Wish Big

This is my second visit as a Guest Designer on Sunny Challenges and Creations and this time the challenge is to use Baker's Twine on your card. 

The balloons and the sentiment are from Papertrey Ink and the card is SU Basic Black.
I heat embossed the balloons with SU Pool Party embossing powder and used the PTI die to cut out the balloons but didn't like the white edging so trimmed them by hand. 

So stop what you are doing and start twining.

Cheers
Mary

Birthday Wishes

After winning a challenge organised by Sunny Challenges and Creations, I was asked if I would like to be a Guest designer for a challenge.  I was away when the invite arrived so I had time to think about doing it and obviously I jumped at the chance. 

These are great little Australian based competitions and I love that it is a different theme or colour scheme each fortnight.  I just wish they were each week, because they are enjoyable challenges with no pressure at all.  So pop over and have a go!

The challenge this time is a sketch and just for a change, I knew immediately what I wanted to do.

All ingredients except the sentiment are Stampin'Up - albeit mostly retired product.

 



Looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with this week.

Cheers,

Mary

Frightening Feline

A last minute run to enter the Dynamic Duo challenge of Tangerine Tango and Black with Halloween thrown in for dessert.

 

 

Not too many ingredients in this one, but they are all Stampin' Up:

Tangerine Tango card; black embossing powder; Frightening Feline stamp; That's the Ticket stamp.

It has just dawned on me that as the front was cut with a framelit die this card is suitable for the challenge at Sunny Creations and Challenges, so I will enter it there as well.

Cheers
Mary

Edited to add:  Many thanks for selecting puss this time.

Trees, glorious trees ...

This week is all about trees at Less is More, so I am having another try at the less is more concept.

 

 

  

I have deviated from my normal products and used a Penny Black stamp called "Home for Christmas", but all other ingredients are Stampin' Up - ie: Concord Crush cardstock; Glossy White cardstock; Concord Crush Ink; Woodgrain Embossing folder.

 

 Thanks for popping in,

Mary 

 

Baby challenge

Yes, most babies are a challenge - a wonderful challenge, of course. 

Having been absent for a couple of weeks spending lots of time with all of my Grandbabies (and my own two babies!!), I am just diving in with a card for Sunny Challenges and Creations.

This is made with the wonderful SU Baby Bundle set which is now retired, but which I will be keeping.  Why are you laughing???  Oh, that's right, I keep all of my stamps! even the ones that have never seen ink.

Cheers
Mary

Razzleberry challenge

I was very unsure of the colours The Paper Players chose this week but surprisingly they look great together.

This card is not what I originally intended, due to the fact that I found the embossed piece in the Pool Party folder, so like Topsy it just grew from there.

 

All supplies are from Stampin' Up:

Stamps:  Elements of Style;  Made for You

Card:  Rich Razzleberry, Pool Party; Whisper White; Basic Black

Tools:  Big Shot; punches

 

Cheers

Mary

Framed bird

Sunny challenges are looking for entries using Framelits this time, so I thought it was time I joined in.

 

While I do love the look of clean and simple cards, I find them much harder to produce and usually go back to my comfort zone and create the layered look - lots and lots of layers - and this one is no exception, in fact I was running out of room for embellishments.

 

Since joining Stampin' Up early last year I have totally ignored the huge stash of papers I had accumulated but this time I needed to use some of them to keep the lilac theme happening.  So, mostly SU, but a few odds and sods.

Mary

Edited to add:  My card was chosen this week - thank you !

Sweet Pacific home

Pacific Point is certainly a dynamic colour and teamed with Old Olive it is even better.

The team at Dynamic Duos have chosen those two colours for this week's challenge.

My card is looking VERY blue here - the centre panel and the background were Whisper White but I guess all that blue has just taken over.  The olive trees have faded into insignificance as well.

 

 

All supplies used in this card are from Stampin' Up.

 

This card was made for friends who have just moved house.

Cheers

Mary

Spring has sprung ..

Certainly Spring has arrived in Melbourne these last few days and the perfume of all the blossoms and flowers is just wonderful. 

What a great photo for inspiration to entice an entry into Scrapbook Boutique's challenge for September.

 

There is no better way to celebrate Spring than sharing a cuppa with a friend and I thought these lovely spring flowers on the designer paper were perfect for the occasion. 

 

 

Hope your day has a lovely spring in it.

Mary

 

If the shoe fits .....

Wow, what fabulous shoes .. and what a great theme for this week's Less is More challenge.

 

I have used the SU Fabulous You stamp set for this card on Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White card.

 

Cheers

Mary

Bloomin' marvellous

There are blooming flowers everywhere over at the Less is More blog and they are not just there for the weekly challenge - they are also there to celebrate Chrissie's birthday. 

 

Coincidentally, a have a dear friend named Chrissie who is also celebrating her birthday today, so Happy Birthday to both of you and I hope you are having blooming marvellous days.

 

Time was running out for me to join in this week but luckily I managed to find time to plant a few flowers of my own.

 

 

                                             Stamp:   SU Bloomin' Marvellous (retired)

Card:   SU Early Espresso; Blushing Bride; Sahara Sand; Cherry Cobbler

Other:  Big shot; honeycomb embossing folder; lace punch.

 

Cheers

Mary

 

Scrapbook Boutique Tilda

I love the beautiful cupcake images that Evelyn uses as inspiration for Scrapbook Boutique's monthly challenges.  This month's colours are quite stunning together so decided to have a go.

The card ended up larger than I originally intended but even so I have just realised that I didn't leave enough room for a greeting.

 

Stamp:    Magnolia Tilda

Card:   SU chocolate chip and pool party

Other:    Big shot; honeycomb embossing folder, pool party seam binding, pearls

 

I don't get around to using Tilda as often as I should.  Hope you like her in aqua.

 

Mary

Happy flutterby

What a challenge this week at Dynamic Duos!  Calypso Coral and Black!  The colours certainly are stunning together and the team made it look easy- ha ha - guess that's why they are on the team.

I did have something in mind when I started, but the end result is nothing like the original vision - funny about that!

 

Stamps:    SU Papillon Potpourri and Oh Happy Day(retired SAB)

Card:   SU Whisper White; Glossy White; Calypso Coral; Black

Other:    Big shot; fancy fan embossing folder;  scallop trim border punch

I was told that it is better to use a black background when photographing cards with white on them and I guess the two shots above prove that. 

Thanks for fluttering by,

Mary

Skating birthday

Seize the Birthday are hosting their own birthday party and not only does it last all month, it's also "anything goes"!   So woo hoo, here goes.

The current craze seems to be roller skating as I was asked for two cards for skating parties a week apart.

 

Ingredients used are mostly SU - the DSP has been retired for a long time now.  I really have to stop hoarding designer papers and start using them more often.

 

Just a fun card with lots of glitter for a little girl.

 

Mary

A little bird

Over at Just Add Ink the challenge this week is to use three of the lovely new Stampin' Up In Colors - Baked Brown Sugar, Very Vanilla and Coastal Cabana on a card.  As I haven't ordered any of these colours as yet, I have used Crumb Cake and Pool Party.

 

I was taken with the simplicity of the card Jo Eades made and decided to go for a clean and simple card for a change.  Now that I look at my card I realise that it has turned out to be pretty much a case of Jo's sample, although that was not my intention as all of the ingredients are completely different. 

All SU supplies used on this one except for the little sentiment.

 

Cheers

Mary

Special Blend

The team at Less is More are looking for a shaped card this week - not square or rectangle!! 

 

Now I know why they call them challenges!!  A shaped card! hmmm ... I do have one set of framelits but as someone had already used that set I had to really put my thinking cap on. 

 

I decided to make a champagne bottle, totally forgetting about the one layer part of the deal, so to overcome that I decided to print my "greeting" direct to the cardstock.  I then stamped the square for the label and the little vine and then masked those sections off before sponging the pink champagne.  I used a SU gold marked to simulate the gold foil and the silver marker to make the wire lines.

 

The ingredients were mostly SU: Whisper White card;

Forever with you stamp set;

Pink Pirouette ink;

Raspberry Ripple and Gold and Silver markers.

The square stamp is an unknown one that I have had for years

and never previously used.

 

I do hope that the computer generated "greeting" has not breached any of the rules of the challenge.

I did have fun with this one.

 

Mary

A Little Less Grey

I love the beautiful clean lines of cards that fall into the category of "less is more", and have been trying to create some of them recently.  I start out ok but am never happy with them and so they end up in the pile of UFO's (unfinished objects). 

I have been stalking  enjoying Jen Nelson's cards for some time, and decided to try the challenge at "Less is More" where the theme is Shades of Grey.  Probably not such a good one for me to start with, but at least it took me less time to think about colours.

 

 

 

Supplies:

Stamp:  Party Animals by Annabelle Stamps

Card:   SU Whisper White

Designer paper:  SU  Howlstooth and Scaringbone

Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics C3 and C5

Tools:   Big shot; Framelits Labels

 

Yes, it definitely is Whisper White cardstock.  Photography is clearly not a skill I have mastered, but today I had more trouble than usual. 

 

I am looking forward to seeing all the other cards and hopefully I will pick up some pointers. 

 

Thanks for the challenge Chrissie.

Mary

Oh Hello Cover

Oh Wow, was my first thought when I saw the challenge over at Just Add Ink this week.  I think I may have taken it a bit too seriously, but it was a lot of fun to make.  It is certainly only a challenge card as I can't think of any occasion I could use it for.  If I was anything other than a hobby demonstrator it could be used for display purposes, but that's about it.

 

All supplies are SU:

Stamps:  Oh Hello; Just Perfect Alphabet

Ink:  Daffodil Delight; Primrose Petals

Card:  Whisper White; Daffodil Yellow

Tools:  Big shot; Petite curly label punch; Tulip embossing folder

 

The Tulip embossing folder hasn't seen the light of day too often but I thought it was perfect for the frame.

 

Hope you like my take on the new catalogue cover.

Mary

 

Edited to add:

 

Really Pink

I'm entering this very pink card into the sketch challenge at Seize the Birthday.  Like Topsy, it just grew, and it got rosier as I added layers.

 

All supplies are SU:

Stamps:  Secret Garden; Itty Bitty Banners

Ink:  Melon Mambo

Cardstock: Whisper white; Melon Mambo

Tools:  Big shot; Fancy fan embossing folder; Bitty Banners Framelits

 

Hope this finds everyone "in the pink"!

Mary

A Sunny Bird

Doing a last minute dash for two challenges.  I knew I didn't have time to complete two cards, but I think I have managed to combine the two challenges in this card.

The Paper Players have a Tic Tac Toe challenge which is closing today and I chose the top line of birds, blue and birthdays and teamed it with the sketch at Sunny Challenges and Creations asking us to use retiring products.  Apart from the card stock, all the ingredients have now officially retired.

Stamps:   SU Nature Walk; French Foliage; SU Music wheel; Itty Bitty Banners

Ink:   SU Marina Mist and Soft Suede

Designer Paper:   SU First Edition

Tools:   Big shot; Bitty Banner Framelits

Nature Walk is a really lovely set of stamps but it has been sadly neglected by me, so I am very happy to finally get around to using it.

 

Thanks for popping in,

Mary

Edited to add:

thank you, I am delighted to be a ray of sunshine, but I won't get too big a head as there were not many entries this week.
 

Birthday poppies

Just popping in with an entry for the Scrapbook Boutique challenge. 

 

Don't you just love the cupcakes they use for their challenges?... and that background paper is gorgeous too.

  

 

The card is a very crisp white (SU Whisper White) but for some reason looks blue/grey.  Normally I would blame my photography, but it looks ok on my computer so not sure what I have done here because it does look fine in real life.

Mary

Mother

With Mothers' Day coming up, Sunny Challenges have requested a card especially for Mum with an interesting sketch to go with it.

 

I don't own a stamp for this occasion so had to make do.  I also would have loved a slightly larger circle for my main butterfly as it looked so pretty before I cut into it.

 

All SU

Stamps:  Swallowtail; Papillon Potpourri

Card:  Primrose Petals; Tempting Turquoise; Summer Starfruit

Ink:  Markers in above colours

Tools:  Big shot; Honeycomb embossing folder

 

The photo shows the colours as quite dark but in real life that blue is a beautiul turquoise.

Mary

Calming challenge

Black and Grey and perhaps even masculine ???  That is the challenge over at Dynamic Duos.  First thoughts were for a sympathy card but that seemed a little too obvious so I decided to work on the masculine part as well.

 

I love the latest look of the blackboard technique, so decided to make a blackboard easel card. 

 

I have always loved the Keep Calm posters and was dreadfully disappointed when Australia did not get the SU Keep Calm stamp set so I had to settle for another brand.

Stamps:  JustRite Just Keep Calm; SU Woodgrain

Card:  SU Basic Gray and Basic Black

DSP:  SU Howlstooth and Scaringbone

Ink:  Versamark; SU Basic black marker

Tools:  White embossing powder

So there we are - I think it will fit into the masculine card genre.
Mary

Thank you Karen for choosing this card as a Dynamic Darling

Because it's one layer

The Paper Players are looking for a card with only one layer this week.  I wasn't too sure about trying this, but the design team cards were so lovely that I have given it a go.

All SU product used on this card

Stamps:  Because I care; Bordering on romance

Card:  Whisper White

Ink:  Soft Suede

Tools:  Big shot;  Adorning accents edglits

 

Thanks for a great challenge,

Mary

Awash with Bubbles

The challenge at Just Add Ink is to add a technique that you haven't tried before. 

 

A few days ago while cleaning I found a pile of bubble wrap and remembered reading that someone had made a background with bubble wrap - I didn't even bother to read how they did it because I thought it would be rather messy. 

 

Yes, it was a bit messy, but I am quite happy with the result. 

 

Because the background was quite strong I wanted something simple for the focus and SU Awash with Flowers has now seen ink for the very first time.

 

All ingredients are SU

Stamps:  Awash with Flowers

Card:  Midnight Muse; Whisper White

Ink:  Midnight Muse; Gumball Green

Tools:  Stamp-a-ma-jig;  Gumball Green ribbon;  Round Tab punch

 

 

So for me this card has two new techniques and I will be trying both of them again very soon.

Mary



 

Wishing you

At Seize the Birthday this week the challenge is to make a feminine birthday card according to the sketch guidelines.  I think it is a great sketch and many ideas were going through my head but it took much longer than I anticipated to get the ideas onto the cardstock. 

All ingredients for this card are from SU

Stamps:  Vintage Verses; Pendant Park

Card:  Crumb Cake; Primrose Petals; Naturals Ivory

Ink:  Soft Suede; Primrose Petals

Other:  Crumb Cake tulle; Pearls; Champagne mist

 

I needn't have worried about overdoing the champagne mist, as it doesn't show in the photo, but it is very pretty.

Hope your day is perfect too.

Mary

Four You

Unscripted Sketches are celebrating their Fourth Birthday with a four part challenge.

Although my entry started out as a clean and simple card, the addition of the dsp does make it look rather busy. 

All supplies are SU.

Stamps:  Vintage Verses

Card:  Primrose Petals

DSP:  Attic Boutique

Ink:  Soft Suede

Tools:  Big shot; labels collection framelits;Victoria crochet trim

 

Hope your day is perfect too,

Mary

Blooming pumpkin pie

Pumkin Pie and Bashful Blue are the two colours selected this week over at the Dynamic Duos Challenge.  Each of the samples from the design team are gorgeous and my fingers itched to get going on this one.

Stamps:  SU Blooming with Kindness

Card:  SU Pumpkin Pie and Bashful Blue

Ink:  Pumpkin Pie

Tools:  Big shot; SU embossing frames

Sadly that was the last of my supply of the retiring Pumpkin Pie cardstock.
Mary

Edited to add:  Thanks to a comment left about this card I now realise that I was totally confused and have used More Mustard cardstock not Pumpkin Pie.  The flower was stamped in Pumpkin Pie.  Sorry.

Natural challenge

Just Add Ink's new challenge is to use Moonlight Muse, More Mustard and Rich Razzleberry on a card.  Not colours I would normally choose but they do work.

 

 

Stamps:  SU Nature Walk; SU Simple Delights

Card:  SU Rich Razzleberry and More Mustard

DSP:  Print Poetry

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry

Quite a few of the above elements I used today for the first time, so it is good to be challenged.

Mary

Seize the cat

The new challenge over at Seize the Birthday is for a masculine birthday.  I don't have much in the way of specifically male stamps but this cat caught my eye and I thought it might suffice:

Stamps:  Annabelle stamps Party Animals; SU Happiest Birthday wishes

Card:  SU Whisper white; basic grey;Tangerine tango

DSP:  SU Howlstooth and Scaringbone

Ink:  Stazon black; SU Peach Parfait marker

Tools:  Big shot; Stripe embossing folder; Basic grey striped ribbon

Meow for now,

Mary

Big wishes duo

I love the challenge over at Dynamic Duos, which is to use the colours Pool Party and Cherry Cobbler.  Yesterday I made a card for a friend with similar colours and was really happy with it, so it was a no-brainer to decide on my card for this week.

Stamps:  SU Patterned Occasions

Card:  Pool Party Coredinations; Whisper White; Cherry Cobbler

DSP:  SU Sycamore Street

Ink:  SU Basic Black Marker

Tools:  SU embossing folders - Fancy Fan and Cloudy Day; Big shot; Cherry Cobbler seam binding

 

and you may like to see yesterday's card:

 

 

the elephant is stamped in grey in this one and the card itself is the retired Taken with Teal, and although it looks very dark in this photo, it is quite a lovely colour.

 

Thanks for popping in,

Mary

Edited to add:
I was surprised but delighted that Amy liked my card.

Bright birthday

Seize the Birthday have a sketch this week and I am throwing this entry into the mix.

 

Although I love the colours in this Saleabration DSP, they are not the colours I would normally turn to when making cards so you may need your sunglasses to look at this one.

 

Stamps:  Perfect Punches

Card:  Whisper white; Island Indigo

DSP:  SU Sycamore Street

Tools:  Simply scored

 

As I don't posess any large ovals, I made the rosette and pulled it into an oval shape to make it fit the bill.

Mary