Twinchies Canvas

Warning...Lots of photos ahead! Last week hubby had his 45th birthday, & this is the present DD & I decided to make for him. It was a project that was meant to be finished during the school holidays, but for various reasons (sleep-overs, family get-togethers, hubby being at home LOL) I was still working on this up until a few hours before DHs birthday, the main thing is that he loved it, & DD enjoyed the process! She did a few of the squares herself (the purple b'ground & gold leaf, the three tiles with the swirly butterfly, the tulip, the maple leaf embedded into the hot glue, the lady with the white gel pen "hair", the brown button on the wax & paint b'ground, the purple heart with the rhinestones, & the little girl with the wings & crown (all her own ideas) 9 out of 36, not too bad, right?). We used many different papers, stamps, chipboard pieces, inks, die cuts, string, rhinestones, glue (& glue gun), shrink plastic, printed words etc.
Initially, we planned on doing a larger canvas (this one is 12"x 12") but we just ran out of time...maybe that's something for hubby's next birthday : ) Other than for the fact that I was stressing out over cutting it soooo close, I really enjoyed playing with the 2"x 2" size. I hope you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting, & see you again soon :)

Where's #11?

LOL, I jumped the gun & did Gothic arch #12 (fabric) for SARAH's year-long Gothic arch challenge over at INKURABLE STAMPERS...but I will get to #11 eventually : )

I started my arch by cutting out an arch shape from interfacing (the grey woolly stuff), I then stamped the tree(from this DD set) using timber brown Stazon ink onto some light-weight cream cotton, & used some vellum spray to stick it down. I then added the leaf-shaped sequins (from CRAFT QUEEN, aren't they gorgeous?) & the red ceramic beads (from my stash of findings). The quote (from THIS DD set) was stamped onto green cotton fabric with Archival ink, & stuck down using the vellum spray, & the tiny piece of blue silk was added to pick up some of the colours from the interfacing. I then stuck the whole thing down to some stiff card & added the beads (also from my stash). I've been meaning to try my hand at doing some fabric ATCs, so that will be next on my ever-growing "to do" list LOL.

With all this talk of fabric, I just remembered, is anyone (in Melbourne!) going to the Craft & Quilt Fair? I'm hoping to meet Nicole (from CRAFT QUEEN) who is one of the exhibitors, & will be catching up with my friend Sandie as well! & speaking of Sandie, she has a "Christmas in July" card challenge happenning in her blog. I signed up, & still have to make a start, but I think it's a great idea, as every year Christmas seems to come around quicker than the previous year!!! So, no rest for the wicked : ) Enjoy your day, wherever you may be in this big, beautiful world of ours, & thank you for your visit : )

Christmas Is Coming...

& here are the rest of my Christmas cards, as promised.

Can you see what they all have in common? I`ve used the beautiful images from the Darkroom Door Yuletide Montage sheet, & they are just the best thing for when you are running short on time. I kept their designs fairly simple, just adding ribbon, brads, string, or fibres, but I`m very happy with how they turned out. & I have to say, I`m getting a lot of use out of the word strips as well.

If you`re looking for some Christmas cards inspiration, make sure you visit the Darkroom Door blog, & if you want to win yourself some DRD goodies, just upload YOUR Christmas projects to the DRD Flickr group HERE, you never know your luck until you try. I`m living proof that you`ve got to be in it to win it, just found out this morning that I was picked as one of the winners of this Flickr challenge, WOOHOO! Thank you Rachel :)

Now, I better go & write some Christmas cards!

Don`t forget to visit Inkurable Stampers & have a go at the new challenge for this month, it`s a colour challenge, & a yummy one at that, & Sarah has made some beautiful Christmas cards as her samples for this month`s theme.

Thank you for your visit, & if you`ve taken the time to leave me a comment, I thank you even more : )

Who Knew...

I did end up doing one last LO for the August CC over at SBT50, & uploaded it just in the nick of time, nothing like working under pressure LOL

The challenge was to use paint, use light blue colour, & to have a "feeling" word in the title...Wonderful is a feeling, right ; )

This is the quote I used, which I just love:

"I`ve travelled the world twice over,

Met the famous: saints and sinners,

Poets and artists, kings and queens,

Old stars and hopeful beginners,

I`ve been where no-one`s been before,

Learned secrets from writers and cooks

All with one library ticket

To the wonderful world of books"

~ Janice James~

& below is the card I made with the left-overs, that`s one of the oldest stamps in my stash (one of my first purchases from TSQ) & also one of my favourites, the sentiment is from another favourite DRD set (FULL BLOOM Vol 1)

& speaking of DRD, these are my entries to the black, white & red competition they ran on their FLICKR GROUP, if you get the chance, go & have a look, lots of yummy projects to look at.

On another note, the new theme for INKURABLE STAMPERS this month has been picked, & guess whose idea (in a round-about kind of way LOL) Sarah picked? She asked for some ideas, so we all thought up different themes, & my contribution was mermaids...which in turn gave Sarah the idea for the theme of "Down by the Sea". Go check out her gorgeous sample HERE, & thanks Sarah for the RAK : )

Now to prove that you should stay away from places with sick people, I went last week to get my stitches out (from my injured thumb) & came home with a case of tonsolitis, & have been on antibiotics for the last week, I`ve lost my voice (which DH thought was too funny, as I could only whisper, he thought it was sexy LOL) & have had a horrid cough that`s just now starting to ease.

But the antibiotics have just made me feel soooo lethargic, like I just want to curl up & sleep : ( But sleep is such a waste of time LOL

I am feeling much better now, so it`s on with the show...thank you for popping in, & now go forth & create something : )

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 :)

Yes, I`m Still Here...

Wow, I didn`t realise I hadn`t updated my blog in quite a while...I`ve been very busy with real life (yes, I DO have one LOL). My apologies to my blog friends, I haven`t had time to visit...& I`m still trying to get all the "Stars of Scraps" challenges finished on time (nothing like working to a deadline LOL) as well as doing other bits & pieces.

I received the cutest gift as a surprise a couple of weeks ago from my cyberfriend

CUCHY, whom I swapped ATCs with...

The pendant is just gorgeous, Thank you CUCHY (& the ATC is not bad either LOL)

I also went along to the Paper 2 Page show, & caught up with a few of my cyberfriends there. I got to catch up with Helen, JUDITH, LYN & SANDIE, it was great to see you ladies :) Not so great was the fact that not one shop had TimHoltz stamps, but I did manage to get lots of other goodies, mainly chipboard, foam stamps (at a bargain price!) watercolour paints, a set of DRD stamps (Artist), lots of double-sided tape, DM, paints, some Fancy pants clear stamps & a beautiful ballerina stamp from Eclectic Images, all in all I had a great time...& I`m so glad I took my lunch from home, as I didn`t really fancy what they had there, & they had run out of a few things as well! But the coffee was yum :)

Some LOs I`ve completed for the Mother`s Day Weekend CC over at SBT50

For this chalenge we had to include the quote "A mother is she who can take the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take"...& on reading the quote I tried to think of all the little things we as mothers do, & when I showed the list to DD (expecting her to delete some) she said that I had forgotten one: Personal Bank!!!! Out of the mouths of babes...LOL

This challenge was a colour challenge...& they were colours I don`t normally scrap with, but I really like how it turned out, I hope you do too. Thank you for visiting, & I hope you come back soon, I promise it wont be such a long time between updates LOL TTFN

DarkRoom Door "Filmstrip" Swap

Early last week I received my returns for this great ATC swap, but as I was busy with life, I`ve just had a chance to scan & upload (my scanner has been playing up again...) So here they are: The first one is mine( I used GM on the filmstrip image), then there`s ROBYN`s "Nature`s Beauty"(with the lime & lilac colourway), followed by Helen`s Freedom(with the marbled red & black papers), then on the second row we have LEESA`s "Ebony & Ivory"(with the musical notes ribbon), followed by Simonetta`s (with the star-shaped paperclip), & Sandra`s "Venezia"(with the tiny map of Venice), then on the 3rd row, we have Wendy B`s "Music"(with the beads at the bottom), followed by Karen M`s "Explore" (with the very tactile frame), and Rhiannon R with "Dream"(with the tulip image)...thank you ladies, they are just beautiful.

My second lot of returns is as follows: The first one "Journey" is my offering(with the scrunched-up b`ground & the sewing), the second one "Some Assembly Required" is by Tracey S, & next to hers is Dallas`(both ladies included an assortment of tiny nuts & washers to go with their images, how cool!!!) Now on the second row we have Samantha`s (it took me a while to work out who Bud Abbott was, of "Abbott& Costello", the actors not the politicians LOL) & next to her we have MARIE`s "Adventure" with a great "crakled" effect on the filmstrip, & speaking of crakle, ROS has used a similar effect for the background of her "Rock&Roll" ATC. On the third row we have Sarah`s "Freedom" ATC with one of the brand new filmstrip images & words from the DRD Wilderness Vol 1 range ( great b`ground, I think she`s used the "flick" method...), We then have "Best Mates" by Sarah P (love the sewing) & last,but, by no means least, we have Damaris` "Passion" with the UTEE corner & the shimmery b`ground...Thank you ladies for taking part in the swap, & Thank you Rachel for organizing it. BTW, If you`d like to see much better photos of the ATCs, Rachel has put them up in her gallery HERE :) Go check it out....

20 Years...You Still Rock My World!!

I felt the earth move last night...& before you get any funny ideas I`d better explain that we had a bit of a tremor here, 4.6 in the Richter scale, according to Geoscience Australia , I have to say it brought back memories of my childhood, having grown up in Chile, where tremors & earthquakes are commonplace, that`s one thing I don`t miss LOL.

I`ve been away from the computer for a while, I`ve been trying to finish a little book I`m making for my other half, to celebrate the fact that we`ve been married for 20 years (february 28th was our wedding anniversary) We`ve actually known each other for 23 years & have lived together for 22 years...Like the old saying goes "Time flies when you`re having fun" LOL. I thought I had given myself enough time, but I think I was working on handyman`s time, oh well... I will share a bookmark I made for him (I`ve made him bookmarks before, but he doesn`t use them, saying he doesn`t want to wreck them, so this time I told him he HAD to use it or else...)

On another note, my cyber-friend Cuchy, alerted me to an ATC exhibition happenning in April in New Jersey (USA) if you go HERE you can read about it, so I`ve been busy creating for that as well as making some return ATCs (which I can`t share just yet)

As a consequence, I`ve missed 2 of my cyber-friends birthdays :( Sorry Lynn & Sandie, I hope you both had fantastic birthdays, & look out for (very) belated birthday cards in your mailbox soon :)

& Don`t forget you have until the end of the month to comment on THIS post to go in the draw to add THESE to your ATC collection... Bye for now & have a playful & inky weekend :)

DRD Stamps.

If you own a set of the beautiful DarkRoom Door Chrismas stamps, read on... Rachel has organized a great competition in her blog, so go & have a look, & you could win yourself a set of stamps of your choice :)

I had a chance to play today, & finished some ATCs for Marie, over at Artilicious so they are on their way to you Marie...

I also got another 2 Christmas cards done for Sandie`s "12 Days of Christmas"challenges over at her blog, I just have to have a go with day # 12 challenge & I`ll be all done, thanks Sandie for the great inspiration, now I`ll just have to duplicate a couple of the design, & my cards for this year will actually be finished on time LOL. So here are day # 10 (using a cb frame of some kind), I used a Collections frame coloured with a brown Sharpie & covered with DM, & I again used an image from the Stamp It plate, some cs scraps, a rhinestone & some beautiful ribbon (sorry about the ribbon being squashed by the scanner) & for day # 11 we had to use some scallops somewhere...I cut some DCWV mettalic cs with some scissors, & used an image (from the Stamp It plate) which I had stamped & embossed with gold EP, I also inked the edges with gold ink, & added 3 rhinestones...

I`ll be back later with another card...but don`t hold your breath, dinner is calling (DH kindly offered to cook tonight) so I better go...as always, thanks for stopping by, & whether it`s in English, or Spanish, I do appreciate your comments :) I need to practice my Spanish, so Cuchy, keep it comin` :)

Tim Holtz ATC Swap

Sarah, over at Inkurable Stampers is hosting a Tim Holtz stamps ATC swap, if you`d like to take part, check out the link...
Also, Darkroom Door are hosting a Photobooth swap over in their blog, & while you`re there check out what T!m has been up to with those photobooth images...

& over at Pernickety`s you`ll find a new card sketch to work with this week...better get out your sewing machines LOL. B4N, & as always, thanks for stopping by.

DarkRoom Door Swap

Ok, here are the beautiful ATCs I received as returns in the first ever Darkroom Door swap. Thank you to all who took part, there`s lots of inspiration from all around the world!!! The first one is all the way from Ireland, by Evonne R(with the word"Dream"), next up is Sue B (with the butterflies) & then there`s Barb C`s (the girl with the crown). Next we have Jenene E (with the word "Magical") followed by Kaeren S (with the ribbon) & Lyn S (with the butterfly)

Next is Damaris M from the USA(with the blue b`ground & the butterflies) followed by Helen F (with the Venice stamp) & last but not least is mine. There were 24 artist who took part in the ATC swap, & you can see the rest of the ATCs (in better detail) in the gallery over at DRD, & while you`re there check out the Card swap gallery as well, just goes to show how versatile the DRD stamps are. A big thank you to Rachel Greig for hosting this swap, may it be the first of many. Thanks for stopping by.