Hippy Girl Jewels

Hey there fellow Crafters!

Sorry it has been a little while since you've heard from me. I've been beading...and kinda got sidetracked. I did a little class on the weekend, and I LOVE it. When I'm feeling braver, I'll pop a pic of my very first creation on here for you to check out. I have a LOT to learn, but it is so much fun...might have to dig out my jewelers loupe or a large magnifying glass though...the eyes are not nearly as good as they once were ;-).

Last week I received my first-ever Bizzy Bec's stamps in the mail too, and on the weekend I cracked them open and gave them a whirl. Here is my first creation, made using Bec's lovely Hippy Girl Jewels stamp:


I have used the faux silk technique (for the first time) on the main background layer..check out the tutorial here. I did mine a little different to Beate, I stamped my image on the background textured Pumpkin Pie cardstock, instead of the tissue paper, and it shows through once you glue the tissue down.

I have used Copic markers to colour 'Jewels' in, and the colours I have used are:


The full ingredient list for this card is as follows:

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Kraft, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Really Rust and Textured Pumpkin Pie
Stamps: Bizzy Bec's Hippy Girl Jewels and C.C. Designs Sugarplum Sentiment set
Ink: Stampin' Up! Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black Classic Ink
Accessories: Doodlebug Buttons, White Tissue Paper, Yellow DMC embroidery thread, Crimper, Crystal Effects, Copic Markers (as shown above), Stampin' Up! Styled Silver Hodgepodge, dimensionals, SNAIL, sticky strip and anywhere glue stick.

Here is a close-up of Jewels, so you can see where I've whacked on the Crystal Effects:


Isn't she cute? I am very pleased with how this card turned out :-).

Thanks for dropping by!

Sam.

Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #29

Last night while I watched NCIS, Lie To Me and Eli Stone, I also made a card using Mercy's latest sketch challenge:


So...there was rather a lot of TV watching going on, and not all that much crafting...but hey, I had fun! This is what I came up with in the end:


Now...as you can see I have omitted Element # 5 from the sketch...that'll be Eli Stone's fault. That show was fun!

I have coloured the focal image with stampin' Pastels (including Ruby Red and Bashful Blue), but one of the Ginger Blossoms DSP colours is River Rock, and we don't have a pastel in that shade. So I mixed Close to Cocoa and Old Olive together and got something that doesn't look too far from River Rock IMO. You can hopefully see that I have painted the flowers and vase water with crystal effects, for a crystal-like effect ;-).

Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Ruby Red textured and Whisper White
Paper: Ginger Blossoms Designer Series Paper
Stamps: Sassy Stems
Inks: Basic Black Classic Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders long rectangle plain and scalloped dies, Metallic Eyelets, Crop-a-dile, River Rock double-stitched grosgrain ribbon, Stampin' Pastels, crsytal effects, The Robin's Nest Dew Drops Poinsettia set, A Perfect Day rub-ons, SNAIL, sticky strip and dimensionals.

Another avert-your-eyes warning to dieters...

I made this cake yesterday. It is my favourite banana cake recipe, and is from Nigella Lawson's book 'How To Be Domestic Goddess'. That title always makes me grin...like YEAH....look at me, a DOMESTIC GODDESS...hehehehehehehe..NOT!!!!!!!!

I take the optional route that she mentions at the very bottom of the page (like it is some sort of disgraceful thought, best kept far way from the other ingredients), and substitute good ol' choc chips for those rummed up raisins (that's just a no-brainer for me ;-). Nothing wrong with a little choc-chippefication of your banana cake I say. Be proud Nigella!

Anyway..here is the cake...I couldn't decide whether to eat it or photograph it first...the photo impulse won (obviously):


...and here is another little happy snap which makes me smile:


BTW that is not cake smeared all over his face...promise!

Nighty night all,
Sam.

Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin'

I have been meaning to play with the Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' kit ever since I saw this card (third one from the top of the post) by Nancy Riley.

So yesterday I got my Crew Kids Girl out and started chopping it up (for some reason that really, really hurt...I love pretty papers...WHOLE...but I got over it ;-).

I have made two cards with it so far...and I am sure there will be more on the way. I LOVE the colour combo so much!




Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock: Wild Wasabi textured, Regal Rose textured, Whisper White, Basic Gray textured

Paper: Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' Designer Series Paper

Accessories: Crew Kids Girl Simply Scrappin' kit, circle and square metal edge tags, circle rhinestone brads, cutter kit edge distresser, crystal effects, A Perfect Day rub-ons, chunky sprinkles, wild wasabi double-stitched ribbon, SNAIL and dimensionals.

Have a great day,
Sam.

The Princess Bride

This week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge movie is The Princess Bride:


Now, through some unbelievable turn of luck we happen to own The Princess Bride (considering we own about five non-animated movies, that's pretty darn amazing), BUT, it is on a VHS tape.....go to your local museum if you don't know what I am talking about. I was worried we wouldn't have anything here to play it on, but as luck would have it our DVD unit has a second slot (I had always assumed this slot was just for the <3 year olds to post vegemite toast in).

So I popped it in this morning while hubby was having a sleep-in (sheeeeeesh, its a nice life for some ;-). I was a bit concerned about how Miss almost-five would handle the torture scenes...so we fast-forwarded through them (and the attack of the mutant oversized rodent...AND the screaming eels [I'd forgotten all about them Kim]). I hope we don't have nightmares tonight. It really was like watching an ancient film though...all that VHS fuzzy crackliness...Gee I don't miss that at all!

SIDETRACKED...AGAIN! I'll get to the point. I really loved Buttercup's lovely Wedding Day crown:


I was mesmerised by it in fact. All those pretty silver flowers and leaves and baubles...so I used that as my inspiration, and here is my creation:




The final card measures approximately 4.5 x 5 inches, and opens from the bottom (A-frame). I used an oval punch to create the scalloped top, being careful not to scallop it all as this also forms the hinge of the card IYKWIM? I've used a truckload of Clear Rhinestone Brads, from the Stampin' Up! Pretties Kit. I thought it would be a lovely card for a little girl's birthday...especially if the party theme was Princesses...and it is probably safe to bet that there'll be one of those sooner or later (in fact five princess parties doesn't seem out of the question).

Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Brushed Silver cardstock
Accessories: Boho Blossoms punch, Spring Bouquet punch, Five Petal Flower punch, Large Oval punch, Pretties Kit, glue dots, SNAIL, Cuttlebug Swirls embossing folder.

Now, if you are on a diet..AVERT YOUR EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what hubby brought home for me for afternoon tea yesterday:


(DON"T SAY I DID NOT WARN YOU) It was soooooo YUMMY...what a sweet guy! I had to get the camera out. I figure I should be able to dine out on the picture alone for a few days at least :-).

Hope you are having a peaceful weekend.

Sam.

PS. Check out this site that Carol recommended...great for some close-up shots :-)


Now you can actually see what the real crown looks like!

Garden of Life

My daughter and I spent today hiding from the 36 degree celcius heat in Canberra (which is nothing compared to the 40+ some other Ozzie capitals scored today).

First we went and chilled out in front of Madagascar II at the cinema, then we did a little shopping and had lunch at Tuggeranong. It was a nice way to spend some mother/daughter time.

This afternoon we did some craft together under the cooler, while watching the tennis (thank goodness they closed the roof of the Rod Laver Arena...those poor players would have DIED in the heat....Melbourne being one of those 40+ capitals I mentioned above!).

This is the card I made today:


Ingredients (from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Textured and plain Basic Black, Whisper White
Paper: Papertrey Ink Black & White Basics
Ink: Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet, Papertrey Ink True Black
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Garden of Life
Accessories: Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet Luxe Satin Ribbon, miscellaneous large black brads, crystal effects, SNAIL, dimensionals.

I have painted the crystal effects onto the flower, stem and leaf with a small paintbrush. I love the effect that this gives.

Gotta run....it is dinner time!

See ya,
Sam.

Somewhere over the rainbow...

...the skies are full of fireworks!




We took the boat out onto Lake Burley Griffin tonight, to watch the Australia Day fireworks. It was SO much fun!! It was possibly the most amazing vantage point I have ever had for fireworks. We anchored just off Commonwealth Bridge, and many of the fireworks actually went off from the bridge, and also from the roof of the nearby National Library building. It was a balmy, beautiful evening on the water, and a simply perfect way to wrap up Australia Day 2009 (for the Oz Day police: yes we also had lamb on the BBQ, and pavlova for dessert..YUMMY).

We've only just got home now and it is 11 pm. The kids were amazing...dozed in the car on the way home, and straight to bed with no fuss at all. Bless their sleepy little hearts.

I started another CSCC card last night while watching Jelena Dokic play an awesome Australian Open fourth round game of tennis against Alisa Kleybanova. Jelena won, but Alisa didn't give away the match easily. It was hard fought and won on Jelena's part, but made for excellent viewing. I was sitting on the floor right in front of the telly during the last set, bouncing up and down and squeaking in excitement (if that doesn't give you scary mental pictures, nothing will ;-)!


(image sourced from this webpage).

OKAY Sam...enough jabbering! Just to remind you, this week's Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge movie is The Wizard of Oz...because, because, because, because, because:


...and here is a pic of my card:


Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Only Orange, Whisper White, Yoyo Yellow, Gable Green, Real Red, Green Galore, Glorious Green, Brilliant Blue, Tempting Turquoise
Ink: Soft Sky Classic Ink
Accessories: Cuttlebug folders (Mosaic and Swirls), Spellbinders Nestabilities Circles, scallop circle punch, crystal effects, liquid pearls, miscellaneous floral bling, sponge, SNAIL, glue dots.

The birds flying 'over the rainbow' were made using the scallop circle punch. The cloud effect was made using a mask of scallop circle edges and sponging over this in Soft Sky classic ink (see here for a great tutorial on this technique). The Emerald City (and the sky immediately around it) has been painted with Liquid Pearls in White Opal (to give a shimmery, magical feel). The yellow brick road has been cut out freehand using a craft knife. The 'bricks' on the road have been painted with crystal effects for...a brick-like effect:


There is no sentiment. I toyed with printing something out...but decided the card didn't need it...and besides, the card could be used for a number of different events this way. The metallic element could be either the liquid pearls, which give a slightly metallic effect IMO...or the bling flowers (whose backs are painted with sliver paint)...ok! I'm stretching it here, but its late, and I need to go to bed!

Another thing, the colours may be a just a little bit more vibrant than those on the silver screen, but it is called a creative challenge...'nuf said ;-).

Well, now it is after midnight and it is waaaaay past this little cookie's bedtime. Nighty night stampers!

Sam.

PS. To all those who asked about the state of my craft room after the creation of yesterday's ruby red slipper...YES, it is COVERED in romantic red glitter. So am I, my kids, hubby, the cat, and my mum....ooops :-).
PPS. If you made it this far...well done. Sorry for the long winded post, with so many sidetracks!

There's no place like home...

...or if you are Judy Garland's foot, there's no place like the inside of a ruby red, sparkly shoe.

In case you have no idea what I am talking about...four words...Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge, where this week's challenge movie is: The Wizard of Oz....of course...because, because, because, because, because...


This week the girls also added the challenge of making a metallic component a part of our projects.

This is my contribution...I think I will try and make something a little more 'serious' later this week...but in the meantime, I thought this would be cute:


Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Real Red
Accessories: SNAIL, two-way glue pen, romantic red glitter, glue dots, dimensionals, small cello bags, turquoise grosgrain ribbon (retired) and Pascal's Columbines.
I figured that Romantic Red glitter would pass for a metallic component! I think this would make a nice party favour for a Wizard of Oz-themed party. I went out looking for blue lollies, because I wanted them to represent the blue of Dorothy's socks.

You can download the template for this shoe from this website.

I'll be back later this week, when I've figured out what I'll really do...

Sam.

A Happy Heart

Well, it is nearly midnight here, and I'm sitting here watching one of my favourite TV shows, McLeod's Daughters. It is the last season, and for some reason they are screening multiple shows, back-to-back until all hours of the night. I guess they are just trying to wrap it up (Grrrrrrrr ;-).

I can smell a bushfire, and my eyes are stinging because of it, but I looked online and I think it is down in the Budawang National Park on the coast (almost two hours drive away), and the smoke must be blowing this way. I get a bit nervous when I smell bushfire smoke, ever since the 2003 fires, when the fires came within 200 m of our house. I hadn't been close to a bushfire before then.....and they are pretty darn scary!


This shot was taken near our house by a neighbour just before 2 pm on January 18th 2003, and no...that isn't the sun at photo right. The fire got MUCH closer than this later in the afternoon, it followed bushland tracts/nature reserves and came right around behind us, but by that time we were too busy to be taking photos.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I really just wanted to post a card I finished this evening. It was inspired by this beautiful card by Kirsty Brown. Thanks for the inspiration Kirsty!

Here is my card:


Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Rose Red, Whisper White and Kraft
Stamps: A Happy Heart
Inks: Rose Red and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink
Accessories: 1" double stitched Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, miscellaneous pink buttons from Bizzy Becs, DMC white embroidery thread, SNAIL, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals and Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Thanks for visiting and I hope that you have a lovely, relaxing Sunday!

Sam.

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #1

I've been a big admirer of Karen Giron's beautiful blog, the sweetest thing, for a while now...it comes under the special heading 'favourite US SU blogs' in my Google reader :-). Please go take a look at her lovely work, I think you will agree that her designs are the sweetest things!

But I digress...what I came here to show/tell you about is another card that I have made for Karen's first sketch challenge, sweet sunday sketch challenge #1:


I made my card last night while watching NCIS...but I didn't finish it because I wanted to get to bed a bit early so I could get up at 3:30 am and watch Barack Obama's inauguration. After making that big effort, I forgot to set my alarm (DOH!), and slept right through until 6 am...but I'm catching up on the events now instead :-). What an exciting day! To my US readers..congratulations on the inauguration of your new President.

There I go again..off on a tangent...sorry. I am sure you didn't come here to read about my TV watching schedule, so I'll get back to business. Here is my card:


Ingredients (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Whisper White, Textured Basic Black
Paper: Bali Breeze Designer Series Paper
Stamps: Cheery Chat
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink
Accessories: Scallop edge punch, crop-a-dile, Francheville black grosgrain ribbon, Provo Craft Asterisks dies, Spellbinders Nestabilities square and scalloped square dies, two-way glue pen, dazzling diamonds, SNAIL, glue dots, The Robin's Nest Hardy Ivy Dew Drops.

Hope you all have a lovely day, thanks for dropping by!

Sam.

Cinema Saturday and Sweet Sunday...

I made this card for two challenges. The first of which is the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge (CSCC). This week, the CSCC is the movie Casablanca:


This week the CSCC girls decided to spice it up a bit and added a colour challenge as well:


So, I had theme and colour taken care of for me...and I was here thinking how could I further reduce my responsibilities (SUCH a slacker). Answer: use a sketch challenge as well! So I pulled up Karen Giron's brand new Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge too:


...and here is my card:


Ingredients (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Whisper White and Textured Basic Black
Paper: White fibrous paper and White paper with silver printing, both of miscellaneous origin
Accessories: Epson inkjet printer, SU CSS Hand font, Photoshop, white miscellaneous ribbons, Kaiser floral rhinestones, SNAIL and glue dots.

Thanks for the challenges girls!

Have a great week.
Sam.