She`s A He !!!!

We took Minkie to the vet`s yesterday, & he discovered that she wasn`t a she at all, apparently an easy mistake to make when they are under 6 weeks...so we came home with a little boy! I keep thinking of him as a her, it will take a while to get used to him, but DD wasn`t fazed by the news, & even though I suggested a change of name (Elton came to mind LOL) she thought the name should stay the same.

On another topic, the new theme for the INKURABLE STAMPERS challenge blog is metallics (have a look HERE) & as I was in need of a card, I killed two birds with the one stone, so to speak...only thing is, after sending it in I thought "mmm, is it metallic enough?" but I`m very happy with how it turned out, & as I haven`t used anything metallic in a while it felt about right : )

I started by taking an old book page & wiping some teal StaZon directly onto the page, I then stamped the Darkroom Door image (from THIS set) onto it using Archival ink in jet black. I took a small Stampbord piece & coloured it using the teal StaZon ink & I then stamped a portion of the same image using black StaZon ink onto the stampbord, & using my craftknife, I scratched away to reveal the white highlights. I then inked the edges with Encore metallic copper ink, & covered the block with DiamondGlaze.I added the stampbord piece to the stamped image, & layered the page to some teal coloured BB cs, inking the edges of same with the Encore metallic ink,adding the copper coloured ribbon, & the thread. The DD words ( from THIS set)were stamped onto black cs using theEncore metallic ink & covered with clear EP, the edges were inked with same & they were stuck using some foam tape, this was then stuck to a folded piece of olive BB cs.

I have not used that Encore ink in a looong time, & the ribbon has been in my stash for quite a while as well, so it was great to put them to good use : )

Yesterday, Sarah let me know that I am now "officially the ONLY person to have completed ALL of the monthly challenges" at INKURABLE STAMPERS!!!! (I feel like a stalker LOL!!!) But I have to say, I`ve enjoyed every one of the great themes she`s come up with, & some have been more challenging than others, but they have all been fun, & if you`re ever short of inspiration, just take a look at the great slide shows in the blog showing all the entries to date...& don`t forget the new Gothic Arches challenge & its Flickr group, lots of great projects there as well.

In other news, I managed to do all of ONE challenge for last month`s CC over at SBT50, but in my defence, it was a double page LOL.

Lots of colour, lots of journaling, & lots of photos! This was challenge #2, & we had to do a double page LO, four photos or more, & it had to have the year in the title, as well as the theme being some kind of over-view of the year. I hadn`t scrapped for the last 2 months or so, but I`m really happy I got the chance to get this LO done! But there`s no time to stop & smell the flowers LOL, the CC for this month has already started!!! So if you`re into scrapping, check out the challenges HERE, there`s always great prizes up for grabs, & even if you don`t win, you`ll end up with some great LOs to add to your albums : )

Now I`m off to check my friend Sandie`s BLOG, she has a napkin thing happening that looks quite interesting HERE. My apologies for the essay, & thank you as always for your visit, & if you leave me a comment, I thank you for those too : ) Now go forth & CREATE!

What a Difference a Day Makes...

I tried to take some photos of my mermaid yesterday, & all I ended up with were blurry pics, & I don`t mean blurry in an arty way, I mean blurry as in BLAH! But today, was a whole different story as you can see:

I got the mermaid template from HERE, & this month`s theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS was the perfect opportunity to play.
There`s a few templates to choose from too, so if mermaids are not your thing, just click on a plain doll template.
I traced the upper body pieces out of some corrugated cardboard which I cut out & sprayed with denim GM, & stamped the lady`s face (from a Non Sequitur UM stamp plate"The Roaring Twenties") using timber brown Stazon ink. I also stamped the butterfly wings (from Non Sequitur UM stamp plate "House of Belonging") onto cs which I`d watercoloured with Twinks H2Os (mystic blue, ruby red, ginger peach, & mulberry) I then cut out all the wings, shaped them & stuck them to the tail using foam tape for dimention. See that mottled look on her hair, I achieved that look by sprinkling salt onto wet wc paint, allowing it to dry & then brushing off the salt, it`s one of my favourite techniques to use with paint.
As a finishing touch, I stamped & clear embossed the quote from Catslife Press (avail at TSQ)onto a scrap of painted paper, & attached with ds tape. She measures 21 cm in height, & is very shimmery :) I`ll have to find a prominent place for her to hang from, so I can read that quote every day!
Remember, you have until the end of the month to email your entry & join in the fun, & there`s some great prizes to be won, so what better excuse to get out your stamps & have a play???

& If scrapping is your addiction of choice, the September SBT50 CC has already started...how time flies when you`re busy crafting LOL. I`m so glad I finished my "Wonderful World of Books" LO on time (from my previous post), the CC fairy was very good to me last month, & I won a scrap pack from SBT50 & WIOIN, so I`m living proof that you`ve got to be in it to win it ;)

Now I`m off to do a spot of scrapping...thanks for visiting

It`s Just a Game....

There`s lots going on at our house at the moment...& although it`s all creative stuff, it`s not something I can share right now. I will however, share some beautiful things I have received in the mail in the last couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to win a G/V from Tarisota for my entry to Inkurable Stampers May theme, & Tamar was kind enough to send me ALL of these beautiful packs...

I also received 3 gorgeous ATCs all the way from Spain from my cyber-friend Cuchy (Muchisimas gracias Cuchy, te mandare algunas ATCs mias esta semana, te lo prometo!!!)

& this beautiful card was sent to me by another cyber-friend, Margaret A. isn`t it lovely? & in one of my favourite colours too, Thank you Margaret.

I also remembered to post a new challenge over at ARTILICIOUS, you can check it out HERE. & I`ll be working on my "orange"inchies today, and sending them off asap, thanks Marie :)

I was also the lucky recipient of a prize pack from SBT50 for my entry to the card challenge at last month`s CC ( we had to make a card using the left-over scraps from the 1st LO challenge)

This month`s CC has already started, & you have until July 28th to upload your entries to the gallery, you can check it all out HERE
And if you`re wondering what the title of this post refers to, it`s all to do with this month`s SBT50 CC game, "Blog Hop with a Twist"... (shhh, don`t tell anyone else, but this is your last stop) so if you want to find out more, Begin Now! ; )

Looking For Something To Do?

If you have some time & want to do something with it, why not try some bleach stamping? That`s this month`s theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, & if you`re scratching your head, & thinking "what is she talking about?" Sarah has put up a great TUTORIAL with lots of photos & tips, & she`s done some gorgeous samples using some of my favourite images from Stampotique..& when you`re done reading the tutorial, you can have a go yourself & enter your project for a chance to win some FABULOUS PRIZES... I tried to make a start today, but the bleach didn`t make it all the way to my craft table...it had to take a detour to the laundry first...& then I got stuck LOL, but I`ll try again tomorrow :)

If that challenge is not enough, how about joining in all the fun of this months` CC over at SBT50, lots of challenges to get you inspired, & lots of games too. Speaking of SBT50, the Stars of Scrap competition came to a close, but due to a disappointing turn-out the actual competition was cancelled...I did get a prize for taking part (thank you so much Victoria, I`ll put all those goodies to great use) Still, I`m able to share the LOs & card here now...

The first LO is part of a double page LO, lots of texture, & I just love those tiny Collection houses, I have so many scraps in my stash & I think they are a great way to use them up...The second LO is of my beautiful daughter...& see those flowers? I punched some, & stamped some & painted them & teamed them up with some Prima flowers & some MM crystals, I`m very happy with how they turned out. As for the card, I just HAD to use that Tim Holtz image again (thanks CUCHY) Doesn`t she look cute? While you`re still here reading, did you know that Rachel has a new ATC swap happening as we speak? Visit her HERE for all the info...& don`t forget to take a look at the gallery while you`re there.

I`ve tried to keep up with Sandie`s Alphabet soup & Marie`s Card Bootcamp, but I`m running a bit behind, does anyone know where I could buy some TIME!!!! Oh & while I was getting the links I read that I`ve been tagged by Sandie...Well, the old saying is true, "time flies when you`re having fun" Thank you for your visit, & I hope to see you again soon. Until then, create something, it`s good for the soul :)

A Quick Share...

There`s a CC happenning right now over at SBT50, with lots of fun challenges & some great inspiration for scrappers...It actually started on wednesday, & most (but not all) of the challenges are related to mother`s day (gee, I wonder why LOL) Anyway, I`ve completed 2 of the challenges so far & here they are:

For the first LO, we had to scraplift a LO...In all my years scrapping I`ve never scraplifted a LO before, so for me this was a great (& scary) challenge, but I`m very happy with the results.

For the next challenge (which is actually challenge #3 in the forum) I had to use rub-ons (not something I normally use LOL) flowers, & stamps. Now stamps I use all the time, but for some reason I don`t use them as much as I should on my LOs, & I nearly forgot to use them for this challenge LOL. Can you see the beautiful rub-ons? They were part of a prize I got from SBT50 for one of my LOs, & the chipboard letters are also a gift (just for being a newsletter recipient, how cool is that!) The big plus with this CC is that we have until May 20th to upload the finished LOs to the gallery...& there`s heaps of great prizes up for grabs, & if nothing else, you`ll at least end up with some great LOs to add to your albums, so go check it out HERE.

I`m also trying to take part in Sandie`s Alphabet Soup challenge, & did this card using one of her fab daisies (thanks Sandie), & I know it`s a bit hard to see, but I`ve also used some tiny little rhinestones which were given to me by MARIE (thanks muchly) Speaking of Marie, she`s running a great Card Bootcamp, & you can be in the running to win a $50 gift voucher if you complete all the tasks set by Marie, go & check it out HERE, you know you want to LOL...

Ooh, & one more for the road...this LO is for the 30 Weeks to Christmas challege over at SBT50...For week #1 we had to use "spots, dots & doodling", so I used the photos we took at COMO House & Garden in April.

One more thing before I go, a big Thank you to the ladies who took part in last months`challenge over at INKURABLE STAMPERS & who voted for my little house (There were so many beautiful entries, I didn`t think I stood a chance!) But there were 6 winning entries, & mine was one of them, thank you ladies & thank you Sarah, for running such an inspirational blog.

Now this is for one of Marie`s challenges over at PERNICKETY:

"With each passing birthday

& amid new urges,

They are not called hot flashes

They are now power surges..."

& on that note I thank you for sticking around, & I wish you a lovely & happy mother`s day on sunday, & if you`re not a mum, you can still practice ; )

SBT50 Week-Long CC

Have a look HERE for all the details... SBT50 is going through a big revamp ATM, check out all the new competitions!!!

4 Lay-Outs to Share...

Yes, you read correctly!!! This past weekend was the ScrapBookingTop50 CyberCrop, & I did ALL FOUR challenges...The CCs had gone missing for a while there, which would probably explain why I hadn`t scrapped as much. My excuse is I work better under time restrictions...but maybe it`s just having a set criteria to work with, I don`t have to think as much LOL (!) Anyway, here they are:

Top LO was for chall # 1 "A Place For Everything"

2nd LO was for chall # 3 "My Treasure"

3rd LO was for chall # 2 "When You Were a Fairy"

4th LO was for chall # 4 "Meet`n`Greet" & this one was by far the hardest challenge in the CC, we had to work with lime, orange, yellow & pink pp only (though Victoria ammended it to allow the use of 1 plain cs colour), it had to feature a hand-made embellishment that had something to do with Friday 13th, the title of the LO had to rhyme, & the number 13 had to appear somewhere in the LO. For me, just remembering to include ALL the criteria was enough of a challenge LOL. There were some great incentives to take part, & I`m very happy to say I won the PARTICIPATION prize!!!! But my own motivation for scrapping (other than to remind myself that I can use my supplies for not only ATCs, but scrapping as well LOL) was a new stamp from TSQ : ) I`ll be back later with my entry to this month`s great theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS...

Time Flies ...

...When you`re having fun. I only got to do 2 of the 3 set challenges for last weekend`s CC over at SBT50, but I was quick off the mark for the scavenger hunt LOL. Challenge #1 had to have a beach theme, & there had to be sand (or rather, something to represent sand), I used beads on my alphas. I used BB cs, MME pp(orange pp), 7 Gypsies pps, chipboard letters painted with acrylic paint, & covered with DM (& if you squint you can see the beads on "fun"LOL). I added a UL rub-on, & the 3 flowers (2 of which were a very timely gift from Barb, of TSQ, thanks Barb).


For challenge #2 we had to do a LO all about what summer means to us, using bright summer colours & includind some journaling...




Again, BB cs, white & green acrylic paint, MM cb alphas, ribbons (one of the ribbons was the daisy-chain one which I cut apart to use as bullets for the journaling), brads, Signo gel pen, & another UL rub-on.
Just in case you`re curious, the journaling reads: Stifling Heat, Lakes Entrance,Long late-night walks on the beach, Washing is dry within a few minutes..., There`s always sand in the car, Smell of sunscreen in the air, Peppermint & choc-chip icecream, yum!
Well, I`m happy to report that I was one of the lucky winners of the scavenger hunt (who knew I`d be a good hunter? ), AND I also won a prize for my "Summer" LO, so thank you Victoria over at SBT50 for the awesome challenges, & thank you Diane over at Scrapbook Savvy for sponsoring our play-time...
There`s lots of new competitions happening over at SBT50, so if you`re looking for a friendly place to hang out, or want some inspiration, go check it out...
Now I`ll try to catch up on some Blurfing, thanks for stopping by, & I hope all`s well in your neck of the woods, B4N

In the Mood

If you`re in the mood to scrap, Scrapbooking Top 50 is having a cybercrop this weekend, the first one with the new owner Victoria at the helm, & because of issues with the gallery, we get extra time (until midnight Tuesday 11 Nov) to upload...I know I can always use the extra time LOL. There have been 3 challenges posted so far, & they are all great, have a look here if you`d like to participate. (& the Scavenger hunt has been posted while I was busy typing LOL)

On another note, thanks to Lyn, I have a template to help me with brad placement, & it works like a charm. Here`s an ATC I did recently as a thank you for the hostess of a swap I`m taking part in, & using the template I was able to quickly work out where to put them, so Thanks Lyn, you`re a star.

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you may be up to, & thanks for visiting, chao.

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

Don`t Fall Off Your Chairs...

LOL, I said I`d be back later...This a new card I made this morning using the sketch over at Pernickety`s, & that cute little boy is my youngest brother (the card is for his birthday) so this challenge was just right. I used BB cs, staples, brads & the usual DS tape.



The next card is for a friend`s housewarming, using those yummy tree stamps I got at Scraptacular a few weeks back, some Adirondak ink, ribbons, Collections heart & words, & an old button sticker I`ve had in my stash for...way too long. I received my beautiful ATC returns for the DarkRoom Door swap yesterday, but I`ll wait until the end of the week to show them off in here, as I don`t want to spoil the surprise for anyone who might occassionally come by my blog LOL. Enjoy the rest of your day, & thanks for visiting.

Another Card

Here`s another card I`ve just finished using the sketch from Pernickety, & using some left-overs from the LO I did yesterday, plus a couple of Collections bits & pieces (heart & circle used for the tag) & a bit of inked & chalked Cuttlebug embossed b`ground. I love it when I can use up scraps, so I don`t have to keep them in my scrap boxes (I have 3, all full LOL) I had to hand-write "Happy Father`s day" as I did it in Spanish. I should be doing the challenges for the SBT50 CC, but I`ll have to squeeze them in between tonight & Monday sometime, luckily we get until midnight Monday to upload to the gallery. Have a great weekend.

First LO for the Competition

After a couple of frustrating hours spent swearing profusely under my breath, I finally got the scanner to play nice & scan the LO I`ve just submitted to the SYTYCS competition. They wanted to see hand-cutting of pp, edge distressing, layering, use of white/negative space, texture, non-standard size photos, & clustering. I think I`ve achieved all of the criteria...the only bit I found difficult was the negative space, but I`m happy with how the LO turned out, so if nothing else comes of me taking part in the comp, at least I have one more LO to add to our albums. I almost forgot that SBT50 has their CC on this weekend. Check out their challenges if you`re looking for some inspiration & a bit of fun, thanks for stopping by, & I wish you a great weekend, & a happy father`s day to the father/s in your life. Adios amigos e amigas

First Day of Spring

It`s the first day of spring in our part of the world...I love spring, with all it`s newly formed blooms, lots of chirping birds, cool sunny (if blowy)weather. I had hoped for a more productive/creative weekend, but we had some family commitments to take care of...still, I did try to take part in Scraptacuar`s CC, but our computer did not let me do the live chat thing. Still, I`m happy to report that I did get one of the challenges done...Challenge #2, to do an LO (Lay-out)using the colours blue & green + one other colour (I used red) The photos were taken by DH during our stay in Sydney a couple of weeks back, & they are some of my favoutite photos...There was also a sketch challenge, as well as a challenge to use something from your stash that was really old & daggy (I would have used some flower die cuts or some Sesame street paper that I bought 5 years ago LOL) The intentions were good, but I think the deadline of Sunday night just wasn`t long enough for me. I`m happy I got at least one challenge done...now I better get back to tidying up our wardrobe (I was only going to do my woollens, but one thing led to another, & now I have most of my clothes & ALL of DH`s in a big pile on the floor!) I hope everyone else had an enjoyable weekend, thanks for visiting, & don`t forget to take your Zyrtec LOL

CyberCrop on Tonight...

I`m getting ready for what promises to be a fun night of scrapping over at Scraptacular. Just in case you don`t know what a CyberCrop (CC)is, it`s a great way to get together with like-minded people & scrap, only it`s done over the web (great if you like to scrap in PJs LOL) It`s free, & all you need is computer access (to chat, & to upload your creations to the gallery), & you can chat & scrap (or chat & get nothing else done LOL) In short, you can do as much or as little as you feel like doing, all from the comfort of your own home, so if you`re looking for something to do tonight, check it out. I`m hoping to get some LOs done, wish me luck... LOL