A congratulations card.

This is the card I made for our niece, who told us on the weekend that she is expecting her second child in a few months.

This is exciting on so many levels - their beautiful daughter Mia will be a big sister, my sister-in-law will be a nonna for the second time, and there will be another (no doubt beautiful) baby in the family to cuddle. All of these benefits, and I don't have to lift a finger! Well, except to make this card, and everybody knows how much I love to send out cards LOL.  In fact, I've decided to join Melissa Phillips this year, and spread a little sunshine by sending out a card each week.  So far, so good.

For this card I used a stamp from Penny Black, patterned paper from Papermania, Bazzill punched with a Martha Stewart punch, and some adhesive pearls.  Oh - the ovals I cut with Nestabilities.

Thanks for looking!

Love blooms with Chilli hearts

It's Friday again - I'm detecting a bit of a pattern - it happens towards the end of the week, yeah?  It also means it's time for another sketch from AnnaBelle Stamps,  Here t'is:

And here's my card:

The stem stamps come from the Floral Stems set, and  the words come from the Flowers with Love set.  The paper is Basic Grey Lemonade 6x6 pad, and the delicious hearts are Chilli Sprinkles.

They look like lollies, don't they?  I had to stick them down quickly with Dimensional Magic to stop myself putting them in my mouth LOL.

You can see samples using the sketch from the rest of the design team here.  I do hope you'll join in!

invitation idea

Getting tired of the same old style of invitation, so I came up with this idea using the Teresa Collins (no relation) stamp from the January A la Tarte kit from Lime Tart:

See?  You just circle the date you need.

You can find a bunch of other ideas in the gallery here.

Thanks for looking.

celebrate Australia day!

Lime Tart is hosting challenges again this year - with the first one finishing on Australia Day.  In honour of our flag, the theme is red, white, blue with star embellishments.  Easy!  Here's my sample:

I stitched some denim fabric onto a white card, then stitched the ribbon in place.  I added the chipboard stars after I painted them with white acrylic paint, then the button.  The word is a Melissa Frances rub on.

This challenge is quick and easy - it would be a shame for you to miss out on a wonderful prize by not entering.  Click here to read more....good luck!

New AnnaBelle

The new release at AnnaBelle Stamps includes some delicately illustrated flowers.  I can see already that I'll be using these stamps all the time - flowers can say so much, they can be happy, congratulatory, in sympathy and just because. Versatile is the word I'm after.

Here's a card using stamps from a new set called Flowers with Love:

I used papers from Basic Grey Junebug range, and some new bling available at AnnaBelle Stamps.   The image is coloured with Copic markers.  Here's a close up of the words:

Love the pom-pom trim.  Gives the card a festive atmosphere.

AnnaBelle sketch #10

It's Friday, time for a new card sketch from AnnaBelle Stamps.  Here's the sketch:

This one is a little more exciting than usual - it's combined with the new release stamps and sprinkles.  Here's my card:

and here's a close up of that delicious bling:

The stamp sets I've used is called Flowers with Love and Flourishes, a set of stamps that's like a map of where to place your bling. 

Check out the blog to see what the rest of the DT did with the sketch - beautiful!

You can find out more about this new release over on the website in the New Products section, as well as the AnnaBelle Stamps blog.  There are new stamps, new sprinkles, new pearls and some information about joining AnnaBelle Stamps on Facbook. There will be special offers made available to fans (including one for the new release), so don't forget to join.

Enjoy!

January gallery

This month's gallery at Lime Tart is now open.  Pop over to see what we did with the kits this month - lots of great ideas to share.
With all the projects revealed, I can show you the layouts I did.  Here's the full pic of the sneak I showed yesterday:

That's my nephew Lucas a few months ago.  He's a bit less of a mumma's boy now - he has discovered a whole new world as a cheeky monkey LOL. The layout is A4 in size - I've never tried this size before and I quite enjoyed it.  It also means it'll fit in an ordinary office folder which is good for organisationally challenged people like me.

And here's the layout of Elouise.  She looks much older than four years old in this photo - I'm not sure I like that bit, but oh boy did she like getting dolled up!

Thanks for looking, and don't forget to pop in to see the gallery - the girls amaze me every month!

Lime Tart news

I've got a sneek to show you of what I made with the January A la Tarte kit:

I loved the colours in this kit - vintage bright I call them.

All sorts of new things are happening to Lime Tart, including Facebook and Twitter (if you need help with any of these, just ask the nearest young person LOL).  Check out the details at Zest blog, where you'll also find details of a giveaway plus our next challenge.  Prizes prizes everywhere!

A card for Izzy

This is the card I made for my beautiful niece (I think you can guess her name):

I have used some paper from Papermania, the alpha is Thickers Jewelry Box, the flowers are Prima and Remember When (felt).  What's that scroll and the little pearls you ask?

Well, you'll just have to keep an eye on the AnnaBelle Stamps website.  I smell a new release LOL.

Wanna see my house?

This is my latest creation - it's called the Funky Attic House from Twiddleybitz.  It's so easy to put together:

and so much fun to decorate!  I love how the Skeleton Tree with the little birds in it turned out:

I painted the house and the tree with Distress Crackle Paint and used German Scrap for the roof.  I ran the bottom piece through the Cuttlebug and painted it to look like cobblestone.  The picket fence is a die cut.  Lastly, I glued some moss (from my florist suppliers) behind the fence to look like lawn.

This was so much fun, there's a possibility I might offer it as a class at Little Bits next term.  Stay tuned.

AnnaBelle Stamps sketch #9

Wow - has it been a week already?  This year is slipping past faster than last year I'm afraid!

This is the sketch:

And here's my card:

I used some Cosmo Cricket paper, Olive sprinkles, and the stamps are AnnaBelle Stamps, but you'll have to wait until the 15th of January to know more about those!

a card for Mum

It's mum's birthday today, and here's the card I whipped up:

It's a simple card, but I loved the paper so much I didn't want to mess with it.  It's paper from a pad I bought at Little Bits, some of the Papermania range.   The label sticker is old Making Memories, and the alphabet is my fave Thickers alpha - Jewelry Box.

Thanks for looking!

A new year first

Does your family do that thing on new year's day - walk around and say stuff like "gee - I haven't had a shower since last year" or "I'm starving.  No wonder - I haven't eaten since last year."  It was all fun and games here on new year's day.

I carried some of this frivolity with me to work (yep - people do have the audacity to get sick on holidays!), where it quickly wore off when I had to focus on serious matters like pus and where I was going to eat lunch.

I've had some wonderful things happen on the craft front, including some new (well, second hand if you want to be specific) furniture in my studio.  I'm loving my space at the moment!  I even found some time to make some things, and I can share one of them now.

It's a Happy New Year card made with some products from Twiddleybitz, in particular the colour sprays. It's just so quick to colour an item with a spray (and fun to boot!), but if you want to save some product, you can always just brush the colour on after shaking the bottle.

I've used gorgeous October Afternoon papers, some Rain Beetle shimmer spray on the frame, and some Quince shimmer spray on the stars. 

Have you had time to play in this new year yet?  I'd love to see what you've made.

Whoa - here we come 2010

A new year - so full of promise and possibility.  It's going to be a fantastic year - I can smell it in the air!

I haven't settled on a new year's resolution yet, except the usual (lose weight, get fit, become a better person, be more organised, save money...yawn...). I'm certainly going to have some fun, but that goes without saying, right? 

Thank you for your company on this blog.  It's wonderful to receive comments, and I just love it when people tell me they read my blog. I'm picturing you guys stealing a few moments from your busy lives to sit in front of the computer with a cup of tea or coffee (and sometimes something a little stronger LOL) and read what I've written.  It truly warms my heart and motivates me to create and share.  I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I hope your new year holds many wonderful things.  I'll be back in the swing of things soon - still in holiday mode this week.  I do have this AnnaBelle Stamps sketch to share with you now:

Here's my card using stamps from the Jasmine's Cupcake set and some Blossom Sprinkles :

You can see samples from the rest of the design team, and even join in the fun yourself on the AnnaBelle Stamps blog.

Here's to a magnificent year - CLINK! (My can of Coke went 'clunk' on the computer screen).