Butterflies In This World CTD#470

Today I needed some time out and chose to get into my craft room and create. An old favourite came off the shelf and paired with an old favourite masking/sponging technique and a new colour combo from Color Throwdown Challenge, I've spent some happy time.

We used In This World for a retiform card recently and a friend of mine, Carolina Evans, also used it for her Onstage Swap in Melbourne. This stamp set has some interesting images, so I plan to get some more use from it, just in case it retires.

I was glad I remembered to attach a strip of this Sizzix Multipurpose Adhesive strips to the card before I cut 'lovely' with the Lovely Word Thinlets. It sure does make it a lot easier to adhere to your project.

The stamped sentiment is from Dragonfly Dreams, and as it is photopolymer, it could have been curved more to match the die cut 'lovely'. Sometimes these ideas come after you've put ink to paper!!!

Frog Tape, a low adhesive painter's tape, is what I use for masking. Before I stick it to the project, I also remove some more of the 'stick' by applying it to my clothes. It is very effective and doesn't usually lift any paper.

This verse inside is part of a kind of funny/witty set of stamps, Five For All. I could have added the second part "Just Like Me", but haven't on this occasion. When the sentiment is on two separate stamps, it gives more options for mixing and matching. I have a large number of birthdays through December and January, so I hope to get back in here for some more crafting soon.

What do you think you would make with this colour palette from Color Throwdown?




Remember that if you shop in my online shop on Monday 27th November, there will be NO SHIPPING CHARGE, for 24 hours only. But, as well as a gift in the mail from me for ordering and using the Host Code, I will send you a birthday card to send to someone else.

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A Nice Cup Of Tea, Mother? FMS225 & CTD381

I had an empty house this evening, so dinner was uncomplicated, giving me more time to put together another card. It's a little bit exciting, because I had another order from Stampin' Up!® arrive this morning, and it contains a lot of things from the Occasions Catalogue that I thought I could do without, until I saw all the lovely cards and projects others were making, and had to get mine too!

I really knew deep down that Cups and Kettle Framelits Dies and A Nice Cuppa Stamp set would make it into my collection, since I'm a traditional tea drinker. No point in having a cup of tea, unless it's been brewed in the tea pot!

The colour inspiration came from Color Throwdown (and the lovely Birthday Bouquet DSP). Two teapots were cut with a framelit, one in Pink Pirouette, the other in Mint Macaron. I tested to see if  'Mother's Day' from Crazy About You fitted into the banner stamp from Number Of Years. It did, yay! the 'happy' framelit is bundled with Crazy About You at a 15% discount in the Annual Catty.

This sketch by Jen Mitchell, design team member at Freshly Made Sketches is an absolute WINNER in my book. One to file and re-use often. The teapot is used instead of the square this time around. I nearly made it a square to sit on, but it looks lovely as it is.

Hope you're having a crafty day,
Cheers, Rachel




    

February 40th CTD#377

One of my spare-time activities, is to scroll through various challenges, checking out colour combinations or sketches for inspiration. I need to make a masculine 40th birthday card, for my son to give to a friend for his February 40th. The Sunburst Thinlet Die was out on my table while I was working on some class projects. After spotting this colour combination at Color Throwdown, I knew exactly what I was going to do for the 40th!

 Two sunbursts, one in Delightful Dijon, the other Smokey Slate are laid on top of Tip Top Taupe, just slightly askew. A little trimming is required to remove the overhang. The type-written phrases are actually stamps from Party With Cake, also in the Occasions Catalogue. The sentiment inside the card is one of the larger ones from Party With Cake, partially masked so I could use just the section I wanted.

The four and zero were cut three times each and glued together with the fine-tip glue pen which almost gives the impression of coaster board. There's lovely dimension to them. They've been grounded on a silver foil star outline, cut using two consecutive framelits, a few swirls of silver cord (retired now) and then three more tiny silver stars ar scattered amongst the sentiments. It must have met with my son's approval, because he's given me a list of all the 40th's he and his wife are going to this year!!

Cheers, Rachel

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Merry And Red Christmas Cards

ColorThrowdown have set a very open challenge: - Any Christmas Creation, any colors. That's a challenge which sounds perfect for me to share my bulk, mass-produced Christmas card this year. When you are mass-producing a card it pays to pick an achievable design, and put it together step by step. You start by cutting all the card bases and then all the individual layers. Then you find out you're short of red foil for four cards, and have to substitute Real Red, which doesn't look quite as lovely!!! Ha, ha, the trials of a last-minute card-maker.


Next I stamped the sentiments, so if they're too crooked, I can turn over and start again. The snowflakes weren't as much of a worry. I used Versamark and white embossing powder, as it looks so nice on Crumb Cake. The stamp set is Holly Jolly Greetings and the good news is that it carries over after the Holiday Catalogue finishes. The other good news is that the stamp set and Christmas Greeting Framelit Dies are 15% off when you buy them as a bundle.
 The other little touches are 'merry' or 'peace' cut from red Glimmer paper and the wooden snowflakes accented with a rhinestone in the middle.

All written, all distributed, everybody happy!

Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Lighthearted & Lovely - FMS#207 CTD#363

There's a lot going on at the moment, but the best way to keep life on an even keel is to slip away for a few minutes to play with paper and ink. I'm looking forward to another weekend away with three of my grandchildren, and there will definitely be no 'time out' for Gran and Pop!!!

Freshly Made Sketches always has some inspiration over on their challenge blog, and by just rotating the sketch it has accomodated my design. This time I found my colour inspiration at Color Throwdown.

I began with flowers and fuss but quickly changed track to this very simple card, with a sentiment from Stampin' Up!® Boys Will Be Boys and a single leaf from Lighthearted Leaves. When making a card like this with pieces needing precise positioning its always a good idea to have  Tombow multipurpose glue handy because it allows you to slip the pieces around for a short while.



Cheers,
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Better Get Better CTD#352 FMS #196

I have a friend who has been feeling poorly for several weeks. I had actually thought that she had recovered until I rang her last Sunday, and she told me she was still under the weather. It's not good to feel off-colour for so long, so a cheer-up card is required I think.

The lime green, soft gray, darker gray and aqua colour scheme at Color Throwdown is very pleasing to my eye, and I've pulled Summer Silhouette from the shelf. The sentiment, 'better get better' is from A Dozen Thoughts. Work of Art was on my table too, so a swish of colour was popped over the sentiment. A few sequins have been pulled from a roll of Bermuda Bay and scattered around. I had another sketch in mind, but when I saw Freshly Made Sketches , I've run with that one.

Lastly, it seemed like a good idea to decorate the envelope so that Sharon knows she's getting 'happy mail' - the best mail ever!

Hope you're feeling well,
cheers
Rachel

Way To Go!

I was sad to see Boutique Borders retire - I really like the 3 stamps in this set. Anyway, for a bit of fun, I've mixed a retiring stamp, a carryover stamp and a brand new stamp on this card. 

Flower Patch is the stamp set that has carried over, and I'm loving it more this year than when it first came out.That might be because I've finally mastered stamping with photopolymer stamps, so it's much more enjoyable. It's a blessing to have the Flower Fair Framelits to cut out all the different pieces. 

The new stamp is I Think You're Great, which I received at Convention this year. I've hung onto the retired Word Bubbles Framelits for cutting out different sentiments and they seem to fit this banner greeting too. I wonder if you can see that I used the 'kissing' technique on the 'way to go'? I think it echoes the pattern of the Boutique Borders with the scallops.

Looking through the Color Throwdown design team cards, I noticed that 3 of them really picked up on the pattern in the bedcover, funny!

Cheers, 

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Poppies In Sympathy CTD339

Today was ANZAC Day in Australia (and other countries) marking 100 years since the landing at Gallipoli. A red poppy is the symbol of Anzac Day, and at our school, the students have been making red poppies using all different textiles.

I pulled out Pleasant Poppies today and stamped off some partial and some full images to colour. This one is a partial image because sometimes "less is more." Perhaps because it is a sombre day, I've made a sympathy card, with minimal colour. The sentiment is from Love & Sympathy. A strip of washi tape across the bottom grounds the flowers.

The colour challenge at Color Throwdown decided the colours for this card, otherwise it might have been red or uncoloured  poppies. Do go over to the site to check out the cute cards by the design team and in the gallery. I always keep a supply of sympathy cards ready-made because it is never easy to make them under such sad circumstances, but if there are a few to choose from, you'll probably have something suitable.

Pleasant Poppies, Love & Sympathy and all the washi tape are on the retiring list, so if you're quick to visit an online shop in your country, you might pick up a bargain!

My online store is for Australian customers only.

Cheers,
Rachel

Fresh Fern Leaves CTD338

Do you have a favourite stamp set from the Occasions Catalogue? I'm sure that mine is Butterfly Basics. It isn't just the variety of butterflies that you have in stamps and Framelits (when you buy the bundle), it's the foliage and the postmark and that interrupted line that looks like an airmail envelope, they're all such super images. Oh, and I especially like the font on the sentiments too.

It was lots of fun to incorporate the fresh colours for Color Throwdown's challenge. I've used Old Olive, Bermuda Bay and Crumb Cake and it is a bit of a novelty for me to tie a bow ('cos I can't!) but the seam binding does seem to make it easier to tie at least a half-decent bow.

If I wasn't using a colour challenge, I would have been perfectly happy to stamp, and stamp off the fern leaf, tie the seam binding and add a greeting. However, the punch of colour given by adding the butterfly is so worth it and the post mark is pretty cute too.

Hope you are looking forward to a pleasant weekend,
Cheers
Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Floral Fantasy CTS#114 CTD333

Needing to make a birthday card for a 'woman of mature years' it seemed that a floral card might be the way to go. I also know that she does like mauve (or is that lilac?) so the colour palette offered by this week's Colour Throwdown fitted perfectly. The sketch that Gayatri Murali  did for Case This Sketch is open to a wide interpretation, and I decided it was time to pull out an old favourite - with a twist!

Regarding Dahlias is a stamp set with just one large bloom and four sentiments, none of which are for birthdays! This bloom is dramatic, so detailed, that is needs nothing more than inking with your favourite colour. However, I've included the leaf from Kinda Eclectic, just for that splash of green and the two butterflies from Kinda Eclectic fluttered in too. Bitty Banners provided the sentiment.

The inside has been finished with '....and many more' , plus some more leaves and a butterfly all in shades of lilac and green. Now to go out to play in the sunshine in  my garden.....

Have a great weekend

Rachel

  

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

On Your Bike CTD332

It's so hard to explain why I've taken so long to ink up Postage Due, but maybe I do really have too many stamp sets!!! No, never!!!

Anyway, now that this stamp has seen ink, it's really getting a bit of a workout. This is the second card I've made with it, and there's a third on the way too. Love those postage stamp images and luckily we still sell the Postage Stamp punch, which finishes them off so authentically. I coloured the long stamp from Butterfly Basics to look a bit like the aerogrammes my grandmother used to write home, while she cruised around the world in the 1960's. She must have missed her family even though she loved travel, because these aerograms came very regularly.

The colours suit the challenge at Color Throwdown although my Cherry Cobbler seems a bit darker than the red in the picture. I used Pool Party, Crumb Cake and Night Of Navy too.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I'd love it if you have time to leave a comment.

Rachel

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Fine Feathers CTD312

Initially, when I saw the colours at Color Throwdown, my heart sank! I know it is hard to believe for those of you who celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving and the like, but down in the Southern Hemisphere, our seasons are all around the opposite way, so your Autumn (Fall) is our Spring, and Winter of course is Summer. Obviously there is no Fall harvest, so Thanksgiving just doesn't really fit in to our culture. There are a small number of Trick 'n' Treaters these days, but no one decorates the treats or makes cards! For those of us born here, it never is an issue having it hot at Christmas time. Many of us have family with European origins who still put on the roast, we may just go outdoors to eat.

But back to the colours. I scrolled through the design team's gallery and was delighted to see an almost even distribution of Halloween vs non-Halloween by the design team. Naturally, I am going to try to keep the contribution even also. so it is non-Halloween from me. I know some people relate feathers to Thanksgiving (well, it IS in the Holiday Catalogue!!) but I just like them, for no particular reason. I was sad when Fine Feathers was retired, but Four Feathers is just as nice, I think. I stamped out a variety of the four images, cut them with the matching framelits and then chose which I would use. I've paired it with Age Awareness, a stamp set that I find rather amusing.

The Zig Zag Textured Embossing Folder is new to my stash, so I ran the Crumb Cake card through the Big Shot for an interesting texture. Age Awareness is a photopolymer stamp set so it is easy to line up the different sentiments.

I have my daughter-in-law and her three young children staying at the moment. It is the last few days of the school holidays, but we have had a hectic day starting at 5.45 am with little miss 18 months old shouting out for her mum. Most of us were up by 6.15 and at just after 8 a.m. we decided to head to the indoor pool for a morning of fun. My two other daughters-in-law, and grandsons joined us once we were home, for a picnic on the back lawn. While the mums walked down to the local lake for the children to enjoy feeding the ducks, I rushed to prepare dinner and pop my feet up for 30 minutes.A great day was had by all, and then it all begins again tomorrow morning with a family breakfast to be cooked by my #3 son. I have so much to be thankful for!!!!

Rachel

Age Awareness Photopolymer Stamp Set

$27.95

Four Feathers Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$23.95

Four Feathers Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$18.95

Four Feathers Wood-Mount Bundle

$39.75

Four Feathers Clear-Mount Bundle

$35.50

Zig Zag Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$13.95

Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock

$11.95

Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad

$9.95

Basic Gray Classic Stampin' Pad

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Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

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