Freshly Made #70

Hi there

It is has been a lovely mild Australia Day long weekend here in Melbourne.  However, as I listen to the radio,  my thoughts have been with those elsewhere on the eastern seaboard battling bushfires and heartbreaking floods once again.  Nature can be beautiful and extreme.

Today I have a card for this week's Freshly Made Sketch #70, using some more of the new goodies from the Seasonal Mini Catalogue that commences on 1 February, 2013 - that's less than one week away! It's a great sketch this week from Rita.

I have used another pair of designer papers from the new 'Print Poetry' paper stack. If this is the only thing you purchase from the new Seasonal Mini Catalogue, you will have a wealth of options for cardmaking.  The co-ordinating colours for this pair are Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, a touch of Gumball Green and I've used some Marina Mist as well.

The other new item is the lovely Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim that is made up of soft organza rolled flowers on a netting base.  You can use it in a strip as a trim or as I have done by trimming off the individual flowers and clustering them together.  I love the softness and it is only about 1/4" high.

 

For the inside, I have used the 'Everything Eleanor' stamp set  to continue the floral theme.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Everything Eleanor, Vintage Verses (2013 Sale-a-bration)
Card stock & Papers	Midnight Muse, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Gumball Green, Print Poetry Paper Stack, In Colour Pattern Stack
Ink	Midnight Muse, Crumb Cake
Accessories	Basic Pearls, Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim
Tools	Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Little Leaves Sizzlit, Scribbles Swirls Sizzlit (retired), Finishing Touches Edgelit, Big Shot, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Doily Lace punch (not SU), Dimensionals, Tombow glue

Thanks for looking!

ETA:  Thank you to Linda C for choosing this card as a 'Perfect Princess' this week.

Merry Monday #46

Hi there

It was another hot day in Melbourne today, perfect for staying indoors and crafting.  I  have a Christmas card for this week's Merry Monday #46 challenge 'For the Birds', which is to use birds on your card.

I decided to pull out my neglected Bird Builder punch for this one.  I have paired this with the Holiday Frame embossing folder that I haven't used before and the scallop heart from the  new 'Hearts a Flutter' framelit dies that will be in the new mini catalogue to be released on 1 February.

To add some sparkle, I lightly brayered Versamark ink over the raised area and then heat embossed with Irridescent Ice embossing powder.  Here is a view taken from above, that gives more of an idea of what it looks like.  I also embossed the bird's wing. It took me a while to work out how to create the dimensional sentiment banner, but I was happy with it in the end.

Here is a close-up for a better view of the sparkle.  This is one of those times when a photograph cannot subsitute for seeing it in real life.

I have decorated the inside with the lovely pine tree from the 'Lovely as a Tree' stamp set, adding some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the tree with a glue pen.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Lovely as a Tree, Four the Holidays (retired)
Card stock & Papers	Whisper White, Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green, Silver Glimmer paper
Ink	Raspberry Ripple, Gumball Green
Accessories	Basic Rhinestones, Raspberry Ripple Stitched Satin ribbon
Tools	Lacy Brocade Embossing folder, Swiss Dots Embossing folder, Holiday Frame Embossing Folder, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Big Shot, Bird Builder punch,  Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Irridescent Ice embossing powder, Heat gun, Glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Early Espresso marker, Dimensionals

 If you got this far, thanks for looking!

Seize the Birthday #2 Masculine

Hi there

After making 2 masculine cards already this week, I almost wussed out of the Seize the Birthday #2 Challenge, which is making a masculine card with this sketch:

However, I pulled out my trusty 'Open Seas' stamp set to come up with this card. I have brayered Crumb Cake ink onto the Woodgrain embossing folder and then embossed the Sahara Sand card stock to achieve what I hope is a drift wood-looking panel.  I have also added some clouds to the ocean scene by masking off the ship and stamping with a cloud background stamp (not SU).

So far I have managed to keep my New Year crafting resolution to finish the inside of the card when I make it.  It is early days, but putting it here to show you will help me to keep on the straight and narrow!  It is actually easier to do it when you have all of the bits and pieces to hand.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Open Seas, Perfectly Penned, It's Your Day (Retired), Cloud Background (not SU),
Card stock & Papers	Midnight Muse, Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Confetti White (retired), In Colour Pattern Stack, Nautical Expedition DSP (retired)
Ink	Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Midnight Muse, Bashful Blue
Accessories	Linen Thread
Tools	Woodgrain & Square Lattice embossing folders, Oval Nestabilities, Bitty Banner Framelits, Big Shot,  Dimensionals, Sponge daubers, Brayer, Stampamajig

Thanks for stopping by.

Still AddINKtive Challenge #2

Hi there

After expressing my uncertainty about Summer Starfruit a while back, here is the second card in 2 days that features this colour.  Plus, another masculine card (well, at least I think it is) for my stash. The challenge at Still AddINKtive was a combination of sketch and/or colour challenge. I have kind of done both, although the centre panel isn't square, the card base is. I have used the lovely 'Serene Silhouettes' stamp set for the first time and created the background using a combination of brayer and mask for the hills and then sponging for the sky.  I wanted to create something very natural looking - not sure that I have succeeded, but I do quite like Summer Starfuit and Tempting Turquoise together.  I have kept the rest of the card plain to keep  focus on the centre panel.

I have decorated the inside simply, using another of the tree stamps from 'Serene Silhouettes' in Chocolate Chip which was clear embossed. Both of these images are great for masculine cards.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Serene Silhouettes, On Your Birthday (Retired)
Card stock & Papers	Chocolate Chip, Summer Starfruit, Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake Textured (Retired), Whisper White, In Colour Patterns Stack
Ink	Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Starfruit, Basic Black
Accessories	Brights buttons, Linen Thread
Tools	Itty Bitty Banner Framelits, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampamajig, Brayer, Inkssentials sponge applicator, Glue dots, Clear embossing powder, Heat gun

Thanks for looking!

Freshly Made #69

Hi there

It is a gorgeously cool and sunny day here in Melbourne.  So nice after the recent heat.  Today I have a bold masculine card for you based on this week's Freshly Made #69 sketch from Linda. I was inspired by some of the products I was able to preorder from the new Seasonal Catalogue that commences on 1 February 2013.  Lots of yummy things in there to get you inspired.  This is Linda's sketch.
The DSP is from a new paper stack called 'Print Poetry', which has a fabulous selection of small prints perfect for card making.  I love that there is so little waste with these new paper stacks.  The spotted paper with Midnight Muse, Marina Mist, Summer Starfruit, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla caught my eye and I decided to (voluntarily!) make a masculine card.  I have paired it with Midnight Muse embossed with the Chevron folder.  The embossing folder was brayered with Midnight Muse ink first, which gives an extra dimension to the end result.

The centre frame is from the new 'Just Thinking' single stamp.  It has a lovely friendship sentiment in the centre, but not what I wanted for a masculine card, so I have replaced it with one from the 'Word Play' stamp set.  The other new item is the big bold silver metal buttons that I have 'threaded' with narrow strips of cardstock.

For the inside of the card, I have used the 'Up, Up & Away' stamp set as I think it pairs well with the 'wish big' sentiment.

 

Project Details
Stamps	Just Thinking (New), Word Play, Up, Up & Away
Card stock & Papers	Summer Starfruit, Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry Paper Stack (New), In Colour Pattern Stack
Ink	Midnight Muse, Marina Mist, Summer Starfruit, Soft Suede
Accessories	Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin ribbon, Designer Silver Basics Buttons (New)
Tools	Window Frames Framelits, Chevron Embossing Folder, Finishing Touches Edgelits, Circle Nestabilities, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampamajig, Sponge dauber, Glue dots

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend.

ETA:   Thank you to Linda C for choosing this card as a Perfect Princess this week.