Watercolor Bird

Hi! 

Well yesterday was an odd day. Busy day at work, absolutely shattered in the evening but just couldn't get to sleep, think it was gone 5am when I finally managed to get off. Oh dear! 

I got some good news yesterday, the job I applied for at school, well, I have an interview next Friday! Super happy and also very nervous and worried about the entire thing! Eeek! 

Stamp Set: Simply Sketched, Express Yourself

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Gumball Green, Black Stazon

Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Gumball Green, Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla

Embellishments: Naturals Chevron Ribbon, Antique Brads

I wanted to watercolour the bird - with the aqua painter and a little ink its easy to create a beautiful no mess, no fuss watercolored image. I decded to tear the bottom edge rather than cutting a banner end which seems to be the easy fall back option these days. I also thought it'd be nice to have the matt layer as a strip that just peeked out the top and bottom. 

Now it was despirate for an embellishment and I happened to have the chevron ribbon on my desk and thought that and the antique brads would pair really well with the natural colours of the bird and reeds. 

For some background texture I stamped a side border of leaves and positioned the watercolored bird layer off to one side. 

For a bit of decoration inside I stamped the same branches along the bottom edge. 

Catch you tomorrow for a Simple Sunday card. 

Happy Stampin',

Sixty!

 Hi there! 

So today is my first day of my new temporary job. I'll let you know how it goes later!

I've got a card my friend Ally asked me to make a little while ago. It was for her Auntie that was turning 60. I didn't have much direction apart from she wanted a big 60 on it. 

Stamp Set: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Island Indigo

Cardstock: Pool Party, Island Indigo

Punch: Decorative Label

Big Shot: Typeset Alphabet, Decorative Dots TIEF (SAB)

Ribbon: Island Indigo Chevron, Baker's Twine

Embellishments: Tea Lace Doily, Pearls

I thought it'd be fun to crack out some of the core'dinations cardstock for the background. Embossed and sanded with the decorative dots makes a really pretty confetti pattern. Because this card was longer than the average card I had to emboss as much as I could then rotate the paper 180 and emboss the rest. With the dots being a bit random there wasn't actually too much of a join mark, however this was covered up with the ribbon and doily anyway!

I just used a tiny piece of the doily, that's all it really needed! 

So unfortunately the chevron ribbon was a bit too big and chunky for the card so I did a new little trick I learnt recently - I cut down the centre of the ribbon. To stop the ribbon from fraying I ran a lighter down the size to just melt the ribbon that little bit. Its a fab way to get more use out of what is a pretty chunky ribbon. Don't you just love it? To cut down on more bulk, I just tied the ribbon with a bit of baker's twine instead of a bow or knot. 

After adding the 60 and a sentiment the final touch was a good sprinkling of pearls! 

Until next time, 

Happy Stampin',

Love & Congratulations

Hello there! 

I wanted to share with you a card we made at card club last month. Last month's stamp set was Language of Love and this card is the perfect example using all the stamps in the set. It'd be great for a valentine, wedding or engagement! 

Mine went to some friends, Hannah and Renz, who just got engaged last month. I haven't seen them since our wedding, long time now! Renz is a fantastic photographer and he and his friend Marc did our gorgeous wedding photos! Hannah is an amazing beader and she made my tiara for me, it was just perfect and matched my dress perfectly - it was just what I had in mind and I know its totally unique! Lovely couple!

Stamp Set: Language of Love, Sweet Essentials

Ink: Raspberry Ripple, Crumb Cake

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand, Raspberry Ripple, Gold Foil

DSP: Sweet Sorbet

Punch: Small Heart

Embellishments: Gold Baker's Twine, Chevron Ribbon

I'd call this a very traditional "romantic" colour combination - gorgeous neutrals with a pop of red and gold. I think what makes this a little different is the rich pinky Raspberry Ripple - tradition with a little twist!

Aren't the little floating hearts adorable? They really raw the eye across the card and fill that dead space to the left of the card making it a lot more balanced. 

 I'm really loving the banners in this set, they're just so cute layered up in a little group especially with this DSP and ribbon in the grouping too. 

Sorry for the short blog posts these last couple days, I've been suffering with the effects a cold and its not making me feel very productive! I spent most of yesterday feeling very frustrated with myself that I wasn't getting more done! One redeeming feature of yesterday was that I tried a new recipe which was absolutely delicious - Ranch Cheddar Chicken by Karly from Buns in my Oven. Totally recommend it if you're looking for a yummy new quick and easy weeknight dinner! 

I hope you enjoyed this and will come back again tomorrow for something else pretty and fun! 

Happy Stampin',

So Thankful PP180

Hey there!

Its Friday!!! How exciting! My bestie, Kathryn and her little boy Euan are coming over this afternoon! It was before Christmas, last time I saw them and she's about to have another baby any day now! Looking forward to a good catch up with both of them. Next time I see her, she'll really have her hands full with two little ones! I can't wait to meet the new little one, but baby, please don't start coming until after today? Thank you!

I've got cute Paper Player's Challenge entry to show you today. Its a sketch this week, and an interesting sketch it was!

I debated for quite a while about what to do with this and then I had a flash of inspiration! Here's how it finished up...

Stamp Set: So Very Grateful

Ink: Black Stazon, Perfect Plum, Island Indigo, Gumball Green, Crushed Curry

Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Window Sheet

Big Shot: Chalk Talk Framelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits

Embellishments: Island Indigo Chevron Ribbon, Linen Thread

Extra: Blender Pens

So the front is actually a clear window so you can see the pull out card inside. When the card is removed there's a further sentiment behind that! I thought this would work well as the set I wanted to use had 3 sentiments that seemed to work really well as a trio, how do you put a trio of sentiments on a card though without it looking hugely wordy?!

I was showing this card to Stuart and he was like, "oh that's cool, is the pull out piece a bookmark?"... What a wonderful idea! Now you can send a beautiful thank you to a friend AND it includes a thank you gift! Loved that suggestion.

I seem to be really into the blender pen/watercolor look at the moment but don't those flowers look lovely all coloured in like that!?

The fancy edge was cut using just the very end of one of the Apothecary Accents framelit, and the hole is cut with one of those little tag hole framelits that came in the Chalk Talk framelits...I've never had a use for them but they worked out perfectly here! 

I also did a little doctoring on my ribbon - its the chrevron ribbon cut down the centre and then sealed along the cut edge with a lighter so it doesn't fray! Love the effect and the look of the thinner ribbon. Totally going to do that again!

Anyhow, hope you enjoyed this special card.

Happy Stampin',