Silhouette Sentiments

Today's card is a birthday card- always handy to have one around and I've been a bit short of them lately! I used Just Add Ink's sketch challenge 52 for this one and I must say it turned out better than I expected.

The colours I used for my card are Stampin Up's very vanilla, crumb cake, night of navy and early espresso. The antique brad looks great with the gorgeous satin ribbon and I used the big shot for the oval shape. The stamps are from a set called Silhouette Sentiments- which you can get for free when you host a workshop with sales of just $300!

This card has quite a few layers so it does become a bit heavy- I combat this by adding a layered decorative strip to the back of the card to even out the weight to make it stand up better.

This one came together quite easily and I am really enjoying it, but I'm off now to

mother's group so I'll see you later!



Anniversary card

This week I have been busy stampin'- but haven't had my camera to show off all my hard work! I got it back today finally. It's my five year anniversary this month so I made a card for my hubby using the latest Mojo Monday sketch:

I had quite a difficult time choosing colours and making it look like an aniversary card but at the same time appropriate to give to a man! I hope I succeeded. My husband likes antique things so that's what I was aiming for. I used marina mist, crumb cake and early espresso, with the "flowers never fade" stamp set.

I hope you like it- and I hope he does too!

A Girly Christmas

Just Us Girls Challenge this week was to add a 3D holiday embellishment to your card. I decided I would make mine using some diamontes I bought to make my son's Christmas singlet- I'll post pics of this one when I can.

My card is a very girly take on Christmas and I really like how it turned out. I have a few girly-girl friends so I will have no problems finding an owner for this creation!

The colours I used are Blushing Bride, Poppy Parade, Rich Razzleberry and Pumpkin Pie, with Pretty in Pink satin ribbon and non SU! diamontes with crystal effects for the wreath. The stamp set is the very versatile Christmas Greetings. As always, you can order these products from me here if you live anywhere in Australia!

Ok, I'm off to make a late dinner... oh how time flies when you're having fun!

A Little Treat

I have combined two of my favourite challenges- Inkspirations challenge 50 and Just Add Ink 45. A colour pallete combined with a sketch- lots of inspiration! Here are the challenges-

So here is my card...

Hmm, I'm not too sure about it but there are bits I like. I threaded linen thread through the scallop edge and added a no-knot bow underneath the panel. The sentiment is from 'Afterthoughts' which is a hostess set (click here to find out how you can get it for free!), and the stamps which make up the balloon are A Little Treat and Circle Circus. I've also used crystal effects and dazzling diamonds glitter to the balloon.

Well, enjoy your Saturday- it's lovely here so I may just go out for a picnic!

Sweetest Stem Wreath

Inkspirations have a sketch challenge this week, which I got a chance to do today. I love doing challenges and have managed three this week, despite having a cold!

So here is my card...

I have used Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Real Red and Whisper White colours, including the beautiful paper patterns stack which you can order from me if you live in Australia, as with all products I use. The Big Shot die- Sweetest Stem- was used to create this wreath which also has twine wrapped around it and brads as holly berries. I took some words from a stamp from the set 'Christmas Greetings' to make the teeny tag. A stamp from Circle Circus completes the sketch and adds a cute look to the bottom of the card.

I hope you like it! Now I just have to find an owner for this one at Christmas time. I think it's masculine enough so I might give it to a male family member.

Fancy Favor Box

After seeing new ideas and getting a new stamp set to play with at regional training, I have been keeping busy! I thought I would do Just Add Ink's colour challenge this week-

Lovely colours! I had a go at watercolouring using my new stamp set, Every Moment.

I used the Fancy Favor box to make this:

I have used the perfect polkadots embossing folder, as well as the curly label punch which adds a nice effect. The circles down the bottom are from Circle Circus and the greeting is from a stamp set which you can earn for free at the moment by having a workshop.

I cheated a little and used early espresso for the button and ribbon- but it's pretty close!

I did three layers of watercolouring to achieve this effect, and used crystal effects to add "dew drops" on the bullrushes. My box is actually based on one of the four make and takes from regional training:

Let me know what you think! Thanks for stopping by.

A Vintage Christmas

I have been working on a range of vintage feel Christmas Cards in preparation to some classes I will be presenting in December. If you are interested in attending one, call me on 0421226332 or email tennillekoelma@y7mail.com to book your spot!

This card uses the Mojo Monday 166 sketch which is really nice- I always enjoy working with a sketch or colour challenge and applying my own creativity. This card uses real red, crumb cake, very vanilla and early espresso, with the Welcome Christmas stamp set and Music Notes wheel. See that gold shimmer? That's a brand new product from Stampin' Up! available from December 1. And don't you just love that striped ribbon! So perfect for Christmas. I inked my three real red brads in Stazon to get that half dark half red look.

I should also mention that the bow is made using the technique that Teneale Williams demonstrated at Sydney regional training last Saturday. Thanks Teneale! Check out her stunning work here.

My husband just arrived back from an overseas trip and bought me a brand new camera to use for my blog. I think it makes a huge difference- now I just have to learn how to get the most out of it (that's where my father comes in, he's a photographer)!

I hope you enjoy my card. If you are interested in any of the products used to make it, you can buy them from me.

Just Add Ink... and Blue

I have finally gotten my act together to complete a second card challenge this week. I spent a fair bit of time yesterday sorting out my crafting space... ready to take the plunge to become a Stampin Up! demonstrator. My (soon to be) upline Linda Higgins is visiting today to get the paperwork sorted. I hope this means more opportunities to meet fellow crafters and make cards, as I really love it and I particularly love Stampin Up products. Sooo fun!

Anyway... I better write about my card now. This one is for this week's Just Add Ink challenge: just add blue for depression and anxiety awareness month.

I don't make masculine cards often but bought the woodgrain background stamp for this purpose. I like the look of the colours together- whisper white, basic grey, night of navy and crumb cake- very masculine. I wondered if it needed some sort of picture stamp but I think its simplicity makes it nice. I need to slow down with my whisper white craft ink though, it's like paint and looks gorgeous but needs drying time!

I used my Big Shot for this card- the top note die and oval shape- it certainly is paying itself off! The circle is a 1 3/4 punch. The only thing non Stampin Up is the button from a local craft shop.

Well, thanks for peeking!

Inkspirations Colour Challenge #44

I have finally had time to complete a challenge, after returning back to work post school holidys and celebrating my birthday! Makeesha's colour challenge was another really lovely combo:

This colour pallete screams baby card to me, but I really needed a thank you card, so I'll just have to have another play with these colours another time! This is what I did:

I love the Ornate Blossom stamp and finally inked it up for this card in Daffodil Delight, then used crystal effects over the whole stamp. I used the beautiful Greenhouse Gala DSP and cut a Marina Mist top note into two smaller sections with a piece of Whisper White cardstock to hide the join. I sponged the edges of this with craft Whisper White ink and used my gel pen to add dots for accent.

I hope you enjoyed my card!

Just Add Ink 38

This week's challenge at Just Add Ink is in line with Breast cancer awareness month. The theme is just add pink and bling... and my guess is there won't be a masculine project in sight! I had a go at making a top note box for my submission:

The colours I used are Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride and Whisper White. I used a satin gold ribbon to close my box and to tie in the gold bling on the embellishment.

I used my 1 3/4 circle punch to make the box easier to open.

I lined the inside with Whisper White stamped with the flower from Friends Never Fade. Now I just need to find something cute to add inside. I hope you like my little box, thanks for having a look!



Mojo Monday 159- October Contest

As soon as I saw this month's Mojo Monday sketch contest ideas started pouring in... but sitting at the crafting table I think I had so many ideas I had to slow down and focus on one thing at a time! Here is the sketch we were given:

 It's hard to choose the different elements of a card- do you start with the colour scheme, the stamps or the sketch? I already had the gorgeous sketch to work with so this time I went with the colours first- a pretty floral arrangement of rose red, blushing bride, peach parfait and very vanilla, with a little pear pizzazz (if you could call it that) for embellishment. I fiddled around for a bit and thus here's my card:

I used rose red and whisper white (craft) inks, as well as the top note die and the manhattan flower embossing folder. I sponged every layer to soften it up. The green jewels and white scalloped ribbon (which is actually a sticky tape- very cool) are non Stampin Up. I again used the Friends Never Fade set which is a star on my blog at the moment- it's so lovely to use with so many colours. The central flower is first stamped in white, then rose red to achieve a shadow effect.

I also decorated the inside of my card:

You kinda need glasses for that photo, but you get the idea. I wanted to keep it simple on the inside, but it does make the card feel very spesh.

I hope you like my card, thanks for having a look!

Mojo Monday... on a Sunday!

Oh so I'm just squeezing this challenge in! Oh well, better late than never, right? Here's Mojo Monday's sketch challenge this week:

Hmmm, round or square? Well, I'm not really a round card person, so I went the easier option and did square. I really liked doing this sketch. Here's my card:

I used the manhattan flower embossing folder to give the three panels some detail. There's not much stampin on this card, but I did use Sincere Salutations which I love to use, and sponge daubed the edges of my oval. I made the three square buttons using three layers of real red cardstock, glued together, pierced with my paper piercer, threaded with crumb cake and finally layered with crystal effects.

It took a lot of patience waiting for these babies to dry, they're smothered in CE! I'm pretty happy with my card. Thanks for peeking! Now check out the others (if you haven't already) HERE.

Just Add Ink challenge 37

Time for another challenge! The colours at Just Add Ink this week are...

Hmmm, an interesting combination! I would never choose these colours on my own, so it's fun to be given a challenge which stretches you. Here's what I came up with:

It took me a while to work out what I was going to do with these colours. This was the first time I used Friends Never Fade, it's a gorgeous stamp set. I used crystal effects on the flower in the oval, which adds a nice contrasting texture. I distressed my edges and stamped off first to achieve a slightly more faded Rose Red on the Top Note die. I finished it off with three rhinestone brads.

The other entrants are just so gorgeous this week. You should definately check them all out. Thanks for stopping by!

Just Add Ink Sketch Challenge 36

My first challenge! I'm taking advantage of the holidays and trying to get my blog up and running. So I've taken part in Just Add Ink's sketch challenge for the week... and I've just made it in time! Here's the sketch I followed:

And here's my creation:

I used a sweet treat cup and added a chockie lady bug. The colours are Pear Pizzazz, Poppy Parade and Basic Black. The greeting is from Sincere Salutations and the leaves from A Little Treat, both Stampin Up. I like the simple, clean look of this card, and it's delicious too!

You can check out the challenge HERE. Thanks for visiting!