AAA and CASology Take 3!

Hello again,

It's a rare day that I manage to enter a challenge twice, let alone three times,  but something about the CASology and AAA challenges must have whetted my creative appetite!

This is what I originally had in mind for both challenges - a simple strip of PTI's Watercolor Wonder stamped at the base of the card with a big, bold sentiment from CAS-ual Fridays. I stamped the sentiment in black but thought it need a bit of a boost so added a second white embossed layer with a touch of clear glitter to create a shadowed sentiment.  I reckon this design would work well as a really simple Christmas card - just with Christmas colours and sentiment!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Finishing Christmas Cards with Time Out #98

Happy weekend folks!

I've just finished off my Christmas cards with a little bit of help from Time Out's inspiration photo:

I mentioned a few posts ago that I did most of my Christmas cards in September and took them to the UK with me. This one's a different version to those but using the same stamp set - Lovely Layers by PTI. I figured it would look good in Christmas colours, even though the set is more geared towards Autumnal/Thanksgiving cards. The colours from Time Out were perfect - I've used a Woodgrain stamp on kraft for the base leaves and layered the various stamped die cuts using the colours from the pic, with a little white embossing to reflect the white shapes on the wooden stocking holders. Because the set isn't supposed to be for Christmas I've used a sentiment from Waltzingmouse.

Thanks for calling by,

Claire xx

CASual Fridays - a Lame Effort!

G'day bloggers!

I've just had two kidlet free days in which I thought I'd be carding up a storm...but Mr Mojo went for a walk and never came back. How annoying is that? A bit of crafty time with no interruptions and I couldn't spot an original idea if it came up and slapped me in the face!

So here's my effort for this month's CASual Friday's challenge, which is to feature flowers, along with twine and kraft:

Not happy with it at all - it's desperately lacking in something..maybe a bit of bling?

If you have any ideas, let me know!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Addicted to Masking

Afternoon all!

Just managed to squeeze a card into this week's CAS(E) This Sketch which I've combined with the current challenge over at Addicted to CAS:

 I have a feeling I may be pushing it a bit with the sketch so the delete button my be hit by the design team! I've kept to the sketch, just on a smaller scale and I've flipped it - but you get the idea.  I masked the Waltzingmouse Camelias and coloured alternate blooms with Copics. I then die cut a couple of rectangles and matted them on black card stock for some definition.  I think it has a name this technique? Perhaps someone could enlighten me....

Anyway, time for school pick up - have a fabulous day!

Claire x

Colour Q #280

Hello again bloggers!

Tuesday's rolled around in the blink of an eye which means it's time for the new challenge over at Colour Q. This week it's full of rich and luxurious hues - I can imagine a few Christmas cards will feature in the thumbnails this week:

You'll have to take my word that there is a hint of purple on this. It's kind of blended in with the Picked Raspberry distress ink but I can assure you it has been used. I'm not big on stencils - love the look but never quite know what to do with them.... I really should consider doing a class.

I double embossed the die cut dragonfly with gold embossing powder and added some sparkly glitter to the body. It's wings are cut from patterned paper and the sentiment is stamped in Seedless Preserves distress ink.

Make sure you check out all the inspiration the rest of the DT have provided!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

PTI January 2015 Blog Hop

G'day everyone!

For those of you in Australia, hope you are having a wonderful Australia Day - I had all these lovely plans for beaches, swimming and fishing with the kids but unfortunately the rain has put a stop to all that.

It has given me time to have a quick play with paper for this month's PTI Blog Hop though, where the theme is love and specifically hearts:

Mine is very CAS since the link closes in about an hour.  I have the perfect stamp set for this challenge - Heart Prints - but I only used one of the sentiments.  For the image, I partially stamped a pattern using Watercolour Wonder and die cut the heart.  I then used a touch of Wink of Stella to give the ink a bit of sparkle.

Off for a coffee now to have a nose at everyone's creations - thanks for popping by,

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

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

Back to School?

Hello again folks!

How's your weekend going? 

It's that time of year when school shoes have to be polished, uniforms ironed and pencil cases refilled - or at least in the Western hemisphere.  So there seems to be a few 'back to school' themed challenges out there in blogland - the one over at The Card Concept has an inspiration pic which I combined with the latest sketch from Mojo Monday:

I have to admit, I'm not feeling the love for this clean and layered card.  I think I may be suffering from the shock of having to make an impromptu speech in front of about 50 parents this morning on behalf of my son's soccer team.  For someone who loathes public speaking and had no warning whatsoever and therefore no preparation, it was not a pleasant experience!

Hope you get a bit of time for crafty stuff this weekend!

Claire x

Evening all!

Check out the new Colour Q palette!  It makes me think of the Old West for some reason...in fact that belt kind of reminds me of a snake...not sure if I'd want it around my waist....

I've been promising my next door neighbour that I would make him a fishing themed card for his birthday - I'm ashamed to say that I promised him 12 months ago and I've only just got around to it...how bad is that?!  I'm also ashamed to say that I've had this Stamp in Style set for over a year and haven't used most of it.  It's a fabulous masculine set but I always seem to use the golf bag, rather than the fishy bits!  When I saw this week's colours, I knew they would be perfect for this set.

I used SU markers and an aqua painter to colour in the image - such an easy way to 'watercolour'  - the sentiment is from PTI..the perfect masculine font I reckon!

Check out the rest of the DT's project too - you'll be so glad you did!

Thanks for popping over,

Claire x

Stretching my Stamps

Hello folks!

Last time there was an Online Card Class I made a promise to myself that I'd join in with the next one...and I'm so glad I did.  This is my 'homework' from the Stretch Your Stamps II class - it's based on a fantastic CAS card by Kristina Werner using a Hero Arts background stamp.  I have very few background stamps so there wasn't a lot of choice - I ended up using my crackle stamp from Waltzingmouse. I white embossed a background onto white card stock and did a rainbow colour wash using watercolour paints. So simple and I love how it's turned out.  If only I could take credit for any of it....

Kristina placed her sentiment on to a white background but, since I had quite a lot of white embossing, I found it looked a lot clearer on the black.

Can't wait for the next lesson!

Thanks for looking,

Claire x

Things that Glow

Happy weekend folks!

Just a super quick card for the Casology challenge:

The idea for this one came to me at about 3am this morning....no wonder I was having trouble sleeping.  I started thinking about 'cat's eyes' in the centre of roads and then I thought of a pair of creepy eyes glowing in the dark.  It's not the best execution or photo I'm afraid - I wish I'd had more time to think about how to incorporate the eyes into a better card but I like the idea. I used the Cameo to cut them and added a couple of drops of dimensional magic to make them glow more. The Halloween die cut is also from Cameo Silhouette and the 'happy' is from a set by PTI.

Thanks for looking,

Claire x

The Cutting Edge/Virginia's View/Paper Smooches Sparks

G'day bloggers!

How's your Thursday going?

I've kind of been against the clock for this next card. I've had my eye on the new Cutting Edge Challenge for a few days and suddenly realised that Mr Linky closes in about 2 hours. So here's the gorgeous inspiration pic and my card, together with the inspiration pic for the Virginia's View die cut challenge:

I absolutely love the Cutting Edge inspiration card and was very tempted to copy it completely but I guess that's just not the idea of a challenge is it? So I sprayed some watercolour paper with some mists and ink, added a light dusting of black glimmer mist  and cut some flowers using a Paper Smooches flower die. The background die is a file from Waltzingmouse, the flourish is a Silhouette cut and it's all been put on a Nestie classic rectangle.  I'm really enjoying seeing what people are doing for this challenge as I don't make use of my Cameo anywhere near as much as I should. There's some amazing projects out there.

Over at Paper Smooches Sparks  there's an Anything goes challenge so since I've used their stand alone flowers dies I'm entering my card over there too.  You can find the die I used here at the Paper Smooches shop:

Anyway, thanks for popping by and taking a peek!

Claire x

Colour Q #245 - keeping it CAS

Evening folks!

Can it really be Tuesday? Again? We've got such a pretty set of colours for you this week - I can see lots of flowery creations for this one:

I gave the flowers a miss and used a sweet little Imaginisce stamp to make a first birthday card for my nephew.  The waves have been stamped using Mama Elephant's Modern Borders and I kept it CAS by embossing the same image in white on the card base.  I used this week's Retro Sketch for a bit of mojo flow:

Make sure you check out the rest of the DT's gorgeous creations again - heaps of inspiration to whet your crafty appetite!

Thanks for popping by!

Claire x

'Grunge'

Hello folks!

This blog has been looking a bit too pretty lately - all butterflies, flowers and swirly bits. So when I saw the code word over at Addicted to CAS was 'grunge' I thought it would be a good chance for me to get away from a floral theme. I absolutely love the sketch over at Retro Sketches too so I used that for some inspiration:

Now I don't do grunge. This is about my limit I'm afraid - a few splashes of ink using PTI's Grunge Me and a kind of grungy background stamp from Kaisercraft. I've also used a Kaisercraft sentiment.  I'm really happy with how it turned out...just enough mess to compliment my clean and simple style.

I'll be back later with the next Colour Q palette...back to a flowery theme again!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Retro Umbrella

Morning folks!

Just a quick one as I'm internet challenged this week which is a polite way of saying my internet is completely stuffed. Not much blogging for me then.

The theme at The Card Concept is to use an umbrella so I've used PTI's Scattered Showers together with the latest Retro Sketch:

Another clean and layered one for me...I really must try another one of those styles mustn't I?

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Playing with 'Paint'

Hello again,

Second post of the day and another quick CAS card, this time for Casology. The cue word is 'paint:'

I think the PTI set Watercolour Wonder will be featuring a lot for this challenge. I decided to pair it with a Jenni Bowlin stamp. The silhouette of the girl actually shows her holding a star on a string but I swapped this for a paint brush that I cut with my Silhouette.  The inside of the card says - 'so paint the town red!'

Thanks for stopping. Again.

Have a great day!

Claire x

Black or White

Afternoon all!

Having a good weekend? I'm about to be bombarded by family so I'll make this quick! The key word over at Casology this week is 'bold' so I had a play around with my PTI stamps:

I use Watercolour Wonder and Grunge Me, together with a tiny sentiment. I embossed the Watercolour stamp with pewter emboss powder and stamped the remainder of the star with one of the Grunge Me stamps, then coloured it in with some SU markers.  I also added a bit of Dimensional Magic and some glitter to make it stand out a bit more.

I liked how it came out but I wasn't sure whether it was bold enough so I did the same card on black instead of white. What is it about black cards that makes them so difficult to photograph?  Let me know which you prefer won't you?

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Another Hint of Pink! Colour Q #227

Hello blogging folks!

Are you having a good week? My littlest boy started kindergarten yesterday - I was so proud of him. He toddled off into the classroom with not so much as a backwards glance at us...I've never felt so unwanted in my life!

Anyway, time for another colour challenge over at Colour Q. We're sticking to all things pink again this week with this pretty palette:

I've done quite a few pink cards recently and I've managed to avoid making even more Valentines cards. Let's face it, most of us only have one husband/partner so we don't normally need more than one. Having said that, I do send a card to one of my closest friends in the UK called Michael...we've been doing it since we were about 6, when we swore undying love for each other and thought we'd get married.  Luckily his wife and my husband do accept this little tradition of ours...Michael's wife has even been known to write the card for him!

I used a couple of PTI sets for this one - Heart Prints and Grunge Me which has to be one of the most versatile sets around. It looks like I've missed out one of the colours but the Raspberry Ripple (or Memento alternative) is the stamped sentiment. It's just slightly different to the Melon Mambo.

Ok, that's all from me for tonight...happy stamping!

Claire x

Purple Yuck!

Hello again!

When I saw this week's Casology challenge I knew I'd struggle. This week's cue word,  'purple', seems to be a colour that's either loved or loathed by crafty folks. I'm afraid I'm not a fan - to me it's a 'nothing' colour, one that's neither masculine or feminine and that I find almost impossible to match with others.

But I had a bash at the challenge anyway.  There have been heaps of stencilled projects in blog land this week, due to the most recent class over at Jennifer McGuire Ink. These cards have encouraged me to reach for an old Spellbinders Embossability and attempt to stencil the design. I really wanted to mask it directly on to the card but since the stencil is completely warped (and in some parts broken), it was a total disaster and I kept getting purple ink all over my beautiful, clean, white card.  So I stencilled it, cut a strip and plonked in on to the card, then added a white embossed butterfly - sponged in purple ink of course:

Not my best effort but it will have to do - I learnt a couple of things along the way:

1) I still don't like purple
2) I must sign up for that class....

Have a fabulous Sunday and thanks for popping by!

Claire x