Love is in the Air

Hello,

Love is in the air with Valentines Day just around the corner so there are lots of love-themed challenges around in blogland this week. I was determined not to make a valentines card this year - not because I don't want to give one to my husband but simply because I still have about 5 previous ones yet to give.  One husband, 5 cards. Maybe I should give a card to each of my boys, although I expect their response would be a resounding 'yuck!'

I'm entering a three-fer with this CAS card - AAA Cards have a love themed challenge, CAS-ual Fridays is all about hearts and Less is More is celebrating 7 years of challenges with a music theme:

I used CAS-ual Fridays Heart Beats for the sentiment and the Double Note Fri-die, cut 4 times and covered in a thick layer of glossy accents. The music stamp is from Waltzingmouse Musical Backgrounds. The teeny tiny gold hearts are also from a CAS-ual Fridays die - Lovely Links.

Hope your weekend is fun filled and full of love!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Color Throwdown - Guest designer

Hello folks!

I'm thrilled to be guest designer over at Color Throwdown for the next month so get ready for some inspiring colour swatches to get your inky mojo going! First up is this pretty combo from Vickie:

 I used this sweet little elephant stamp from Simon Says Stamp, together with a PTI sentiment and a scattering of stars from W Plus 9. The frame is from MFT. 

There's lots of fabulous inspiration from the DT so make sure you check out their blogs and send them some love:

Barbara Anders - Paper PursuitsBroni Holcombe - Splashes of WatercolorLori Tecler - Inking Aloud Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations Jodi Collins- Stamping a LatteLynn Putt- The Queens SceneLisa Henke- My Little Creative EscapeAmy Rysavy - Prairie Paper & Ink Amy Rohl - Ink About Me

Thanks for popping by!

Claire x

My Favorite Things - Colour and Sketch Challenge

Hi all,

It's been a while since I posted a card - we just had a week's holiday up in Queensland and I seem to have left my inky mojo up there!

Nothing like getting back into it with an MFT sketch and colour challenge though. I used the Stitched MOD Rectangle dies, Funky Flowers, Wood Plank Background and a sentiment from Adorable Elephants:

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Claire x

Less Purple the Better

Hi folks!

Purple. Definitely not my favourite hue to craft with. But I'm always up for a challenge and when I saw the 'purple' theme over at Less is More, I had to combine it with Time Out's whopping 100th challenge as it's Sandie's favourite colour:

I created a purple burst of colour using Ken Oliver's Color burst powder on some watercolour paper, then masked a few embossed Altenew Hennah Blooms. A WMS sentiment finished it all off!

Thanks for calling by!

Claire x

Throwing Down Colour at MFT

Hi fellow inkers!

It's been the hottest day on record in Sydney today and in some parts of the city it reached a whopping 47C! Hideous. But at least I'm not 8 months pregnant, unlike on the previous hottest day on record 11 years ago...there's always a silver lining!

Since all I wanted to do was stay in my air conditioned lounge, it was a good opportunity to join in with this week's MFT sketch challenge. I combined it with the elegant neutrals over at Color Throwdown, alhough I'm glad Amy confirmed the ivory as I thought it was a soft pink. Grey covers so many different hues - we painted our boys' bedrooms grey and repainted them all over again when it felt like we were walking into a giant mushroom!

I used MFT's Funky Flowers, Stitched MOD Rectangle Stax and a sentiment from Adorable Elephants.

Thanks for stopping by!

Claire x

Your Next Stamp Challenge

Hello, hello,

Quick post to show what I've done using the colours and sketch from Your next Stamp using Spec-tacular Phoebe and Friends:

Have a spec-tacular day!

Claire x

Getting Sketchy!

Hello and a Happy New Year to you!

2018 has started hangover free which is always a bonus isn't it? It was a kid free one for me as well - they've been away in Melbourne for the last few days so New Years Eve was spent with some good friends, a few bubbles and a midnight dip in their outdoor spa. Good times!

On to my cards - I've been playing around with a couple of sketches. My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch and Freshly made Sketches:

I do love all the little creatures and flowers in Polynesian Paradise and thought this was the perfect sketch to use them all. I didn't quite have the room to do 12 images, so only used 9 and placed each of them on a Stitched Mod Rectangle die cut. 

I continued with the MFT theme and used Garden Flourish to emboss a copper and black background. It was a bit tricky to find something simple enough to go with it so I went with one of PTI's Stylish Sentiments. I thought I might add a few enamel dots or sequins but that background is so heavily detailed I didn't think anything else was needed.  

The first card is also heading for Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is 'anything goes.'

Hope that 2018 proves to be happy, healthy and creative - thanks for popping by!

Claire x