A New Challenge!

I love it when I find a new challenge, especially when it is one that really opens up the possibilities and gets the creative juices flowing.  Well done to Lesley and Jackie for coming up with this idea, and thanks for all the inspiration.

And here is my first Fusion card.

I have added my own challenge to this as well, I really want to get good at making Clean and Simple cards.  I do find it difficult leaving lots of white space and not using heaps of embellishments, ribbons, lace etc but it will be good for me to learn something new!
It just so happens that this week’s CAS-ual Fridays challenge is to use Chevron and Flowers, so I will enter my card in that challenge as well.


The colours are just gorgeous, aren’t they?  Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango and Melon Mambo.  The yellow Chevron paper is from the Parker’s Patterns DSP, and the greeting from the gorgeous Kindness Matters stamp set.  The flowers look like they have dark blobs in the middle of them, but actually it is just a dob of silver Dazzling Details – the shiny stuff just didn’t show up in the photo.  Have to have a little bit of bling!
Hope your day is bright and sunny!
Happy stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #47

A gorgeous colour combination again this week, Pool Party and Cherry Cobbler.

What can I say… other than, yum, yum, yum! 🙂  Love these colours!

The photo doesn’t really do justice to the card, the embellishment consists of one of the Soda Pop Tops, which has been flattened by running it through the Big Shot, and then I have layered it with one of the Vintage Faceted Buttons. I have also used the Cloudy Day Embossing Folder, some of the gorgeous More Amore Specialty papers, the Hearts a Flutter stamp set and matching Framelits Dies and the Papillon Potpourri stamp set and matching punch.
Check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with for these colours here, and I look forward to seeing what you have made too.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Triple Time Stamping

Just a quick post to let you know that there are still a few seats available for the Triple Time Stamping Class which is happening next week.  So if you live in the Canberra area and would like to come along, please let me know asap.  Here is one of the cards we will be making:

You can contact me via email or phone, but please let me know asap as these cards require quite a lot of preparation.  More details can be found on my Classes page.
Looking forward to stamping with you soon 🙂
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Honeycomb Embossing

I have wanted to try this out for some time now, and yesterday was the perfect time to sit down and do some fussy cutting.   Is it only me, or does anyone else find fussy cutting relaxing?  A bit like watercolouring, knitting and crocheting…..


Perhaps one day Stampin’ Up! might bring out a punch to coordinate with the Honeycomb Embossing Folder used here, but for now, each piece of the patterned paper had to be cut by hand.   I have also used one of the Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder along the bottom, and one of the Delicate Designs Folders along the top.  Can you tell that I love my Embossing Folders?? 🙂
The Crumb Cake coloured layer is one of the pieces from the Pop Up Posies Kit which I have cut one edge off and popped under some Crumb Cake ribbon, and the greeting comes from the Apothecary Art stamp set.  Oh and mustn’t forget that gorgeous patterned paper, which is from the current seasonal catalogue on Page 16, called the Print Poetry Designer Series Paper Stack, lots of beautiful papers in it and they are great for cardmaking.

The sketch I have used for this card is this week’s sketch at the Freshly Made Sketches challenge site, and I always love a sketch challenge, so thought I would have a go at this one.
If you have any questions about this card, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Monochromatic Pinks

Definitely a “girly” challenge this week at Dynamic Duos,

and I have combined the pinks with black and white.

My card uses the Blooming With Kindness stamp set, which is a bit of a favourite at present.  The main flower image has been stamped twice, slightly off-set, once in Pretty in Pink and once in Regal Rose.
The ribbon is gorgeous but unfortunately retired quite a few years ago!

I apologise for the short post today, I have spent most of my day at a local model train exhibition with my family, it was fantastic, but I am feeling a little weary, so time to rest and recover!  Maybe some stamping 🙂
Lots of inspiration again this week from the rest of the Design Team, and please share your wonderful creations with us at Dynamic Duos.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Last day of Sale-a-Bration

Last chance today to pick up some of the gorgeous free stuff that is available during Sale-a-Bration.  Lots of gorgeous stuff this year, it is hard to choose a favourite, but this cute little stamp set has to be one of them…..

It’s called Patterned Occasions and I think it is a really versatile set.  Just a simple set of cards, but the images are pretty cute!
If you would like to get this set for free, or any of the other products that are available, all you need to do is contact me today with your order and payment worth $100.  The order must be placed today, as these will not be available come tomorrow!  And for every $100 you spend you get 1 free product.  And there’s lots to choose from this year, stamp sets, papers, punches…….


Anyway, send me an email or give me a call.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #43

More gorgeous colours for this week’s Dynamic Duos challenge:

And as always, so many ideas came to mind!  This time I chose to use them to make a card for a colleague who is having a baby boy soon.

I think the “peek-a-baby” image is just too cute, it comes from the Hostess stamp set called “Happy You” and the greeting is from Baby Prints.  The patterned papers come from the gorgeous Sycamore Street DSP which is available from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue but only until the 22nd March.
For some reason the photo has made the card look a little lop-sided, but I assure it isn’t really.
Lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team as always, and we look forward to seeing all your wonderful creations.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Pop-up Posies

 

I love the colours in this card, so pretty!
This particular card was inspired by a very talented fellow Stampin’ Up! demonstrator Christine Blain from Happy Heart Cards.  As usual, I have changed things around to what works for me, but the basic idea is similar to Christine’s card.
The beautiful papers are from the Tea for Two DSP, and I have used Needlepoint Border embossing folders to create the little scallop and stitch feature through the middle.  The flower, tag and the stamp all come from the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit, which is very versatile, and makes it so easy to create a gorgeous gift tag, or add the tag to a card as I have done here.
Send me an email if you would like to purchase one of these kits, they make creating soooooo easy! 🙂
Happy stamping!
Chris

A Scrap Page….

… finally!!  Yes, I finally started and completed a scrap page today.
In the last two years I have only done one scrap page and even that one I wasn’t particularly happy with.  My mojo has been completely lost when it came to scrapping, but today I decided it was time…. yep, time to force myself to make just one page.

This is the thing I love so much about Stampin’ Up!, everything is so well coordinated that it makes it just so much easier to make something quickly and easily without too much difficulty (unless your mojo is MIA), so once I got into the swing of it, things fell into place pretty easily.  What do you think…..?

I have used the Comfort Cafe Designer Series Papers for this page, and just matched up the colours for my card stock, except for the base which is Sahara Sand.  And keeping in line with my obsession with paper piercing I have used the template to pierce some circles – I like the contrast of the different shapes and geometrical patterns.
This page is 8 x 8 inches, and because I have used a smaller size for this page, I didn’t want to have journalling visible, so I have cut a tag using the Two Tags Die, layered some vanilla card stock on top and attached some Linen Thread. And yes, even the journalling is finished!
Did you realise that if you turned those pieces of patterned paper over, it would make a lovely feminine page?  Stampin’ Up! are so clever at this stuff…… 🙂

I just wanted to thank all of you for the lovely messages about my mishap on the weekend, my thumb is fine and healing up nicely, although still quite painful.  Not painful enough to stop me from stamping though 🙂  Thanks again, I really appreciate your kind thoughts.

Well, you never know, I just may have turned the scrapping corner, and you may just get to see a few more of these soon 🙂
Happy stamping!
Chris

Bright Blossoms

This is one of “those” stamp sets… you know the ones, you see it, imagine all the great things you could do with it, and then don’t use it!  Yes, for me Bright Blossoms has sat on the shelf for quite some time, unused and unloved.
But… I received a package in the mail during the week with some bits and pieces for a challenge, and amongst it, some patterned paper from the Summer Smooches DSP – one that I don’t yet own.  So, perfect opportunity to get Bright Blossoms off the shelf and use it!


Ok, so my challenge was to use the colours in the card stock I had been sent, which were Real Red, Tempting Turquoise and Island Indigo, add some whisper White card stock if needed, use only the ribbon included along with one other type of embellishment, which in this case is the rhinestones (must have bling!).
I have some the patterned paper left over now, so I might just have to work out how to use it for another card.  You never know, Bright Blossoms might get a bit more of a work out! 🙂
Hope you are having a crafty weekend.  Happy stamping!
Chris