Sunday, November 27, 2011

Christmas card time

I am sure that everyone out in blogland has been far more productive than I have been, and has a lovely stack of Christmas cards already made. I have been putting it off for ages, and almost gave myself heart failure yesterday when I realised it's December at the end of this week!

So I've started. Here's my card for this afternoon using lots of bright colours-



 I've once again used my Wild Rose Studio stamp - Milton with Sleigh. He's been coloured with copics and I've used some baker's twine and red wool to tie a silver Christmas tree charm to the card. A few blue crystals, some Kindy Glitz glue glitter to add some sparkle and ta-da!

Entered into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs - Metal
Poodles Parlour - Christmas
Sew Many Cards - Twine
Crazy 4 Challenges - Snow
Meljen's Designs - Twine
Cupcake Inspirations - photo inspiration
(I used all the colours (brown, blue, red, pink & green), used a snowy image, and added the Christmas tree shaped charm)

Until next time,
Tracey
x




The Squirrel and The Fox - DT card

It's time for another challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox, and this time we are hoping to inspire you all with this photo:


These stunning trees are Jacarandas, and they bloom every year around this time in many places in Australia. I love them, for their blossoms paint the landscape a most brilliant purple. Seeing their vibrant blossoms truly lifts my spirits every time - they are so pretty.

There's another reason to love Jacaranda trees - for in the words of a famous Aussie bush Christmas carol 

"when the bloom of the Jacaranda tree is here
Christmas time is near"

and I love Christmas!

Our challenge this fortnight is sponsored by Jen's Digis. Jen supplied us with a darling little digi, and this is my take on it with my DT card.



We hope you can join us with your purple, tree or blossom inspired creation at The Squirrel and The Fox this fortnight. Jen's Digis are offering a prize to our lucky winner - check out the blog for all the details.

Until next time,

Tracey
x

Thursday, November 24, 2011

DT for Ruby's Rainbow - Music

It's time for another challenge at Ruby's Rainbow and this fortnight the theme is

MUSIC

What a fantastic theme huh? This theme makes me want to sing just like Agnetha (or was it Frida) -

Thank you for the music
The songs I'm singing
Thanks for all the joy they're bringing
Who can live without it ..

Who indeed? Not me. I love music, and musical theatre in particular. Thankfully I have a fellow fan for a best mate and she and I go to every musical that comes our way. In six months we have seen everything from Jersey Boys to Love Never Dies, Hairspray to Dr Zhivago.

So for my DT this week I wanted to bring the theatre to a card. Here's what I created:

Recipe
Copics used:
Hair: E25, E35
Skin: E000, E00, E11
Dress & Hat: R17, R27, R29, YG63, YG67
Gloves and Boots: C3, C5, C9, BV29 
Digi Stamp: Make It Crafty - Antoinette
Buckle and choker - Gelly Pen "metallic"
Paperclip brad and ribbon from my stash.

I love this gorgeous stamp - the beautiful Antoinette from Make It Crafty. She reminds me of a Moulin Rouge girl -

 pausing to remember the amazing version of "El Tango de Roxanne" in the movie and Ewan McGregor singing "why does my heart cry.."  Awww. As far as musicals go it's not brilliant, but that song redeems it.

This was such a fun challenge and I loved seeing what my teammates came up with. I hope you'll join us at Ruby's Rainbow this fortnight for our music challenge.


Also entered into the following challenges:

The Shabby Tea Room - Photo inspiration
Bearly-Mine - My favourite things (ribbon, copics and DP)
Until next time,
Tracey
x

Sunday, November 13, 2011

It's Summer at The Squirrel and The Fox

"sniff, sniff" Can you smell it? Freshly cut grass and onions frying on a BBQ - that, coupled with temperatures that are starting to soar, must mean Summer is fast approaching!

So of course, for our new challenge at The Squirrel and The Fox our theme is

SUMMER

Our challenge is proudly sponsored by The Paper Shelter this fortnight. For my DT work I used their fabulous digi "Beautiful Mermaid" and here's what I came up with.


Recipe
Copics used:
Hair: E31, E35
Skin: E000, E00, R20 (lips)
Tail: G000, G00, G02
DP: Kaisercraft - Best Creation Inc "Bella"
Digi Stamp: The Paper Shelter "Beautiful Mermaid"
Kindy Glitz for sparkles on tail and starfish hair piece
Flowers, ribbon and pearl brads from my stash

I wish that sparkles would show better in photographs for this is a very sparkly mermaid. I used Kindy Glitz glitter glue on her tail and her starfish hair piece and the DP has beautiful sparkly swirls.


I chose this image because one of my favourite summer memories is of me at the bottom of our swimming pool pretending to be a mermaid. I pictured myself with long blonde hair and a glittery green tail (I was heavily influenced by the movie "Splash" and saw myself as a little Darryl Hannah). I wanted to be a mermaid when I grew up, so I could live under the sea with the fishes.  Sebastion from The Little Mermaid had it right when he sang


"Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea"

So I took up scuba diving - is that close enough?

All day long I am reminded of being underwater, for my desktop pics at work and home are both photos I took diving, like this one.




*sigh* That Little Mermaid had a lot to answer for wanting to be on land. I guess the grass IS always greener.

The Paper Shelter is offering our lucky winner a fabulous prize - visit The Squirrel and The Fox blog for details.  I hope you'll join us, I look forward to seeing all your Summery creations. For inspiration, make sure you check out what our DT have created, they continually amaze me with their work.

Also added to the following challenges:

Copic Challenge Group - Colours of the sea
Alphabet Challenge - U is for Under the Sea
The Poodles Parlour - When I grow Up
The Ribbon Reel - Colour Combination
Craft Your Days Away - Embellishment bingo (pearls, flowers, ribbon)
The Lollipop Ladies - Sour worms (colours and sparkle)
Southern Girls Challenge - Song "under the Sea"

See you again soon!
Tracey
x


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Things with Wings

Today I am envious of those that live on the other side of the world, for as I write this it is 9.30pm and still 35C. The humidity is the killer, today was 90% humidity. Not pleasant, and a little excessive for Spring - what on earth will Summer be like.

Anyway, it's Ruby's Rainbow challenge time again, and this time it's

THINGS WITH WINGS

For my DT work I took the opportunity to create a card for a colleague. The lovely Karen is a fantastic breath of fresh air at my workplace and we spend far more time than we should do laughing and joking. She also makes the best coffees using the company's intimidating coffee machine (I haven't done my barista training yet, and if it means Karen will stop making my coffee then I'm not rushing!). It was her birthday recently and as I was away I missed making her a card. I hope she's happy to have one a little late.


Recipe
Copics used:
Hair: E31, E35
Skin: E000, E00, R20 (lips)
Sash: RV10, RV13
Dress: BG000, BG00
DP: Kaisercraft - Bonjour Collection
Stamp: La La Land Fancy Marci
Sentiment: Stampin' Up
Butterflies using Martha Stewart Punch

As you can see, my card features lots of wings. The DP has butterflies and dragonflies, and I added two little punched butterflies too. Wings galore!

This card also features some big flowery lace from my Nan, found hidden in a box when I was helping to clean her house last weekend. My Nan has moved into a retirement home and needed to have her house sold, and thankfully it sold quickly - so quick we had to all pitch in to pack everything away, to either donate to charity or sell. Turns out my Nan was a bit of a packrat when it came to threads, lace and cotton and I am now the proud owner of a collection that must have taken years to put together. I am sure my Nan wished I was a sewing type so I could use her lace how she intended, but at least it's getting a new life on my card creations.

I hope you'll join us at Ruby's Rainbow this fortnight with all your winged creations.

Also entered into the following challenges:
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes plus Brown
Crazy Challenge - Something with Wings
My Partner in Crafting Crime - Freebie (lace)
Sugar Creek Hollow - Trash to Vintage Treasure (lace)

and also entered into the La-La Land Customer Gallery

Tracey
x



Sunday, November 6, 2011

It's Autumn at Sparkles Forum

Thank goodness for weekends! This week was a horrendous one at work, with lots of late nights glued to a computer. It was a week of research groups, presentations, resignations, hysterical laughing and tears, and I am exhausted.

Right now I type this from my study, where I can hear the pool filter humming and the birds chirping and I can look out the window and see the cloudless blue sky. I am so thankful that Winter has gone and here in Australia it's officially Springtime.

However in the UK, Sparkles Forum's stomping ground, everything is upside down (or right way up if you believe us Aussies have it backwards). So that's why the theme for their challenge this fortnight is

AUTUMN

For my DT card I wanted to create something very simple, and to have a chance to use one of my Scrap Matrix steam punk embellishments. I have been holding on to this one for a while, for it's quite large and will dominate any card it goes on.


I found some DPs that featured leaves and lovely rich greens and browns and really gave me the feeling of Autumn. I added the very last of my antique style lace and some fantastic green ribbon that tied the two papers together. I debated whether to add a sentiment, but really wanted this fabulous charm to be the focus of the card so I left it plain.

I hope you'll join us at Sparkles Forum this fortnight. Please head over to see what my teammates created in answer to the challenge - they are such a talented bunch!

Di's Digis is offering another wonderful prize to the winner, see the challenge blog for all the details.

Also entered into the following challenge:
Friendships Garden Challenge (discovered today and now a fan!) - Autumn
Die Cut Dreams - So Charming
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Come and Get It - Autumn

Tracey
x