Stamps, Stamps & More Stamps

If you are taking part in DRD`s photobooth swap look away now...don`t worry these are just little snippets...I had a go at 2 new techniques (new to me) & I`m very happy with the results...

I`ve also had a play with a few of my other new stamps & have made some ATCs, & a couple of cards

I hope all`s well in your part of the world, & I wish you a Spooky Halloween tomorrow...

A Few Things to Share

Let me start by saying a big thank you to those of you who`ve kindly taken the time to leave comments both here & at Inkurable Stampers regarding my nicho entry...It`s fun to see how differently we`ve all interpreted the same theme, working with the same basic canvas. Thank you Sarah for allowing me to be part of this challenge, & thank you also to Joyce of PaperForestDesign for making the nichos available for us to play with (have a look at all the different shapes PFD carries). If, like me, you`ve never worked on a mixed-media project before, I can highly recommend these cute little nichos, as they are a great size to get your feet wet, not too overwelming for the beginner, but still a lot of fun for a more experienced crafter, I`m sure.
On another note, as I mentioned on the previous post, I attended Paperific last Sunday, & came home with some great stamping goods as well as other bits & pieces...So here is a photo, (especially for Cuchy LOL)

Sorry about the dodgy photo, but I took a few & this one`s the best one. So, Monday morning I was happily looking at my brand new purchases, & thinking , where am I going to store (read HIDE) them LOL, when I heard the postman outside & so went to investigate, to find some happy mail. More stamps, would you believe; Thank you Sarah from Inkurable Stampers (again), she`d sent me the Crafty Individual pack I won last month (yes, go ahead, I`d be jealous too LOL) So now I have all these new toys to play with... where do I begin LOL.
Before I forget here`s a beautiful card I received from Sarah with my prize pack.
& in case YOU need some stamps, don`t forget The Stamping Queen is having a birthday sale... As always, thank you for stopping by & next time I will have someting creative to share, more than likely something involving STAMPS!!!! ; )

Warning: Long Post Ahead

Firstly, check out my Nicho entry over at Inkurable Stampers, & let me know what you think...



Secondly, Sara has kindly (!) tagged me LOL, so now I have to share 6 things about me that you may not know already...

1. I`m terrified of spiders.

2. I`m one of those annoying people that are calm, cool & collected under pressure (unless there`s a spider in the room!)

3. I`m a perfectionist, & this is constantly brought home to me by my DD who tells me I`d get a lot more work done if I wasn`t sooo pedantic about every little thing : )

4. The only house I`ve ever felt that I could just move right in & NOT change a single thing is Gaudi`s beautiful Casa Batllo in Barcelona.

5. I actually enjoy ironing, I find it very relaxing.

6. I cried the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower IRL.

So now I`ll tag 3 bloggers, & see what happens LOL. I think I`ll choose Lyn, Maevan & Cuchy as I`d like to know a little more about them...& while you`re blog-hopping, have a look at Lyn`s brad placement tutorial, what a clever idea.



Thirdly, I had a great time on Sunday. Where did I go, & what did I do? Well, Paperific was on this past weekend, & although the venue was in the Melbourne showgrounds (which is all the way across town for me) I still managed to go. I even managed to do a couple of "make & takes". I don`t know about everyone else who happened to attend, but I felt as though it`s gone back to being a great papercrafters destination. On previous shows I found the whole thing was being taken over by scrapbooking (I like scrapping too, but the reason Paperific works so well is the mix of exhibitors JMHO)

So, I did the Collections "m&t" with the lovely Jen Crossly using some of their great chipboard stuff (I was just in time, as after I got there they were not doing any more, as it was nearing closing time)

& I finally managed to do a "m&t" at the PipeDreamInk stand, as every previous show they`ve been way too busy, or I`ve rolled up too late...but not this time. I took in a great demo by Niamh, who showed us what can be done with Fantasy film & opals, she makes it look sooo easy LOL. Sue did the "m&t" which was a butterfly cb shape, inked & stamped with Stazon, & covered with 3 coats of clear opals, it looks great, if I say so myself LOL.

I`ll be back later with some pics of the lovelies I purchased at the show & a couple of other things...

Running Behind...

This is a card I made using Sandie`s sketch #6 in her blog, I meant to do it earlier in the week, but had a few other bits & pieces that I had to take care of, so I just got it done this morning. It will probably go to one of my little nephews on their birthday... I`ve used a couple of clear stamps from a Sandylion set( the ufo & robot) & the Hello is an old woodmounted stamp from Kaiser stamps. My strip of pp is from a DCWV stack (the self-adhesive one I bought at the last Paperific show) Both images were coloured-in with watercolour pencils, & I edged the card with a metallic blue Signo pen. My favourite thing to do is the colouring-in, I find it very relaxing...I know, I`m weird LOL. T4L

Thank Goodness for UFOs

I`m talking about the craft variety of UFO (as in UnFinished Object). I`ve been meaning to finish this tiny teddy for a while now...& today he`s going to a very loving home in England. I started him about a year ago, & I can`t remember why I didn`t get him finished, I think I just got sidetracked (it happens quite often to me LOL). I was trying to think of something I could give to some relatives to take back home to England with them, so I went though my UFOs 2 days ago, & found this teddy just waiting for some finishing touches...I had to stuff him (in the nicest possible way) sew on his ears, attach his limbs (I used button joints, which is a bit easier to do with this size bear) embroider his nose, & add a pretty ribbon, & a chipboard heart inked with garnet Vivid ink, & clear embossing powder. All up he`s about 14 cm tall (or 5 & 1/2 inches), & if you look at the photo, I included a normal-sized playing card for reference. I hope he enjoys the trip LOL. One down, 100`s more to finish... Thanks for dropping by, & enjoy your day wherever you are. CU L8R

Here are a couple of ATCs I finished last night, one is for this month`s "Seriously Spooky" theme at Inkurable Stampers, & the other is part of a set of 6 that I made for Arti.licious for a swap.

For "Keeper of your Soul" I used Tim Holtz stamps, StaZon ink in teal (one of my favourite colours ATM) & black, with the skull & bones being layered on some foam tape & covered with DM to give a bit of dimention, I also covered the birds & the tree image with DM though it doesn`t show up too well in the scan...

For the second ATC, I got to use some of the lovely ribbon I won at Sandie`s blog last week (from The Craft Queen), & I got to use one of my favourite quotes... I hope all is well with you in your neck of the woods, & as always, thanks for stopping by. B4N.

More ATCs to Share

A while back I took part in a Monochromatic themed ATC swap hosted by Judith B. over at SBT50. Well, I just got my returns back a couple of days ago & they are just beautiful... The brown & the green at the top are both Judith`s creations(the brown one was an extra one she did for me, thank you Judith ), the yellow is Ceci`s, next we have Mez`s (blue), the purple one is Jude`s, & Peter C did the orange one. The next 3 ATCs are from Maevan (black) all the way from the U S of A, Conny went pink, & Judith did a white one (very hard to see in the scan, but it is very pretty) & the last one is the one I did for the swap...they all look great together, don`t you think so? I also had lots of fun (not!) trying to take photos of my nicho, which I finished last night, but I`ll wait to hear from Sarah (from Inkurable Stampers) b4 uploading the photos here...It was such a fun challenge to do, & it`s not something I`ve ever done b4, so I`m very happy with how it turned out. I`m not much of a planner, I just tend to go with the flow, but for this project, I thought I`d better sketch out what I had in mind, & it actually turned out better than what I had envisaged...but you`ll just have to take my word for it for now LOL.

ATC for Arti.licious

I`ve been busy creating today, & have just finished playing with the nicho, but I`ll have to wait until tomorrow to take some photos... but while I waited for bits & pieces to dry, I did an ATC for Marie`s blog Arti.licious, check out her new blog here. I used a torso stamp by MyStamps (it`s one of the oldest stamps in my collection, & one of my very favourites) as well as a flower stamp from Clear Expressions, & the background stamp is from a red rubber plate (I think I got it from The Stamping Queen) There`s lots of DM, & some embossing powder on the torso, & although it`s hard to tell from the scan, there`s lot`s of layers...I hope Marie likes it, as all the ATCs entered will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to Womes Cancer Research...A great idea, don`t you think? I`ll be back tomorrow with some photos of the nicho to share, so prepare to be amazed LOL. & just when you thought my winning streak was over, I found out today that my "Happy Birthday" card for the participation challenge over at SBT50 CC won me a G/V from ScrapTherapy, so thank you Jude, & Lee-Anne...So be afraid, be very afraid LOL. B4N, & thanks for visiting me.

A Couple of Photos to Share

I received a couple of things in the mail yesterday & today, & I just had to share... Firstly, the very pretty packaging from Joyce over at Paper Forest Design (I didn`t want to open it as it looked so pretty with its sheer ribbon & it had a lovely writing pad attached)& contained within, a beautiful nicho, for this month`s challenge at Inkurable Stampers, it measures 5.5"x 3.5" approx.(the little glass door is 2.5"x 1.5") & it looks so cute, thank you Sarah for picking me to do the challenge, & thank you Joyce for providing the beautiful nichos for us to play with :) The last photo is the ribbon pack (from The Craft Queen, thanks Nicole) that I won over at Sandie`s blog (thanks Sandie) last week, aren`t they gorgeous? Maybe I should have titled this post "Thankful" LOL. Now off to play... Thanks for stopping by.

A Baby Tag

This is for the weekly sketch over at Pernickety`s, it was going to be a card, but I thought the sketch called for a tag. I used BB cs, 7 Gypsies pp, DCWV pp, & the stamped & clear embossed images are by Fancy Pants, & I inked all edges with Adirondak ink. My nicho came in the post today(for this month`s challenge over at Inkurable Stampers), & I didn`t want to open it as Joyce (of Paper Forest Design) had wrapped it so nicely...but when I finally did, I couldn`t stop playing with it LOL, it is so cute. So if I don`t post for a while it will be because I`ll be busy working on this project...TT4N

A Lay-Out, a Card, & a Tag

I`ll quickly share a LO, & a card I did for the CC over at SBT50(only got them finished at 11:30 pm monday evening, & had to upload by midnight : 0 The tag is for a sketch over at Pernickety`s. For the LO, I used some cb embossed cs painted with blue acrylic paint, & lots of white paint for the edges... For the b`day card I used a stamped Penny Black image, coloured in with wc pencils & highlighted with DM. The tag was made last night & it was the quickest to make, but I had to wait the longest for it to dry LOL, just 3 punched circles, the hearts are from Collections chipboard, coloured with red markers & covered with DM, & the trunks are left-over chipboard bits inked & also covered with DM, with a bit of gel pens doodling thrown in... Hope you like them, & thanks for visiting.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Yep, that was me this past weekend. Friday night I was supposed to be scrapping, but DH convinced me that I NEEDED to watch a DVD with him, & I`m so glad I did...we watched "Paris, Je T`Aime", & I LOVED it...then Saturday was my BIL`s wedding(DH`s brother) so it was a full on day...& just when I thought Sunday would be a day of R&R, we were all invited to the bride`s parent`s place for a family get-together. So back to Monday, & catching up on emails etc, & I find out I was one of the lucky winners over at Inkurable Stampers (thanks Sarah) winning the Crafty Individuals prize pack (which I`m so looking forward to playing with), & then I did a bit of blurfing, & over at Sandie`s blog I find out I`m the winner of that week`s card challenge(with the card in my previous post), I`m thinking I should stay away from the computer more often LOL. Well, now back to reality & a basket full of shirts that are not going to iron themselves LOL. I hope you had a great weekend whereever in cyber-space you happen to be, & as always, thanks for stopping by.

A Quick Card

Just finished this card using Sandie`s sketch #4, BB cs, some ribbon, a bit of inking & embossing & a couple of staples for good measure...It will be going to a good home very soon : )

All Can Be Revealed...

I was so excited when I received the email from Sarah yesterday, but I had to wait to share the news... I`m one of five lucky people to get picked by Sarah, owner of Inkurable Stampers blog, to play with a nicho provided by Paper Forest Designs (Thank you Joyce), & I`m in incredibly good (looking) company. Have a look here . & while you`re there, check out the theme for this month, it`s "Seriously Spooky!" I was going to share my "Tim Holtz Stamps" ATC swaps, but I forgot to scan them b4 I mailed them to Sarah this morning : ( I`ll share when I get my returns...

In the meantime, another month has flown by, which means this weekend is CC time over at Scrapbooking top 50, & the new owner will be announced...can`t wait to see who it will be. I`ve been too busy to get too emotional about Jude leaving, but I know I`ll miss her, as will everyone else over at SBT50 , but as the old saying goes, "change is as good as a holiday", I wish you all the best in the next chapter of your life Jude. I`ve made some great online friends there, & I found so much information not only about scrapbooking, but about a whole lot of different stuff. It`s a great friendly forum, & a very informative one too, & it sounds like the new owner has some great plans up their sleeves...I`m looking forward to finding out who it is :) I should have put a "long Post" warning LOL, so if you`re still reading, I thank you, & I`ll try to have something creative to share next time you visit me...I promise, & in the meantime, have a great day/evening. TT4N

For Pernickety

This card is for the current sketch over at Pernickety`s . It had to be a monochromatic scheme, using a colour out of your comfort zone, & include something metal...I had to think hard on this one, but when looking at past cards I`ve created, I know I`m not overly fond of green...I use it a lot in scrapping LOs, but not on cards. Anyway, I realized last night that DH & I forgot a friends B`day 3 days ago,(hence the "birthdays", I figure we`ll be covered for the next few B`days LOL) I used some BB cs, DCWV pp, ribbon, I stamped & embossed the sentiment & inked the edges with Adirondak ink, & my metal bit is an old key I`ve had for a looong time, I think it`s a K & Co one...off to post it now! Thanks for visiting, & if you`re looking for a new challenge, go have a look at Pernickety`s , where Marie has 3 different blogs to choose from, & if you take part you`ll have a chance to win some gorgeous bracelets, I have my eye on the bee one...B4N

Just Because....

I received this lovely creation from Lyn during the week, but I`ve been too busy to upload it here (I have her permission).

I just love what she has done with the image, & what`s even better for me is that it brings back some beautiful memories of Paris, even though my hayfever was a real pain at the time (Spring, 4 years ago), but honestly, it was the holiday of a lifetime...Ooh La La! I still have photos I need to scrap : 0