Purple fresh Daisies

Hi, I've been sending Thinking of You cards lately, so I need to make some more. I also seem to be using purple a lot! If you asked me what my favourite colour was, I'd say blue!! It's funny how the need to use some colours just takes over, or maybe that's just with me LOL!!

I'm going to enter this card into the sketch challenge at Less is More. I struggle with a lot of sketches, but this one looked great, so versatile.

Here is the sketch. 

I'm also going to put another entry into the challenge at Addicted to CAS, where the code word is Flower. There's still time to enter. The DT have some fabulous creations for inspiration.

Materials used: Simon Says Stramp Fresh Daisies die; Stampin Up Fancy Fan embossing folder; twinkling H2Os; MFT labels die; Sentiment sticker  from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Purple butterfly & lattice

Hi, I just got back from a garage sale/market at one of the small town near where I live. I bought a fantastic yellow textured bottle, (made in Spain) for $1!! Hubby's not too sure why I'm so pleased with my purchase, but it'll be perfect for the paper flowers I am going to make. When I buy my tattered flowers die that is!!

Edited to add: My sister, who lives 3 hours away from me wants to see the yellow bottle! So, here it is. Not cleaned up or anything yet. I just love the shape and the detail!

I've made a couple of cards using the snippet leftovers from a mauve and shimmery white marshmallow coloured card I made recently. In that card I used the mauve cut outs, the frame was the leftover.

So, I thought I'd use it as a lattice for some greenery. The Madeira corner has an extra piece added on from another snippet, the flowers are also punched from scrappy bits.

I'm going to enter the snippets playground  at Pixie's Crafty Workshop, there are always some fantastic creations being made there!

I'm also entering the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Make it Monday is a new blog I just discovered. It's an Anything Goes theme each week and it's all about e sharing projects and finding inspiration. Sounds like another great playground to visit !

Materials used: Papertrey Ink Quatrefoil coverplate die; Memory Box Madeira corner die, 2 butterfly dies and Primo label die; EK Success & Punch Bunch flower punches; Twinkling H2os and vellum for butterfly; sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Horseshoe Star

Hi, my hubby has been making some hat and tack racks out of old horseshoes.

We don't have horses so he made me a slightly shorter, fancier one with a gold star as a feature. I love it! 

You can have a look here.

I thought one of his stars would look good with my woodgrain background stamp. I had to get him to help me with the star. I used thin metal sheet and my MFT western dies. Had to trim the loop and the end of the horseshoes off. It's glued together with glossy accents.

I'm going to enter the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp

Thanks for visiting :)

Papertrey April 2013 Blog Hop Challenge

Hi, I am entering this card into the April Blog Hop Challenge at Capture the Moment, where the theme is to use a tilted element in your project.

I wanted a soft pastel card, these colours remind me of marshmallows, which I love!

This die is so versatile. It can be used as a lattice frame or filled in.

Materials used: Papertrey Ink Coverplate Quatrefoil  die; Memory Box Primo label die; shimmer cardstock; sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Mother's Day Rose

Hi, only a few days holiday left now and it'll be back to work! Thought I'd better make more Mother's Day cards.

 I stamped this rose onto watercolour paper this time, with Versafine ink and clear embossed it. I used a tombow marker and a waterbrush to colour it. I often just use the marker without any water but think I like the shading better this way. 

I'm entering the challenge at Addicted to Stamps & More, where the theme is to use markers in your project.

At Addicted to CAS, the code word is flower.

The challenge at Scrapbook Boutique is to create a Mother's Day card and use inspiration from a delicious looking cupcake photo.

I was inspired by the luscious roses on the cakes and by the background patterns on the tray.

Materials used: Stampin Up rose stamp and embossing folder; Memory Box leaves die; Tombow marker; distress ink on leaves; sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting:)

Birthday Pop of Colour

Hi, I made this card using my background woodgrain folder again. I'll stop using it soon!! I used my moonglow mica powders for the banner. I was inspired by Nichole Heady, who has a great video on using Perfect Pearls with Versamark ink.

I'm entering the challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show, where the theme is to use a pop of colour.

I'm also entering the challenge at Simon Says Stamp, where the theme is anything goes.

The mica powders are quite shiny and irridescent IRL, it doesn't show too well in my photo. Here's a pic of some that shows the sheen.

Materials used: Darkroom Door woodgrain stamp; Maya Road banner stamps; Simon Says Stamp banner die; Mica powders; Versamark ink; Versafine ink & clear embossing powder for the background; Distress inks; sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Thinking of you...

Thinking of you..., a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, the Make it Monday challenge at Capture the Moment  this week, is to create a project using Perfect Pearls or any other metallic sheen powder. You also need to use a Papertrey Ink product. Nichole has a great video on using perfect Pearls with Versamark ink.

I bought Moonglow Mica powders a few years ago at a craft show. Used them a couple of times, but didn't really have much success. It was great to be inspired to get them out again! 

I stamped the grasses from the PTI With Sympathy set using Versamark ink. Then I brushed the mica powder over the image. The pic of my card doesn't show the shine too well, it's great IRL. Here's a better view of the sheen on another piece.

I wanted to create a rustic wall hanging, so I used my woodgrain background stamp again.

Edited to add: I sprayed a light coat of hairspray over the finished piece before making up my card. The mica powder tended to rub off a bit and this helped to seal it. 

Materials used: Papertrey Ink With Sympathy stamps; Darkroom Door woodgrain background stamp; Mpress shape die and MFT label die; Distress inks; Versamark ink; clear embossing powder for the background; Mica powders; sentiment sticker, brad and gold cord from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Road Trip

Road Trip, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've made this card to enter into the Travel or Cityscape challenge at Simon Says Stamp

I enjoyed fussy cutting the cars from the Hero Arts stamp. I'd hope there would be less traffic on a road trip too!!LOL. In a way its both a cityscape with the traffic and a travel card!

Materials used: Hero Arts Car stamp; Versa colour inks and clear embossing powder; Kaisercraft sentiment stamp; ribbon, brads, twine from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Weathered Woodgrain

Weathered Woodgrain, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I inked up another stamp that I had to have, but hadn't used yet!

I'm going to try a few cards with this stamp as I think it's going to be very versatile!

I stamped the bg in black Versafine and clear embossed. Then I distressed 

with weathered wood and broken china inks. The embossing has created a nice scratchy texture IRL!

I'm going to enter the challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show  where the theme is to create a project using a background stamp.

Materials used: Darkroom Door woodgrain and Penny Black Social Butterfly stamps; Distress inks; Tombows; Versafine ink and clear embossing powder; stickles on butterfly body; sentiment sticker, brads and cardstock from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Blue Butterfly

Blue Butterfly, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've made another birthday card for my stash, and will enter it into a couple of challenges.

There's a Birthday Bash theme at CAS-ual Fridays  to celebrate Michele's 45th birthday, Happy Birthday Michele! :)

At Flutterby Wednesdays, the theme is to use a sentiment on the front of your card, as well as a butterfly or a fairy.

Materials used: Provocraft Asian set of embossing folders; Memory Box Wonderland butterfly stamp; Prismacolor pencils; Versafine ink and irridescent embossing powder; ribbon, bling and sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Sympathy with flowers

Sympathy with flowers, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I made this card for a friend whose mother passed recently after a long illness. The sentiment is from a Papertrey Ink set. I really like the verses as sometimes it can be so difficult to think of what to say.

I'm going to enter a couple of challenges. The code word is Flowers at Addicted to CAS. The Dt has some fabulous creations.

Also, since I used snippets of vellum for the flowers and minuscule snippets for the leaves, I'm entering the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop. There is always so much variety in the playground, it's great fun!

Materials used: Memory Box branch, flower and leaves dies; Papertrey Ink stamp; Twinkling H2Os; SU Cloudy Day embossing folder; Distress ink; Kaisercraft pearl bling.

Thanks for visiting :)

Peony Pinwheel

Peony Pinwheel, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I did a heap of weeding near our chook pen this morning. The girls were happy as they can see out now and are getting a bit more sunshine into their yard. 

I found a matching Memory Box envelope for this card. The colour is Peony so I thought it sounded like a good title for the card lol!

The dp was a freebie my sister gave me and it was white on one side. I sponged it with Brilliance Pearlescent Poppy ink, it's a pretty good match I think.

I'm going to enter the Birthday Bash challenge at CASual Fridays

Materials used: Stampin Up pinwheel die; Memory Box label die; Tiny Bubbles embossing folder; toothpick; black tombow and glossy accents; Brilliance ink; sentiment sticker and brad from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Man's Best Friend

Man's Best Friend a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I made this card for one of my son's birthdays. The photo was taken of our dog Jasper when he was nearly 1 year old. That was a couple of years ago now, but he was such a cute puppy. One of his ears is still floppy!

I'm entering the following challenges:

  Addicted to CAS, where the code word is Friend.

  CASology where the cue card is word. Also, because I've used snippets to layer my photos and cut my letters from, I'm entering the snippets playground over at  Pixie's Crafty Workshop

Materials used: photos printed on matte paper; Memory Box alphabet dies; Stately embossing folder; cardstock and snippets from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Baby Boy

Baby Boy, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I know of a few babies due to be born soon, so I thought I'd better start a few cards for the occasion!

I've used Papertrey Ink's Bundle of Love stamps for this card, and fussy cut the images. I coloured the stork with Prismacolor pencils. The oval is sponged with antique linen distress ink and the ink for the baby and the letters is Versacolor.

Ashley at Capture the Moment has a tutorial on embossing alphabet and numeral diecuts. She has some great ideas! My letters are nice and shiny IRL.

There's a Make It Monday challenge on the blog. The theme this week is to use embossed alpha diecuts and at least 1 Papertrey Ink product on your project.

I'm also going to enter the challenge at  Addicted to Stamps and Morewhere the theme is an easy one...Anything Goes!

Now I need to make one for a girl just in case!!

Materials used: Papertrey Ink Bundle of Love stamp set; Spellbinders oval & scalloped oval dies; Memory Box alphabet dies; Swiss dots embossing folder; Prismacolor pencils; distress ink; Versacolor ink pad; Versamark ink and clear embossing powder; stickles.

Thanks for visiting :)

Gold & Green Butterfly

Gold & Green Butterfly, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've used a remnant of Japanese paper for the background in this card. I bought a few sheets at a craft show in Brisbane a couple of years ago. I've used some of all of them and thought I'd better use up the rest!

I'm going to enter the snippets playground over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop. As well as the Japanese paper remnant, I've used snippets of card for the top of the butterfly and the label.

I'm also entering a new challenge for me, Flutter by Wednesdays.  It's an open challenge this week, as long as you use a butterfly somewhere in your project.

Materials used: Japanese paper; Memory Box butterfly and label dies; vellum; twinkling H2Os; sentiment sticker and bling from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Stop Wait Go!

Stop Wait Go!, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've made another card using my VW beetle stamp. I fussy cut it this time.

I'm going to enter the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

Here is the sketch. There are some fabulous cards from the DT and lots of great entries.

Materials used: Kanban stamp; Prismacolor pencils; Heavy Duty embossing folder; twine, bling and sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Herbie the Love Bug!

Herbie the Love Bug!, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I made this card to enter the One Layer Challenge over at Less is More . The theme is to create a project inspired by a film.

I loved the film the Love Bug. I even had a VW beetle before I had my 2 boys.

This card almost didn't get put up. I've made a few and I'm still not really happy with it. One layer is not very forgiving! I did have a lot of fun making it though!!

Materials used: Kanban stamp; Lily Bee Designs flower stamp; Prismacolor pencils; Kaisercraft sentiment stamp; stickers from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Lacy Dragonfly

Lacy Dragonfly, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I made this card today for a couple of challenges. 

At Simon Says Stamp & Show,  the theme is Flight.

I'm going to add another entry to CAS-ual Fridays, where the theme is All that Glitters.

Materials used: Penny Black stamp; Versafine ink and clear embossing powder; Spellbinders oval and lacy oval dies; Divine Swirls embossing folder; Memory Box Primo label die; Tombows; Kindy Glitz; bling & sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Pink sparkly flower

Pink sparkly flower, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I'm re-doing a card that I made almost a year ago, before I was blogging. My design is pretty much the same but I like these leaves better. I used my MS frond punch to cut them out of green snippets.

I've added more kindy glitz to the petal edges too, so that I can enter the All that Glitters challenge at

 CAS-ual Fridays

I'm also going to enter the April Showers/Spring Flowers challenge at  Simon Says Stamp

Materials used: Sizzix dots & flourish embossing folder; Paper flowers that I bought at Spotlight; Memory Box Pastry Label die; Frond punch; Kindy Glitz; bling, ribbon and sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Mothers Day Flowers

Mothers Day Flowers, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I had fun painting with my distress inks for this card.

I'm going to enter the challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is April Showers or Spring Flowers.

Scrapbook Boutique is having a Mother's Day challenge, with a delicious looking cupcake photo for inspiration.

I thought the pattern of roses on the tray was a pretty good match for this Hero Arts Large Flower Background stamp.

Materials used: Hero Arts stamp; watercolour paper; versamark and white embossing powder; distress ink; vellum, ribbon and sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting :)

Annabelle Stamps Blog Hop

 

 

 

Hi,  Annabelle Stamps is hosting a blog hop showcasing one of their fabulous products, sprinkles. I love bling and the sprinkles are available in the most gorgeous colours! The DT has made some amazing cards to show how versatile Sprinkles are.

Revamp of Thank you Pot Plants

Revamp of Thank you Pot Plants, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've done a remake of my thank you pot plant card. I'm not so sure that it's still as CAS with the addition of the bling under the sentiment, but I like it better!!

It was the last day of school here for 2 weeks, so I'm looking forward to the break and to making cards!!

Thanks for visiting :)

Thankyou pot plants

Thank you pot plants, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've made a quick card for a couple of challenges. The last week of school is more frantic than usual in the office, so I'm looking forward to more time to play in the holidays!!

At CAS-ual Fridays, the theme is to create a project using chevrons and flowers.

At CAS on Sunday the theme is Thank You.

Materials used: Craft Queen tiny paper flowers painted with twinkling H2Os; MS branch punch; pot punch; MBossabilities So Trendy embossing folder; PTI linen canvas impression plate for the texture on the pots; sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting today :)

Black & Lime Flowers

Black & Lime Flowers, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I made a few of these buckle diecuts at my sister's recently. I wasn't sure how I'd use them, but I thought they made great flowers on this lime card.

I coloured the white diecuts black with my tombow, and the small flowers are punched out of snippets of white and lime.

I'm entering 3 challenges.

At Less is More it's a colour challenge using lime & black.

Using snippets means I can visit the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

And the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog is turning 4.  Definitely something to celebrate!

Materials used: Memory Box buckle die; EK Success flower punch; Memory Box Key Lime card base; Tombow marker; brads and sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting today :)

Stone Flower Birthday

Stone Flower Birthday, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I've used another stamp that I had to have but hadn't inked! Hero Arts Stone Flower.

I've used a designer paper for the background and coloured the image with distress ink. I mixed some of the colours with Perfect Pearls Mist to add a bit of sheen in places.

I'm going to enter 3 challenges. Hero Arts  has an April contest where the theme is to create a project "Just for Her" and a sketch challenge.

Over at Simon Says Stamp & Show   it's an Anything Goes Challenge.

The challenge over at Crazy for CAS  is to use embellishments on your project. I added a large bling dot to my flower centre.

Materials used: Hero Arts Stone Flower stamp; Distress ink refills; Ranger nibs; Perfect Pearls mist; designer paper; bling & sentiment sticker from stash.

Thanks for visiting today :)

Blue Dragonfly

Blue Dragonfly, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I decided after using some of my newer things, that I'd make a card with one of my oldest stamps, (well my sister's oldest stamp that I've been borrowing on and off since around the 1990s!!) Thanks Mo!

The dragonfly is a Lucys stamp. I stamped and embossed in gold, then fussy cut with a blade. I put stickles on top to glitz it up.

I'm going to enter the challenge at the Simon Says Stamp  Blog where they are celebrating their 4th birthday. Congratulations!

At Addicted to Stamps & More, the challenge is to create an Anything Goes project, so long as its CAS.

Materials used: Lucys Stamp; ivine wirls embossing folder; gold ink & embossing powder; stickles; Memory Box Primo label die; sentiment sticker from stash.
Thanks for visiting today :)

Blue & Green Butterfly

Blue & Green Butterfly, a photo by cathroff on Flickr.

Hi, I only managed to get one card done today, not quite what I planned, Oh well. I've used another butterfly image that I just had to have, but had't inked up yet!!

I stamped and embossed the butterfly and coloured with my tombows, dark blue, light blue and sea green. I added a touch of black rainbow kindy glitz to the spots and body. The colours don't look as defined as they do IRL.

I'm entering the challenge over at CAS(E) this Sketch.

Here is the sketch.

I trawled through my snippets of cardstock to find some to match the butterfly, so I'm also able to enter the Snippets Playground over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop too!

Materials used: Penny Black Social Butterfly stamp; Tombows; Kindy Glitz; cardstock & sentiment sticker from stash.
Thanks for looking :)