Oh Dear .......

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted!!! Things have been stupidly busy & something had to wait - of course the impatient kids & husband wouldn't (why do they need to eat & have clean clothes??) so my poor blog was the loser.

I am hoping to have some new things to show you soon, but in the mean time check out my beautiful daughter in this 8x8 layout I have made recently.

My cousin is a great photographer - if you are even in Wee Waa make sure you drop in to After Image Photogaphy - & last Easter she took some pictures of the kids in a blow up pool filled with easter eggs. The kids had such a fun time, mind you I think they ate about 1/2 the eggs!All products used are Stampin' Up! - I had such fun playing with these new rub ons & satin ribbon that are available in the Spring Mini Catalogue

I just love this picture, Josie is absolutely cacking herself - she told me yesterday that the eggs were tickling her. She is soo cute most of the time, but boy can she chuck a tantrum!

Stampset: Lovely Labels

Cardstock: Purely Pomegranite, So Saffron, Whisper White

Ink: Rose Red

Accessories: Urban West & Eastern Elegance Rub Ons, Holiday Harmony DSP, Pomegranite Satin Ribbon, Paper Piercer & Mat Pack, Photo Corner, Scalloped, 1 1/4" & 1 3/4" Circle Punches

Kristina Werner #19

Poor Kristina has been off sick with an injured back so hasn't been able to post an Inspiration Challenge for awhile. She has made up for it with this one though - how am I supposed to pick a colour? Anyone who knows me, knows that I am really bad at making decisions!Luckily I had some images already stamped from the INKlings team weekend away, so the choice was made for me - Purely Pomegranite. This stampset is another one from the new Spring Mini Catalogue - Always. It is gorgeous & I am really kicking myself that I didn't get it.
I have seen afew of these ribbon rosettes around the blogosphere too, so thought I give one a whirl. I followed the directions here & must say I am quite impressed with how it turned out!

Stampset: Always, Spring Solitude
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Purly Pomegranite, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Purely Pomegranite
Accessories: Pomegranite Satin Ribbon, Blender Pen, 1/2 back Pearls from the Pretties Kit

Kissing

These are the cards that we made at my recent technique class on 'kissing'. It is such a fun & easy technique that gives your stamps a fun texture - simply ink a solid stamp in a lighter colour & a more detailed stamp in a darker colour. Stamp (kiss) the two stamps together then stamp the solid stamp onto your cardstock. For this first card I inked the Elephant stamp in Pretty in Pink & kissed the small flower inked in Regal Rose ink onto it.


Stampsets: Wild About You, So Many Sayings, Season of Joy
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Whisper White, Retired DSP
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Accessories: Pink Tafetta Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

Things have been abit hectic around here lately & I ran out of time to design my own samples so had to CASE (Copy And Share Everything) afew. I found this first one on Splitcoast Stampers. The flower has been inked in Groovy Guava & instead of kissing it with an inked stamp, I used an uninked one. This removed the ink from the solid stamp leaving behind the image of the stamp, which in this case was a smaller flower. I also kissed the smaller flower aroung the edges of the larger one & gave then abit of a twist so the image is not as clear.

Stampsets: Office Accoutrement, Birthday Best, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Sodt Sky, Groovy Guava, Kraft, Whisper White
Ink: Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Creamy Caramel, Basic Black
Accessories: Guava Double Stitched Ribbon, Vintage Brass Brads

This last card was CASEd from the very talented Teneale - I {heart} her work - she also has a card very simlar to this in the current For Keeps Creative Paper magazine which I have just seen today & it is gorgeous. I have inked the flower in Pretty in Pink & 'kissed' it with the Paisley Backgound stamp that was inked in Rose Red ink.

I have stamped this 3 times & then cut out parts of the flower & layered them using dimensionalsStampsets: Fabulous Flowers, Season of Joy, So Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Cardstock: Old Olive, Rose Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Old Olive, Choc Chip
Accessories: Wide Choc Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Daubers, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

If you would like to learn some new techniques why not come along to my next technique class - email me for more information - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au or check out my 30 boxes section on the right hand side for class dates & times.

Tell your Dad - "I LOVE YOU"

I don't tell my Dad often enough how much I love him & have always taken for granted the fact that he has always been there whenever I need him. Just recently he has moved over 8 hrs away & I've been missing the fact that I can't go & see him whenever I want, so thought I'd make him something special for Father's Day.

I've seen afew of these wallet cards around, they are so cute & I had heaps of fun making it.

I've made a tag on the left so I can write Dad a message & on the right I put a photo of the two of us - it was taken quite some time ago in a crop of forage sorghum on our old farm, so will hold abit of sentimental value for him also.

Just like a real wallet, this one has a money compartment, though I don't think I'll be giving Dad any money - maybe a gift card or voucher. There is just over 3 weeks till Father's Day, so it's not too late to purchase the stampset I used to make this project, or if you live in my area you could come along to one of my classes & I'll show you how to make your own wallet card - Monday 25th August 10am or Sunday 31st August 2pm. Cost will be $15, with all materials supplied

I have also been busy making a simplified version so I could do abit of mass production. Some of these wallets will go to school with my son for the Father's Day stall, some will be donated to charity & the rest will be sold to raise money for the Wee Waa Junior Rugby League Club.

When using Stampin' Up! images on cards or projects that you wish to sell, you must make sure that you comply with the Stampin' Up! Angel Policy. It mainly says that you must use one of the special stamps that has © Stampin' Up! on the image - you can see the stamp that I have used on my wallets below. For more information please click on the above link or contact me - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au

Stampsets: Ocassional Greetings, Genuine Articles, It's your Birthday, Expressive Flexible Phrases

Cardstock & Ink: Choc Chip, Close To Cocoa, Cranberry Crisp (retired), True Thyme (retired), Buckaroo Blue (retired)

Accessories: Black Stampin' Write Marker, Cutter Kit, Mat Pack & Paper Piercer

Brocade Basics

Brrr it's cold! I actually did some laundry today & had to go outside to hang it on the line - wet washing + cold wind = FREEZING FINGERS, gee I wish we had a clothes drier!

Anyway onto my card - this was totally inspired by Marelle Taylor, I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I love her work. When I first saw this stampset in our catalogue I didn't particularly like it .........well I do now - after all, a girl's allowed to change her mind :-)

This card was for a sketch challenge on the INKlings team weekend I attended recently. It is actually a trifold card, but I forgot to take a photo of it open & now the camera has flat batteries! The flowers are both popped up on dimensionals & the one on the right keeps the card closed.

Here is a closeup of the flowers - they have been inked in Groovy Guava & the edges rolled in Purely Pomegranite, I have also used some of the gorgeous 1/2 flat back pearls from my treasured Pretties Kit for the centre of the flowers.

Stampset: Brocade Basics

Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Choc Chip, Old Olive, Naturals Ivory

Ink: Old Olive, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranite, Creamy Caramel, Versamark

Accessories: Pretties Kit, Sponge Daubers, Clear Embossing Powder

Thanks for stopping by - hope you are keeping warm!

Oh so cute, little box!

Another one of Dani's challenges was to make this box from Josee Smuck's website - isn't it cute! I had so much fun making it & it was really quick & easy, so I'll be making some more soon - now I just need to make some cards to go inside :-)

Stampsets: True Friend, Season of Joy
Cardstock: Groovy Guava, Choc Chip
Ink: Groovy Guava, Choc Chip
Accessories: Double Stitched Ribbon, Antique Brass Brad, Scalloped Circle Punch, Round Tab Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Crop-a-dile

Colour Challenged

Last night Dani hosted a cyberstamp for the INKlings which was lots of fun - thanks Dani :-)



During a cyberstamp the INKlings team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from all over Australia log onto the team forum where someone will post different kinds of challenges. I only completed one last night & that was the colour challenge - Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Elegant Eggplant, Yoyo Yellow & Whisper White

Shh - don't tell anyone, but I picked up the wrong marker & used Summer Sun instead of Yoyo Yellow, I think it was left out after Kristina Werners challenge!

Stampset: True Friend

Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White

Ink: Blue Bayou

Accessories: Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon, Cutter Kit, Markers

Don't forget there is one week remaining on the Stampin' Up! recruiting special where you can become a demonstrator for the reduced price of $299 - you will receive $560 worth of fantastic Stampin' Up! products & materials to start your own risk free business & also then be able to join in on all our team fun, including cyberstamps & the INKlings team weekend away. Contact me for a FREE no obligation information pack - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au

Kristina Werner #18

This afternoon, instead of doing the washing, ironing, cooking & cleaning or one of the many other jobs I should be doing, I have been completing my entry into Kristina's latest colour inspiration challenge.

I have used the sketch challenge from the Elite Challenges blog for the layout & am quite happy with the results as these are not colours that I would normally use together.

Stampsets: Paisley Background, Birthday Best

Cardstock: Basic Black, Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun

Inks: Rose Red, Basic Black

Accessories: Black Grosgrain, Eastern Elegance Rub Ons, Rose Red Brad

I've been away ....

on an INKlings Team Weekend Retreat! We all had so much fun stamping, chatting, laughing & creating - I can't wait to do it again next year. The weekend was organised by my upline Jayne, who is the cleverest person, she put so much time & effort into making the weekend special. Above are some of the cute gifts we all received - choccie on our pillow, lollypop, weekend booklet & welcome card on our desks & some handmade magnets too!
Over the weekend I got to complete some 'card in a box' swaps, which were really fun to make. Everyone designed a card & provided all the supplies needed to make it. From top to bottom, left to right, they were designed by Sharon, Margaret, Angela, Beth, Dani, Fiona, Julie, Merryl, Rebecca, Joanna, Carol, Michelle, Lin Mei, Jayne, Kim, Clare & Ryn. Thankyou so much guys, I love them all.
This is my 'card in a box' swap using one of the new sets from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue. The Spring Mini is on sale now, so if you would like a free copy ,send me an email & I will post one to you - alana@aussiebroadband.com.au or you can view it online here.
Here is a closeup of the main image on my card. I have masked it before stamping the background & also sponging around the edges of the mask. I have also applied 2-way glue & then a small amount of dazzling diamonds with a toothpick to give just a hint of glitter.

Stampset: Season of Joy
Cardstock: River Rock
Ink: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranite, River Rock
Accessories: Purely Pomegranite Satin Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Blender Pen, 2-way Glue Pen