Gladioli

I made a second card for the PowerPoppy Pencil Me in challenge (to use pencils on your project). You can see the first card I made here. This is my second card:

For this card I printed the PowerPoppy Gladioli digi stamp onto Canson Mi-Teintes card and coloured with my prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is hand stamped using PowerPoppy Lavender clear stamp set. The DP is from My Minds Eye - Everyday Tango and the cardstock is Bazzill heavyweight. 

I am entering this card in the PowerPoppy Pencil Me In challenge.

I am also entering this card in the Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges - Challenge #45 - Anything Goes. 

 

Thanks for looking!

Pencil Me In

Over at the PowerPoppy Blog they have a challenge called Pencil Me In. The challenge is to use pencils on your project. Pencils are not my forte (I'm much more familiar with Copics) but I dragged out my prismacolor pencils and had a go. Here is my card:

I have used the PowerPoppy Gerbera Daises digi stamp for the image and the PowerPoppy Bees in Foxglove sentiment digi stamp. I printed the Gerberas on Canson Mi-Teintes cardstock and, as I said above, I coloured them with Prismacolor pencils.

The DP is My Minds Eye - Everyday Tango and the cardstock is Bazzill heavyweight. Added some burlap and ribbon from my stash.

I am entering this card in the PowerPoppy Pencil Me In challenge.

I am also entering this card in the Scrapping 4 Fun Challenges - Challenge #45 - Anything Goes.

Thanks for looking!

Hair Colouring Tutorial Video

A couple of days ago my first ever Splitcoast Stampers tutorial went live - colouring hair! I did step by step instructions and a video. This post of mine shows the card that I made for the step by step instructions. Here is the card I made for the video:

The Video tutorial is available at Splitcoast Stampers or on my You Tube Channel here.

I have used Whimsy Stamps - Wyanet (Beautiful) (digi stamp, but she is only available as a rubber stamp at the moment). Copic colours that I used to colour in the image include:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: YR31, E21, E25, E29

Clothes: YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99 and E51, E53, E55

Shoes: E21, E55, E25

Headband: E51, E53, E55, E25

Clouds: C0, C1, C3, C5, W3, B60

Sky: B0000 and B000

Cliff: E42, E44, E47, E49, W3, W5

Feathers: E71, E74, E77, E79

Butterflies: V95, V99, R89

The papers/cardstock I used include Bazzill heavyweight, My Minds Eye - Everyday Tango and the image is coloured on X-Press It blending card.

I've used ODBD Clouds and Raindrops Dies to make the clouds, ODBD Pennants dies for the notched banners and Our Daily Bread Designs Mini Tags Sentiments Stamps and ODBD Mini Tags Dies to make the little tag. Lastly I added some chocolate coloured twine.

Splitcoast Stampers also has a Colouring Hair gallery especially set up for this tutorial! So if you've read/watched the tutorial and had a go yourself we would love to see you upload your card/colouring to the gallery.

My YouTube channel is only brand new so there isn't much there yet, but please do subscribe, as I intend to keep adding colouring videos. I also have a page that has some basic information about Copics - see it here and I teach live Copic and cardmaking classes - I am based in the SouthWest of Western Australia - so if you're anywhere near there and are interested - please send me an email (link at top left of blog).

Thanks so much for looking! 

Hair Colouring Tutorial

I'm so excited!!!

Isn't that exciting??!!

If you head over to Splitcoast Stampers you can view a Colouring Hair tutorial with step by step instructions and a video! Below is a picture of the image (made into a card) that I used in the step by step instructions.

The stamp is a digi stamp from Whimsy Stamps called Amy (also available as a rubber stamp). The image is coloured using copic markers.

Copic Marker colours used

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: YR31, E21, E25, E49

Balloon: R22, R24, R29, R59, C5

Clothes: BV01, BV13, BV25, BV29 and white: C1, C3, C5 and 0

Boots: E21, E23, E25, E29

Pot: E95, E97, E99

Soil: E21, E25, E29

Flowers:

Y11, Y17, Y38, YR04

R01, R22, R24, R29, YR04

Y11, R01, R22, R24

YG25, YG17, G28

Ground: E21, E25, N3, N5, 0

Around image: N1, N3, N5, BV01, BV13, BV25

I've then used Our Daily Bread Designs Butterfly and Bugs Stamps and Dies to create the butterflies. The flowers and leaves were made using ODBD Birds and Nest Dies. The tag is diecut using ODBD Mini Tag Dies and stamped with ODBD Mini Tag Sentiments.

The image is printed on X-Press It blending card. Other papers I've used include ODBD Shabby Rose Paper Collection, Kaisercraft Fairytales and Bazzill heavyweight cardstock. Most layers are inked around the edge with Distress Ink Walnut Stain.

Lastly I've used liquid pearls (Cantelope and Rose Gold), Green Tara white 38 mm mesh and some chocolate coloured twine to finish off my card.

The hair colouring video tutorial is available on the Splitcoast Stampers site and will also be available on my youtube channel in a few days.

I have been colouring with Copic markers for about 3 years now and have learnt many different tips, tricks and techniques through different magazines, live and online (official and unofficial) classes. Thanks goes out to a few of these including Color Me Creative Classroom, Copic Australia (where I got my Copic Certification) and Kit and Clowder.

I also teach live Copic and Cardmaking Classes. If you live in the South West of Western Australia - check out my Classes page for more details.

Thanks for looking!

ODBDSLC244 - Anything Goes with ODBD Stamps

I hope you all enjoyed the inspiration challenge. This week Our Daily Bread Designs has an Anything Goes with ODBD challenge (this challenge will run for 2 weeks). Here is my card:

I decided to keep this one simple and go with a black and white theme :-) The image is from Our Daily Bread Designs Little Boys and the sentiment from ODBD Life is a Gift (both stamped using Versafine Onyx Black).

The butterfly is diecut using ODBD Butterfly and Bugs dies and the grass is ODBD Grass Border die. The cardstock is Bazzill heavyweight. Lastly I've added some Annabelle Stamps 3 mm licorice sprinkles (no longer available).

For more inspiration for this challenge please visit my talented design team sisters:

Robin Clendenning, Diana Nguyen, Paula Bigelow and Gracie Chavez

To see all the projects created for ODBDSLC244 or to join the challenge click here. You have until 8 pm Sunday, 5 July 2015 EDT to join us (or 8 am Monday, 6 July 2015 AWST). By participating in the challenge, you have a chance to win a $15 ODBD Gift Certificate that can be used towards the purchase of stamps in the "stamps column" in the ODBD Store; or to be spotlighted on the ODBD Blog at our next challenge! The random prize winner will be posted on our next challenge post.

Thanks for looking!

Tatts Finke Desert Race 2015

(Please note this is not a card related post - please skip over this one if you're not interested.)

As some of you know my family and I recently travelled to Alice Springs (middle of Australia) for my husband to compete in the Tatts Finke Desert Race 2015. It is an off-road, multi terrain two-day race for bikes, cars, buggies and quads from Alice Springs to the small Aputula (Finke) community. It is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territoy and has the reputation of being one of the most difficult off-road courses in one of the most remote places in the world.

This year was their 40th year and they had a record number of cars/buggies and bikes/quads competing. They race over a 226 km track from Alice Springs to Finke (on day 1) and must complete the track in 4 hours (although due to dust a time limit of 4.5 hours was allowed this year). On Day 2 they do the track in reverse (Finke to Alice Springs) with the same time limit. For the support crew (me and our two daughters) we travelled around the long way (430 km along highway and gravel road) so that my husband could have somewhere to sleep after race day 1.

Of the 125 cars/buggies that started the race, only 60 managed to finish and of the 518 bikes/quads that started only 473 finished.

I was very proud of my husband, who did manage to finish the race coming in number 230 with a total time of 6 hrs 59 mins and 39 seconds (of an allowed time of 9 hours). The track was VERY dusty and he fell off / ran in to a few people a couple of times (damaged a few parts on the bike too) but nothing major and managed to finish the race on both days.

I was a little apprehensive about driving around the "long way" to Finke by myself but God was watching over us :-) The last 150 km traveling to Finke is a gravel road, and if you can imagine around 600 + vehicles and trailers traveling on the same road... let's just say I'm glad I'm still alive! On the way back was even more interesting as our car decided it didn't need its tail shaft anymore! I'm very thankful some nice people stopped to help me remove the part of the tailshaft that didn't break off and told me I could put it in 4WD and continue to drive slowly on the front diff. This meant that it took me a lot longer to get back to Alice Springs and I missed seeing my husband finish the race, but we all got back there safely...that was the main thing.

So, while it was fun and I'm glad my husband completed the race, I found it all rather exhausting (it was a lot of waiting around and sometimes not knowing when and where you are meant to be (a few things went wrong this year making it confusing for everyone)) and not really a "holiday" (although I didn't really expect it to be one). I'm not sure it's something I want to be doing again any time soon. Maybe we will go back and watch the 50th anniversary :-)

Below are some pics from our trip:

To get to Alice Springs we decided to travel on the Great Central Road (approximately 1200 km of gravel). We have driven on this road 9 years ago (dusty and blue skies), this time it decided to rain on us for three days - mud, lots of mud!

Great Central Road - lots of puddles, did I mention mud, lots of mud?!!

This is all we saw of The Olgas (Kata Tjuta) which are a group of large domed rock formations located within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. They remind me of the Bungle Bungles (in the Purnululu National Park (a World Heritage area) close to where we used to live in the north of Western Australia).

This is Ayers Rock (or now known as Uluru) located approximately 50 km from The Olgas in the Uluru-Tjuta National Park and is a world heritage area. Nine years ago we saw this amazing rock in blue skies so it was really something to see it covered in cloud. It is a large sandstone rock formation standing 348 m (1142 ft) high with most of its bulk lying underground. It has a total circumference of 9.4 km (5.8 miles). Amazingly impressive when you view it with your own eyes.

When you're in front - there is no dust! Unfortunately this was just pre-running the track (practicing) and on race days he got covered in dust!

Prologue (racing around a small track to determine start times for race day 1) start times were all messed up so my poor husband ending up competing quite late in the day - with the sun in his eyes, meaning that he was a lot slower than he could've been, starting further back in the pack on race day 1.

This is him coming in to Finke at the end of race day 1. I never made it back to Alice Springs in time to get a picture of him finishing race day 2 (but he did make it!)

On our way home we visited "Wave Rock" located near Hyden, Western Australia. This is a granite rock shaped like a tall breaking ocean wave and is about 14 m (46 ft) high and approximately 110 m (360 ft) long.

Our two girls once we were back home wearing their Finke memorabilia shirts :-)

If you're interested there are some more photos in my facebook album.

Home now and back to reality (and back to my cards (and Copics))!!

ODBDSLC243 - Inspiration

The challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs this week is an inspiration challenge, ODBDSLC243.

Here is my card:

And here is the inspiration image:

Father's Day isn't until September in Australia, but no harm in being early :-)

I've stamped the image from Our Daily Bread Designs Happy Retirement with Memento Rich Cocoa and coloured with Copic markers.

Copic colours used: Y11, Y15, Y38, YR04, E44, B97, E42, E47

The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs Happy Father's Day. I've then diecut some button using ODBD Matting Circles Dies and added them and some brown burlap (coloured with E44) to my card. The DP is from Smart Kraft - New Deco Designs Autumn. The layers have also been inked around the edge with Distress Ink Walnut Stain.

For more inspiration for this challenge please visit my talented design team sisters:

Robin Clendenning, Diana Nguyen, Paula Bigelow, Gracie Chavez and Chris Olsen

To see all the projects created for ODBDSLC243 or to join the challenge click here. You have until 8 pm Sunday, 21 June 2015 EDT to join us (or 8 am Monday, 22 June 2015 AWST). By participating in the challenge, you have a chance to win a $15 ODBD Gift Certificate that can be used towards the purchase of stamps in the "stamps column" in the ODBD Store; or to be spotlighted on the ODBD Blog at our next challenge! The random prize winner will be posted on our next challenge post.

Thanks for looking!

ODBDSLC242 - Sketch

The challenge at Our Daily Bread Designs this week is a Sketch challenge, ODBDSLC242. 

I think these challenge have to be my favourite ones :-)

Here is my card:

And here is the sketch:

I've pretty much stuck to the sketch, just altering the horizontal layer(s) slightly.

My front main panel has been stamped with Our Daily Bread Designs Amazing Grace Sheet Music in Memento Summer Sky and then with the image from Our Daily Bread Designs Music Speaks in Memento Tuxedo Black. The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs How Sweet the Sound.

I've used ODBD Beautiful Borders Dies to create the horizontal layer and ODBD Pennant dies to create the vertical one. I precut my cardstock to the width of the Pennant die before inserting it so that it would only cut the notched end; hence, making my piece longer than the actual die.

The gorgeous DP I've used is ODBD Shabby Rose Paper Collection. Most layers have been inked with Distress Ink Broken China. Lastly I've added a few sticky half-pearls.

For more inspiration for this challenge please visit my talented design team sisters:

Robin Clendenning, Gracie Chávez, Diana Nguyen, Paula Bigelow and Chris Olsen

To see all the projects created for ODBDSLC242 or to join the challenge click here. You have until 8 pm Sunday, 14 June 2015 EDT to join us (or 8 am Monday, 15 June 2015 AWST). By participating in the challenge, you have a chance to win a $15 ODBD Gift Certificate that can be used towards the purchase of stamps in the "stamps column" in the ODBD Store; or to be spotlighted on the ODBD Blog at our next challenge! The random prize winner will be posted on our next challenge post.

This card reminds me of the awesome, unending love that God has for us. Such amazing love, grace and mercy he has shown us, in sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins, the punishment that we all deserve. It is through this great act of love, and Jesus conquering death, that we may spend eternity with Him in heaven!
Some people look at the universe and say we are so insignificant, we are less than a "speck" in the "grand scheme of things". But this just shows how much God loves us and how great the love He has for us is. He created that whole universe for us to enjoy and He sent His son for us, mankind! God does not see us as insignificant - He loves each and every one of us. He know each of us by name and he even knows the number of hairs on our head.

"But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:30

How amazing is God's love!
 
Thanks for looking!

ODBDSLC241 - Colour

Our Daily Bread Designs challenge this week is a colour challenge, ODBDSLC241.

Here is my card:

And here is the colour palette (I've used the greys, blue and browns):

I stamped the image from Our Daily Bread Designs The Waves on the Sea and coloured with Copic markers. Copic markers used: B01, B23, B28, B29, B95, B97, G46, E44, E15, E47, N4 and a tincy bit of Y06. I then added some white gel pen to the sea.

The DP (Authentique Free Bird Series - Nest - Poised and Warmth) has been stamped with Our Daily Bread Designs Fishing Net Background. 

The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread Designs Birthday Doily and I've cut it out with ODBD Pennant Dies. The button is from ODBD Matting Circles and I've added some decorative net and twine.

For more inspiration for this challenge please visit my talented design team sisters:

Paula Bigelow, Diana Nguyen, Robin Clendenning, Gracie Chavez

To see all the projects created for ODBDSLC241 or to join the challenge click here. You have until 8 pm Sunday, 7 June 2015 EDT to join us (or 8 am Monday, 8 June 2015 AWST). By participating in the challenge, you have a chance to win a $15 ODBD Gift Certificate that can be used towards the purchase of stamps in the "stamps column" in the ODBD Store; or to be spotlighted on the ODBD Blog at our next challenge! The random prize winner will be posted on our next challenge post.

Thanks for looking!