Snow and a Puppy!

Just a few photo's to make you shiver a bit more! It snowed on our mountain this week - but still our temps did not drop below about 2 beside the river. Sun is out today and it is one of those beautiful blue days you get in winter. Off the radio station soon (Radio for the Print handicapped) to record some short stories I culled from the net for a program called Far and Wide, and then to Government House for a Reception this evening to mark 30 years of the stations existence! Busy day. No time to craft today!

Sunday/Monday - it was cold on the balcony taking this but I did only have on my nighty and it was only about 9.00 am!

A close up

Frenchman's Cap - the the right of the mountain!

Mountain and river and houses next door -  the first one with the balcony is for sale - only $1.2 million! It is snowing a bit more later in the day.

The next day was clearer and warmer - some snow already melted.

See - a blue winter's day!

Then a photo of the latest aquisition in our family - our eldest grandaughter has purchased a puppy! Name of Sam! Cute eh!

Bring on the CUPCAKES!

This fortnight's challenge for the Lollipop Ladies is: Cupcakes

With the additional challenge of A Recipe of Embellishments: 3 of one, 2 of another and 1 of another.

My embellishment recipe is:

3 different layers - blue + dotted paper; blue and green card; diecut pink + image

2 different ribbon treatments - ruffled and a bow!

1 material brad

(I know, I know - a bit of a cheat, but I made the card first and then had to fit to the recipe!)

My card is using an image from LOV and I love this one called Time for a Cuppa.  I coloured her with my trusty Copics and then used the Prisma pencils and Zest to create the background. You cannot see it clearly but there is also some Spica clear glitter spread around.  

The die cut frames are from Stampin' Up, and the sentiment frame is made using two SU punches. The sentiment itself is from a Dollar Stamp set I purchased several years ago and haven't used before! Most of the rest is from my big basket of papers which has grown out of sensible grounds and which needs to be sorted! I took to throwing offcuts into it at Christmas time, and now have a basket full of these! Time to use them up! The ribbon was a scrap - I read that you can ruffle them by pulling a middle thread. Yep, you can but it was a bit difficult with one and a half hands! Did it but. Tied a tiny bow too but had to call on Hubby to thread the legs of the brad through the back - too fiddly for me yet! 

I went around the outside of the image with orange pencil to outline it but it didn't show that much so took to the black to do the job; probably should have used brown. The green sheet has a shimmer on it also - hard to see in the photos.

There was either bright light or dappled shade outside, so it's either washed out or obstucted by a leaf!

I will enter this in the following Challenges:

Fab and funky - polka dots

PaperPlay Challenges - use a die

Creative Crew - 1, 2, 3 of something (see start of my ramble)

UnstampaBelles looking for a new team member!

Design Team Call

Unstampabelles is looking for a person (1) who enjoys manipulating paper.

Do you enjoy any of the following:-  iris folding, papertole/decoupage, quilling, parchment, creating boxes, books or scrap pages?  

Would you like to take up the challenge of creating a paper craft without the use of a stamp (rubber or digital)?

Would you like to be part of our fabulous and friendly team?

If you answered ‘yes’ we would love to hear from you.

Please email Merry with a couple of details about yourself and why you would like to be part ofUnstampabelles.  Also your blog details.

As a Design Team member you would be required to make a paper craft creation once a month and if time permits another creation for our Halfway post.   You would also be required to leave comments on entrants blogs but we do have a roster system for commenting.

Benefits to you:

You will be challenged to think outside the square.

You will make some wonderful new friends - the other Design Team members.

Your creation will be featured on Unstampabelles with a link back to your blog.

Occassionally, products may be available from sponsors to use in your creations.

This Design Team Call will remain open until Friday, 29th June and the successful applicant will be advised by email by the 30th June.

This call is open to everyone whether you have been on a Design Team or not.   Even if you have just started up a blog we would love to hear from you.

Remember, just go to this link and email Merry!

Prisma Pencils and Zest

Not forgetting paper stumps. While out of commission I have been reading blogs and magazines, and learning all about colouring systems that I new about vaguely. One of these systems is using a wax pencil (Prisma) and a medium (Zest) to create a colouring system different again to watercolour and Copic. It took a while to assemble the props - I got a small tin of 10 pencils several months ago, then found and ordered Zest - my first attempts were not good. I read a bit more and found out about paper stumps; ordered some off eBay and used them - much better. Then I found an image I had stamped out a long time ago, and began to colour.

I sponged blue around the image after I had cut it out using the die, and then removed it from the die. It sat on the desk for several days.  I began to play with layout - I had got a Jillybean Soup pad - Homemade 6 Bean - and used some papers from that. I found some flowers and twisted them together, and then sorted out  some ribbon and lace. 

The sentiment stamp is from LOV, and I used TH Distress inks over SU Whisper White, and coloured the small flowers with Copics. I used dies to cut the back frame and inked the edges with TH Faded Jeans. 

It took it a while to put it together - still not very handy, but over several days I did get it to this stage. No inside yet. 

I will enter it in the following challenges:

My time to Craft - hats and bags (either- I have a hat)

Shopping Our Stash - double the ribbon

Try it on Tuesday - anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes

I have finished my first term painting class (watercolour and mixed media) and our last lesson was all about using monotone - in this case black and white/grey) - I was using the left hand only here, and charcoal pencil, wax candle, black ink and water, scraping with the palette knife, reeds and brushes and knibs......tried to create a mood. 

Just thought I should also (for those who are still here) show you the hand after the first six weeks.  Cast now off and only wrapped a bit each day for support.  I can move the thumb across to the middle finger and occasionally to the ring finger.  Still get swelling but surgeon says this is due to scar tissue being disturbed and moved around and is OK.  I have little strength in it but can use the smaller scissors gently and slowly for small periods of time! Hopefully it will improve steadily and I can work without pain.  No general pain now - don't miss it I can tell you - it's funny how you don't realise how much pain there was until its not there anymore. 

Three scars - four stitches on the wrist and two up the arm for the tendon

I think I counted 8 on the side of the hand/thumb base.  All nice and neat!

Wrist is a bit thick! Still no pointer - wonder when it will pop out? 

Jelly Babies!

Do you eat the head first or the legs? I saw on QI a few weeks ago that studies show mothers tend to eat the heads first! Too many crying babies? Don't wish to prolong suffering?  It's a bit strange!!!!

Us ladies at the Lollipop Ladies are 

issuing you a new challenge!

Get Out There and Create

based on the photo above!

With the additional challenge of Ribbon

And we have some new (and not-so-new) DT members to welcome this fortnight :-)
Look out for the inspiration of Bronwyn, Lauren and Elaine
 as well as our monthly guest, GDT spot winners and our trusty DT Gail, Gin and I.......

Guest DT spots are able to be won each fortnight

and our sponsor this fortnight is:   Annabelle Stamps *

$10 Voucher (thanks to Andrea).

* Prize will only be offered if 7 or more entries partake in the challenge.

Here is my take on the photo inspiration, and I am very pleased with this because I have put this together with only my left hand! (and a bit of help!)

The ribbons are Kaiser. They had to be trimmed and as I cannot use scissors with precision at all yet so my daughter trimmed them for me. They are just stapled (crookedly) onto a strip of card. The base card was a piece of scrap white, sort of smooched through the left-over TH Distress ink sprayed with water on my mat.  It left such a pretty pattern.  I then stamped it with an old stamp from my collection - this stamp is one of the first I owned and is a clear stamp: the number on the package is MS 591DD but there is no name of the maker. It is stamped with Momento Tuxedo Black. I then over stamped with the fern stamp from IBFS in Momento Desert Sand. 

The topper was then mounted on a series of papers in the stash basket and put on a base card of SU Marina Mist. I then added three vellum autumn flowers.  When I took the photo's yesterday, the winter garden behind was reflected in the colours of the card! I do hope you like it!

The Belles June Challenge

The UnstampaBelles are issuing  Challenge#12 

to showcase your

RIBBONS!

Remember, Unstampabelles Challenges require you to make a paper object (card, box, layout, frame, etc) without using either a stamped image or sentiment or a digi image.  You can use a computer generated sentiment or handwrite, use stickers, rub-ons or other sentiments printed on card. It's a real challenge of our ingenuity and a great way to delve into the stash and use things that have just been laying there for ages!

This month, the challenge is sponsored by Beth of 

 Huggiescrafts

and there is a photo of all the lovely stash she is making available below! Wish I could win it!

                                              

Here is my card for the Design Team:

I have used the negative from a die heart by Nellie Snellen MFD022 and kept the heat cut out to use on the inside of the card. The white card was purchased at a local craft shop and I an uncertain what it is called. In the bottom right I added a rub-on. I put this over the ribbons as shown.  The ribbons were scraps that I had kept, and I added them to one side of a square of jac paper, placing them close to each other and overlapping in some cases. 

I intended to leave it as that but it looked a bit plain and then in the mail I got this butterfly die from Cheery Lyn - Large Lace Faerie Queen, with Angel wing - could not resist! My base card is SU Poppy Parade, and I used some of that to cut the die, and added some bling on the body. Can't say the card is too plain now! Isn't  that delicious!

As I said, I added the die cut to the inside and my sentiment comes from a freebie set that came with the magazine Cardmaking and Papercraft. I coloured the heart up (carefully) with my red Copics.  

I want to enter this in the following challenges:

Cooking it Up with Katie - a recipe of ribbon, diecuts and a celebration

Penny's Paper-Craft - Anything Goes

Die Cuttin Diva's - Anything Goes

Ladybug Crafts - Something with wings

Southern Girls Challenge #45 - Dying to Diecut (or Punch)

Favourite Embellishment?

This is the challenge set at

Lets Ink It Up 

this month!

For me, this was so difficult! I have so many different things I love as embellishments! I had to chose two or three and go with that, although I snuck in an extra one towards the end!

3rd June 2012 - 25th June 2012

Challenge #24

Theme - USE YOUR FAVOURITE EMBELLISHMENT/S

Sponsor - Kitty Lane Stamps

Contact details – Fay email kittylane@universalprinters.com.au

Prize Package 

Is this gorgeous package of goodies.

 Sponsor Blurb - Universal Printers have been making commercial stamps for many years, and the Kitty-lane Craft Stamp brand was established during 2009 and is well known for supplying interesting and crisply detailed images for stamping decorative card and scrapbooking.

Kitty-lane stamps are EZ foam mounted for use with acrylic blocks, saving much needed room in the craft area.  Kitty-lane stamps are manufactured in our factory using vulcanised gum rubber.  All images are trimmed closely with open areas cut away.

My favourite embellishments include luscious papers,  dreamy ribbons and gorgeous stamps coloured up with the trusty copics!

The Kitty Lane stamp I have used here is called Pretty Woman, and I love it!  I have coloured her up using a number of different mediums to try her out and see what looked the best but this one using Copics suited what I had in mind for this card best.  I have fussy cut her out up the right hand side and across the top of the wall. She has been stamped in Memento Paris Dusk. I then glued her to the card front over a piece of DP before adding the flowers. The card blank was folded into three and cut as shown, with three panels covered with DP and one with plain card.

The roses are Kaiser ribbon roses - they are so fabulous! The fantastic papers are from Basic Grey - Out of Print. They just suited this scheme so well! Both sentiments are from Verve, and are stamped with Momento PD, and the first one was stamped onto a piece of SU Whisper White card which had had a Verve Notepad image stamped in Momento Desert Sand on it  and cut out. The little Annabelle Stamps pearls were added after they had been coloured with the copic to match.

A Die-namics oval 1 and 2 were used to cut the shapes for the second sentiments in SU Calypso Coral and Night of Navy, and the middle panel used SU CC also. The card blank is SU NN also. There is another small pearl on the hat!

I will enter this in the following challenges:

Two Sisters - Inside Out

Drunken Stampers - What's your Angle?

Pixie Dust - Summer

Diva's by Design - Anything Goes