Opus Gluei #59 Ice cream

Have you ANY idea how cold it is here?  Ice-cream?  You've got to be joking.  Today we had winds of 100+ km/h and hailstones (it was just as the classes were walking down to the bottom of the oval to see the mobile farm)(thank heavens for the big dryer in the laundry)......  but last night it was a little milder and I suddenly had the urge to break out the cuttlebug because it occurred to me that the spider web folder was just what I needed for waffle cones.  I should have been asleep, but these OG challenges eat away at the little grey cells.....

So here is my ice-cream, but I couldn't resist a little mis-hap to keep the whole idea from being too cute.  Shame about that choc-honeycomb chip one hitting the ground, but life does indeed have its moments.  I had a bit of fun with the cuttlebug, a couple of circle punches and SU Crystal Effects which I keep forgetting about.  The sentiment is from an acrylic set I found at Spotlight, and the DP is another piece from the wonderful La Creme stack.

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge #39

So fancy that, another black and white challenge!! The movie this week is To Kill A Mockingbird which was a great movie staring the wonderful Gregory Peck. I hunted in my bookshelves and came up with the copy I read in school, my name and 1968 inscribed on the flyleaf.

I really wanted to highlight a theme from the story as well as indulge my delight in black and white, and the result is perhaps darker than I expected, but I like it. The bird and sentiment are SU images I borrowed from Debbie during our stamping day yesterday. I ran one panel of black CS through the cuttlebug, then re-mounted it on another panel of white. The flower is a double bloom I made from Kaiser pieces, and the pearl centre is a collection from the busy-room boxes. It picks up the floral detail on the bird which has been embossed to make it glossy. The black petals looked very dull so I drew in details with a white gel pen. The slender gingham ribbon is part of a gift from the GPs at Opus Gluei.

I chose the sentiment because I think it reflects something of Harper Lee's positive message about having the confidence to do what you believe is right, even in the face of opposition.

ABC Challenge:Two-tone

Finally found time to make up a card for the ABC Challenges, they're up to T so its taken me a while!! This week the request is to keep it simple and make a card in two tones.

I've used some terracotta and black CS, and put the black through a cuttlebug folder before placing it. The tree branch stamp is Taylored Expressions and its been embossed with black hologram powder. The sentiment is SU, and embossed in terracotta. I added some black pearls to tie the sentiment strip to the base, and reflect something of the shine of the tree.

It would have been so much easier to use black and white, but not so much of a challenge.

Happy Birthday Luca!

Everybody wants to be a Super Hero, especially when you're only 2 years old!! Spiderman to the rescue (giving me a chance to use that spider-web embossing folder at last). There's not a lot going on here, but I did have fun finding the right graphic and printing it out. The papers match the super-hero suit, and the black jewels of the spider-web are....... well, I don't know, flies?? Couldn't get too serious here; does it show?

Gemini birthday explosion #2

This is slightly mis-named because one is for a June Gemini, but the other is my sister-in-law whose birthday fell a few weeks ago when she was away. The Japanese influenced one is for my brother-in-law whose birthday is any day now. I've put them together because the family is all getting together this week to celebrate the other two Gemini birthdays, mine and my son's, over the next couple of days. Haven't made my son's card this year as I found the perfect quirky one at Readings (in Carlton) the other day....hope he remembers to sneak into the busy room to make one for me.

I love the Taylored Expressions window and I think it looks better with these flowers with it. They're SU Eastern Blooms with a grey pearl in the centre of each one. The background went through the cuttlebug to simulate timber. Looks like I was drawn to these colours for both... even the ink for the monkey which is from a set of chinese stamps featuring the 12 years. I looked up the characteristics of people born in the year of the monkey, and it suits my brother-in-law to a T. The creamy coloured paper is the last piece of papyrus in my stash.

Creative Cinema Saturday Challenge #31 Steel Magnolias - the PINK version!!

This is my second attempt, trying to keep to the requirements of the Challenge (using pink), instead of branching off on my first magnolia tangent which was a bit orange!! I seem to be on a roll here, concentrating on the importance friends play in life. The sentiment reads "it takes a long time to grow an old friend".

So this second card is definitely PINK, and uses some DP from Sandylion, more of the Branching Out stamps from Taylored Expressions, a circle of acetate sheet, my cuttlebug and some sparkling bits too. I was thinking that if friendships are like leaves on a tree, even when it looks like the tree is bare, there are still diamonds.... Apologies for feeling very sentimental tonight.

Welcome Luca

The first grandchild in my circle of friends.... had to make cards to celebrate, so there's one for his lovely parents Barbara and Gary, and one for his very proud grandparents (and two of my dearest friends). Nothing makes you feel how long life is... like the birth of a new generation. Friends please note: not a bloom in sight!! The sentiment is from SU Figures of Speech, stamped with Versamark turquoise and with just a wee bit of colouring. I've used two different Cuttlebug folders. I like the way the flourish and "with love" turned out. Have to use that one again. There's a little bit of Celebrate grosgrain ribbon too.

Opus Gluei Challenge #6 May Day

I made this card with a special friend in mind... she loves things in golden and neutral tones so the choice of colours was already made for me. We've been friends since our boys were born (a l-o-n-g time ago) and the sentiment says it all. I wanted it to look like one lovely bloom on the embossed branch, but maybe that was a bit more of a challenge than I'm up to. Anyway, its my entry for May Day and gave me a chance to use my cuttlebug and just one single SU Bloom and some clear embossing powder. I promise to try another sort of flower soon.... perhaps.

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge #27

When the solution to this week's film was posted I knew I wanted to make something, but what? Then in the middle of the night (dreams fueled by Easter chocolate of course) I thought this is what I'd try. I know it doesn't REALLY look like a chocolate box, but maybe an illusion? Anyway, there are six "chocolates" made with a variety of cuttlebug folders and SU stamps, all topped with SU Crystal Effects for chocolate gloss. The papers are all from the shelves of the busy room, including the vellum which is nearly older than my son (22 this year). It pays to be a hoarder!! It took me so long to make that I know I need more lessons from Debbie.

Rendevous Monday Colour CAS Challenge

Had to dream up something for this challenge when I read about it on Debbie's page... a simple card in the colours I like best, and with just a little bit of cuttlebugging!! Clean and simple is the mantra. I was supposed to use black, white and kraft CS but the coffee-ish one is the closest I had to hand. I used two of the slim cuttlebug folders from the "Just my type" set for the spots, and resisted the temptation to keep layering. The stamp is from the SU Eastern Blooms set, which is my current favourite. Kept it simple... maybe a little too minimalist, maybe not.