The skater

They are so elegant and pure when you see them performing their stuff! This  one was picked up at a beautiful craft shop in Blackburn, Melbourne, just before Christmas.  I decided to enter Colour Throwdown's Challenge #126 - to use Early Expresso, Kiwi Kiss, Marina Mist and Old Olive in a card.  I am trying to use up my stash and not just use the newer stuff all the time, so I went through the huge stack of DP to find the one to use as my background - as I saw it, the memory of the skater flashed across the surface of my mind and I was able to grab the idea before it drifted off somewhere, and immediately knew how this card would be made.

I inked the sentiment die cuts with Marina Mist and Old Olive, and the skater with a Timber Brown ink.  I then lightly ran my Smooch inks over them in appropriate colours to give them some glamour! They do have a lovely sparkle.  The DP and the backing card have been inked with Kiwi Kiss as well, and the card is apiece of Old Olive cardstock, folded in two.  Inside I have used the brown ink for the sentiments. The DP and the die cuts made the card very easy. 

Stamps:  Shirely's2Girls - Out of this World

Paper and Card:   DP was a freebie from a Scrapbooking magazine; brown Bazzill scraps; SU Old Olive

Ink:  SU Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss, Marina Mist; Stay'sOn Timber Brown

Other:   Smooch - blue, green and Molasses; Annabelle's Sprinkles; Scrap FX Embellishments; dimentionals and double-sided tape.

This is inside the card

Many people have kindly commented on my work over the last few weeks, and when I go to their blogs and see their work I am so impressed with their work and so pleased that they took the time to comment on mine.  Many of them have been selected for recognition for their work (like Sue W (Tillymint) whose gallery at SCS has been selected this week to be in the spotlight - Congratulations Sue) so I was particularly pleased when the lovely people at Mad for Markers picked my work to comment on in a positive way. Thanks. 

Very bright colour combo!

Ed:  Can you believe it - it's a DRAW!!!  Back next week!!!!!

I am listening to the AFL Grand Final on the radio, and currently the Saints are WINNING!!! YEAH......but for how long?

Anyway, to keep the excitement level down I have been card making as well. I decided to use the weekly colour challenge at Colour Throwdown, which looked quite pretty on line, but when I got the colours together (or similar in the case of River Rock) boy, are they bright!  Anyway, having chosen my colours, I then looked at the Annabelle Stamps Bling Sketch ABSCO#30 and used that to create a card.  Here it is:

I don't have a Bigshot or die to cut out a scalloped circle, so used my SU Medallion Stamp, and trimmed a sort-of scalloped circle from that; my Cuttlebug was used for the smaller circle, and the image comes from SU Touch of Nature set, as does the sentiment.  My Martha Stewart edge punch was used for the top, and the bling is really pale blue but looks slightly green in the light. Melon Mambo, Pacific Blue and some Co' ordination card that that is nearly the same as River Rock. Below is inside the card, using the rest of the sentiment.

This card is a straight case from Bleu Bella  - it looked so nice I had a go: my white embossed pattern is from WMS - Victorian Fripperie, and the flowers in the circle are from SU Simple Somethings (my very first SU stamp set). The sentiment is from SU Warm Words.

Yesterday, the tiler was here doing the floor for the new kitchen. So, I was confined to the craft room again. In the Australian Cardmaking, Stamping and Papercraft magazine for this month, devoted to Christmas cards, there was one article showing the use of embossed metal shim. I have the dove embossing folder, and recognised it being used in the article, so cased the ideas and created three cards for Christmas!

Come on the Saints.......we cannot stand a year with Collingwood as winners!!!!

Mercy, a bruised toe!

A few days ago I went to visit a neighbour and managed to slip on her step, and land with all my considerable weight onto the tip of my right big toe - thought it was broken there for a while, but several xrays later, it's not but it is bruised and swollen and a bit difficult to walk on! However, I have survived - a woose but alive.

This photo was taken three days later.

In the meantime, I have made another card for another two Challenges - a sketch and a colour challenge. 

The sketch is from Lord Have Mercy but I missed the time frame, and other is from the colorthrowdown #100 Challenge.

                                   

I used SU card and SU Baroque Motifs for the swirl, and SU Baja Breeze ink to stamp that.  I also used black Memento ink for the sentiment. This is a Verve stamp - Love. Add one flower and a Prima flower centre, and the Cuttlebug to emboss the green in Quickutz - Diamonds and Dots, cut out the shape with a Tim Holtz Alterations - Movers and Shapers and add some ribbon and pearls. I outlined the blue card with some faux stitches in white gel pen, and put the whole lot on a blank beige commercial card. I also used the Baja breeze to sponge onto the edges of the shape.

Off to put the toe up!