Recital...

For those that have been following along... The recital is over!  YAY!  As happy as I am to lend a hand backstage when needed and support the girls on the day, its always nice when its over...!  I must admit this recital was lovely, stress-free and happy for all involved.  It was only one performance and free to attend.  All those in the audience were friends and family who were just as proud as punch of their little dancers... All the girls behaved beautifully and looked so pretty in their outfits...  It made for a wonderful atmosphere of support and smiles... 

I wanted to share the card that accompanied flowers and gift for the wonderful Ms Jennifer, the amazing woman that runs the school and managed such a wonderful morning...

I love this set from SU!.. I have used it before but I love the sentiment so much and it really does sum up Ms Jennifer...  I embossed the outline image with clear powder over black ink and then coloured with markers and blender pens... Adding a little glitter for a touch of bling.

The background was stamped with versamark and again embossed with some clear powder... (Remembering the old formula for cardmaking... B L T...  Background Layering and Texture...)

On the inside of the card I glued some punched hearts that I covered in glitter... all 3 girls in the senior class signed the card and I hope she liked it!...

OK Proud Mummy moment... Heres Abbi in her recital outfits...

Ballet solo.

Group Tap.

Group Ballet.

Abbi and Ms Jennifer.

A good time was had by all!

C xx

Ever Wondered ...?

Whats a One Sheet Wonder...?

Have any of you stampers heard that term before?  What is it? 

Basically a One Sheet Wonder is a sheet of cardstock that has been stamped with a pattern and then cut into various sizes and shapes to make lots of cards...  Heres an example...

I used the vintage vogue stamp set and randomly stamped the flowers, leaves and twirly gig bits all over a sheet of A4 card.  This I then cut up and layered onto some coordinating colour card and then onto a base...  I made 4 cards of this design and have about 1/4 sheet left to use another time.  Pretty huh? 

The same theory and same stamps have been used to make 2 more colourschemes and card designs...

And heres a green one...

I love this technique as its a fast way of making lots of cards in a session...  I made 4 each of these cards with different sentiments on them and now have enough to last me a good few months...  I also still have some leftovers (although not of the green as I only stamped an A5 page) to use for other projects... 

I hope you give this trick a try...  Im gonna show you all how I stamped the flowers to get the 2 tone colour effect (shown best on the yellow card) ...  Im hoping a video will appear very soon.  Ive recorded a couple but am still getting used to hearing my own voice so will tape another over the weekend!

Well, the kids are getting out of school at lunchtime today and have officially broken up for the summer hols.... I know, already?  Yep!  In Texas we have 12, thats TWELVE weeks of vacation.  Im really looking forward to not having to get up at crack of dawn o'clock but dreading trying to keep a 9yr old and a 13yr old amused...  We are off to the pool this arvo, so I shall probably look like a lobster tomorrow...  Hey, thats a good excuse to craft!!!

Back soon,

TTFN

C xx

Technical Difficulties....

Sorry for the lack in posts... its the kiddos last week of school and things are getting pretty hectic here...  also we had Laptop issues which we hope to get sorted later this week.  So at the minute we are hooked up to my trusty lappy but have no USB ports to spare and no printer etc...  I hope to post some new projects later this week, and Im still working on the video.... I just hate the way I sound on film so may have to get a stunt double!!!

Laters...

C xx

New Music...

Just in case you are wondering... Only 3 songs on the jukebox for a while... these are the songs Abbi is dancing to at her recital on June 5th...  Etta James is Group Ballet, Hit the Road Jack is Group Tap and Fireflies is her Solo.  

Just wanted to share the joy of hearing these tunes over, and over, and over, and over!  Enjoy!!

C xx

New Toy!!!

Ok, so today i bought a cute little Kodak Video camera!!!  Im gonna take the plunge and do a video tutorial for you good folks...

Now I NEED SOME FEEDBACK please!

What would you like me to show you...

1.  Basic stamping methods.
2. Advanced stamping (i.e. rocking & rolling/ 2 step stampin & stamp-a-ma-jig etc)
3. 3d projects (boxes & bags)
4. scrapbooking pages.
5.  Cardmaking basics (standard sizes/matting & layering etc)
6.  Other ideas... you name it!

So please leave a comment, by clicking below (where is says "Comments Please!!")... It may ask you to sign up for a google account if you havnt got one.... dont get scared... just do it!  I need to know what you want to see!

Im off to have a play!! 

TTFN

C xx

Happy Card Number 3!

My third and favourite little happy guy!

Baaaahhhhh!

The minute I saw this guy I knew I wanted to echo his fluffiness.  This one took some advance thinking.  Hurted my head it did!  First I stamped sheepie onto the card.  Then again onto a post-it note, up on the sticky end, cut him out and popped him over the card sheepie.  Next I sponged the clouds.  I punched a scallop circle from some scrap paper and starting at the top of the card sponged some light blue ink over the scalloped edges, kinda random.  (I think the sponge I used actually had some antique linen ink on it so it looks a little greenish in places but it still works! Another Happy Accident!!) 

The rest I think is pretty self explanatory... The strip of green is glued to the back of the card front.  Ribbon tied in a knot and the little labels just tied with some twine.  Im waiting for my tiny tag punch to arrive so I just hand cut the tags today... Looks ok, yes?

Recipe.

Stamps: Pun Fun, SU!

Carstock: Whisper White, Rose Red and Certainly Celery, SU!

SU Markers in blush Blossom and Rose Red

Ribbon and twine from SU!

Martha Stewart Edge Punch

Thats it for now... I have another series of 3 cards coming next week...

TTFN

C xx

Happy Card Number 2!

Heres my next Happy Little Fella!

Stinkin Cute!!! 

Again I started with the image.  Inked it up and coloured the flower.  This then led me to the yellow circle in the background.  Next I needed some texture and something to "ground" the image.  So I took a strip of black cardstock and ran it through my ribbler in both directions... almost a checkered effect.  I added some cute black and white ribbon and unintentionally made it look a little like a road.  Quite funny if you think about it.  I know here in Texas the only skunks you see (Or rather smell) are laying squished on the side of the road!

Heres a close up on the image.  I think I may go back and even out the green grass on the right a little.  At the mo it looks like hes on a hill!  Easy to fix!!!

Recipe.

Stamps: Pun Fun, SU!

Cardstock: Whisper White, Black and Summer Sun, SU!

Ink:  Black SU! and SU Markers in Green Galore, Summer Sun and Only Orange.

Ribbon from stash.  Dimensionals from SU!

Number 3 coming soon!

TTFN

C xx

Happy Cards!

Ive fallen in love with this stamp set.  Its called Pun Fun and I LURVE the little images and funny sentiments that go with them...  Ive actually made 3 just this evening!  Im also having fun with these little cards.  Im making them 4 1/4" square... such a cute size... and they fit in a standard sized envelope ~ Bonus!!!

So, where did I start with this card?  With the image.  Then I chose a coffee coloured ink. Next I looked for some gender neutral papers with tones of brown to continue the coffee theme.  I stamped the image then picked up some Turquoise and brown with my trusty blender pens and shaded for some interest.  To soften the edges of the main panel and the card base I sponged with the same brown ink.

Im loving the colour combo here... also ~ no bows, no flowers, no glitter so it could be used for a boy or a girl...

Recipe.

Stamps:  SU!, Pun Fun

Cardstock:  SU Kraft and Vanilla

Ink:  Brown from Colorbox, Turquoise Gem from VersaMagic

Papers: Just Chillin 8X8" pad from Making Memories

Blender pens, dimensionals and ribbon from SU!.

STAY TUNED...

I have 2 more cards in this series...

TTFN

C xx

Quick Makes for some Lovely Ladies!

Today I wanted to share some friendship cards with you... I had a few letters to post back to good ol' Blighty and needed a few little cards made fairly quickly...

So I decided to see if I could just use some pretty papers and minimum stamping... Heres what I came up with... 

And this is just a variation on the theme...

I was inspired by these cute papers I earned for FREE thru Stampin' Up!,...( I think it was for ordering over $50 or something silly...)  Arent they cute... Its a 6X6" pack of papers which I just trimmed down and layered together to make a simple card....  The finished articles are 4X4"... The stamp is fromt he Pocket Silhouettes Stamp Set.. 

Enjoy!
C xx

Anyone up for a Challenge?

I seriously lost my mojo the last couple of weeks but managed to get it back by doing not just one challenge but 2 challenges in one card!  PHEW!  It was a struggle, the layout took 3 tries but Im (almost) happy with the end result... 

First here are the challenges...

http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/2010/03/color-throwdown-84.html

These are both oldies but I visit these (and a few others) regularly for inspiration and some of the completed cards are awesome.... take a look if you ever get stuck...

Heres my card...

And a close up on the detail for you...

Do you see how I stamped and cut out her dress from Designer Paper?  Pwetty!

Recipe

Stamp: "Little Miss Attitude" by Suzanne Woolcott

Ink:  Black Stazon and SU Markers

Cardstock: All SU! Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie

Papers:  SU! Bashful Blue DSP

Scallop and plain ovals from Nestabilities, ribbon from stash.  American Crafts white gel pen. 

Seriously reminds me of my daughter I can tell you!  Ive been asked by a few people when I was going to update the ol'bloggage... Its nice to know you are all still looking...  As always, COMMENTS are gratefully recieved... YOU tell ME what YOU want to see!

TTFN

C xx