Make it Monday

Merry Christmas bloggers!

Hope you had a wonderful day - I feel as though we celebrated by spending most of the day stuffing ourselves senseless....isn't that what everyone does? It's a wonder I've been able to bend over my craft table to make a card for Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday challenge. Did you see this gorgeous card by Melissa Phillips? 

I used a couple of different sets - Heart Prints and the sentiment is from Scattered Showers.  In hindsight (isn't it a wonderful thing?) I think I should have stamped a narrower border so I may try this technique again with a different set of stamps. 

Just a quickie today - our second set of Christmas visitors have arrived so the crafty mojo has ended before it even began!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Colour Q #273

G'day folks!

Well it's almost time for the big man to arrive - the presents are wrapped, the in-laws have descended and the kids are so excited you'd think they'd been fed nothing but sugar for dinner.  But despite all the mayhem I've been able to sneak in a bit of crafty time for this week's Colour Q palette:

I used the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches but replaced the circle with a big bloom from Doodlebug Designs, coloured with Copics.  I really think colouring with Copics should be prescribed as an alternative therapy for stress...there's something about it that I find so relaxing - or perhaps that was the glass of white wine I had at the same time.

The good news is that we're going to have a little break for a couple of weeks at Colour Q,  so you have until Monday January 5th to have a play with the colours.

Unless a Christmas miracle happens and I'm able to make a card in the next 24 hours, this will be my last post for a few days.  Hope you have a wonderful, happy and safe Christmas - may your stockings be choc full of crafty goodness!

Cheers,

Claire x

Colour Q #272

Evening bloggers!

So I'm sitting here blogging today feeling like the worst Mum in the world. Dare I say that we haven't got a single Christmas decoration up in our house yet? Or a tree for that matter.  The big bloke has spent the last few weeks renovating and the thought of adding a Christmas tree and all the other paraphernalia that goes with it to the copious amounts of dust is not enticing. Tomorrow though, the Christmas decorations will be coming out from hiding as I attempt to inject a Christmassy feeling throughout the house!

But before Christmas actually does come to our house it's time to post the latest Colour Q palette:

Screams Christmas doesn't it? But not to me. All the cards have gone out and once they're done I'll do anything to avoid making more.  I tied my card in with a couple of other challenges - Retro Sketches and Waltzingmouse Fanatics where the theme is 'anything goes'.  Sad to see it's the last WMS Fanatics challenge.  I wish I'd been able to enter more often (as I do consider myself a bit of a WMS Fanatic) but time just seems to be in very short supply in recent months.

I used WMS Simple Sprig. I wasn't too sure about this set when I first saw it but I've grown to love it...it's perfect for a CAS card.

Hope you can find the time to get into crafty mode this week - go and say hi to the rest of the DT!

Thanks for taking a peek,

Claire x

Colour Q #271

Evening all!

So another week has whizzed by - the overseas Christmas shopping is done and the Christmas cards have gone out.  Not much time for card making unfortunately and I feel this week's effort is a little lame to say the least!

Thank goodness for sketch challenges - sometimes I'm not sure how I could do without them.  They give me just enough kick up the backside to get a card done when time is tight! This week I used the latest fun sketch from CAS(e) This Sketch.  I made a frame with a couple of Nestability dies, inked it with some distress inks and added a sprinkling of W Plus 9 hearts, together with the cute little birdie from Hero Arts.

Go and check out the rest of the DT's gorgeous creations won't you?  Lots of inspiration to whet the crafty taste buds before Christmas!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Pale and Interesting? Colour Q #270

Evening all!

So, are you all ready for Christmas?  For the first time in about 7 years I've actually bought some Christmas cards which I'm really not happy about at all.  For some reason,  I'm really struggling with making Christmas cards this year. I think it's the heat... we've had a particularly hot start to the Summer and, since I've associated Christmas with snow and cold for the first 30 years of my life, I'm really struggling to get into a Christmassy frame of mind.

This week's Colour Q palette might get you in a Christmassy mood - or it might remind you of Spring.  It really could go either way:

I kept it very CAS again, die cutting and embossing a circle of card stock and adding a WMS bloom and MFT die cut 'hello.' I also used the sketch at Fusion to give my mojo a push in the right direction.

Hope you manage to get some crafty time to keep you sane in all the Christmas madness this week!

Thanks for popping over,

Claire x

Colour Q #269

G'day folks!

How's your week going? I expect those of you over in the US are busy preparing for Thanksgiving this week.  I think if I had to deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas 4 weeks later, I'd probably keel over with the stress of it all....

Hopefully you'll be able to reduce those stress levels by taking part in this week's Colour Q challenge:

I have to say the blue threw me a bit and then I remembered this little set by Mama Elephant called Sweet Havana.  It's such a pretty set and you don't need to do anything much, other than stamp the blooms and arrange them in the jug.  It looked a bit lost without anything with it so I embossed a frame around it to add a little detail.

If you are over in the US, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope you have the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones.

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

A Krafty Freshly Made Sketch

Evening folks!

Just a quickie tonight - I've combined the latest Freshly Made Sketch with the challenge over at The Card Concept:

The latest Card Concept challenge is an inspiration pic -  I used my Waltzingmouse background stamp (again),  embossed it in white,  then coloured parts of the pattern with green and red Copics to make a clean and layered card. The cute little elf is a digi stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil.

Ok, short and sweet for me tonight - have a fabulous weekend!

Claire x

Colour Q #268

Hello bloggers!

Has Tuesday really come round again? I feel like all the days are blending into each other at the moment and every time I think of Christmas I have a slight pang of mild panic!

What better way to cope with Christmas stress than to make a card? This week's Colour Q challenge is another combo of Autumn hues, with a little bit of aqua blue thrown in:

I've combined my offering with another challenge  - CAS(E) This Sketch is celebrating a milestone this week, with it's 100th sketch!

I used a heap of patterned papers for this - a great way to use all the colours if you're a little short on ink pads.  I die cut and layered some Nestability Fancy Squares and added a  die cut sentiment from MFT.   I created a shadow by cutting it in white and olive, just so it pops a little against the white cardstock.

Do go and check out all the other creations this week but the DT - and send them some love while you're at it!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

Waltzingmouse Pyjama Party

Good morning all!

It's Pyjama Party time over at Waltzingmouse today and for once I've been a little more organised and managed to get three out of the four challenges done:

First up is a set of 'Scandi' Tags.   Since my only brush with Scandinavia has been at the local Ikea,  I'm not too familiar with Scandinavian style - but I guess if it's clean and simple these will fit the bill. I had some happy mail recently from Melinda Spinks  - she sent me a very generous pack of goodies which included these gorgeous Doodlebug cork tags.

I partially stamped the Folk Art Medallion and embossed it in red, white and gold - the sentiments are from Ornate Ornaments. I'm also entering them into this week's Casology challenge:

Challenge 2 is 'Wrap it up Warm.'  I have no problem admitting I am the laziest wrapper upper on earth.  I'll spend hours making the perfect card but chances are your present will be wrapped in the cheapest, most rubbish paper from the local dollar store.  So you can appreciate how difficult this was for me.  Once again I delved into my new pack of goodies and out popped these cute, kraft pillow boxes.  I embossed  the background using Heirloom Patterns and used the Picot Panel die for the label.  The Camellia was embossed on kraft and coloured in with Copics.   Sorry Claire, no plaid or stitching but I think it's got a kind of 'cosy' vibe to it!

 The last project is for 'Old Pyjamas' - I used the first Christmas set I ever bought from WMS which was the Seasons or Love Tags.  I've also used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches:

I made a shaker card and filled it with a few red and green sequins.  It's only my second Christmas card so far - let's just say my Christmas preparations are not going well this year!

Well that's all folks - can't wait to see what everyone else has done! Thanks for popping over,

Claire x

Colour Q #267

Hello folks!

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn will have well and truly set in by now, so what better way to celebrate it than using these beautiful colours to make a project:

Of all the seasons,  I miss Autumn most of all - we just don't get the distinction between seasons here in Sydney.  And whilst the (mostly) beautiful weather is a definite bonus, there's something to be said about falling leaves, bracing winds and vibrant, Autumnal colours.

I used Deconstructed Sketch #175 for this one.  The flowers are a selection from W Plus 9's Fresh Cut Florals...I find it so relaxing playing around with those little die cuts and trying to make it look like a pretty bouquet...is that a little weird?!

Hope you get the chance to join in again this week.  Don't forget, if you make a comment on last week's card you'll get the chance to gain a place in the draw to win some of Tracey's goodies!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Mojo Monday #370

G'day bloggers!

How's your weekend going? The kidlets have just spent most of the day in beautiful sunshine playing on the banks of the local river.  I really wish they could appreciate how lucky they are to live in Australia...I keep explaining that my English childhood was very different and outdoor play was rather constrained by the copious amount of rain!

I managed to get a quick card done using the sketch from Mojo Monday,  simply because I had some bits and pieces left over from a previous challenge.  I wanted to break out the Asian Gardens Additions set from Waltzingmouse which I've had for a couple of months and hadn't yet inked up.  Can you spot the PTI stamp too?  I noticed that the chain from PTI's Men of Life set was the perfect size to use as a hanging cord for the lanterns.  The beautiful dragonfly paper is a strip of Japanese yuzen paper and I've gold embossed the background from the original Asian Gardens set.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Claire x

Colour Q #266 - 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hello folks!

We've got something a little bit different over at Colour Q this week and there's a chance to win a prize just for making a comment here!  The uber-talented Tracey McNeely of In My Creative Opinion  has asked us to use this week's colours to take part in her annual '25 Days of Christmas Tags' event.  You can see all the details here but let me tell you this lady has been VERY busy behind the scenes and has organised a whole heap of fabulous prizes from Reverse Confetti,  Clearly Besotted, CAS-ual Fridays, Neat and Tangled and Paper Smooches.

So, without further ado here are this week's colours:

It's been a bit quiet on my blog in recent weeks - I've now gone back to work after being a stay at home Mum for the last 8 years and I'm doing more hours than expected.  So you'll have to forgive me, I'm kind of struggling to get into a crafty zone at the moment!  I used a heap of strips from some Imaginisce patterned papers for this one and a couple of stamps from Waltzingmouse. The flower is one of Paper Smooches stand alone dies which I love - just the right size for a tag!

So,  like I said there's the chance to win for making a comment! Make a comment at the end of this post and you have the opportunity to go into a draw to win a prize from Tracey.  She'll be making the prize draw on November 28th! Don't forget to check out her blog for more ways to win and good luck!

Thanks for stopping by,

Claire x

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