Hey Everyone!! cooler here this morning, so good to feel cool air on my skin, I do not deal well with the heat, so I have been loving this cooler summer with only the few warmer days!! Although the lawn is still growning strong!!

I made a card!! Yes I am back to that, so Lisa hosted the I Spy Challenge on SCS and I am sure it is a candle, so here is my effort, a head start on Christmas this year.... how scary!!

 Lisa is so funny, she really takes this so seriously and does such a wonderful job, she makes things so fun!!  So Lisa said....


Now you know I love winning prizes, I love anything that is a freebie, even if I never use it, so I just had to be in this.

Here is a closie of the stacked embellie on my card.  The ribbon is only thin, so I made a quad-bow with it and wrapped it around my card to make more impact.  Three beautifull mulberry flower pointsettias, some bead string (fused beads) and a hat pin of course.  Very tricky, eh??

Now to post on SCS so I get my freebie....

Oh and I think you should pop on over to Lisa's Blog because she offers freebies there too.... Crafting Cottage go on you will love her cards and other things too.  Gorgeous!!!

See you soon!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone, Second post for today, hope you don't get overloaded with too many cards!!

Yes I made this card from the inspiration gained when cricket fans decked themselves out in pink to support the McGrath Foundation day of the second Test at the SCG.


The McGrath Foundation was co-founded by Jane McGrath and her cricketing husband Glenn after Jane's diagnosis and initial recovery from breast cancer. 


So my pretty pink card is very feminine, birthday with all the usual items, like ribbon, bows, flowers pearls and flowers.  Lisa will love me.


Get inky or papery soon, you will love it!!


LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone, just a little bit cooler here today, I love a cool Summer instead of that raging heat.  Supposed to be hot over the weekend, so I think I will be crafting a lot during the day, so much cooler in the play room.

Today I made a card, and when I was done I thought 'good one Lauren, you have just made the card that can be for Barb's PB Swap!'.  Alas it is not in pastel colours, so there went that idea!!

Oh well it is still a good card anyway, even if it is hot pink and mossy green. Nice stamped background, and gotta love love love that bling!!!

Go get inky soon, it is so much fun.

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone!  Seems I am on a roll, so I kept going and made another card!!

My favourite colours and a brilliant sunset, what more would you want.  This is a Stamp It Australia stamp with sky coloured with Tombow Dual Brush Pens directly to the paper to give this rich colour.  


Cut out, matted onto Bazzil Java, mounted onto Bazzil Yam with a cardbase of Kasz Oatmeal.  Embellished with braid, button and handmade Utee dipped skeleton leaf with bead chips and microbeads.  First time dipping UTEE and it is great fun, there is much more I want to try.

Might have to keep making things while my mojo is around.

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyonne!! Cooler day here in paradise, lovely breeze and clouds made for a wonderful day working and then creating!!

Ok so I made a card for the new Alphabet Challenge Round 3 on SCS.  It is hosted each week by Dellsdani and she mixes it up sometimes. This time we have to write a story and the first one is a story with lots of the letter A, next week will be continue the story with the letter B, oh boy I cannot write stories.  So.....
An Angel, attired in aquamarine, flew above the Antarctic in an aeroplane to see the abundant animals.



For a non-story teller, this seems a reasonable start, and the card fits in with the aeroplane over the Antarctic peaks (self-made digi stamp) with punched penguins frollicking about.  Ok use your imagination, maybe a boy would like this for his birthday.

Now I hope you get to make something soon.

LoveLaurenxx

Hi Everyone, it seems that Summer is here, each day is getting warmer.  Really I should be grateful that it has been cool until now and just suck it up!

Today I made a card (is this getting boring?) with no pearls or bling!!  My goodness, can it really be worth a blog post? Can it really be worth a look?  I think so, simple, slim, and some lovely stamping!!

Stamped background in Colorbox Fluid Chalk Creamy Brown with Lucy's Dotty Brushstrokes (love that stamp), then overstamped Fluid Chalk Prussian Blue with Lucy's Chalk Frangipani (love the chalk look).

Matted onto Bazzill Bahama and embellished with a stip of checked ribbon with a knot tied.  Finished with a 'Happy Birthday' in downward dotty letters.  No bulk here, just great for going through the post!!

This is very reminiscent of my stamping several years ago (hmmm maybe 4 or 5), time flies when you are having fun!!

Stamp something soon!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hello Everyone!!

Beautiful sunny Summer's day here, 28 degrees with a light breeze all day, very nice!

So I made a birthday card for BRAK assignments.  Blue and blue with some white and sheer ribbon ribbed across the bottom, some sheer bows.  Pretty and not bulky so cheaper overseas post.  Oh no, can be it I am getting thrifty as I get older??

Of course I couldn't make a card without some pearls and some butterflies!!!  And I used my newest punch, that lovely lace punch from SU.  I am sure I have no loyalty, except to liking it, needing it!!

Hope you get some inking done soon.

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone, The New Year is really off to a great start!!! What have you been doing??

This card was made for the SCS Colour Challenge this week, A little Bashful Blue. Colors this week are BASHFUL BLUE, NIGHT OF NAVY and WHITE. The dessert this week is glitter.

OK so this is what I came up with, Navy, Sky Blue and White with a little bit of glitter down the body of the butterflies.

Hope you like it!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone, how good is this challenge????

Still working on the Forest Swap VSN Challenge (by yours truly as hostie) with bling, beads, glitter, glimmer, shimmer or shine or any of the above.  Also the SCS Ways to Use it Challenge WT355 Just Bead It!!


This was a wonderful challenge for me, I love to use beads on my cards, although I have so much stuff that sometimes I have to overlook things or there would be no space at all left on my cards and they would weigh a ton!!  

My background was sent to me by a friend, a punch around the page.  So I made a little focal from a cardstock square covered with mulberry paper and put a little bunch of flowers made from beads and wire.  I made a little 5 spirals out of the wire by twisting the wire around a toothpick and then stretching it, threading 8/0 seed beeds each piece. Then they were tied together at the bottom, glued down and covered with a bow and a flower with micro bead centre.

I am happy with this one, and I think I got it right, seems I really did Bead It!!

Hope you like it.

LoveLaurenxx

 

Hi Everyone, just loving this New Year's Day and cardmaking and blogging to my heart's content!!

This is the third card in the Forest Swap VSN for New Year.  Sam was the hostess for this hour and she wanted us to find our all time favourite paper and make a card inspired by that paper.

This would be my all time favourite DP and it is the last of it!! So sad!!  Beautiful cream and black with a swirling vine trailing over it and the ost beautiful stylised flower on it.  I just love it.  So my card is black and cream with a TH flourish, ribbon, bow, handmade rose, stamped focal of SU Upsy Daisy and a Penny Black sentiment of Make a Wish.

I really liked this one, it has all those things that I love most on my cards.

Hope you like it!!

LoveLaurenxx

This evening I have taken part in the Forest Swap VSN Challenge night for New Year's Eve, such fun.  This is the card I made for LJ's challenge, to use roses or red or rose bowl, you see she is a baseball fan, but I love roses.... here it is!!

Well it is red and it has roses on it.  I loved it and wrote the sentiment on it so that it would also fit in with the SCS I Spy Challenge this week hosted by my friend Lisa, so easy to know it is FRIENDSHIP.... and Lisa is giving free digis to anyone who makes a card, so go have a looksie at her blog and  then jump on over to the challenge post #4054 for this week's challenge and check out the rules in post #1 and and have a go!!! 

Hope you like it!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hi Everyone, Happy New Year to you all!!! It is a great start to 2012 for me!

Tonight I am taking part in the Forest Swap VSN to bring in the New Year.  Fantastic, crafting with friends from around the world. Darlene started us off at 8pm USA EST and asked us to make a card inspired by someone who gave us great memories from our childhood.




I made this card in memory of my Grandmother, she was someone who spent much special time with me, she taught me to knit and sew, gave me appreciation of the books and the garden.  I loved her dearly and miss her every day.



I made this card in cream, with an embossed background, a beautiful bow, lace flower, hatpins, pearls and a lovely silhouette image from SU.  My Grandma was elegant, always had lace and pearls, loved her garden  and always smelled of Gardenia or Rose.

Hope you have fond memories of your childhood.

LoveLaurenxx

Hello Everyone, Happy New Year's Eve, what are you planning on tonight??? I am going to sleep it in, it will still be New Year's Day tomorrow and I won't be so tired!!

Make a dress, well that's what the challenge said, I think anyway.  It was on SCS and I cannot get back online to make sure, but I did make a card anyway.


Ok, this is very feminine, I made a dress from the Sewing Room die, embossed it, chopped it a bit and put a lace skirt and a ribbon bow and some pearls. Ribbon and bow, butterflies, a floral decoration made from the die from MFT that Miss Lynn sent me as part of the Secret Santa (lucky me!!).

A little DTP on the flower to match ribbon and butterflies.  Used a hatpin  and it all came together well.

Miss Lisa will be so proud of me. You see it has pink √, ribbon √, flower √, butterfly √, hatpin √, Lisa will be ecstatic!!!

So there you go, hope you like it!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hi Everyone, second post for today, so scroll down to see more after this post!!

Hi Lisa, do you recognise this??? It is a poor man's copy of your style of cards.  But you make them so so so much better than I do, even though you supplied the punched backing for this card!!! Oh well, practice it seems.

Oh Lisa and I took some hints from you about jazzing up my photos like yours, decorations are only everything eh??

This card will be entered into the Alphabet Challenge on SCS for this week, where the idea is to copy a card from the gallery.  This was so easy for me, I love Lisa's work.  Go check out her blog and I bet you will be blown away by her talent http://craftingcottage.wordpress.com/ oh and tell me if you are not impressed!!

LoveLaurenxx

Hi Everyone!!

OK, so I promised myself that my New Year's resolution (from someone who just does not make them) would be to blog like my Canadian friend Lisa.  Lisa blogs first, then posts elsewhere like SCS or other albums.  I need to do that.  I have a wonderful group of followers and I want to be able to offer blog candy and post my digis free on my blog and I ask myself "how can you do that when you blog so irregularly??".

But I promise to be so good you will be tired of reading me!!! I promise!!! So here is a bit of practice to get ready for the New Year!!

So here is a card in honour of Lisa, she inspired me to make a pink flower.  The flower is made from white tulle (netting) with the TH Tattered Florals die the daisy and then dyed with Ranger Distress Ink Lipstick Red.. It has nine layers and a glittery centre and is layered on top of a lace bow that was also dyed with the same ink.

The image is from lalaland stamps is a digi and her name is Marci.  Isn't she pretty sitting there.  I think I also need to get a bit better colouring this year too, seems I am a bit out of practice.  Oh Oh Oh I coloured the pearls with a pink Copics pen too!!!

Hope you like her sitting there thinking of you!!

Oh you should pop on over to Lisa's blog Crafting Cottage, she is my inspiration for so much, she makes great cards, have fun visiting!!


LoveLaurenxx

This card was made for the Alphabet Challenge Fill In for this week on SCS hosted by DellsDani.  She put out the challenge to find a card we had made for the challenge in previous weeks, one we liked and remake it.  Well I chose a card that I thought I could do much better with and remade it.

 So this is the remake with the image from SU lovely as a tree, I brayered a background and then stamped the image, stamped some birds and sponged the hillside. Put it in a frame and embellished with a skeleton leaf embellie made by putting some micro beads and chips on, then dipping in UTEE. I like the effect much better than just embossing the item. Further embellished with ribbon and sunflowers, and some pearls.
And here is the original with no background, stamped on a die cut and embellished with leaf embossed with UTEE heated with a heatgun, the ribbon and rhinestones.  This card was adequate, but the remake is a great improvement, I think.

Thanks for calling in, hope you get to make something this week.

LoveLaurenxx

Hey Everyone, I have been missing from the Blog world a little lately, so I will make up for it now. These are the cards I made in November for different challenges, swaps and fun.   There are a few others I will blog separately.  Enjoy.

 Made this special card for my special neighbour, love her heaps.  The paper was given to me by my Canadian friend Lynn and the roses are from my Retro Rose Tutie.
 This card was a take on vintage oval mirrors, could be a sympathy card or even a wedding card.  So simple and also stunning in the two colours and all the foliage and flowers.
 Vintage bookmarks for my friend Yvonne's Victorian Swap on SCS.  Loved making these and I so love beads hanging from my bookmarks.  They seem just so decadent and what better bookmark to use in Austen
 This butterfly easel card was an attempt at a Victorian card that just did not make it even for all the distressing in the world.  Great card though, just not good enough for the Victorian Swap by Yvonne.
 Now this is the Victorian card that did make it to the Swap for Yvonne.  Love the lace, love the images, love the roses and the bookplate.  Oh and love love love the pins.
 Now my friend Lisa sent me some Spellbinder label die cuts and I got so excited at the shape of them and thought I know what they will do, so I made this card!!!! I had seen something similar a long time ago and did not know how they did that mask until those die cuts came through my letterbox!!!!
 Love to CASE cards, this is a case of my friend Lisa's style and card.  Made for Dellsdani's Monkey See, Monkey Do Swap on SCS.  It went right against everything I like (pink, yuk) but Lisa makes such beautiful elegant cards and she seems to put them out so easily that I am jealous of her apparent natural talent.  So I hope that this card did justice to her wonderful work.  Find her here: Lisa's Blog
 Made this card for my friend Lisa, to reassure her DH that he makes great digis.  Yes my friend's DH made this freebie for her blog.  Go check out her blog and see if you can find the freebies, they are great digi's and you will see how Lisa has used them.  She is a fabby cardmaker, Love you heaps Lisa!!! Go check out Lisa's Crafting Cottage
 Just had to make this card, beautiful Spellbinders Butterfly and my roses made with Spellbinders Rosemaker Creations.  This is a stunning card and at the moment this very full, very dimensional card is my style.  Hmm wonder what my style will be in another week or so???
 A card for the I Spy Challenge on SCS.  Love these challenges, mostly I have no idea what she spied, but really, does it matter?  Go ahead and just make a card!!!  I thought this one was lips, so I made a card Sealed with a Loving Kiss.... and no one seems to ever have heard that expression..... was huge in Oz in the early 60's, just goes to show I am getting older.... well, who isn't??
 Ah, I revisited my signature card of a couple of years ago, still a stunning card.  An uneven gatefold with the focal on vellum stamped with Mica Magic, (why oh why do they not still have that??) and a beautifully decorated inside and all closed up with a little clip that turns... just forgot its name.
 Oh and the lovely lovely faux leather wallet.  Taught this at craft group WCG at the start of the term.  This really is quite speccy and very easy to do.  Great for holding a gift card or voucher for someone special at Christmas or Birthday time.
 Oh and I just love these little Christmas tags, blank except for the stitching on them, so heaps of room for a greeting to add to your gift.  All embellished with a belly band saying not to open before the special day!
 I love to decorate candles, this one is done with cardstock and paper that can be removed before lighting.
 A faux Asian card done in red, black, gold and cream.  So striking with the red fibres adding dimension to it.  The embossing of the Japanese script is lovely on the square card.
 Altered diary in an Oriental Theme for Paola for hosting the Asian/Oriental swap on SCS. I joined two scraps of Yutzen paper onto a washi piece that I stamps with Japanese Script and put a very young trendy origami girl on there.
 The card I made for the Asian/Oriental Swap hosted by Sama (aka Paola) on SCS.  I loved making this card, stamping and joining the background, colouring lightly, making the braid, the lucky symbol stamped on the focal at left, the lucky knot from paper cord, the little doll and the chopstick from a toothpick to hold the lucky coin in place.  This card is all about good luck for the recipients.
 Another I Spy Challenge on SCS, so fun, and all about shoes.  I rarely use this stamp but this challenge was perfect to get it inky.  Handmade flower by Lauren and I got to use the notepad border punch that I love so much and forget to use.
 And what do we do in the Forest????? Well I don't know about you, but I toast marshymellows over the campfire if possible and since it is winter in the northern hemisphere where this card is going I thought we would build a snowman to help us.  This card is for Jeanette's (Forest Ranger) Swap on SCS.... yes it is called 'what do we do in the Forest', well now you know!!!
 I love the I Spy Challenge, here we are again, we are tall, we shine, we excite kids and I forget what else.... could be a star, but they are high, not tall, so it has to be Lighthouse.  I love a lighthouse, something mystical about them.  This is probably my most used stamp I have realised.  Good buying Lauren!!!
 Oh Oh I had to make a bonus aspect of the Forest Swap, so I decided to make a crafting lady because Jeanette sure does love her crafts and I believe she has a bug that she loves too!!
 A Christmas card that did not make the grade for the Swap it was designed for, but on reflection it does seem to be ok.  See I do make duds!!
OH OH OH OH, or should that be HO HO HO HO, these are made to give as hostie gifts for the swaps I am in, or for pressies.  Mrs Forest is getting four of these in her bag of swap cards, cos she loves loves loves Christmas Trees.  And that is no secret!!

Well I hope to be a more regular blogger.  How many times have I said that this year????? Too many so don't go back and count, just go back and look at the inspiration, at least I hope you get some inspiration here.

Get inky soon.

LoveLaurenxx