GORGEOUS GRUNGE BIRTHDAY

Only one week to go before the launch of the 2013-2014 Stampin' Up! Catalogue!!  I can't wait to get my hands on all the gorgeousness that makes up the new catalogue.

In the meantime, I do have a few new bits and bobs to play with - one of the many perks to being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator!!  One of the new sets I am totally in love with is called Gorgeous Grunge.  Sounds awfully feminine, but it really lends itself to some great manly cards too!!  Here is one I made for my Sweethearts birthday a few days ago.

I went for a fairly clean and simple design - a mixture of stamps and Washi Tape.  Love that I could also use three new colours - Smokey Slate and two new In Colours, Pistashio Pudding and Baked Brown Sugar.  They sound good enough to eat, yes?!!

JUST ADD INK COME BACK!

While at Convention in Brisbane this year, I had the opportunity to hang out with a great bunch of gals I got to know very well a couple of years back - the Just Add Ink team.  I loved my time on the design team, but life got in the way for a while and I had to step down.  Well, while at Convention I had the opportunity to join the team again, which I have!!  I am so excited (and honored) to be back designing with this amazingly talented bunch of women.

So this week's challenge - Just Add Leaves!!

I have gone with a completely different style of card than my normal artwork.  I have used my Bog Shot to die cut a branch of leaves, which I have used as my main image.  Behind the main image, I have used the negative of the branch as a mask and sponged (with daubers) leaves directly onto the card stock.  This is a fun and subtle way of adding interest to a card front.  I hope you will pop over to JUST ADD INK this week and join in the challenge!!

BOUNCING BY THE TIDE - Convention Project #3

This project was "THE ONE" that screamed "Bouncing Brayer" at me when I was first asked to present a WOW at the South Pacific Convention in Brisbane.  I knew straight away what I wanted to do.  Of course, there was always the chance that something would go wrong in the translation from brain to paper!!

Thankfully, this was one of those cards that came together exactly as I had imagined it - thank you God!

I created the background by bouncing my Brayer on my card, lightest ink colour first (in this case, Pool Party), while rotating the card in a semi circle.  I then repeated the process with Marina Mist ink.  I have coloured the fish using sponge daubers, added a wee bit of Dazzling Diamonds along his back, cut out and popped on a dimensional.

TAG YOU'RE IT - Convention Project #2

Card making is my first love as you know, but it's not very exciting to show samples of the same thing over and over though, is it?  So I decided to make a wee tag and decorate a jar up using the Bouncing Brayer technique too.  This time, I have brayered over designer paper instead of card stock.  I have also heat embossed in white to make the sentiment really pop off the brayered section.

Of course, an empty jar is not very exciting either, but one filled with chocolate on the other hand............