A Play Date with Muse

Another day, another card...this time for the current Muse challenge. The guest designer for week 2 is Suzanne Dahlberg:

What isn't there to love about this card? All those bright, happy colours make me smile! My card has been inspired by those very same bright flowers against the black background:

I used Stampin Up's Eastern Gardens for this one, together with the little leaves from the Waltzingmouse Frame It set. The squares are Spellbinders Marvellous Squares - which were being anything but marvellous, as I had terrible problems getting the card out of the die!

Funnily enough I happened to glance at the Play Date Cafe blog and this week's colours fit in with the challenge over there too. I'm not sure how many neutrals you're allowed to use with the chosen colour scheme so I'll just have to have my hand slapped if I've broken the rules:

Have a fantastic day and thanks for any comments...I love reading them!

Claire x

Who's Game?

Well hello again bloggers,

Two posts in one day...can't you tell I've had a day without the kids?! This time it's a card for the latest Casology challenge. The cue word this week is:

So who remembers the game of Twister? I don't reckon there was a household with kids in the 70's that didn't have a game of Twister.  It's the type of game that's great fun for kids, but even more fun for adults when they're just a little bit tipsy. For those of you who haven't had a go, it consisted of a huge white mat with brightly coloured dots. You had to spin a dial and whatever dot it landed on, you had to place a leg or hand on the equivalent dot on the mat. Fine after one or two goes, but it got increasingly difficult as the game went on, with players getting twisted around each other and overbalancing in a very unladylike manner!.

Anyway, I based my card on the Twister mat, using a similar layout and colours:

I tried a few different shapes but settled on this flower from the Waltzingmouse Asian Gardens set.  I also used some dimensional tape to raise 3 of the flowers, just to add a bit of interest.

Can't wait to see how everyone has interpreted the cue word this week! Thanks for popping by again,

Claire x

Kaisercraft Saturday Sketch

Hello Scrappers!

Well I'm sat here in a state of bliss, not because I'm blogging with a bar of chocolate, a glass of wine and George Clooney sat beside me,  but because...... it's silent. I think it's the first bit of silence I've had in 6 weeks - my eldest went back to school today and my youngest is in preschool so I'm enjoying my little piece of tranquility before the bedlam begins again at 3 o' clock!

It's also given me the opportunity to finish off a layout I've been doing for Saturday Sketch #2 over at Kaisercraft. Can you believe, I've actually done a DOUBLE layout?! I so rarely do double layouts but I knew I wanted to use more than one photo so I followed the sketch and then did a mirror image on the other page:

I used Kaisercraft's 'Save the Date' collection for this one. I cut the windmills from the patterned paper, added a brad and some Dimensional Magic and then added a sprinkle of glitter for some sparkle. The scrabble letter stickers are from the Timeless collection.

Well, only 3 and  a half hours left of silence...better start cleaning the house and look as though I've been busy all day!

Thanks for stopping by,

Claire x

A Splash of Green

Hello Peeps,

Hope those of you in Australia are enjoying the long weekend. We had a lovely afternoon at the beach on Australia Day, until a nasty bluebottle decided to wrap itself around my leg. Ouch! It felt as though I'd stuck my entire leg on the barbecue!

Play Date Cafe have a 'splash' challenge this week - ie. black, white with a splash of emerald green:

I have to say, this is one of those annoying cards that actually does look better in real life. The black strip has some embossing on it but it just wouldn't show up on the photo so I took another one with the flash on. (Note to self: I really do need to do a photography course so I can learn how to use my camera properly!) The butterflies are PTI, stamped on to vellum and embossed, then layered one on top of the other. Hmmmm, not sure about this particular colour scheme -  feel as though I need a hint of pink somewhere!

Thanks for stopping by,

Claire x

Monday Muse

Hello Bloggers!

Don't you just love a new challenge site?! Muse is a brand new challenge blog where a different designer each week provides a card  from which you draw inspiration for your own design. In other words, you use it as your 'muse.' What I like about this one is that you have to comment on at least 3 of your fellow member's submissions and you have to vote for the one you find most inspiring. This week's card has been done by Amy Kolling:

I love the way Amy has placed her image to one side and left a lot of white space. I've also been inspired by her use of bling, although I've positioned mine slightly differently.

Now I have to say, I do actually have another 'muse' for this card...is that allowed?! A few months ago Anne-Elise made a stunning card for one of the Waltzingmouse challenges, where she used her doile stamps to create a wedding dress. She stamped the doiles on to vellum, embossed the images in white and layered them to make a dress. Her beautiful card can be seen here. I've done something similar, but I've used a My Minds Eye lace border stamp instead. Hope she doesn't mind me using her card for a little inspiration too!

Well, that's enough musing for now folks...have a great weekend and a wonderful Australia Day if you're in  my neck of the woods!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

A Chalky Challenge

Hello bloggers,

Just a quickie for today. There's a new technique challenge over at Waltzingmouse Stamps this week - the chalkboard look. I've been meaning to have a bash at it for ages - the blogosphere seems to be full of fantastic examples so here's my version:

It was surprisingly quick, although I wouldn't recommend a glass of wine whilst stamping...it required a steady hand! I didn't want to put too much 'chalkdust' on there as I was a bit worried you wouldn't be able to read the sentiment from the Camellia set. The frame is a stamp from Very Vintage Labels No 1.  I'll definitely be trying it again - I think a Christmas card would look great with this technique!

Well, that's all folks! Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Getting Retro in the Heat

Good morning all,

Well, the stinking heat does absolutely nothing for the mojo I discovered yesterday. This was the inside of my car at 2.19pm:

Apart from the need to clean my car, you'll also see it was a whopping 47C, Sydney's hottest day since records began. Phew, makes me want to hop on the plane and fly back to Old Blighty for a cool down and a hot cup of English tea!

Anyway, I really did the simplest card last night, based on the colour scheme at CR84FN and a sketch at Retro Sketches:

Couldn't get more CAS than that could you, but like I said the mojo had melted away in the heat. You can just see a My Minds Eye lace stamp peeping out from under the patterned papers. I loved the sketch and will definitely be using it again for some quick cards in the future.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you don't freeze or melt, wherever you live!

Claire x