A RAK & a Swap

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Happy Sunday ~

I'm hoping to hit the craft room some time today. It's been raining overnight so is the perfect weather for it. In the meantime let me show you a couple of cards I've received from two of my JAI design team friends...

The first I received back in August from the beautiful Tania Gould - can't believe I haven't posted this until now *I'm hanging my head in shame Tan*. Don't you love her colouring, it's such a gorgeous little image. You can't see it well in the photo but the little girl is 'popped' up on her chair - there are lots of lovely little details on this card. The message inside was lovely also, but I'm not sharing that one :o)

This next card is a 'swap' I received from the lovely and talented Bronwyn Eastley just last week. We JAI dt girls decided to do a swap amongst ourselves and Bron sent hers separately thinking she was super late ... turns out I received her card first and I wonder how Bron knew I loved her Choc Chip and Crumb Cake colour combo the best - very clever and thoughtful Bron - thank you!!!

If you want to make one of these gorgeous scallop easel cards, made famous by Bron over recent weeks then visit here for her tutorial.

Hope to be back with more soon - hmmm let's see if I can do another week of daily posts. Best be showing some Christmas cards soon given it's almost that time of year again :o)

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Good Saturday morning to you ~

I've finally broken out my Owl punch! Well a few weeks ago now actually ... a lovely girlfriend (waving George) came over one Saturday afternoon and we sat chatting and crafting for hours. George was making her Christmas cards and they were so so fun, lots of colourful owls happening. She inspired me to get my little guy out and this is what I made - a shameless CASE from Pauline over at The Pursuit of Stampin'ess . I love Pauline's creativity and they do say that CASEing is the most sincere form of flattery :o)

It was my first time cutting into the Elegant Soiree dsp too. Crumb Cake is the base, then Soft Suede and Very Vanilla with just a hint of Baja Breeze. Imagine the possibilities with the Owl punch ... just by placing the eyes differently you can get so many different looks. I'm sure there are lots around the Net if you go looking.

Hope you've all got a fun weekend lined up. I'm planning a quiet one as I'm off to Sydney next weekend for dinner and the Jersey Boys show so will kick up my heels then. Tell you all about it next time.

Night of Navy Wedding a la Tania Style

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TGIF ~

Recently the son of a dear friend married and she needed a card - actually she needed three that week! Must be wedding season again :o)

In my craft room I have a cork board hanging on the wall above my desk and pinned to it are lots of gorgeous cards and RAKs that I've received from the beautiful friends I've made through this crazy craft and blogging thing we all do. On it is the lovely Pale Plum card (below) from Tania Gould. My friend spied this and wanted it. She wanted exactly that, no changes, just exactly the same but in Navy to match the bridal party. So I got Tania's permission to replicate her card exactly and fortunately she was flattered and gave the okay.

I've layered Very Vanilla on Night of Navy c/s, stamped En Frances b/g, Baroque Motifs and Tiny Tags + its matching punch and some VV taffeta ribbon. I forgot to photograph the inside of the card, but it does follow the same theme - of course!

As you can see I couldn't quite 'crinkle' my VV c/s as much (but it is crinkled irl honest) - just isn't my style lol. It's quite difficult to see the detail of the little rose buds because they're quite dark here, but irl they look the part and my friend was thrilled.

Thanks Tania for being so gracious as to let me CASE your card exactly, you made one proud mum very very happy!

Best Blog Friends Forever Award - BBFF

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Good Thursday evening ~

Look what I got! This has come to me twice this week, from Trish over at Spring Blossom Journey and Tania at Time For Me; Time For You. Thanks ladies, it's a cute award and so sweet of you both to send it my way.

Not exactly sure what the rules are with this one so I'll pass it on to a few of the blogs I visit regularly, with my thanks for the inspiration you constantly give me :o)

Sue - Stampin With Sue
Adele - Adelisa Designs
Paula - Staminantics
Rachel - Stamping with Rachel
Karen - Cards by Karen
Andrea - Stamp my Day

I'd love to also take this opportunity to thank everyone who visits my humble little blog and leaves me lovely comments. You make my day, truly! It feels really special to know that you've taken a moment from your day to make mine :o)

Bella Rose Catty Cover CASE

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Hi & happy Thursday ~

Does this card look familiar? It should ... it's on the cover of our current Idea Book & Catalogue (IBC).

I've heard of many many people looking to the IBC for ideas and inspiration, particularly when the mojo takes a break. I think this is the first time I've ever CASEd the IBC and it was pretty fun really. This is the first time I've made a 'patchwork' Top Note card too - THE perfect way to use all the little scraps you have lying around.

I won't note all the details down, however, if you have any questions please email me and I'll be happy to answer them.

Have a terrific day!

Poppy Parade & Punches

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Happy hump day ~

Don't you just love when you get to the middle of the week and know you're on the downhill slide to the weekend? I figure the hardest part of the day is over once you get out of bed ... I love love love my bed and find it extremely difficult to leave every single morning.

Today I'm showing you a really quick card I CASEd from the ever talented Mary Fish over at Stampin' Pretty. It's so totally simple, using the Top Note die and a handful of punches. Couldn't resist a little bling to go with it *wink*.

I'm on a bit of a roll, been posting daily all week, so impressed with myself lol. Let's see how long it lasts though huh.

Enjoy your day!

Clean & Simple Birthday

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Good Tuesday morning ~

I managed to potter about in my craft room for a few hours on Sunday afternoon. All my chores had been done and there was nothing too pressing on the agenda ... love days like that.

This is my card for the Clean & Simple FTL113 challenge this week. It's been ages since I've been over to CAS and I've been missing out - go check it out, there is so much inspiration!

I've used all the pinks - Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Rose Red. I clear embossed my image from the Friends Never Fade set and popped the whole panel up on dimensionals. Simple but effective I think :o)

While I'm here I should say a huge happy birthday to my little sister ... who isn't so little anymore *smile* I doubt she'll appreciate me adding her age here. So happy happy birthday Jo~ true to form your card is going to be late but it is winging it's way to NZ as I key and no it isn't this one pictured. I did actually have it noted in my diary to post on the 15th ... but you know me ... life got in the way. Hope you have a fabulous day and Cam and the kids spoil you rotten! Mwah!!!

Concord Crush Gift

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Happy Monday ~

I told you I'd make an effort to post a little more often :o)

This is a little gift card holder I made quite some time ago now. I used the new In Colour Concord Crush and the dsp to match, which is a Level 1 hostess gift. I've closed it off with some of the matching Poly ribbon, and a retired corduroy button that I inked in CC as well. The little tag is the Fancy Flower punch and coordinating stamp For You Flower that I've clear embossed on Glossy White c/s and layered with my circle punches.


Hope you like :o)

Simple Butterflies

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Hi & happy Sunday ~

This is a little card I made a couple of weeks ago when I had a spare 10 minutes. It was a Colour Throwdown challenge, however, I saw it too late to actually enter.


The colours are Perfect Plum, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. You can't see it in the pics but I did do a Versamark Baroque background on the VV. Super quick and easy to make :o)

Just Add...Colour Combo - JAI#40

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Good Friday morning ~

We have a Colour Challenge over at Just Add Ink this week. Now as a Design Team member it is my obligation to create original work, however, I have to let you all know that this isn't an original idea of mine. I saw it, or something similar some months ago and for the life of me have no idea where - one of those browsing and stumbling across different things kind of times. I have had next to no time this week and panicked slightly at the thought of coming up with something good - I'm sure you can all relate to that :o)

I've used the Elements of Style & Curly Cute stamp sets - both new for me this week, the Little Leaves die and I tried my hand at the Fancy Flower Extra Large punch rose - Tania has a fabulous tutorial with lots of pics! Colours of course are Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue, Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzazz, I added a tiny bit of Whisper White too.

Go check out the JAI design team creations and play along with us.

RAK - from Karen

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Gee whizz, it seems I'm rarely here lately and only pop in to post my JAI creations. Must remedy that! Believe it or not I have been crafting - lots. I've been so busy with everything else life throws at us that I've not had the time to photograph before getting cards and bits off to their new owners.

I got home from work today to find a big box of crafty goodness waiting for me. Yay for new stuff! And guess what else I found? A gorgeous RAK from my beautiful and very talented friend Karen Thomas. You'll recognise this card as one of Karen's JAI entries (Just Add Blue - in recognition of Anxiety and Depression Awareness month) and you may remember there was an add-on challenge - to send your creation to someone 'just because'. How sweet that I received this beautiful card to add to my collection of very beautiful cards from very talented friends.

Here is a little more eye candy from Karen - I received this one weeks ago and unfortunately I've managed to massacre it a little with my non existent photography skills - the dsp is pink! Here I've made it look washed out and pale. I'm just not getting much better at taking photos no matter how much coaching BFF gives me *sigh*

There is more, but I will stretch them out so you can come back again soon :o)

Watch out for my JAI#40 card tomorrow!

Just Add...Blue JAI#39 + optional add-on

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TGIF ~

Another special week ... Over at Just Add Ink we are recognising Anxiety and Depression Awareness month. Find out more at the fabulous Beyond Blue site.

My card base is the gorgeous new Marina Mist, the scallop layers Baja Breeze and an assortment of both inks using the I {heart} Hearts stamp set. I finished off with a little Marina Mist Satin ribbon - I love love love the Satin ribbons. If you haven't already purchased any go out and get yourself some, it is truly divine!

Now there is an optional add-on challenge this week, and that is to do something nice for someone for no reason - a Random Act of Kindness (RAK). My card was given to a very deserving friend yesterday. She is struggling with her own anxieties and depression more than usual at the moment and to know she has friends and support is very important!

Head over to JAI and check out the other gorgeous DT projects.

Hope you've all had a lovely week and have some fun and exciting plans for the weekend! Take care.

Petal Pizzazz

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Happy Monday afternoon ~

Thought I'd pop on very quickly to show you this card I made for a friend to give to her 10 year old niece. Lilli loves to see her name on cards because the spelling is slightly different to the norm and she finds it hard to buy all those cute little cups and money boxes etc that come pre-printed.


You've seen this card before here in subtle colours. I've made Lilli's with Melon Mambo which stands out perfectly for a 10 year old girl I think! I covered the letters of her name with Crystal Effects and there is a big 10 on the inside to match. If you'd like any other details give me a shout.

Enjoy the rest of your day :o)

Just Add...Femininity JAI#38

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Gee I'm late with this one and the sneak peak didn't really have you holding out that long at all did it ... most of you would have seen the JAI site and spied my project many hours ago lol.

So this week at Just Add Ink we're adding bling and pink, well anything feminine really to support awareness for the Cancer Council's national Pink Ribbon Day on 25 October.

I've had this picture frame kicking around for some months now. Time to dress it up and make it girly :o) I used the gorgeous Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' kit (now retired) and Vintage Vogue flowers, inked up with Pink Pirouette and Riding Hood Red. I didn't have time to look for a photo to go in my frame, so put a piece of RHR striped grosgrain ribbon in for now to liven it up just a little for pic purposes.

Pop over to Just Add Ink and check out the other fabulous feminine features. We hope all you lovely ladies join us this week!!!

Sneak Peek - JAI...

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Thank goodness it's almost Friday ~

I've been sick all week. Gross! Doesn't make for much productivity either. I did manage to get my JAI project done though and here's a sneaky peek for you...until tomorrow!

Intrigued? Make sure you pop back to see it tomorrow.

It's daylight saving and Blog Candy over at Amanda's - Stamp in Style

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Happy Sunday ~

I've just realised I forgot to put the clocks forward an hour when I went off to bed last night. How annoying that I've now lost an hour. You tend not to notice it the night before but all morning I've been thinking how well I'm doing for time and that I'm nicely ahead of myself with the usual chores. It only clicked when I turned the computer on and saw the time change - oops.

I do love daylight saving though. The quality of life seems so much better when there is more daylight in the evenings. The smell of fresh cut grass, neighbourhood BBQ dinners and the generally relaxed feeling of not having to rush ...

I also forgot to tell you that not only does Amanda Reddicliffe have a gorgeous new blog look but for the month of October she's celebrating and you can win!!! Click on her gorgeous little Owl blinkie below to find out what's happening.

Hope to be back with more later :o)

Another Award :o)

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Hello hello ~

Despite waking with a horrible sore throat and all the makings of some nasty lurgy I have had an excellent day with my BFF who is down from Brisbane on a flying trip. We've been in the craft room all day and managed to catch up on so much chat. She gave me some fab tips on taking decent photos too. Let's hope we see improvement from here on...

The gorgeous and super talented Danielle Daws awarded me this Bonny Blog Award a few days ago. When I read Danielle's reason for nominating my heart swelled - could I possibly inspire her in any small way? Surely not, she's waaaay good and much better than me! Thank you DD your words mean a lot!

Now I have to tell you five things about myself and forward on to five other Bonny Blogs.

1. I had a tonsillectomy two years ago - hideous recovery at my age, but has been completely worth it!
2. My grandfather Patrick named me - can you guess what I would have been called if I'd been born a boy? lol
3. I still have some gravel stuck in my right knee from a bicycle collision when I was 13 years old.
4. I love 70's music more than any other.
5. The older I get the more I fear large bodies of water - ocean, pool ... completely unjustified and no idea when it started.

In no particular order, some of my favourite blogs:

Karen - Luv to Stamp
Christine - Happy Heart Cards
Trish - Spring Blossom Journey
Keesh - Inkspirations
Danielle - Stamping with Danielle

Award - A Cherry on Top

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Happy Friday evening ~

I have been completely slack ... the gorgeous Petronela over at KeepStamping awarded me this one a few weeks ago. It's a cutie too, and such a lovely surprise. Thanks so much :o)

I have to share three things about myself and forward the Award to 5 other beautiful blogs.

1. My favourite cuisine is Thai closely followed by Indian
2. I have a fear of needles and often faint when having a blood test
3. I'm thoroughly enjoying the new tv show Offspring

Trish - Spring Blossom Journey
Tania - Time for Me, Time for You - birthday girl *wink*
Rachel - Stamping with Rachel
Kim - Kim's Stamping Spot
Anne - Edward's Scissor Hands