Wednesday 28 October 2009

A Picture Perfect Day in Canberra


As the title says, today is a picture perfect day in our Nation's Capital. The sky is blue, the temperature is mild (23 degrees celcius), the birds are singing, the bees are buzzing. I have a cold...still, but it'll go away...eventually.

I should be hanging washing, but I'm not (yesterday I had an email from a friend who told me she was doing the ironing...to which I thought, I wonder if we still have one of those here? ;-). I am being a bit of a slacker, but you know what? I don't care. I've been inspired to do a CASE of a scrapbook page. My inspiration was the layout on page 4 of the current Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue. I have been meaning to make this page for a while now, but after recently seeing more lovely renditions of it, on Rachel Capps' blog here, and by Keryn Campbell on the NZSUblog here....finally last night I got to it.

and so....I have just finished, and now I have craft STUFF littered from one end of the house to the other. My efforts are often a bit uncoordinated. I kind of start in one place, run out of room, move to another...decide I need to do some printing...move there, shuffle different types of glossy paper all over the place, decide I need some thread so rather than bringing it to my work...I take the work to the thread...I have opened packets of rub-ons scattered here and there, unrolled rolls of ribbon adorning the dining table, my camera is on the bedroom floor, my house is CHAOS! But I'm pretty darn chuffed with the way the page turned out:





List of Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock: Baja Breeze and Basic Gray Textured, Whisper White plain
Stamps: Great Friend
Ink: Baja Breeze Classic Ink
Accessories: Walk in the Park DSP, Summer Love Rub-ons, Baja Breeze Corduroy Buttons, Baja Breeze 1 Inch Double-Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, White Taffeta Ribbon, Eyelet Border Punch, Large Oval Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Sanding Block, White Thread, Mini Glue Dots, Sticky Strip and SNAIL Adhesive.


While I was trimming the photo down to size I accidently managed to scratch some of the ink off the edges....never one to waste the glossy photo paper (it costs a bomb) I pulled out my Stampin' Up! Sanding Block and scratched up all the edges for a purposeful-looking distressed look. Obviously, I mean't to do that!

Guess I'd better go do some tidying up now.....SIGH!
Have a wonderful day :-)
Sam.

PS. Thanks for the lovely comments on my busy bee photos. I can't take all the credit for those. My macro lens is the true champion. It is a beauty. I started out with a tripod and remote shutter release, but those little bees are very, very tricksy and tres quick, and the tripod was just slowing me down...so I lay down on the ground and basically climbed on into the lavender bush and started shooting. I might add that for the handful of decent shots I got, I have about 40 near useless ones. What on earth did I ever do without a digital camera and super huge compact flash card? Frankly, I am amazed I even managed to get out of bed in the morning ;-).

PPS. I thought you might like to see the photo that I used in the above page, before, during and after my tinkering with Pioneerwoman Photoshop Actions:



This is it in the beginning, I have cropped it a little, and cloned out some stray hair across the face...it was annoying me.



...with Pioneerwoman Boost and Define and Sharpen actions applied (sounds like a new bra!)



...with Pioneerwoman Seventies action applied



...with a Pioneerwoman B & W Beauty action applied, then erased out the eyes so that the colour could show through from the background layer.

I love them all, but thought that the black and white worked best with the colours on the layout.

PPPS. More gardeny goodness:


Tuesday 27 October 2009

More Outlined For Fun...



I am enjoying having the Outlined For Fun stamp set out on my desk. It really is a fun set, and gives the project a fresh and happy look!

I still had cardstock strewn all over the dining room table from the past few days' crafting efforts ...including a huge amount of Pink Pirouette ;-)...so I decided to go with the flow and just go right ahead and keep using it!



List of Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette and Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink
Stamps: Outlined For Fun
Accessories: Baja Breeze Patterns DSP, Bella Rose DSP, Metal Edge Tags, Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/16" Jumbo Brads, Scallop Edge Punch, Crimper, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots and SNAIL Adhesive.

I love these colours together! They definitely say Spring/Summer to me...

While I'm here...I also want to say thanks to Aneesh for his tutorial on how to add a 'Related Posts' Widget to your Blogger Template. This is an alternative to using the LinkWithin widget. I'll let you know how it goes after I've run it for a while. Just FYI, the 'related-ness' is determined using the Post Labels that I apply to each of my blog posts.

Last, but not least...some of my favourite little furry friends were very busy in the garden today:





LOVE THEM!

Thanks so much for visiting me, and thank you for all of your lovely comments. You guys are the best!

Sam.

Monday 26 October 2009

Another Catty CASE...



After taking part in Jayne's Cyberstamp Challenges I'm feeling all fired up to create. So this afternoon I decided to do another catty CASE.

This time, I have CASED the card on page 115 of the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue 2009|2010. I have used circles instead of hearts...and made it a birthday card:



List of Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip Textured, Whisper White, So Saffron, Real Red and Baja Breeze
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink
Stamps: Outlined for Fun
Accessories: Baja Breeze Patterns DSP, Edge Distresser, 1/2 inch Circle Punch, 1 inch Circle Punch, 1 1/4 inch Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Dimensionals and SNAIL adhesive.

...and bedee, bedee, bedee....dats all folks!

Sam.

Jayne Mercer's Girls' Night In Cyberstamp Challenge #4



Ok.......this one is for Jayne's Cyberstamp Challenge #4, and the challenge is to make a card using the following sketch:




I had a bit of difficulty with this sketch...but I think this is because I'm getting a cold, and I'm feeling all cotton woolly in my head!

Here is what I came up with:



List of Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red and Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Stamps: Circle of Friendship and Happy Hearts (both retired)
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Cuttlebug, Rhinestone Brads, Bella Rose DSP, 1 inch circle punch, Dimensionals and SNAIL adhesive.

A big thanks again to Jayne for organising her Girls Night In fundraiser event, and planning all of these lovely challenges. I have had so much fun participating in them.

The postie has just been by, and I'm expecting something exciting ;-)...so I've got to run.

Hope your day is a very, very happy one!
Sam.

Sunday 25 October 2009

Jayne Mercer's Girls' Night In Cyberstamp Challenge #3



Well, after much faffing about, I have just finished and photographed my third Cyberstamp Challenge project, for Jayne's Cyberstamp Challenges.

The third challenge, was to create one of the mini watering cans, that featured on Splitcoaststampers last week. You can find the instructions and template here.

...and this is my mini wateringcan:

 
 


List of Ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock:
Purely Pomegranate (retired) and Pink Pirouette
Ink: Purely Pomegranate Classic Ink (retired)
Stamps: Great Friend
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon (retired), Scallop Circle Punch, 1/4 inch Circle Punch, Aluminium Edged Tags, Silver Wireworks Wire (retired), Cello bags, Rhinestone Brads, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots and SNAIL Adhesive.


This was a fun project to work on, and Miss 5 sat down with me and made one for herself and her brother too. They are not quite finished yet, but I am waaaaaay impressed with her crafting skills. She cut a whole watering can template out by herself!

Thanks again for stopping by today!
Sam.

Jayne Mercer's Girls' Night In Cyberstamp Challenge #2



Jayne's second cyberstamp challenge, which you can see here, is to create a project using the three colours, pink, white and black.

This is my creation:



List of ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette and Whisper White textured cardstcok and Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black Classic Ink
Stamps: Wow Flowers
Accessories: White Gel Pen, Paper piercer and Mat Pack, Scallop punch, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 1 1/4 inch circle punch, 1 inch circle punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Dimensionals and SNAIL adhesive.

I went to bead last night thinking about this challenge, and what I wanted to do. I decided that I really wanted to do some weaving, and so I did! It made me think of primary school, and it was a lot of fun. Now I am going to make some more pieces and show Miss 5 how to do it too.

Jayne is also raising funds for the Cancer Council, and you can make a donation here, and help Jayne reach her goal.

Thanks again for another fun challenge Jayne!

Sam.

PS. I knew I'd seen some groovy weaving online somewhere recently...it was on Leonie's blog. Thank you for the inspiration Leonie!

Saturday 24 October 2009

Jayne Mercer's Girls' Night In Cyberstamp Challenge #1



Well, thanks to Jayne Mercer, I managed to find a little stamping mojo tonight, and just finished up a card for her Girls' Night In Cyberstamp Challenge #1.

The challenge is to CASE a card from either the Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalogue, or the Spring Mini Catalogue, but changing the colours to pink! I have chosen to CASE the card on the top of page 12 in the Spring Mini Catalogue.

And here it is:


List of ingredients (all from Stampin' Up!):

Cardstock: Pink Pirouette textured, Purely Pomegranate and Whisper White
Ink: Purely Pomegranate and Pink Pirouette Classic Ink
Stamps: Forest Friends and Thank You Kindly
Accessories: Purely Pomegranate Double-Stitched Ribbon, Candy Lane DSP, 3/4 inch circle punch, Blender Pen, Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots and SNAIL adhesive.

Thanks again for the inspiration Jayne, and best wishes with your Girls Night In fundraiser!

Sam

PS. Just a little garden photo, because I felt like it ;-)...


Saturday 10 October 2009

Happy Tri-Shutter Birthday Kim!



 I have been meaning, and meaning, and meaning to make one of these fabulous tri-shutter cards for AGES...and finally, with my friend Kim's birthday as added inspiration, I did it!

I used Beate's great video tutorial, available on Splitcoaststampers here. It is so easy to follow...I didn't even have to write any of the instructions down after the video...it really is a simple card, but so effective-looking. In terms of design/embellishment, I have borrowed heavily from Beate's tutorial card...so a big thank-you to Beate for the instruction and inspiration...



 

I have used Stampin' Up!'s Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP, along with Baja Breeze, Whisper White and textured Chocolate Chip cardstock. The birthday sentiment is from SU's Sincere Salutations stamp set, and the butterfly antennae are made from some retired wireworks wire. There is also a little white SU taffeta ribbon on there too.

The plain and scalloped ovals were cut using Spellbinder Nestabilities (Petite) and my Cuttlebug (you can buy Nestabilities from Bizzy Bec in Australia...and she even has a 12% discount special going at the moment). The butterflies are from Papertrey Ink's gorgeous Butterfly Kisses stamp set, and have been stamped in Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip Classic ink.

A few more holiday pics too...because it is still cold and windy down here...and I felt like some bright colours:
Musket Cove - Perfect palm
 

Musket Cove - Clusters of coconuts

 
 Musket Cove - Fragrant frangipani


 Musket Cove - Mmmmmm mango!

 
Musket Cove - Heavenly heliconia

 
Warwick Resort - Nadi Pool

Now that feels more like Summer, doesn't it?

Thanks for visiting me in cyber-space!

Sam.

P.S. We cracked out the iSnack 2.0 today and had it on toast...it tasted kinda odd, but it did spread very easily! I kept waiting for the Vegemite tang, but it never came. I love Vegemite, but am not yet convinced about iSnack 2.0/Cheesybite...or whatever the heck it is.

Monday 5 October 2009

WCMD Japan Challenge and iSnack 2.0...

Having left my mojo in Fiji (or perhaps it fell off the plane at some stage between here and there)...I was struggling for papercrafting inspiration this weekend. I did, however, see Nichole Heady's Papertrey Ink World Card Making Day Challenges, and with the added inspiration of winning a whole bunch of fabulous free Papertrey goodies, I managed a little something for the first challenge, whose theme is Japan:


This is my rather small offering:



4.0 inches square to be precise! I have used Papertrey's Butterfly Kisses stamp set, stamped in gold Encore ink on black card. The cardstock is Basic Black and Brushed Gold from Stampin' Up! and the patterned paper is Chiyogami or Yuzen (brightly decorated papers in Japanese style)...MUY, MUY pretty!

I have used Lin Mei Yap's really-easy-to-follow tutorial on making envelopes (which you can see here), and have made a matching envelope in Chiyogami paper.

BTW, I was just setting up to take the photo and hubby walks past and goes...'pretty card, but I don't like the butterfly much!'. WT? I studiously ignored him...which spoke volumes methinks ;-).



While taking the photo, I was using this jar to stop the background cardstock sliding around on the kitchen bench....and I just wanted to ask...who else thinks this whole naming debacle is just the bestest free advertising EVER? I think their advertising execs need a bonus over this...I bought two jars, one to taste and one just in case it is ever worth anything on ebay ;-).

Okay...now that your minds are boggling over my gullibility, I'll go.
See you later.
Sam.

Sunday 4 October 2009

Bula blogland!

Ok...so its been mighty quiet around here of late, but I'd feel hypocritical apologising, because I'd do it again in a flash!!!!! We've been in Fiji baby...and it was pure PARADISE :-).

I am not going to bore you with a lot of details...check out the pictures below, they are worth a thousand words IMHO...and on this dreary, rainy, cold day in Canberra, they are medicine for my soul!

 
Warwick Resort - View from our room


Warwick Resort - Sunset on the beach

 
Warwick Resort - Romantic dinner bure

 
 Warwick Resort - Rainbows are made in paradise

 
Warwick Resort - Just lolling about


Warwick Resort - Miss 5 learning to snorkel

 
Warwick Resort - Wicked Walu Island

 
Warwick Resort - Fancy a wedding in paradise?

 
Warwick Resort - Mini golf champion of the world


Warwick Resort - Firewalking ceremony


Warwick Resort - Wicked Walu Island at night


Warwick Resort - Fresh coconut milk anyone?


Warwick Resort - Nadi pool


Warwick Resort - What can I say?...sigh!

The colours are REAL! I boosted one or two (using PioneerWoman actions), but by and large, these babies are the real deal. I used a polarising filter on my lens, which helped a bit too.

We stayed in two different locations, the Warwick Spa and Resort on the Coral Coast, Viti Levu, and the Musket Cove Resort, on Malololailai. Both resorts were fabulous, and I can highly recommend them to you. I'll save the Musket Cove resort photos for another rainy day though.

The Fijian people are just delightful. They are so friendly and welcoming...I had a very hard time leaving.

Better go help with lunch now...more pics later.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sam.