Stampin for the weekend

Hooray!!!

A pocket card, I forgot all about these. I can remember the first time I made one at a SU workshop and I thought they were fabulous but then I forgot all about them. I think they are a super idea for a gift voucher. I have put a bookmark in my second pocket as I thought it would be good to give with a bookstore voucher. I have been waiting to use these Pink Flamingo papers from SU but didn't know how to put them together with anything, so as you can tell I'm all around excited about this challenge at STampin for the Weekend. Hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I have.

Amanda

Embellishment Challenge at Stamp Something

Over at Stamp Something they are using embellishments, at least three on their cards this week. I started with my olive green card and dotty paper to do a sketch challenge but it wouldn't happen for me. I'd also planned these colours for a male card, but as you can see that didn't happen either. So I was so glad when I went to Stamp Something and saw their challenge and Inspiration, it gave me hope again that these colours were not ready to be given up on. I have used brads, button and ribbon for my embellishments (everytime I go to type this word I think ooh I should check if I'm spelling it correctly but I don't so hope it is right) and have used a stamp set borrowed from Alicia.

I'm really not loving these cards at the moment but they are growing on me. What do you think?

Amanda

Sketch Saturday

Hello,

I started this card yesterday for Sketch Saturday , it is a very good sketch but I had trouble trying to finish it, I didn't want to cover anymore patterns of the paper so I have used these as part of the sketch. I got these stamps Dad's Day sent to me last week so I thought I better try to make a few Father's Day cards. I find it really challenging to create male cards, is this so for everybody? THe card I have used is from SU basic black, only orange and glorious green. The paper is called Suprise party from Moxxie. Time for me to check out some blogs before I try creating again.

Amanda

Truly Scrumptious Sketch

Hello, I jumped on a link last night on one of the blogs I follow, which led me to Truly Scrumptious Challenges. They had a sketch to follow which I thought would be perfect for my papers. I bought these papers yesterday at a craft store in Helensvale because I was in the mood to create boy cards and some older male cards. I thought this robot paper was quite cute, it is from kaisercraft. The only thing that would not match these papers was the flowers on the sketch so I changed it to circles, hope this is ok. I am trying to balance my free time at the moment between finishing a good book or making cards. I love holidays.
Enjoy, Amanda

Colour Create and Cute Card Thursday Combined

Tonight I was thinking about making a baby card for Alisa's baby shower on Sunday but had no energy or creative juices flowing. I decided to go blogging instead when I checked out
colour create the colour combo definately said Alisa's shower card as she is having twins, one of each a boy and girl. I have used SU card whisper white, pretty in pink, bashful blue and green gable. The extra challenge was to add buttons, these are from spotlight, the colours match well. I also went to Cute Card Thursday who had Wheely good fun, for their challenge so I have embossed prams with my cuttlebug. I am off now to read before I go to bed, with only one more working day until holidays. Hooray!!

Winter Wonderland- Blue Christmas

Winter Wonderland is asking for blue CHristmas cards this week and I think I'm beginning to like these colours for Christmas more than the traditional red and green. I have been blog hopping all the Christmas cards over at Winter Wonderland and I love all the different ideas for Chrissy cards, I would never of thought of. I still have to take a look at this challenge so hopefully tonight I will. I have used SU card bashful blue, brilliant blue and whisper white. I have stamped versamark snowflakes on the light side and pacific point on white.My stamps are from tags and more and short and sweet. Hope you have a great day

Amanda

WE fish you a happy birthday

Ok, so I am in love with this fish stamp at the moment, I really need to give it back to Denise. This is my Inspirational Card Sketches challenge this week. THey have a really interesting sketch using a circle window in it. This is my first attempt at a window card and I must say I enjoyed it. I think I will try to be a bit more adventurous this weekend and see if I can do some more. I have used SU fishy friends stamps, bold brights tempting turquoise, brilliant blue card. and coloured in with bold bright markers. I have cuttlebugged bubbles again but don't worry this is my last piece I saved in blue card. Amanda

Sketch Saturday

Well I had alot of fun with this sketch challenge for Sketch Saturday. Denise lent me her stamps from SU because as soon as I used this cuttlebug folder I wanted fish stamps. It reminds me of bubbles in the water. I have used all Stampin Up card in bold brights and have coloured image with bold bright markers. I love these fishy friends stamps but I think their retired so I can not get them anymore. Off I go now to get ready for work and kids to school, Only three more days to holidays,YIPPEE!!!

Amanda

colour create

Colour create has a fruit challenge, Strawberry, Raspberry, kiwi, tangerine and blackberry. I thought this colour challenge called for bright colours so I have used SU real red, gable green, only orange and basic black. My stamps are from the cheers for you set, the drink has fruit, I wonder if this counts. I have also added glitter from SU to the cocktail, mmmmm if only it wasn't a Monday night.
Cheers to you all
Amanda

Stamp Something - One for Dad

THe challenge at Stamp Something is black, white and another colour. I have seen alot of cards for Dad's on the blogs lately I think it is Father's Day today in some places but in Australia it is not until September. I was going to enter some of the dad card challenges but found it too hard now my Dad isn't here anymore, but than I thought I'd make one with things about him on it.
Ok. I will now tell you about my card. I have used Black and White stripe paper because his favourite AFL football team is Collingwood Magpies and they wear the striped black and white Jersey. THe diamonds in the embossing and the black diamonds which are overlapped are to represent chainwire fencing, this is the wire with the interlocking diamonds you see on tennis courts and security fencing. Dad did fencing for trade. I have added yellow as my colour through lightly printed daffodils. Daffodils always remind me of my Dad, I remember when I was young him telling me they were his favourite flowers because they his mum loved them. They now remind me of him in another way as Dad lost his battle with cancer last year on August 22nd which was Daffodil Day. Daffodil Day is for cancer, you can buy daffodil merchandise and daffodils throughout the month of August to raise much needed funds. If your interested in learning more about it here is the link http://www.daffodilday.com.au/About.htm. Lastly my stamped message Always on my mind - forever in my heart are just the perfect words to share with my Dad.
Amanda

Cute Card Thursday

Another early morning and the rain is pouring down

I am posting the card I made yesterday for

Cute Card Thursday. THere challenge is TAg- you're it. I have used stampin Up products in Real Red, Pixie Pink and DP Bella Rose. I am loving these Bella Rose papers they are so pretty. I have made this card for a girl but I think I am going to copy it and make another using male colours if I get time today. I have one more post to do straight after this one and am going to make yummy hot breakky.

Amanda

ICS sketch

I spent my Friday afternoon cleaning the whole house so I wouldn't feel guilty sitting here crafting this morning and I am so glad I did. This morning I woke to the sound of pouring rain and thought what a perfect day for making cards. This afternoon I will be helping my friend Lucinda who is now a Stampin Up demonstrator at a big workshop for seventeen people and then we are all off to Natalie's to help make wedding booklets for her sister, which Lucinda designed. I made this card for Inspirational Card Sketches using my Summer by the Sea SU stamps. I have used all SU with this card. Choc Chip, whisper white card, Pumpkin Pie Papers and same colours in ink. I have coloured in with watercolour pencils and blender pen. Hope you like it.

Amanda

Mojo MOnday and Creative Card Crew

Today I have done a double challenge for Creative Card Crew it was black, white and one other colour. I used pink passion from SU but the colour in this photo looks quite dull, it is a very bright pink. I have followed the sketch #91 from Mojo Monday. I have used black and white papers from Bella, THrive and Dandy.

Thanks Alicia for showong me how to link the blog with the name, let's see if it works.

Amanda

Winter Wonderland - Let It Snow

I had alot of fun again creating a Christmas card for the Let It Snow Challenge at Winter Wonderland http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com/. I had a swap of cuttlebug folders with Alicia and I thought this was just perfect for snow. I have used my snowman from SU tags and more again so this time I teamed him up with the traditional Christmas colours red and green, or to be exact SU kiwi kiss and real red cardstock. I love having this Christmas challenge blog, it brings a little hint of that excitement you feel as Christmas gets closer.
Amanda

Creative Card Crew -Challenge

Well today we have been off toy store shopping to spend our birthday money and vouchers because it simply has to be spent the first minute we get it. Not to mention Nanny always has to buy them whatever they look at when she takes them shopping and I'm not allowed argue with my mum. So after both girls being spoilt although only one of them is having their birthday we have not heard a peep out of them since we got home, which gives me a chance for a quick post before we take our dog for a walk and play in the park.I had another bright early one this morning so I created a card for the CCC geometric challenge. I chose my paper first which was east coast prep from stampin up(now retired) and then decided to go a diamond theme to compliment it. I have used Cheers to you stamps from SU, and cardstock more mustard and real red. Take a look at this challenge at http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.com/ they have some great inspiration.
Amanda

Combined Digi stamp and sketch challenge

I can't believe I got to make a card today, I didn't think I would get any card making time in this weekend as my mum arrived last night to stay with us until Wednesday and I didn't want to be off crafting and not keep her company. But as usual I wake up way before everybody in the house and crept quietly into the craft room. I was stuck between challenges because I so wanted to do both challenges set for the weekend, the first one was use a digistamp challenge set by http://stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com/ and also the sketch at http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/ . Knowing my limited time I tried to combine both and this is what I came up with. I have used Spaceman Josh from digi stamp boutique and have used cardstock whisper white, brilliant blue and green galore from SU. I have not had time to post it until tonight as I have had a very exciting day. My daughter turns seven on Monday and today we had her and her best friends birthday party at a local cabaret restaurant called Dracula's. It is well known for its popular nighttime stage shows and dinner but on a Saturday they do a Drax for Kids birthday party with a tamer kids version stage show. It was alot of fun and really enjoyable. She has been hypo all day and is finally exhausted and ready for bed. So I better go and tuck her in, I hope all the children that came sleep well with no spooky dreams.
Amanda

Mojo Monday #90

Hello, it is nice to have my card making bug back, I had lost it for a few days but now I'm sure it's back to stay a while. This is my sketch for MojO Monday sketch#90. Have a look at http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/. I cannot seem to move away from red, I started this card with a green card base but changed it back to a red one after an opinion from my daughters. It is good to get their take on my cards sometimes they come up with ideas that work really well.
For this card I have used all Stampin Up except the ribbon. Cardstock in colours real red, ruby red, kiwi kiss and whisper white. Bella Rose papers ans stamps botanical blooms and short and sweet. Inks pixie pink and real red. Thanks for looking at my card, I am off to look at some other blogs now.
Amanda

Winter Wonderland- Frosty the Snowman

Great New Challenge Blog- Winter Wonderland

While I was looking at a few of my favourite blogs I jumped on a link at kazabing's bloghttp://cozy-frog.blogspot.com/ called Winter Wonderland a Christmas Challenge Blog. What a fantastic idea!!! I am ready to start making some Christmas cards and would love the inspiration of a new challenge for it each week to keep me on track. THis week their challenge is a Christmas carol, I have decided on Frosty the Snowman because my last beautiful dog I had was a Christmas present and we called him Frosty(he didn't look anything like a snow dog he was a black and white border collie). I have used CS whisper white and basic blue from stampin up also stamps short & sweet and tags and more. If you want to follow this great new blog the link is http://christmasblogchallenge.blogspot.com/ . Enjoy the challenge and start counting down the weeks till Christmas.

Amanda

Card Patterns Sketch 18

I made a love card tonight following the sketch at card patterns

http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/2009/06/card-patterns-sketch-18_06.html . I have a new love in my life it is called a cuttlebug. How awesome is this little machine, I was trying to create cards but I just couldn't resist cuttlebugging every piece of card near me. It's so easy to use, I am so impressed. Anyway that is the reason for my very plain image, I had planned to practice some water colouring on a retired set of stamps- Summer by the Sea-Stampin Up which I received in the post from Tina http://www.tinadickman.com/ today but went cuttlebug crazy. I have used real red and whisper white card from stampin up and some fine supanova glitter from SU as well. I guess you already know what I did with the backgroung card.... that's right, Cuttlebug. I'm off for an early night now, hope you enjoy this challenge.

Amanda

Something Old, Something New and a sketch challenge Too.

Well, I had planned not to create this afternoon but after a beautiful day, first shopping for my daughters present for her birthday next weekend and then enjoying the afternoon in the warm sunshine at the park, I felt relaxed enough to try another challenge. I have combined two great challenges today one is for Something Old, Something New, a wedding challenge at http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/ and a fabulous sketch at 2 sketches 4 U for their ultimate card showdown http://2sketches4you.blogspot.com/. Alot of people around me are talking weddings and we have just been to a wedding last weekend, so it was nice to make a wedding card. I have used some new SU papers,bella bleu,tea party and bella rose on whisper white cardstock. I only had the horizontal ribbon to start but I felt I needed something more so I added the vertical ribbon, I'm still unsure whether to keep this on or not. Please tell me what you think, the vertical ribbon on or off.

Thanks, I better go make a start on dinner before everyone comes harrassing me.

Amanda

Colours of the rainbow

Hello, I am starting my day off with a very bright challenge at Colour Create they want you to use every colour of the rainbow. Take a look at http://colourcreatechallenge.blogspot.com/
THis was a fun card to make, though I have driven myself crazy repeatedly singing the rainbow song as I went. I have used strips of stampin UP bold bright card and the background cardstock is real red. I wasn't sure of an image to use so I have kept it quite plain with a Happy Birthday stamp(outlined for fun-stampin up). I was thinking about going back to bed and waiting for the rest of my family to wake up, after I posted this card but the bright colours have made me feel awake and ready to take on a funfilled Sunday.
Enjoy your day, Amanda

A day of Stampin Up

Today was a very busy stamping day indeed, so it is very appropriate to join a new challenge at stampin for the weekend http://stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com/. Their challenge is dusk til dawn which is a colour combo of purple and yellow. Today I hosted a Stampin Up workshop at my house for my friend Lucinda, she has just become a demonstrator and did an excellent job. Our party started at ten and we were still together stamping at five. It was alot of fun and I was inspired to keep going and finish this card tonight, so I have been at it from dusk til dawn. I have used All Stampin up products, cardstock orchid opulence, yoyo yellow and whisper white. Stamps, scribble this (thank you Alicia for letting me borrow these) and inks Lovely lilac and summer sun. The banana brads are from bizzy becs. I really like these colours together and there are some wonderful creations to look at from the DT.

Here are the wonderful cards we created at the Stampin Up workshop today.

Of course it did not take us all day to make these cards we had alot to chat about and quite a few food and drink breaks. We also had some wonderful people getting us all, the best deal possible on cuttlebugs today while we were stampin away. They did alot of running around for us and kept us updated with regular phone messages and I am very thankful to them. I have had one practice and am looking forward to using it alot more this long weekend. Thanks Amanda

Mojo MOnday

Another great sketch at Mojo Monday http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/ I have used my garden whimsy stamps from stampin up with the bali breeze papers and green galore cardstock. These colours were used at the request of my friend Carol who liked this combo on another card I have made. I was hoping these papers made their way into the new SU catalogue but a bit dissapointed to find they are not. I found the sketch easy to work with and not too complicated for me.

Just Magnolia animals and insects

At Just Magnolia http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/2009/05/week-7-animals-and-insects.html

the challenge is animals or insects. I decided to make a new dog card just for fun because I seem to be making alot of baby cards lately and those who opt for a canine friend first or are past the baby stage miss out. This image of the dog reminds me of my 10month old border collie, adorable but very mischievious and with him looking at her plotting his next adventure. He also has a loveheart for her which shows his unconditional love.

Moving to the country

At Magnolia Down Under the challenge this week is moving to the country. I had no idea where to begin with this but I started playing around and had alot of fun. I used my new scallop edge punch from stampin up to make trees and my sentiment (also using my new punch from stampin up) says "If friends were flowers I'd pick you". I wanted to use my lastest magnolia stamp which I purchased from bizzy becs and I love. I am still playing around with different colouring tools to find out which I like best, I am still not sure on the techniques used for this especially with the markers. Hope you have fun with this challenge too at
http://www.kelliewinnell.com.au/magnolia/?p=582

A very talented little girl.

Today for the sketch at Sketch Saturday

http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.com/ I decided to make a card for one of our prep students. We had our school musical Annie Jnr on the weekend and she played the part of Sandy the dog. She did a wonderful job and makes a very cute puppy. She was the youngest of the cast, all the rest being high school students and I think that she is very brave. I have used the colours choc chip and really rust to blend in with the colours of the photo and the background paper used is outlaw from stampin up. Tomorrow we will get all the preps to sign it and present it to her with a big dog bowl full of jelly beans.

Card Patterns sketch 17

Another Baby girl card from me, isn't it always the way I have a few boy cards ready so everybody has girls. I have followed the card patterns sketch for this week which I think is a great easy to use one. I have used bits and pieces from my stash and the only paper I can name is berry bliss from stampin up all the rest is just from nic nac shops. If you'd like to try this sketch here is the link http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/. I tried to put a picture of the sketch here but having trouble this morning maybe it's because I'm rushing and know I should be getting off to work.