Same Sketch - Different Look

It can sometimes happen that when you have a large batch of cards to make you fall into the trap of thinking that you have to 're-invent the wheel' for each card. What I am proposing is - use the same sketch and create difference with your colours, papers, diecuts and embossing. The sketch I used for these cards is just a basic one panel arrangement. By swapping the side that the panel is on and the size of the panel (as well as the other variations mentioned above) I was able to create a selection of cards that don't all look the same. Here are four of them:

Card 1: Stampin' Up cardstock in perfect plum and blushing bride. Bo Bunny 'altitude' paper. Cuttlebug 'snowflake' embossing folder. Stampin' Up edgelit. Magazine freebie and Cheery Lynn snowflake dies cut out of a pearlized paint chip.

Card 2: Stampin' Up cardstock in old olive and cherry cobbler. Kaisercraft spotty paper. DCWV gold pearlized cardstock cut with large scallop scissors. Quikcutz "dots" embossing folder. Tim Holtz "joy" die. Stampin' Up circle punch. Pale green gel pen.

Card 3: Stampin' Up cardstock in very vanilla, always artichoke and cherry cobbler. Authentique 'free bird' paper. Stampin' Up embossing folder. Tim Holtz 'peace' die.

Card 4: Stampin' Up cardstock in whisper white, real red, old olive and early espresso. Paper from stash. Spellbinders edging die. Poppystamps 'starburst' nesting dies. Paper Smooches 'christmas words' die.

Give it a go - you will be surprised at how quickly you can come up with variations.

On a Personal Note -

Well I am three weeks post surgery and all is going well. Am losing weight (Yay!) and my ever present demon of insatiable hunger is being reined in. Have started eating purees and introducing protein. I find at the moment that I can only tolerate a little - but that's okay. I am still in the healing phase. The stick blender that the children gave me for Mothers day is getting a good workout! Am going to try making some moroccan pumpkin soup with lentils tomorrow. Got everything except the lentils!

Have been working on plans to remodel the front garden. It is currently a dust bowl. We are surrounded by large trees, so no sun for any lawn to grow, and the roots suck all the moisture so very difficult to grow anything! My plans are to put fake grass down over weed mat (to keep the tree roots at bay) and put shade loving plants like ferns, violets and hostas in trough pots around the edges. I have bought some garden lights and hope to have it all done before our annual Christmas party. I really want to utilise the yard more this summer.

Winter has returned with a vengeance - very cold, windy and icy rain.

Hope it's warm where you are.
Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Babies Again

Started making some more baby cards. Spring is soon, so will need them! Both my children are late spring babies. Not quite 'Christmas lucky bonus result' as some people have!

1. Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in whisper white and calypso coral. SU stamp sets 'fox & friends' and 'teeny tiny sentiments'. Ink - Momento tuxedo black and Tombow markers. Embossing folders - SU frame, Tim Holtz 'birch trees' Cuttlebug 'swiss dots'. SU word window punch.

2. SU cardstock in whisper white and so saffron. Stamp sets - SU 'animal crackers', Azardi 'for baby' (very old). Ink - SU chocolate chip, Tombow markers. Darice 'starry night' embossing folder.

3. SU cardstock in whisper white and pirouette pink. SU stamp sets 'fox and friends', 'a word for you'. Ink - SU early espresso. Punches - SU small heart, Other tiny heart. Cuttlebug 'floral fantasy' embossing folder.

4. SU cardstock in whisper white and certainly celery. PSX 'sheep border' stamp (very old) in Momento black. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

5. SU cardstock in whisper white and pink pirouette. Stamp sets - PSX 'bunny safety pin' (very old), Annette Watkins quote (very old) both coloured with Tombow markers. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

6. SU cardstock in whisper white and bashful blue. Stamp sets - PSX 'boy teddy' (very old), Azardi sentiment (very old). Ink - SU baked brown sugar, SU and Tombow markers. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

On a Personal Note -

Well our team got trounced again! Also some extremely ignorant morons have been racially abusing one of our best players by booing every time he gets the ball. It's been happening for some weeks now but last Sunday was the worst. The sports code and the teams have said it's to stop - but of course some of the minimally intelligence challenged shock jocks and their listeners/callers have been espousing all sorts of justification for the behaviour. Very disappointing. In my son's words ' I really thought our society had moved on and become more mature'.

Have started a new really strict and minimal eating plan. Started Sunday and must admit I am really hungry!! It's under medical supervision so I know I am receiving the correct nutrition. No carbs whatsoever - my kryptonite!! Once my knee heals I will commence a walking schedule and yoga. Hopefully in 12 months - a new forever me! I am making myself a fridge sign that will say 'The Bigger Picture', to remind myself when I want to give up or try and calm myself down with food.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

It's Freezing..sooo...Snowflakes!

Our cold weather has upped the ante again and there is snow in parts of Oz that haven't had it for over 30 years. Roads closed - and lots of hot chocolates being consumed I'm guessing. In honor of the weather I am sharing some of my snowflake featuring cards from the last month. (8 in all)


1. Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in bashful blue and whisper white. Patterned paper from a magazine. Hero Arts stamp in bashful blue ink. White snowflakes - MFT, Blue paint chip snowflake - Cheery Lynn.

2. SU cardstock in whisper white and wild wasabi. 'Snowflakes' fussy cut from Kaisercraft 'north pole'. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

3. SU cardstock in whisper white. SU silver glimmer paper. Patterned paper from stash. SU 'snowflurry' die.

4. SU cardstock in whisper white and basic grey. Patterned paper scraps from stash. SU 'snowflake soiree' stamps coloured with markers.

5. SU cardstock in very vanilla and lucky limeade. SU 'festival of prints' patterned paper. Mixture of snowflake dies from Spellbinders, MFT and Cheery Lynn. The darker snowflakes are from a paint chip.

6. SU cardstock in marina mist and whisper white. Patterned paper from a magazine. SU silver glimmer paper. Spellbinders and Cheery Lynn snowflake dies. Scallop scissors. Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' embossing folder.

7. SU cardstock in perfect plum and very vanilla. Pink glimmer paper from stash. Couture Creations 'tuscan tile' embossing folder. SU 'snowflurry' die - but this time I fussy cut the negative space (ie leftover piece from diecut) to make a new snowflake.

8. SU cardstock in wild wasabi and whisper white. Patterned paper from stash. MFT 'jumbo snowflake' die cut out of a paint chip. Wplus9 'hand lettered holiday' die.

On a Personal Note -

Big football weekend this weekend. Our team is up against the team that beat them in the Grand Final last year. This is their second match up for the season. We won the first one so here's hoping for a repeat of that win.

My son is live blogging the game so we won't be at the stadium. He is working steadily at building a body of work to help him get into his chosen field of sports journalism. At this stage it's all unpaid but that seems to be what you have to go through these days. He works two other paying jobs - one full time and one part time. I really admire his 'get up and go'. He has a lot of self discipline - something I did not learn til much later in life!

My daughter is off on a road trip with her boyfriend to deliver some things for her father and his partner. They are going all the way to Queensland. I suggested they go the inland route because there is less traffic (ie big trucks!) but now with all the icky weather/snow I think the coastal route will be safer. I know I need to trust that they will be okay - they are young adults after all - but I am still anxious! (Motherhood)

Hope you are warm where you are.
Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Christmas 365: June Update

Yes - late: but better than never!!

Have been trying my hand at paper ornaments. Quite a few at the almost finished stage. Hopefully photos later this month. The cardmaking has been continuing apace though. Here are a few of the latest... a bit of a gold affair!

Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock very vanilla and baked brown sugar. Music paper is from my stash and the coppery gold mount is a paint chip.

Same SU cardstock and stash paper. The Cuttlebug embossing folder has been highlighted with Wink of Stella - clear.

Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in so saffron and very vanilla. SU gold glimmer paper for mounts and MFT snowflake die. Websters Pages patterned paper and Cuttlebug 'snow dots' embossing folder.

SU cardstock in baked brown sugar and very vanilla. Couture Creations embossing folder highlighted with Wink of Stella - clear. MFT and Cheery Lynn snowflakes cut from a paint chip. SU stamp set 'snowflake soiree' in cherry cobbler ink. The sentiment panel was trimmed into a flag and pierced.

Something loud and blingy to finish! SU cardstock in lucky limeade and melon mambo. Lime glitter, gold foil and gold corrugated papers are all from stash. Snowflake dies are from MFT, Spellbinders and Cheery Lynn.

On a Personal Note -

Had a bit of a rough month mood wise - adjusting to new medication regime. Things are starting to look up so I will just 'keep on keeping on' as they say. One benefit of the med change is that my appetite has returned to a more acceptable level! Don't constantly feel like I need to eat a horse! Hopefully will be able to speed up losing some of the damned weight I gained. To say 'not happy Jan' is an understatement!!

Off to the football with my son tonight to watch our team hopefully win. It's our mother son activity and I cherish the time. The other week my daughter and I attended a craft show. We go to the same one every year and it's a special outing for us. We saw some great things and my daughter bought herself a new craft product to try - air dry paper clay. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Baby, Baby...

My daughter asked for some help making some 'welcome baby' cards and it got me all inspired! I have stuck to traditional colours and made the same card but for different genders. I find that I almost always reach for my tiny spot embossing folder when making baby cards so this time I tried a couple with different ones - both Cuttlebug.

Number 1: Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in very vanilla and pink pirouette. Cuttlebug embossing folder 'distressed stripe'. PSX stamps (very old) in SU baked brown sugar. Tombow and SU markers to colour.

Number 2: SU cardstock in very vanilla and bashful blue (ret). Cuttlebug 'hail spot' embossing folder. PSX bear stamp and Azardi sentiment stamp (both very old) in SU baked brown sugar - coloured in Tombow and SU markers.

Number 3: SU cardstock in very vanilla and so saffron. Cuttlebug 'heart block' embossing folder. SU stamps in early espresso - coloured with so saffron.

Number 4: SU cardstock in very vanilla and pink pirouette. Cuttlebug 'hail spot' embossing folder. PSX bear stamp and Azardi sentiment stamp (both very old) in SU baked brown sugar - coloured in Tombow and SU markers.

Numbers 5 & 6: SU cardstock in very vanilla, bashful blue (ret) and pink pirouette. Cuttlebug 'hail spot' embossing folder. SU 'teeny tiny sentiments' stamp in basic black. PSX 'sheep border' (very old) in basic black. SU 'itty bitty punch pack' - 4 petal flower. SU 'word window' punch.

On a Personal Note -

Well the weather this last week has been swinging between low 20'sC and mid teens. Never know how to dress! Nights are cold though so the throw rug is getting a lot of use. I rarely turn the heater on - preferring instead the 'wear socks and put a sweater on' method. Better for the environment and my purse! We are lucky enough to live in a climate that makes this an option.

Things are moving on apace with the stall prep. Next week my daughter and I are going on our annual trip to the Craft Show. I am hoping for lots of new ideas and will sign up to do some classes. It's a fun, albeit an exhausting day!

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie

Add Some Sparkle and Shine

Hello, Bonjour, Gutentag - the sum total of my languages learnt at school! Since then I have picked up a smattering of Italian and Spanish, flirted with Japanese and still hope to learn Gaelic. I love language and languages.

What I also love is sparkles! My family used to call me a 'sequin junkie' because the things I gravitated to were sparkly. I still adore beading on fabric and glitter on paper. A new product I came across at Christmas was the Wink of Stella range. I have only used the clear version so far - but how wonderful it is! It comes in a pen type applicator with a soft brush tip. Very easy to use.

The following cards have all been anointed with Wink of Stella. You can add sparkle and shine also with glitter, glitter glue, glimmer paper, shimmer paint and sprays and metallic cardstock and foil. And don't forget rhinestones, pearls etc. The sky's the limit!!

This first card uses Stampin' Up (SU) cardstock in very vanilla and so saffron and champagne glimmer. The patterned paper is from Websters Pages. The glimmer snowflakes are a MFT die. The metallic gold cardstock is from my stash. I coloured the raised portions of the SU embossing folder with Wink of Stella - clear. 

Stampin' Up cardstock in very vanilla and baked brown sugar,and gold brushed metallic cardstock. The music paper is from my stash. 'Noel' is a Tim Holtz die. Again - I coloured the raised portion of a Sizzix embossing folder with Wink of Stella - clear.

Stampin' Up cardstock in whisper white, basic grey and poppy parade. SU edgelit for the pinking frame and the patterned paper is from Authentique. On the grey embossing of the Cuttlebug folder the Wink of Stella is more subtle.

Last but not least! Stampin' Up cardstock in sahara sand and lucky limeade. The pattern paper is from my stash. A Memory Box die made the pine needle border. The stamped images are from 'heirloom ornaments' and 'tree trimmings' from SU and stamped in lucky limeade. I coloured the non-inked portions of the images with Wink of Stella - clear.

On a Personal Note -

We are having lovely crisp autumn days so far this week. Sunny but brisk with the temperature taking a nose dive about 3pm. Definite sock weather - and throw rugs in use!

The cat has discovered my daughter's electric blanket and barely moves from her room. She doesn't leave it on during the day but he laps up the residual warmth from overnight and burrows under her covers to milk as much as possible!

Hope you are fairing well in your climate zone.

Happy Crafting!
Cheers
Susie