Clean and Simple

Hello there! I’m here at Mama’s house, safe and sound, as are all my belongings. Though they are mostly packed away in the garage and I’m finding that perhaps I am not the world’s best packer! I really should have thought more carefully about what I would actually need for my stay here and packed that stuff all separately and properly labelled….ah well, we live and learn, don’t we?

I haven’t really had the chance to do much creating yet, but I did whip up a little clean and simple card with my new 5th Avenue Floral and the new in-colours. 5th Avenue is brilliant for making nice simple cards with a big impact…there’s not much to this one, but I think it’s pretty :)

I’ve stamped the various flowers from the set in Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Pink Pirouette and the sentiment in Red onto some Very Vanilla with a scalloped bottom edge. I tied on some of the new Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon with the Vanilla edge (absolutely delicious!) and mounted it onto a Riding Hood Red base. That’s it, but IRL it’s lovely :)

It is so nice to be home, though it was rather chilly here this morning, something I’m not used to after living in Sydney for a year…but totally worth it for the slow pace of life here and the clean country air…it’s really made me realise just how bad Sydney smelled!!!

Tomorrow I will be back to show you something awesome my Mama made with one of the new catty sets that is exclusive to Australia and New Zealand…gorgeous native flowers.

Hope you’re all having a fabulous day,

Spot the Dots

So this is another of the posts that I have scheduled, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that all goes to plan and the post at the right time!

This week’s Magnolia Down Under challenge is *Spot the Dots* and you can see from my card that I took this rather literally!

Now, this is one of those times when I wished that I had written down the ingredients for my card somewhere. Usually I just go check the name of things in my stash…but of course as I’m writing this it’s all packed up and not accessible!!! The Magnolia stamp is Sitting Tilda and I chose her because she has a polka dot top and hair bow…she was stamped on Neenah Solar Crest and coloured with Copics. The DSP is the now retired Dashing…I’m really going to have to get some new DSP and stop using all the retired stuff…but these jumbo polka dots were perfect. The little polka dots that she is sitting on and that are in the scallop circle are from the same pack. The stamp is one of last year’s hostess sets and for the life of me I can’t remember the name…it’s the one with all the stamps for the round tab punch. The ribbon was a piece that came with an order from one of my favourite on-line scrapping shops so I don’t know the manufacturer. The CS is Real Red and Old Olive.

I hope you all find time to play along in this week’s challenge…I had heaps of fun trying to find as many polka dotted things as possible to put on this card :)

Have a great Sunday,

While I’m flying away :)

I find it rather amusing to be sitting here typing this, knowing that when it (hopefully) publishes on Friday I will be on my way to Queensland!!!! I have also set my Magnolia challenge card to post on Sunday and I’m crossing my fingers that it all works the way it should. I will be back to *normal* by Monday, so you won’t even have a chance to miss me!

This is a card I did the other day for the SCS colour challenge but of course I have packed up the piece of paper that says which one it is and don’t have time to go track it down right now…if you really want to know you can find it in the list of colour challenges :)

So the challenge was to use Bordering Blue, Pink Pirouette and So Saffron, with Choc Chip as an optional colour. Obviously I chose to use Choc Chip as I thought it went well with the others. I used the cute Tilda with Tulips for this one and coloured her with Copics. I mounted her on dimensionals onto PP and the CC. The Saffron CS was stamped with the large flower from Cheap Talk in Saffron ink and then the smaller one in Choc Chip…clearly I did NOT use my stamp-a-ma-jig to line them up properly, but I’m going with the idea that the slight offset of the Choc flowers gives the background and extra charm…LOL. I also used one of the sentiments from that set and stamped it in Choc Chip ink. I used some Saffron embroidered ribbon from the retired Ribbon Originals and a couple of Primas with a rhinestone brad in the centre. Oh yeah, and I used the eyelet border punch on the Saffron panel.

Hope you are all having a fabulous Friday…I know mine will be because I get to see my darling nieces and nephew as well as Madonna and her lovely husband Mark. It’s going to be a great day for sure :)

Just a quick note...

...to let you know that I have turned off comment moderation but turned the word verification back on for the next few days while I'm away. I've set up a couple of posts to go, one for Friday and one for the MDUC on Sunday. And I don't want you all to think I'm a big loser with no comments on my posts while I don't have access to moderate them.

Hopefully won't get any weirdness but you never know...I can always go back and delete them later anyway. I might have to have a poll about this...do you prefer not to have the word verification and what do you think about comment moderation...just curious I guess. You can pretty much say what you like now that I have no control over the comments til Monday....LOL.

See you then,
Kristie

Time to go…

Well almost anyway! I am finally all packed, except my computer (LOL) and ready for the removalists to arrive tomorrow. I am starting to get excited about seeing everyone. I was just talking to Mad’s little Lexi on the phone…talk about CUTE! She told me that I could sleep in her bed…not sure if she meant I could share or what??? She’s so adorable with her little girl voice and when she tells me that she loves me, well my heart just melts :)

I thought that instead of showing you a card today I’d share some pictures I took last week of some of the statues that are dotted around the University grounds, seeing as it will be a while before I see them again. Some of them are really awesome and some…well I’m not exactly sure what they are, but they look pretty cool.

This last one is my favourite. It’s absolutely massive..though I’ve never quite figured out what it’s meant to represent, I just like the rounded lines and the spheres inside one another.

OK, better go set up a couple of posts for while I’m off-line and finish a few last minute bits and pieces. Then I’m going to sit and relax with some *Criminal Minds*….anyone else out there like this show? I’m totally fascinated with the profiling and the serial killers…not sure what that says about me!

Alisa’s CC 12

Madonna’s upline Alisa regularly does colour challenges on her blog, and while I don’t always have the time to participate in them, I thought I’d better do this one since I was the one who suggested it! She had this gorgeous card up on her blog using Choc Chip, Pink Pirouette and Tangerine Tango and I was surprised at how much I loved these colours together. So in my comment I suggested that it would be a great combo for one of her Colour Challenges…next thing she had it up on her blog! So the other night I sat down to have a bit of a play and this is what I came up with:

I think it’s kind of cute :) Alisa always allows a neutral as well, so I chose Very Vanilla for the base of the card and using Choc Chip ink I wheeled the trees from the Funky Forest wheel across the bottom of the card base. Then I used the branch, birdies, flowers and sentiment from Cheap Talk to make the main image panel. The flower is the only non-SU thing on there and it was a white flower that I coloured with Tangerine ink and popped a little Pretty in Pink brad in the centre. This one’s so straight forward I’m not even going to do a supply list (ie: I am way too lazy to be bother today).

So, only three more sleeps before the removalists arrive and I am so over packing it’s not funny! My room is a disaster area and for a neat freak like me it means a constant state of high anxiety. I’ve got a lot of the boxes that are already packed up moved out into the next room, but everything in my room is such a mess, with boxes and newspaper and stuff everywhere. It is driving me completely insane and I just can’t wait for it to be all over.

I’m so tired and sore from all the packing that once I’ve posted this I’m going to go lie down…that is once I clear the boxes and crap off my bed! I just need to lie there and close my eyes and pretend that I’m not living in a horrendous mess, even if it’s only for half an hour.

Hope your Monday is much neater than mine :)

Hey there Cupcake!

LOL…today’s Magnolia Down Under challenge (#8) has the theme *Cupcake* hence the reason for today’s title :) I had to buy this *Love Muffin* stamp especially for today’s challenge…well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!!!!

Here’s the card I made:

Of course I had to make a chocolate cupcake (I don’t believe there is any other kind of cake…LOL) and I love green and pink with chocolate, so that took care of the colour scheme. Hope you like it :)

Cardstock: Pixie Pink, Chocolate Chip, Neenah Solar Crest (for the cupcake)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Chocolate Chip and Copic Markers

Stamps: Magnolia *Love Muffin*, Odd Bird Planet sentiment

Other Stuff: Wide Satin Choc Chip Ribbon, Designer Label punch, American Crafts Button (coloured with Copic marker), Linen thread, Certainly Celery DSP & brads, Dimensionals.

The lovely and talent MDUC DT member Debbie is having a massive blog candy giveaway today too. Go here to check it out. Look at what you could win:

The Prize (taken from Debbie’s blog)
- SU retired SAB set - Botanical Blooms
- SU retired hostess set - For a Friend
- Heidi Swapp clear stamp - Swirl
- See Ds Stamps - 2 x small stamps and the Noel set
- Kaiser - Mixed flower rhinestones and Fozz Felt
- American Crafts rub-on transfers - birthday theme
- Papercraft rhinestone brads
- Basic Grey mixed fibres
- Collections Elements - chipboard keyholes
- Scrapware minis - 1 set each butterflies and hearts

Pretty awesome I think…hope I win…LOL! But mine was the first comment and number 1 never wins…all the better for you guys then. She is also offering to ship anywhere in the world…so go leave her some comment love and this great prize could be YOURS!

Well, I have done a ton of packing already today…but my room looks like a box factory exploded in there :) I still have 3 days to go, so I’m taking it easy and there’s really not that much left to go. So I’m going to take a little Sunday afternoon nap…it’s perfect weather for it too…rainy and miserable.

I hope it’s sunny and nice wherever you are,

Too much going on….

My life is sooooo crazy right now! I warned you all that my posting might be a bit hit and miss over the next week or so and I’m just telling you again :) I can’t find my mojo…I think I must have already packed it…LOL. Lucky I have a few things tucked away, or you’d get nothing but me whinging about how much I HATE packing!

I do have one good reason to explain my absence yesterday…I got my first SU! recruit :) The lovely Yasmin (Hi Yas!) who had bought some goodies from me last year sent me an email saying she was interested in joining up and after a bit of a chat on the phone yesterday morning, she came round to my disaster room the in afternoon and we filled out all the paper work for her to join up! I am so excited for her (and for myself too!), she is about to embark on a fun filled, exciting journey as an SU! demo. I think of it as the universe’s way of telling me that my decision to move back to Qld and focus on my SU! business is the right thing for me to do at this time. Nothing like a sign from above to reassure you that you’re on the right track. I hope that she gets her blog up and running soon so I can share all her fab creations with you all…..she’s uber talented :)

So onto today’s craftiness….

 

I made this one the other day for the SCS colour challenge (213), which was So Saffron, Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa. Bashful Blue is one of my favourite colours and after doing this card I decided that I really don’t use it enough! I am also loving this stamp set, Bird on a Branch, from the new catty. The silhouette of the bird is just gorgeous!! I should also point out really quickly that the sentiment stamp is all on one line, but I used the Cocoa marker to ink up a portion of it at a time and the stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up so I could fit it into the Designer Label punch….tricky huh? LOL.

Cardstock: Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa & So Saffron.

Ink: Close to Cocoa

Stamps: Bird on a Branch

Other stuff: So Saffron DSP (retired) Bashful Blue double stitched ribbon, Designer Label punch, Bashful Blue Button (OH, nice alliteration there!), Cutter Kit (for distressing), Stamp-a-ma-jig & Dimensionals.

I’ve already done a heap of packing this morning, and over the past few days, but the stuff that I still need to do doesn’t seem to have reduced much! It’s an eye opener to realise just how much crap stuff that one person can accumulate in just a year. I swear I have twice as much stuff as when I moved here a year ago. Lucky Mama has a nice big double garage to store it all in…though I don’t know how she’s going to feel about parking her new card out in the yard…LOL!

I hope you all have a great weekend….and think of me slaving away with my boxes, bubble wrap and newspaper, struggling with the stupid tape runner, and fretting over where I’ll get more boxes :)

Inky Impressions DT Call – stage 2

Well, here it is…my card for the Inky Impressions DT call second stage! Nicole sent us two stamped images and a sketch that we had to follow to create a card. I hard fully intended to make two cards…but I messed up my colouring on one of the images and trying to fix it just made it worse (bit of honesty for you)!!!! The other card idea was really cool too :(  I did think about pulling the image of this card after I took a photo of it and sticking it onto the other one…but the colours are wrong and you all probably would have noticed that they’re coloured the same. Oh well, I guess that’s why she sent us two images…I can just be grateful that I didn’t mess them both up :)

Ok, enough waffling on, here’s the card I made:

I can tell you one thing…whether or not I get accepted to Nicole’s DT I am going to be buying these stamps! The other two previews that I saw plus this image are absolutely adorable! The drawing is so realistic…this little cutie even has fingernails and toenails (which I gave some pretty pink polish to! You might have to click on the image to enlarge it to see). I love her big eyes and all the little details in the image…just perfectly cute. And whatever happens at least I have my Easter card for my niece Katie all done for next year!!!! I’ll just tuck it away in a safe place till then…she will love this one.

I decided not to put an image on the card front and instead put some extra embellishment by way of those gorgeous new filigree and flower brads from SU! They are sooooo heavy though…there’s no way this one would go through regular post!

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, So Saffron & Pink Pirouette.

Ink: Copic Marker for colouring the pre-stamped image

DSP: Regal Rose, So Saffron & Pink Pirouette.

Other stuff: Regal Rose wide grosgrain Ribbon, Flower and Filigree Brads, Dimensionals.

I hope Nicole likes it! I am unbelievably nervous for some reason. Probably because I really, really, really want to make this DT. But if Nicole doesn’t choose me at least I know I did my best and tried as hard as I could (all things considered).

Finally, before I go I have to say a great big thank you to all of you who commented or sent me emails about yesterday’s post. Some of you brought me to tears with your kindness and generosity. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful, caring and generous friends. I am constantly in awe that I can sit here in my room and yet make friends all over the country and from all over the world. So many wonderful people have found their way into my life and my heart through this medium of communication. I was so nervous when I began blogging, wondering who would ever want to look at what I made???? And now I have more PSF’s than real life friends. I truly wish I could have you all over to my house for dinner and playing with crafty things afterward….imagine what a wonderful time we would all have :) You have blessed me with your friendship and made me feel so incredibly lucky…I don’t even have the words to tell you how full my heart is right now, except to say a simple thank you and tell you I just adore you all ♥

Hello there…I have some news!

Sorry I don’t have the cards for the second round of the Inky Impressions DT call for you today…I’m afraid I’m suffering from the crafting equivalent of writer’s block!  It’s always the way that when you have to create something special…either in words or a card…then you get that terrible block where you just don’t know where to start. I have about 17 different ideas that I want to try for the Inky Impressions DT cards, but I only have two stamped images to work with…so I can’t try them all! Never mind…I will get there :)

Anyway, I thought I would show you the second card I made for Kristina’s CI #48….I ran out of time to get it posted then, but it’s kind of cute and I thought I would share it with you today before I tell you my BIG news….that way if you’re just here for the pretty pictures you can have a look and go on your way :)

Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss & Whisper White.

Ink: Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss & Choc Chip.

Stamps: Cheap Talk & Neighbourhood wheel.

Other stuff: Random SEI buttons & chocolate embroidery thread.

Pretty simple again…I’ve definitely gone back to the clean & simple look lately :)

Right…on to my news. This is a bit of a story, so if you’re not really interested that’s ok…just go on your way to look at more pretty pictures or do your laundry or whatever :)  I’m going to tell you about all of this now because I feel like so many of you who read my blog and leave me comments are my friends, and I like to now about my friends lives outside of what they make in their craft rooms :) Also, what I’m going to tell you is about a big change in my life and I want to share that with you, my friends.

As you all probably know, I spent ten days in the hospital earlier this month. Now anyone who knows anything about the NSW Health system will know that the Royal North Shore gets you out of there asap, so to keep someone in for ten days is pretty serious business. I haven’t really talked about it much because I didn’t want to bore you, or have you think I’m looking for sympathy…I am not telling you now for that reason either, it’s just an important part of this story. Anyway, for the first 5 days of my hospital stay I was in a wheelchair (have you ever tried to drive one of those thing? It’s way harder than it looks) and the doctors were rather concerned that there was some serious damage to my back. As you may or may not know, I have degenerative disc disease…which basically means that the discs in my back degenerate at a much faster rate than normal and that they are prone to damage more easily than normal. Anyway, I have had problems with my back for many years, but lately the pain has gotten much worse and tests revealed that I had managed to give myself another prolapsed disc. On top of that the disc has two tears in it. Basically this means that it’s not doing it’s job properly and giving me lots of pain. So now I have 4 discs that are seriously damaged and won’t ever get better.

So, the doctors have put me on two different types of morphine tablets…one is a slow release and the other gives a rapid relief from pain (well reduces it anyway). This all means that I have had a lot of problems trying to concentrate on my studies. Basically, it’s been impossible to get any proper work done at all. After consulting with both the hospital doctors and my GP and talking it over with my PhD supervisor and family members i have decided that the best course of action for the moment is to take a break from study. At this point the plan is to take 6 months off and then re-assess the situation.

As the only reason I live in Sydney is to be close to the University for study, I have decided that I will be moving back to Warwick to be close to my family for both physical and emotional support. There are a lot more things that I am unable to do right now and I need all the help that I can get. i don’t now about you guys, but I feel pretty uncomfortable asking my friends to do my laundry or vacuum the floor…but asking my Mama to do it for me is not as bad :)

I am rather happy that I am going to be able to spend more time with my family and get out of Sydney…I really don’t like it here. I’m a country girl through and through and going back to small town life is going to make me feel alot happier.

So what am I going to do with myself? I am not the kind of person who can sit around doing nothing, so I am going to find myself a nice place to live (all alone with NO HOUSEMATES!!!!) and try and become a proper  SU! demo, holding workshops and classes at my house to make it easier for me. I’m also going to try and sell my cards, both in a craft store in Warwick and through an Etsy shop I am setting up. I’m also starting a little business doing blog design and set up. I actually have been on a disability support pension for some time, so I will at least have some income. The other things will be to try and make some money so I can continue to buy yummy crafting supplies :)

I have given notice, organised my leave of absence, booked the removalist and by the end of next week I shall be back in sunny Queensland with my family. I’m going to be staying with Mama until I find somewhere to live and then I will be working hard to try and make this new life work for me. I’ve organised it so that everything I’m doing will be flexible and can revolve around my need for rest and recuperation.

If you’ve stayed with me and read all of this give yourself a big pat on the back…it was a bit of an epic huh? Anyway, I just want you to know that if I’m a bit sporadic with the posting over the next couple of weeks it’s because of the packing and moving and whatnot. I will return to normal as soon as possible :) I hope that you will all stick with me as I go through this big change in my life. For the last 6 years all I’ve known is academia and I’m slightly concerned about how I’ll go back in the REAL world…LOL! But I hope that everything will work out to plan and that I can make my hobby into something that is a successful business as well as fun for me.

I look forward to sharing this new adventure with you all, without your support and encouragement for my craft I would not have even thought that this would be possible….so thank you all for that. Even if we never meet in real life, know that I consider you all my friends and that you are an important part of my life…big hugs to you all,

Thinking of you…

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I saw the stamps that are available for hostess product in this year’s Stampin’ Up! catalogue….especially for the level 1 product. So when I placed my first order out of the new catty I was in a bit of a dilemma about what to get. I finally decided that with my addiction to DSP I couldn’t go wrong with the 6x6 Patterned paper Pack. And I do have to admit to being a bit excited about having Basic Gray DSP. Anyway, when my order came the DSP was on backorder…I was slightly annoyed, but just forgot all about it until this morning, bright and early, it arrived on my doorstep.

When I opened it I was immediately smitten…especially by the Regal Rose DSP. The patterns on these papers are gorgeous…and there’s two different sizes of polka dot…well, I just couldn’t wait to play with them, so with a bit of cardstock, some ribbon and my trusty punches I whipped up a really quick card…I’m talking less than 15 minutes!!!!

What do you think? It’s really simple I know…but I think it’s so cute! I took my inspiration from the sample in the catty on page 18 if you’re interested….but my card looks nothing like that….LOL. I also got to use my new heart punch for the first time….I have had a little play with it of course, but hadn’t actually made a proper card…I love it ♥

Cardstock: Regal Rose & Basic Grey

Ink: Basic Gray

Stamps: The sentiment stamp comes from Trendy Trees (I can see I will be using that one alot!)

Other stuff: Regal Rose wide grosgrain ribbon, Full Heart Punch, Designer Label Punch, Large Oval Punch, Word Window Punch, corner rounder (told you there was lots of punches!)

So, as far as Hostess product goes, there are a couple of sentiment sets that I will probably get along the way…but I will be stocking up and hoarding this DSP like my name is Leslie….LOL!

OK, better go get ready for the weekly acupuncture session. Oh yeah…I almost forgot to tell you that the images and sketch for the second round of the Inky Impressions DT arrived in the mail today too! Very cute stamp I can tell you :) But you will have to wait till tomorrow to see it, unless you go check out Holly’s blog…she’s already done hers! I will be spending the evening tearing my hair out trying to make the most spectacular card ever, just to impress Nicole :)

Catch you later,

Some very exciting news….

I know I said I wasn’t going to post today…but I just had to share my exciting news with all my friends :)

Yesterday I got an email for the very lovely Kellie, asking me if I would like to join the Magnolia Down Under Challenges Design Team as a FULL TIME MEMBER!!! Yes, I was a bit excited…doing the happy dance in my chair and of course I replied straight away to tell her yes!!!!!!!

So here’s my cool new badge:

I am so thrilled that I Kellie has liked my work so much that she asked me to join her team. It means the world to me….I know that to some people this might not seem like a big thing, but after the stress and hassles of the last few weeks, this has made a huge difference to me…cheered me right up & made me feel….happy & loved :)

So I also need to say a big thanks to all of you who come and comment on my cards and make me feel special too. Every single comment is cherished by me as an affirmation that I am creative (which I sometimes doubt) and that other people enjoy the end product of my time at my stamping desk. So thanks to all of you who visit and comment, and also to those of you who just visit and don’t comment….but if you’re one of those people, please…don’t be shy, let me know who you are, so that I can stop by your blogs and say hello too :)

OK, enough of the blather…I am going to go spend the rest of my Monday getting inky….I so love public holidays :)

Mojo Monday #81

Here I am back again with a quick post for the Mojo Monday #81 sketch. It’s a prize week this week and I’d hate to miss the deadline….LOL.

This sketch was a bit tricky…trying to find images and sentiments that would fit the panels took forever…but in the end I resorted to using three different stamp sets to achieve the end result!

As you can see, I had lots of fun using product from the new catty…but I had to resort to a retired set for the sentiment panel!

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White & Watercolour paper.

Stamp Sets: Simple Delights, A flower for all Seasons & Cheap Talk.

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point.

Other stuff: Scallop Circle & 1 3/8” Circle punches, Pink Pirouette buttons from Button Bouquet, Pink Pirouette stripe grosgrain ribbon.

Ok that’s it for today….after 3 posts today I might take the day off tomorrow…LOL.

Magnolia Down Under Challenge #7

Wow, I can’t believe we’re already up to number 7 in the Magnolia Down Under Challenges! This week’s challenge was set by the talented Debbie Pamment….and it was a real challenge for sure. The challenge is *Sepia*….yep, it was inspired by looking at old photos and that’s immediately what I thought of when I saw it. I don’t know that I really captured that look, but I definitely stuck to the colours…LOL!

I thought that this challenge called for a softer look, so I coloured Sitting Tilda and her chair with Su’s Watercolour Wonder crayons from the Earth Elements colours, with a little Blush Blossom and Pretty in Pink for her skin.

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa & Choc Chip

Ink: Black Stazon, Close to Cocoa & Watercolour Wonder crayons

Stamps: Magnolia’s Sitting Tilda & Su’s Lovely as a Tree

Other stuff: Prima flowers, Close to Cocoa button and hemp twine, American Crafter Thickers in Chocolate felt, Scallop circle punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Choc Chip wide satin ribbon, Aquapainter.

I hope you are all have a wonderful Easter Sunday. It’s days like today when I especially miss my family and really feel the distance between us. So, instead of drowning my sorrows in chocolate (I never even bought I single Easter egg this year! Though I do have a big block of Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut right here on my desk….LOL), I decided to buy myself some flowers from my corner store. They have the loveliest fresh flowers there…they always last for ages, usually more than a week, and they are the cheapest flowers in my suburb by far. In honour of Easter Sunday I’m going to share them with you….though I wish I could give you all fresh flowers in real life :)

Happy Easter to you all,

Major blog candy alert

My lovely friend Kellie is having a massive blog candy giveaway on her blog today…she’s celebrating 15 000 hits since she started blogging in October last year! Yep, she is a serious superstar!!!!

Here’s what you could win:

This prize is huge!!! Want to know what’s in it?

• 10 Assorted Basic Grey “Sultry” 6×6 papers.
• 2 Magnolia Stamps
• 2Crafty Chipboard buttons
• Mini Display Easel
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Groovy Guava Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Soft Sky Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch River Rock Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Purely Pomegranate  Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Chocolate Chip Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Baja Breeze Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Rose Red Ribbon.
• 1 m Stampin’ Up! Double Stitch Bashful Blue Ribbon.
• 10 Paper Pink Roses.
• Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration set “Congrats” Stamp Set.
• Stampin’ Up! Stampin Spots “Rich Regals.”
• Kaiser Craft Pearls.
• 1 Handmade Daisy by Sandie.

I know…fantastic right? I hope I win because of those 2 Magnolia stamps…you can never have enough of them!!!! Anyway, head on over to Kellie’s blog to see what you have to do to win.

I’d wish you all good luck, but I want to win it myself, so I’m not going to….LOL!  I’ll be back later to show you my Magnolia challenge card for this week…it’s a bit of a tricky challenge this one. Oh yeah, and I’ll probably do another post to show you my Mojo Monday card too….it’s competition week and it closes tonight, so you’ll probably be sick of me by the end of the day….LOL!

Kristina's CI #49

Hey there! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I decided on a whim to change to a 3 column template for the blog...and it took much longer than I expected to get it all fixed up...but I'm back and ready to go :)

This week's CI challenge from Kristina was heaps of fun! The second I saw the inspiration pic I thought of Basic Grey's Urban Prairie papers and SU's *Cheap Talk* stamp set...after that it was just a case of putting them together.

See what I mean about the Urban Prairie papers...a perfect match. Here's my card:

Isn't that paper just perfect? I also got excited and did the inside of the card too:

So there it is...I'm really happy with this one :)

Cardstock: Pacific Point, Basic Black, Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss & Whisper White

Stamps: Cheap Talk

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Pacific Point & VersaMark

Other: Basic Grey Urban Prairie DP, Scallop Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, White Embossing Powder, Kiwi Kiss button from SU's Button Bouquet.

I hope you're all having a lovely Easter weekend....I only just found out that you guys in the States don't get a four day weekend like we do here in Australia!!!! That really sucks...but I'll be sure to enjoy it just a little bit more than usual...just for you :)

2S4Y - Laura's Sketch 23

Wow, what a crazy, crazy day I've had today!!! There's so much going on right now I feel like my head is spinning around like that crazy chick from the Exorcist !!! Anyway, I have a sweet little card I whipped up last night for the 2S4Y challenge for this week. It's been soooooo long since I did one of these in time to enter it for the prize, but let me tell you these are awesome sketches to keep in your inspiration book...I think I have every sketch the girls have ever don in mine. Whenever I am stumped for a layout I can go to one of these sketches and even if I don't follow it exactly, I get inspired to create something :)

Enough of my babble....here's this week's sketch:

As you can see from my card I didn't make a square card...but I did use a tent fold, so that kinda counts, right?

I told you when I posted the Raspberry Suite challenge card that I would use the Pink, Red and Kraft combo again, and here it is with a touch of white thrown in for good measure. Don't these colours look sweet together? I've used Riding Hood Red & Kraft cardstock and Pink Pirouette DSP & ribbon. The sentiment is from the new *Bird on a Branch*...yeah, no birdie on this card...it just wouldn't work for me, so you get a pretty butterfly instead :) I stamped the solid large butterfly from the now retired *Bold Butterfly* in VersaMark onto so spotty PP cardstock and then embossed it with clear embossing powder to give it some substance, before cutting it out and sticking on some white half pearls from the Pretties kit. The flowers were part of a RAK from Mad (thanks sweetie) and have a half pearl in the centre for fun. I've used some of the new PP striped grosgrain down the left side there.....this ribbon is delish...now I just need it in all the other in-colours! I've also had a play with the new Eyelet Border punch...you will be seeing a lot of this one...I love it even more than the Scalloped Border!!!!!!!

I just want to take a second to wish you all a happy, happy Easter. I hope you have a lovely long weekend with your families and enjoy being together. Some lovely chocolate wouldn't be bad either :) I'm going to be enjoying four days of no work and lots of play with my new stamps and things....I have so many ideas floating around in my head right now I need a couple of long weekends to accomplish them all...but I'll at least make a start :)

Have you seen this????

Melissa at Creating from the Heart is giving away a brand new Cuttlebug on her blog as blog candy!!! Seriously, this is the best blog candy I think I have ever seen.

Go, check it out. (Oh, and thanks to Kellie for spreading the word) I would REALLY, REALLY love to win this one!!!