Golden Happy Heart...

Hiya!

I'm so happy to be back playing along with the ColourQ Royal Court this week! We have a great combo this week, perfect for ringing in the New Year...

I was keen to play with some new goodies, some from Convention and another from the Whole Lot of Love promotion going on at the moment, so with that in mind, I came up with this...

I embossed the Flowerfull heart with gold embossing powder and die-cut using the hearts framelits. The doily in the background was cut from a gold foil sheet with the sizzlits doilies die, and I layered a dsp circle over the top. The sentiment was embossed in black and underneath I have used some new sneak peek products from the Spring/Summer catty coming at the end of Jan - gold washi tape and sequins.

I used the fab sketch from Sketchbook Saturday as my starting point for the layout...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Flowerfull, A Dozen Thoughts
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Winter Frost dsp, Modern Medley dsp, Whisper White, Basic Black, Gold Foil
Accessories: Watercolour washi tape, gold sequins, White organza ribbon, neutrals candy dots, gold & black embossing powder
Tools: Delicate Doilies sizzlit die, 2 1/2" circle punch, hearts framelits

Make sure you check out the glimmery creations from the rest of the Royal Court this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

I'm back!

Hiya!

Well I'm back in the UK after a lovely long holiday in Australia - and I'm able to get crafting again! I wasn't able to play along with the Colour Q challenges while I was away (I'll be back playing along with the Royal Court on Tuesday!) but in order to get my stamping mojo started again I thought I'd play along with this week's challenge, as well as the sketch from PPA this week...

I wanted to play with a couple of sets I got at Convention (Gorgeous Grunge and Hello Lovely) that I didn't get much time to use before I went away... I put the colours together and came up with this...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Perfect Blend, Gorgeous Grunge, Hello Lovely
Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Midnight Muse
Paper: Retro Fresh dsp, Sweater Weather dsp, Baked Brown Sugar, Midnight Muse, Whisper White, Coastal Cabana
Accessories: Neutrals candy dots

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

A handmade wedding...

Hiya!

I'm still in Australia, and today is going to be a hot one!! Luckily, we are at my parents' house which is in a coastal area so the sea breeze cools things down a little - still going to be around 33C though, so we're having a pretty quiet day! I thought I'd take the opportunity to drop in and share a few pics from my sister's wedding - namely the handmade bits and pieces that were my contribution to the day...

First up is the card suitcase...

Rachael (the sister getting married) had bought some pretty wrapping paper, which Bethany (another sister) used to cover the inside of the suitcase. I then made the tag banner by raiding my Mum's craft stash and combining it with the Build a Banner kit from the Autumn/Winter catty that I brought with me. I used the letter stencils and sponge daubers on the tags, then added some embellishments from my Mum's supplies.

Next up is the 'thank you' banner... You can see how it was arranged in this pic:

And yes, that is me in the mirror taking the photo lol!

Here's a couple of close ups of the banner...

This is the Build a Banner kit in action again - this time using the banners in the kit, along with the letter and background stencils. I used Crushed Curry and Pink Pirouette ink (to fit with the wedding colour scheme) and added some fussy cut flowers from the same paper that was used to line the card suitcase.

The last little bit of paper craft to show you is the place cards...

This photo shows the lovely table clusters that we set up for the Reception, along with one of the placecards - a combination of Midnight Muse and Crushed Curry (my sister Rebecca hand wrote the names with pen and ink - something she is very good at!).

Here's a shot of the bride & her bridesmaids, which illustrates the colour scheme in action...

And finally, a photo of the bride and groom...

It was a lovely day and I'm really happy for my little sis and her new hubby!

I'm looking forward to being able to get back to creating with my Stampin' Up goodies when I get home and I shall be sharing them with you as soon as I can...

Thanks for reading through this far - I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with family & friends and may God's love bring you joy and peace as you reflect on this most special of seasons.

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Stippled Gingham Thanks

Hiya!

I've managed to find some time over in Australia to blog and so I'm popping in with my ColourQ card this week - I just love this week's colour combo!!!

When I saw the two different blues I knew I wanted to use the two-step flower set, Stippled Blossoms, so that's where I started...

I stamped the flowers using Pool Party ink first, then Bermuda Bay, while the leaves were stamped with Old Olive: the first time using second generation ink (stamped off once) then the second time stamping as normal. These were all cut out using my trusty paper snips and layered on the doily. The gingham panel was created by inking up my Stripes embossing folder with Real Red ink then putting some Whisper White card in the folder and running it through my Big Shot. I did this again, turning the piece of card 90 degrees, so when it comes out of the folder it looks like gingham! I'm on a bit of a Gorgeous Grunge kick at the moment so I couldn't resist stamping a few splatters in Pool Party in the card base. I then scattered some rhinestones across the card and added some Dazzling Details to the centre of the rose for some more sparkle (very pretty IRL).

The gingham part was inspired by the current Friday Mashup challenge to use gingham...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Stippled Blossoms, Gorgeous Grunge, Simply Sketched
Ink: Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Old Olive, Real Red
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, doily
Accessories: rhinestones, dazzling details
Tools: Stripes EF, Thinlets card dies (label)

Even though I'm on holiday, I've still been playing with paper... so far for my sister's wedding I've made over 140 place cards and order of services, a card suitcase and a thank you banner... and a couple of cards using my Mum's stash! I'm going to try and take a few pics of the card suitcase and banner and pop by next week to share them - I was quite pleased with how they turned out!

Make sure you pop over to see what the rest of the Royal Court have created to inspire you this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Tangerine Tag It

Hello!

This week's ColourQ challenge has got some fun colours for us to work with...

I wanted to use some new stamp sets we get at Convention and these colours seemed to me to be perfect for a boy's card, so that's the direction I went in...

Fun hey?! The main image was stamped with markers, with two of the balloons stamped again and popped up. The tag behind was stamped with Tangerine Tango and one of the Gorgeous Grunge stamps. The little metal clip embellishment comes in silver, but because I'd used some gold foil card I decided to cover the embellishment with gold embossing powder, which I thought turned out pretty well!

I used this week's Fab Friday sketch for my layout...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Tag It, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Tangerine Tango, SU markers, versamark
Paper: Sweater Weather dsp, Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
Accessories: Naturals button, Tangerine bakers twine, essentials hardware clips
Tools: Chalk Talk framelits, Finishing Touches edgelits

Make sure you check out the amazing creations from the rest of the Royal Court!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Amy... Undefined!

Hiya!

I'm popping in quickly to share something cool we were introduced to at Stampin' Up's Convention over the weekend...

Yep, we can now make our very own stamps using this fun kit! When I first heard of this, I wasn't convinced (I mean, we have a whole catty of stamps that I want... need!) but at Convention we were lucky enough to be given a little kit to have a go at ourselves, and is was SO much fun! I thought I'd show you the result of my creation...

I thought it would be great to have something to personalise the back of my cards, and with this handy dandy kit, I now do! Would you like to find out more about this cool new product? Just click here to see them in my online shop. I'd love to see what you create with your very own carved stamps!

Just to let you know, I'm leaving for a holiday to Australia this afternoon and won't be back until the end of December! It's my sister's wedding on the 7th of Dec and then we're staying until Boxing Day so we're having a nice long break. I've made a couple of cards for the next two ColourQ challenges, but after that it'll be quiet until I get back... Hope you all have a great month ahead!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Soft Pumpkin Thanks

Hiya!

This week's colours at ColourQ are so soft and pretty...

I pulled out an old favourite - Everything Eleanor - for this one...

I also used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch for my layout...

The focal point was created by stamping the label with Soft Sky on Whisper White then cutting out with my paper snips. I die-cut a little doily and then stamped the sentiment from Petite Pairs on white, punched out and layered over the doily. The flowers were stamped with Pumpkin Pie on white and cut out with my paper snips. I stamped the Crumb Cake panel with the swirl in Whisper White ink, and added some ribbon and candy dots to finish.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Petite Pairs
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Paper: Crumb Cake, Whisper White
Accessories: Subtles candy dots, Summer Starfruit ribbon
Tools: 1 1/4" circle punch, Delicate Doilies sizzlit

Make sure you check out the rest of the Royal Court's creations this week - they are totally fab as usual!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Lovely Sunset Thoughts

Hello!

It's time for another ColourQ challenge and this week we have a lovely autumnal combo to play with...

These colours reminded me of a sunset... so that's the direction I went for this...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Lovely as a tree, A Dozen Thoughts, Summer Silhouettes
Ink: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Cherry Cobbler, Rich Razzleberry, Versamark
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Watercolour
Accessories: White EP, Early Espresso EP, white chalk pen
Tools: Ovals framelits, piercing tool & template

Make sure you check out the rest of the Royal Court's fab designs this week! I'm keeping it short and sweet tonight cos Blogger has been playing up and I need to go to bed!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy

Real Coastal Mojo

Hiya!

Sorry about being pretty quiet on my blog recently - I've been so busy getting ready for my big trip to Australia in a couple of weeks with overtime at work and a bunch of Stampin' Up events, I've not had much time to create and blog! Well this afternoon I decided to take some time out to play along with a couple of challenges I had my eye on: the FAB Mojo Monday sketch as well as the gorgeous colours over at Create with Connie & Mary...

My two favourite colours are red and aqua so I knew I had to play with this colour combo! Initially I was thinking of a Christmas card but then I decided to play around with some flower sets and punches...

The flowers were created using a combination of Mixed bunch and Flower Shop stamps and punches, with a Simply Pressed clay flower in the middle of the larger one (dyed with Coastal Cabana ink). I used some Winter Frost dsp for the vertical banner and stamped a flourish on the Coastal Cabana card in the background to add further detail. I pierced around the tag using my piercing tool and template and added a lovely Smoky Slate chevron ribbon bow to finish.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Mixed Bunch, Flower Shop, Oh Hello, Flowering Flourishes
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Smoky Slate, Versamark
Paper: Winter Frost dsp, Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Simply Pressed Clay, Smoky Slate chevron ribbon
Tools: Blossom punch, Pansy punch, Squares framelits, Piercing tool, mat & template

Thanks for stopping by today!

x Amy x

ColourQ Coffee

Hiya!

It's time for another ColourQ challenge - check out this week's pretty combo...

I just added the fun Perfect Blend stamp set to my collection and I thought this combo would be a great chance to get it inky...

Why is it that a relatively simply idea in my head turns more and more complicated when I make it lol?! The top coffee cup was embossed on So Saffron & Whisper White card as well as some Sweater Weather dsp with Early Espresso EP, then cut out and paper pieced (I also stamped the greeting on the So Saffron piece). The cup behind was done in the same way but instead of embossing, I just stamped it with Early Espresso ink. The dsp behind is more Sweater Weather, cut into a banner shape and stamped with the swirl from Everything Eleanor using Early Espresso ink. The piece behind is some Cajun Craze core'dinations card, embossed with the Mosaic embossing folder and sanded lightly. I added some lace tape, Early Espresso ribbon, So Saffron candy dots and some punched chevrons to finish.

The sketch is from this week's Friday Mashup (I thought I'd play along to let them know I haven't forgotten about them lol!)...

Make sure you check out the fab creations from the rest of the Royal Court this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

ColourQ Hydrangea

Hiya!

This week at the ColourQ we have a soft and pretty colour combo inspired by this lovely patchwork quilt...

Now I didn't have most of these colours as Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss and Lovely Lilac have all retired and I generally tend to use just current product, so I used Crisp Cantaloupe and Wisteria Wonder instead of Peach Parfait and Lovely Lilac, and I made my own version of Kiwi Kiss using a mixture of Old Olive and Summer Starfruit reinkers!

When I saw the lavender/green combination I thought of the beautiful Best of Flowers set - thankfully the wonderful Claire who lives round the corner from me was kind enough to lend me hers so I could play! I used my 'kiwi' ink mixture to colour the leaves and stem with a blender pen (I also coloured some Modern Medley paper with the ink then cut into banners using the Itty Bitty Banner framelits) and coloured the flower with Wisteria Wonder with a touch of Marina Mist. I added a bunch of faux stitching with a Basic Grey marker and my favourite embellishments: ribbon and candy dots!

I used this week's Paper Players sketch for my layout...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Best of Flowers, Express Yourself
Ink: Stazon, Old Olive, Summer Starfruit, Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, Basic grey marker
Paper: Modern Medley dsp, Venetian Romance dsp, Basic Grey, Naturals White, Watercolour, Whisper White
Accessories: Wisteria Wonder chevron ribbon, subtles candy dots
Tools: Thinlets Labels dies, Itty Bitty Banner dies

Make sure you check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the Royal Court this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Creating Coastal Cakes

Hiya!

Today is the last Friday that I am on the Friday Mashup design team... and I'm the hostess this week! I'm so grateful to Holly for giving me the opportunity to be a part of such a fab team for the last year, and I'll be sure to pop back and play along with their future challenges where I can. On my last week I thought it would be fun to use one of my favourite colour combos from the SU catty...

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project with the colors "Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate & Basic Grey."
2. Create a project with a "Cake."
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project "with a Cake using the colors above."

How fab does that cake look?? For my card I used the wonderful Eastern Elegance dsp (my inspiration for the colours this week) as well as the Sketched Birthday set that I borrowed from Claire...

I used this week's Seize the Sketch challenge to help me with the layout...

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Sketched Birthday
Ink: Stazon, Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate
Paper: Eastern Elegance dsp, Basic Grey, Coastal Cabana, Whisper White
Accessories: Smoky Slate chevron ribbon, dazzling details
Tools: Scallop circle punch, paper piercing tool & template

Make sure you check out the rest of the design team's fab creations this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Hello Dahlia!

Hiya!

It's time for another ColourQ challenge and this week we've got another fun combo...

I went floral again this week as I've been itching to play some more with the fabulous Regarding Dahlia set and I thought the green & orange combo would work well with some paper piecing...

I have just realised that I misread the colours and used Pumpkin Pie instead of Tangerine Tango - duh! Shows the state of my brain at the moment... I'm so busy I don't know if I'm coming or going half the time lol! Anyway, the flower was stamped three times on some Quatrefoil dsp and embossed with black EP, then I cut out three different layers, coloured with a blender pen and matching ink then layered up with dimensional glue. The leaves are from Joyful Christmas, stamped on Epic Day dsp and also embossed in black EP and cut out.

I created the tag using one of the Chalk Talk framelits and stamped and embossed with black EP using one of the sentiments from Regarding Dahlia. The Wisteria Wonder panel was created using the Top Note die and stamped with one of the Flowering Flourishes using White craft ink.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Regarding Dahlia, Flowering Flourishes
Ink: Versamark, White craft, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Quatrefoil dsp, Epic Day dsp, Wisteria Wonder, Basic Black, Whisper White
Accessories: Silver 1/8" ribbon, Black EP
Tools: Top Note die, Chalk Talk framelits

Make sure you check out the wonderful creations of the rest of the Royal Court this week - you're sure to be inspired!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Orange Maple Leaves

Hi there!

Just popping in quickly to share my Friday Mashup card with you... It's been a long & busy week and I'm pretty tired so I'm gonna keep it short and sweet! Liliana is bringing us an easy challenge with lots of possibilities...

I used some more of the Magnificent Maple leaves I had stamped at a training event recently as well as some partially put-together card bits and pieces also from the training (thanks Jane for the fab ideas!!).

I thought this would work quite well as a masculine thank you card (never have enough of those!)

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Magnificent Maple, Hello Lovely
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango
Paper: Sweater Weather dsp, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Tangerine Tango, Crushed Curry, Very Vanila
Accessories: Naturals designer buttons
Tools: Apothecary Accents framelits, Oval Accent bigz die, Labels thinlets collection

Make sure you check out the design team's leafy creations this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Thankful Summer Garden

Hiya!

It's time for another great ColourQ challenge and this week there's a fun and quirky table to inspire us...

Lol! I wanted to use these colours with a floral image as I thought the pink/orange combo would work well with green for the leaves... I browsed through the SU catty several times formulating (or half formulating!) some ideas... and eventually went with this one...

I kept seeing the idea of the black die-cut lettering over the top of some flowers in my head, and Summer Silhouettes fit the bill perfectly. The leaves/stems were stamped with Old Olive onto Whisper White, then I added the Strawberry Slush flowers and the little Pumpkin Pie ones. The larger blooms were stamped separately, cut out and popped over the top (by the way, Stampin' Up paper snips are seriously fab... I couldn't find mine when I made this card {read: table was too messy and I couldn't be bothered tidying it up...} and so I used some other scissors - so much more difficult!!). The 'for you' is from Itty Bitty Banners, die-cut and popped up with dimensionals. You might just be able to see that the 'thankful' lettering is shiny and textured - I achieved that by painting it with Crystal Effects while it was on my silicone mat, then adhered it to the card... really striking IRL. I finished things off with some faux stitching around the edge and a few dabs of Dazzling Details to the middle of the small flowers.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Strawberry Slush, Stazon
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Details
Tools: Expressions thinlets, Itty Bitty Banner framelits

Make sure you check out the fun creations of the rest of the Royal Court this week!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

PS: This is a non-standard sized card (6 x 3 1/2")... I have a new toy arriving today that will help me make an envelope for this hopefully... more details on that soon!

Marina Maple Mojo

Hiya!

I took some time out last night to make a card for a couple of challenges: Mojo Monday's sketch and the colours from Stampin' Royalty...

I had stamped out a bunch of the Maple leaf single stamp from the Autumn/Winter catty at a team training event a few weeks ago and some were in Tangerine Tango so I started with them and ended up with this...

The maple leaf was stamped once on Tangerine Tango and again with Tangerine Tango onto Very Vanilla card, then cut out. The Marina Mist panel is core'dinations card embossed with the Alphabet Press EF and sanded lightly. The Basic Grey panel was stamped with one of the Gorgeous Grunge stamps (becoming a bit addictive!). The sentiment is from Hello Lovely, stamped with Tangerine Tango ink on Very Vanilla card and trimmed out with my paper snips. I added some Basic Black chevron ribbon and a little metal hardware clip as well as some Basic Grey candy dots to finish.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Magnificent Maple, Hello Lovely, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Basic Black
Paper: Marina Mist core'dinations, Basic Black, Basic Grey, Naturals Ivory, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Basic Black chevron ribbon, Neutrals candy dots, essentials hardware clips
Tools: Alphabet press EF, Circles framelits, distressing tool

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Melon Butterfly Thanks

Hiya!

I'm popping in quickly with my Friday Mashup card this week, using the sketch that Amanda has for us...

Here's your Mashup Challenge:

1. Create a project using "the Sketch."
2. Create a "Spooky" project.
3. Or Mash it Up and create a "Spooky project using the above sketch. "

I didn't mash it this week as I don't do Halloween or spooky things, so I made a thank you card - which I always need more of! I wanted to use washi tape because of the strips on the sketch so I took out the Gingham Garden washi tape and took the colours from there...

I created the embossed background by embossing the Pretty Print embossing folder on Melon Mambo core'dinations cardstock then sanded.

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Blooming with Kindness, Everything Eleanor
Ink: Melon Mambo, Night of Navy
Paper: Melon Mambo core'dinations, Quatrefancy dsp, Whisper White, Night of Navy, vellum
Accessories: Gingham Garden washi tape, Brights candy dots, Dazzling Details
Tools: Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, 2 1/2" circle punch, Large scallop edgelit, sanding block

Make sure you check out the rest of the inspiration from the design team!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Raspberry Butterfly Frame

Hello!

I had a chance to play with a couple of challenges on my day off yesterday (much needed chill-out time!): the gorgeous colours from Just Add Ink and Chupa's fabulous Sketchbook Saturday layout...

And here's what I came up with...

I must say, I'm lovin' how this one turned out! It's got a few of my fave things at the moment: Regarding Dahlias (stamped with Coastal Cabana on Sahara Sand), Gorgeous Grunge, butterflies and the Dictionary Background stamp (stamped on the Raspberry Ripple frame). Adding a few pearls finished things off!

Here's the recipe:
Stamps: Regarding Dahlias, Dictionary background, Petite Pairs, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Raspberry Ripple, Sahara Sand
Paper: Eastern Elegance dsp, Sahara Sand, Raspberry Ripple, Coastal Cabana, Very Vanilla, Naturals Ivory, Vellum cardstock
Accessories: Pearls
Tools: Squares framelits, Hearts a Flutter framelits, Beautiful Wings embosslits, Elegant butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x