Sweet Sunday Sketch #251

Happy Sunday!!! Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. My beautiful family and I have just returned from a little holiday getaway, which was SO much fun and very relaxing.

I'm back into it now, although feeling VERY rusty!!!. I haven't stamped or crafted in about a month, so please, be gently on me today!

Here is my card for today:-

And here is the sketch for you to play along with:-

I've gone for my SAFE colours today... Crisp Cantaloupe, Naturals Ivory and Soft Suede... a combination that never seems to fail. I decided to FINALLY ink up my Choose Happiness stamp set today and combined it with another favourite, Kinda Eclectic, with a few splotches of Gorgeous Grunge. The colours I used for stamping were, Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cantaloupe and Soft Suede. I've added some other staples, Burlap Ribbon, Vintage Lace, Crumb Cake seam binding and some bling!

The rest of the Sweet Sunday Stampers have much more for you to see this week - please stop over and see:

• Barbara Anders
• Dana White
• Jenny Peterson
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Lisa Henke
• Lori Tecler
• Lynn Put
• Sarah-Jane Kalé 
• Tracy Clemente
• Vicki Burdick

To finish off, I thought I'd share a quick pic of my BEAUTIFUL family... we take a family shot every year (although we were a little late last year, so it ended up being a New Year shot... shhhh), usually in the same kind of pose, so we can see how much we've changed over the past year... well mainly how much the girls have changed...!

Sooo.... Happiest of NEW YEARS to your families from mine!!!

Thanks for much for stopping by.

SJ

x

Just checking in!!!

HELLO!!!!

Wow.. it seems like.. well.. FOREVER since I've been on here!! Well in all honesty it has been a while.. but I promise I've had good reason!!.

I've just this week returned from an Overseas holiday with my BEAUTIFUL and GORGEOUS little family. My fabulous hubby and I decided to take our gorgeous girls to Disney Land in Hong Kong!!!! And... it was AMAZING!!!

It's seriously been one of the things on my TO DO LIST!!! I know it sounds crazy and probably a little .. um... WHAT!!!??? Right?... but with the world the way it is today and the way our lives become consumed with being BUSY, working, and the .. "oh it can wait" attitude... my little flossies are growing WAY to fast.. and taking them to Disney Land while they are still such CUTE, YOUNG, tiny little flossies was just something I HAD to do... and am SO thankful that I could do.

The looks on their faces, the excitement in their voices.. not just once, but for the ENTIRE stay was truly PRICELESS and worth every cent. It's a reaction that I know will be never be the same again.. one that although will be filled with excitement "when" we get back there again, will be a different excitement, that type of excitement that changes each year as we get older.

I hope to get back to stamping this week... I'm just trying to recover from the FLIGHTS, the WASHING.. more WASHING.. oh did I say WASHING!!! and then I'll attempt to find that mojo of mine.. hhahaha.

So here are a few pics of our little holiday!!!

Here we all are meeting Donald and Daisy!!!
And here is Jorja meeting Minnie Mouse for the very first time... can you see the excitement!!!!... She'd waited for TWO days to finally get to meet her... hahaha
And let us not forget a double Mickey Cuddle too...

Thanks so much for stopping by.. and of course bearing with me during my little stamping LULL!!!

Sarah
xx

and... a little more photography!!!

Looking for this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch? Hop on over to this post.

If you visited during the week you may have seen my little post on the Photography course I'm doing. I FINALLY got my assignment finished today... my goodness... after about 200 odd photos... YES indeed that many... a lot of critique (BY MYSELF!!!) and a fair amount of head banging... due mainly to the fact that I had many a photo I LOVED for my assignment, but didn't take it in the two forms required.. HATE that!!! hahaha

Anyhoo... I thought I'd pop on in and show you a few of the photos I took that I LOVED but were a part of the above mentioned "Head Banging" incident:-

My little Jorja giving me a very "hmmm" look!! hahah

A rare quiet moment.

A REGULAR ... oooohh .... WOW moment.

Miss Ella Bella being a wee bit sad and serious... check out those EYELASHES!!!!

And after more headbanging.. this awesome and gorgeous little teddy was the winner... this is what I've submitted for my assignment. My AWESOME Mum made this for Ella... of course was asked quite promptly by Jorja... "Gee... where's mine?"... never fear.. it's on it's way!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

Learning Photography!!!

Hellooo!!!.. Well I've been meaning to share some of my Photography excitement with you. My gorgeous friend Karen and I decided to dive 'HEAD FIRST' into an online Photography Course... which I have to say is SOOOOOO much fun!!!

This week we are learning about Apertures!!!.. I know!!!! listen to me getting all fancy with all this technological talk!!! hahaha.

Here's a couple of pics I've taken, that haven't quite made the cut for my Assignment.. I'll have to get snap happy over the weekend and get some 'Passable' shots.. haha.

Here are some pics of my little models:-


Notice a little someones little hand trying to poke the lens... oohh wait it's blurry... I guess my setting worked then... hahaha



I could take photos ALL day of these little bundles of GORGEOUSNESS!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

mad hatters tea party!!!!

Last week, actually the last few weeks have seen me busy, busy, busy helping to plan my BEAUTIFUL friend Bec's Hens Doo. Us Bridesmaids decided to make it a "Mad Hatter's Tea Party" theme and I nominated myself to make the invitations (which I haven't photographed yet... but I will I promise!!!) and some gifties and other bit and bobs for the day. (I know... funny I should nominate me!!!) hahaha.

I made three little gifts to give as prizes on the day. First up was this sweet little box which saw in the new upcoming Summer Mini.


I used Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Choc Chip and Whisper White and the NEW stampset (also available in the Summer Mini) called Hello Again.
Inside the box were some little Note Cards and Envelopes, which I decorated with the same stamp set and some DSP from my retired stash - Summer Picnic.



The next little gift I first saw on my gorgeous friend and fellow SU! demo Sarah Klass's blog (*waving*). I absolutely LOVED making this little pressie, and will definately be making more:-


This one I've used Kraft and some Riding Hood Red DSP with some Pink Pirouette Ribbon and again the Hello Again stamp set. Inside I've popped in one of my SU! pens, a little pink Post-it note (well actually the whole pad!!! lol)... and a little SU! magnet.


The third little pressie was this gorgeous little oragami box... these are so quick and easy to make. Inside was a little gift of body cream and shower gel.


I didn't stop there though... Oh no!!! For those of you that know me, you would also know that when it comes to organising little parties and then having the chance to make little crafty things, I tend to get a wee bit excited and then can't seem to stop myself. Soooooo... given it was infact a Mad Hatters Tea Party, I went about making a few little "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" tags... and yep.. I did let out little squeals of excitement when I'd finished... I know.. It doesn't take much.



And here we are (R to L) Bec - The Beautiful Bride to Be (with the White feathers), and Kylie, myself, and Karen (The Bridesmaids).

We had such a FUN day and night!!! Now I can't wait for the wedding.. oh did I mention it was on HAMILTON ISLAND!!!!!!! Wooo Hooo!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by.


Sarah
xx

spring

Hi There!!!

I've been meaning to share this Scrap Page I made with you all week. FINALLY I've remembered to sit down and post it for you.

This is my GORGEOUS Jorja....playing outside in the SPRING sunshine. I just adore this photo... I guess it's safe to say I pretty much ADORE all the photos of my beautiful girls. She just looks so sweet AND cheeky don't you think.


I've used my retired Simply Scrappin Kit - Crew Girls for this... and it is to be a part of her scrap album which is coming along VERY VERY slowly. LOL.

Thanks so much for stopping by.


Sarah
xx

My Beautiful Ella - Day THREE

Hi There!!! Back again with a couple more pages from Ella's Scrapbook. Today I've got month Four and Five for you.

This one of her at Four months was taken on her very first Camping trip.... yep camping in a TENT!!! She had a wonderful time, and considering the heat.... coped pretty well... we won't mention how long it took to get her back to sleeping properly again when we got home... nope.. we'll keep that a secret!! haha... (see I can laugh now!!).

I just adore this picture... her cheeky little face, it's like she's quite proud of the fact she's squished her Big Sis out of the photo... she is there, like I said, just a bit squished!!!!

And then for Five Months... this one was taken at one of our MANY trips to the Zoo... sitting there in her pram pretty happy with being pushed around in luxury!!!.


So hope you like these two pages. Be sure to pop back tomorrow for a couple more. Oh and I promise to have a card or two for you soon too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

My Beautiful Ella - Day TWO

Hi there. I'm just scraping this one in on time for you... ooops SORRY!!! It's been such a GLORIOUS day here today, the sun shining, nice and warm, a PERFECT Spring day. Soooo we've been out enjoying the gorgeous sunshine in all it's glory.

Today I've got month's TWO and THREE of my Beautiful Ella.

This one of her was taken at Christmas time... she's stealing the limelight in her "BIG SISTERS" Elmo chair..


And this one... well this is one of my FAVES of Ella Bella... it's what I like to call my GrumbELLA photo... such a sweetie.



Hope you enjoy these pages too. Stop by tomorrow for a couple more.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Supplies:- Simply Scrappin' Kit - Rock-a-bye Girl.

My Beautiful Ella - Day ONE!!!

Hi there!!! As promised in this post, during the week I'll be popping up the scrap pages I've made of my Beautiful Ella, who celebrated her FIRST birthday on Saturday. I made these pages for her scrap book, but also to have on display during her party, so that everyone could see just how much she's grown. Well OK, I think everyone already knew that, but it was fun making them, and made Mummy here a bit teary while searching the hundreds of pic we have of her to make each page.

So, today I've got her arrival and One Month pages.

Ella is literally minutes old in this photo.... she came so quickly that it was taken on Shane's mobile phone, because YES we didn't have time to get the camera out of the car... it was get ME out or have baby in the car... hahaha.

And here she is at One Month old.... smiley, happy and just adorable.


Hope you like these, be sure to pop back tomorrow for a couple more.

All supplies on these pages are from my SU! Simply Scrappin' Kit - Rock-a-Bye Girl. oooohhh I do LOVE this kit.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xxx

flower pots, flower pots and MORE flower pots

Hello There!!!! It's been a tad quiet around here this past few days... SORRY!!!! But I have a VERY good reason for that, and I'm going to show you what it was that's been keeping me so very busy.

My GORGEOUS Ella Bella is turning ONE in a few weeks... ONE!!!! And apart from the usual "Mummy find it hard to come to terms with" moments, and the "where on earth did that YEAR go" thoughts!!!! I've been BUSY, BUSY making her sweet little birthday party invitations.

NOW.... for those of you that know me, or have been visiting for a wee while, you'll also know that I tend to go a BIG BIT crazy with these little projects, and well this one is no exception.... ME and my ideas!!!!!!

So.... want to see.....:-



Here is the group shot!!!!... Yep 20 odd of these delightful little flowerpots... that's 20 flower pots, 60 odd flowers and well, I've lost count of the leaves, and YEP... I cut them ALL out!!!! CRAZY right!!!!. I must admit, I did have the occassional... "What on earth was I thinking" moment, but... I'm so glad I did them... they're soooo cute!!!

Here's one in all its cute glory.... they really are sweet and in the singular form, REALLY fun and easy to make.



Here's what the inside looks like when you slide it out of the little flower pot.


So there you go... that's what's been keeping me so busy this week. Now I just have to POST them all oh and decide what cake to make and plan the little party... oh I do love being a MUMMY!!!!

Be sure to pop back this week though, I'll have some more fun things to show you and some more exciting news.

Thanks for dropping by.

Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- Bodacious Bouquet (retired)
Card:- Kraft, Whisper White, Spring Fling DSP (retired)
Ink:- Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Accessories:- Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain, Dimensionals, Scallop Edge Punch, SCISSORS!!!

Circle Circus and Two Challenges in One!!

What a mouthful that was!!! hahaha. I've been wanting to have a go at a couple of challenges lately one being Dawn's Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge and the other being the 2 Sketches 4 You... so I can't tell you my joy in being able to combine the two of them into one card and the bonus of being able to use the lovely Circle Circus Stamp Set too. YAY!!!!

The colours for Dawn's challenge are DIVINE.... Chocolate, Vanilla (Cream), Bright Pink and Kraft.... YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!! and the Sketch was just lovely.

Here's what I came up with:-


I used Chocolate Chip as the base then added a layer of Rose Red and Kraft. On the Kraft I used one of the stamps from Circle Circus stamped in Chocolate Chip. Then I made a large circle using my Round Tab Punch in Choc Chip added a Round Scallop in Very Vanilla and the Flower Circle from Circle Circus in Rose Red. I attached some Very Vanilla Ribbon to the side with a Rhinestone Brad and popped it up on a few Dimensionals. then added some GORGEOUS Rose Red Ribbon (SU!) and the sentiment 'Friend' from Basic Phrases was stamped in Choc Chip on some Very Vanilla card and then onto some Rose Red before being attached with a bit of Linen Thread.

Hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- Circle Circus, Basic Phrases
Card:- Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Kraft, Very Vanilla
Ink:- Choc Chip, Rose Red
Accessories:- Scallop Edge Punch, Round Tab Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Dimensionals, Rose Red Wide Double Stitched Ribbon, Linen Thread, Very Vanilla Wide Grosgrain Ribbon.

Happy Birthday Bec!!!

My Beautiful Friend Bec celebrated her birthday yesterday!!!! Happy Happy Birthday Bec. I'm meeting up with her on Sunday for a girlie Brekkie...oooh can't wait for that! And I think it's pretty safe to put her card up now. If she decides to take a peek over here then SUPRISE!!!!

I've once again been inspired by the lovely Karen and this gorgeous card she made during the week. Don't you just LOVE that layout. Fabulous!!!


I feel like I haven't been making enough PINK cards lately so I went all out here. I started with the lovely Pink Pirouette and added some Regal Rose and Baja Breeze. The little pieces on top are Baja Breeze with some Basic Grey DSP. The scallop is in Regal Rose and I've used my Cheep Talk Set with the bird stamped in Pink Pirouette and the branch in Regal Rose with some Rose Red outline and the little flowers in Baja Breeze. A splash of Pink Pirouette Ribbon and all finished. Oh and just in case you didn't notice, I went a little bit crazy with my brads, before I'd actually realised that the sketch only had 4 brads in total, I'd already put 4 brads on each section..... oooops!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
x

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- Cheep Talk, Basic Phrases
Card:- Pink Pirouette, Regal Rose, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Basic Grey DSP
Ink:- Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Regal Rose, Rose Red Marker
Accessories:- Silver Brads, Dimensionals, Pink Pirouette ribbon.

Inkspiration Sketch Challenge - LOVE YOU

I LOVE the new stamp set Trendy Trees, and when I saw Keesh's Inkspiration Challenge this week, I knew I HAD to use it for my card.

Here is the sketch that Keesh has set for us to use:-


And here is my card.


I've used Pink Pirouette as the base and layered it with some Regal Rose DSP (from the Hostess Set - Pattern Pack II), then on to that another layer of Pink Pirouette and Whisper White. Across the centre I've used Rose Red 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain and Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain.
The Trees are stamped in Certainly Celery and Pink Pirouette with the trunks being in Close to Cocoa, and the sentiment 'Love You' is from Short and Sweet and stamped in Regal Rose.
I've done some piercing around the Whisper White cardstock just to finish it off an added a little Certainly Celery Brad to the pink tree.

I hope you like it. I'm giving it to my BEAUTIFUL Mum for Mother's Day tomorrow. And I think the sentiment fits perfectly... because I do indeed LOVE my MUM!!!!

Here's a little piccy of the two of us!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mummys out there too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- Trendy Trees, Short and Sweet
Card:- Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Regal Rose DSP
Ink:- Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette
Accessories:- 1" Rose Red Wide Dbl Stitched Grosgrain, Certainly Celery Wide Grosgrain, Cetainly Celery Brad, Paper Piercer and Mat, 2-way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals, and White Gel Pen.

Baby Shower Goodies

Hi There!!! As you probably know my sister is having her very first 'delicious' bundle of joy in June, and tomorrow I am throwing her a Baby Shower. You've probably seen the invitations I made for her here, and today I thought I'd show you a few bits and pieces I've made for the big day.

First up... how about some Baby Shower Thankyou Favours... I've gone with the same theme as the Invites here but with a LOT less cutting out (Phew!!!), however I must be honest and say that I was indeed tempted to cut out more manes for the lion like I had in the invites, but decided after a long talking to myself that NO!!! enough is enough... hahaha (Don't you love it when you tell yourself off... or am I the only one that does that.. haha.
Anyhoo here are the favours I made... there are 20 odd here:-


A little close up of the Giraffe and the Lion... aren't they just the most adorable little creatures?


And here are a couple of gifts I made for prizes for some of the party games we'll play:-

A little bundle of 'Thankyou Notes and Envelopes'


And a Chip Board Journal, which I covered with some DSP and used my Cheep Talk Stamp set.


I hope the ladies coming enjoy the afternoon and those that are lucky winners like there little prizes.

Be back soon with some more, but I must go and ice my cake!!!!

Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Baby Shower Favours
Stamps:- Wild About You
Card:- Certainly Celery DSP (retired), Whisper White, Kraft and Certainly Celery
Ink:- So Saffron, Choc Chip Marker
Accessories:- Scallop Circle Punch, Circle Punches (13/8" and 1 1/4")

Thankyou Card Bundle:-
Stamps:- Pocket Silhouettes, Short and Sweet
Card:- Choc Chip, Baja Breeze, Baja Breeze DSP, Whisper White
Ink:- Choc Chip, Baja Breeze
Accessories:- Square Punch, Square Scallop Punch, Choc Chip Ribbon

Book:-
Stamps:- Cheep Talk, Live Like You Mean It (Hostess Set)
Card:- Pacific Point, Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Whisper White
Ink:- Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point
Accessories:- 1" Double Stiched Grosgrain (Rose Red), Dimensionals

Shaney's Hand Made Stamped Card... FOR ME!!!

Hello There!!!

Just a super quick one to show you today... It's my birthday so I'm being a little bit spoilt, but REALLY wanted to show you the card that my absolutely GORGEOUS, DARLING, and AMAZING hubby made for me. Yep... he pulled out my stamps, ink, coloured paper, patterned paper, ribbon, and ..... wait for it... he even 'Blinged it up' with some Dazzling Diamonds!!!!ooh I almost forgot... the little cupcake.. he 'Dimensionalised' it... I think I made that up.. but yep, he's used some Dimensionals.... Obviously he pay attention!!! hahaha.

Sooooo... do you want to see it...

Well here it is.

It's his very first stampin adventure and I think it's just beautiful.

Thanks for dropping by and I'll be back soon with more goodies to show you.

Sarah
xx

Sweet Sunday Sketch #12

Hi There!!!

Again... I think I'll just make the deadline for Karen's gorgeous Sweet Sunday Sketch.
When I saw the sketch for this week it actually screamed out BOYS card!!! Just so happens we have Shane's Dads birthday coming up so that's exactly what I used the sketch for (Oh I think it's pretty safe to say he WONT be looking on my Blog before his Birthday, so it's pretty safe to share it with you.

Today has been one of those days... you know THOSE days where.... my little darlings won't have their naps... well not without PROTEST... the computer is running on SUPER SLOW time, my paper cutter needs a new blade so it cuts my DSP nicely, and nothing seems to be going right!!!! So I'm not 100% happy with my card, but the fear of completely messing it up took over, and I decided this will just have to do today, so I hope you like it.

First up here is Karen's gorgeous sketch!!!



And here is my card:-

I'm still waiting on all my NEW goodies to arrive, so I'm using up some of my recently retired stamps and paper.
I've used Choc Chip as the base and layered it with some Outlaw DSP (yep retired), the stamp set I've used is 'It's Your Birthday' (ah huh... retired). I saw a card here, which is where I got the idea for the layering of the stamps.

Thanks for stopping by... I'm off now to try to but Ella back down for a proper nap this time!!!!

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- It's Your Birthday (retired)
Card:- Choc Chip, Outlaw DSP
Ink:- Sage Shadow, Creamy Caramel, Choc Chip
Accessories:- Dimensionals.

Ice-ceme!!

No... it's not a spelling error... it's Ice-Ceme... well that's how Jorja says it anyway.. Hahaha.

I've managed to sit down and create a Scrap Page. I've been wanting to scrap these photos of Jorja for a few weeks now, ever since I saw this sketch layout by Jen Tapler at Paper Craft Planet.


Well... I missed the deadline for the challenge, but I still wanted to make the page. And here is what I came up with.


I've used Jorja's hat as the colour scheme, so used Basic Grey Textured as the base, then added some Rose Red DSP (unfortunately retired) and some Tempting Turquoise as the strips for the photos to go onto.
The letters are Thickers from American Crafts.

It was such a funny chain of events... Jorja starting out with an Icy Pole...thinking she was very grown up and special and then Gee (aka Granny) asked her if she'd like to taste her 'Icecream'. Well Gee was swiftly handed the icypole and when she asked Jorja if she could have her Icecream back Jorja quite bluntly told her .... Noooo!...Noooo!!
She managed to eat what was left of it without one single dribble!!! Well she couldn't possibly waste any could she??

Hope you like it and thanks for stopping by.

Sarah
x

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- None
Card:- Basic Grey Textured, Tempting Turquoise, Rose Red DSP (retired)
Ink:- None... well actually, Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red.. to colour the buttons at the bottom of the page.
Accessories:- Glue Dots, Buttons (SU!)

Pocket Notes ... Best Wishes Gift

Hello Again.... I Know!!! Another night with TWO posts... what's going on!!!

I just wanted to share with you very quickly a little extra gifty I made for my BEAUTIFUL friend for her birthday. Just a little something extra to go with her pressie.

We made these little card folders at the Stampin' Up! Regionals last year, so I thought I'd whip up another for a little gifty. So very quick and a really lovely extra something to add to a present bundle for someone special.




Again I've used up my 'Retired' In Colours bits and pieces, well mainly this time because it goes with her Birthday card.

I've used Blue Bayou as the Folder Base and some Soft Sky and Falls Flowers DSP. The stamp is from Live Your Dreams (also recently retired).
The card on the inside (there's three cards and three envelopes) have a Blue Bayou and Soft Sky square and two butterflies on each, one Old Olive and one Blue Bayou ( yes MORE cutting!!!!) the sentiment is from Short and Sweet, I wanted to make it something that she can use. I also lined the inside of each envelope with some Falls Flowers DSP, unfortunately I'd run out of the matching piece from the front... but I don't think she'll mind.

Hope you like.

Thanks for stopping by.
Sarah
xx

Here's what I used:-

Stamps:- LIve your Dreams (retired), Short and Sweet Card:- Blue Bayou Textured, Soft Sky Ink:- Soft Sky, Old Olive, Blue Bayou Accessories:- Pocket Notes/Envelopes, Falls Flowers DSP, Blue Bayou Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, 2-way Glue Pen, Square punches.