Sam's Inspiration Challenge

My lovely friend Sam has been running a blog candy giveaway over on her blog to celebrate 20K hits...YAY for Sam!!! She ran it like an inspiration challenge using this as her inspiration piece:
I have to admit that for some reason I really struggled with this one. I love these colours and I really loved the fabric that Sam chose as the inspiration. It's just that I couldn't make a card that I was happy with!!! I have made at least 4 cards and numerous bits that ended up in the bin (or the do something with these later box) and I've not been pleased with any of them. However, the challenge closes today, and I really wanted to play, so last night I made this card and it will be my entry:
I used my brand new "Merry, Merry' Christmas stamp and all the colours required. I'm not completely thrilled with it, but there you go. Sometimes it's so easy to make a card and other times it just seems like a lot of hard work :)

Here's a close up of one of the snowflake "baubles" so you can see how glittery it is:
Supplies-
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: VersaMark, Perfect Plum, Soft Sky, Rose Red
Stamps: Merry, Merry
Other: Gold brads, Soft Sky double stitched ribbon, Dimensionals, glue dots, snail.

At least I have one more Christmas card to add to the pile....and in non-traditional colours too!
btw: I stamped the "may your merry be very" stamp inside with a couple of snowflakes and I probably should have taken a picture of that too, but I'm over it :)

Hope your day is Merry
Kristie

Sing...

OK, this is really bizarre! I saw the new sketch for 2S4Y on my Google reader this morning and saved the picture of Kazan's new sketch, but I just went to the site now and it's not there!!! Maybe Google reader is giving me a timed post early???? Anyway, I liked the sketch so much that I just went and made this card for it:
This was the sketch I saw:
Recipe details:
Card is 6x6"
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Paper: Prima "Harmony"(the music paper), retired SU DSP (sorry I don't know what it's called)
Stamps: Always
Ink: VersaMark, True Thyme, and Apricot and Celery Markers
Other: Very Vanilla wide grosgrain ribbon, Prima flowers, American Crafts black velvet thickers (yummy!), SU Neutrals buttons, linen thread, black embossing powder, cutter kit distressing tool.

I just had a thought...if the post was timed I may have gotten it early because it is already Monday in Australia and not in the US...tricky!!!

Anyway, hope you like it. It's a bit big for a normal envelope...I really need to get some bigger ones...and I have no idea who I will give it to, but I was inspired to make it because of all the gorgeous birds in my neighbourhood. Every morning I wake to a glorious chorus of bird song and it just makes for a lovely start to the day :)

Hope your Monday is wonderful,
Kristie

CRS #5 - The one about the Doctor

I just came on here to say hi and I saw that my hit counter has gone past 8, 000!! Seriously, that is so exciting to me...when I first started this blog I really thought that my beloved sister would be the only one who ever read it :) Now I have so many great friends who regularly read and comment here...it's just the coolest thing I've ever done. I actually look forward to posting my creations and seeing what other people think of them...and who doesn't love a compliment or two???
Anyway, my random post today was going to be about Dr Who....if Moogsmum is reading this she'll know I'm a geek for sure now...that must get me bonus points :) If you don't love the Dr then feel free to leave....I won't hold it against you!

Here in behind the rest of the world Australia, it is the season final of Dr Who. Those of you who have already seen this know that we were left in suspense last week with the Dr transforming as the show finished. I mean seriously people, I could see that coming a mile away...the Dr and Rose running toward one another on a street where there were Darleks everywhere...someone was bound to be shot! or rather exterminated...LOL. So, I kinda know that David Tennant is not leaving the show, so I am assuming that the Dr's daughter episode gave a hint that he has the ability to just regenerate into the same person...so I'm betting that's what's going to happen. As for the Darleks...well we all know that just when you think you've gotten rid of them for good they come back and try to destroy the earth and all humanity, so it's a fair bet that the Dr and his fine companions will save the day, the earth and each other....though it's also a fair bet that someone will die....obviously not Captain Jack (mmmmm Jack) as he is clearly the Face of Bo in the future...thanks to Rose bringing him back to life when she looked into the heart of the Tardis. I know this has never been made explicit anywhere but the clues are all there, right?

OK, enough rambling....5 mins and counting...must go and prepare....LOL! I will be back if there are any huge surprises...but I'm generally looking forward to 45 mins of drooling over the delicious David....
BTW: If anyone knows where I can get one of these t-shirts, let me know. (Preferably the one with David inside it!!)

Kristie

ETA: OK, was not expecting the two doctors thing, but thought it was kinda sweet that one Dr got to stay with Rose and that she, at least, will be happy! Not expecting the person to *die* would be Donna...though with hindsight I really should have seen that coming...Dr/Donna indeed!!! I do suspect that the Darleks, though appearing to be destroyed, will reappear in some form or another in future episodes....I mean who else can be the Dr's all time greatest enemy if they're really dead and gone???? And what else is time travel for, but to bring them face to face again....no matter what Darlek Khan said.

I must admit to shedding a couple of tears at the look on the Dr's face at the end....I could just give him a great big squeezy hug, he looked so forlorn. But if there's one thing that's surer than the reappearance of the Darleks, it is that the Dr will find a new companion. I could do it :)

A cupcake kind of day

OK, you guys are going to get sick of me today, but I just couldn't wait to upload this one. I got this awesome Impression Obsession cupcake stamp set from the lovely Michelle at Stamper's Dream last week and I've been hanging out for Taylor's Cupcake Friday (Challenge #35) to make a card with it....crazy I know, but I just felt that it deserved a Cupcake sketch for it's first outing :)There's another stamp with a double layered platter of cupcakes in this set as well as another sentiment...but neither of them would fit the sketch so you'll have to wait to see those ;) For this card I went with Chocolate Chip and Pale Plum CS, some more of those gorgeous Basic Grey papers...Eva for the pieced bits on the main panel and Sugared for the BG. The cakes were coloured with my Copics (I only have limited colours at the moment...but some more *accidentally* fell into my cart when I was at the Hanna site the other day). I've also used some Choc Chip taffeta ribbon and purple rhinestone brads.

Mmmmmm...now I feel like a piece of Chocolate cake...wonder why????

Kristie

Dream

Yesterday while browsing through the blogs on my Google reader, I came across this gorgeous card by Jennifer Buck. She had made her version for the Unity Hip Hop Thursday and I liked it so much I decided to CASE it. I hardly ever CASE other people's cards....I really like to try and come up with my own ideas, but this one was so cute I just had to do it! Plus it was a great way to show off some of my new Basic Grey DP....Eva this time:I've used the same layout, faux stitching and the use of the DP, but I've changed the colours and the design in the circle. As well as the Eva papers (seriously, how gorgeous are these papers?), I've used Pale Plum, Close to Cocoa and Gable Green CS....I've hardly ever used that green, but it was the best match I had for the green in the DP...go figure! The ribbon is (I think) some Cocoa narrow grosgrain. This isn't in the catty anymore, so I probably got it from Madonna....I have so much ribbon I can hardly remember where it came from...lol! The flowers and sentiment are rub-ons from the Eastern Elegance pack....love, love, love those rub-ons, and the *stitching* was done with my trusty white gel pen.

No stamping or bling....how did that happen?????

So, I'm off to do some weekend sketch challenges. Both Beate and Taylor have awesome sketches this week and I actually have a cupcake stamp to use on Taylor's....woohooooo...and Beate's is perfect for showing off some more of my DP collection! Hope you all have an awesome weekend.

Kristie

OCC CASE Challenge

Over at Our Creative Corner they're having a giveaway...you know we all love freebies, right? So all you have to do is CASE a card made by one of the OCC Design Team. I chose this card of Amy Sheffer's to CASE. I love Amy's style and her blog is one of my favourites....go check her out! (After you look at MY card though, right?) Anyway, here's my version of Amy's Eastern Blooms Thanks...please excuse that bow...I cannot tie it properly today (or yesterday)....I am having serious bow tying issues :) I may even attempt to fix this later and change out the picture!!I've used Old Olive, Really Rust, Soft Sky and Sahara Sand CS, Fall Flowers DSP, Spring Solitude Stamp Set, Sky double-stitched ribbon, an Olive button and brads, and the scallop circle and label punches. Oh yeah, the inks are Rust, Olive and Sky. I've stuck to her layout and use of DSP, as well as her piercing. The changes I made were in the colours and DSP (hers was one of the new ones we don't have yet), I've added the brads and where she had a chipboard butterfly I changed it to my sentiment panel. I love this layout and using the DSP....if only I could get that bow right I'd be super happy with this card :)

Ok, hope you all have a great day....be back tomorrow with some more challenge entries :)

Kristie

I'm in LOVE....

...with these Basic Grey 6x6 papers! I got the Sugared and Eva ones from Stamper's Dream and I think that I may have to go back and get some more! They are so delicious it seems like a shame to cover them up with anything. In fact, I'm seriously thinking that a canvas collage of these papers would look totally awesome hanging over my desk!!

Anyway, I used one of the cute papers from the Sugared collection last night to make this really quick and simple card.
The base is Very Vanilla. I stamped the bird from 'Always' onto some Pretty in Pink CS in VersaMark and clear embossed it. I sponged the edges with some Pink ink and matted it onto Choc Chip. For the sentiment I punched out a scalloped circle of Pink and a 1 3/8" circle of Choc Chip. The sentiment is stamped onto the Choc CS in Memento Tuxedo Black. To finish it off I used the sample of gorgeous pink satin ribbon that Michelle from Stamper's Dream sent with my order (how sweet is that!), as it matched the Pretty in Pink perfectly.

As much as I was tempted to add other embellishments, I just wanted as much of this gorgeous paper to show as possible. Seriously, this card took about 20 mins to make all up. I love that! I also stuck the off cut piece of DP on the inside....I didn't want to waste a bit of it!!

There are so many gorgeous papers in these packs, I think you'll be seeing lots of them in the next little while!

OK, better go do some real work...LOL! Hope you all have a wonderful day,

Kristie

Why I don't like Spring

Here in Australia there is an ad on tv for allergy medication that shows people walking around with a fog hanging around their head. After they take the tablet, the fog clears and they feel fantastic. Do not be fooled by this my friends....it is a big fat lie!!!! I have been walking around for the past couple of weeks with that foggy cloud around my head, inside my head, and who knows where else...'cause my brain is not working properly. No amount of allergy meds can make that fog go away. Yes I'm being a big sook...whinging away to you all when you really only come here to see the eye candy....but there is none! I sat and sat...looking at my stamps and papers and nothing happened! My brain has given in and said NO MORE!!!

Not even the gorgeous Basic Gray DP or cute as anything Impression Obsession cupcake stamps I got in the mail yesterday could help (thanks to Michelle at Stamper's Dream....check it out my friends, GORGEOUS stuff!). I think that this year is the worst I've ever experienced for allergies. I saw my doctor yesterday for my weekly dose of acupuncture (she even did my allergy points....yay for some small relief!) and she said that Sydney was a hot bed for bad allergies. There are all these flowering bushes and plants that I have never seen before and they obviously do not agree with me! Not to mention the wattle that's everywhere. For my non-Australian readers....you may think those gorgeous yellow flowers look great, but let me assure you that they are evil and will drive you insane if you have an allergy to them!

So, enough of the complaining. I just needed to vent....I wish I could say that I feel better now, but I don't!! I am going to go and make another attempt to create something. I have pretty new things to play with after all. So, I hope that I will have something to show you tomorrow....but I won't make any promises......Spring sucks!!

Heart to Heart Blog Candy

As I previously mentioned, the wonderful Cammie is giving away the most amazing and generous blog candy EVER. All you need to do to enter is to make a card to send to someone who cares for a person suffering from Alzheimer's. I don't personally know anyone who fits this category, but my mum works in my hometown's hospital which has a nursing home attached. The men and women who work there do the most amazing job caring for those who can no longer care for themselves and this includes people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. So I am going to send this card to them:I've used the Live Your Dream set to stamp the flowers in Tempting Turquoise, Saffron and Old Olive onto Whisper White and then matted that onto some Turquoise CS. The card base is So Saffron and is stamped with all the different Thank you stamps in my collection, including the gratitude stamp from Life Definitions, in Saffron ink. I then stamped the little butterfly from Live Your Dream all over the card in VersaMark and finished it off with some Olive grosgrain ribbon.

As much as I would love to be the one who wins this amazing giveaway, the real winners in all of this are the caregivers. Too many times these amazing people are overlooked. They give of themselves every single day, even though their jobs are incredibly difficult. So, I urge you all to make a card and send it to someone (or a group) who spend their time caring for others in their most difficult days....not only will you have the chance to win a fabulous prize, but you will show those caregivers that they are appreciated for what they do.....what are you waiting for?

Kristie

Ask and you shall recieve....

After yesterday's post on my purple card making frenzy, my lovely PSF June asked if I would make a purple Christmas card, as she likes Christmas cards in non-traditional colours. Well June, here it is. I have to admit though that I didn't just whip it up on demand, it was one that I made when testing out ideas for my Secret Santa swap back in July and I'd completely forgotten that I had it there until she mentioned it :) So here's a purple Christmas card just for June...I made this one with the retired Holiday Spirit Set, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and some Elegant Eggplant ribbon. The baubles are embossed in gold and bits of them coloured with the Eggplant marker. I actually really liked how it turned out, I just decided on pink and silver rather than the purple and gold :)

This next one is a little bit more traditional, made with Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate and River Rock CS and the Holiday Harmony DSP from the Spring Mini...
I also used the Happy Everything set for the sentiment and the large and small star punches. There's a large green rhinestone brad in there as well for a bit of bling. I can't believe I didn't use any ribbon though!!! I did think about it but wasn't happy with any of the places to put it. The layout is based on Beate's WSC #58, but just in a normal A5 card instead of a square (for easy mailing). I went a bit crazy swiping the CS with the ink pad....it's probably a bit much but I'll just send it to someone I don't like so much....JOKING!!!

Tonight I'll be working on making some cards for Cammie's MASSIVE blog candy giveaway...whoever wins that one will be one happy stamper I'm telling you. If you haven't seen it you should get on over there asap and check it out. I am full of admiration for what she is doing to raise both money and awareness for Alzheimer’s reseach....so what are you waiting for, go check it out, make a card and enter the comp...you just might be the lucky winner :) {though I am not so secretly hoping it will be ME!}.

Have a great day,
Kristie

Feeling Purple

Those of you who know me well know just how much I love the colour purple. Looking back over the cards I've made during the past few weeks, I realised that there was a distinct lack of purpley goodness in my creations. So last night after it cooled off a bit, I sat down at the craft table, got out a whole heap of purple CS and did some creating. I did make some Christmas cards (not purple) and I'll put those up sometime later in the week. Today it's all about purple.

For an added inspiration I used a couple of sketches. There are a lot of sketch challenges that I like to try and do, but often don't get the time, so last night I also got to do a couple of those as well. This first card is for a blog candy challenge over at the fabulously talented Christine's Creative Journey. Christine is giving away a RAK to celebrate 20K hits and all you have to do is make a card based on this sketch:Pretty easy huh? So, in my madly purple mood this is the card I came up with:

See, I told you I was feeling purple...LOL! Even my *tree* is purple....Kaiser rhinestone btw, with purple Prima flowers. The little owl is from Celebrate Everyday and is coloured with Copics. The "hi!" sentiment was made with some white American Crafts chipboard thickers. The CS is Elegant Eggplant, Lavender Lace, and Almost Amethyst. The little eyelet is Perfect Plum and the ribbon is Eggplant grosgrain. I was a bit impressed with my sparkly tree...especially the way it seems as though the owl is looking at it to say "What the..."

The second card I made was based on Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #34...unfortunately I still don't have any cupcake stamps...though that will soon change...LOL! So I just used the basic sketch to produce this card:

Same colours of CS as the card above with the addition of some Whisper White. Same ribbon too! The Eggplant BG is done with the So Swirly Wheel in Eggplant ink and the white swirls and sentiment bit are SU's Urban West rub ons. Because it was so hot yesterday the rub ons didn't come out quite perfect...I'll have to touch them up with the white gel pen before I send this one off.

Well, it looks like today is shaping up to be just as hot as yesterday. I hope to get some more creating done today...I still have a bunch a Hanna stuff that I want to finish. I've been having so much fun just colouring the images that I haven't made them into cards yet! If you like colouring then these stamps are awesome! I am getting better with the Copic markers but I need more colours....MORE, MORE, MORE!!! That's the problem with these gorgeous pens, once you start I think you won't want to stop til you have all of them...a very expensive hobby for sure!

Hope you all have a fabulous Sunday,

Kristie

To hot to do anything.....

It is so insanely hot here today....seriously, what is going on with the weather????

Yesterday was a rather pleasant day....today it's going to be 31 degrees...it feels like at least that already! I had plans to make Christmas cards today, but the heat has totally sapped my mojo! I made one and it's horrendous....looks like a five year old made it, and I'm way too embarrassed to even show you :)

I just want to laze around and do nothing...so that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully it will cool off a bit later and I can make something that's adequate for public display.

Hope your Saturday is more creative and productive than mine....

Kristie

Happy birthday Leonie!

My lovely friend Leonie is having a birthday today and this is the card I made her. Hopefully it should have reached her by now and I'm not spoiling any surprises by posting it here.I used some of the delicious Fall Flowers DSP on an Old Olive base, with Really Rust and Sahara Sand panels on the top. The image and sentiment are from One of a Kind. The flower thingy was stamped in Olive and the sentiment in Rust on Whisper White and layered on Olive CS with wide Olive Grosgrain ribbon wrapped around it. I then did some faux stitching with the mat pack and paper piercing tool and my white gel pen (yes it is a little wonky at the top!). The little flowers from the Pretties kit were coloured with the Rust Marker and there are some little white half pearls from the same kit in their centres. The layout is based on Jen's Sketch for you to try from last Saturday.

This next card is the one I made for my Grandma to replace the one that made Kristina's top ten.
I started this one by wanting to use some of the lovely ribbon that Lauren sent me in the wonderful birthday package (yes I have been hoarding all of those goodies). Isn't it just lovely? So I decided that the colours needed to be Celery, Regal Rose and Rose Red. I stamped the flower from Bloomin' with Beauty onto watercolour paper and coloured it with the aquapainter and inks from the lids of the ink pads. I layered onto Regal Rose and Rose red and roughed up all the edges with the cutter kit. I stamped "Bloom" in VersaMark and coloured it by dabbing on Pastels with a cotton wool ball. The little bee was stamped onto the off cut of the watercolour paper and coloured with Saffron and Basic Black Markers, before I punched it out and stuck it into a Styled Silver circle frame thingy (what are they called???). I used the Designer label punch with some Regal Rose and a larger circle of Rose Red to mount the HPH with some Celery brads. Oh yeah, I rounded the corners with the corner rounder to give it a softer look.

So there you go....two posts in one day...I'm seriously spoiling you guys :) Though you might have thought the first post of the day was a little odd....but if you follow the links to Moogsmum's site you will (hopefully) understand....and anyway, it's only the truth, I am a geek and not at all embarrassed to admit it :)

Hope you all had a fabulous Thursday,
Kristie

I am a GEEK!!

For those of you who have come here to see crafty thing, I'm afraid you'll have to come back later...I will post something craft related later on, but for now I am attempting to prove that I DO belong in the Geek League. The delightful Moogsmum has just launched the League of Geeks and I want to make sure that I qualify for some points....so, Moogsmum please note that my blog header and profile both mention the fact that I am a PhD student...this certainly qualifies me for geekdom, without any of the other things on your list :) Furthermore, my brother-in-law, who I happen to adore, not only has degrees in Computer programming and Engineering, but also holds a PhD in Robotics Engineering (more points). I also have lots of geeky PhD friends who study completely irrelevant and obscure topics. My PhD is on the depiction of female figures as "Mother" in the Coptic Manichaean Cosmogonic Texts...a title which I feel also deserves a number of points :) (plus I have added links so the uninitiated may discover exactly what it is I study)

I am obsessed with grammar and spelling and am often tempted to write scathing comments on other people's blogs to inform them of the error of their ways; however, I refrain. Because although I might be a grammar nut, I am not mean!....want some proof of this obsession:

This is the table right next to my computer desk. Below is the book case to the right of my desk:

Please note that it is full of completely geeky books. There are other geek type books which, unfortunately, I do not have room to display in my bedroom and are therefore packed in boxes...trust me on this one.

I am working on some other geeky type posts to help build my points in the League. If you have stuck with me this far and want to help me out, then please go to Moogsmum's site and leave her a comment and tell her that you think I really am a complete geek (and rather competitive to boot!)

Back later with some cards :)

Kristie

Inspired by Lauren

I am very often inspired by the wonderful Lauren and today's item is no exception. Recently Lauren has posted some pages from her daily art journal and I have been inspired to begin one myself. I don't think I'll have time to make a page every single day....but I'll try, and you never know, I might even show you some of them...LOL!!

Today however, I am just going to show you my journal. I made this myself from scratch....using my brand new Bind-it-all!!!! (It's even PINK!!!) My first go at binding was slightly less than perfect, but that's all part of the charm of handmade things right? Before you know it I'll be a total pro and making all kinds of cool stuff. For this book I just used some light weight chipboard covered in Petals and Paisleys DSP for the cover and Very Vanilla CS cut to size for the interior pages bound with a one inch white coil.
Seeing as it's an ART journal, I went a bit crazy with the decorating...after all it's just for me and so I could just do whatever I liked. The letters spelling out ART are from On Board Lots of Letters, sponged in Tempting Turquoise and covered in Crystal Effects. The *wings* are from some random chipboard shapes I got ages ago and have been hoarding for a special project...'cause I really love them...and they've been sponged with Pink Passion ink, covered in CE and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter....aren't they pretty?
This cool flower is something I've been wanting to try for months...ever since Lauren (again!!) put up instructions on how to make one. Of course I didn't follow her instructions...because I am a little anal/pedantic and the idea of free form cutting was just too much for my poor little logical brain to cope with! So I went with the next best thing...punches and die cuts! I did crumple them though and swipe the edges with ink....and most scary of all is that the centre *petals* are punched from a BOOK!!!! An old dictionary to be precise, but I almost had a panic attack doing it....it's a BOOK!!!!!!! Anyway, the bits are all held together with a pretty blue rhinestone brad.
Finally I wanted to show you a close up of these awesome buttons. Lauren sent them to me in my birthday parcel and I've been hoarding them too! But I decided that this was the perfect project to use them on! Aren't they just too cute? I've threaded them with some Linen thread that I dyed by dragging it across the Pink Passion ink pad while holding it down with a sponge dauber.....I love how it turned out and will be trying that again...why buy heaps of different coloured threads so your buttons aren't nekkid when you can just dye your own the perfect colour to match!
So, there you have my first BIA item, my first Art journal, and my first attempts at stepping out of the box, all in one project! I will be back tomorrow with some cards to show you....it's a very special day, but you will have to come back then to find out why....LOL!

Kristie

Kristina Werner CI #23

Kristina was sneaky and posted the Colour Inspiration challenge early this week! Luckily I get her blog on Google reader, but by the time I finished this last night it was too dark to take a picture....but here it is now, bright and early! This is the inspiration piece:
When I saw this for some reason it reminded me of when I was a little kid and we would pick bunches of random flowers for our mum and put them in a glass of water in the kitchen...so that was kind of the look I was going for here:
I used the hostess set, "Oh, So Lovely" and stamped the poppies and berries twice each onto Very Vanilla CS, using the trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement, and using markers to colour directly onto the rubber...Olive for the stems and leaves, Saffron and Pumpkin for the poppies, and Burgundy for the berries. I coloured in the flowers, berries and leaves with the markers, and then stamped some of the small leaves from "Bodacious Bouquet" in Choc Chip, drawing in the stems with Olive marker. I mounted that onto a piece of Old Olive CS and tied it all up with some delicious Chocolate Satin Ribbon...just like we used to give our mum the flowers we picked tied up in ribbon....usually my hair ribbons...LOL!!! Finally I mounted it all onto a Saffron card base with dimensionals and stamped the 'Thank you' sentiment from "Short and Sweet" in Chocolate ink in between the ribbon ends.

Ok, keeping it short and sweet myself this morning. I should be back later on to show you some other stuff I've been doing...until then have a wonderful day,

Kristie

Warning - Contraband in use.....

Since being introduced to the world of stamping in April, I've pretty much stuck to using Stampin' Up! products. Sure, I've used a little bit of DP from other places and a few Primas, but mostly it's been SU all the way. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE SU, but there are a few things that I've seen on other blogs that have been tempting me for a while now. Name Hanna's, Bella's, Copic markers, other DP....well the list is constantly growing from reading way too many awesome blogs. Those of you who always read my blog may remember that I mentioned that I caved and bought some Hanna stamps (awesome service btw) and some Copics. Well, here is my first card using those products:

I had to wait until the acrylic blocks arrived (which was yesterday) as well as some different ink for stamping. Stazon runs...NOT GOOD!!! But I have been reading Marianne's blog I Like Markers, and she recommends Memento ink for colouring with Copics and luckily for me that arrived yesterday too! (Tuxedo Black in case you were wondering). Now, I have a fairly limited range of colours (at the moment!) and I was colouring on SU's Whisper White, which is a coated CS and therefore not ideal for blending colours (have some other stuff on order), but I am pretty happy with how it turned out for a first go. There's some of my new Prima flowers on there too, with rhinestone brad centres, some Petals and Paisleys DSP and the CS is Orchid Opulence and Tempting Turquoise. The circle clip is from the Antique Brass Hodgepodge and the ribbon is Turquoise.

The Copic markers are from a set on the Hanna site called "Spring", which I thought was rather appropriate for the weather we've been having! I won't mention who inspired me to buy these particular Hanna stamps...if she's reading this she knows who she is...but the person in question had a number of cards made with this set in an issue of Stamping and Papercraft a while back and after that I really did NEED it...LOL! Please note that Hanna's shoes and handbag match both each other and the trim on her dress....PMSL!

So there we have my first real foray into the world of contraband. I somehow feel that I'm now on a slippery slope and that you will be seeing all sorts of non-SU stuff in the future....but don't worry too much. I love my SU stuff too much to ever give it away completely :) and I'm sure a little bit of SU something will make it onto all my cards.

Tomorrow I will have my first BIA project to show you....an art journal I've created....Lauren will be proud of me :)...and maybe even the first crazy page I've made for it too.

Have a great day,

Kristie

(Pretend it's still...) Completely Random Sunday #4

I don't know what was going on with blogger yesterday! And I still can't upload my prepared post from Live Writer! I am in serious need of technical assistance....if any Blogger people are reading this post (AS IF!!!)....get your act together or I'm going over to the opposition ....seriously!!! And while I'm on my rant....are any of you who get posts via Google reader having trouble viewing pictures from Blogger in the posts???? or is it just me?

Right, enough ranting, onto what I was attempting to talk about yesterday. I don't know about you guys, but I am rather obsessed at looking at pictures of other people's craft rooms and spaces. There is something about taking a peek into their world, the place where they create, that thrills me. So today I thought I'd share some pictures of the place where I create.

As some of you already know, I live in a share house with three other people. So, I study, craft, live and sleep pretty much all in one room. Since I began this card making thing back in April I've had to rearrange my space several times, just to try and fit in all of the stuff that I've managed to accumulate in that short period of time. Just last week I had to do some more rearranging to fit in the latest shipment of goodies!!! But, just for now, I'm happy with the way I have it all arranged....though I still dream of the day when I can have a whole entire room to fill up with all the crafty goodness that I covet!

So, here's the pictures....first an overview of my space. I have a long skinny room and I've arranged my desk etc at the northern end, near the big windows, to make the most of the natural light:
Tiny isn't it? This next photo shows the area to the left of my desk. On top of the blanket box (where I store out of season clothes) are most of my lovely ribbons, my way too full scrap box, and a file with cardstock arranged in colour families for easy access. Next to that is a little coffee table. Under the table I have full(ish) packets of cardstock, some random pattern papers in a file and all my packets of chipboard. On the bottom shelf there is a pile of DSP (hidden under that big white sheet of CS) and the box where I store finished cards that are not going in the mail straight away. On the top shelf is an ugly file thingy (desperately in need of altering) that holds tools, envelopes and bits and pieces that have no other home. On top of that is my beautiful embellishment box, all my embossing powders in plastic containers, and some Hanna stamps that need a new storage solution (working on that!).
This is my desk (obviously!). Here I have a lazy susan with essential tools, a basket full of adhesives and sponges, and my Stampin' Scrub. Oh, and you can see my new cutter kit too...watch for lots of distressed paper in the near future! On the shelf I have my beloved Colour Caddy full of inks and another ugly file thingy that holds markers, crayons, mat pack, crop-o-dile and lots and lots of brads, buttons, eyelets and other essential stuff. My Fiskars cutter is on top, along with more ribbon and little origami boxes that hole chipboard alphas, loose stamps and various other things that don't have any other place to go.
This is my big bookcase (minus the top shelf) that holds all my stamp sets, punches (love those!), the BIA, more chipboard, wheels, Powder Pals (with glitter permanently in the small one), and various things to be *altered*.
Finally, this is the top of the bookcase. There's a couple more stamp sets, Hodgepodge Hardware, Pretties, Primas, and jars with cotton wool and some containers of paint. On the top are all my craft magazines, as well as a couple of storage boxes with RAKs and paints. Displayed in front are some of my favourite RAKs....but I change that often. There's currently a little bit of space on that top shelf, but I'm betting that doesn't last long :)
So, I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my creative world. If you have photos of your crafting space leave me a link so I can come peek into your world......please?

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and I hope that Blogger gets it's act together and stops annoying me!!!

Kristie

Blogger problems

I have a random Sunday post ready to go, but blogger won't play nice! Don't know what's going on, but will try again later.

Kristie

Pretend Stamping Friends

The first thing I want to say today is THANK YOU to all the lovely people who left comments on my Kristina card post. My pretend stamping friends are the best!!! The funny thing is, that I always thought if I actually ever made the top 10 I would be super excited...instead I was just shocked!!! I got up from TRYING to have a nap yesterday afternoon (seriously, who mows their lawn at 2.30pm on a Friday?????), to find a comment in my email inbox congratulating me on making it to the top 10. I said some very interesting words that involved "What the..." and immediately went to Kristina's blog to see if it was really true....and it was!!! I then sat here in front of my computer just....well wondering what the hell she was thinking....LOL! I'm over that now, and feeling very pleased with myself....PMSL!!!!! I have decided not send that particular card to my Gran, but rather I shall frame it and keep it as a cherished possession. Yes, that may seem a little odd, but I may never make the top ten again and I want a reminder to myself that, on this one particular day, I made a card that Kristina thought worthy of accolades....just for when I doubt that I am any good at this card making thing....YKWIM???

OK, enough self-congratulatory blathering....onto the pretty pictures. When I went to Regionals last Saturday I missed swapping with my PSF Sam. So we organised that we would swap between the two of us. She had none of her swaps left and offered to send me something from her stash, while I sent her a couple of my leftover swaps. Yesterday I received her cards.....OMG!!! I was expecting ONE card and instead received THREE of the most gorgeous creations....this girl is seriously talented!!!! Check this out:

These cards are just sooooo yummy. So thank you Sam, my pretend stamping friend, you have totally exceeded my expectations and I feel very spoiled to have received such lovely cards from you....mmmwwwaaaahhh!!!!

When Madonna introduced me to the world of stamping back in late March and when I decided to start a blog (April???), I never dreamed that I would get so much out of it. Sure, my bank account is now perpetually empty because of all the delicious things I NEED, but I have gotten so much more than mere dollars could ever buy in return. I have made friends with some of the sweetest, kindest, most generous people you could ever want to meet...not that I've met many of them IRL...and every day brings me joy, not only from the lovely things that they say about my work, but also from seeing what they do and learning from them.

So, to all my pretend stamping friends I say: thank you for bringing so much unexpected happiness into my life. Studying for a PhD involves many hours alone, focused on seemingly incomprehensible technicalities, and yet whenever I want to I can go online and visit with the loveliest people and see the most beautiful art.....PSF's are the best!!!!

Kristie

Kristina's Colour Inspiration #22

Another Kristina Werner CI challenge for you today. This one was surprisingly easy for me....not something I usually say about these challenges!!! Usually I put out CS in all the colours and sit there staring at it for ages before I decide what to do...but with this one as soon as I saw the picture I knew what I wanted to do. Here's the inspiration piece:

And here's my card:

I've used the flowers from the level 3 Hostess set, "Time Well Spent" and stamped them in VersaMark on the Rose Red, Soft Sky, Regal Rose and Bravo Burgundy CS, then embossed them with white embossing powder. Then I spent ages sitting there cutting them all out...LOL! I used Burgundy for the card base, just because I find Whisper White is a little too flimsy to hold up when you stick a lot of stuff on it, and then layered on the White. I stuck all of the flowers on with either snail, Dimensionals, or Pop-up glue dots, depending on how high I wanted them to sit. I sponged the edges with a little Sky and stamped the "love you" sentiment from "Short and Sweet" in Sky ink as well.

This card will be going in the post today to my Grandma, who's not feeling very well at the moment...hence the sentiment. She's one of my favourite people in the world, and no-one can make me laugh like she does. According to Mama we have the same *twisted* sense of humour :)

OK, that's it for now. Hope you all have a marvelous day,

Kristie

PS: Who can believe I made a card with NO embellishments???? Not me!!

Another birthday

No, not mine! That would be a bit much having 2 birthday's in one year....though the presents and cake would be nice :)

It's my housemate's birthday tomorrow and I've made her a couple of things...nothing too elaborate, but I wanted to show you anyway...cause I've just been working on that and have nothing else. I will do Kristina's CI challenge tonight and I'll have that up either later with a dodgy pic or first thing tomorrow. Anyway, on to the show...

I picked up this photo frame (& a black one just like it) at a discount variety store a few weeks ago when they were having a 20% off sale. It only cost me like $2.50!! I just added some Cherished rub ons in the corners and a photo I took of Alka and her boyfriend a few months back when they were all dressed up to go out. I altered the pic to black and white to go with the theme and viola, it was done.

This is the sentiment bit in the bottom right corner. As she adores her boyfriend I thought it was apt.

I also made her some Christmas cards to send to her friends and family who are overseas. I probably would have made more, but I ran out of time....

They all use a retired SU set called Holiday Spirit, that I just LOVE and bought from Madonna. The Wasabi panel on the cards on the left is stamped in silver and says Joy (thought I'd put that in because you can't see it very well). I've also used Silver, Artichoke and Pomegranate cardstock, the Holiday Harmony DSP, as well as some Pomegranate and Wasabi striped ribbons. Oh yeah, there's Artichoke brads as well and I used the scallop punch on the trees.

This is the birthday card I made her. I used a Vanilla base, and Mellow Moss and Apricot Appeal card stock, Apricot ribbon, a chipboard flower covered in Apricot punched with the five petal flower punch and lots of glitter on the centre. The background is from Baroque Motifs and the sentiment from Happy Everything.

I also got her a packet of Chai Latte...she loves that like I love my coffee. I'm going to wrap it all up in brown paper rolled with the So Swirly wheel in Moss ink and tie it up with some satin ribbon. I love brown paper for wrapping....reminds me of the Sound of Music :) Then there's the chocolate fudge cake...I promise to take a photo before it's eaten....just to make you totally jealous. I hope she likes it all. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, so I hope the thoughtfulness of the gift makes up for that.

The reason I didn't want to spend $ on her gift is I need all my money to support my new addiction.....yes my friends, it's sad but true, I'm addicted. I was wandering around online Sunday a week and a half ago and I found myself at Hanna stamps. I've been wanting to try out Copic markers for a while and the price of them here in Australia has put me off. At Hanna stamps I discovered that they have Ciao markers for $3.33 each....hello!!!! So I got a few. While I was there I had to buy some Hanna stamps as well. They were just too cute!!! I got a couple of different ones....and the sentiment stamps that have the "put your big girl panties on and deal with it" stamp. Madonna and I say that all the time, so I just could resist!! That's what I will be doing tonight, instead of making more Christmas cards for Alka, I will be stamping and colouring with my new toys. I did have a little test drive of the Copics before I had a nap, and let me just say they are soooooooo amazing! I know understand why they have been so popular. Also, Hanna stamps service was impeccable. They must have had my order packed and in the post so fast for it to get to me today...oh, and the stamps were all wrapped up in the most delicious tissue paper with butterflies on it, just like a wonderful present!!! I couldn't be happier with the service, so I suggest that if you are looking to try out some Copics, then you should go check them out. And if you are in Australia, their OS shipping charge is SUPER cheap compared to most other companies in the US!!

OK, enough enabling (like you all need more encouragement to buy stampin stuff!). I'm off to wrap these pressies and tidy up the enormous mess I've got in this room, so I can relax and play with my new toys tonight!

Hope your day is filled with sunshine and unexpected surprises....just like mine :)

Kristie

The direction of your dreams

I made this card in about ten minutes the other night, using the new stamp set I got at Regionals....well the sentiment from it anyway. I wanted to make that the focus of the card, so I left the rest of it kind of simple. It's just a Vanilla card base, layered with some Soft Sky and a piece of DSP from the Notebook pack that I punched with the spiral punch along the edge. The sentiment is stamped in Blue Bayou on Kraft cardstock and sponged around the edges with Sky ink...oh and the Sky CS is also sponged with the same ink on the very edge of it. The ribbon is some Sky double stitched.

The tiny primas were a little gift when I ordered a few bits and pieces from Anna's Craft Cupboard ages ago. The 3 of them were stapled in a little bag to the receipt. I was looking for something to add to the card...you all know my fetish for embellishments...and I thought of them. I stuck them on with some mini glue dots but I thought they looked a bit naked....they were too small to put brad through the centres of and then I had a great idea! Well, not so much that it was MY idea, but I remembered something I saw on another blog (sorry, but I can't remember whose it was)...home made dew drops. They're made with Crystal effects. I don't have any re-inkers like the lady who invented them used so I just put little dabs of CE and then sprinkled them with glitter....here's a close up:

And another one:

They look really pretty IRL. Tonight I'm going to be working on a birthday gift for my housemate....it's her birthday on Friday and she's going to be 22....so young!!!! I am not sure what I'll make exactly, but I'm thinking of an altered photo frame with a picture of her and her boyfriend in it. I have some pics I took of them one night when they were all dressed up to go out, so I thought that might be nice. And maybe a little box of cards that she can send to her family in Kenya....I don't want to go spending a lot of money on a gift and lets face it, when you live with a *crafty* type person you should expect home made gifts...right? I'm also going to make her my *famous* Chocolate Fudge Cake...I'll try and remember to take a photo before it gets devoured...LOL!

Have a great day, wherever you are.

Kristie

Swaps and a new Stamp Set

Lots to show you today, so I'll keep the blather to a minimum :)

I got a whole pile of swaps at Regionals on Saturday and it was so hard to choose *favourites*, so I'll probably end up showing you others on days when I don't have anything of my own to show....sneaky I know. But I did choose three cards that really jumped out at me....my favourites for today!

This first card is from a demo called Jenny Wilcockson. I've never met Jenny before and I don't know if she has a blog, but I got 2 cards from her and they're both stunning. The one I've chosen to show you today is just gorgeous IRL...the tree must have taken her ages (or maybe I'm just projecting my own rate of colouring onto her!)

Seriously gorgeous, right?

This next one is from a lady called Kylie Johnson & I don't know if she has a blog either! But I totally adore what she's done with the butterfly from Garden Whimsy...I hope you can see how pretty and sparkly it is...

The final one I'll show today is from my lovely friend Cass King. We only met IRL for the first time, and very briefly at that, on Saturday, but she is so sweet and talented...and she leaves very nice comments on this blog, which is always endearing :)

Nice, huh??? I love a Christmas card that's not traditional...IYKWIM?

Finally, I wanted to show you a card I whipped up last night for my Mama using the new stamp set we got at Regionals, Live Your Dream. At first I wasn't overly thrilled with it, but I've changed my mind and now I think it's great...really versatile and the little butterfly is just too cute! Mama loves butterflies!

Basic ingredients: Regal Rose, Very Vanilla & Always Artichoke cardstock, Rose Red, Regal Rose & Artichoke markers, (Rose Red inkpad for the butterflies), Artichoke ribbon. Hope she likes it! There's no sentiment because I couldn't decide where to put one, so I've just written on the inside. Sometimes I really like a card with no sentiment, just to say hi & I'm thinking of you.

Ok, better go get ready for my weekly acupuncture torture session....I really need it :) Have an awesome day,

Kristie

Sorry I'm late....

...but Regionals on Saturday completely wore me out. It wasn't so much all the stamping and laughing and fun that I had, but the weather. For those of you not in Sydney, both Friday and Saturday the weather was DREADFUL!! It poured rain for the whole two days...which always makes my poor back ache! Poor, poor, pitiful me :(   LOL!! On Saturday I got up really early to catch the train into the city...to allow for unexpected delays (regular occurrences on CityRail) and also time for getting lost! I am a country girl, and every single time I go into the city I get lost! Really, sometimes I get very, very lost! However, on Saturday I didn't really get lost, I just went the long way round, which I realised after I walked back to the train station in the afternoon with a couple of the other girls who attended and it took about a quarter of the time it took me to get there! Anyway, I got out of Central station, went to put up my umbrella and it literally exploded!! So, there I am, walking around, getting wet as anything, when I step into a puddle that I just didn't see....my poor left foot was soaking wet all day and I made funny squishing noises when I walked!

Other than those small disasters, Regionals were awesome! I saw some great presentations of Workshop WOWs, heard excellent business tips that I'm filing away for one day in the future (when I might actually have time to make this whole stamping thing a business), and had a blast swapping and chatting with so many lovely SU! ladies. We also got some good goss on upcoming promos, a brand new stamp set not yet available in Australia and got to have a play with the awesome long scallop and square scallop punches with our make and takes. Even with the whole getting drenched thing, it was an amazing day and I'd thoroughly recommend it to any demos out there...or even those of you who could go as a guest. Fantastic.

I haven't yet taken any pics of the fabulous swaps I got...tomorrow maybe??? But I thought I'd show you the card I sent to my fabulous sister to congratulate her on her new home. I didn't post it with the cards I made for the kids (which they loved btw) because she does actually read the blog and I wanted it to be a surprise!

Those of you who know Mad would know that she's a bit obsessed with Old Olive and Choc Chip, unlike me with my fetish for brights and pastels. So that was the colour combo I chose for this card, along with some So Saffron to lighten it up a bit. The Olive DSP is from Fall Flowers and I mounted it on some distressed Saffron and then onto a Choc card base. The Happiness sentiment (which I thought was apt for her finally getting into her new house) is from Wonderful Words and stamped in Choc Chip on Saffron. It was punched out with the large oval and mounted on  Choc Chip that was punched out with the Designer Label punch...I really like how that looks. The Olive flowers and circles are from the mini catty Die Cut Blooms and the Choc flowers (yes, I know they look black in this pic!) are Primas. I stuck a green rhinestone brad in the centre and popped them up on Dimensionals. It was finished off with some delish Choc Chip satin ribbon. She SAID she loved it, but the most important thing is that I loved it....LOL!!!!

OK, I'd better go do some work. I'll sort through the swaps I received tonight and post some pics of my favourites for you tomorrow...there's no way I can post them all. Also, later in the week I'll have some photos of the cute Christmas ATC's I made and the swaps I received...there was only 4 of us in this one, but they're really cute and have given me some great ideas for Christmas cards.

Have a great day,

Kristie