challenge

Just a blog!

naomiconnolly3 Comments

This morning I woke to find that there was a challenge on the Sunny Stampers Face book page. In order not to to blot my record of 100% challenges done so far this year I quickly set about completing it.

So what was it you wonder?  A set of colours to follow? A template to make a card from? A stamp set to be used? A question to be answered?

Well no, none of those, just do an extra blog so that’s why I’m here today.

This was a quick card I made for a customer thank you. I already had the background in my stash as this month’s Technique Treats is about using Marbling with shaving cream and using Marbles to create backgrounds.

When you do one you may as well do a few, no two are ever the same so your cards will be unique.

To complete the card all I had to do was adhere  it on some Melon Mambo CS, put a strip of Washi tape across the top, attach doily and die cut flower, a couple of Enamel Shapes and my stamped greeting  – card done.

If you would like to know how to create the background come back on the Saturday 4th February for our Technique Treats Tutorials.

marbeling

That’s it challenge done.

Hope to see you back here on the 4th if not before!!

Naomi Connolly

 

 

Teddy Time.

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This little fella has been lingering in my stamping supplies for a while now and as there are no new babies on the way I had wondered when he would get some use. Then Elijah turned one and YES! I know what I can do.

elijahs-teddy

He is filled with Love is Baby Bear. From the Falling Petals (very like little hearts) embossing folder to his Dapper Denim Heart of love at the front.

Teddy was  first stamped with Soft Suede, then I stamped off with  Early Espresso and finally just Early Espresso.

I must say it took me a couple practices to line him but am very happy with final results. His bow is a two step with Soft Sky followed by Dapper Denim.

The sentiment LOOK WHO’S TURNING, stamped in Emerald Envy is from  the Number of Years stamp set, as is the number 1, which was stamped in Dapper Denim and cut out with the Large Number Framelit Dies.

The circle was cut with the large Stitched framelit Die. That way I get to use the circle on another project. Just located the name of the DSP — Blooms and Bliss.

The heart was from the snowflake Card thinlit die, now retired. Behind the heart is some Gold Metal thread. Apart from my Teddy practice this was a quick  and simple card.

Hope you enjoyed him.

PS : This is really a post for my upline who gave me a challenge to post to some of the social media sites so always up for a challenge and here it is.!!

Cheers.

Ahoy There

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I can’t say that I am big on completing card challenges but when three things coincided this week I thought I’d give this one a go.

I had just finished the card for Crafty Creations and opened my emails and saw Vicki was starting a new set of challenges, then Bevan, long suffering husband, arrived with my SU order. Why not I thought, the challenge looked straight forward and the supplies I need were on the desk.

I was happy to break out the new stamps Sea Side Shore, after all I live right next to the beach, so perfect for me.  While there isn’t a punch for the set they are very quick and easy to cut by hand – fussy cut. I sponged the background in our new Dapper Denim Ink, stamped and coloured the seaweed in Emerald Envy Ink, then added some sand with Soft Sky from the Timeless Textures. Love this set as it adds just that bit of difference when needed. I popped up the fish and the shell on Stampin’ Dimensionals after stamping the star fish and bubbles, added Ahoy There and Pearls after putting card together.

All the dimensions and instructions are on Vickie”s Blog here.

IMG_20160613_181259.jpg

Thanks Vicki! I enjoyed the play.

Better now than Never – Botanicals

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Another Monday is upon us and I’m pleased to say I FINALLY finished the challenge from the March 23rd. I must admit that I had the background done for quiet some time but the front elements just wouldn’t come.

Thanks to this Friday’s Crafty Creations class I had a couple of leaves from their card, out of the Botanical Builder Framelits Set, near the Big Shot and creation happened. OK girls now you have a hint!

Hope you like the card, I’m happy with it now. The creative struggle I think was worth it.

Remember the colours?  Perfect Plum, Pumpkin Pie, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.  – not colours I usually work with but they have come up a treat.

March Challenge3

Kisses came from the Party Pants in the SAB. I added the ‘X’ with the Project Life  Journaling Pen. The background was randomly stamped then cut into the strips using  Timeless Textures. 

Price: $9.00

Price: $169.00

Colour and Template Challenge

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Here I am as promised. Found a minute of time to upload the pictures for the template Challenge.
It was certainly fun with the Shaving Cream Technique for the backgrounds – my craft area smells real nice now- a very floral scented aftershave I seemed to have chosen. If you would like to know more information on how to do this technique please go to the Technique Treats page.

I love the surprise you get with each colouring, as you can see by the cards, no two backgrounds are alike.

The colours used here are Bermuda Bay, Blackberry Bliss and Watermelon Wonder with Whisper White.  The flower is a 3 step image from the SAB Catalogue, What I Love. I stamped with the main colour then stamped off for the second. I only did two steps.

Reminder: You have one week to order this stamp set for your selves before it is whisked away never to be seen again.

Having adhered my flowers to a matching circle I popped the middle one up on Dimensionals and added a Wink of Stella and a pearl to complete. The Sentiment is from the same SAB – Perfect Pairings.

Continue reading →

Weekly Deals March

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Apologies for no Blog Monday my friends, have had some dental procedures and just wasn’t up to it. I know poor me!!

BUT before you check out the weekly deals I thought I might give you a challenge. I just love this colour combination and plan to make a card next week using them and am wondering can you do the same? Click on the name for some added inspiration.

Perhaps this sketch might give you a base to start from. Be sure to bring your creations to Crafty Creations  on Friday 19th March, we all love to share.    I’m challenging myself to do the same.

sketch

Ok!  Here are this weeks bargains.  Enough chit chat!

Remember to double click  on the words for the link.

Birthday Bash

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I think I have been away long enough. Procrastination over! New beginning. After all I’m sure that you are all curious as to what I have been creating! Yes? No? For those with a yes stay posted because this is one of many. Soon to come from my now full folder of cards made.

Today I will share one I made for our April  challenge and it has been posted in Vicki Wrights Newsletter as I actually wonbirthday bash this month

I like this colour combination, partly because the name ‘blackberry bliss’ reminds me of many a day gathering wild ones in the banks of the River Derwent in Tasmania and if you haven’t tried them they are bliss. Yumm!  To make the card I took Hello Honey card stock  and embossed it with the Lucky  Stars embossing folder and then a piece from Birthday Bash Specialty papers was adhered next to it on Whisper White Card Stock. I over laid the join with Hello Honey ribbon. These were then glued to Blackberry Bliss card stock.

I stamped the Balloons from the photopolymer stamp set in the Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey and Smokey Slate, first onto the Whisper White base then 3 onto a scrap of Whisper White which I then fussy cut out without their threads. The bottom of the Whisper White was stamped in the same colours with the confetti stamp from this set.  The 3 fussy cut balloons were popped up on dimensionals and completed with some string bows to each of them and a Hello Honey Bow tied them together.

I popped this ‘balloon posy’ up on some more dimensionals and adhered over the ribbon.

The card was completed with Happy Birthday from Itty Bitty Banners.

I created a verse that you can share for this or other balloon cards.

Hope it brightens your day. Still tasting blackberrys!

TRIPLE CHALLENGE

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What is a triple challenge I hear you think?

Challenge 1. Well for me today’s blog is the first one.  I have been invited by Miss Vicky to be part of the creative blog hop where following links you can see, learn, admire and recreate so much about the craft you love. Links and answers to questions all participants are asked are at the bottom of this blog. Thanks Vicky for taking me by surprise and showing faith in my creations.

Challenge 2. I am part of a small group of people at Caloundra Community Center called Crafty Creations and Vicky has organised a monthly card challenge. 1--January-2015You can see them here on Vicky’s face book page Stamps,Paper and Stuff.  Any one is welcome to join in. This is our first one. This is my creative contribution and not a minute too soon – dead line at end of week. See procrastination abounds.

Challenge 3. I have also chosen this card for a clients request for a Birthday Card for her friend who is 89. I hope the tactile feel will help with her enjoyment of the card. Now you know, think no more. Save the grey matter for creating, not wondering!

THE CARD.Butterfly challenge main card

I used Whisper White and Melon Mambo card stock with the new Painted Blooms DSP.

The small butterflies were from Papillion Potpourri the large from the Thinlits Butterflies and the sentiment Butterfly Basics. You can purchase the bundle for both of these at reduced price off them when purchased individually, on my Stampin! Up! web.

Butterfly card top section    The little green frame was cut from the DSP paper and glued to the Whisper White which had been stamped prior to attaching.

I glued the tulip covered DSP on the bottom third before embossing, then I cut out the circle.

Large ButterflyWhen I attached the Whisper White butterfly I just moved it down a fraction so that the Melon Mambo one peeped through.  Attaching a couple of Rhinestones completed the front of the card. It was then attached to Melon Mambo card stock and personalised inside.  Hope you enjoy it.

Now for  some serious stuff.
These questions are what you will read on each of the blogs. So interesting finding out what motivates others.
1.  What are you working on?
Being the newbie it has been this blog, and ALL that is involved from watermarks, uploads, links, media extras and I’m still not there. Being a new distributor I find there are lots of challenges and some steep learning curves but with each step I feel more empowered to make this really work. There is soooo much help in the Stampin’Up! Community there really is no excuse not to succeed. Well maybe ill health, but touch wood I’m great.

2.  How does your work differ from others in your genre?
As yet, thank goodness, it’s not work, and I hope it never becomes that. I’m retired you know!! Each person brings their entire life to the creative process as do I, so in that respect as no one else has had my life, I do differ from others, if only in small ways. I love the quote

“Be Yourself, everyone else is taken.”

3.  Why do you create what you do?
Mostly for the sheer pleasure the tactile aspect of cards creates in me. All things paper are in my blood (see about me) so my starting point is here. There is a sense of satisfaction, with a rye smile, when I have made a card that I have not cased from Pinterest or elsewhere. Just sensing what works and what doesn’t as I create is very satisfying. Then when I’m not 100% happy with the effort and recreate the same with changes. Viola my spirit sores! I love the fact that one formula I not longer have to deal with and that’s all the colour matching. It’s has been done with Stampin Up! and that makes the process so much more relaxed.

4.  How does your creative process work?
I have always been a collator of images and words. Having been a student that loved projects at school.(I still have some of those books.) Some times an idea will be fermenting away in that grey matter for weeks before I actually start to create ie., the above card 3 weeks of mulling over. By then I will have a petty good idea of the stamps, colours and layout I want to use. Of course it still can go wrong. The idea doesn’t measure up to the ideal. This little fellow was my first attempt at the above card. One I didn't want Both nice cards but I like first one better.

I have moved on from creating a lot of different hobbies that I am capable of, due mainly  to space restrictions and “been there done that” syndrome.

Creative Blog Hop happens every week and being a newbie I don’t know others yet but please pop over and visit these pages.

I feel very relaxed with Leonies blog, lots to see here and an Aussie too. http://www.stamp-a-latte.com/creative-blog-hop/

Also try Sue Erikson blog she has a delightful card at the moment using the Petals stamp brush set. http://www.soggystamper.com/2015/01/creative-blog-hop

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. Now you know a little more about me. Happy Stamping. Naomi