Casing Cecile

Not long ago I was fortunate to find the blog of Cecile Ortiz.  Her work is amazing - unbelievably gorgeous.  One card in particular that I loved was this one and I just had to have a go at making one for myself.

 

Although I love this card and have tried to copy it faithfully, it is not as delicate as Cecile's card.  Her flowers look so real. 

 

 

As I only had a six inch square of the beautiful venetian designer paper, I made my card a little differently, which also allowed room for a message.

 

 

 

Ingredients are all SU:

Stamps:  Simply Sketched; Forever with you; En Francais

Ink:  Soft Suede

Card:  Soft Suede; Very Vanilla

DSP:  Venetian Romance

Other:  Pretty prints Embossing folder; Pearls

 

I think I will be keeping this one. 

 

Do pop over and check out all of Cecile's beautiful creations.

 

Mary 

Why do I scrapbook?

I usually tell people that I am not into scrapbooking, but I have realised that I most definitely am a "scrapbooker" in the truest sense of the word.

 

While out walking this morning I was wondering who I could ring and ask "Hey, can you remember what you were doing on this day 50 years ago?"  Sadly, not many people came to mind.

 

I pulled out my Wedding Album and saw glimpses of a few friends and relatives but not a group photo of all who came.

 

 

very modest by today's standards

 

oh my !!!!!

 

Then I remembered my Scrapbooks - just that, those old fashioned scrapbooks that we buy now for the kids to scribble in.  Over the years I made one for every special birthday, enagement, wedding or birth, into which I pasted all the beautiful cards received, scraps of the lovely wrapping paper and ribbons, and usually a list of gifts received.  Pasted, filed and forgotten!  Until now!  I pulled out the Wedding one.

 

nothing special - just a covered scrapbook

 

Amazingly, the first half of the contents were still in situ but then as I turned each page the cards fluttered out at me.  Obviously the first batch of tape I used was far superior to the latter.  Yes, the pages have certainly turned yellow (mustard, actually), and there is no need for distressing here, but the cards and their messages are as clear as ever.  What a lovely reminder of work friends long lost, family and friends long gone, and yes, a couple where I just could not put a face to the name.  Ahh memories - very bitter sweet because I don't have anyone to share them with, but wonderful just the same. 

the invitations, printed by my Brother, are as crisp and lovely as ever

 

and the cards - love the one with the fan!

 

I decided a blog was in order to remind myself and others why I make scrapbooks. 

 

Just this last week I brought home two carrier bags with all of the Baby and Christening cards and paper to make a book for my Grandson.  I did wonder whether it was a waste of time, but this morning has shown me that perhaps it is not.

 

the next project to be scrapbooked

 

I hope you have enjoyed my walk back in time and hope you have a lovely day on this 50th anniversary of my wedding.

 

Mary

 

PS.   Yes, in case you were wondering, I did re-affix all the errant cards.  Used double sided tape - I don't think it will have to last another 50 years!

A little more Christmas

It is always a pleasure to make something special for good friends and the following little parcel was for a friend who went on holidays just prior to Christmas.  Her favourite colour is purple so I am sure she would have liked it.

I did have plans to decorate the Lindt chocolates but ran out of time.  Although on this occasion I have used cards and papers from my stash, the Bon bon is made with the recently introduced SU Envelope Punch Board.  I have had a lot of fun making many different boxes and envelopes with it in the last month or so.

Since I joined SU, I have had lots of new toys to play with and plenty of beautiful products to use as well.  Certainly keeps me out of trouble.

This next card was for a special friend who is a lover of pink and glitter, but I don't think even this was quite enough sparkle for her.

 

So proud of myself here as I actually used one of the beautiful Frosted Finishes Embellishments on this card.  I loved them so much I bought a second pack even though I still had lots left.  I did make two sets of ear-rings from them and they were much admired.

 

I needed to make a gift card for some vouchers which turned out to be quite large and it took me a little while to work out, but I think they looked really great when finished.  Of course being larger than our normal cards, I needed to make special envelopes for them - Envelope Punch Board to the rescue!!

 

 

 

 

I mentioned above that I had made some boxes with my latest toy so thought I would pop in this photo of them.  I cannot claim the credit for their design though, as I saw them on the blog of Sam Donald from Pootles - an amazing box maker.

 

 

Aren't they cute?  most of them only take a six inch square of dsp.

 

Bit of an overload of photos I know, but thanks for staying with me,

Mary

 

 

Christmas in review

Whilst cleaning out files on the computer and ipad I realised that I had been somewhat slack in posting updates onto either of my blogs, and I have a glut of photos that never saw the light of day - indeed, not only had I forgotten them, but I had great trouble remembering to whom the cards were given or why I made said cards, so I thought I would try and remedy the problem now, and instead of starting at the beginning I am going to work backwards.

So this was Christmas:

 

The cards were made in batches of two,
 

some were cherry and some were blue:
Many thanks for the design must go to Monica Gale's gorgeous card.
 

  

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The banner was flying for all to see,

but I didn't get around to erecting the tree:

 - see previous post for a photo of the banner!

The stockings were hung for the grandchildren three (and Mum and Dad as well, see!):

For more photos of the stockings click onto my stitching blog at the right.

 

The presents were wrapped (before Christmas Eve !!!!!) - so early for me:

 

and that's about it - there's no more from me.

 

Cheers,

Mary

 

A Christmas Banner

Perhaps it would have been better named "Post Christmas Banner", but nevertheless here it is.  I had it made in November, but wasn't overly happy with it so I took it apart and re-jigged it a bit. 

Just Add Ink are looking for a Christmas project as are the girls at Sunny Challenges, so I thought this might fit both bills.

I started the project with a Banner Kit from Stampin Up and all of the elements are from SU too.  Not an easy one to take a photo of, but I am sure you get the idea.

Happy New Year to everyone !!
Cheers
Mary

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