Dynamically Textured!

Hello folks,

Yet again I find myself at the mercy of Mr Linky...only a few hours left on the Dynamic Duos challenge which I've combined with the textured challenge over at The Card Concept:

Not the best pic I'm afraid as it's late.  I used an Anna Griffin embossing strip but I left the top strip smooth in case I want to put a sentiment there at a later date. In between each embossed strip, I stamped a Waltzingmouse dotted strip to add a little detail.  I guess I could have added more but I wanted the embossing to be the main feature since the Card Concept challenge called for texture. What style is it? I think I'll define it as 'classy and elegant!'

Have a great night!

Claire x

Feeling Pinky? Colour Q #226

Hello again!

Today is the last day of the kids holidays so we made sure it was a good one and spent it at the beach. It's been glorious - blue sky, not too hot - just a soft breeze and a beautiful warm ocean....am I making you jealous?

Time for another Colour Q challenge - Valentine's Day is just around the corner and it's the perfect combo for something romantic:

Having said that, since I haven't got a romantic bone in my body, I decided to make another baby girl card. I've used the latest CAS(E) This Sketch and I'm also going to enter it in this month's challenge over at Mama Elephant, since the colours are very photo in the inspiration photo.  I've used a couple of their stamps....Nursery Deco and the spotty background from Basic Borders.

Hope you have time to join in with some challenges this week! Happy stamping!

Claire x

Funky Freshly Made

Hello folks!

Those Waltzingmouse Funky Flowers of mine were calling out for some ink again tonight - I used the latest Freshly made Sketch with the beautiful, bright colour combo over at Colour Thowdown:

I also used one of Waltzingmouse's Opera Tags which I embossed in white on to some grey bazzil. Amongst my huge tonne of scraps I couldn't find a single piece of red DP that I was happy with so I stamped some red bazzil with a Kaisercraft script background in Real Red....seems to have done the trick without overpowering the background paper!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Pretty in Pink

Evening folks!

Hope your weekend is is going well - it's Australia Day here today.....a day for celebrating all things Aussie by throwing a shrimp or two on the barbie, downing a cold beer and putting your feet up to watch the cricket. So,  just a quick post for this week's Casology cue word which I combined with CAS(E) This Sketch:

You could go in so many directions with this word couldn't you...the options are endless.  I thought I'd play around with a Technique Tuesday set I've been lusting after for months. I'm not normally a 'one layer' person but it's the perfect stamp set for this type of sponged CAS card, even for a one layer novice like me!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Claire x

Keeping it Simple - Colour Q #225

Hello fellow bloggers!

Only a week to go until school begins. Am I a bad mother for saying I'll be ready?! Over 6 weeks is a long time to keep 2 little boys entertained and, dare I say it, I am looking forward to a little bit of  'me' time.  The mojo seems to disappear a little in the holidays, especially since we've been away from home on a few occasions. So, for this week's Colour Q challenge I kept it very simple and used this fabulous sketch from Case This Sketch for some inspiration:

I used a gorgeous embossing strip from Anna Griffin - I love how it's produced such a defined pattern on the cardstock. I added a couple of Funky Flowers from Waltzingmouse and a sentiment and that was it. Told you it was simple but I can do without complicated at the moment...too busy trying to think of ways to entertain the little troops without breaking the bank account!

Hope you get the chance to play along this week - take a peek at the rest of the team's beautiful creations to whet your crafty appetite!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Some Cheeky Colour Q Stamping

Evening all!

Hope you've had a good start to the week. We've been lazing by a friend's pool today trying to escape  some of the Summer heat...and it's only going to get hotter apparently.  Lucky for me then,  that this week's colour combo over at Colour Q is largely made up of cool hues, with a dash of bright, hot red:

I've been coveting this cheeky little stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps for ages...it's such a fun set of stamps. I've got a few friends turning 40 or 50 this year so I knew it would come in handy. Not quite a match for this week's palette but I think I can get away with it!

Looking forward to seeing how you'll use the colours....why don't you check out all the beautiful creations the rest of the design team have come up with and leave them some love!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Check Out These Blooms!

Hello folks!

More happy mail arrived over the holidays that I've only just had a chance to ink up - some Funky Flowers from Waltzingmouse.  I used them with this week's Freshly Made Sketch from Jen:

I flipped the sketch, cut a couple of panels and randomly stamped the big bloom for a patterned background. I then stuck these on to the embossed card with dimensional tape and added the dragonfly and sentiment.  Just a quickie but I like how it's turned out.

Have a great day!

Claire x

Finding my Style

Hello bloggers!

Time flies when you're having fun doesn't it? We've just spent a few days camping down in beautiful Victoria - perfect weather for it, not too hot and not too cold. I'm only glad we didn't go this weekend since the temperatures have gone up to a blistering 40C!

My mojo always takes a bit of a hit when I've had a break - what better way to get the creative juices going, than doing a challenge for a brand new challenge blog.  The Card Concept encourages us to find our style, or even try a new one - you can find all the details here - love the idea of it and they have heaps of different inspiration from their design team. The first challenge is a colour challenge:

Can't beat a bit of pink and brown, especially for the birth of a little girl.  I've chosen to do a clean and layered style using Mama Elephant's Nursery Deco set. I had some happy mail a couple of weeks ago from those lovely people at Simon Says Stamp. I was lucky enough to win the $50 voucher for one of the challenges and this is one of the sets I chose.  

Just before I go, thought I'd show you a quick photo of the big bloke fishing at Hume Lake - I think it's so typical of the rugged Aussie landscape. I also thought it would warm up some of my American friends who are suffering in the cold at the moment!

Thanks for stopping by and stay warm,

Claire x

Fanatical about New Stamps!

Hello bloggers!

Happy New Year!  Hope you had a good one.  Mine started off with some happy mail direct from Waltzingmouse Stamps....don't you just love that? Couldn't resist having a quick play at Waltzingmouse Fanatics and Cardabilities before I take a break from blogland for a few days:

My lovely father-in-law's birthday is in a few weeks - the perfect excuse to use My Kind of Guy. I had a small off-cut from an Art Deco Background in black cardstock, which I cut to size.  I also used a small drop of Dimensional Magic on the monocle just to give it a bit of shine.

Well, that's it for me now.  I'll be missing in action for the next few days so see you in a couple of weeks!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x