So the gastro fairy visited our house this week.  Without going into a whole bunch of detail (you’re welcome) I have been wary of eating anything much these past few days, so energy reserves have been on the low side to say the least.

On a related but much more positive note, I finished my first book club book in three days.

My challenge card this week is a sketch – one that I came up with based on a card in the current Idea Book & Catalogue.  I think I might do more challenges based on samples from the IB&C as you really don’t need to look much past there for buckets of inspiration.

The card I used as a starting point is this one from page 86…

…which I turned into this sketch…

…and in turn, this card…!

Here I used the very sweet Sweet Summer and So Happy for You Sale-a-bration sets, which are two of the freebie stamp sets on offer with your order of $100 for only a couple more weeks!  This is also my workshop make and take for the month

You can see how the final card is based on the layout of the first one, but with a few tweaks, which is the whole idea behind CASEing*.  Sometimes it’s easier to turn the original idea into a two-dimensional sketch first as I have done, that way you don’t “see” the original card quite so clearly and it can be easier to tweak and put your own spin on it.

I’m off to finalise my swaps for my team stamping night tonight – can’t wait to catch up with my gals!  We’re doing Easter themed swaps this month, so I will have a whole lotta Easter inspiration by tomorrow!

* What’s your definition of CASEing?!  I have heard of two things that the CASE acronym stands for – Copy And Share Everything and Copy And Selectively Edit.  I think either could apply, but which one do you think it stands for, or are there others?  Discuss…

“Sketch Challenge #1 – CASEing page 86″
Stamps: Sweet Summer, So Happy for You
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, Regal Rose
Accessories: Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, 5/8″ Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch

I‘m a little bit later than usual with my challenge post today – ‘usual’ being based on only the two Challenge Chewsday entries that there have been prior to this one, however….

I’ve had a busy weekend with a workshop, a team stamping day and last night a scrapbooking class – my first ever (and hopefully the first of many!), so I haven’t had a great deal of time to stamp and photograph my card and then schedule the accompanying post, but with my small girl out on adventures with Daddy, other than being constantly distracted by my absolute favourite YouTube video of the moment (I’ll tell you about that in a minute…) my time for an hour or so is my own, so here I am.

This week I took on Just Add Ink #56 – a sketch challenge that looks like this…

…and turned it into this little card (the operative word being “little” – it’s only 7 x 10.5 cm)…

The card is a tribute to my favourite season, and I am so very ready for Autumn on a so many levels!  We have had the most unrelenting spell of hot and humid weather here in Perth these past weeks and quite frankly I’m ready for a bit of a break from it!  So is my lawn, at least what is left of it.

The other thing about Autumn that is rather exciting and just over the horizon now, is that it brings with it a brand new mini catalogue!  I’m stalking my postie for my copy, which should be here any day now, but I’ve seen a preview online and oh lordy, what a treat we’re in for

If you’d like to reserve a copy to be posted out next month in readiness for the mini to go live in April, please fill out –>this form<– with your details and I’ll be sure to get one in the post for you!

In the meantime, we still have the delightful Summer Mini in all its goodness, which I have been demonstrating lots of this past month.  If you haven’t already, check it out and make sure to grab anything that you want/need before the sales period ends on March 31, not forgetting that until then a $100 order will also score you a free Sale-a-bration stamp set!

Contact me to place your order

And before I sign off, as promised, here is the video that’s been on high rotation on my computer since I was alerted to it last week.  I have not been able to stop watching/listening to it, so from me (and those spunky tenors) to you….ENJOY!

“Challenge Chewsday – JAI #56 -Ready for Autumn”
Stamps: Trendy Trees, Woodgrain, Tiny Tags
Paper: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, In-color DSP stack
Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Cajun Craze
Accessories: Soft Suede, Old Olive, More Mustard & Cajun Craze Markers, Lots of Tags Sizzlits, Old Olive 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch

Two weeks in a row – I’m on a roll folks!  And you’ll note that Challenge Chewsday got the nod from the majority of commenters (commentators?!) on the last post – not that I was taking a poll or anything, but since you offered your opinions, let’s go with it!

This week I headed back to Inkspirations HQ and used the fabulous sketch on offer there…

Combined with this PRETTY colour combination from ColourQ…

And this is what I turned them into…

On Thursday just gone, our gorgeous across-the-road neighbours added a beautiful baby girl to their already sweet and lovely family, so as a heartfelt thank you for giving me a brand new baby to sniff, with a little bit of congratulations thrown in, this is the card I made for baby Lily, that we headed over this afternoon to give them.

I also made a little matching gift tag to hang from the bag…

So there you have my challenge entry for this Chewsday!  Hope you’re enjoying my new blog feature – I certainly am!

• An oldie but a goodie – sponge the edges of your cardstock and paper for a lovely vintage look
• Punch a strip of cardstock with a border punch, feed it through the Crimper, then concertina the straight edge together and stick it behind an oval or circle shape for a pretty border
• Use a White Gel Pen in conjunction with watercolouring for some great highlights

“Happy Birth-Day Lily!”
Stamps: Awash with Flowers, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White, Watercolour Paper, Cherry Cobbler, In-color DSP stack,
Ink: Versamark, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette
Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Ovals die, Eyelet Border Punch, Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Neutrals Brads, Crimper, 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/4″ Circle Punch, Bitty Buttons, Owl Punch (heart), Blushing Bride Stitched Poly Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Stampin’ Sponges

I‘ve been thinking for a while that I ought to have more in the way of a plan in terms of what goes up on my blog and when.  Although flying by the seat of my pants is my usual MO of choice, it’s not really working for me anymore, so I’ve decided it’s time to get myself a bit organised.

So to get the ball rolling, I thought I would start simply, adding just one new thing to my blog schedule, or rather starting a blog schedule altogether, with a feature I’m going to call Challenge Tuesday.

For purposes of alliteration and perfectionism, I was half tempted to call it Challenge Chewsday but thought better of it.

The idea is that I will seek out some fun challenges to take part in, thereby possibly even alerting you, dear reader, to some challenge blogs and websites that you may previously have been unaware of.  Occasionally I may even throw in a home grown one, just for fun…

To kick things off, I have actually completed no less than FOUR challenges over the weekend, combining some sketch and colour challenges.

First up is the Pals Paper Arts PPA79 – Celebrity Colour Challenge…

…combined with the Clean and Simple Stamping Fall to Layout #126…

…for the following result:

It’s not a combination of colours I would ever have thought to put together on my own,  and I’ve left this card on my desk so that I can keep sneaking peeks at it to decide whether or not I like it…

• Use the Colour Spritzer to create a slight textured background on an otherwise plain cardstock base

• Use part of a Big Shot die instead of the whole thing for a different look and greater product flexibility

“Pals Paper Arts PPA79 + Clean and Simple Stamping FTL126″
Stamps: Growing Green, Occasional Greetings
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery, Watercolour Paper, Lover Letter DSP
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Colour Spritzer, Rich Razzleberry Marker, Circle Scissors Plus, 2-3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Die, Aquapainter, Stampin’ Dimensionals

For challenges three and four, I went with the combination of  Inkspirations Colour Challenge #56…

…and Sweet Sunday sketch Challenge 103…

and came up with this:

I rather like this one, although again, the colours are unlikely to have made it onto the same project of mine without the prompting of a challenge, which after all is the whole idea of challenges I guess.

I encourage you to give some a go if you need to step outside of your stampin’ comfort zone a bit

• A fine border of white or black cardstock is great for breaking up solid colours and adding definition to your layout

• Invest in one (or all!) of the packs of DSP  Patterns Stacks, that way you’ll have a DSP in all of your favourite colours

“Inkspirations Colour Challenge #56 + Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge 103″
Stamps: Apple Blossom (L2 hostess)
Paper: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Neutrals DSP Patterns Stack, Jolly Holiday DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Stampin’ Dimensionals

So there you have it, the first of what I hope will be many Challenge Tuesdays, although I should warn you right up front that they are unlikely to all feature more than one challenge at a time. I guess I got a bit carried away with the idea for this first one…

So if you’ve visited me here at all in the past four weeks, you’ll know that there’s a new catalogue out

And that will be about the extent of your knowledge at the hands of me, since that’s all I’ve had to say here in the past month…

Certainly not through lack of wanting to blog, I have just had a bunch of  bits and pieces requiring my attention – a catalogue launch, a birthday party, some ‘real’ work, workshops, classes and life in general – you get the idea

What I do need to do however, is put to rest the “bigger and better things” rumour that started as a result of my resigning from the Just Add Ink design team!

After receiving some messages and emails about my supposed upcoming “bigger and better things” and realising that my absence from blogging was probably adding fuel to that particular fire, I thought it best to clarify that my departure from JAI was due to nothing more than wanting to simplify my commitments a little and make room for someone who had the time and energy to give their all to the wonderful experience of being part of such an awesome team.

That’s it.

I almost wish I did have some exciting news to share, but truly, that’s all there was to it.  I felt that I was putting in last minute substandard work that wasn’t fair to anybody and so I made the long put off decision to step down.

I absolutely loved being part of the JAI crew and want to thank Danielle and Amanda for giving me the opportunity to be on my first ever design team.  The gals on the team are all gorgeous and SO very talented and it was a delight to get to “know” them all a bit better.

For old time’s sake (and because I love the sketch that is the current challenge over there, I have a tidy craft desk with new stuff to play with and school holidaying poppets that are so divine at playing together and entertaining themselves…), I thought I would whip up a quick entry to Just Add Ink Challenge #36.

Here’s the sketch…

…and here’s what I did with it…

I am completely in love with Awash with Flowers and also the DSP Patterns Stacks that are available in the all new colour collections.

Then there’s the new In-color Poly Twill – the one here is in Pear Pizzazz, the gorgeous new green In-color – love that too.

In fact there’s a whole lot to love in the new catalogue and I have much to share, from my launch projects to other bits and bobs that I have been creating with my new and exciting gear.

Now that we’re on school holidays here, I can’t specify a time frame, but I will be back soon with more to show.

Promise

“Just Add Ink Challenge #36 – Sketch”
Stamps: Awash with Flowers, Apple Blossom
Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Melon Mambo, Watercolour Paper, Brights Patterns Stack
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Pear Pizzazz, Garden Green, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Pear Pizzazz Poly Twill, White Gel Pen, Aquapainter, Melon Mambo and Pear Pizzazz Stampin’ Write Markers

It’s week two of school holidays over this way, and I would have to say that it’s been one of the most enjoyable school holidays I can remember.

Despite the fact that we have had a couple of overly crisp weeks in terms of weather, which was promptly followed by rain in large bucket loads, and a bit of a head cold on my part, we have have been enjoying several sleep ins, a bunch of pyjama days, loads of visiting, a number of play dates, a movie and large amounts of pottering at home.

The girls have been absolutely delightful, reveling in each others’ company and being quite honestly, completely delicious!

So I’ve been thoroughly enjoying this relaxed time, which hasn’t left a whole lot of room for blogging, so apologies for that

I have been stamping though, and have spent some time this week playing along with a number of challenges, hence the title of this post.

You may have noticed that the Design Team over at Just Add Ink has been expanded by about double, meaning that we only have to design fortnightly for the challenges.  We are free to play along in our off week though, and this week I decided to do exactly that – leaving it to the very last minute as is my standard OP, but anyway, here it is…

I especially wanted to play along with this one, as it involves Elegant Eggplant – a colour that I need as much practise with as I can get.

Despite needing practise though, I do tend to use Elegant Eggplant very much as a highlight rather than a feature colour, but at least it’s there!

I combined the colour challenge with a sketch from the Clean and Simple blog – a place that I head to on many an occasion when I’m in need of a fabulous yet simple layout

So there you have challenge number one!  Next up I’ll show you a card that I made up for a challenge on my team stamping blog, and later this week the next JAI challenge!

All this is after we head to the park tomorrow followed by dinner with my bestie and her gorgeous family.

It’s a tough life, but somebody has to do it

“Just Add Ink #25″
Stamps: Seeing Spots, Polka Dot,
Paper: Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Very Vanilla, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red
Accessories: 1-3/8″, 1-1/4″ and 3/4″ Circle Punches, Rich Regals brads, Vintage brads, Elegant Eggplant 1/4″ Grosgrian Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

This week over at Just Add Ink, we have a sketch challenge for you.  It’s a beauty of a sketch, with so many possibilities, two of which I discovered for myself when I wasn’t sure about the first card I made, so made a second.

Here’s the sketch…

And here’s my first go at it…

The colour combination is a bit left of centre, and came about as a result of having tidied my computer desk and finding a selection of cardstock under the various debris.

This brought about a vague recollection of having seen a picture online somewhere and taking inspiration from the colours in it, then being distracted by some other random cyber stampin’ sighting and forgetting about it until the long overdue desk clean up.

I wasn’t super happy with the result (that will teach me for tidying up!) so I made a second one…

The colours in this one are much more my speed

I also had fun with the scallops around the edge, wanting to something a little bit different.

In fact, let’s make a game of it – you tell me how I did it

And then tell me which card you like better, ’cause I’m still undecided…

“Just Add Ink #21 – Take 1″
Stamps: Pick a Petal, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Summer Sun, Whisper White, Raspberry Tart (just $11.02 until Tuesday!)
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Rose Red
Accessories: Rose Red 1″ Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Clear Buttons, Soft Subtles brads, Scallop Border Punch, Crimper, Stampin’ Dimensionals

“Just Add Ink #21 – Take 2″
Stamps: Petal Pizzazz, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
Paper: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP, Sweet Always DSP
Ink: Rose Red, Regal Rose, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: 1/2″ Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

My word these weeks are passing quickly and it’s time once again for a new Just Add Ink challenge.

This time it’s another sketch challenge – love these – and here it is for your inspiration…

This one shouted “scrapbook layout” to me, so after I had asked it to please use its inside voice  (we don’t shout in our house… ) I set about creating a layout according to the guidelines of the sketch.

And here it is….

You will notice that I flipped the sketch around as there was more empty space to overlap the smaller pictures on the left hand side of the large one, but other than that, I stuck pretty faithfully to the original layout.

To the left of the small pictures, you will notice some little tabs…

These were created using the “left-over”  part of the Round Tab Punch as you can see in the following “how-to”:

These tabs have function as well as a decorative purpose, as they actually indicate that the photo’s can be lifted up to reveal the journalling underneath…

The journalling is divided between all three of the lift-up photo’s and following on from the first bit that you can see above, says:

A couple of days after Christmas, we got to work on creating a fabulous ‘do’ for her.  One hour and a very patient 6 year old later, she had a head full of bouncing barrel curls.

Then it was time for the photo shoot…  Sophie hadn’t been too keen on the hairstyling thing, but definitely wanted in on the modeling action…

27 December 2009

To balance the page, I added a little embellishment in the top right, using the Eyelet Border Punch to create a pretty photo corner, then layered on some stamped images and small embellishments to fancy it up a bit more.

Truthfully, the main photo is just a tad pageant-ish for my liking, but since we were just messing about and playing hairdressers, I figured she could get away with being a bit of a diva for the camera just this once

So now it’s your turn!  Head on over to the challenge at Just Add Ink and see what you can turn the fabbo sketch into!

“Just Add Ink Challenge #6 – Stylin’ Layout”
Stamps: Framed with Love, Always
Paper: Close to Cocoa textured, Rose Red, Whisper White, Bella Bleu DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White craft
Accessories: On Board Lots of Letters, Eyelet Border Punch, Round Tab Punch, Flower Fusion and Flower Fusion Too, Button Bouquet, Pretties Kit, White Embossing Powder, Stampin’ Sponges

So I mentioned yesterday how much fun I had with the first sketch challenge over at Just Add Ink…

Here is the second card I made using this very fun and versatile sketch…

It’s very different to the first, which is precisely what I love about sketch challenges – the variety of results that can be obtained from a single “map”, if you will.

To get the watercolour-ish effect in the flowers, I coloured directly onto the gorgeous silhouette image from Upsy Daisy using Summer Sun, Cameo Coral, Rose Red and Old Olive Markers, starting with the lightest colour and working upwards to the darkest.  That way, when you overlap the colours a little bit, it won’t ruin your markers.

Next I grabbed my spray bottle filled with water and with the coloured stamp approximately arms length away (the bottle has a fairly serious spray attachment!) I gave the stamp around 3 spritzes of water, then stamped it onto my cut out circle of Naturals Ivory.

This card was sent off to a lady that has a son a couple of years below my big girl at school.  She turned up at a garage sale I had a couple of weeks ago (a long overdue clear out of toys and clothes that have been outgrown at various stages since my girls were born…  procrastinator much?!) and offered to sell off anything that I had left at the Baby and Kids Market where she had a stall the following weekend.

How nice is that?!  Thanks again Penny

If you haven’t tried the sketch challenge yet, you have until midnight next Wednesday to take part.

Actually you can try the sketch whenever you want, three or more times over as I did if you like, but if you want to enter it in the running to be judged one of the Top 5 or Honourable Entries, you have until midnight next Wednesday.

Get to it!

Just Add Ink Challenge #3 – Take Two
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Trendy Trees
Paper: Naturals Ivory, Old Olive, Raspberry Tart DSP
Ink: Rose Red
Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Summer Sun, Old Olive, Cameo Coral & Rose Red Markers, Very Vanilla wide grosgrain, Button Bouquet,  Stampin’ Dimensionals, yellow embroidery thread (non SU!)

In case I haven’t mentioned how much I am enjoying being part of a design team, I am SO enjoying being part of a design team!

The girls running the show, Danielle and Amanda are super organised and the team as a whole is so friendly and so flippin’ talented!

And I have been stamping much more than usual these past couple of weeks, also partly due to having a brand new kickin’ morning routine that leaves more than five minutes here and there for stamping.

Gotta love routines

The other reason I have been loving stamping so much this past week in particular, is because of the AWESOME challenge the girls came up with for Just Add Ink Challenge #3!

I ended up creating three cards – all completely different- using this sketch and no doubt I will be going back to it again and again, due in no small part to the fact that it lets me use my fabulous Circle Scissors Plus!

LOVING this tool!

Here is my first card, and the one that is also up at Just Add Ink, along with the jaw dropping creations of the rest of the design team…

I have a number of baby cards to make at the moment – four for girls and one baby boy card, plus I have several that I made towards the end of last year that I must show you too.

I think I feel another Baby Card Parade coming on….!

This card was inspired by a thank you card I received from one of the mums at school who had a gorgeous baby girl at the end of the last school term.

I’ll show you the card and gift that I made for her later in the week, once I have got through the other versions of this sketch that I made.

They’re up tomorrow and Sunday!  Stay tuned…

Oh, and don’t forget to have a go at this sketch yourself and enter it over at Just Add Ink.

And one other thing….  when you get tired of tracing around various sized plates, bowls, CD’s and another other circular paraphernalia you have around the house, contact me to get yourself some Circle Scissors.

I promise you won’t be sorry!

“Just Add Ink Challenge #3″
Stamps: Nursery Necessities
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Kraft, Pink Pirouette Patterns DSP
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White Craft
Accessories: Circle Scissors Plus, Pink Pirouette Striped Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals