Saturday 7 December 2013

Anything but Black

It has been a while since I entered a challenge at Gina K designs but today I decided to reconnect.
Here is the link: http://stamptv.ning.com/forum/topics/mix-it-up-monday-dec-2-2013-stv13mon48-ink-it-up-without-black if you wish to play along too.

        Christmas cards are still on the agenda as I don't seem to have made enough yet.....haha.
My entry is using Memento Toffee Crunch, GKD Cherry Red and Ivory Inks. So no black ink in sight!


I love the combination of the  GKD snow frame (outer) with the Inspired by stamping holly frame( Festive Frame set) inside the focal image. The snow border and holly leaves are stamped in the beautiful new ink from GKD called Ivory (my new favourite!!!) A strip of DSP from Stampin up completes the project. 

                                Hope you are having a creative Day..........

                                                                              xx   Liz

Monday 2 December 2013

The Arrival of December

           Yesterday marked the start of Summer here in Australia and we had  lovely warm weather. The afternoon was spent having a BBQ meal with friends and then a game of cricket in the backyard completed the day. There is nothing more Australian than that!

          December is also bringing to a close this year's BOM quilt I have been doing with Amy Gibson from Stitchery Dickory Dock. I first met Amy through the Craftsy platform last year, where I did a free BOM class with her. I fell in love with her teaching style, quilting enthusiasm and also sharing snippets about her life, so decided to enroll and do another mystery quilt. I am ready to sew the last of the blocks but here are the other 11 that I have done. I must say that I have loved every minute of sewing these blocks together.

                              
                         I have used the fabric range called 'The Morris Apprentice" by Barbara Brackman for Moda Fabrics. Well, it is time to get back to the sewing machine and complete the final block. 
Amy is running another block of the month from her blog in 2014. Will I be doing it? You will have to watch and see........... until then
                                               
                                                       I hope you are having a creative day

                                                                 xx Liz



Monday 25 November 2013

IBS WHW #124–Painters Tape Tutorial

Inspired by Stamping has wonderful Tutorials that inspire you to get your tools, inks and stamps out and play along. Maybe you would like to play along to so here is the link:

http://joannamunster.com/2013/11/20/whw-124painters-tape-tutorial

I have used Distress inks in Ripe Persimmon, Shaded Lilac and Peacock Feathers to create the vertical stripes.
The stamps used were IBS Birthday Greetings and December 25th Labels. Adding a few flower buttons and bakers twine in black and white added another dimension to the stripes. Spellbinders Labels 18 die was used for the Orange frame around the label stamp. Fun technique, I hope you give it a try!

                       I hope you are having a creative day........

A New Beginning

    10 months ago I put pictures up on this blog farewelling our old church. It was a time of change and renewal but also of sadness. A lot has been going on over those past months and yesterday we had the first service in the new building. It has been a blessing to see the graciousness of God in the rapid growth of this magnificent worship centre. We have had very little rain during that time but this last week when the grass and gardens needed to be planted God in his wisdom supplied it in plenty. Here are a few photos of the building ready to be occupied for a worship service by the congregation of the Lower Mountains Anglican Parish
     
               
                    The
              Auditorium

Our Casual Meeting Area
This Stone was taken from the Front of the Old 'A' Frame Building
Looking toward the Offices and Small Halls


                                                                 Our Beautiful new Kitchen!
 The Front Entrance
The Office Block to the left of the Front Entrance

The Meeting Area on the Front Right




Saturday 16 November 2013

Christmas Cards

I have really got a wriggle on with my Christmas cards this week as I suddenly realized that it is only about 6 weeks till Christmas. HELP!!
     Anyway here are I few I have added to the collection.

Stampin Up 'Prince of Peace' Stamp
Magnolia & WaltzingMouse Ornament
JustRite Holiday Cheer Ornaments



                   
 I have used the Prince of Peace Stamp from Stampin Up
for the card on the left, embossed in Blue embossing powder and
layered onto a Die cut Oval which I also inked in the Nautical Blue
Ink by Memento.






          Hope you are having a creative day,

Tuesday 12 November 2013

IBSIC #69

Well why not!!!

      Yes, I have completed all three colour combinations for the IBS challenge. As I said I am on a mission to make the most 'non-traditional' Christmas cards ever this year.
                 The theme of this one is very traditional but the colours are different.
The colours were:     Cream, Baby Blue(which has turned out slightly grey in the photo) and Red.


I stenciled the cream cardstock with Memento Summer Sky ink to form the brickwork pattern and using the Gothic window and luminary die from Poppy stamps cut out the frame. The tree die is from Australian Simply Cards Magazine. The saying from IBS Festive Frame set. Flower from IBS too.

   That completes my creative afternoon and I hope you are having a creative day too.

IBS Inspiration Challenge #68

I have completed another card for the challenge at Inspired By Stamping.

      This time the colour scheme was White, Parchment and Turquoise. What a fun combination!
 I really had to put my thinking cap on for this one but loved the end result, so here it is:


I am determined to get my Christmas cards whilst I do these challenges so I am creating very 'different' non traditional Christmas cards this year and loving it.

The background stamp is one that I have had for many years from Hero Arts called Poinsettia and Birds. The focal image is from IBS Festive Frames set. Spellbinders Lacey and Classic Ovals were used to cut the image.

      Hope you are  having a creative day too........ blessings

IBSIC #67

Well, today I am meant to be sleeping as I work night duty!
                        However, noise, the heat and rain all seemed to be intruding on my sleep, so I thought I would use the time to do some cards for a challenge over at Inspired by Stamping .
This has to be my new favourite place to visit..... I love the stamps and the digital papers but also the wonderful challenges that Joanna puts up. This challenge is all about colour!
 The first colour scheme is White, Baby Blue and Green. Here is the creation I made:
                                                               

The stamp sets used are Fancy Alphabet,
Vintage Banners and  Festive Frames(for the word Christmas). 
The punches are from Stampin Up.
Digital paper from the Boy Birthday Bash collection.





Hope you are having a creative day too......

Saturday 9 November 2013

Waltzingmouse Stamps: My Guy

Well Hello,
      I discovered a wonderful company from Ireland a few years back called WaltzingMouse Stamps and instantly fell in love with these beautiful vintage style stamps. I have bought numerous sets over the years but this latest set that I purchased takes the cake.

          It is called My Kind of Guy and it is so versatile. I actually love the borders and elements in the stamp set as well as the very 'British' sayings that can be used for any guy. Anyway I have to attend a 50th birthday party today for a friend and I immediately reached for this set, Here is my card:
The numbers are from Stampin Up 'Memorable Moments' set,  as I think they are the best number stamps that I own.

Of course the classic black and white theme gives this card class.

Hope Matthew enjoys it to!




          Hope you are having a creative day. xx

Friday 8 November 2013

IBS WHW #122

A productive evening in my craft room has resulted in a card finished for the Inspired by Stamping Whoo Hoo Wednesday technique on making a Colleen Bow. Here is the link if you want to check it out:
http://joannamunster.com/2013/11/06/whw-122make-a-colleen-bow/

and here is my version
  The sentiment is from an IBS stamp set called Holiday Sentiments.
The paper is Stampin Up and I used Spellbinders Labels 17 to diecut the sentiment.

                Hope you are having a creative day.

Thursday 7 November 2013

Plaid for Christmas

Today I started the morning enjoying a video from Gina K over at Stamp TV.
 I just had to get into my craft room and make a sample even though I didn't have the right pens.
I think I did the technique justice and just love the effect.  I can see a few more of these coming off the table before Christmas is over.

The sentiment is from Inspired by Stamping Holiday sentiments and the die is from a set from Elizabeth craft designs. Add a bit of ribbon and a button attached with bakers twine in blue and white and you have it all complete.

                           Hope you are having a creative day.

Monday 4 November 2013

Finally Quilted

Well I have finally completed the quilting on that lovely quilt that is headed for Chile. It was presented to the family yesterday in our church service. I have been meaning to post the pictures but have been a bit busy so here it is:

Outlining the waratah flowers in the centre of each block seemed the way to go to make them stand out. On my daily walk I collected various shaped and sized gum leaves so that I was able to trace around them for the  borders of the  waratah blocks and butterflies flying around the yellow border between the embroidered words seemed to tie the words all together.

 Overall I think it came together very well and I'm sure it will be a wonderful reminder of the people back home in Australia supporting them.

     Hope you are having a creative day.

Saturday 2 November 2013

Mix It Up Monday Challenge

Well, I have finally got around to doing the Gina K Design Challenge again today. It has been a while since I participated due to my hectic life of late.. Here is the link if you wish to have a look:
http://stamptv.ning.com/forum/topics/just-a-little-accent-strip-stv13mon43

For my first card I used GKD stamp set Sentimental Holiday and gold embossed the tree and sentiment with a strip of patterned paper from an old kit by GKD called A Merry Little Christmas.

For my second card I went for the stamp set City of David. Given that I am a Christian and love to send Christian based cards, this suits me perfectly.


                    Hope you are having a creative day.

Friday 1 November 2013

Is it November Already?

I have had the busiest few weeks, hence no entries on my blog. I can't believe that October has gone already!!

             My birthday being the 14th October and my wedding anniversary being the 27th makes for lots of celebrations in our household. To celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary, we had a wonderful weekend in Orange. Orange, is a lovely country town about 2 1/2 hour drive west of Glenbrook (where I live) and the area around Orange had a festival of food and wine. Seeing as DH and I love both we thought it would be a great place for a getaway. Had a wonderful lunch on Saturday at Lolli Redini Restaurant featuring Ross Hill Wines. Exceptional on all accounts. Need I say, we didn't need dinner!!

            Today I spent the morning wandering around a papercraft expo in Penrith. Lots to see and buy so I am off to my craft room now to play with all my purchases. Hope to have some creations up here soon.
                                       
                            Hope you are having a creative day. XX

Thursday 17 October 2013

Vintage Happy Birthday

Well, after a lovely weekend away sewing I am now getting back to my card making.

            Today I have just completed a card for the final IBS birthday challenge. Here is the link if you wish to play along:
http://joannamunster.com/2013/10/09/introducing-a-lovely-birthday-vintage-happy-birthday/

  My entry covers both the birthday theme and one of the colour challenges as well, so I think I will enter it in both challenges. The greeting is from IBS Big Wishes II set. The colours are pale blue, Olive and Dark Blue/Navy. However in this photo the embossed area nearly looks white.haha....


Got to fly so that I can get this entered, time is running out.
                                   
                                       Hope you are having a creative day.

Friday 11 October 2013

IBS Colour Combinations

Another challenge for Inspired by Stamping is the colour combinations. There are 4 combinations to choose from and I have chosen to do the White, Rose and Olive Green. Here is the link:
http://joannamunster.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Colors-3.png

Even though I have made a Christmas card in these colours I think it turned out fairly well. Who said we have to stick to 'traditional' colours for Christmas??? Hope you enjoy my creation:
The Stamp set I used is from IBS and is called Festive Frames.

                              I am having a creative day and I hope you are too.

IBS Chalkboard Challenge

The latest craze to hit the stamping world(and everywhere else) appears to be chalkboards.

Over at Inspired by Stamping they are having a challenge to incorporate the use of chalkboards. In other words. White ink/embossing on black cardstock. Here is the link:
http://joannamunster.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/chalkboardtechnique.png

and here is my entry.

         Hope you are having a creative day.

Thursday 10 October 2013

Quilt bound for Chile

                   I have been asked to do the quilting on this beautiful quilt made by the ladies at my church. It's a present for our link missionaries and it will be heading for a life in Chile. I have spent the past few hours pinning and preparing it ready for the quilting. It is funny to say that I have spent the last few hours on my knees which I haven't done in a while, considering that it is a quilt from our church.

                       The fabric is from a range designed by a very talented Australian called Lisa Chandler and it is is lovely Autumn tones.   Here it is so far:


It is time to head to the sewing room and get started on the quilting. 
                                 Hope you are having a creative day.


Monday 7 October 2013

Inspired by Stamping 2nd Birthday Challenge

The  company Inspired by Stamping is celebrating their 2nd birthday this month and are having a big party. Lots of challenges and fun things going on.
http://joannamunster.com/2013/10/06/introducing-create-a-cupcake-celebrating-2-years/

 I have created a card for the sketch challenge #1. Here it is: This is using the stamps from IBS Holiday sentiments, patterned paper from K& Company 'Holiday Traditions'

This entry is for sketch #4 in the birthday challenge. I used Festive Frames inked with Memento markers in Cottage Ivy and Love Letter and the sentiment is coloured using Espresso Truffle. The border is Martha Stewart  Lace Doily.
   

     Hope you are having a creative Day.

Saturday 5 October 2013

WHW #119 Using Markers on Your Projects

Good Morning,

                 It is a sunny day here in Sydney and the predicted forecast is for 30 degrees Celsius today and its only Spring!

              Yesterday I managed to get a few cards made for various challenges and today I am posting for Inspired by Stamping Wednesday Tutorial on using markers to colour your stamps instead of inks:
http://joannamunster.com/2013/10/02/whw-119using-markers-on-your-stamps/

Here is my card and by doing these challenges I am getting my Christmas cards started early. Lol.
I have coloured the sentiment with Memento markers in Tuxedo Black, Love Letter and Cottage Ivy. The stamp is from IBS Holiday Sentiments. The embossing folder is Couture Creations "Baubles". and it has been highlighted with Sakura Gel Pens.

                   Hope you are having a creative day.

Friday 4 October 2013

Stamp TV Mix it Up Monday

I have spent a wonderful day in my craft room today getting lots of cards made for various challenges. To start with I am playing along with Gina K Design Challenge Mix it up Monday.

It is a sketch challenge this week
                                                                  
and here is my entry.
I have used patterned paper from Gina Designs called 'Love Letters', hot red and craft cardstock. All the stamp sets are from Gina K Designs , the bird image and saying is from 'Sung from the Heart' and the other set is 'Sweetest Memories' for the heart and 'You" stamp in the sentiment. I reversed the bird stamp by stamping onto acetate first with Memento Tuxedo black ink, huffing on the image before turning it over and rubbing over it onto the cardstock. This gives a reverse image.

    Hope you are having a creative day.

Saturday 28 September 2013

Agenda for today--- Sewing

What a beautiful day here in Sydney. Spring is in the air and I started the day with a long walk to exercise both my darling dog and myself. Then I don't feel guilty for sitting all day in my craft room.

Just as well I went out early as the wild windy weather has started up again. The only thing that this wind is good for is getting the washing dry. At least the temperature is in the high 20's Celsius.

I am going to a sewing retreat in a few weeks and decided that a new bag to carry all my supplies was needed. The fabric is so cute that I just couldn't leave it in the patchwork shop when I saw it. What do you think?
 The collection of Fabric is by Helen Stubbings
"Nice People Nice Things" for Red Rooster Fabrics









I have embroidered a side pocket to go on the outside of the bag using parts of a pattern from Blue Willow Cottage called 'Threads of Friendship' .

I'll have more photos when I have finished........ back to the sewing machine for now.

All Finished. Here are the photos of the front and back of the bag, I am very happy with the results.




                   

 Hope you are having a creative day.

Friday 27 September 2013

Mix it up Monday Challenge-Case Yourself

 I am finally on a roll today getting all my cards made for the challenges that I like to enter. This one is for Gina K Designs and here is the link:
http://stamptv.ning.com/forum/topics/mix-it-up-mondaystv13mon38-case-yourself

I have used all GKD stamp sets (City of David and Sentimental Holidays) to make a Christmas card based on a card that I have previously made. Seeing as how I love black and white I decided to use that card to copy. Here it is:

The happy anniversary card on the left is the original card that I copied to make a Christmas card. I white embossed the Joseph and Mary figures on a black CS circle before mounting it on the Spellbinders Lotus Medallion. The saying is from the stamp set Sentimental Holidays from GKD. The black lace border is from Christina Re.

    I hope you are having a creative day.

IBS Blog Hop:-Holiday Theme

Well, I've finally had some time in my craft room and I am entering the Inspired By Stamping October Blog Hop. Here is the link:
http://joannamunster.com/2013/09/20/october-blog-hopholiday-theme

I am slowly collecting some lovely IBS stamps so here is my first card using them.


I'll be back later with some more cards.
                                                         














Here is my second card for this challenge using the stamp set December 25th Labels from IBS. The embossing folder is from Couture Creations and is titled Cabaret

                                     Hope you are having a creative day.

Monday 16 September 2013

It's So Easy

Well at Stamp TV they have a weekly challenge called Mix It Mondays and here is the link:
http://stamptv.ning.com/forum/topics/stv13mon36-mix-it-up-monday-challenge-for-9-9-it-s-sew-easy

For this week the challenge is to use sewing on your project. It can be real or faux stitching. Although I love to sew I decided to go with faux stitching this time and here is my entry:


The stamp set is from Gina K Designs and is called Under the Weather. The pattern paper is Wisteria Lane also from GKD.  The card base is GKD Pure Luxury Ivory CS. I used Momento ink for stamping in Espresso Truffle and then coloured the bear in with copic markers  E34,E35,Yr20,Yr21,R81.
Spellbinders classic ovals and Lacy Ovals were used to cut the focal image and Fancy Framed tags 2 was used for the sentiment.  Sakura Gel Pen in purple was used for the faux stitching.

Have a creative day.

Saturday 14 September 2013

IBS Inspiration CHallenge #66

The second card is for the third colour combination (#66) of Black, White and Yellow in the Inspiration Challenge as IBS.
http://joannamunster.com/2013/09/11/ibsi-challenge-64-65-66/
I have used a black card base with a Yellow Doily from Cheery Lyn Designs called Sophia's Heart
  The Fancy Labels 18 is the backdrop behind the  Vintage Banner which has been embossed in white on Vellum and the Happy Birthday from the Birthday Greetings set all by IBS.
Have a creative Day.

IBS Inspiration Challenge #65

Well I have been busy in my room today doing 2 more cards the the Inspired by Stamping Challenges. You will find the instructions for the challenge here:
http://joannamunster.com/2013/09/11/ibsi-challenge-64-65-66

Yesterday I posted the first of my colour combinations and today I have the other 2. Firstly for Challenge #65. The colours were pale Green, Pale Pink and Tan.

 The card base is in pale pink. The greeting is from IBS Birthday Greeting set and the frame from Fancy Labels 18 all inked in Vivid ink Soft Pink on Tan cardstock. The pale green Doily is from Cheery Lyn Designs "Italian Flourish". The background paper is from a pack of handmade papers in pale green mounted on a tan card base with a scalloped border embossed in the edge.










Hope you are having a creative day.

Friday 13 September 2013

IBSIC #64

Inspired by Stamping is having another colour challenge and I have decided to play along this month. Anything for a challenge. Here is the link:

I found this hard to put together these lovely pastel colours as I usually like bold and striking colours, but here is my entry:

I have used the greeting from the birthday greetings set and the very faint pink border either side of the greeting from Fancy Labels 18 all by IBS.

                          Hope you have a creative day.

It's Finished !

Well I have finally finished the little suitcase for my friends birthday this afternoon. Here are the final pictures.
The top closure with "70" on the straps.

Magnolia's Singing Tilda with a very old Happy Birthday stamp from Jemac Rubber Stamps
The doily is from Cheery Lynn Designs: Nautical Wheeler Doily


Hope you have a creative day.