a couple of cards.....

Back again with a couple of cards I've made using InStyle Stamps.

First up is this anniversary card:



I used a digi download image called Heart Balloons, and I filled them in with my stickles. I love how the glitter turned out.

Next up is a card for a friend:

We never really get much of a chance to catch up - I just want to let her know that I'm thinking of her - trying to keep the lines of communication open. Thank goodness for email I tell ya!

I used some retro-looking paper from Paper Salon, and my Copic markers. The image is called Steph - isn't she gorgeous?

That's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

My love of kraft.

I love kraft cardstock - especially teamed up with black and white. Here's a card I made using a digi download image from InStyle stamps. It's called kissing birds.


I coloured it in with my Copics. I wanted the birds to stand out a bit more, so I went over the background with the colourless blender. Looks sort of watercoloured now, doesn't it? Here's the delicious bow - Making Memories riboon and a button tied with string:


And this is the little sentiment:


Being a digi download, you can manipulate the size of your image. I simply printed the birds a little larger, and cut out one of the hearts. The glitter sticker is a Making Memories alpha.

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday on the InStyle Stamps blog, one of the dt members hosts a sketch challenge. This week was Shary's turn. Click here to see the sketch.

Here's my card with a twist. I turned the sketch on its side to suit the image, and instead of a thankful sentiment, I made it into a 4th birthday card. I also added the sentiment on the right:


I used an image called Mellie. She's available as a rubber stamp and as a digi dowload.


Patterned paper is by Rusty Pickle, and I used my Copics to colour in the image.

For sombre occasions

Near the top of my wishlist is some images I can use on cards for a more sombre occasion, such as the passing of a loved one. I think this Willows digital download image fits the bill perfectly.

It's stylish and elegant. For this card, I printed the image twice - one slightly smaller than the other onto beige paper. (Digital downloads allow you to fiddle a bit with the size, which is just so handy!) Then I printed the image again onto vellum in a size that's in between the other two images, and put a computer-generated sentiment on top.

So easy, and I love that the card is understated. Perfect for a heartfelt message.

Sweet 16

For this sweet 16 card, I used a digital download image from InStyle Stamps, simply called Dress. It's a great image to paper piece.

I printed the dress out onto both white cardstock and polka dot patterned paper. Then I cut just the dress from the patterned paper and stuck it onto the white dress with some mounting tape. I added some tulle at the bottom for a nice touch.


The numbers are Making Memories with glitter for some added sparkle (that didn't photograph at all well!).

Thanks for looking!

Wishful thinking

This is what I hope to be able to give to my children one day - the keys to their own car. Is that just a bit of wishful thinking?


I used another digital image from InStyle Stamps for this tag - it's the pink convertible from Color Collection 1. I wrote the words on with my black gel pen, then I tied a variety of ribbons on with a button on top.

It's nice to have a tangible aspect to my dreams.

Hey Chickadee

Is it just me - can you believe it's March already? Where is the year going?

With April and Easter just around the corner, I thought I'd have a little play with a digital download image from InStyle Stamps. This is Chick in Nest, and being a digital image, I could adjust the size to fit what I wanted to make. Here they are:


It's a bunch of little gift tags, which can also be used as placecards. I printed the image, punched it out with my scalloped oval Marvy punch, and coloured it in with my Copics. I used my black gel pen to write the names, and finished them off with a knot of ribbon at each side.



I'll be using these for the little Easter gifts I like to share - some pyjamas, or a DVD - always served with chocolate!

Marti's party

I had a play with this image from InStyle Stamps this week - her name is Marti. She is from the Diva range.


I thought she was perfect for the front of an invitation. An invitation to a stylish cocktail party perhaps? I put a little diamente on Marti's choker - you really can't over-dazzle this image. It cries out for bling!


The Anime range and even a digital download range are now available from InStyle stamps. Check them out here.

When you've got something to brag about..

...why not make a book out of it? Here's Jasmine from InStyle Stamps, holding her adorable baby:


Every mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend and neighbour of a new baby needs a brag book! And isn't Jasmine the perfect image for the cover?


I used patterned papers from Sassafras Lass and basic Grey, and my Copics to colour the image. The pages inside are blank, but only until I put some photos in there mounted on coloured cardstock and some little journalling spots.

If you pop over to the InStyle Stamps website now, you'll see the new range of Anime stamps (for fans of Japanese cartoons like Manga comics - these were just made to be coloured with Copics!), as well as some DigiDownloads! How exciting is that? I love the little pig and the kissing birds.

I got you babe!

This is a card I made with Jasmine from InStyle Stamps:


Just in time too - our niece Amanda has just had a little baby girl! Remember her wedding I blogged about here? Well, this is what they made - she's called Mia:


Arent' they clever? Amanda is one of those people who are as beautiful inside as they are on the outside - the image of Jasmine reminds me of her so much of her. Elegant and stylish. I'll have a little project using Jasmine coming up over the next few days, so stay tuned!

All about me

No prizes for guessing what this little book will be about!



I used the Pam and Buster image from InStyle Stamps. Just colouring her dress a different colour gives a whole different feel to the image - see the card I made here. I thought diamentes on her shoes was still a requisite ;), and I drew polka dots on Buster's little jacket so he'd match Pam (this is soooo Paris Hilton!).



This book measures around 4 inches, bound with my new favourite toy - my Bind-it-all. I thought I'd fill it with important things about my favourite subject. I made it little on purpose - I don't want to give myself a big head!

And this is Pam.....

....with her little friend Buster. This is another new image from InStyle Stamps.


I think everyone here knows how much I love polka dots!

I coloured Pam and little Buster with my Copics, and cut the mat out with my new Nestabilities labels set. If you look closely, you can see little diamonds on Pam's shoes. A little bird told me that Buster is going to be available all by himself as a stamp in the very near future - woo hoo!

I'll post some close ups a little later - the children are ravenous and if I don't feed them soon there'll be a mutiny!

Sweets for my Sweet Thang

Hiya! I'm back with the second project I made with Roxy from InStyle Stamps. It's a jar I've used to present some lollipops (or suckers, or whatever you like to call them). Heeere's Roxy:



I stuck with the same colour scheme as the card I showed you in this post here, the idea being they are given together. Again, I used some Basic Grey papers from the Mellow range because they went well with the colours I'd chosen for Roxy. Here's a close up - you can see the Orange Peel stickles I used on the heart and on Roxy's earrings.

Neat! I'll be back with some projects using other images over the next few weeks, so be sure and pop back often. Thanks for looking.

Heeeeere's Roxy!

How much excitement can one girl take?

I can tell you my news - I'm Guest Designer for a company called InStyle Stamps. They've brought out a range of funky retro images, and over the next few weeks I'll be bringing you some hip, trendy designs. Pop on over and check them out. Cool eh?

First up, I'd like to introduce Roxy - check out that 'fro!!


Isn't she gorgeous? See what I mean - retro or what? I love playing with these images - time to break out all of those '70's superlatives....far out.....cool......outta sight......catch my drift?

For this card I had to think - what did the 70's mean to me? I came up with orange and green (yikes! did I accidentally ingest some LSD?). I coloured Roxy in with my Copics, then I chose Basic Grey papers from their Mellow range to compliment. It's a retro style card, so I simply had to add some glitter - Orange Peel Stickles to be exact.

I've made something else using Roxy, stay tuned for that project coming this way soon.

Good times

I'm just loving these holidays! Today I got to sleep in, then went out to lunch with my favourite little people, then from the minute we got home the house was filled with children's squeals and laughter. I think at one stage or another I had all the neighbourhood kids here because I wouldn't let my children outside because of the hot sun. They all had a wonderful time.

Look what happened to me this afternoon:


My sister had to go out and it was easier sans enfants, so I had my neice and nephew here as well! Little Lucas who is just over 2 months old was due for a nap, and I lent him my shoulder. Aint he sweet? I let him stretch out on a playmat before he fell asleep - here are my girls mauling him with kisses:


I've got some exciting news to share very very soon. Here's a little sneak peek: