-12-04T10:26:00.000+13:00

I seem to be using a lot of Kraft card these days, probably because I have a whole pile of it to work through. I don't mind - love the stuff! Here's a quick card made using a $ store stamp I just couldn't resist buying, even though I have most of the bird stamps ever made, I'm sure! I made it for one of the CAS challenges on Splitcoast last week.

Ego boost ...

2011-12-04T10:15:00.000+13:00

Thank you to the lovely ladies at Less Is More for honoring me with their award for my engagement card last week. It's always fun to play along with the LIM challenges every week. Thank you for the inspiration. Keep it up in 2012.

Snowflakes

2011-11-30T14:15:00.001+13:00

No, we don't get snow where we live up in the top half of New Zealand, but the house was full of white paper offcuts last week and a pile of snowflakes I cut by hand (I know, I'm crazy) for the decor for my DD's office Christmas party, which had a white theme this year. The snowflakes were fun to make and the more I made, the more creative I got with my cutting. Unfortunately the paper was too thick when folded to cut more than one at a time, so like in Nature, each one was different. I didn't count them, but I know how many sheets of paper I started out with, so there were probably around 125. The paper was A3 size with a bit cut off the end to make the square.

2 challenge cards for 3 challenges

2011-11-28T17:24:00.002+13:00

This first card is for the Less Is More week #43 challenge, "A Bit of Bling". It's always fun playing along each week, so be sure to check out the blog and join in the challenges each week.

It also fits in to the sketch challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays, another great weekly blog with a CAS challenge and loads of inspiration every time. Take a look if you haven't already done so.

I used a free digi doily for the blue background (from Shery K Designs, I think) and the silhouette nativity scene is the letter "X" in a freebie dingbat font from DaFont called "Christmas Cheer". There are so many free dingbat fonts out there that can be used as digi stamps. (I've seen quite a lot of them actually used and for sale as digi stamps in different places, but I like anything free! LOL)

This next card is my entry for a spot as a guest designer in the Splitcoast Stampers' CAS DT search for the upcoming 3 months. (The search is down to the final 8 so fingers and toes crossed!). There's a photo there of Christmas table settings that had to be used as inspiration for the challenge, and the traditional red, green and white color combo is what sparked my imagination and got me going on this card. I love these little chubby birds from WPlus9.

And last but not least, the view I had from my craft room yesterday evening as I was working on these cards. So beautiful. A crisp, 'clean and green' New Zealand scene (with the requisite sheep in the distance if you look carefully!)

Thanks for visiting.

2 VERY easy cards

2011-11-23T14:46:00.000+13:00

These 2 quick CAS cards were made for the Splitcoast CAS challenges this week. I had a 'lightbulb moment' last night when helping my DD punch out stars and snowflake shapes for the table decor at her office Christmas party this coming weekend. Just 3 or 4 different papers and card scraps, some Cuttlebugged, punched with the snowflake punch. I tried it with stars too but it didn't look right.

And this one has had me singing along in my head for 2 days and I can't get rid of it! Good old Kraft card and string/twine - a match made in heaven, don't you think?

Engagement card

2011-11-21T17:27:00.002+13:00

The Less Is More challenge this week is to use silhouette images. Love 'em! This card also covers the criteria for the All Sorts blog challenge this week - a one layer card. Take a look at both these galleries for wonderful inspiration.

A super quick card done by cutting a rectangle from acetate and swiping the interior panel with cotton balls and chalks, then stamping the images. The sentiment was computer generated first to get the correct alignment for the colored panel. I love making backgrounds with chalks and cotton balls as the errors are easily removed with an ordinary eraser! Easy peasy stuff!

Another new challenge

2011-11-21T14:41:00.000+13:00

I don't think I've ever played along with Mark's Finest Papers' challenge before, but thought I would give it a try this week. It's for Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge week #82, to use black and white and one other color only. So without further ado, here's my card.

The sentiment is from PTI (Paper Trey), the tiny birds are from Memory Box, and the branches are from Crafty Individuals.

Sadly I know a number of people who are going through tough times right now, through illness, bereavement and life's challenges, so I'm going to be making "thinking of you" cards for awhile.

Trigger Tuesday

2011-11-17T21:44:00.002+13:00

Moxie Fab World's Trigger Tuesday inspiration this week is this lovely bag in autumn colours. I just love this colour combination, and wow, the bag is gorgeous too!

I immediately thought of a base of Kraft cardstock and layers of the wonderful inspirational Fall colours on the bag, so here's my card:

Why not join in the fun?

White-on-White

2011-11-17T15:02:00.000+13:00

Love this look of layers and dimension in a monochrome card, although my photography doesn't really do them justice. (My Cuttlebug is getting lots of love these days!)

Hoppy Birthday

2011-11-09T15:51:00.000+13:00

This card is for a CAS (clean & simple) sketch challenge on Splitcoast this week. I really must use my punches more often. They're so much fun and make quick and easy cards. The background is done using chalks and cotton balls.

More Less Is More

2011-11-09T12:17:00.000+13:00

I just had to make another red/orange card for Week 40 of the Less Is More challenge because I made this garden rake from a toothpick and silver card scrap! That's a good enough reason, isn't it? LOL

Less is More Week 40

2011-11-08T14:34:00.000+13:00

Here's a card for the Less Is More week 40 challenge for this week, which is to use red and orange. I used a solid background stamp and Versacolor cubes in two shades of orange and red, 3 different silhouette tree stamps, and my favorite bench (Impress, I think?) and tiny birds (Memory Box), finishing off with some dabs of white dimensional paint.

I like how the images just 'pop' with the vibrant colored background.

Over the edge

2011-11-06T20:29:00.000+13:00

For the challenge last week on CAS-ual Fridays, here's my card. I had a big clean up of my many many DP's last week, and found some little treasures that were useful here. I also found a whole unopened packet of blank window cards, so ta daa ... Never throw out your scraps!

Covered button bracelet

2011-11-02T16:46:00.000+13:00

I've been having a play with this idea I've had brewing in my little head for awhile. It may not be original, but I've certainly never seen it before.
Start off with a DIY/cover-your-own buttons kit (these ones are 29 mm or just over 1", and I used 5, although I think 3 larger ones would look great too):

Remove the bendy wire shank and take a template of something about half again the size of the button (a baby food jar lid in this case), trace it and cut 5 circles from your chosen fabrics.

At this point I used a gas lighter to singe the edge of the fabric circles to cut down on fraying (you could also use fabric glue on the edges). Put a dab of fabric glue on each fabric circle and place the rounded side of the button top in the middle of each one like this.

Dab fabric glue inside the button as shown here

and fold the edges of the fabric into the button making sure that the fabric catches on the metal "teeth" on the button edge (I used a crochet hook to push the fabric down over and under the teeth for a more secure fix). Repeat for the other buttons and this is what you have:

Lay a piece of ribbon that has been measured around your wrist for the correct lengh over the back of the button you want to be in the centre of your bracelet (this piece of black velvet ribbon is around 7" long and 1 1/2" wide but I cut it longer for safety sake and cut it down after all the buttons were in place).

Take the flat back of the button kit and position it over the button so that the ribbon is sandwiched between the fabric button top and the flat back disc. Hammer around the edges so that the teeth grip the disc, securely fastening the ribbon in the sandwich. Evenly space the remaining buttons and secure them the same way. This is what the back will look like:

Cut the ends of the ribbon off to size, and secure a ribbon clamp at each end. Add a clasp of your choice (I used jump rings and a lobster clasp for this closure, but there are many other options.)

Ta da .........

Note: The fabric I used is silk (I had some sample swatches in my stash), but a thinner fabric would probably work better as it would be easier to fold inside the button, and also easier for the teeth to grasp. I'm happy with this one but would probably not try it again with anything thicker to be on the safe side. I also thought I may try another one and sew seed beads or a simple embroidery pattern onto the middle of each fabric circle before securing it to the button top.

That's it. What's the verdict?

LIM 39 - Stars

2011-10-30T17:04:00.000+13:00

The Less Is More CAS challenge this week is to use stars, so here's mine. There's DP on the inside which shows when the card is flat as the front panel has had about an inch cut off it down the right side, KWIM? LOL

CFC26 CAS-ual Friday

2011-10-29T17:50:00.000+13:00

A quick card today for the weekly CAS-ual Friday Challenge. Their challenges are always fun and inspirational. Why not play along too?

I've kept my Cuttlebug on my DH's desk here in the office (he's away for 2 weeks so won't know!) in the hope that I'll use it more now that it's right under my nose every day. Hopefully more inspiration will strike me in the days to come.

More bitsy bits

2011-10-23T11:00:00.000+13:00

Here's another odds-n-ends bead necklace with square felt scraps used as well to fill it out a bit as I didn't have enough bright beads for the length I wanted.

A card I made for my daughter's birthday recently. (Her fiance is a hunter!)

Some treats from our garden.

Knit a necklace thingey

2011-10-21T11:16:00.000+13:00

As a kid I used to love doing French/spool knitting by the mile (many of you probably did too), but now I can't remember what I actually DID with the "worms"! Doll's clothes of some sort probably. I decided to give it a try again as I love chunky necklaces and bracelets and wear a lot of tunics, Tshirts and linen shirts, so they work well together. I remember doing my spool knitting on a wooden cotton reel with nails around the top, but now they make these fancy schmancy ones which are longer and easier to grip. The only downside to using beads on them is that the beads have to have really big holes - not always easy to find, although I want to make some myself using air dry clay or polymer clay (one day ...!)

Stripes

2011-10-20T13:20:00.000+13:00

The OLW #69 (One Layer Wednesday) challenge this week is to use stripes. I really like the neatness and simplicity of stripes, especially for backgrounds like this. I made this background stamp using a cut-up old hot water bottle. Waste not, want not, as my Grandma used to say!

Just bits ...

2011-10-18T17:49:00.001+13:00

Harper's first birthday card and his cloth book went in the mail today. He will be 1 on 8 Nov. Can't believe how fast the year has gone by. I plan on making a card with a photo of him on it every year so that they have a record (just in case they don't have enough photos of him already! LOL). I have done the same thing for his cousin, Morgan, who is now 6, and his Mom puts his cards in an album every year, and has told me that I have to live a long time to keep up the tradition!

Life in Australia obviously suits our little man.

LIM time again

2011-10-18T15:30:00.000+13:00

Time for the Less Is More blog card challenge for the week - cocktails! Here's mine. The glass has Diamond Glaze in it to simulate 'the real thing' liquid, but it's hard to see in the pic. I used a computer font in different sizes for the word, and the image is from TAC with felt pens for the colors on the dress. Very quick and easy.

Puriri Hill Farm book

2011-10-11T15:58:00.000+13:00

Our son, wife and our precious little grandson, Harper, recently moved from New Zealand to live in Australia, and of course we miss them very much. Harper will be a year old next month so I hope that he will remember us and our home with the help of this little cloth book I made him. If you look at the house in my blog header, you will (hopefully!) see the resemblance to the house on the cover of his book (but please pretend you do, even if you don't, as that will make me happy! LOL) All the animals and birds we have here on our little farm are shown, including Pixie the sheep, Lily the pig, Angus the ginger cat and the rest of the gang, including rather bad photos of Grandpa and Grandma. I used scraps of fleece and felt (easy to sew, no fraying - love them!). I used book/filing rings instead of binding it as the rings slide easily and make the pages easier to turn. It took me a whole day to make it, but it was great fun.

Front cover:

The photos are covered with Contact paper and then sewn onto fabric so I hope they don't come unstuck.

Back cover.

I hope he likes it.

Quick Inchie cards

2011-10-07T13:20:00.000+13:00

Two very quick inchie cards today. Inchies are so versatile - I must play with them more often, especially with the Cuttlebug and embossing folders with all their gorgeous patterns. Who needs color when you have so much dimension just from the embossing?

Sewing stuff

2011-10-06T12:54:00.000+13:00

I pulled out my stash of gorgeous Ikea fabric the other day and had a bit of a sewing session. (I hate using it though - it's so precious!) I've been wanting to make some fabric baskets for awhile (there are some great free tutorials online if you do a Google search), and made these 3 from different patterns just to see which one worked best. They are for my DD as she wanted some odd storage solutions for their living room shelves (for magazines, TV remote, etc.) and I had already made her a pile of cushion covers from these and other gorgeous Ikea fabrics so they will co-ordinate nicely. The black and white rectangular one is a bit on the floppy side even though it has heavy duty stiffening between the layers, but our second fattest cat, Angus, found it in the night and climb inside to sleep (and spread out), so the corners need to be ironed again to make it look a bit more like a box! I also made her and her fiance covers for her iPad and his Kindle in the same fabrics (but forgot to take pics!).

Less Is More time again

2011-10-06T11:05:00.000+13:00

This week the challenge is to use the colors of your eyes! Well, mine are a rather muddy grey/blue/green, so this is the best I could do folks ...

A bunch of new cards

2011-10-04T19:33:00.001+13:00

I've been trying to get ahead with some long overdue cards. Here are a few from my recent playtime:

Hmmmm ... seem to be a few birds in this lot (for a change! LOL)

CAS-ual Friday once more

2011-09-30T21:33:00.000+13:00

The CAS-ual Friday blog challenges seem to roll around so fast these days. They're always so much fun too. This week the challenge is to use ribbon in a 'loopy' way, so here's my contribution, a Christmas card for a change:

I think I must try this design in other colors too. I really like how it turned out.

OLW66 Friendship

2011-09-29T13:39:00.000+13:00

Pop on over to Susan's blog, Simplicity, where the one layer challenge this week is to be inspired by her friend Janelle's blog. Janelle is going through chemo treatment at the moment, and reading her blog is so inspirational. The inspiration I found there was not a card, but the deep and lasting nature of friendship across the miles - around the corner or around the world - which has touched so many of us cardmakers, stampers and crafters (and of course most of the world!) through the internet. It's amazing to think of all those online friends we all have, brought together by our craft, whom we will probably never meet in person, but who touch our lives every day. For all the bad things the internet is said to have brought us, these friendships far outweigh any negatives, certainly in my life anyway! So, thank you to Susan and Janelle for reminding me how lucky I am, and for inspiring me to make this simple card for OLW66.

Janelle, I will be thinking of you as your treatment continues, and keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Less is More

2011-09-28T15:17:00.000+13:00

The LIM (Less Is More challenge) #34 for the week is this inspirational sketch:

I only realized afterwards that it was a square card, not a rectangular card! Duh! Anyway, the idea is still the same.

I love my Encore Ultimate Metallic ink pads for solid stamping, like this image. Of course I couldn't resist 3 little rhinestone 'blings' as berries on the branch! The button was an afterthought too - the sentiment looked a bit bare without it. (I know, probably overkill, getting right away from the Less Is More idea, but too late now ...! LOL)

You'll notice a Kraft card rush here lately, because I found a whole pack of SU Kraft that I forgot I had hidden away. Love how it goes with any color combo.

CFC21 Mostly Monochrome

2011-09-28T12:36:00.000+13:00

A very quick card for this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge.

I tend to forget about the little punches, like this leaf, and yet it's so useful as there's a leaf stamp almost exactly like it that co-ordinates so well. I must remember this ...

Happy news!

2011-09-25T12:44:00.000+13:00

We are so happy to announce the engagement of our beloved daughter Kerry to Reece. Wonderful news. Here's the beautiful ring (such good taste!) and the card I made for them. Wishing them a lifetime of happiness together.

CFC 19 - Falling to Pieces

2011-09-14T10:58:00.000+12:00

I know I'm a bit late for last Friday's challenge, but life has been a tad hectic around here lately. I love autumn colors, although right now we're in spring mode here in NZ, so I have to get my creative head around the upside down seasons.

I just love this free digi from MelStampz, and it has gorgeous background paper to match too. These images are perfect for paper piecing. Mel has amazing freebies on her blog so be sure to take a look.

That's it for today. There are a few more weekly challenges I've still got to work on before this week comes to an end, so off to play ...

OLW63

2011-09-12T14:44:00.000+12:00

One Layer Wednesday CAS challenges are back after a summer break. Yay! This week, #63, it's for a baby card, so here's mine. I've made a number of variations of this card over the years and it always brings a smile to the faces of the new parents.

While on the subject of babies, I must add a photo of our special little boy, Harper, now 10 months, who Granma and Grampa had the privilege of having all to ourselves for the weekend as our son and DIL stayed in the city for a friend's wedding. He was so good and we had a wonderful time watching the Rugby World Cup on TV, being held here in New Zealand at the moment. Every time we cheered he put his arms in the air and cheered too! So cute. We're going to miss him very much as they move to live in Australia next week. Will have to save lots of $$ for air tickets to visit them.

Metallicious

2011-09-05T15:57:00.000+12:00

The Less Is More challenge #31 this week is to use metallic anything on a card - paper, embossing powder, paint, ink, etc. I've used bronze embossing powder here, although it doesn't photograph very well. I just swiped some cotton balls rubbed onto chalks for the background.

Thanks LIM ladies for another great challenge. Love all the inspiration so far in the challenge gallery. Be sure to take a look if you haven't already visited there.

It's Friday again, and that means ...

2011-09-03T09:29:00.001+12:00

This week the challenge on the CAS-ual Fridays blog is black, white and red, with a card inspired in some way by a book. So, here's mine - "Gone With The Wind".

Another lovely stamp from my favorite Co., Memory Box.

And as an added bonus today, just for fun, here's a pic of our resident duck family, Duckzilla, Clayton and their 13 babies that hatched on Monday next to our pond infront of the house. Aren't they cute? They look more like little black and white penguins than ducklings at this stage.

Stickers - I always forget how useful they can be

2011-08-27T09:35:00.001+12:00

CAS-ual Fridays' challenge this week, as you can see above, is to use a sticker or stickers on a card. I always forget about stickers but they can often add a little extra zing if you don't have the right stamp for the card you're making. I always have trouble with 'man' cards, so this sticker was perfect for the job here. The rolled ripped paper 'waves' add a bit more dimension I think, don't you?

LIM for this week

2011-08-22T21:53:00.001+12:00

It's "Less Is More" challenge time again for this week, so here's my card. The challenge is to use something "moving", which sounds simple, but there were so many ideas floating about in my tiny brain that I had to settle for this before I got totally carried away and made LOTS of different ones!

The flowers are dots of dimensional paint. I think the blue background is a bit too soft and dreary, so I may try another one with a brighter card base, maybe orange or turquoise. Tomorrow though ... I'm off to bed now. The electric blanket is calling my name!

Embossing and other stuff ...

2011-08-20T13:25:00.000+12:00

Here's a quick CAS card for the CAS-ua Fridays challenge for this week. Be sure to mosey on over to the blog and see all the great inspiration and talent on offer using embossing of any kind.

I have to add some pics of our 'farm' yesterday. It's been very cold lately and we even "think"?? we had snow flurries last week. The first time in history so far North. What do you think?

The lambs are growing so fast. Aren't they cute?

And last but not least, this little fella was shnuffling on the lawn yesterday. He must think Spring has come as he's come out of hibernation very early. Last year we had a family of hedgies out the back but they disappeared into the bush before I could get my camera. The babies (4) were the cutest things you've ever seen, not much bigger than a golf ball. Hopefully they'll be out and about again this year and I'll get some pics.

Sew much fun!

2011-08-18T19:21:00.000+12:00

I've got a rotten head cold and have been feeling less than energetic the last few days, but I did manage to get a bit of sewing done. Here's another Monster Butt for a friend of my DD's little boy. (I'm waiting for the Mom to get back to me with his waist measurement so that I can put the elastic in them.)

I made these 2 outfits for Harper too. The fish one was easy as I just cut out a fish from a scrap of the fabric and appliqued it onto the front of the onesie. The owl one is the same pattern (Made By Rae's Big Butt Baby Pants). I had fun with the little owl on the front of the onesie as well, as you can see! (The owl on the pants is on the butt though, so of course you won't be able to see them both at the same time.)

This is really a great baby/toddler pants pattern, as it has the panel in the rear end which gives extra room for cloth nappies/diapers.

Less Is More this week

2011-08-17T15:02:00.000+12:00

This week the challenge on the Less Is More blog is to use ink! Any ink, any way, being creative with either a new technique or something tried and true that you already feel comfortable with. Here's my take on the challenge. I felt there was already enough writing on the card, so didn't add a sentiment.

Bits & pieces

2011-08-13T15:17:00.001+12:00

These 2 cards are for the Splitcoast CAS challenge #130 for this week. It's a really simple and yet classy layout I think. The kitty's hat is a tiny piece of patterned paper cut into a triangle with a (rather large - the smallest one I had!) pompom on top. The Get Well bed card image is a freebie digi download from the wonderful Bird's blog. (I only used half the image on the card fold.) The little face peeking above the bed covers is a button. I cut a slit in the paper and tucked it inbetween the sheets because I couldn't cut the button in half!

When my DIL was here last week she asked me to make her a birthday gift for a 1 year old little girl - something for the wall in her bedroom, which is very girly and pink apparently. These birds etc. were cut from fabric scraps that I'd ironed Steam'A Seam/Heat N Bond onto the back of, so that the backing just gets peeled off and they get ironed onto the wall. They look a bit strange lying on the coffee table here, but against a white or pale wall they'll look great. They're easy to remove and leave no marks on the wall, so it's a great idea for kids. (I did a giraffe, monkey and lion for Harper's room, which will have new iron-on webbing put on the back of them and then will be put up again in his new bedroom in Australia.)

CAS-ual Fridays

2011-08-13T10:35:00.001+12:00

I always look forward to the Friday challenge on the CAS-ual Friday blog. It gets the old brain cells churning! Here's the challenge for this week - in fact, it's 2 challenges, and is linked to FTL153 at the Clean & Simple blog, so pop on over and get your brain cells churning too, join in, and be inspired by all the wonderful entries in both these blogs.

Here are 2 cards with this inspiration in mind. They could hardly be more different, but I think I prefer the African theme. I grew up in Africa and have ++ African theme stamps, and really must get them out more often to have a play, as they evoke such deep emotions for me.

Love these pretty colours together, and of course a bit o' bling never hurts!

Have a lovely creative weekend everyone.

A bit of creativity for today

2011-08-12T16:25:00.001+12:00

It's time for a little more cardmaking and a little less sewing/knitting! My papercraft muse is demanding some attention, so I think I need to do a few more card challenges. Here's a card for the CASE Study Challenge #52 for the week, which was to CASE an inspirational card from one of the very crafty design team's blogs. Soooo difficult. There are amazing cards there, but I narrowed my choice down until I got to this beauty from Teneale. The sentiment was supposed to be on the left of the knot, but I stamped it upside down (duh!) and had no more of that lovely mossy green tape, so it was a matter of making the best of a bad job! Love this colour combination all of a sudden. The bird stamp is from Inkadinkado and the free dictionary page download is from the wonderful Graphics Fairy blog.

A few days ago I posted here about making a card for a 100th birthday. This is what I did. This absolutely amazing lady is still living on her own, very active and always the life and soul of the party. She's had such an interesting life, and was a journalist for this Wellington (New Zealand) newspaper, a career quite unknown for women of that era. I did a cut & paste job with the newspaper headline theme and her photo, and hope she will get a kick out of it when she receives it next week.

A bit of a catch-up

2011-08-10T16:59:00.001+12:00

I've been a bit uncommunicative here lately, so here's an update.

Our DIL and grandson have been visiting us for a few days. They are moving to Australia soon so we're spending as much time as we can with them - getting ++ Harper cuddles and taking lots of pics. Our son has gone and is working already, but will be back for a friend's wedding and to collect his little family in early Sept. Harper is now 9 months old and extra cute, as you can see.

I've been doing quite a lot of sewing for him too, mainly appliques on plain onesies just to fancy them up a bit, and some summer pants (they're going to Brisbane, where it's summer most of the year - lucky!) I've also made some Big Butt pants and especially love these monster ones. Here are the front and back views.

The lambs are growing fast.

They're just like little kids - jumping and chasing around like crazy, and then suddenly lying down for a nap when it all gets too much.

And finally, at last, a card my DIL asked me to make for a 3 year old's birthday party they're going to on Saturday.

My next project this afternoon is to make a birthday card for a 100 year old lady (yes, 100!) - the aunt of a lady who works with my daughter. It's going to be a challenge as I have to incorporate a photo of her, so wish me luck ...

Giraffe taggy blankie

2011-07-30T12:27:00.001+12:00

I made this cuddly taggy blankie for a friend of my daughter's who has recently had a little boy. It's quite big, so is probably suitable for use in a car seat or buggy. The reverse side is the same plain yellow fuzzy fabric that the giraffe applique is made out of. (I know, it looks more like a dinosaur, but I promise it's meant to look like a giraffe!)

And here's the card that's going with it.

CAS-ual Fridays has rolled around again

2011-07-30T11:22:00.001+12:00

It's CAS-ual Friday time again. This week the challenge is for a long card. Lots of white space on this one, and again, a silhouette image, which I find so useful. There is so much you can add to the basic black image.

I also made this card for the challenge, but as you can see, my camera is not behaving well right now for some unknown reason, and my pics are really dull and messy. I need some help in this department!

Be sure to check the CAS-ual Fridays blog for lots more lovely long cards, and enter the challenge.

Guest room update

2011-07-28T13:03:00.000+12:00

This is our second guest bedroom I've been working on. (Here's the other one) I collected old frames from thrift shops, and the "art" is a mix of recycled old wallpaper books, paint chips, free online downloads, recycled buttons, and an old square canvas I just painted over. The 2 blue cushions were on sale for under $10, as were the plain cream and brown cushion covers, which I appliqued afterwards using fabric scraps from my stash. I used felt and my Cuttlebug to die cut the 6 little birds on the dark cushion. The perfectly matched floral/patterned cushion cover I made from a remnant of fabric I found. The bedside tables were old wooden ones that were sanded and spray painted matte silver. It was such fun making all the odds and ends, and although I didn't tally up the costs, I'm sure the whole wall and cushion revamp was less than $50.00. Happy happy happy!

This is the "before":

And these are the "afters":

Wallpaper and paint chips birds.

Free music downloads, painted branch, and bird cut from wallpaper sample.

An old canvas repainted and sponged, and the birds were stencilled. (Got the idea online somewhere. Not sure where so no link, sorry.)

Ah, all those buttons I collect ... always very useful! An old repurposed embroidery hoop covered with burlap and the buttons were hot-glued onto a roughly drawn bird shape. The branch is brown embroidery floss.

More buttons! The bird shapes are felt cut from a die-cut on my Cuttlebug and Steam A Seam used to adhere them to the fabric, then the buttons were sewn on.

Appliqued birds on a wire. (Another idea seen on a craft blog somewhere.)

So, what do you think of my bird/bedroom?
OK, just one more with my interior design consultant in the foreground, helping. Thank you Boris! I couldn't have done it without you!

Cupcake hat

2011-07-27T09:58:00.000+12:00

I finished the cupcake hat for my DD's friend's little girl. What do you think? Considering I didn't have a pattern I think I did quite well! I made the pompom 'cherry on top' using a fork, which is a very easy way to make little pompoms.

Island holiday

2011-07-24T14:32:00.000+12:00

This card is for my daughter who is leaving next Sunday for a week of lying in the sun, chilling out, reading trashy magazines and books, eating and drinking, and catching up on sleep, on some exotic island in the South Pacific with 4 girlfriends. They have all been close friends since their first year away at university 17 years ago, and made a pact when they graduated that the year they all turned 35 they would go on a 'girls only' holiday - no husbands, boyfriends, kids or partners. One of them has a sister in the travel industry and she has booked the mystery trip for them. They were told only to take their passports and 'fun in the sun clothes', and will only find out where they're going when they get to the airport! Isn't that a great idea? I'm so jealous.

As I used a rub-on for the sentiment, this card also qualifies for the CAS-ual Friday challenge this week. Cute chair brads, aren't they? The birds are drawn.

Happy first birthday Zoe

2011-07-18T15:33:00.000+12:00

This card is for Zoe, who was one last week. It's going with the strawberry hat that Boris the cat so kindly modelled for me in a post a few days ago.

Welcome Maddy

2011-07-18T15:25:00.000+12:00

This taggy blanket and card are for our friends' new grandchild, Maddy (short for Madeline). The sides are folder in for the photo so you can see the reverse side fabric (a lovely striped fleece) and the blanket is big enough for a carseat cover or stroller, and if she's already got one, then she can keep it for her dolls in a year or two!

Cat in a hat and a funky chair card

2011-07-14T16:28:00.002+12:00

I had all my chair stamps out today and this is what I made. I've had this idea in my head for a long time - it was just a matter of sitting down and playing with the different shapes and sizes so that they'd all fit onto a card. It also works for Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge, and while it probably doesn't fit the "clean & simple/lots of white spaces" format, it is only one layer! It's for a dear friend who let me stay the night at her house last week because it was close to a papercraft show I was going to, and we all know that if you aren't at the door when it opens, you miss all the good deals! (It would've taken me 2 hours to drive there from home.)

I'm no great knitter - just the basics - but I had to upload a pic of a strawberry hat I finished today for a little girl's first birthday gift. It was very much a "hit 'n miss" project, made up as I went along, and the results (if you look very closely!) are evidence of that, but overall I think it's cute and will certainly keep her little head warm on these damp and cold winter days that we're having at the moment. As I had no other models to choose from (M refused my offer. I wonder why???), Boris had to (very reluctantly, as you can see ...) pose for me. Cute eh?

For the cat lovers out there

2011-07-11T13:45:00.000+12:00

The Less Is More challenge this week is for a one layer CAS card starring 'anything with legs', so here's my contribution. I love these Asian styled cat stamps. The cat is colored with black chalk and the rug is hand drawn and stamped after the cat image had been masked.

And as an extra treat today, ta daaa ... our gorgeous grandson, Harper, who was here for the weekend. I took him for a lovely walk in his buggy in the winter sunshine, stopping along the way to talk to our cows, sheep and pigs.

A comfy chair

2011-07-08T22:04:00.002+12:00

It's CAS-ual Fridays time again. Yay!

The weeks are certainly flying by fast, we're into July already, which means we're already heading for summer here in New Zealand. Today our neighbour's sheep had their first babies of the Spring - twins - so I'll try to upload a pic of them here soon. Newborn lambs are soooo cute!

I made this card from a digi stamp from Whimsie Doodles. The knitting needles are made from toothpicks with silver beads on the ends, and yes, I did actually knit a few rows using Baker's Twine. (I was on their DT. Great fun.)

This is the inside.

If you're a big chair stamp fan, as I am, you will find this stamp and shape very useful with all of the wonderful sentiments that go together with chairs, sitting, relaxing, friendship, etc.

A busy day ...

2011-07-05T16:42:00.000+12:00

There are some great new challenges in the Splitcoast CAS forum this week, 22 in fact, so get stamping everyone! I've made these 2 so far, but am all inspired by the many ideas suggested by the design team there, so I'll be back with more cards soon I'm sure.

The 'room' paper background is a free download from this great printable freebie site. It's one of my alltime favorite freebie background sites, but there are so many wonderful papers that you'll definitely need to grab a coffee and be prepared to browse for a long time!

This one is for the 'carnival' challenge. The candyfloss is made by sticking pink Flower Soft onto a scrap of pink card. I used a cut up popsicle stick for the stick part.

This third card was SO much fun to make. I often make cards to order, and this is for a friend of a workmate's of my daughters, who has recently finished many years of studying and gained her Masters Degree. Apparently all she wanted to do after all that hard work was to sit with her partner drinking whiskey and watching the sunset! LOL I can't blame her. Inside is written "cheers". The background is chalked, and the little whiskey bottles are clip art cut-outs.

Blue without you

2011-07-03T11:02:00.000+12:00

The Less Is More challenge this week is to use blue, blue and only blue(s), so here's my contribution. I never get tired of my Papertrey Ink chair stamps. There are so many great sayings that go well with them.

(I think I must stop using this lovely white shimmer cardstock as it doesn't photograph well at all, but I had a pile of it given to me so I should probably try to learn some better photography tricks! Any tips?)

OLW60

2011-07-02T11:46:00.000+12:00

One of my favorite stampers, Susan (Late Blossom), has a weekly 'one layer' challenge on her blog, and there's always wonderful inspiration there every week, both from Susan and from all the other challenge entrants. Here's my card for this week.

One more CAS challenge

2011-06-27T16:00:00.000+12:00

Be sure to check out the Less Is More challenge this week and see what you can do with the sketch. Here's my very simple interpretation. These great little Chinese lanterns are from Impress, who have wonderful clean and neat stamp designs that are great for CAS cards.

Here's an easy and colourful background idea

2011-06-27T12:58:00.000+12:00

I was having a play with background techniques and here's a card using small strips of coloured tissue paper laid onto spritzed glossy card, spritzed again, and then sandwiched between pages in a telephone directory until it had dried. The tissue paper is then peeled off and the dyed background comes out like this. I had hoped for a brighter background as the tissue papers I used were lovely and vibrant, but the dye that comes out of them is obviously a weaker solution. Oh well, it works even if it's not what I'd hoped for.

I went to a big papercraft expo on Friday and picked up some lovely new stamps and 'toys'! LOL This silhouette flower image is one of them, from Montarga, a New Zealand company based in rocking and rolling Christchurch, which sadly is still being all shook up by earthquakes. Poor people - it must be so difficult living there.

OLW59

2011-06-27T09:26:00.000+12:00

It's One Layer #59 time on Susan's blog, and the inspiration this week is so so pretty. Be sure to take a look and play along.

I've always been a big fan of silhouette images - they're so versatile, and although they're usually black of course, layering the inked images gives a little extra dimension and technically adds another colour because of the overlapping of inks.

If I don't have a button in the right colour (which is not often, as I have +++ buttons!), I make my own from cardstock, a circle punch and Dimensional Magic, like this green one.

CAS-ual Friday

2011-06-25T11:51:00.000+12:00

Where has the week gone to? It seems like just yesterday was CAS-ual Friday challenge #7, and here we are at #8 already. I've just made this card for a man's 59th birthday that we're going to tonight. I like the torn card and torn vellum waves, and how they add dimension without being too bulky for a CAS card.

Be sure to visit the CAS-ual Friday blog for lots of torn, ripped or decorative paper edge inspiration.

Cute baby girl

2011-06-21T13:56:00.000+12:00

Friends of ours became grandparents for the first time yesterday, so I made them this card. Quick and easy. The head is a button.

CAS-ual Friday on Tuesday ...

2011-06-21T12:48:00.000+12:00

It's already Tuesday here in NZ, but I'm only now getting around to posting my challenge card for CAS-ual Fridays #7. Be sure to check the website for all the wonderful eye-candy there for this challenge. You will be so inspired.

Thanks for visiting.

I need some of this summertime

2011-06-20T16:19:00.000+12:00

Being the middle of winter here in New Zealand, life is rather damp and cold, so some of this summertime warmth would be most welcome right now. This card is for this week's OLW58 on Susan's Simplicity blog - aqua, yellow and orange.

I got these cute beach chair brads awhile ago from The Eyelet Outlet and haven't had an opportunity to use them before. I punched a large circle and then sponged the inside and added a couple of stamped images. Pretty simple really.

I must also just add ONLY ONE pic of our beautiful grandson, Harper, as they were visiting with us for the weekend. (I could of course post LOTS of pics of him - I took about 200 - but I'll spare you .........! LOL) Sadly they will be moving to Australia in a few months, and we're really going to miss him, but as we moved countries and continents 3 times before we settled here, we can understand why they are looking for new challenges, opportunites and adventures while they are young, and it's only a 2 1/2 hour plane ride away. (I have to keep reminding myself of that fact!)

A special CAS week

2011-06-14T20:04:00.000+12:00

If you're a fan of clean and simple cards, then you definitely need to pop in to the Splitcoast CAS forum, because moi is the Guest Designer for this week. How cool is that? Each week there's a fun new challenge, and as well as the Design Team's take on the inspiration, you and all the other CAS cardmakers out there get to post your card pics in the CAS gallery. If you'd like to take a look at the entire CAS gallery for this week's challenge, go here. This was the challenge inspiration card:

and here are a few of my Guest Designer cards:

Thanks for visiting!

Hopefully I'll be ready to upload some pics of my latest knitting and sewing endeavours in the next few days too.

Monochrome CAS

2011-06-09T10:26:00.000+12:00

I've found another CAS challenge blog, which keeps me inspired to 'keep it simple', and therefore make more cards for the Hospice where my daughter works.

This is for the monochrome challenge on Simply Less Is More blog this week. I love these shell diecuts.

A couple of new cards today

2011-06-07T19:46:00.000+12:00

I played along with the CAS challenge on Splitcoast today with these 2 cards, because I just LOVE puns and wordplay, which was the theme this week. Go and see the CAS122 gallery there and see all the wonderful 'punny' cards.

I used a fabric swatch for the upholstery job! There's also glitter/crystals on the chandelier, but they didn't show up on the pic.

I have so many chair/sofa/furniture stamps and digital stamps, and find them very useful with pertinent sentiments when making little scenes like this.

I hope to post some pics soon of a bit of knitting I've been doing again, after a few weeks of other crafting activities. Harper has grown out of his knitted Ugg Booties already, so I'm making him the next size up, and also another beanie, but this time with very cool earflaps, as he's prone to earache it seems, poor little man.

One Layer Wednesday (on Sunday)

2011-06-05T20:19:00.000+12:00

Here's a very quick Father's Day card for the OLW56 challenge on Susan's "Simplicity" blog. Be sure to visit there and see all the great One Layer and CAS cards that Susan creates daily, and join her weekly One Layer challenge too.

The chair is a digi and the woodgrain floor is from Impress. The words are computer generated.

(Miss you, Dad xxx)

You are my sunshine

2011-06-04T21:43:00.001+12:00

Here's my contribution. I love my multiblade scissors that cut such perfect grass and sunbeams like this!

This is the sketch, which could be used any which way you pleased, so I did it upside down! And here is where you go to take part in the challenge and see all the great ideas offered by other challengers.

Take a look and join the fun with a card of your own.

Bits and pieces

2011-06-03T12:55:00.000+12:00

Here are a few assorted pics from my week that's coming to an end.

A card for the Splitcoast CAS challenge this week, to use pleated or ruffled ribbon.

My deer and moose faux taxidermy heads are selling like hot cakes. Here are some of the ones I made this week.

And last but by no means least, our beautiful grandson, Harper, who is almost 7 months old now. Isn't he adorable? I took these pics when we visited him yesterday, and must say thanks to Grandpa who was dancing like a maniac behind me, which is what Harper found so amusing!

It's a long weekend coming up here, so to my NZ friends, enjoy the break. Hope this miserable weather improves!

More CAS-es

2011-05-30T15:33:00.000+12:00

I've been playing along with the DT search on the CAS DT challenge board on Splitcoast this past week, and have made this card for the final round. This was the inspiration:

and this was my interpretation, using the colours rather than any specific item.

I also made this one in the same vein, but felt it was a bit too 'busy' for a CAS card, but like it all the same. The vases are punches (the yellow one is the same as the red one, only turned upside down).

Go here to the challenge gallery to see the other lovely cards made using this colour pallette, and leave some love!

Other creations

2011-05-22T21:12:00.000+12:00

I was deleting and cleaning up some old picture files and thought I'd share some pics I found of other creations I've made in the past, as I've added a "Jewellery I've made" label to my sidebar and it was looking a bit empty and lonely!

My "button" phase .............

My fabric scrap brooch phase ..........

Mojo-challenging

2011-05-21T19:27:00.005+12:00

I've been pushing myself to enter more challenges lately, as it gets the old creative juices flowing and gives my time playing at my desk more of a focus. Don't misunderstand me though - I still spend a lot of time at my desk "out of focus", just playing for playing's sake. Lately my playing has involved a lot of cards for the Hospice where my daughter works, which I really enjoy as there are no rules other than my own.

Getting back to challenges though ...

the CAS-ualfridays blog challenge #3 right now is to make a CAS card using bling. This is what I made today for a friend who asked me to make her a wedding card. The colours are slightly distorted, but the card itself is a pale green and the pearlised paper of the dress really stands out IRL. The heads are oval shaped half-pearls, and there are rhinestone "bling" on the bouquet, head-dress and on the groom's shirt (buttons).

This is a card for the Splitcoast CAS challenge for the week. Take a look at all the lovely summery/beach cards in the gallery for this challenge. I really enjoy using solid background stamps like this one for setting a scene. (Here is a set of cards I had published last year using the same technique.)

Have a great weekend everyone.

How nice ...

2011-05-17T17:02:00.000+12:00

I'm so glad I found this CAS-ual Fridays blog.

Here's a card that fits the bill ...

And while browsing through the wonderful gallery there, I found this link to another blog where there's a long list of challenge sites to get you inspired when the mojo is low on gas, like mine gets regularly. Have fun!

CAS cards

2011-05-17T14:54:00.001+12:00

CAS (Clean & Simple) cards are often what I aim for, but sometimes the old urge to "add" instead of "subtract" overwhelms me and I go over the CAS edge! I'm sure I'm not alone. Anyway, first up here are 2 genuine CAS cards for the CAS challenge on Splitcoast.

And this one was for the Splitcoast CAS challenge last week (a new home card).

While talking about CAS cards, have you seen this new (to me anyway) blog? Check it out. There are some wonderful CAS ideas there.