Flipped Sketch

Isn't it funny how a sketch or colour combo just catches your eye for some reason?  I don't usually do much creating through the week, saving it for the weekend, but when I saw this sketch from Stampin' Royalty I just had to get started on my card right away.

I started with the flowers, it gave me an excuse to have a play with my Blendabilities!  Checking through my new DSP the gorgeous Blackberry Bliss sheets in the Park Lane pack really took my eye.  After cutting the triangles out of the DSP I had some fun playing around with the layers, what colours they should be and finally came up with the above design.  It just fit better once I had flipped the sketch.  I used the flowers from the Hostess Stamp Set "I Like You" for the main image as well as to add some detail to the Whisper White layer. The sentiment is my new favourite birthday one from Age Awareness.

Happy Stamping
Monique

ESAD Annual Catalogue Blog Hop 2014

It is time again for another ESAD Blog Hop to showcase some of the amazing products in the new Annual Catalogue!  You may have come from Keryn's Cards or be just starting at my blog, it doesn't matter, just keep following the links at the bottom of each post to 'hop' to the next blog until you get back to where you started from.  Sit back and enjoy.

 My first card is one I made having seen a similar card on Pinterest, I wanted to use the new in-colours which I think look great with the subtle Pistachio Pudding.  I just love the way the hearts hang down the front of the card. Stamps are from the Work Of Art set which is just so versatile, I am sure you will be seeing more creations using it on this blog hop, and I know you will see more in the weeks and months to come from me.

 Speaking of which ... Here is a second card made using the same basic idea but on the horizontal rather than vertical and with In-colours matching the rainbow to showcase all of the lovely new in-colours, along with Strawberry Slush at the top and Gold at the end of the rainbow!  The hearts on this one have been punched out with the new cute little heart punch.

I wanted to share this card because I just love the colours, Hello Honey pairs so beautifully with Coastal Cabana.  The DSP is from the Lullaby DSP collection, this is a great collection of papers as they have lovely blue tones on one side and pinker tones on the other, making it the perfect stack for both boy and girl cards!  Although it is named Lullaby and is in beautiful pastel shades it is so versatile and can be used for many different occasions.

My final card is possibly my favourite one of the bunch.  Blended Bloom is a beautiful a la carte stamp that is just perfect for colouring with the new Blendabilities alcohol based pens.  Each pen set has three shades and matches with one of the Stampin' Up! colours, this one is Calypso Coral but because of the lighter shades I think it also pairs well with Crisp Cantaloupe.  The pens are great not only for shading, but also for solid colour like around the edge of the Thankful Banner from the Amazing Birthday stamp set.  The DSP on this card is also from Lullaby and shows one of the lovely pink toned papers.

Time to hop on over to Kathryn's blog Katlo Designs to see what lovely creations she has made to inspire.

What is ESAD?

 ESAD stands for "Extra Special Australasian Demonstrators" and is a Facebook group just for Australian and New Zealand Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.

 We love what we do & love to share with our customers, friends and blog visitors. We also share what we love in our ESAD Demonstrator community, through swaps, challenges, sharing knowledge, ideas & friendship and we're always there to help and support each other.

 So if you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator located in Australia or New Zealand then please feel free to leave me a comment with your email address then I'll contact you with information on how to join our group.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CTC 2 - Memory Keeping

It is time again for another CASE-ing the Catty Challenge.  This week we are creating projects with inspiration taken from the Memory Keeping pages of the Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue (pages 24-41).

Becky Higgins has teamed up with Stampin' Up! to develop a range of Project Life pages and accessory kits that align with Stampin' Up! colour and stamp range.  I am so excited about these as a way for me to get back on top of memory keeping as it is so quick and easy to create these pages.  

In my project today I have used the bright and colourful Everyday Adventures card kit along with some DSP that I cut to size.  These photos are from my recent experiences at the annual Stampin' Up! Convention, these pictures capture such wonderful memories.  I just need to do the journalling, which I am a bit slack on doing, and add some dates to the pages with the coordinating Day to Day Photopolymer stamps.

Here is a look at each page:

 Convention in a nutshell - Stampin' Besties, Service Projects, meeting Shelli, Hanging with "rock stars" ...

Bjorn Again, meeting gals from home office, more photos with besties, and of course a little bit of stamping!

There are so many memory keeping options available in the catalogue, you don't even have to use specific memory keeping products - or even use photos if that isn't your thing!  Check out the samples on page 39 for a cute little memory keeping journal.  So take a few minutes to browse the Memory Keeping section of the catalogue and be inspired - then link up your creation at CASE-ing the Catty.

Happy Stamping
Monique

CASE-ing The Catty Challenge #1

I have an exciting announcement to make, I have been chosen to be part of a talented group of ladies on the Design Team for a wonderful new Challenge Blog - CASE-ing the Catty.  Each week the a section of the catalogue will be chosen as the basis for the challenge, pick a project, colour scheme, stamp set or just an idea.  

Week 1 is to take inspiration from the Gift and Packaging section of the Catalogue (p 6 to 23). There are so many wonderful projects and products I had a little trouble choosing!  I finally decided on the Kraft Polka-Dot Tag-A-Bag at the top of page 6/7.   I made some adjustments* to the bag so it would stand  up on a flat base and decorated with some of the lovely tags and stickers that are part of the Accessory Kit.  The sentiment also comes from this section of the catalogue and is "Four You" on page 19.

There are so many wonderful inspirational ideas in the catalogue, so grab the badge below and come and play along

* To alter the bag trim a small amount from the base of the bag.  Score 1" from the base, and 1" on each side of the bag.  This will create some tabs that can be folded into place, insert a 2"x3" piece of cardstock to give the base some strength and stability and adhere in place.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Two Ways ...

Just a super quick post tonight before I head off to bed.  I made this card yesterday for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge and almost forgot to post a picture!  This is the cute sketch we had as a base.

And here is my card:

I wanted to have a play with my new Blendabilities and these flower stamps from the Hostess Stamp Set "I Like You" were just perfect.  I have headed this post "Two Ways" because I have used the Blendabilities two ways - colouring the flowers and also colouring the button and pearl to match.  I have also used the stamp set two ways, in the back panel and as a more subtle feature on the front panel.  If you look very closely you can see that I have actually stamped the sentiment twice, once in yellow (I think it was Daffodil Delight or So Saffron) and then stamped over it just slightly to the right in Old Olive.

Happy Stamping
Monique

Still Here ... Just Really Busy!

I thought I would pop in quickly and let my Blog Followers know that I am still around, and still creating, but sadly haven't had the chance to photograph or post any of my creations.

I didn't realise it had been so long since my last post - before Convention!  So much has been happening with a holiday away with hubby, visiting friends, busy at work and a week with my parents visiting.  I managed to fit in a workshop for some lovely ladies and had my catalogue launch yesterday!  All in all not leaving much time for blogging!

Life looks like it is settling down and I will be posting my creations shortly.

Happy Stamping
Monique