Taking time to breath

...and to share one card I sneaked in on Sunday afternoon while I was waiting for all my team to complete their deliveries (door to door) of the census materials. On to tonight .......Census night ........ when hopefully everyone will either do theirs on-line or on paper and leave the latter out for my team to pick up over the next two weeks!

I am going to enter this in Craft Us Crazy #14 Anything Goes

The outside light has changed the red card to a pink tone - believe me, it is SU Cherry Cobbler!  The image is from WMS stamp set Roses in Bloom, stamped onto SU Soft Suede with Brilliance white ink.  The rose was stamped three times onto shiny white photographic paper, embossed with clear EP (with difficulty!) and then I used alcohol inks on them - Tim Holtz's Distress inks Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Forest Moss and then topped with Barn Door.  I then sprayed it with Tatted Angles red and some gold mica.  I layered up after cutting out one whole and two part roses and added a jewel centre coloured with Copics to match.  The red spots actually match the red in the base card and you can see this in the photo below - also the shine of the mica. I used a Shapeabilities Tag and added white satin ribbon and the sentiment comes from the same rodent set, stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink.

Big Week

Just need to tell people that I have a big week coming up and just past - I have been paid by the Commonwealth Gov to assist with the Census as a Supervisor of Collectors, and its not a doddle of a job, I have to earn my money, so as the Census is on the 9th,  I and my team are busy.  I have a big birthday as well this week, so will be out or action for a few days, I expect!  Have a good one and don't forget to do your Census if you are in Australia.......if you are in USA, get those pollies to agree will you, its doing great harm to our and everyone else's  economy while they dither!!!

Whatcha got in your drawers?

I've got lots of goodies in mine! Spent the afternoon pretending I was cleaning up by tidying up my standing desk (where I do most of my craft work) by painting, gluing and papering with My Minds Eye - Confetti papers a small Kaiser set of drawers I have had for a while now but not done anything with......and then loaded it up as I cleaned off the desk space (told ya I was cleaning up!).  I think it looks sweet and the top of the desk did get a clean off and spruce over. I added the Kaiser locks but they are a bit big and make opening the drawers a bit hard but I am sure I will manage.

Don't look at it too closely as it is a bit rough. Hubbie certainly thought so - he was not that impressed with the painting etc.    BUT I'm happy!!!!

A Stampin'Up sort of day...

It is really lovely outside - a real bright blue winter's day, with the sun shining and the temperature below 10. I have been playing in the workshop, avoiding dealing with the corner of my space where the rain from last week got in and destroyed the carpet and mangled stuff in that corner!

I have a party next weekend where I have to create a demo and a make-and-take.  So, after going onto the SU site, I have cased three cards and one idea for my demo.  I will show the demo idea later, but here are my CASED cards - mmm, which one will be the MAT?

Perhaps I will make it Number 1.  Any suggestions?

The card used is SU Rich Rassleberry, Sahara Sand, Whisper White and Pear Pizzazz, and the inks are PP and RR.  I have used ribbon from the stash and Kaiser bling, and the punches are all SU punches. The frame in Number 1 is a Sizzix Big Shot embossing folder for SU called Framed Tulips.

Tis NOT the season but.....

....the Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge #117 says "Christmas in July" as it added twist, so I had to make a Christmas card, my first one for 2011.

Scraps of Christmas papers from my stock, the SU stamp Dasher embossed with Stamp It EP Egyptian Gold onto SU Confetti White card (which is also the base) and is all sparkly, a flower and a sticker from momenta.  Recycled Christmas ribbon and that's all folks! 

Gussy Up a book

I was walking past a Specials bin in a city newsagent this morning and there was this little book, with a spiral back and kraft covers, and vintage looking pages.  It was $1 and it called my name - I bought it and this afternoon I used some old stash to cover it and gussy it up a bit.  The cover is where I was trying the resist technique (emboss with clear on glossy paper, cover with ink and wipe clean, polish with a tissue) for the first time.  You can see it was not very successful as it was in the days when I was not very good at wielding a stamp or embossing stuff - not that I am much better now, but I do at least try to be neater and clearer. Anyway, I then used some ribbon given to me by Sue Walsh last year, from AnnaBelle stamps. Notice it has circles on it. I tied a big bead onto it to create a place ribbon, and tied on anther smaller bit for decoration to the spine. I then used two sheets of another pad I had picked up in one of those dinky little vintage shops, somewhere on the mainland while on holidays, because I liked the vintage look of the pages.  I glued this inside the front and back of the covers.

I will enter this in AnnaBelles - Say it in Circles challenge, as it is using circles in the ribbon, on the face plates (well, technically they are ovals, but who is complaining, right?) and the flourish is circular, the flower is a circle and the brad in the middle of it is a circle, while the bead is a definite circle!!

Sorry about the photography - I think it is my camera on the blink.....

It is shiny so hard to get a good photograph of the bits......

The inside front cover........

A close-up of the flower - it is die cut with a Spellbinders Heartfelt Posy die, and held together with a SU brad. 

I have 25 followers now - I feel so privileged that so many of you have decide to follow my blog and am delighted to welcome Sally as the 25th! I am starting to feel like a real blogger now! 

Sunday Selections

This is a photo sharing experience, by frogpondsrock.

Here is my photo to share:

It was taken earlier this year on a beach not much visited, late in  he afternoon on a cold day.

Flowers

This one was made quickly from a cased photo - with stuff left on my craft desk and some Cosmo de Lovely paper. A doily folded over, a die cut label, sentiment from a S2G stamp stamped with SU Tempting Turquoise, green ribbon. I used Kaiser bling and coloured some with pink Copic pen. The edge is a Martha Stewart edge punch. The card is a white commercial blank.

I am entering this in Scrappy Frogs Flowers Challenge and I was going to enter the Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge, until I read the small print as saw I had to use a stamp from them - sorry, I have some of your stamps but didn't use one in this and didn't realise until after I had entered it was a condition.  My apologies. 

Ed:  I will also enter this one, as it fits the criteria also - no stamps - into UnstampaBelles Challenge#1

Pink and Blue

I am entering this one in three challenges:
Lollipop Ladies #24 - Fairy Floss and Fibre
Mojo Monday sketch
Lili of the Valley - Pink and blue

It is a Magnolia (of course), coloured with Copics, and die cut with Spellbinders.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley - Dreamy Days.  The die cut behind the image is Nestabilities Fleur de Lis, and the one behind the sentiment is the scalloped circle, and the one below it is a straight scallop.  The paper is from the De Lovely set mentioned below.  The flower is a Prima and makes the fibre as it is made from fabric. The ribbon has been in my stash for so long I have forgotten who made it.  The card is SU Pink Passion as is the ink used to stamp the sentiment and also swiped along the edges of the image. I finished with small Kaiser blue pearls. 

Fancy Fold

It was my DIL's birthday last  week - can you guess how many fingers?  (Happy Birthday Bea).

I am entering this in Delightful Challenges - Fancy fold card challenge and Southern Girls Challenge - Happy Birthday; and Craft Your Days Away - fancy folds. 

Ed:  I am also entering this into a challenge I have just discovered called UnstampaBelles Challenge - not stamps!

One sheet of cream Co'Ordinations embossed card 12 x 12 cut in half and rounded on one end.  Then I edged this with cream lace, added the flower (Prima) and the Joy metal sticker, the metal clasp (faux) and the number which has been embossed with Stamp It Bronze Sparkle EP. Photo taken in late afternoon, hence the shadows.

Inside the card I used papers from the Prima Annalee collection, and some SU Vanilla card.  The sentiments are stamped with Momento Close to Cocoa ink using Stamp It Birthday Sayings. The clasp is really held down with velcro dots. I popped in a small piece of lingerie to remind her of her youth!