December Mood Board at Jot Magazine

There's nothing better than Christmas crafting right? And the idea of a December journal of some kind (call it what you like!) is really appealing. When I saw the new Mood Board Challenge at Jot Magazine it became just the push I needed to decorate the front cover of my December not-quite-a-Daily notebook. Here's how it turned out....

As you can see, I took my inspiration mainly from the image in the top left. In fact, the notebook itself actually started off white, but I covered it in brown paper (just like those packages) and made sure I included a bit of string for good measure.

I mixed and matched some of my holiday-themed Sizzix dies to create the iconic car carrying a Christmas tree. I added a bit of an Aussie spin on things by using the Coastal Off Road die for my car. This is from one of the sets that Sizzix Lifestyle have released exclusively to the Australian and New Zealand market through Spotlight and they all feature summery and beachy themed shapes which of course is just perfectly timed! (Also... Spotlight happen to have them all on SALE at the moment too. Check them out here!!)

The Christmas tree is from an older Sizzix set which is sadly no longer available, but I'm fairly confident that anyone who has been papercrafting for any amount of time has some kind of Christmas tree stamp or die or paper they could cut out! Right?!

Anyway, that's what I created using the Mood Board as inspiration. Where does it lead you?

You can find all the details for the Jot Magazine December Mood Board challenge HERE.

Every Day I'm Sparklin' - A World Cardmaking Day Post

I am a little late to the party since World Cardmkaing Day was last Saturday, but you know what they say about better late than never right?!

In actual fact, the day itself slipped away from me before I even had time to catch my breath and think about making a card (one of those days!), but I followed along with the celebrations on social media, especially all the posts from Simon Says Stamp!, and as soon as I had a chance I ran to my craft room and whipped up this set of simple but cute cards.

I say simple, because I had already coloured all these fun images from the 'Castle Times' stamp set by Ink Blot Shop on another occasion, so I only had to make a background for them and assemble the cards together. But that still counts doesn't it?! LOL!

I chose to pair the images with some sentiments from the 'Everyday Magic' stamp set from Studio Calico - embossing them with gold glitter to fit with the magical fairy tale kind of theme I've got going on here.

Did you manage to play along with any challenges for World Cardmaking Day? I'd love to see. Link me up!!

Jot Magazine October Mood Board

I'm in love with the images Mardi curated for the October Mood Board at Jot Magazine. It totally makes me think of Spring, and creating this card had me feeling very happy!

Here's a look at the Mood Board. It's so soft and bright and airy isn't it? 

I was immediately drawn to the illustration of the little bird amongst the giant flowers and thought that recreating something similar on a card could be quite fun. 

But instead of just keeping the flowers flat, and having painted colours behind them, I took my inspiration from all the natural textures represented in the mood board and used wool felt instead. It was easy to cut the felt into these tiny little shapes with the help of my hole punch and some metal dies!

Which image inspires you the most? Come and join us for the October challenge at Jot Magazine and have a chance to win a voucher to the Jot shop! You can find all the details HERE.

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 5 Recap

YAY! The new release October products from Neat and Tangled are now available to purchase in the shop! I've been having a tonne of fun with them this week, and if you haven't seen all my recent posts, feel free to track back on my blog to see everything I've made.

But today I still have one more card to share!

This card features a combination of different products from the release, but the main images and sentiment all come from the 'Get Yeti' stamp set. The only images that don't are the presents, they're from the 'Fa La Llama' stamp set.

And in the background I've used the 'Falling Circles' coverplate die to create my own stencil (just from scrap cardstock) and sponged some light blue/aqua ink through it to make it look like a bit like it's snowing.

If you would like to see ALL the new release products up close and in 'real life', I've put together a video that walks you through everything. I had Moriah and Judah help me.. which made it really.... fun! You can see that on the Neat and Tangled YouTube channel HERE.

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 4 "Fa La Llama"

Hi and welcome to Day 4 of the October release from Neat and Tangled. Today we're shining the spotlight on the "Fa La Llama" stamp set and it's matching dies. Here's the card I made with this super-cute set!

For a 3x4" stamp set, this one really packs a punch. It's got so many fun elements in it apart from just the main image of the llama, and I've used all of them for my card.

I love that the scarf ends come separately so you can place them where you'd like! And the squiggly little stars for background details are perfect.

And of course, don't get me started on how cute the sentiment is!

I used the Jewel Tones sequins from this months' relase to add the finishing touch to my festive card. I strung them onto some gold thread and hung them across the top, a bit like fairy lights or a garland. So fun!

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 3 "Winter" and "Backdrop" and "Jewel Tones" sequins

Welcome to Day 3 of the October release from Neat and Tangled. Today we're showcasing four different products, and I used three of them on this card...

So what we're focusing on today is the "Winter" stamp set, it's matching dies, "Jewel Tones" sequins and the "Backdrop" stamp.

I especially love the "Winter" stamp set because of that big sentiment. Those 5 lines are in one block, and although you could always cut it up or mask off different segments if you prefer, I really like the idea of being able to stamp it as a big bold statement!

I think this would make the perfect stamp for when you need to mass produce some holiday cards - one image stamped and you're practically done!

I finished my card by using the "Winter" dies to cut out the title. Multiple layers of white cardstock stuck together for the word, and reflective silver card for the shadow effect. 

Now, if you were wondering about the value of the 3x4" Backdrop stamp then I can assure you there are so many ways you can use this. I've used it in probably the most simplest of ways for this card - I really did use it as a backdrop! LOL!

I first stamped the solid image in blue Distress Oxide ink, and then swiped my green Distress Oxide ink pad over the stamp in sections and stamped it again. It gives a subtle two-toned effect which is a bit fun.

I finished the background with silver embossed snowflakes from the "Winter" stamp set, and sprinkled on the Jewel Tones sequins too. The snowman and sentiment come from the "Get Yeti" stamp set that we featured on Day 1.

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 1 "Get Yeti"

Hello and welcome to day 1 of the October releases from Neat and Tangled.
Today we're showcasing the adorable "Get Yeti" stamp set and matching dies! Here's the card I made...

Now obviously I had to let the Yeti take centre-stage, but with so many other images in this stamp set to choose from, I had a hard time narrowing down who his friends should be! I actually stamped and coloured all of them and then played around until I settled on the little penguin and the snowman.

I used black embossing powder on watercolour paper to create all the images, and then used a combination of different inks to colour them in - that included Zig Clean Colour Brush pens, Distress Oxide inks, and my Color Theory dye inks from Studio Calico. All those mediums but I stuck to this fairly minimal colour scheme!! LOL!

There are a couple of sentiment options in this set, and I heat embossed one of them with white to complete this little snowy/frosty scene.

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Belly Shots and a bit of Labour!

It seems I didn't end up taking a whole lot of belly-shots this time around. But towards the end of my pregnancy I clearly thought I should remedy that and purposefully took a few. I was able to then fit them all onto one page in Shiloh's baby album!

I used a combination of ready-made cards from older Studio Calico Documenter kits, as well as a couple of cards I made myself from scraps of paper and a few embellishments. It was just the right balance of keeping the spread quick and simple, as well as still being a bit creative.

Oh, and of course, I needed to leave plenty of space for some journaling!

Keeping the album as chronological as possible (at least at this stage!) I then went on to create this page about the day she was born.

I started with some photos of the creative talents of my two eldest daughters as it related to my labour. Moriah made me a "happy pushing" card, and Bethany drew this fabulous picture of how she imagined the birth to go! They both made me laugh so much I needed to document their efforts!

That middle picture of me with the funny smile? That's totally in the middle of labour!
And then the more genuine smile of relief and amazement and love as I'm holding our new baby for the first time :-)

So happy I'm getting these memories documented whilst they're still fairly new in my head!

Man Crush Monday

I have to admit, when I got the packet of wood veneer hashtags in a Studio Calico kit some time back, I had no idea what the #mcm meant! I totally had to Google it!

And once I knew, I actually didn't think I'd have any reason to use it. But then I caught sight of this picture of my dirt-covered snotty-nosed little Judah-bug and knew I'd found the perfect place to put it!!





For the record, there was also a #wcw in the packet as well... and despite using up quite a few of the other pieces on this spread I couldn't quite pretend to be that hip and use it as well!

Most of the cards and other embellishments on this spread though actually come from the May Documenter kit from Studio Calico called 'Alfresco'. It's such a favourite of mine. I have completely and utterly fallen in love with their kits again the last few months.. they keep getting better and better!

Oh yeah.... in case you're wondering what's in that bulging little envelope? It's totally all of Moriah's baby teeth!!
Why do we feel the need to keep these things?! LOL!

Neat and Tangled September Release

The new release September goodies at Neat and Tangled are awesome as always!

I used the cute foxes from the Merry Kisses stamp set, and their matching dies as the focal point on this card. But instead of the traditional orange or red colour for the foxes, I thought I would turn them into Arctic foxes by keeping them a grey and white colour.

It matched my idea of using the Landscapes stencil to create snowdrifts. I used some texture paste and sprinkled superfine white glitter all over the top of it. The set of two stencils are the inverse of each other so it allows for some fun tricks, and I sponged on some blue ink into the gaps. 

The second time I used my Landscapes stencils I made more of a country wheatfields kind of look by stamping the Landscapes Textures through it in a variety of orange and yellow tones.

I also turned the Oak Leaf die into a tree instead, and used this card as my Father's Day card!! My dad is a farmer so it made sense in my eyes ;-)

Also this month at Neat and Tangled we have been partnering with Benzie Design who make the most luscious felt. I got rather practical by starting work on Moriah's birthday invitations already (it's actually not until November, but it feels good to be organised!) using the Magical Day stamp set.

Inspired by the unicorn theme I used the Benzie felt to create a headdress she can wear to the party! I have more details and even a video tutorial on how to make these up on the Neat and Tangled blog HERE.

And you can find all the new release stamps, dies, stencils and sequins in the shop HERE.

PS. I'm giving away a Magical Day stamp set on my Instagram account this weekend. You can find me HERE.

Letters to Tikvah

Tikvah has been our 'in utero' name for each of our pregnancies. It began with our first baby. Not knowing her sex and therefore having double the options of names, we were finding it hard. One day I opened the Name Book at a random page and stuck my finger out with my eyes closed. "We're going to call the baby.... Tikvah!" I exclaimed as I read what I was pointing at.

And so it stuck.

Moriah became Tikvah II, Judah was Tikvah III and Shiloh was called Tikvah IV.

I started creating Shiloh's baby album whilst I was still pregnant, and one of the things I wanted to do was to get the other kids to contribute. I asked each of them to write her a letter - welcoming her to the family, detailing some hopes they have for the future, and whatever else they wanted to include. Judah was less than 2 at the time so his is more like a bunch of scribbles... but I love it just the same!

I tucked each letter into a little pocket, and this became the first page in her baby album.
It makes me happy!