Verve, Cupcakes & a Mojo Sketch

Wow.....what a week it has been......and now the weekend is here (for us Aussies anyways). ;)

I set myself a challenge at the beginning of the year to participate in some challenges, hopefully every week. I smashed that this week. I've made 9 cards!! I'm stunned myself - and I did four of those tonight, but I'm not gonna show you until tomorrow as its already 3am and I wanna go to bed.

Sadly, I lost one of the cards on Tuesday....I took the three I had made Monday to work with me on Tuesday to get some photos done during daylight hours and somehow when I checked at the other end, I only had two. :( The card I lost had some of my new MOST FAVOURITE paper on it and I used this weeks SSSC for the layout. It was lovely, but you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)

Anyhow, here is the one of the cards I've made this week. Was for the Cupcake Inspiration Challenge and Verve's Release Challenge # 1. I used this week's Mojo Sketch as the layout guide and cracked open my pack of KaiserCraft Devonshire 6x6 DP.

Thanks for stopping by for a lookie.

Mwah!! Michey xxx

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(I'm all bleary eyed now so I'll come back and add the deets a little later...)

CARD DEETS:

Stamps: Verve......

Ink:.....

Paper/Cardstock:......

Other:.....

Copics: ....

Mojo Monday 133

I did it!! I made a card for this week's Mojo Monday challenge!! Sorry....but I'm a bit excited about that right now!! lol!!

My roomie and I have been watching the second series of a delightful BBC show, "Lark Rise to Candleford" and it really inspired me to give the whole shabby chic/vintage look a go!! I'm even talking with a delightful English accent atm (confession: I usually have a bit of an English accent, the by-product of working with so many English/Irish nurses (and my Irish ancestry rising to the fore). Not much ocker Aussie outta my mouth, most of the time)!! Ha ha ha

I was home alone and watching Saving Private Ryan when I started making this card though.

I was pretty keen on inking up this gorgeous new Verve stamp set I have and decided to bring out my inks and aquapens and have another attempt at watercolouring. My Copics got a rest - and I'm not sure they're entirely happy about it!!

Following this week's sneaky news from the US that some of the current SU colours are going to be retired.....I had to show my beloved Sage Shadow that I will never, ever forget!! In fact I'm adding a RE-inker to my growing SU order right now!! PLUS KRAFT!! How would I ever survive without my beloved Kraft, don't even go there Michey........ And I just happened to have these gorgeous Kraft DP's in my collection too that needed to be used.

Now, I'm uploading this at work and know what most of the items I used are....but can't quite remember the name of the DP's are .....so will add those when I get home tonight.

...I've added a photo of the dimension I've used on this card.....its definitely extreme. I think, if I can pull the flower layers apart with out causing tooo much damage I might change the dimensionals to ones I have that don't have as much height. It really is quite heavy and bulky in front and I'll need a box not an envie for this one. :)

CARD DEETS:

Stamps: Verve Love's Flower

Paper/Cardstock: SU Kraft, Sage Shadow, Blush Blossom, Very Vanilla

Inks: SU Cameo Coral, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Distress Inks Frayed Burlap, Tea Dye

Others: Fiskars Upper Crest Punch, Crystal Effects, Kaisercraft Rhinestones, Nestabilities, SU Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Aquapainter pen, Corner Chomper

CIC #44

Hi there......I'm participating in my 2nd ever challenge!! Am definitely on a roll atm. :)

Firstly though, I'm apologising for the appalling photo of my card right up front!! Its definitely a shocker and I'm sorry. But the card has been given away and I can't take another photo!! It was a 3am finish and the party was that morning and my DSLR's memory card was full!! Anyways.....will be better prepared in future.

I made this card for a dear friend's birthday and since she loves cupcakes - I mean seriously loves them!! - I had to use a suitable image!! She's also a gorgeous, vibrant, often outrageous personality and so some suitable paper was necessary. Her's a glimpse into her world.....it was her 30th b'day and she decided to stage her own Sozympics with all her guests participating in various games/events in the chance of winning a gold medal!! Was a fun afternoon.

I chose a piece of BG JuneBug as my starting idea and just worked from there.

Sozzy loved it - and at the end of the day....that's all that matters.

Card Deets:

Stamps/Images: Verve 'Cupcake Affair'

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper/Cardstock: Basic Grey June Bug DP; Bazzill Card (Pink); Flourishes Classic White Paper

Others: Copics; Random Pink Ribbon x 3 from my stash; Nestabilities Die, WeRMemoryKeepers Corner Chomper

Boy Wonder Turns 1!!

My darling nephew Cameron was 1 last Thursday and we had a little family party in his local park to celebrate the momentous occasion last Saturday.

Poor bubba was a wee cranky boy when we all got there - he'd picked up an ear infection, poor darlin, and was feeling very miserable. And is very clingy to mummy at the moment too.

After 45mins or so, Aunty Michey decided to work her "baby whisperer" magic and took him for a walk in the pram. Up and down and around and around we went and still no sleeping bubba - though he was content to lie there and watch the world go by. We had a little friend along with us as well and she talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked!! By the time we got back to the family 20 mins later, I think she was all talked out, the poor possum, and decided to go in and revive herself with a cold drink. I thought Cam and I'd just check out what was down the other end of the path in the hope that without 'Miss Cute Chatterbox' along he'd fall asleep. Sure enough, not 5mins later Boy Wonder was visiting ZZZZZ-land. One quick power nap later (35mins) and he was awake and back to his usual cheery self.

Such a transformation deserved a treat - his first piece of fairy bread. The look on his face was priceless. Bread he knows, but what were these sweet little round things that were in my mouth?? He didn't quite know how to eat them and it was cute, cute, cute!! Can you tell I'm in love with this little man??!! It was just sooooo nice to see his sweet little smile back on his face.

Then it was time for lunch and afterwards, presents followed by blue robot cake.....I took some photos of these on my "big" camera and haven't downloaded them yet...just believe me when I say the cake was cute but very blue and very sweet and very much won't be had ever again!! lol

Of course, Aunty Michey had to make her wee bubba a cute card & who better than funky little Edward to use. Sorry the pic isn't any better.....I took it at 2am on my iPhone after I'd finished making it and then forgot to get a better photo when we were at the party on Saturday. :( My poor brain needs more than 4hrs sleep to function properly at the moment. (Might ask my sis to bring it to the next family gathering so I can get a better shot.)

Anyways, there you have it. Thanks for taking a peak.

See y'all again next time.

Michey xxx

Card Deets:

Cardstock: SU Kraft; Flourishes ?????? DSP

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps: TGF Edward, Verve Party Time

Others: Various Copics (see photo), Silver Pearls, Corner Chomper, Taupe Embroidery Cotton

Several Birthday cards....

Since its already been a wee while since I've been able to find the time needed to post.....I thought I'd upload a few of my creations in one post.

I'll try keep the chatter to a minimum with this one too (though I may find it a wee bit difficult). :) These were all cards I made for various birthdays.

Dave's Card:

Here's a card I made in May for my Pastor. His birthday is the day after mine and he and his wife have been great friends of mine for several years now. I first met them when they were just pregnant with their first bubba, and she's now a stunning girl of sixteen. You really see how the years have gone by when you see the little ones you used to babysit grow up, hey!!

I tried my hand at creating a graduated background for this card - a little challenging without a brayer (which I now have) and required lots of daubing. Again, the photos aren't so great - but my previous apartment was very light challenged. :)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Here's a card I made for my Mama to send to her oldest sister, who also happens to be my Godmother.

Not that I see her very often at all these days and she is no longer required to be my legal guardian should something happen to my folks.

Anyway, I really wanted to use Bella Rose DSP for her card and used that as my starting point.

The ideas sort of flowed from there and I played around with the layout for a little

bit until I was happy.

My Mama loved it and was more than willing to send it on to her sister. :)

Lesley's Card:

One of the longest and dearest friendships in my adult life has been with a treasure called Lesley. We met during my first year in Sydney and became firm friends. We just about did everything together even though she is just a year or two younger/older than my parents.

She got married to a lovely chappy 12 years ago and we've managed to keep the friendship alive over the years. She had a big birthday this year - 60!! And I wanted to make her a spesh card - trying not to resort to her favourite colours - being a Kiwi that means Black and White. I used this lovely set that I had just received from Verve and also used Julee Tilman's sneak peek card for the layout and design.

Fereen's B'day:

My dear Fijian friend Fereen (try saying that ten times fast) was seconded to Canada for the first seven months of this year and I missed her dreadfully. She's just a whole bunch of fun to be around. I was late in getting a birthday care package in the post for her, but when she did receive it she was very, very happy.

A box full of many different types of Tim Tams and some yummy, yummy tea from T2 (or so she said. I wouldn't know as I really don't like black tea at all).

The parcel arrived just as she was starting to pack up all the things in readiness for being sent back to us who love her here in Sydney. She had accumulated quite a bit of stuff during her stay and the Tim Tams got her through the trauma of packing (though most of it will be of no use here - we just don't have the same winters that you Northeners do). :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs, Michey xxx

RECIPES:

Dave's Card:

Cardstock: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Inks: SU Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy

Others: Misc White Brads, SU Slit Punch (to make scallop border on sentiment), Clear Embossing Powder & Heat Gun (on flowers)

Aunty Evelyn's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive (sentiment); Versamark + Versacolour Gold (on presents)

Stamps: Verve Birthday Surprise

Others: SU Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Curly Square Punches x 2, Kaisercraft Rhinestones (coloured with Copics to match cardstock)

Lesley's Card:

Cardstock: SU Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Kraft & Old Olive DSP

Inks: SU Old Olive, Baja Breeze, VersaColour White

Stamps: Verve Just For You, SU Oval All

Others: SU Hodgepodge, White Taffeta Ribbon, Kaisercraft Pearls

Fereen's Card:

Cardstock: SU Riding Hood Red (I know it looks quite orange, more poor lighting); Kiwi Kiss & Kiwi Kiss DSP

Inks: SU Riding Hood Red & Kiwi Kiss, Versamark

Stamps: SU Upsy Daisy & Verve Thankful Blossoms

Others: SU Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Random Red Brads, Embossing Powder and Heat Gun

Mother's Day 2009

Universally, I think we all have the same date (more or less) for Mother's Day - 2nd Sunday in May for us Aussies.

This is the card I made for my darling Mama (she hates it when I call her that, but its my affectionate term for her, actually......I think she hates it when I shorten it to Ma - hehe). I had just received my first Copics and used them to add some shading and definition to the image.

Mum loved her card, so much in fact, that its still sitting on her dresser almost six months later. Makes my heart happy to know its truly appreciated. :)

Didn't have a better sentiment to use at that time....or one that said what I wanted it say anyways. :)

My mama's health isn't too good these days - lots of my free time (the 0.5mins spare I have each week, lol) is spent taking her to many different Drs appts and I think - from memory (that's how bad this year has been) she was in hospital not long after this....or was it just before??? It must have been a week or two after. Whatever, right!!??

Sorry for the not so good piccie.....I took it on my iPhone and have yet to remember to take my digi cam with me when I visit to get a better shot. :)

Card Deets:

Stamps: SU Friends 24/7; Verve Fairy Tales (Sentiment)

Paper: SU Riding Hood Red, SU Pink Pirouette, SU Chocolate Chip & SU Pretty In Pink

Ink: SU Chocolate Chip

Other: Fiskars Oval Shape template & cutter, Various Copics, Pink Rhinestone Brads, SU Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Misc Spotlight Pink Ribbon, Paper Piercer, Sponge Dauber, Dimensional Tape

Thanks again for stopping by for a peek. :)

Michey xxx

Mama's B'day

My darling Mama had a birthday in March and since she's not really well, we decided to have a wee party for her and not wait on her birthday 'til my brother returned. She wasn't seriously ill or anything but her health is precarious at the best of times and life is fairly unstimulating ho-hum day in, day out for her - so some spice and a family-time moment was decided as essential. (Plus it gave me more Auntie time with little Cambo, lol.)

She lives in a low level care nursing home and we all put in to buy her a fridge for her room as her birthday pressie. This was delivered the day before her birthday and the delivery guys beat me to her place by about 15mins. She was surprised and almost managed to convince the guys they had the wrong person and wrong room - until they showed her the delivery docket which had her name and my phone number on it!!!

She's a fussy eater at the best of times, so it helps to have her own fridge so we can keep it somewhat stocked with the food she will eat. Plus it has a decent freezer so we can take over some "extra" meals for standby if necessary.

I searched through the blog list I had at the time and found this card by Carolyn King (I'm still learning how to use blogger and haven't quite mastered embedding the html code behind a word yet.....sorry).

http://myblogbycammie.blogspot.com/search/label/Verve%20Visual

I loved the idea and the layout and since I actually had these stamps from Verve - I launched right into it.

Anywho....she's been loving my adventures with card making this year and has commissioned me to make several for her to send to her friends/family throughout the year. I wanted to make something spesh for her and knew her favourite colours were green and red (I had made a memory board for her last year incorporating these colours). How to make a card with these colours, yet not have it look all Christmassy & festive.

It took me a while to colour all the flower layers as my only form of colouring in my early days was with a paintbrush and stamp pads. Long and labourious colouring and not too much blendability on my part. I now have my ever handy and much adored Copics for such work.

Still Mama loved it and it sat in pride of place until Mother's Day when my next card replaced it (but that card is for another post, lol).

Recipe:

Stamps: Verve's Abundant Blessings, Birthday Surprise

Cardstock: Whisper White, Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive DSP, Random Dark Green Bazzill Textured Card

Ink: Old Olive, Real Red, Certainly Celery.... Plus many various shades of SU's pink/red/coral to colour the petals :)

Other: Purely Pomegranate Grosgrain, Dazzling Diamonds + 2-Way Glue, Dimensionals and Sponge Daubers.

Thanks for taking a peek.

Michey xxx