A Card for the Blokes :)

Helloooooo again :)

I'm back with another card to share. Confessions upfront first. I made this card for a birthday way back in June!!

A dear friend was celebrating 60 wonderful years of life in late June and I knew I had to make him an extra spesh card to mark the occasion. He has had a few health scares over the years and so every year he is here with us and doing well is a reason to go wild!! :)

As an "approaching mid-life" treat for himself he bought a beautiful, burnt-orange coloured Holden Monaro (GM/Opal Motors for all my non-Aussie readers) with which to transport himself and his gorgeous gal about town in.

The card took me a few days to get all the pieces together and a frantic search for the "right" buttons with which to finish the card. I absolutely loved it once I was done and the reactions from all those gathered at the party was very favourable too. More importantly the birthday boy took it home to frame and it now hangs in his study!! :)

This card was definitely a labour of love.

All I knew at the start was that it had to be in browns/oranges/rust colours and that I wanted to use the yummy car from PTI's Enjoy Your Ride stamp set. I had a look through the blog-o's and also at the PTI gallery and came upon this card by Michelle Wooderson. I copied her idea for the woodgrain stamp on some of the body of the car. Since I'd still had my heat embossing tool out from other crafty moments I decided to add lots of embossing embellishments to this card (no wonder it took me ages to get the whole thing together). The woodgrain was stamped in Choc Chip ink on Kraft paper and then clear embossed. Then I pulled out my Versamark Pen and applied it to the side mirrors and the headlight rims and bumper bar and then embossed all of these in silver. Used my neglected Copics to colour the orange panels and then, to finish off the the car (and only the car mind you...I still had the rest of the card to work on) I applied Crystal Effects to the windscreen and number plate to replicate glass. Of course, I touched the windscreen before it was completely set and had to apply another layer of CE. But wait, there's more......I touched it or 'bumped' it again!! Ha!! Three coats of CE later and I think the windscreen finally works and I left it alone out of harm's way for a whole day before touching it again. Though the CE made some of the ink run a wee bit, I reckon it just adds to the "rustic nature" of the bugmobile, doesn't it??

Some Verve Bountiful Backgrounds to the Really Rust cardstock, embossed of course, and we were gettin there.

The rest sort of all came together relatively easily but I didn't have any buttons that were "right" to finish the card. I hunted high and low - my stash, Mum's stash, Spotlight, Big W, Kmart and NADA!! Drama, drama, drama. I really felt the card needed something more so I tried Spotlight one more time and they had some new stock in!! Yippee. I eyeballed the pearlised/metallic orange buttons to be an "exact" match and hoped they were close enough to not matter. Then saw these gorgeous coconut shell buttons and grabbed a couple of packs as well!! Got them home and they were exactly what I wanted and matched colour-wise like they were made for each other.

Some PTI twine and distressing around all the edges (can't remember which ink I used, sowwy). Matted onto cream cardstock and then choc chip and onto a final base of Kraft and Bob's your Uncle, we were done.

CARD DEETS:

Paper/Cardstock: SU Really Rust, Kraft, Chocolate Chip; Basic Gray Kraft 6x6 pad (label diecut underneath the car)

Stamps: PTI Enjoy The Ride, Verve Bountiful Backgrounds

Ink: SU Chocolate Chip; Memento Tuxedo Black (tyres); Versamark + Distress Ink

Others: Copics, Clear + Silver Embossing Powders, Buttons as described, PTI Rustic Jute Twine

And just in case you made it this far, here is a picture of the birthday boy's awesome cake with a replica of his Broom-broom on top. Plus a photo of the happy fella reading his card. :)

Did Ya Miss Me??

Hello my long-lost blog darlings!! Actually, I'm the long-lost one, aren't I? hehe

How are you all? I'm good, just been busier than you could ever have imagined and had my focus off of all things creative/crafty in the recent weeks/months. Forgive me??

The little fellas are doing well. I hope to pop over and have afternoon tea with the dudes and their mum tomorrow afternoon. Yay!! I haven't actually seen anywhere near enough of the family lately and can't believe wee Charlie is 10weeks old already!! What?? Where?? When?? How did that happen??

Since I last posted I have made a total of 2 cards. Yep, count them......one.....two!! That's it. Seriously, two cards in three months - that's outrageous and way tooo sad. And only one of the cards I'm about to share is one of those two. The other I'll save for my next post. It was spesh enough to need its own write-up. :)

And, for the record, just because I haven't been creating doesn't mean I haven't been buying!! I've added an air compressor and attachment for my Copics so I can do airbrushing (thankfully, some lovely peeps in my world contributed too so its part b'day pressie - phew, it was a lot of $$$).....and lots of yummy new DSP's (I actually cannot physically walk past a new 6x6 pad without purchasing it.......and am NOT interested in any 12 step programs for this, lol). And have almost the entire range of Distress Ink pads now. Three more colours to go and I'll be there. And the new SU catalogue has just launched here in Aus - so there are a couple of new stamp sets and (FINALLY) Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) ink!! WooHoo!! And now I really need to get started on this year's Christmas cards. Someone kindly (or not) shared today that it is only 96 days til Christmas!!

Anyway...that's enough words from me for now, right?? Onto a couple of cards right?!!

This is a card I made for a dear friend, Pri, for her birthday. I whipped this up in about an hour (maybe two, including all the creative processes that go on in my head before I get started....layout, colours, papers, etc....). It came together reasonably well and quickly considering how little I've been playing recently.

She is expecting her first wee bubba in a couple of months and wanted pj's for her birthday, so my roomie and I went in together to get her some truly yummy pj's that she can wear in these next "growing months" and thereafter as well.

They were in pinks and blues and lilacs, so I kinda went with that for my colour choices. And I stamped the damasky-type flourishy thingy on the envelope too to tie it all in together as well as the wrapping paper, which of course I didn't photograph. :(

The photos of this card were taken on my new iPhone 4.0 and I'm so in love with it!! The camera is soooooo much better than on my ol' iPhone 3G......as you can see in the photos of my next card below. I promise to only use my phone camera when I 'forget' to take shots with my DSLR before giving my cards away though. I was recently given a white photography tent too and I can not wait to try it out. Yay. :)

My dear ol'd friend Les has had another birthday. I can't believe I've been blogging long enough to now be showing you birthday cards for friends for a new year. Last year's card was a CASE of one of Julee Tilman's Verve creations, but this year's was a card I made way ahead of time for her. I made her card before I made her husband's, though her birthday is two months after his. (Jeff's card will be in my next post as it was rather spesh.)

I wanted a go at resist embossing and went with my ol' favourite Upsy Daisy. I paired it with Kraft and PTI's Hawaiian Shores ink, paper & ribbon. This also came together well and I was so happy that an idea I had in my head actually turned out much the way I had planned.

And there you have it. Not gonna say sorry for being away so long as I also can't promise it won't happen again. We're heading into our busiest time of year at work in the Clinic and I have a couple of "events" between now and Christmas as well. More about those later.

Love to hear from you and I'm so happy I've managed to post for you, my faithful friends.

Much love,

Michey xxxx

Pri's Birthday Card:

Cardstock: SU Mellow Moss, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum; Basic Grey Kioshi

Ink: SU Perfect Plum, Pale Plum

Stamps: Kaisercraft Lilac Avenue, PTI Signature Greetings

Others: SU Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon (discontinued), Kaisercraft Rhinestones, SU Top Note Die

Lovely Les's B'day Card:

Cardstock: SU Kraft, PTI Dotty Biscotti

Ink: Versamark, PTI Hawaiian Shores

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy, Hero Arts Friends (background)

Others: Clear Embossing Powder, PTI Hawaiian Shores Satin Ribbon & Twine, Random buttons from stash. SU Top Note Die.

I've just realised that I've used the Top Note Die on both cards. Totally random and not intentional. :)

And.....just a little whisper to you, my fave peeps, I've got some candy coming up too, to celebrate my first year of blogging (even though that was a month ago). Stay tuned. xxx

I haven't been around again...

...but I promise I have a really, really, really good (gorgeous) reason.

Well make that two really good and gorgeous reasons.

My baby sister (who's not really much of a baby anymore) had another gorgeous little fella on Wednesday night!!

So, introducing the newest little man in my life .....

Charlie Maverick, born 7/7/10 at 1849hrs. Isn't he just yummy. *sigh*

I think it very safe to say my heart is in a puddle at his feet. He's almost identical to his big brother, which means we have two spunkalicious dudes on our hands.

Even though it was my sister doing all the hard work having a baby (and it was hard until the labour stage), I've been anxiously waiting for the call that she was going in to hospital for the past three weeks. Charlie was due around 24-27th June but the little monkey had his own opinion about when his birthday would be. I've had an overnight bag packed and rolling around in the boot of my car for weeks!! So glad I can wear my boots again, lol. :)

I was on call because Charlie has a big brother, Cameron Henry, aka Cam, who is 19months of gorgeous, little manliness.

Jo was finally admitted on Monday night to start inducement so I had a sleepover with Cam Monday night and then spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon/night over there too. He goes to day care a couple of days each week to hang with his friends, but I loved getting there to pick him up and coming home and playing and doing the nighttime routine with him.

He loves his shower (not bath, shower!!) and I think it very safe

to say that I love him more than I ever imagined I could. His poor mummy missed him sooooooo badly as she didn't get to see him until Thursday afternoon, a total of three days without her big boy!! And I also now know what IgglePiggle, UpsyDaisy and MakkaPakka means. :)

And here he is rocking the fluffy hair thing after his shower.

Anyways, this has been my focus for the past few days/weeks/months. I never thought poor Charlie was gonna arrive, but he did and is the picture of health. My amazing sister went home from hospital last night (would have been sooner but she waited until after we had visited). Less than 24hrs after giving birth and she wants to go home 'coz she's fine and well and is bored!! Ha!! Last time I think we'll hear her say that for a while.

So there you have it. Now I have three nieces and two nephews!! There is an abundance of spunky little peeps in my world and I LOVE IT!!

I promise I'll be back soon with a few cards to share.

Lots of sloppy Auntie hugs n kisses. Michey xxx

A Girly Card

Hey lovelies,

Thought I'd best keep up with some semi regular posts. I don't know how I manage to run out of hours every day....eek!! In the last 2 weeks I've made a total of 14 cards.....but then finding the time to photograph them in daylight and then edit and upload them with some text, that's what is getting away from me at the moment, I'm sorry. Forgive me?? ;)

Here's another card I made for my friend's birthday. Can you believe I still have not handed her gift over to her yet. We are both a wee bit too busy at the moment. I'm having problems firming up any plans right at this moment as my dear ol' baby sister is due to have bubs #2 any moment now (she's officially due on Thursday, 24th) and I'm on standby for looking after bubba #1 when she and her hubs go into labour. My goal whilst I have Cameron to myself, is to get his wee cute self to say Auntie!! He's almost 19mths old now and has mastered several other words, including Elmo, so I reckon being able to address is other most favourite person, ie Auntie Michey, by her title is next on the list. Wish me luck.

When I made these cards for my friend, I wanted them to all be different, some girly-girl, some more manly ones, some birthday, some thank you and some for whatever she wanted to use em for.

This is one of the more girly-girl ones and is probably suitable for just any ol' occasion, though I think it qualifies as a birthday card too.

I've grabbed a piece of my beloved BG Porcelain paper and simply matted it onto some SU Blush Blossom card. Used a PTI mat stack die to cut the sentiment panel and then stamped it with both SU Blush Blossom (floral pattern) and PTI Sweet Blush inks. Some reinker used to "re-dye" my white taffeta ribbon into Blush Blossom and a couple of Kaisercraft rhinestones and I was done.

Hope you are having a lovely weekend. Mine's been great - though I've watched more sport on the telly these past few days than I have all year so far!! Watching the mighty Maroons stomp all over the Blues on Wednesday night (Yay!! 5 in a row for Qld), then the V8's were on yesterday, followed by the Wallabies in the early evening and then I just had to stay up and cheer for the Socceroos in their redeeming game against Ghana in the World Cup last night. Wowsers!! I'm not usually one who generally watches a lot of sport, especially on TV, but it seems that there's a fair bit on right now. And Wimbeldon is just around the corner, sheesh. I can see lots of crafting and colouring happening in front of the telly in my near future. :)

Catch ya again soon. xxxx Michey xxxx

CARD DEETS:

Stamps: SU Vintage Vogue, PTI Signature Greetings

Ink: SU Blush Blossom, PTI Sweet Blush

Cardstock/Paper: SU Blush Blossom, Whisper White, Basic Grey Porcelain 6x6 pad

Others: PTI Mat Stack 1 die, SU Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon dyed with Blush Blossom reinker, Kaisercraft Rhinestones

Wowsers....really....it's been a month??!!

You've all been soooooo patiently waiting there in the background whilst I go on an unannounced mini-break from blogging!!

Sorry bleeps, it wasn't my intention to ignore you for so long, I'm still in shock that its been a month since I've blogged, wow!!

Anyway, I have been creating quietly in the background. Part of my reason for not being here is that the boss is away at work so I am on go-slow....took a week off myself and rested and relaxed and it was good. We only have 1-2 clinics each week at the moment instead of the usual 9 I have to wade through. I also managed to get a bit of a shocker of a head cold there at the end of my time off and that left me feeling a wee bit blurgh!! Plus our internet was down for just over a week at home!! I didn't think I would survive it, but somehow I did.

Anyways, I do have a card to show. A dear friend has recently had a significant birthday and as part of her gift I made her a collection of cards to use. Sadly I was still a little under the weather and couldn't make it to her party, and haven't been able to organise a time to give her her pressie.....so I'll post a few pics of the cards I made as the gift but leave her birthday card until I know that she has it in her hands. :)

I was desperate to use a few of my new stamp sets, so what you'll find in the following posts are several cards that all use a different set and different papers. I tried not to repeat myself with any of them.

I love, love, love this new set by PTI. So easy to whip up gorgeous "more masculine" themed cards in next to no time.

I've stamped the clouds directly onto the Kraft die. There is a matching die for the balloons but I chose to cut this out by hand and used dimensionals to give it some 'lift'. Stamp the sentiment, add a bit of my favorite new embellie (PTI Twine) and a button and the card was virtually done.

I think that's it for now. Will try and make it back tomorrow with another card to share. :)

Hope you are all well.

Hugs, Michey xxx

CARD DEETS:

Images: PTI Up, Up and Away

Paper/Cardstock: SU Kraft, SU Whisper White, Textured Cream (Riot!)

Inks: SU Blue Bayou, SU Real Red, Memento Rich Cocoa

Other: SU Top Note Die, PTI Cream Twine; PTI Button Enchanted Evening