Another Change up......

Here is another 'old faithful' card that I have done a couple of times. I originally saw it on SCS here. So I attempted it here...

here....

and here...

Now, as crafters......we NEVER EVER make random or impulse purchases...do we??? (and we all know the answer to that one!!) Well, about a month or so ago I was walking through Alice In Paperland and saw this beautiful Japanese oragami paper. The vibrancy of the colour immediately hit me and the possibilities of card options rapidly flicked through my brain. So... after a couple of hit an misses regarding colour similarities....I came up with this....

I was so very happy with the final result. Given the intricacy of the Japanese paper I decided to not add the ribbon (that and the fact that I had SOOOOOOOO much trouble colouring white satin ribbon with Kiwi Kiss reinker).

Hope you like this 'impulse' card. I am working on another card with this paper and some of my trusty old punches that I hope to get finished soon.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Mellow Moss, Night of Navy, Brocade Blue, Lavender Lace, Elegant Eggplant, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White.

Ink: (SU) Night of Navy, Elegant Eggplant, Riding Hood Red.

Stamps: (SU) Eastern Blooms, Linen BGS.

Other bits: Japanese Oragami Paper, Dimensionals (SU), Happy Birthday Rub-ons

Lynda xx

For a Friend

This continues the run of female birthdays I have. Debbie is a great gal who owns and manages the local Riot Art and Craft Shop....so I do spend a LOT of time in the shop. Deb is a great fan of nature, so this card was perfect to suit her likes.

I also got a beautiful bracelet for her and made an Oragami Box (similar to the ones used in Fantasy Boxes) and I did it in black, white and red.

 

I love the way the punch worked on the edge of the red card stock and the black satin ribbon just finished it off perfectly. It's so much fun when you can make your own packaging......and the person receiving it appreciates it just as much.

Stuff used

Card: (SU) Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DSP, Bright Red (non SU) and SU Basic Black for base of box.

Ink: (SU) Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Versamark

Stamp Set: (SU) Great Friend, Best Yet

Punches: (SU) Scallop Border Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, EK Parisian Border Punch

Other: SU Dimensionals, Doodlebug Designs Paper - 1433 "White Devine" for lid of box, black sarin ribbon fm stash

Lynda xx

Communing with Nature..... Swap Sisters Challenge #4

Surprise....2 posts in one day......get comfy ladies....LOL!!!

On Swap Sisters (a wonderful crafting community) we were set the challenge this week of " incorporating a 3D item of nature into our project, together with a 'nature' themed stamp image." It could be a card, scrapbook page or 3D item. So.....after my usual force 10 procrastination storm...and a massive cry...cause my backyard has nothing but WEEDS in it....I had a BIG think. The challenge also stated "Remember, the idea of these Challenges is for you to try something that you might not have tried, work with medium that you would not normally, and to make you think outside the box."

Basic thought process...hmmmmm...nature..garden...plants....bugs....and so on and so forth. I also raided my file of things I have saved and not yet tried.....then it hit me...BAM...Like the smell of fresh manure in the garden....LOL!!! What else do you find in a garden....a Watering Can!!! On SCS sometime ago...they had these too cute watering cans here. So I had the seeds of an idea.

Here is the finished item.

Oh yeah, The 3D item is Lavender (thanks so much Steve for letting me raid your garden!!)

I must admit....a happy dance was undertaken when I had finished this. It is so very different from anything I have done before...so definitely outside my own creative box!! The other thing was I USED PINK!!!!! Those who know me well know that this is a stretch for me. I stamped the Sanded BGS in Versamark to give the can a little texture, the stamped off both Pink Pirouette and Lovely Lilac with the Pocket Silhouettes Set. The cute butterfly and snail are from Garden Whimsy.

Thanks to Swap Sisters for creatively making me feel uncomfortable....it was fun!!

Stuff used (all SU)
CS: Pink Pirouette, Whisper White
Stamps: Sanded BGS, Pocket Silhouettes, Garden Whimsy
Inks: Pink Pirouette, Lovely Lilac, Versamark, Certainly Celery.
Bits: Dimensionals, Lavender (dah!!)..non SU

Lynda xx

Another Easel....

Yes....I did it again.....another easel card....and again with the Great Friend set. My friend from my Nursing University recently turned 40, so I thought that it warranted something special. We hardly see eachother much anymore, but we text eachother on those special life events. Here's Helen's card...

Now I also have a confession.....over the next couple of posts you'll notice this particular layout and colour combo a couple of times. You see I have a HEAP of female birthdays coming up and I have just tweaked the sentiment slightly for all of them. This however was the only easel card of the bunch. I think I am also getting use to using DSP as an accent and I love this Bella Rose. Makes colour choice soooooooo easy.

Stuff used:

Card: (SU) Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DSP

Ink: (SU) Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Versamark

Stamp Set: (SU) Great Friend, Best Yet

Punches: (SU) Scallop Border Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

Other: SU Dimensionals, Gold number stickers fm stash

Lynda xx

Shades of Grey II

You may recall the original card I did a couple of posts back here. Well....I finally got to finish the similar card to it (basically all the same bar the sentiment). Here's the result....

I still think I like the squarish sentiment, but at least I have another card for my stash!!

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Basic Grey, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Grey (Pretty Patterns II pack)
Ink: (SU) Basic Grey
Punches: (SU) Large and Small Oval Punch
Stamps: (SU) Great Friend
Bits: (SU) 1/4 " Black grosgrain ribbon, adhesive rhinestones fm stash, CP1 - 1/4 " circle (for the corner things)

Lynda xx

One from the Vault.....

For those of you who aren't aware, before I found stamps as a creative outlet, I was a Punch Art fiend!! I found great fascination and inspiration (mainly thru Punch Art books) punching out different shapes of paper, trimming here and there, and making something totally different. I actually first came into contact with SU through their punches.....and from there...well you pretty much know the story...LOL!!

I made this card nearly 3 years agao at my first Craft Camp. I was the only "Puncher" there and I was a wee daunted, as I saw stampers churn out card after card with seeming lightning speed whilst I patiently punched and stuck. I must have created SOME curiosity though....cause those same stampers kept coming by my table to see how the card was progressing. I think after all the punch cards I have done over the years, this is still the BEST one I have ever produced. There are over 50 separate punched and cut pieces in this pattern, but I hope you agree that is was worth the blood sweat and tears.

Behold....Ballet Bear!!!

I am NOT gunna list all the punches used as there are WAY too many it's not funny!!

I plan to share some of my other "Vault" creations with you over the coming months.

Have fun...and punch...some paper today....it's a lot of fun!!!!

Bits you need to know:

Ballet Bear Pattern adapted from "Let's Punch Again" by Elizabeth Woolnough

Lynda xx

Variation on a theme....

Again....I have a card I love to do that is very versatile. I first saw a similar card on SCS here and here.....and this is the first time I did it. It uses the beautiful Soft Summer (2 step stamping) set fm SU. This was my version of it..

Then a friend of mine saw this and asked if I could do a card for his Mum from his 2 sons because there were no cards he could find with "Nan" on them, so I did this....

Lastly, I had a friend have a nasty altercation with an insect, resulting in a serious allergic reaction....so I sent her this.....

I love the different feel of the cards in different colours. What do you think?? I actually had a MASSIVE play with my Stamp and Write markers and have come up with all sorts of colour combos for the same layout. Add a sentiment and your good to go.

If you like something...change the colour and see what happens. Brighten someone's day.

Stuff used:
Card: (SU) Rose Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie.
Markers/Inks: (SU) Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Summer Sun,Versamark
Stamp Sets: (SU) Soft Summer, Best Yet.
Punches: (SU) Scallop Oval , Large Oval, Eyelet Border Punch.
Bits: SU dimensionals, Upkit gold alphabet and "happy birthday" stickers.

Lynda xx

Bad Blogger I know....

Hey all!!! I am just popping in to say I have not dropped off the face of the earth.....but almost sunk into it!!! With all the incredible weather we have in Sydney over the past 2 or so weeks....things have been manic. Things HAVE been created, but have not been able to been photographed due to horrid wind and rain, then there's the whole "house-like-a-Chinese-laundry" look!!!! Oh how I ache to hang clothes outside!!

Long story short....all of this chaos culminated in a massive storm last Friday (12th Feb) in which we received a HUGE amount of rain in a very short amount of time. Our covered back porch got soaked to the point where hubby and I were frantically moving flat packed furniture....which in ANY other circumstance would have been fine.....got drenched and the boxes started to disintegrate!! We were so very filthy and wet with lightning and thunder putting on a teriffic overhead show. The sky-light also sprung a leak and the water from the back awining, which was like a waterfall onto the grass, backed up and came down between the awning and the house!!! So I have been cleaning up and plugging stuff so it DON'T happen again...LOL!! Thankfully the damage was minimal, but there was soooooooo much grit/dirt/mud generated it was ridiculous!!

Now.....at least for today the sun is out, projects have been photographed and will be posted very soon and washing is on the clothes line!!!! Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Love and hugs,

Lynda xx

Shades of Grey

When my mojo gets a wee BLAH..(and whose wouldn't in the weird weather we have had in Sydney of late!!) I cruise SCS when looking for ideas or applications of bits I have aquired. I was blessed enough recently to win the ESAD Summer Mini blog Hop. As a result of that, I received amongst some other beautiful things fom Nicole Derendorf some SU DSP (Patters Pack II). It is 6 x 6 gorgeous papers in a range of colours. One of them being Basic Grey...a colour I am still very much getting use to.

Anyhow...long story short...I found this on SCS

....and I cam up with this.....

Given that the majority of angles in the card were square or rectangular (do you thing I over-thought that a bit too much??), I changed the scallop circle for that of a hand cut rectangle. I also have done one with an oval greeting, but it is sitting in bits at the mo....awaiting its assembly!! I love the fact it has a monotone feel (yes I am aware there are 3 tones used!!) and I also used RIBBON!!!! Woo hoo!! Thanks to Nicole for giving me some stuff that put me out of my comfort box and using a colour I'm not that familiar with.

Hope your mojo is on full thrusters and I'll catch you again soon.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Basic Grey, basic black, Whisper White, Basic Grey (Pretty Patterns II pack)

Ink: (SU) Basic Grey

Stamps: (SU) Great Friend

Bits: (SU) 1/4 " Black grosgrain ribbon, adhesive rhinestones fm stash, CP1 - 1/4 " circle (for the corner things) .

Lynda xx

I Pimped My Own Card!!!!

Over the coming weeks I will show you some versatile layouts or cards that with a tweak (aka to the hip crowd and young folk as "pimping") here or there can make an amazing difference.
I found this card on SCS some time ago and thought it a great layout for a masculine card. So with it I did this

then this.....

and then pimped it slightly again and did this....

Whether I changed the colour palate or added a sentiment...each was a smidge different. Then...at 3AM a week or so back (cause yeah...that's when ur brain is turning to crafty ideas....) I had the idea for a colour combo of River Rock and Chocolate Chip. From that early morning epiphany...came this incarnation of the same idea....

Based on the same premise of the birthday card I did for my Dad a couple of posts back (here) I used the SU Weathered BGS to do the base, then stamped the "flourish" over the top. I was sooooooooo happy with the look. I then decided to add a sentiment. I used the FAB Amy R "Birthday Sentiments" set and the SU word window punch. I also used a narrower ribbon. I am still amazed at how different this card looks compared to its original predecessor.

Stuff used:

CS: (SU) Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke, Night of Navy, River Rock (now retired).

Ink: As above.

Paper: (SU) Windsor Knot DSP, Holiday Harmony (now retired), Blue generic (fm stash), Gold Stardream.

Stamps: Carte Postale (SU), Amy R - Birthday Sentiments.

Other: SU Word Window Punch, SU Choc Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, other brown, olive and navy ribbons fm stash.

If you have a fave fall back card...see what you can do to pimp it up a bit.

Lynda xx

Just Chillin'...

I have a special card to share today. To say that my cousin's daughter (woo hoo Rhiannon!!!) has had her fair share of ups and downs...we'll that'd be a gross understatement. 14 years on, we are blessed to have her still with us and I doff my cap to Sas (her mum and my cuz). Rhiannon has many special needs, so with that in mind, every birthday I wanna create something for her that she will enjoy. Touch and colour are very important in Rhiannon's wold, so with that in mind...I made her this....

If anyone is aware of who the credit should go to for this original idea, please let me know. I have had it in my crypt for many years, but it only saw the light of day recently.

To get the texture in the card I dragged out my trusty Cuttlebug and used the Swiss Dots for the background and then after cutting the triangles for the cones, used the Branches folder to get a waffle kinda feel. Very happy with the way it turned out!!

The ice cream is done with the SU Scallop Circle Punch (x2) and then followed the arch around to get the 'scoop'. I carried the polka dots through from the background in the paper which I got fm a bargain stack I got from Big W of all places.

These are so easy and so very effective, why don't you give one a go?

Stuff used:

Card: Purple Optix, Generic White, DCWV Jewel (white core textured paper), brown paper - unknown

Stamp: (SU) Short and Sweet

Ink: Versa Colour - 157 "Amethyst"

Punches: (SU) Scallop Circle, Word Window, Carla Craft CP1 - 1/4" Circle (for the corners)

Other bits: C'bug Embossing folders Branches and Swiss Dots, Lilac ribbon fm stash, Bazzil Basics Designer brads

Lynda xx

Another First!!

The delightful Cheryl received the Happy 101 Award....and then kindly forwarded it onto me!! This is the first 'award' I have received as a blogger...so thanks very much Cheryl!!

I have to list 10 things that I like....here goes...
1. Laughter...without it the world would be a very different place.
2. Creativity...either within myself or admiring it in others...it is amazing!!
3. My kids...constant source of joy and pain, but life would be dull without them.
4. Hubby (just in case he reads this!!)...see same reason as above!!
5. Nursing...one thing I am passionate about, brings new challenge everyday.
6. Coffee....preferably HOT....unfortunately over the years have learnt to drink it at other temps too (ik!!)
7. Dance..doing it or watching it..it's another passion!!
8. Papercraft...stopped my other crafty ambitions...but it's all part of the journey ain't it??
9. Friends...vital part of life. They inspire me to undertake and do other things I have listed.
10. Colour...since crafting...I have looked at things is a new light...and it's been fun.....with the exception of one colour...that I will tolerate only....lol!!!

I also have to pass this onto 3 other bloggers.....and as Cheryl and I follow a lot of the same people around e-land.....I'm gunna try and spread the LURVE. So I bestowith the Happy 101 Award upon....

Andrea
Tanya
Kez
So ladies...it's all yours...ENJOY!!

I'll be back very soon with another fun creation. Create, live, laugh and enjoy til then.

Lynda xx