Glittery card

I have a tutorial up on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog showing how I made this card:

The most difficult card to photograph! I used Spellbinders dies to mask each area before sprinkling with different coloured glitters. Fun technique, and not too messy until someone sneezes LOL.

Thanks for looking!

Using Spellbinders dies to make a stencil

This is a layout I put together using Spellbinders dies, Bazzill cardstock and some Darkroom Door stamps:

I used the Grateful Lattice die to create a stencil, and applied Crackle Texture paste through it.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog. Thanks for dropping in!

Stylish Radiant Rectangles

Here's a simple yet stylish card using Spellbinders Radiant Rectangles:

The shoe is by Stamp It and the words are from the 1920's Chic set by Darkroom Door. The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for looking!

Framed Fridge Magnets

A busy family means lots of notes going back and forth. In an attempt to keep things a little more organised, I made these magnets with Spellbinders dies - now we're sorted!

We can claim one door each for reminders to and from each other. Ever so striking in black with red and yellow!

Strong magnets are needed (our children take after me - they are prolific note writers!):
 

The full materials list is on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.  Thanks for looking!

Simple and Sparkly

A very simple card, made extra special with a layer of glitter paper:

The shapes are Spellbinders In'spire dies, and the full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for dropping in!

Butterfly for hope

Butterflies are a symbol of hope, and I had occasion to make this card of encouragement for a male:

The butterfly body is stuck down within the frame, with the wings allowed to hang outside it.  Here's a side view:

 The word is from a Darkroom Door wordstrip, and the background is embossed using one of the new 3D embossing folders from Spellbinders. The detail you can achieve is amazing!

Whoever said butterflies can't be used on masculine cards? 

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog. Thanks for dropping in today.

Modern Layout

Great balls of fun! These photos were taken on my Hipstamatic app on my iPhone a couple of years ago at the Dandenong Show. The children were inside those inflatable balls in a pool of water. Talk about almost setting off a panic attack - water, confined space, no air.....add fire and a boogey man and I would have run off screaming! The children thoroughly enjoyed it - completely oblivious to my hyperventilating in the corner LOL.

I kept the layout simple and bright, and added little die cuts here and there for interest:

I've had my square Spellbinders dies for ages, and I still use them all the time. Love my basic shapes!

Here's a side view:

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for dropping by - have a great weekend!

A Vintage Card using Radiant Rectangles dies

I just love all the intricate layers I can cut using Radiant Rectangles set of dies by Spellbinders. Here's a multi layer card making the most of this set's capabilities:

The lovely photograph is from a 12 x 12 sheet by Pion, and the flowers are I am Roses. It's ok to use flowers on a card featuring a boy, isn't it?

The full materials list can be found on Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for looking!

Mixed Media Charlie Chaplin Card

I'm totally loving the mixed media craze, and I'm always looking for ways to incorporate the bits and pieces I create into cards.  This card has a layer of a mixed media background I made under the clean stamped layer:

Texture paste, acrylic paints and Glimmermist mmmmm...... and you can almost guarantee there will be a Bazzill cardstock to match any colour I can come up with! The layers were cut with Spellbinders Modern Stationery dies, and the stamps are from Deep Red.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

A birthday card with a view

Love how this card turned out! The gorgeous Spellbinders window opens up to a Gelatos® background:

Full details are on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog. Thanks for looking!

Spellbinders Create a Flower Peg

I love decorating wooden pegs and turning them into fridge magnets. They make bills and other demanding notes (sign this, buy this, do this, make this) a little more palatable.

The new Create a Flower dies from Spellbinders allow you to create a number of different flowers (daisies, irises, lilies etc). Each petal on this aster was painstakingly glued (with a toothpick!) onto the backing piece. Those who know me will understand this was no easy task for someone as impatient as me LOL. I love how it turned out however, so all that work was worth it!

The full details and material list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for stopping by today!

You make me smile layout

The photo on this layout was of a perfectly sunny day in Sydney last year. I wanted the layout to be bright and sunny too:

The dies are Spellbinders of course, and I layered the yellow die cut over the grey to create a drop shadow look. This technique is great for when a little dimension is required, but the layout has to remain flattish because it has to go in an album.
 

The bottom right hand corner has some brickwork (gesso through a stencil) and the gorgeous Spellbinders Bicycle die.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for dropping by! Having you here sure does make me smile :)

Faux tile technique with Spellbinders dies

There's a tutorial up on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog to show you how I came up with this background:

Using a Spellbinders die and embossing folder, and coating it all in X-press Graph-X Triple-Tac adhesive. (I will admit, at this point, I deliberated about changing the title of this post to Faux Tile Tac-nique......yup.....you're welcome).

This is the card I made using the background:

Pop on over to the blog to see it all stepped out. Thanks for coming!

Birds on a Wire on a Gelatos background

The new Birds on a Wire dies from Spellbinders look fabulous in black on a coloured background. 

Here they are on cards with backgrounds made from Faber-Castell Gelatos on canvas paper:

The shimmer that can only just be seen here in this pic comes from Perfect Pearls mists.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.  Thanks for dropping in!

Spellbinders Silhouette Card

I've always pictured a silhouette in black on a light background. With this card, I wanted to play around with colour a little (plus my new set of Gelatos was screaming to be used on something!).  Here's the silhouette in green:

I used the Gelatos to create the background, then cut the gorgeous silhouette shape from a white panel.  I used another Spellbinders die (Sprigs) to cut some greenery to add behind the flowers. This card is ready to have a sentiment attached in that space between the white panel and the flowers whenever I'm ready to give it away. The style and colour makes it suitable for lots of different occasions.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Wreath Thank You Card

Here's a thank you card with a bit of a formal look:

I used the wreath die from the new Spellbinders In'Spire Silhouette die set to frame the words I cut from sparkly glitter paper. I used the French Harmony background die to emboss here - I quite like the effect.

Thanks for dropping in, and for the full materials list please pop over to the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Boo! Baby girl layout.

I used some Lyra watercolour crayons on the white Bazzill cardstock to help extend the background paper onto the centre piece:

I cut a few flowers and pennants with Spellbinders dies, and I got some ink and a brush out to do the lettering.

I had some messy fun putting this layout together! Messy fun is exactly how I'd describe my daughter Elouise too LOL.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.  Thanks for dropping by!

Life is Good Card

This is a card to commemorate those times when you look around and realise that with all of its ups and downs, life really is wonderful:

That's beautifully textured Bazzill cardstock, with some Darkroom Door loveliness stamped in aqua. The Spellbinders butterfly was cut in several shades of blue and stitched together so that just a hint of colour is showing.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have reason to celebrate life this weekend!

Sweet girly card

Here's a sweet girly card incorporating all my current loves: a polaroid frame and banner made with Spellbinders dies, some ink spatter and a teeny wooden veneer bird:

The full details can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for dropping in!

Arched Wedding Card

Being a lover of Gothic architecture, I thought I'd make a wedding card with a fun twist:

Arched, brickwork and some stained glass, all achieved with Spellbinders dies and embossing folders. The sentiment is Paper Smooches and the patterned paper and kraft cardstock is by Bazzill.

The full materials list can be found on the Down Under Direct Inspiration blog.

Thanks for looking!