Monday 31 January 2011

Spesch Stamps surprise release

Good morning :D Today brings a surprise release at Spesch stamps.. with two images for Valentines ... I designed a few images for Tracey and then she adapted and reworked them and we cleaned them up together ... the results are...

You can get your images now for the bargain price of $2 from Spesch stamps ... right here!


Sunday 30 January 2011

The Altered Alice - CHAPTER 1 : Changing Form / Feb. 2011 Challenge - Week 1

"Alice crouched down among the trees as well as she could, for her neck kept getting entangled among the branches, and every now and then she had to stop and untwist it. After a while she remembered that she still held the pieces of mushroom in her hands, and she set to work very carefully, nibbling first at one and then at the other, and growing sometimes taller and sometimes shorter, until she had succeeded in bringing herself down to her usual height.

It was so long since she had been anything near the right size, that it felt quite strange at first; but she got used to it in a few minutes, and began talking to herself, as usual. `Come, there's half my plan done now! How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another!"

-- Chapter 5, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Well, just like Alice we have been through quite a few changes! But our familiar Alice challenges have arrived safely in at their new home although in a new monthly form.

To reflect all these changes, the challenge is to make something that features a dress form, OR to make something that changes in form! While it is not required that your project include Alice in Wonderland, we do encourage it. If your project features Wonderland you will get two chances in the prize drawing instead of one, and what a prize it is!

STAMPOTIQUE ORIGINALS is sponsoring our first challenge with a generous $30 gift certificate, and their fabulous design team is going to play along!
Now let me explain how this new monthly challenge works:


•1st Sunday of the month: The new challenge will be posted with the link tool, and a few of the design team samples will be posted.
•2nd Sunday: Additional design team samples will be posted.
•3rd Sunday: The last of the design team samples will be posted.
•Last Sunday of the month: A winner will be announced and some of your projects may be given an "honorable mention".

We are starting a week early with the February challenge because we didn't want to leave you with a gap, so we will spread the design team samples over four weeks and the winner will be announced on February 27th. You have a whole month to submit your creations, so we are hoping that a lot more of you will decide to play along!

Enter your links on The Altered Alice before 8 p.m. EST (GMT - 5) on Friday, February 25th. A winner will be announced on Sunday, February 27th. Check back at The Altered Alice each Sunday between now and then for more inspiration!


.... I'll be back with my inspiration NEXT week!

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Inky Impressions :: Emboss It!!!





Good evening friends :D It's time for a new Inky challenge and this week the challenge is to emboss it .. .we would like to see some embossing on your creations... wet or dry.. whatever you like :D I have used my cuttlebug for some dry embossing.. the swiss dots and also my new butterfly border folder!!

I have used Lili's Prayer as the stamp on my card.. she is definitely one of my favourite Inky stamps still!! She is coloured in with... Copics... BV0000, 000, 00 , 01, 02. 04, E000, 00, 01, 11, R81, B91, 94, 12, Y11, 15, 17, E25, 27, 29, 77, 79

Here's a closer look at her :D


I am entering this card into...

Copic Creations ... What's New :: the butterfly cuttlebug folder (first time I used it!) + pearls, ribbon and paper are from a pack I won from Amy recently :D Also... I don't really normally colour yellow.. so I guess that is new too! lol

I found a new (to me) challenge site... The RES-Q Challenge is embossing... Excellent!!

Cute Card Thursday would like to see recipes of 1-2-3, so... I have 1 image, 2 embossing folders, 3 pearls ... I also have 1 ribbon, 2 designer papers and 3 main colours! :D

Happy Australia Day!



Tuesday 25 January 2011

Inky Impressions :: AbaC

Good evening friends :D Today over on the Inky challenge blog it is time for an Anything But a Card post... and the creator of todays inspiration is .... ?? yeah, OK it's ME ... LOL!

I have a Deskholder to share... this is a Kaisercraft desk caddy that I got for a bargain price when my LSS (sadly) closed down last year! ... I had fun painting it and then covering it with Designer paper .. which is also from bargains at closing down sale (although I threw out the scrappy bits/ label so I am not even sure now what the paper was) ... anyone know?? I do LOVE it!!
*ed* thanks Em for letting me know the paper is Websters - It is the Life's Portrait series ... and wow .. I just went to their website and they have it available in digi too... looks like I might need to get some digi paper!




There is the front view ... and then on the side... I have used some Alphabet stickers and the gorgeous Stampalicious Lili who is quite appropriate for this project if you ask me!!




Here is a closer look at the beautiful Lili!

Don't forget to pop back to Inky Impressions tomorrow for the new challenge and some GORGEOUS DT inspiration for you!!

Saturday 22 January 2011

Oh, Alice :: endings and beginnings

Hello friends...

Today is a BITTERSWEET...although MOSTLY sweet day at Oh, Alice. It has almost been ONE YEAR since the beautiful Jess had her wonderful idea to dedicate a blog to Alice in Wonderland - I was absolutely thrilled when Jess chose me as one of her original twisted team and I have LOVED being part of this crazy little world!!

But now.. sadly, Oh Alice is closing it's doors :( however the wonderful challenges will return next week as The Altered Alice, a blog that our Twisted Thirteen member Lynne Phelps has started and will continue on from here.

I would like to once more give Jessica great THANKS for having me on her team.. and great thanks also to the rest of my twisted sisters (past and present) for the fun and friendship along the way!!

Although my time has come to an end in this Oh, Alice Wonderland and the wonderful dream has ended... I have decided I really would LOVE to continue creating Alice themed creations.. and would also love to support Lynne over on the Altered Alice ... so I'm thrilled that Lynne agreed to let me join her Altered Alice team!!

I am jumping right back through that looking glass tee hee...

So What about this week's CHALLENGE ??

It is to travel "Back down the Rabbit Hole" challenge-back to the beginning-Create a HELLO card OR a "Goodbye" card-it's all about what it looks like on the other side of that Looking Glass, right?

The DT has once again been blessed with a WONDERFUL assortment of Nikki Sivils papers and embellishments to work with as Nikki has graciously supplied the DT with, as well as a WONDERFUL prize pack for ONE lucky winner (winner will be announced next week on the Altered Alice challenge Blog and also you must link your creations THERE.

In addition to creating a HELLO or GOODBYE card and entering it over at The Altered Alice, the NEW Alice in Wonderland Challenge Blog, don't forget to "FOLLOW" the new "Altered Alice" blog where next week's challenge AND the winner of the last Nikki giveaway will be drawn!

Here are my cards ... Goodbye Oh, Alice!! :(

and Hello to Altered Alice!!



Hope you will join us this week and then in future months at The Altered Alice!!

Thursday 20 January 2011

beautiful blog candy in the mail :D

Yesterday brought some very happy mail for me....

This GORGEOUS blog candy that I won from the lovely Amy....


So last night I HAD to colour in this gorgeous Isadora (Sweet November stamp designed by Amy!) .. I thought she would look good on a tree... so after I stamped her I drew some branches under/ around her :D



Wanna know what Amy had to say about Isadora???

Meet Princess Isadora. She is a head-in-the-clouds daydreamer who spends her time gathering wild flowers and singing along with the babbling brook. Isadora's sweet nature is a natural attraction for all of the little forest critters and she loves to play with the animals. Her greatest wish that she makes everyday, with all her heart is to someday meet a magical unicorn during her adventures in the forest... perhaps in time she will. :)

YAY! I love this stamp .. she is so sweet!! THANKS AMY :D xxx



Copics used:
E000. E00, E11, R11, R22, 24, 27,29, Y21, 28, E23, 25, 27, 29, E31, 34, 37

Wednesday 19 January 2011

Inky Impressions challenge - Tag It!!!

Time for a new challenge at Inky Impressions :D Yay!!! This week is to "Tag it".. that's right we want to see your tags :D Here is mine....Using Lili's Slumber party




I am also entering this card into ...

The current Pile it on Challenge which is Anything Goes :D
The latest Pixie Dust Studios Challenge - Let's get tagged!!

Hop on over to Inky Impressions challenges to see what my fellow Inkettes have been tagging this week!! And love those cutie patootie Inkies?? then hop on over to the Inky Store!!



The Lollipop Ladies - yummy Allsorts

Good morning! Don't you think Wednesday is such a sweet day??
today sure is sweet with these yummy lollies as inspiration!!

So the theme for the new Lollipop Ladies is licorice Allsorts...

and to add to this... we would like to see some BLACK

the candy stripes have come up with all sorts of delicious projects... so hop on over HERE to see!!


Monday 17 January 2011

Inky Impressions Tutorial :: Masking/ creating a scene

Inky Impressions now have tutorials every couple of weeks and today's tutorial is brought to you by me .. you can see how to mask images (such as these gorgeous Inky gals) and create a scene such as the one below.... HERE




RECIPE:
Stamps: Angelica's Heart Socks, Angelica's Daydream
Mask: Xpress IT - Mask It sheet
Paper: Prima - Jack and Jill 6x6 paper pad
blooms (from Alicia - txs )and ladybug brad are from my stash
coloured with Copics - E000, E00, E11, R11, E50,51, 53, Y11, YR00, Yr02, B000, B00, B02, B12, B14, B16, B91, B26, G12, G14, R21, 22, 24, 27, N0, 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 + a handful of other Gs and YGs for the grass


Blogoversary candy winner

Hi everyone... sorry I have not posted the winner of my blog candy, I was feeling pretty ordinary on the weekend... anyway I went to Mr Random to pick a winner and he chose...


So Melissa is the lucky girl who gets the Spesch Stamps Unicorns + a package with paper, embellishments etc :D

Thanks to those who left lovely comments for me!! xxx

Saturday 15 January 2011

Oh Alice... Chapter 46 :: Queen Alice

"Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap!

Till the feast's ready, we've time for a nap.

When the feast's over, we'll go to the ball -

Red Queen, and White Queen, and Alice, and all!"



~ "Queen Alice", Through The Looking-Glass

We here at Oh Alice, hereby cordially invite you to meet Iracebeth the Red Queen of Crims and Mirana the White Queen. Iracebeth and Mirana are sisters who couldn't be more different: while the White Queen is kind and gentle and is loved by everyone, the Red Queen's answer to everything is "Off with their heads!"


To honor our Royal Highnesses, we challenge you to choose which Royal Court you would want to have rule over you, the Red Queen's or the White Queen's???

So the challenge this week, if you should choose to accept it, is to create a card/project that is either mostly white or mostly red.


This week's Oh, Alice challenge is being sponsored by Baby Bud Designs!
"The Baby Bud illustrations you see in the shop have been drawn ‘free hand’ by the artist and owner, Mary Anne Wainright. There is never any computer re-imaging involved. Their quirky little imperfections are what make them original, unique and whimsical and reminds the viewer that they were created from the heart."

Baby Bud Designs has not only generously let the DT use her images, but is also offering the winner a choice ofTWO digital images from their Baby Bud Designs Etsy Shop!

The DT has decided, here is will they will reside...
I chose the Red court... mostly because I wanted COLOUR!!!! :D White is a tad bit boring if you ask me! LOL :D


Hop on over to Oh, Alice! to see which courts the rest of the twisted team have chosen :D

Friday 14 January 2011

a sweet little pixie!

{Scroll down if you want to enter my blogoversary candy... will draw a winner on Sunday 17th Jan}

Good afternoon!! Just thought I would share a card I made purely 'cos I could! Doesn't happen often! LOL but a bit more lately hehe!

I picked up this gorgeous Swiss Pixie Violet with key when I was shopping at All the Scraps the other day isn't she sweet!! I have used my DCWV Mariposa stack again ... although this time I have not photographed it to show the true beauty!



I have been Very bad at recording my Copic colours on here lately SORRY... I have been writing them down but then I lost those scraps of paper... so next week I'll show you my solution to this!
But for now.. here's a closer look at this sweetie...



Wondering how to help out a little in a crafting way for those who have lost EVERYTHING in the floods... CHECK out THIS BLOG!!

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Inky Impressions :: Winter Wonderland challenge

It's my blogoversary ... please scroll down to enter my candy giveaway:D

Good evening.. It's Wednesday and that means..... yup!! time for a new Inky Impressions challenge to start :D This week it is a Winter Wonderland theme and I have used this gorgeous image of Lili with her bunny .. I thought she would look extra cute with glasses and she does indeed :D I also used a charm and some dew drops.. all of which are available in the Inky store!

.. I think my snowflake, swiss dots on the circle, colour scheme and Lili's clothing work into the theme of Winterwonderland.. although I must admit making winter cards when it's humid as anything here is a little challenging! LOL :D

I coloured Lili in with Copics and gave her glasses with a multiliner :D
Here's a closer look....

I followed the sketch over at Friday Sketchers... although it's a little skewed due to the different shape of the card... but I think you can still see the sketch OK in there!! :D

I am also entering ...
Pile it on challenge which is all about cute children - tick (Lili is very cute!)
The Craft Your Days away challenge is "Anything Goes" :D
Papertake Weekly Challenge is "cold and frosty morning"
the Cute Card Thursday Challenge is "out with the old" .. I have decided to use up my boxes full of scraps.. and that spotty paper has been in there for about 4 years... :D one of the bits I love but have not put onto a card! LOL
Pixie Dust Studio want us to "tie it up with ribbon" - using 2 or more ribbons.. I have the lace ribbon, the thin purple ribbon I threaded through it and then string :D


now why don't you hop on over to Inky Impressions challenges to find out all the info about the Challenge and enter!! Don't forget to check out the rest of the beautiful Inkettes creations either.


3rd Blogoversary

Wow... HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY to me!!!
It was 3 years ago today that I started blogging.... inspired by my googling to find out how to use ribbon creatively and falling in love with stamps particularly that sweet Tilda ... well that time has gone fairly quickly and yet looking back lots has happened... I have met so many wonderful people in this land of blog and count many GREAT friends!! I now have a huge amount of "must-read" blogs in my google reader and LOVE looking at what people have been up to! I read every day I don't always make it out of google to comment though!! I think I have grown heaps since I first started blogging my cards and it's a bit embarrasing but I went back to some of those firsts in my blogging ... PLEASE don't laugh too hard!!

one of the first cards I blogged...

The first challenge I entered with my first stamped/ coloured image... tiny I know and :P
My first digi I printed and coloured ... still have a soft spot for Dottie.. think I'll have to find her in my computer and wake her up!!

My first go colouring a Magnolia image..
My first attempt with Copics...

I dabbled in designing digis for a bit with my shop blog - Crafty Muse

My first Anya card... also my first DT card for The Stamp Spot :D
So I have progressed I think in my cardmaking + colouring skills... I've learnt lots, met lots of great people, bought lots of lovely stamps etc etc etc ... and to celebrate 3 years of blogging I am going to have a little candy competition... LEAVE me a comment for your chance to win:
Both Unicorn stamps from Spesch stamps... some PP ... some embellishments and a couple of other things I might throw in for fun! I'm not going to post a picture or get you to do anything except leave a comment here :)

Thanks for stopping by and for your lovely comments and friendships over the last 3 years!!

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Sweet November Princesses

Hi Everyone!! Hope you are well! My thoughts and prayers are with all the people in QLD affected by these horrid floods... it's so awful! :(

I am just popping on quickly (in between packing orders) to share a card I made with one of the beautiful Amy's new Princess images from Sweet November...I was lucky enough to win one of the candies Amy was giving away in celebration and I can't wait till it arrives.. in the meantime I bought some of the digis...

Here is my first card...


Info from Amy's blog.... "Meet Princess Arabella. This regal young lady is charming and quick witted. She loves to read tales of far off lands and map out travel routes from her tower to each possible destination. And even though her home may be high up in a remote tower she doesn't feel locked away because she has a very special flying friend who takes her into Sweet November Land on beautiful days where they frolic and play with the rest of the princesses. ;) "

Here she is up close and personal....


Thanks for stopping by!!