Our Latest Backyard Addition

My darling hubby put together this swing set/cubby housey thing we bought the kids the other weekend. Not a job I think he'd like to tackle again in a hurry. The kids love it. It has a slide, swing, glider, monkey bar, cargo net and rock wall to climb. Underneath is suppose to be a sandpit but we might keep that area for the little see-saw Kyan is on as they have a separate sand pit.

Sweetie's Sketches September Card Challenge

I've been a bit quiet on the crafting front of late, busy busy busy and away for a few nights trying out our new van. I have a couple of half started cards floating around but tonight I've finally been able to complete a card for Sweetie's Sketches monthly challenge. I really like this simple layout. So here is the sketch and my card.....

Divalicious Sketch Challenge #2 and Created Byhand Challenge-Stitching

Hi everyone, not a very exciting card to show you tonight unfortunately, but I like to support Kellie and Kristy with their new challenge blog Delicious Diva Challenges. I started mucking around with some scraps the other day but it really hasn't come together as anything special. I really struggled with finding something to stamp in the middle. I really haven't given this sketch justice but I promise to come up with something a bit better next time girls. My card also has faux stitching all around it which fits the requirement for the Created Byhand Challenge this week of stitching.

Tri-Shutter Card for Fathers Day

One good thing about blog surfing is finding great styles of cards that you have never seen or attempted before. I recently saw this Tri-Shutter Card on Chantelle's blog. Chantelle provides a link to where she saw it but if you want to take a short cut, here is the link. Now this style of card is really easy to make however it hasn't turned out exactly perfect. It doesn't want to fold down properly for me....a bit of a dilemma. The instructions say to use a 5.5" x 12" piece of card stock for the base and as I wanted to use Chocolate Chip as the base, I just used a standard piece of A4 which is just a bit shy of 12" long so I'm guessing that is why I'm having the folding drama.

I can fold it down a certain way but not the way it should be and because of this I can't add the front panel as shown in the tutorial. So, I thought the kids and I might let dad sleep in on Sunday and make him breakfast and when he comes to the table, this can be set up in front of him. The 2 brown panels are where I am going to write special messages from the kids. Due to my lack of manly papers and accessories, I hope the daddy in question doesn't mind some flowers and rhinestones.

Pocket Wedding Card

Hi there, back with another wedding card. This time it is a pocket card which I saw Leah do on her blog recently, she has some great stuff so make sure you check out her blog. Hers looks way more gorgeouser (is that a word) though. I have found that the vellum isn't as tight as when I stuck it all together last night which is a shame. The sentiment is from Congrats and says "welcome to the wedded bliss club". Thanks for looking and thanks Leah

Wedding Card

I absolutely loved this card Kylie made so I just had to copy her. I'm trying to make a couple of wedding cards at the moment and I just think this style is so classy. I've made the big scallop oval using my corner rounder punch. You can see the tutorial on how to do this here and I've used rub ons for this card from Making Memories.

Sweetie's Sketches August Layout Challenge

Hello. Back again with a scrap page for the Sweetie's Sketches layout challenge. I've come back to look at this sketch several times in the last month but it wasn't until a few hours before the deadline that I actually decided to do something with it. It's a lovely little layout but my page has just not turned out how I would have liked and trying to photograph it at night is near impossible. Enough grouching though....so here is the layout and my page. The photos are of my daughter taken some time ago while she was having a little splash in a pool in our front yard.

Divalicious Colour Challenge #1

Well, they sure were tricky colours for me for the Divalicious Colour Challenge this week. I really ran out of time this fortnight so I have just done a super quick card as I wanted a congratulations card for a friend who has just moved her hairdressing salon to a new location. The new salon is just beautiful. So here are the colours..Barely Banana, Cameo Coral, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.

And here is my card. I've used the Oh So Lovely stamp set with Cameo Coral background and the image in Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie. I've also inked the edges with Pumpkin Pie and layered onto Barely Banana and done the sentiment from Congrats with Barely Banana. Super, super quick but all I had time for. You think I could have found some brads or ribbon or something,lol. Thanks for looking.

Trip to the TESS farm

Hi There, hope your having a great weekend. Just thought I'd share a few photos from our visit to the TESS (Training Employment Support Service) farm on Friday with our mum's group. We had such a lovely time on this little farm which I didn't even know existed until recently which is barely 5 mins from where I live. There were lots of different animals including wallabies, kangaroos, emus, deers, alpacas, goats, a camel, parrots and other birds including a big wedge tail eagle, lizards and snakes. I'm sure I've forgotten some. We had a lovely picnic lunch and helped feed the animals. The kids all loved it. So here are some pics started with my son Kyan making friends with this little wallaby. Here is one of the lizards.

Apparently all the boy peacocks are trying to impress the girls and the moment. They were just beautiful.

Here is Logan and Ella with the camel. I even scored a smooth off the camel. He had lovely soft lips. Even softer than my hubbies.

And another lizard.

Here is an alpaca, emu and goat/sheep (how pathetic, I'm not sure what this fella was now).

Feed time for the kangaroos and emus.

And here we all are at the end for a group shot.

Can't wait to take Shane back for a look. It is like having a mini Australia Zoo in our backyard. The only cost was a donation for a lovely afternoon.

Kellie's Sketch Challenge #2

Hi there again.... a quick post before I'm off to bed. I love Kellie's creations on her blog and I've been trying to get a chance to play with her sketch challenge this week. I finally put something together tonight although the colouring is terrible so please don't look too closely. I finally got myself an aquapainter and some markers but I'm going to have to watch over some water colouring tutorials again as I made a mess of it tonight. My first attempt was not good and in the end I used some watercolour pencils which I have no idea how to use correctly. Anyway, here is the sketch which is quite cute I think and my card. Here is the link to Kellie's challenge.

My Two Ratbags

Hi, just thought I'd share a photo of my 2 little darlings. Kyan is learning all about "Saying Cheese". He screws his little face up, it's so adorable. I just love this photo and wanted to put it on my blog (as my blog is like a bit of a diary to me).

Makeesha's Sketch Challenge #12

Hello, I had a chance last night to make a card for Keesh's latest sketch challenge below. I used some Good Morning Sunshine and Urban Oasis DSP, Chocolate Chip card stock, Chocolate Chip and Summer Sun ink, white gel pen, check ribbon and yellow pearls for this one. Nothing super exciting but fun to play with different papers for a change. Thanks for looking.

Our Latest Purchase

Hi, just thought I'd share a pic of our new van we purchased a couple of weeks back. We have enjoyed camping in our old van (pictured below) over the last couple of years and I wanted to upgrade to something a little nicer. We only bought the old van to see if we liked camping this way and we do, so here is a picture of our old van which is now for sale if anyone is interested and our new van, a Jayco Flamingo.

Makeesha's Inspiration Challenge #11

Hi Everyone. Hope your all having a wonderful week. I'm here with a card for Makeesha's latest challenge, an inspiration challenge which are always tricky. I tend to look at the picture and see what colours I can see. On this occasion I have gone with grey, white, black (I think the stove top looks black) and blue (are those small bowls on the table blue?? I'm running with it anyway, lol). With those colours, I thought it would be nice to make a Father's Day card. This week on Splitcoast Stampers, they had a great tutorial on Recessed Window Cards. So I gave it a go and I'm pretty happy with the result of my card. In case you can't tell, the middle of this card is set in, hence recessed. It's hard to photograph. I've also jazzed up the inside of the card to complement the outside. So here is the Inspirational pic to start with.
And my Father's Day Recessed Window Card.

Sweetie's Sketches August Card Challenge

Hi there. My friend Kerri had her 3rd daughter this morning. Can't wait to meet her and have a little cuddle. Although I have a couple of girl baby cards made up, I thought I'd take advantage of Sweetie's Sketches latest challenge to make another one. So here is the sketch we had to work with (I decided not to put on a title) and my card.

Wedding Card

Good Evening fellow bloggers. Just thought I'd share with you a wedding card I made the other day. I was inspired after seeing this beautiful card on Sassys Secrets blog. I mainly made this card as a pracise. I need to make a wedding cad for a friend soon featuring purple. Stampin Up doesn't make a lot of papers in purple shades. I hope I can get something to come together when the time comes to make it. Anyway, here is my card.

Inkspirations Colour Challenge # 11 and Sketch and Stash Challenge #16

Hi, hope your having a great day. Here with a quick card for Keesha's Colour challenge this week. I've been using quite a bit of the retired DSP Summer Picnic lately and teaming it up with the Wild About You stamp set. This is such a great set for kids cards and since I have a couple of 1 yr old birthday parties coming up, I thought I'd use it to make a card for that occasion. I almost forgot, I've also followed the sketch for the latest challenge from Sketch and Stash Challenge. This is the first time I've played along with one of there challenges. So here is the colours we were to use and the sketch I have followed.

Divalicious Sketch Challenge #1 Card 2

I really enjoyed making my first card for the Divalicious Sketch Challenge so I made another one. To see a copy of the sketch or my first card, see my previous post or click here. So this card is along the same lines, also a baby card and again using the same stamp sets, Wild About You and Short and Sweet. This card uses a base of Real Red with 2 strips of DSP from Summer Picnic. The image is stamped using Real Red ink onto Bashful Blue card and layered onto Real Red card. I've done some faux stitching again using the paper piercing tool and white gel pen. I used a piece of check ribbon I found floating around my craft cupboard and 3 red rhinestone brads. The sentiment is also stamped in Real Red. Well now I should be stocked up if a couple of these babies are boys, although I think I could use this card for a girl too.

Divalicious Sketch Challenge #1

Hello again. Tonight I have a card to share with you which came together really quickly, yeah!!!. It's for the new Delicious Diva Challenge Blog. The blog has been created by 2 talented crafters Kellie and Kristy. Kristy has designed the first sketch for the first challenge and here it is.....
I have a couple of friends pregnant at the moment and although I have a few girl cards ready to go, I have no boy cards and since my gorgeous friend Mel lent me some of her stamp sets to play with, I took advantage of the Wild About You set and made this card.

So basically the card uses a base of Old Olive and has 2 strips of DSP from Summer Picnic. The giraffe is stamped in Mellow Moss on Whisper White and layered on Old Olive which has been paper pierced and faux stitched using a white gel pen. The sentiment say 'welcome baby' from Short and Sweet (sorry girls, I couldn't fit it down the bottom as per sketch) and is in Bashful Blue. You may need to double click on the photo for a better look, but there is 2 rounds of Hemp Twine around the middle as well as some used for the bow on the old olive coloured square button and finally 3 white brads. I'm really happy with this card and it looks really cute in real life. Thanks for looking.

Before I go, one of the guest designers for the Delicious Diva's this month, Rowena, has 5 Sugarnellie Stamps to give away. For your chance to win click here.

Bella Rose Pocket Card

Hi There...Here to share another Pocket Card, this one using card stock in red ridding hood, kiwi kiss, chocolate chip and whisper white and using DSP Bella Rose. I've also used some chocolate chip ribbon and 2 red rhinestone brads. I'm using these cards up as quick as I make them. They are very simple to make yet very effective. To see the instructions for these cards and to see previous pocket cards I've make, see here.

Makeesha's Sketch Challenge #11

Hi there... Keesh has given us a rather tricky sketch this week. Well tricky for me anyway. Anytime I see a sketch with a big circle or half a circle I get scared. But I'm getting used to tracing around cups, bowls and dinner plates and cutting out free hand. For this card I've combined a few favourite colours of mine. My favourite in colour from last year, Purely Pomegranate, my favourite in colour this year Kiwi Kiss and my favourite all time colour, Chocolate Chip. I think these colours look great together. So here is the sketch.
For this card I've used Chocolate Chip card stock for the base and then DSP's in Kiwi Kiss and Chocolate Chip from Bella Rose. I've used Fifth Ave Floral stamp set for the image using Chocolate Chip ink on Purely Pomegranate and Kiwi Kiss card stock. These have been cut out and put on the rectangle of Whisper White. I've also cut a strip of Kiwi Kiss to make some grass and used my two way glue pen and dazzling diamonds for the centre of the flower. The sentiment is from Seeing Spots and I've also done some paper piercing and used some Purely Pomegranate ribbon and brown glitter brads. I've also jazzed up the inside of the card. I might try and retake the photo in daylight to see if I can get it any better but until then, here is my card. Thanks for looking.

Anniversary Card

This was another very quick card that I made for my sister and brother in laws Anniversary. I don't usually send them a card but these days I'll use any excuse to muck around with my papers and punches.

Male Birthday Cards

Just a quick post to show a photo of a couple of very quick birthday cards I made. This is the first time I have cased anything out of the Stampin' Up catalogue. They are not exactly the same but follow the same layout and idea.

Truley Scrumptious Challenge #12

Hello there. Tonight I have a card for the Truly Scrumptious Challenge Number 12 to share with you. I really like this sketch and I'm happy with my card although the photo has been taken at night. You may need to double click on the photo to see the card closer up. I've been using quite a bit of Raspberry Tart paper lately, but for this card I have used Bella Rose which I also really like. I've taken the photo on the side to show the stamping inside the card.

Sweeties July Layout Sketch

Hi Everyone. If you haven't checked out Sweetie's Sketches Blog yet, you should try to. Each month there is a new card and scrap layout. I'm finding this is a good way to get back into my scrapbooking.

In saying that, I could have pulled my hair out finishing this page. It was all going well, until I went to put on this big rub on that said "Birthday Party". I know I've had these rub ons for a while but I was not impressed when some of it stuck to the wrong side of the sheet when I was getting it ready to use. Not only that but my second and third choices for rub ons as well. So in the end. I just took the whole backing sheet off and anything I could use I did before I dumped the rest. So the title is a bit of a collage.

You may need to double click on the photo to see the page larger. As per usual my photography skills are non existent. The page is from my daughter Logan's 3rd Birthday Party at Ten Pin Bowling. So here is the sketch and my page.

Supplies Used:

Card stock - Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Basic Black and the backing card from a DSP pack.

DSP - 3 different pieces from Raspberry Tart

Stamp Set - Baroque Motifs

Ink - Kiwi Kiss

Other - Paper Piercing, White Gel Pen, Material Flowers, Black Brads, Rub Ons, Die Cut from Hoppy Memories, Black Pen