Owl Peek-a-boo..!

Hiya!

Just wanted to pop in quickly and share a card I made over the Christmas break but haven't gotten around to sharing (I haven't had much of a chance to make new stuff over the last week because of study, family visits and the other things that keep life busy!).

I used the sale-a-bration set Punch Bunch to create the owl and the sentiments. The sentiment stamp coordinates with the scallop square punch in the catalogue (stamped in Cherry Cobler, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie and Pacific Point).

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Punch Bunch
Ink: Cherry Cobler, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Early Espresso
Paper: Cherry Cobler, Pear Pizzazz, Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Accessories: Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon, scallop square punch, pumpkin pie button, linen thread, marker

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Papertrey January Blog Hop Challenge

Hiya!

I finally got the chance to play along with PTI's Blog Hop - hooray!

This month's blog hop challenge involves you challenging yourself to use a Papertrey stamp set that has yet to see ink or even one that might be collecting a little dust!

I used both types  my oldest PTI set (Home Made) that I haven't used in ages, and a set I got at CHA that has not seen ink yet (shocking!) - Everyday Button Bits. I made a little house ensemble with some magnets to put in it for a house warming gift:

This is the front of the house and here is the back:

Here is the completed ensemble:

 and a close up of two of the magnets:

I'd love to stay and chat (and give more details!) but my Mum and husband are waiting impatiently to get to a movie so I must run... will try to stop back later to give some more details!

edited to say - back from the movie now! Here's a few more deets: I used a combination of Aqua Mist/Scarlet Jewell colour combo. All the elements of the house (apart from the curtains) were stamped in brown and the curtains were stamped with a retired blue. I cut out all the elements and added shading with yellow copics in the windows. The door was also coloured with copics. I used some PTI mat stack dies to create the magnet shapes, as well as the limitless labels dies. A combination of buttons finished these off! The sentiments on the magnets were stamped on strips of Kraft cardstock and then I trimmed the edges into a 'v'. The magnets were a bargain that I picked up at a local supermarket (20p for 4!) - I just glued them to the back of the finished pieces of card with a hot glue gun.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Shabby Viva Teapot...

Hiya!

I wanted to play along with this week's Shabby Tea Room challenge - this is a new challenge to me, and the challenge was indeed challenging lol! It was to use white/cream and only one other colour - eek! As a girl who loves her colour challenges and layers of colours of cardstock, this one took some thinking through! Anyway, this is what I came up with:

I rummaged through my stash of DSP and found these pink sheets that matched rather well and were a perfect match to the Blushing Bride ribbon I love so much. I also discovered that some of my PTI buttons were a perfect colour match as well. I used a set from PTI that I picked up at CHA last year, added some stickles to the leaves on the teapot (after tracing around the edges with a Blushing Bride marker) and layered on a paper doily (also from the States!). I added some lace and pearls as well as the ribbon/button combo. The layout is from week 4 of the Viva la Verve sketches this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

CR84FN Amour...

Hiya!

I love the colours in this week's CR84FN challenge:

The ribbon, pin cushion and thread made me think of a lovely patchwork quilt for some reason, so I went in that direction and created a patchwork panel with a 1 1/4" square punch and different DSP. Here's the result (you can click on the image for a larger view):

I combined these colours with this Viva la Verve sketch. I made the card slightly larger than a standard A6 card and went with a 7x5" card base so I could fit all the elements on. The heart was stamped with second generation Poppy Parade ink (i.e. stamping once on scrap then stamping a lighter image). I stamped 'Amour' from Artistic Etchings over the top with Early Espresso ink. I'm LOVIN that ribbon with the big bow and a button to finish... can't go wrong with one of those babies!

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Artistic Etchings
Ink: Pure Poppy, Early Espresso
Paper: mix of various DSPs, Naturals Ivory, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Real Red striped ribbon, linen thread, Crumb Cake button, Soft Suede marker, 1 1/4" square punch, oval nestabilities

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Playing with Cutlery...

Hiya!

I wanted to play along with this week's MFT sketch challenge so I combined it with this Play Date colour challenge:

I love the Baja Breeze/Kraft combination with distressing and a hint of gold so that's the direction I went in to make this card:

I used the Compliments of the Chef stamp set for the main image and the greeting. The doily effect was created by stamping the Medallion background stamp onto Crumb Cake card then embossing with white embossing powder. I trimmed around the edge and hey presto - a doily! The cutlery was embossed with gold embossing powder and shaded lightly with Sahara Sand ink and a blender pen. The background panels are different DSPs that were sanded with a sanding block (love this effect because it reveals the white core of the paper).

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Compliments of the Chef, Medallion
Ink: Versamark, Basic Grey, Sahara Sand
Paper: Woodland Walk & Elegant Soiree DSP, Basic Grey, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Baja Breeze
Accessories: white & gold EP, elastic gold cord, gold brads, sanding block

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy X

Bright & funky...

Hiya!

I combined this week's Colour Q challenge with the sketch from Inkspirations to create this card:

Pretty bright eh?! The leaves and flower come from the free PTI set I got at CHA in Chicago  I haven't used it in a while but I thought it was perfect for this fun colour challenge. The leaves were stamped with Kiwi Kiss and the flowers in Melon Mambo. The whole panel was embossed with PTI's Linen impression plate. I added some buttons and rhinestones (gotta have a bit of bling!). The sentiment is from another PTI set I picked up at CHA. The two DSP pieces in the background are both retired (I have a huge amount of this that I really need to use up!). The ribbon is Tangerine Tango that my Mum bought be from a previous SU catalogue in Australia.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Four of a Kind, Enjoy the Ride
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Melon Mambo, Taken with Teal
Paper: retired SU DSP, Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Taken with Teal
Accessories: Tangerine Tango ribbon, PTI buttons, stickles, Linen impression plate, SU rhinestones, Tangerine Tango marker.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Viva la Butterflies...!

Hiya!

I've got a whole free day today - yippee! My sister is down and we are vegging in front of the TV, watching movies and chilling, and of course I am playing with paper and stamps as well! I've been wanting to play along with the CR84FN colour challenge for a while now, and this is the second week in a row that I've played along then missed the deadline for linking - oops! Must remember to upload before Friday night lol! Anyways, I thought I'd stop in and share my card with you. This was the colour challenge:

When I first saw the colours I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them as I don't have a lot of pastel colours in my DSP collection (which is often where I start). I started looking through some of my older papers and lo and behold I stumbled across some HOTP papers that had these exact colours in them - hooray! I combined the colours with one of the Viva la Verve sketch challenges this month and here's what I created:

The sentiment is from Verve and the butterflies from PTI (coloured with copics). I put my sewing machine to work and stitched around each panel (which I still find rather tricky!). I added some buttons tied with linen thread as well as some liquid pearls to the centre of the small butterflies. The two middle panels were overstamped with En Francais (a SU background stamp). The purple card and ink are the retired Lavender Lace (still mourning the loss of the light purple shades from the SU colour collections!).

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Sweet Curtain Call Summer...

Hiya!

I wanted to play along with this week's Curtain Call colour challenge and I paired the colours with the Sweet Sunday sketch from this week. This is what I came up with:

I used the lovely Sweet Summer sale-a-bration set to create the circle panel. I stamped the flowers with Stazon and watercoloured with markers and an aqua brush (LOVE watercolouring!). The sentiment is from another sale-a-bration set and I found it fits perfectly inside this piece of Hodgepodge Hardware.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Sweet Summer, So Happy for You
Ink: Stazon, Pacific Point
Paper: Marina Mist, Cherry Cobler, Pacific Point DSP, Watercolour, Whisper White
Accessories: Nestabilities, scallop trim border punch, white organza ribbon, rhinestones, SU markers, HPH, aquapainter

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Amazing Mojo...

Hi there!

I got to play a little yesterday so I combined this week's Mojo Monday sketch with some new Kaisercraft paper and other goodies that my Mum bought me for Christmas (oh how I love pressies!!). I wanted to use one of the papers that has really gorgeous detail in it so this sketch was perfect for leaving lots of it showing. Lookie:

I just LOVE the colours in this paper! I used some Verve butterflies stamped on coordinating paper, cut them out then shaded the turqouise one with coloured pencil. I added some black pearls to the centre of each butterfly. The piece behind the circle is a coordinating die-cut tag from the same paper pad. I added some lace and stuck a jewellery pin through the sentiment (also from Verve) to add to the vintage/shabby chic look. I also sanded the edges of the patterned paper, added some faux stitching with a marker and curled the top corner.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Blushing Bird Bliss...

Hiya!

Here's one of those cards I made while I was on holiday - I had limited supplies, which I found frustrating at times but it was good to be challenged and think a bit more creatively! I combined the Sale-a-Bration set Bliss with one of my fave sets from the new catty, Notably Ornate.

I just adore this Blushing Bride pink colour - it's so soft and pretty and it goes with so many colours! I combined it with Marina Mist and Early Espresso on this card. The flowers are from Bliss and were stamped with Marina Mist on Very Vanilla. The layout is from the fabulous book I got for Christmas mentioned a couple of days ago.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Bliss, Notably Ornate
Ink: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Blushing Bride
Paper: Love Letter DSP, Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Blushing bride ribbon, Very Vanilla button, linen thread, modern label punch, pearls

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Black & White Bliss...

Hiya!

Just stopping in quickly to share a card I made for the inspiration challenge over at SCS on Saturday. I went with a black and white colour scheme (with some grey) as I wanted to make a card that could be used for a more serious occasion - I don't tend to make many of these but they are needed in some of life's circumstances so I should really make more. Here's what I came up with:

I made an ATC-sized card (2.5x3.5") then added it to a simple background on an A6-sized card blank. It's really great to make a few of these ATC toppers because then when you need to whip up a quick card you've got some options to start with!

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Bliss, Occasional Quotes (hostess set)
Ink: Stazon black
Paper: Whisper White DSP, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: black grosgrain ribbon, scallop trim border punch, modern label punch, wide oval punch.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Play Date Bliss...

Hiya!

I'm not that into New Year's Resolutions (probably because I have no sticking power and end up breaking them quite quickly lol!) - but one thing I would like to improve this year is the amount of blogging I do! Can't make any promises but I'll certainly try! For me, it's not that I'm not making stuff (I'm always doing that!) it's just that I don't seem to get the time to photograph them then sit down and write/type about them. I have however photographed all the things I made over the Christmas break so I should have some material to share with you over the next while. I'm so grateful for all the people who stop in to see what I've been making, and I really appreciate those who take the time to leave comments - it really encourages me to know what you think!

Another thing I want to do more of this year is to participate in some of the fabulous challenges out there in blog-land. One that I haven't played with so far is the Play Date Cafe - an inspiration/colour challenge that is right up my street! So yesterday I decided to have a go with these colours:

I used Regal Rose, Melon Mambo and Crumb Cake and discovered they look completely gorgeous together! Here's what I came up with:

I used a DL sized card base, which I haven't used in ages, but after getting this book for Christmas from my sister (thanks Bethany!!) I have been inspired by the sketches in the book and have been happily playing! This card will be one of the ones we will be making at my Bliss class on Friday night.

I stamped the flourish with Versamark onto Crumb Cake and embossed with white. I stamped the flower with Regal Rose and Melon Mambo a few times each and cut out, leaving a small white border around each. The greeting is from Curly Cute (hands down my fave sentiment set!).

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Bliss, Curly Cute, Dot dot dot
Ink: Melon Mambo, Regal Rose, Versamark
Paper: Crumb Cake, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: White organza ribbon, linen thread, white brads, white EP, scallop trim border punch

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Colour Q Mojo Owls...

Hiya!

I have been having LOTS of fun making cards with my new Sale-a-bration stamps (and not doing anywhere near enough work or study as I should..!). I saw this week's colour Q challenge and knew I had to play - check out how gorgeous they look:

I combined the colours with this week's Mojo Monday sketch and came up with this:

How cute are those owls?? I stamped them with Crumb Cake ink (which I still call Kraft... can't get out of the habit!) and cut them out (we don't have the coordinating punch in the UK... but we will do in April in our Mini catty woohoo!). I punched out some branches using the 2-step bird punch for them to perch on. The sentiment is from the same Sale-a-bration set as the owls - lookie:

So many fab things you can do with this one (and I have plenty more samples to share with you that I made on holiday!).

Here's the recipe:

Stamps: Punch Bunch

Ink: Crumb Cake, Basic Black

Paper: Basic Grey DSP, Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Grey, Crumb Cake, Old Olive

Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Old Olive Satin ribbon, 2-step bird punch, basic black marker

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x