A Retro Colour Q

Good evening bloggers!

It's a bit of a late post for me tonight - I've just had a night out with friends and stuffed myself with a gorgeous Thai meal, followed by the biggest hot chocolate I've ever seen.  I practically rolled out of the restaurant.....and then remembered I had to post my card for the newest Colour Q challenge!

Another Halloween inspired pic to get your colourful creativity going - this time I combined it with RetroSketches:

I coloured the Paper Smooches little monster with a Copic, but since I have only the one shade of purple, I have to admit he's looking a little flat. I really do need to invest in some more colours....The black and white background is a white embossed woodgrain stamped panel which I've kept for ages - knew it would come in handy one of these days.

Well that's it for me - my 8 year old  son was still awake by the time I came home and has now kicked poor Dad out of bed.  Which basically means I'm going to be simultaneously kicked and cuddled all night - I wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

G'day folks!

It's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop time and it's a colour challenge. I made a very quick card because I'm going to make a heap of them to send overseas.  I used to make about 50 cards but our delightful Australia Post has increased the cost of postage so much in the last 12 months that I just can't justify sending them anymore.  Such a shame - so much nicer to receive a handmade card, rather then an impersonal email don't you think?

I used the more traditional colours, with some added chocolate brown for the branch.  There's a couple of different sets - Mixed Messages and Take a Bough. The larger ornament is actually hot pink but looks red in the photo....for some reason I really struggled to take a decent pic of it.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Claire x

Colour Q #262

Hello again fellow bloggers!

Tuesday's sneaked up on us again so the new colours are up for the latest Colour Q challenge - another Halloween pic for you to draw some spooky inspiration from:

No spookiness for me - I opted for a more flowery take on this week's colours using the latest sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch.  I still love the shape of these flowers from Stampin' Up's very old Eastern Blooms set.  I added a strip of vellum for a softer look and embossed the WMS sentiment in white as I thought black would look a little too heavy.  The leaves are a Cheery Lynn die leaf flourish which I've cut into smaller pieces.

So do you think you'll get the chance to join in this week? You've got 6 days to link up your creations to be crowned this week's Colour Queen - hope you find the time to join in!

Thanks for calling by,

Claire x

Happy Sunflowers

Hello folks - hope you're having a great start to the week!

I've combined two of my favourite challenges for this next card - Freshly Made Sketches and The Card Concept where there is a sunflower theme:

There's something about sunflowers which just says 'happy' isn't there? So I combined an MFT die cut 'happy' sentiment with an MFT sunflower...I love how the blooms pop against the woodgrain background. I think this one fits the 'clean and layered' category over at The Card Concept...what do you think?

Hope you have a fabulous week - thanks for stopping by,

Claire x

Waltzingmouse Pyjama Party

Hello bloggers!

Once again I find myself being unprepared for the Waltzingmouse Pyjama Party, despite the invites being sent out last week.  So again I've 'cheated' and cased one of my own cards just to say I've played:

You can see the original card on this post here.  I bought some gold embossing powder online recently and thought it would look lovely against a cream background, using the WMS Simple Sprig.  It's a little lighter than what I wanted but I think it would look gorgeous against black or navy.

I'm entering this into challenge 1 - make a project using embossed textures, without using an embossing folder.  I've used the embossing powder and I've created an embossed frame using a couple of Spellbinders Fancy Squares.  I tried this technique a couple of years ago, failed miserably and haven't attempted it again but Jennifer Mcguire has done a great tutorial for this and this time it worked a treat. The sentiment is from WMS Asian gardens Additions.

Well,  off to grab to tea and chocolate before taking a peak at what everyone else has done....thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Colour Q #263

Evening all!

The new colours over at Colour Q are here and they're perfect for an Autumnal or Halloween themed card.  Isn't this the best Halloween decoration?  It kind of reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West...or is it the East? Either way, I love the way her feet are dangling from the door.

It's another quickie from me this week and it definitely comes under the label of 'never before used stuff'.  I've had that butterfly stamp for over a year now and it hasn't had so much as a swipe of ink over it.  It's actually a single stamp but I cut it into squares and matted them so they pop against the white.  There's also a brush of Wink of Stella over the wings but it's not really showing in the photo.

These Mini Distress Inks of mine are getting a really good workout and were such a great buy - perfect if you're not sure which colours to get.  You can find them here at Simon Says Stamp.

Hope you get the chance to have a play with the new colours this week! Thanks for popping over,

Claire x

Hello Again - Casology Week 116

Hello again!

It's another beautiful weekend here in Sydney and I've spent some of the day learning to use a boat on the river so I'm able to get to my new job without hitching a lift!  I'm truly beginning to understand why people live on a river...it's such a tranquil place and there's a completely different pace of life down there. 

For us urbanites the pace of life feels a bit quicker which is why I've only managed to make one card in the last few days.  Yet again I've used a 'hello' stamp from Waltzingmouse...I seem to be saying hello a lot recently.  The cue word over at Casology is 'splatter.'

It was going to be a one layer card and I began masking off the circle and stamping the splatters using the splatter stamp from PTI's Grunge Me set. I then stamped over it with the hello sentiment.   It just looked a bit flat though, so instead I die cut the masked circle, matted it on black and then stamped the sentiment underneath.  I added a coating of Wink of Stella to the letters and a few clear sequins - I still think it's CAS, just with a few more steps involved.

Anyway, that's all from me now - check out the DT's fabulous stuff...they always have such amazing ideas!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Colour Q #262

G'day folks!

Seriously, is it really Tuesday again? Just where did the whole of last week go? I'm all of a dither as it was a national holiday Down Under yesterday  so the kids went back to school today. It seems to put me into a state of confusion for the whole week when they go back on a Tuesday!

Anyway, time again for a new Colour Q challenge and it's one of my favourites to date:

I used Waltzingmouse's Simple Sprig which I embossed with Stampin' Up's pewter emboss powder.  The sentiment is from WMS Big Day Today.  And since I've used all Waltzingmouse stamps I'm going to link it over at the latest Waltzingmouse Fanatic's challenge where the theme is 'anything goes.'

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

CAS(E) This Sketch #95

Afternoon bloggers!

A quick card for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch - I was going to link up to The Card Concept too, then realised the colours are orange, black and white and not red, black and white like my card...I think the early Spring heat is getting to me...either that or I'm colour blind:

I used Close To My Heart Charming Chevrons with a sentiment from Waltzingmouse and a die cut from MFT.  It was originally going to be white but black looks so much more dramatic doesn't it?

That's all for now!

Claire x

Mama Elephant October Challenge

Hello blogging friends!

I'm getting back into the card making after slowing down a bit to concentrate on my new job. It's amazing how you kind of lose your ability to create after not doing much for a few weeks.

I've been meaning to do the new Mama Elephant monthly challenge for the last couple of months so I was determined to have a go at the October challenge where the theme is 'anything goes':

Narelle has created just the kind of layered sketch I like over at Freshly Made Sketches so I'm linking up over there too.  I've used a couple of different sets - 'Around we Go' and the spotty border from 'Basic Borders'.  I coloured the big wheel using distress inks, white embossed the little carriages against a black background, added a strip of washi and the stamped border.  I do love this set but I always seem to reach for the big wheel rather than the carousel...note to self: use the rest of the stamps in the set!

Anyway, that's all folks - have a relaxing Sunday!

Claire x

Playing Around - Waltzingmouse Fanatics #28

Hello again bloggers!

I've just been without the kids for the last few days and although it was a lovely break (because let's face it, two little boys can be pretty hard work), I was so excited to have them back last night.  The house was just way too quiet without them....in fact it felt like I had a couple of limbs missing for most of the week!

We're having a holiday weekend here in Oz so I've actually had the chance to play with some of my new Waltzingmouse Stamps.  And that means I can link my card up to this week's Waltzingmouse Fanatics challenge which is 'anything goes':

I embossed the diamond pattern from Heirloom Patterns and then sponged over the top with distress inks.  The sentiment is from the new Hello Happy Thanks set - it would have been perfect for George Clooney but since he's now off the market (damn shame) guess I'd better send it to my better half....

Enjoy your weekend!

Claire x