Dynamic Duos

Hi all!  Just a quick visit tonight as I am busted and have a long day tomorrow.  I've been wanting to play along with the new Dynamic Duos challenge but somehow have kept missing it until now.  This week we are to use the colours Bashful Blue and Marina Mist.  I pulled out some Hero Arts stamps for this one and kept it simple.  Just how I like it.  :) I'm also going to enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes challenge.  Have a lovely evening!


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Early Espresso) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Chair and sentiment from Wish You Were Here) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Marina Mist, Early Espresso) Stampin' Up

Dies:  (Mat Stack 5, Layerz Mat Stack 5, Double Ended Banners) PTI

Gems:  Impress

Peaceful Sea

I think this has been my toughest special order yet.  The card is for a friend of my mom's - a gentleman who has decided to discontinue the treatment of his brain tumour and live out the remaining few months of his life without suffering through further chemo or radiation. Whoa.  A huge decision and I have such admiration for the choice he has made.  She asked me to use this specific sentiment and, given that he worked for Sail Training International, she wanted sailing to feature on it.  My mom admired this card so I decided to CASE it as I was pretty unsure where to go with an order like this.  Thankfully she is really pleased with it and I hope that her friend's remaining days are as peaceful and full of love as possible.  


I thought of the CAS-ual Fridays challenge to make a masculine card using designer paper when I made this but I dithered about whether entering was appropriate given the nature of the card.  My mom gave her blessing though and said that if it meant that maybe some other people would send good wishes his way than that couldn't be a bad thing.  


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Kraft) PTI

Patterned Paper:  (Orange Cream, Lemon Drop, Rob Roy, Boston Cooler, Blue Moon from Lime Rickey collection) Basic Grey

Stamps:  (Sailboat from My Guy) Paper Smooches, (Sentiment from Holiday Tree) PTI

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (In The Meadow die collection) PTI

Lil Boy

For some reason this was a complete nightmare to photograph.  I'm not thrilled with this shot but it's the best of a bad bunch I'm afraid.  It's a special order card for a baby shower and I used the colours from the Play Date Cafe to get me going.  Love those PTI baby clothes dies and I'm excited to actually use a few letter stickers!  Got a few special order cards taken care of today so I feel rather accomplished.  Still have to complete the big order but I have another couple of weeks to get that done.  Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!    


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill (Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy, Marina Mist) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Stars from Birthday Buddies, Sentiment from Word Salad) Paper Smooches, (Dots from Polka Dot Basics, Stripes & diamond pattern from Background Basics: Retro) PTI
Inks:  (VersaMark) Tuskineko, (Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy) Stampin' Up
Dies:  (Hanging Out) PTI
Stickers:  (Letters from Wander collection) Basic Grey

Dragonfly Dreams

Are you all having a lovely Saturday?  I've got another card completed for the big order thanks to the latest colours at ColourQ.  I pulled out some PTI stamps, embossing powder and gems for this one.  Clean and simple.  Ahhhh!  Now off to the pub for a girly lunch and hopefully I'll be back with some more cards tomorrow!  Have a good one!








Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (More Mustard, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Dragonfly & sentiment from Happy Trails) PTI
Ink:  (VersaMark) Tuskineko
Embossing Powder:  (Seafoam White) Ranger
Gems:  (Ladybug, Bumblebee & Swimming Pool assortments) Doodlebug

It's Not Easy Being Queen

Popping in super quick before I jet off to work for the afternoon.  I'm playing along with Unity's Friends With Flair blog hop and the Runway Inspired Challenge.  These dress forms from Unity's latest KOM made me think of fashion and models which made me think of Runway Inspired.  So I pulled a few colours from the RIC dress and came up with this simple one layer card.  It'll be added to the stack for the big special order I'm working on.  :)


I'm excited to report that the octopus has returned!  I'd really given up hope of seeing him again but there his was yesterday in his little cave under the steps by the dock.  Now if I can just keep Luis from eating him... 


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Stamps:  (Images & sentiment from May '12 KOM - Love In An Instant) Unity

Ink:  (Pumpkin Pie, Pacific Point, Lucky Limeade) Stampin' Up

Gems:  (Tangerine, Limeade & Blue Jean assortments) Doodlebug

Miss You Meadows

I finally got my head around the sketch at the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge.  I broke out my new Metropolis stamps and (drum roll please!) some patterned paper!  Whoop whoop!  I may just put a dent in the ol' stash yet!  LOL!  I'm also going to enter this over at the Simon Says Stamp CAS challenge.

It's another grey, humid day here but the drizzling has stopped so we took the hounds down to the dock for a swim.  The water is super clear and our neighbourhood turtle came by to say hello as well as our friend the pufferfish.  It's been busy down there this week as we've also seen a ray, a huge rockfish and some gorgeous parrotfish.  Now if our octopus would just come back it would be perfect!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) The Stampin' Place

Patterned Paper:  Echo Park

Stamps:  (Balloon and sentiment from Metropolis) Paper Smooches

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Lots of Hellos

It's been sprinkling all day here and I swear the grass has grown two inches since yesterday!  We still need a few good heavy downpours to fill up the water tank but at least the grass isn't quite so crunchy now. After going to the pub for lunch Luis declared it a sofa and TV kind of afternoon so I headed off to the Craft Cave and left him to enjoy his loafing.  :)  I did a lot of puttering and tidying so only ended up making this one card.  I used the colours from ColourQ and several punches and dies so I could play along with CAS-ual Fridays.  I'm also going to join in with Simon Says Stamp's Clean and Simple challenge.  Have a lovely evening!

Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Tempting Turquoise, Basic Grey, Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Phone from Perpetual Bliss) Paper Smooches, "Hello from May '12 KOM - Love In An Instant) Unity
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Blackk) Tsukineko
Die:  (XCut Speech Bubbles) DoCrafts
Punches:  (2 1/2", 2", 3/4" & 1/2" circle punches) Marvu Uchida, 5/16" & 1/4" hole punches) McGill

Tiny Birthday Bird

I got another big card order from the same lady who asked me to make her two sets of cards for Christmas.  Whoop whoop for repeat customers! I'm working on birthday cards for it at the moment and decided to break out PTI's Tiny Treats: Birthday set and use that cute little birdie.  It means I can play along with CAS-ual Fridays this week for their Feathered Friends challenge!  Nothing groundbreaking here but I'm trying to keep the cards for the set relatively CAS and flat for easy mailing.  Hope you're all having a lovely day!  


Supplies Used:
Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Lucky Limeade, Night of Navy) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Bird from Tiny Treats: Birthday, Sentiment from Birthday Bash Sentiments) PTI
Inks:  (VersaMark, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko, (Real Red) Stampin' Up
Die:  (Mat Stack 4) PTI
Punches:  (1 1/2" circle) EK Success, (Corner Punch) Marvy Uchida
Copics:  R46, BG01, YG23, YG91, Y17

Conquering The Colours!

The latest Play Date Cafe challenge was another one that almost thwarted me.  I pondered, flipped through my stamp books and discarded one idea after another until finally I looked at my dies and punches.  Some days I feel like I will never have another halfway decent idea again so it's always sweet relief when something finally comes together.  It also feels good to use things that have been languishing untouched for ages.  I had just been thinking the other day how I hardly ever use SU Tangerine Tango (I'm more of a Pumpkin Pie girl) or Garden Green and lo and behold they have made an appearance today!      

Cardstock:  (Kraft) PTI, (Tangerine Tango, Garden Green, Basic Black) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Signature Greetings) PT
Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko
Die:  (Simple Circles Border) PTI
Punch:  (3/4" & 1" flowers) Woodware Craft Collection
Gems:  Craft Supplies for Less

Give Peace A Chance

I had pretty much given up hope of completing a card for the Moxie Fab World's Spectacular Spectacles Challenge.  My original idea revolved around the punny sentiment, "You're spec-tacular!"  I was struggling with the design and then I saw Jackie's card.  How awesome is that?  The colours, the sunburst (starburst?), the gems - it rocks!  And it got stuck in my head so I had to move on from my initial idea because Jackie's beauty was all I could picture.  Hate when that happens!  LOL!  Finally I came across this pair of Unity glasses and immediately thought of John Lennon which led me to the peace signs.  *Sigh of relief*  Project complete!

Cardstock:  (Kraft) PTI

Stamps:  (Glasses from Dec '11 KOM - Filled With Love) Unity, (Peace sign from Hippie Chic) Market Street Stamps

Inks:  (Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede) Stampin' Up
Punch:  (1 1/4" circle punch) EK Success
Font:  (Traveling Typewriter) DaFont.com

You Are My Sunshine

Somehow the day got away from me and I didn't spend much time in the Craft Cave at all.  We walked and swam the hounds, had lunch with my mom and Skyped with my brother.  A good family day!  I did manage to get a card done for the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge though.  I used 5 different sets for this card.  The body of the sun is the centre of one of the Boob Tubes TVs and the sunbeams are made from the tie from My Guy.  The clouds are from Forest Whimsy and the sentiment is a combo of Chit Chat and Alphadots.  And I used 2 pieces of patterned paper!  Whoop whoop!!  :D

Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (Laid Back from Barefoot & Bliss collection) Bo Bunny, (Grey from Sheer Simplicity Neutral) K & Co

Stamps:  (Tie from My Guy, Circle from Boob Tubes, Clouds from Forest Whimsy, Sentiment from Chit Chat & Alphadots) Paper Smooches

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Pumpkin Pie, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

There Is Light

Hi all!  It's been a weird week and I haven't really made it into the Craft Cave at all.  Then today I went on a bit of a spring cleaning bender (not sure what got into me)!  However, now that the house is fresh and clean I'm hoping for some time in the Cave tomorrow.  In the meantime I wanted to share my card that was published in Card Creations: Volume 10. I haven't received my copy of the magazine yet so I haven't seen it in person.  Hope it looks okay!  :)    

Beautiful Day for a Baby

It is a beautiful day as my best friend is having her first baby today!  I am so excited to meet her little girl and I know that Sara and Robert are going to be amazing parents.  I used the colours from The Play Date Cafe for my card along with stamps from Market Street Stamps (background), Purple Onion Designs (flowers) and Unity (sentiment).  I'm really loving that argyle background from MSS.  It seems to be sneaking onto a lot of cards lately.  :)


Since I'm on the subject of Sara I also wanted to show you the card I made for her baby shower.

Sara and Robert are keeping the baby's name hush hush until she makes her debut so in the meantime Luis has named the baby Chica.  My darling husband is terrible at remembering names.  Apparently every pet he ever had growing up was named either Chico or Chica - nice and simple.  He also occasionally uses the name for his millions of cousins. It's his go to name.  Anyway it seems to have stuck for the baby because Robert has even slipped and called her that once or twice.  Tee hee!  Can't wait to present them with a pink Chica onesie!!

Beautiful Day Card

Cardstock:  (White) Gina K, (Pink) Bazzill, (Pool Party, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Argyle) Market Street Stamps, (Flowers) Purple Onion Designs, (Sentiment from April '12 KOM - Follow Your Own) Unity

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Dies:  (Mat Stak 1, Layerz Mat Stak 1) PTI

Copic:  RV34

Gems:  (Beetle Black & Swimming Pool Assortments) Doodlebug

Welcome Chica Card

Cardstock:  (White, Brown) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (Abbey Road collection) My Mind's Eye
Stamps:  (Clothes from Hanging Out) PTI, (Posts from Hang in There) Paper Smooches, Sentiment from Baby collection) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger

Die:  (Die-Namics Fresh Cut Grass) MFT

Glitter: (Stickles Black Diamond) Ranger

Birthday Birthday!

I'm back to celebrate some more birthday goodness with Cas-ual Fridays (which has just turned 1) and the Simon Says Stamp blog(which has turned 3)! There are never enough birthday cards in my stash so any little push to make more is a good thing.  :) If you haven't checked out or celebrated with either of these fabulous blogs yet then what are you waiting for?  Hop to it, check out all their amazing inspiration and play along!

Cardstock:  ( White) Bazzill, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Balloons & cake from Tiny Treats: Birthday, Gift from Tiny Treats: Christmas, Sentiment from Birthday Bash Sentiments) PTI, (Envelope Pattern) Hero Arts
Inks:  (VersaMark, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Punches:  (1 1/2" & 1 1/4" circle punches) EK Success, (Corner punch) Marvy Uchida

Birthday Doughnuts

Hi all!  Just popping in with a quick entry for the sketch challenge at Skipping Stones Design and also for the birthday challenge at Simon Says Stamp.  It's our second wedding anniversary today so Luis and I are having a nice chilled day with the hounds and are going out for dinner tonight.  Hope you're all having a lovely one!


Cardstock:  (White) Gina K, (Brown, Pink) Bazzill
Stamps:  (Doughnut & sentiment from Birthday Doughnuts) Skipping Stones Design
Inks: (VersaMark, VersaFine Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Nesties Standard Circles LArge) Spellbinders, (Medium Scalloped Border) PTI

Gems:  (Cupcake Assortment) Doodlebug

Copics:  R29, R32, TR68, Y17, G05, B29, V09, RV03, E29, E31, E33, E35

Jukebox Party

Kim of Paper Smooches has challenged us to make a cardstock only card or project - no patterned paper allowed.  This challenge is right up my street as I use cardstock far more often than patterned paper especially when paper piecing.  I also wanted to make a birthday celebration card so I could play along with CAS-ual Fridays.  It's their first birthday and the new design team are making their debut so there's a lot of fun stuff going on over there!  My original idea did not cooperate with me so I regrouped, played around a bit and came up with this.  I love that cute jukebox and it totally makes me think PARTY so I pulled out some colourful Bazzill, Paperbilities and Stampin' Up cardstocks and paper pieced my little heart out!  

ETA:  Doh!  Blond moment!!  Totally meant to link this up at Young Crafters Unite's No Colouring Allowed challenge!!  Hope it's okay to join in now...

Cardstock:  (White, light grey) Bazzill, (Yellow) Paperbilities, (Rose Red, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Sentiment from Pretty Phrases, Jukebox & music notes from Perpetual Bliss, Other music notes from My Peeps and Santa Paws) Paper Smooches
Inks: (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

I'm Here To Listen

Mornin' mornin'!  I haven't played along with The Colour Throwdown in a while but I really like their colours this week so I thought I'd join in.  I used stamps from Unity's January 2012 KOM.  I stamped the flower on the card and layered it with a fussy cut and a button.  Whoo hoo!  I used a button!  Only about a million more to use now...

Cardstock:  (White) Pacon, (Basic Grey) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Image and sentiment from Jan '12 KOM - Heart and Soul) Unity, (Argyle) Market Street Stamps
Inks: (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Tempting Turquoise, Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey) Stampin' Up

Gems:  (Rox Marble - Magic) Queen & C0

Punch:  (Corner punch) Marvy Uchida

Copic:  Y17

Consider Yourself Vintage

Happy Friday!  Is everyone ready for the weekend? I'm hoping to get lots of crafty time in since Luis will be working.  I made this card for my uncle's birthday using an image and sentiment from Unity's February 2012 KOM.  His response was, "What is that?  A hearse?  I'm not THAT vintage!!" Hmmm...  not quite the reaction I was looking for but I guess it does kind of look like one huh?  Oh well, even if he wasn't sure about the card he enjoyed the Mexican dinner we put on for him.  :)  


I used the sketch from Less Is More for the card, I'm going to join in with Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop and I'm entering this in the Simon Says Stamp birthday challenge!   

Cardstock:  (Vintage Cream) PTI, (Not Quite Navy) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Image and sentiment from Feb '12 KOM - Lucky To Have You) Unity
Inks: (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Not Quite Navy, Early Espress0) Stampin' Up
Embossing Powder:  (Clear) Ranger
Dies:  (Nesties Large Labels) Spellbinders

Bright Flowers For A Grey Day

Good day!  It's grey and humid here today.  We've had a bit of rain.  Not enough to make a difference to the water tank but hopefully it will help reduce the crunchiness of the grass!  
I'm playing along with two of Arielle's challenges today - ColourQ and RetroSketches.  I pulled out some Hero Arts stamps that I won from the Flashback Friday Challenge (thanks, Amy!) and inked them up for the first time.  I like how these colours pop off the Early Espresso background. I added some Stickles to their centres and used all three colours for the twine.  Hope the rest of your day is lovely.  I'm going out to do a little dancing to see if I can encourage some more rain.  If not, at least the neighbours will have a bit of entertainment!  :)


Cardstock:  (White) Bazzill, (Early Espresso) Stampin' Up
Stamps:  (Flowers and sentiment from Lucious Patterned Flowers) Hero Arts
Inks: (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Real Red, So Saffron, Pool Party) Stampin' Up
Embossing Powder:  (Seafoam White) Ranger
Impression Plate:  (Linen & Canvas) PTI
Twine:  (Maraschino, Buttercream. Caribbean) The Twinery
Stickles:  (Xmas Red, Yellow, Eucalyptus) Ranger
Punch:  (1/8" hole punch) McGill