Which one is your favourite???

Hi everyone. Well here I am once again apologising for my lack of posting, but I'm sure you'll all understand why with this crazy time of the year - I know that everyone is in the same boat! So quickly now for your enjoyment I present to you my monograms made for some stamping friends of mine - "The Crafty Tarts". We enjoyed a lovely dinner together last night at the Turkish Grill (my absolute favourite) and exchanged gifts. It was a great night. So without further ado...

V is for Vivien

I used Fall Floweres DSP and Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon and then embellished with some flowers punched from Whisper White and sponged with Soft Sky ink and finished off with
silver brads.

T is for Tania

This one uses the Apple Cider DSP and "One of a Kind" stamp set from
the last mini catalogue - so sad it's gone :(
I stamped the flower with Chocolate Chip ink and coloured it with a blender pen and Really Rust and River Rock ink pads. I then used Crystal Effects and finished off with a Really Rust button and some Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched Ribbon.

D is for Deb

Of all the papers Stampin' Up has released I think this would have to be my all time favourite! Sadly my stash is slowly drying up. It looks fabulous used with the "Wild Rose" stamp set which thankfully is still available! The rose image was stamped with the old Cranberry Crisp and Mellow Moss for the leaves. I also use some Mellow Moss 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and highlighted the rose with some Dazzling Diamonds.

C is for Cydney


I've used papers from the Spring Fling DSP. The stamped image is from an old sale-a-bration set "Delight in Life". I've stamped the large flower with Pretty in Pink and then coloured it with Pretty in Pink ink and a blender pen. The smaller flower I've done the same but with So Saffron ink and placed a So Saffron brad in the centre. I've curled some really fine strips of Sage Shadow card around a pencil and then stuck them down behind the flower and then finished off with a dusting of Dazzling Diamonds.

C is for Coral


It's always fun playing with new things - new papers and a new stamp set. The paper is Ginger Blossom DSP and the stamp is from the set "Embrace Life" both available from the new mini catalogue. I've stamped the flower image with Groovy Guava ink and once again coloured with a blender pen and Groovy Guava ink. I've looped some River Rock Double-Stitched Ribbon behind the flower and placed a Ruby Red brad in its centre as well as a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to the stamens - do you think I just might like Dazzling Diamonds???

And last, but not least ... B is for Bernadette


This one is probably my favourite! I just love anything that has that shabby chic look. The paper is Afternoon Tea DSP and the stamp is from the "Live your Dream" set also from the new mini catalogue. I've stamped the flower image with Groovy Guava and Mellow Moss and added some Crystal Effects and ... yep you guessed it ... Dazzling Diamonds!! The bow uses Groovy Gauava Double-Stiched Ribbon.

So which one do you like best?

Film Star Froggies...

Here's another froggy card using the "Unfroggetable" stamp set as promised. This one uses lots of the masking technique. Remember to keep your masks that you've made in with the stamps you've made them for so that they are easily accessible for the next time you want to use them (it saves having to make more). I used my Colour Coach wheel to help me decide what colours to use. I knew I wanted to colour my frog Gable Green so I just looked it up on my wheel and went with its recommendations (Gable Green - Bashful Blue, Cameo Coral and Apricot Appeal) - I like its thinking!!! I've used the Classic Stars jumbo wheel inked in Gable Green over the background card. The smile sentiment is from the "Be Happy" stamp set. I've created the black film strip with the Spiral punch. Just thinking now that a bit of Dazzling Diamonds on the dragonfly's wings would also be cute!! Stay tuned for more frogs...

Hoppy Birthday!

My Ryan had a friends birthday party to go and nothing in my stash seemed to cut the mustard to so I decided that it was the perfect excuse to do some stamping! I think the "Unfrogettable" stamp set is sooo cute, but to be honest I really haven't done much with it...until now! Stay posted and I'll show you some more froggy cards that I've made, but for now here's the birthday card...


I've used Old Olive card (one of my fave colours!) and Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper. The froggy I stamped with Basic Gray ink and coloured with My Old Olive ink pad and Blender pen. I also used some Soft Sky Double-Stitched Ribbon and a piece of silver Hodgepodge (this stuff is fabulous!). If you look closely you can see that I added some googly eyes to my frog.

Inside I created a money pocket. What child doesn't love getting money??
...or adult for that matter!!!

Mummy's Girls...

Mikayla was watching me intently today as I was making some birthday cards for my stash. She absolutely loves to do anything creative, so to be able to have a play with Mum's stuff is a really fun thing for her - and nice for me too! We decided to make a start on her christmas cards that she will give to her school friends. Jordyn also had to join in of course!! So here are my girls, stamping their 'art out...

Fun, fun, fun!!

My Jordy Pordy...

...and Mikayla

So we've had a lovely afternoon together stamping while the boys have wrestled and just been boys!!

Christmas Cards

I cannot believe that it's only 33 more sleeps to Christmas - I find that absolutely frightening! Each year I tell myself that I'm going to be better organised next Christmas and yet here I am again panicking about all I have to do! I am however proud to say that I have all my Christmas cards ready to write and send, but then I must confess that is because I made them all last year and didn't get around to posting them!! LOL Anyway, here are some Christmas cards that I made up for a class. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed making them and were very impressed at just how easy they were to make.

This card uses the "Holiday Wishes" stamp set. I've stamped and gold embossed the tree onto Whisper White card and then coloured some parts of it using my ink pads (So Saffron, Purely Pomegranate & Wild Wasabi) and a blender pen. The tree has been mounted onto Wild Wasabi card and the sentiment "Warmest Wishes" was carefully inked to omitt the word "Holiday" with Wild Wasabi ink. A piece of Double-Stitched Purely Pomegranate ribbon was then tied around the front and then the whole lot mounted onto the Purely Pomegranate card base.

Inside I've created and decorated a pocket for money or gift vouchers. Looks good with a Fifty, but I personally prefer green ones - I think they'd match the card better!!

Here's a cute Christmas Bauble card. I've cut a circle using Old Olive card and then put a belly band accross it using the striped paper from the Fall Flowers Designer Series Paper pack. Some Soft Sky Double-Stitched ribbon was also added to the belly band. The sentiment "Very Merry" from "Short & Sweet" stamp set was stamped in Soft Sky ink and embellished with some silver Hodgepodge. The top of the bauble is made with the Round Tab punch and Soft Sky card. The whisper white background I've embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and then mounted onto the Old Olive card base.

This card uses the So Swirly Jumbo Wheel. It's been inked with River Rock and then rolled onto River Rock card. I've then randomly stamped the tiny poinsettia from the "Season of Joy" stamp set with Purely Pomegranate ink. The paper at the top of the card is from the "Holiday Harmony" Designer Series Pack. The "Sparkle" sentiment is from the "Sweet Serendipity" stamp set. I finished off with some Purely Pomegranate Satin Ribbon and a ribbon slide from the Antique Brass Hodgepodge set.


I just love this "Season of Joy" stamp set and will be so sad to see it go at the end of the month :( I've stamped the flourishes with Always Artichoke ink. The poinsettias have been stamped with Ruby Red ink, cut out and layered (offset) and finished off with three gold brads in the centre. The sentiment "Merry Christmas" has been gold embossed. I mounted all of this onto River Rock card and then again onto Ruby Red card and finally onto the Always Artichoke card front. Some gold cord (which is sadly no longer available and I have metres and metres of the stuff!) was also tied around the front.

So I hope you get some ideas from these for some Christmas Cards of your own.
Thanks for looking!

New Goodies & Time for a Play...

I've just managed to get a few moments to myself (thanks to an overcast day and a dvd for the kiddos) and hide away in my room to have a play with some new goodies. As soon as I saw this little bookmark I thought it was such a cute idea and would just be the finishing touch to a book gift this christmas. It was so quick and easy and thanks to Stampin' Up's gorgeous coordinating papers, inks and stamps it really took the guess work out of matching. I found the instructions for this on the Kaisercraft website which you can get HERE.

I'm thinking I'll be making me a few more of these!!

Post-It Note Holder

It's been a crazy, busy week but I've finally made it back to the computer. I've just had the most fabulous weekend away scrapping with lots of other women. It was so fun and so great to escape - no kids, no cooking, no doing dishes, no cleaning ... just creative bliss!! But you always have to come back to reality and it tends to hurt a little when you do. I've had appointment after appointment after appointment this week and the sad thing is it's only Wednesday! Oh well, I know that it's just one of those weeks that I have to hold on and ride it through - I'm sure you all relate! So now here's a really quick and easy little project that is so simple to make. There's actually no stamping used on this one, just patterned papers, punches and a couple of brads. I was thinking of making up a few more for teacher's christmas prestents and those "secret santas" that we all get a bit lost with. So here it is ... a Post-It Note Holder.

It ties shut at the front with a piece of ribbon.

The top has a little pocket for you to slide a pen into so there's always one on hand.

And this is what it looks like inside ... pretty cool huh?

I worked from a tutorial that i found HERE and then played around with the measurements so that it would fit a larger Post-It pad and a mechanical pencil.

Materials Used:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green, Tempting Turquoise
Paper: East Coast Prep Designer Series
Accessories: Scallop Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, More Mustard Brads, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon

For Baby Joshua...

My friend had a baby boy on Saturday, so I have been frantically trying to finish this quilt for him (hence the lack of posting!) It's finally finished and ready to be handed over with much love. Just thought I'd give you a peak at what has been consuming all my time (other than my children!!)


Here's a close up of one of the panels...so cute! Makes me want to have another baby

Free Standing Pop-Up

Here's another fun card to make. I followed the instructions from a Splitcoaststampers Tutorial which you can find HERE. The stamp set used is "True Friend" from the Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue which means it's only available until the end of November so you'd better get in soon if there's anything in it that you're after! I used my Stampin' Write Markers to colour the flower image. Firstly I coloured the main petals of the flower with Barely Banana then outlined the petals with Rose Red as well as the inside and outside dots. The stem and leaves are coloured with Certainly Celery. Whenever I colour with my markers directly onto the stamp, I always give it another huff after stamping to get a second image, particularly if it is a detailed image. It does turn out much lighter, but I figure I might as well get another image for my effort! The base of the card has also been stamped with Rose Red ink on Rose Red cardstock just for a subtle look.


This is how the card folds down which is great because it will fit in a standard C6 envelope and makes it postage friendly. As you can see, brads are really my friend at the moment - they just finish things off so nicely I think. Enjoy!

Materials Used:

Cardstock: Rose Red, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Whisper White
Stamps: True Friend
Inks: Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Stampin' Write Markers - Rose Red,
Barely Banana, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon,
Brads - Barely Banana, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch

A Bit Cute...

You've probably seen lots of these "onesies" around blogland lately - and now here's my take on them. A very dear friend of mine is having a baby and her due date is today. So I've made a pink one and a blue one so that I'm ready for the news! Now all I have to do is finish making the present - LOL!


They are so quick and easy and lots of fun to make and everyone just seems to love them. You can find instructions on how to make them HERE.

Materials Used for Pink Onesie:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Berry Bliss Designer Series
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes
Inks: Basis Grey, Barely Banana, Pretty in Pink
Accessories: Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Brads (Soft Subtles Collection),
1-3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Blender Pen

Materials Used for Blue Onesie:

Cardstock: Whisper White, Brocade Blue
Paper: Summer Picnic Designer Series
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes
Inks: Basis Grey, Barely Banana, Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom
Accessories: Bashful Blue Brads (Soft Subtles Collection), 1-3/8" Circle Punch,
Scallop Circle Punch, Blender Pen

Quick and Easy

Here' s a quick and easy birthday card made with the "Fun & Fast Notes". I love this stamp set because there is a stamp for every occassion. I also love this set because I've found that by cutting and mounting the images and sentiments separately I've doubled my stamps from 8 to 16! I know that you can just ink the part of the image that you want to use, but I've found it so much easier to use this way. I've also found that I use the sentiments so much more when they are separate to the main image.


The idea for gathering the ribbon came from my friend Lin. I love the way that it creates a bit of texture and adds interest to the card. To do this I stuck a piece of sticky strip on the front of the blue card and folded the overhang to the back. I then took my piece of ribbon and secured one end to the back on the sticky strip, turned the card over to the front and began gathering and pleating the ribbon and sticking it down onto the strip a little bit at a time. When I got to the end I turned the card back over and secured the ribbon to the back of the card. Too easy!


The image was coloured with Stampin' Pastels and a Blender Pen. I also used the Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel with Barely Banana ink over the base of the card front and finished off with three pink brads and a dusting of Dazzling Diamonds - gotta have a bit of bling!

Materials Used
Cardstock: Barely Banana, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Stamps: Fun & Fast Notes, Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel
Inks: Basic Black, Barely Banana, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretty in Pink Brads
(Soft Subtles Collection), Stampin' Pastels, Blender Pen,
Dazzling Diamonds, Word Window Punch

Hi there and welcome!

Hi there ... well here I am ... taking the plunge of starting my own blog! It's somthing that I've been thinking of doing for a long time now but I've finally decided to jump right in. I'll try to post fairly regularly, but having four children could quite possibly interfere with my intentions!
My plan is to show you snippets of what I've been up to or possibly apologising for not doing anything!! I'm guessing this is going to be quite a journey as I'm not the most computer literate person - but hang in there and I'm sure we'll get through ... thanks for dropping in and welcome to my blog!