M.I.A.

I`ve had a couple of sickly weeks, nothing major, but just sick enough to make me feel blah!!! Got some swaps finished (but forgot to scan LOL) & there`s my LO for week # 10 of the 45 WEEK CHALLENGE over at SBT50, & I got a chance to do this month`s theme over at INKURABLE STAMPERS...

For week # 10 the challenge was to use only the colours pink,lilac,white & purple, as well as to use some swirls/flourishes... Now, I`m not a big fan of pink, but the other colours were not so tough, & I like the way it turned out...

This next project has been in my idea file for a while now...I found this cute little house-shaped box in an charity shop, a bargain for 50 cents, but I didn`t like the colours, so this month`s theme of black, white & orange over at INKURABLE STAMPERS was a perfect excuse to get my fingers dirty LOL.

Firstly, I lightly sanded it, then I painted the inside using MM acrylic paint (Eat Your Carrots) & the outside I covered with black MM paint(Asphalt) I then used various stamp images (DRD lace & script, Cherry Pie bricks & face, AL flourish, Non Sequitor clockface, Victoria`s Secret alphabet, Stampotique girl, MyStamps face, & a set of alphas from Studio Astarte) & white EP. I then painted some old book pages, tearing them & sticking them in place, & used 3 different leaf punches (Carl) & some cs painted with Twinks H2O ( a combination of Ginger Peach & Cinnamon Brown). The arched door is from Collections, & the "inside door has been put through the CB with an embossing folder. (& My DH kindly put in 20 cents to start off my fund for the coming P2P show LOL) I think it`s the first time I`ve used that colour combination, & I think it looks great :)

I`m just working on an ATC for SANDIE`s blog, a weekly challenge where you get to create anything you choose, be it a card, ATC, LO etc, using the set letter, it sounds easy enough, so I hope I get the time to join in LOL...If I get it finished in time, I`ll be back to share.

I hope you`ve had a great weekend, I as always I thank you for stopping by, I hope you`ll come back soon to visit again...in the meantime, go forth & create something :)

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!!!

Blog Candy...

There`s some yummy blog candy being given away HERE , & to be in with a chance to win you must add the link to a post in your blog as well as add the photo to the sidebar (That will take me a bit of doing LOL) but in the meantime visit THE ARTISTIC STAMPER & have a look around :) I hope you`ve had a good Easter, & have not overindulged on chocolates :D

Have A Look...

Marie & Co have opened a beautiful cafe in the heart of Warragul, & you can have a look HERE, enjoy. Don`t you just love the concept? Inspiration all around, the cafe not only houses some very delicious-looking cakes, muffins etc, but there`s an assortment of art hanging on the colourful walls, & what`s more, there`s a SCRAPBOOKING store right there as well!!! Talk about being spoilt for choice, coffee & cake OR craft, coffee & cake OR craft, hmmm...now you can do BOTH LOL. I`ll come & visit soon Marie, & you better save me a piece of that yummy-looking cheesecake : ) Congratulations to you & yours on your new venture :)

On another note, I have come across this very informative blog, but b4 you visit, make sure you get a snack for yourself, as I can guarantee you`ll be there for quite a while...ENJOY

Busy Weekend...

A very busy Weekend over at INKURABLE STAMPERS, where SARAH celebrated her challenge blog`s first anniversary with a Cyberstamping weekend full of fun games, a variety of very interesting challenges, & a very busy chatroom...

HERE is a list of the proceedings... & here are my completed stamping challenges:

For the first stamping challenge we had to use a sketch as inspiration...I used BB cs (olive) all other cs & pps are by DCWV, & the stamped granny is by Inkadinkado,, the bracket is by Bella, & the sentiment is computer-generated...

For stamping challenge #2, we were only allowed to use 5 stamps, no more, no less...At first I thought I would have trouble coming up with a project that used 5 stamps...but after I got the idea for the ATC I had trouble holding back!!!!! For this ATC I`ve used some of my favourite images ATM...those "spooks" from STAMPOTIQUE, what can I say, I`m WEIRD : ) as well as an old clear postage stamp from Studio Astarte, & the quote is from an ATC booklet. Speaking of spooks, DH & I watched "Spooks" (the British program) on TV last night...can`t wait for next weeks` episode, clever writing & great acting makes this series one of my faves too; Back to the cyberstamping weekend LOL.

The third stamping challenge I found to be the most trying, not because it was something I`ve NEVER tried b4, but because I found it sooooooo #%$*#$! (insert expletive of choice) difficult to photograph!!!!!! We had to do a TWINCHIE, which is a piece of art in a 2"x 2" size, & had to photograph the project in our hand...maybe I should get a tripod LOL. I ended up doing 2, but entered only the DRD flower one...I scanned the images too, because I had such a hard time with the photography. They do look very cute IRL, & I do prefer this size to inchies (1"x 1"), as being a little bigger, they can accomodate a better variety of stamps & images. I find inchies too restrictive... HERE is a place to check out for inspiration...

All in all a fun weekend...thanks Sarah for the great challenges as well as for the fun games. If you get a chance, go & have a look at all the great entries, lots of great inspiration...Thank you for your visit & I hope you`ve enjoyed your stay as much as I`ve enjoyed your (cyber)company. Until next time, go forth & CREATE 8 )

Two Cards to Share...

Yep, two cards to share, & a layout as well. The first card I made a while back, but forgot to share it here...it was for our wedding anniversary (DHs & mine), it`s hard to see in the scan, but I stamped a COLLECTIONS flourish with red ink & clear EP, the wings were stamped with Stazon ink onto holographic paper, & the cb heart is a COLLECTIONS chipboard shape (which you can get from SAID SIMPLY) painted with acrylic paint, stamped with flourish & covered with DM. I`ve used a bit of scrap watercoloured paper as a b`ground (after taking forever to find a "suitable" bit of pp, I saw this bit just sitting there on my craft table, left-over from a previous project LOL) & I think it looks great, don`t you? I`ve used a rub-on (treasure) which was part of a prize from SBT50...

DD has been away with her school camp this week, so it`s given me extra time to play...The second project is a birthday card made for a good friend of ours (Hi Jason) When I saw this stamp over at TSQ, I knew it would be perfect for his card LOL. I`ve layered 3 diff cs pieces, the bottom one has been dry embossed using a CB folder, & the top one has been stamped with Versafine onyx ink, & heat embossed using clear EP. The letters are a mix of COLLECTIONS ( u r )cb, BELLA (h), & COLLECTIONS letter tiles (o w, OLD)

& lastly, here`s my LO for WEEK 9 of the 45 WEEK CHALLENGE over at SBT50 It`s very hard to tell from the scan, but I`ve used the CB swirl embossing folder on the pp, & have gone over the grooves with DM adding some clear beads to the pp. I also used a BELLA cb corner flourish, which I painted & I added some beads to the voids (try sayng that 3 times in a row LOL) These are two of the last photos DH took of our little Cuddles, before she passed away...I thought I would feel sad doing this LO, but it actually made me feel happy, as this was her favourite pose, with her tongue hanging out, & wanting to lick us :) I hope you`re keeping out of mischief, & are busy creating... & If you get a chance, head over to INKURABLE STAMPERS this weekend, it`s their very first year Birthday, & Sarah has lots of FUN STUFF planned, as well as a new theme for the month...Hmmm, better get busy b4 DD comes back from camp LOL. & as always, thank you for stopping by.

ATC Time

These are some of the ATCs I`ve made recently, the top 4 went to Spain earlier in the month & are now part of CUCHY`s collection. "The Perfect Poise" is for my yahoo group ATC-FRIENDS April swap, "Smile"is a Thank You ATC for the hostess of the group, & "Memories" is for May`s theme (bright colours). Thanks for stopping by :)