ADDINKTIVE DESIGNS

Ryan with his Mates I don't often share non-crafty stuff on my blog but I couldn't help myself because our son is 21 today! Where have those years gone? (The end result was definitely worth it but I can recall a very long hot summer, insomnia, a 36 hour labour, an 'emergency' caesarean, the 10lb 14oz baby I produced ... what the?, the 11 days I spent in hospital with Ryan in intensive care fighting AB/O incompatibility jaundice, tubes down his throat, a bit of post-natal depression and not being able to breastfeed. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!!) Enough 'reminiscing' ... Ryan recently shared a party with his friend, Jess, who celebrated her 18th and it was all organised so capably by another friend, Ebony. She did a great job and Ryan enjoyed catching up with some of his mates. That's our daughter, Laura, in the background and she'll celebrate her 18th this year!! I'll be back with some papercraft stuff in the form of a JAI ...

Bright Owls At Just Add Ink this week the challenge is to add a 'burst of colour' to your papercraft project. I went with the Bright Colour Palette of Melon Mambo , Tempting Torquoise and Daffodil Delight which I took directly off the Colour Coach! I also wanted to highlight one of the new Sale-a-bration Sets called, Punch Bunch . I love the cute little owl image. Make sure you wear some 'sunnies' when you blog surf the entries this week! Here's the Inspiration Picture for the Challenge I hope you have fun with it!

Friends, stamping, chatting, Thai food, Zero Coke, red wine and chocolate ... it doesn't get much better than that! Tania , Mae , Rochelle and I got together last night for some stamping fun. Mae came all the way from Hobart to join us and stay at Tania's place. Just as well she didn't have to travel back as it was a pretty late night/early morning! It was great to catch up around a table rather than behind a computer screen! I really enjoyed the night and learnt some new hints and tips. It was a very productive session. Thanks ladies for a fun evening. The Make 'n' Takes Mae demonstrating the 'Shadow Technique' using a wheel stamp. Here's my attempt at the Shadow Technique. I found it 'wheely' tricky. Mine looks like a long evening shadow but the other girls managed to do it with much more success ... and that was before we had the red wine! Mae chose a lovely colour combo of Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip! Yum! Can you ...

Bliss Note Card I just realised as I uploaded this photo that this little note card has ... ... something old, something new, nothing borrowed something blue! For this week's sketch at Just Add Ink , I wanted to use Baja Breeze and went in search of some DSP to match and came across a few scraps of Parisian Breeze - 'Sigh!' It still is my absolute favourite pick of all the DSPs past and present. I think the sketch for Challenge #52 is absolutely A1 gorgeous and I hope many of you will be able to join in this week. Sketch challenges are great because you can use any colours or stamp sets that you like and the layout is all worked out for you!! I've used the upcoming Sale-a-bration stamp set called 'Bliss' (again) as I think it's totally gorgeous! I should also mention that I decided to use one of my note cards from my stash. They're often overlooked in the catalogue but they're just the right size to add to a gift. You can find them on page 123 ...

Rachel's UStamp Swap Nature Walk I received a beautiful SWAP in the mail this week all the way from the USA. Isn't it gorgeous? It was created by Rachel Yurkanin for the latest UStamp with Dawn and Friends 'Swap Around the World'. This beautiful card uses the lovely stamp set called 'Nature Walk' that is available in the current US Occasions Mini Catalogue, along with the new Tulip Border Embossing Folder . Thanks Rachel. You are so talented. You can view the swap I sent Rachel, HERE . I'll be back tomorrow with my DT submission for Just Add Ink . Thanks for stopping by.

Color Throwdown #124 This is the first time I have played along with the Color Throwdown. I was initially attracted to the beautiful colour combo especially because I could get to use some retired Soft Sky and matching DSP from my stash (It was my favourite in-colour when I joined SU). It also had Early Espresso (my current favourite colour) and the beautiful Melon Mambo ! I couldn't resist. Then I read on to discover that this week's challenge was for such a lovely cause. In addition to entering the colour challenge, participants have the wonderful opportunity to send their entry off to a fellow stamping enthusiast named Katie . Katie is undergoing treatment for stage 4 gastric cancer and could do with a bit of cheering up. So this card will soon be winging its way to the USA to hopefully help put a smile on Katie's face while she undergoes treatment. The Lovely Colour Palette Stamp Set: Bliss (SAB) PS: Thanks so much to the Color Throwdown Team for choosng this...

Happy Birthday Jenna Yay! I finally had the time to join in with an Inkspirations Challenge . I'm enjoying playing around with Basic Black and Very Vanilla this week as well as the gorgeous silhouette image of the girl from the Easter Blossoms Set . As this card will be heading off to Devonport for my niece's birthday, I covered over the eggs in the basket with Flower Soft and added a Perfect Plum Button to match. Jenna loves purple and I hope she loves this card for her 24th Birthday! (We moved into our house the day she was born so it's always easy to remember how long we've lived here!) Inkspirations Sketch #53 Project Recipe: Stamps: Easter Blossoms (Summer Mini) Ink: Basic Black Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black Accessories: Love Letter DSP, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Subtles Button, Sponge Dauber, Dimensionals Non-SU: Label Punch from EK Success, Flower Soft, Black Polka Dot Ribbon PS: Thanks to the Inkspirations Challenge Site DT for c...

Paris in the Spring There's a challenge at Just Add Ink to Just Add Monochrome to your papercraft project this week. According to Wikipedia, Monochrome describes paintings, drawings, design or photographs in one colour or shades of one colour. For an image, the term monochrome is usually taken to mean the same as black and white or, more likely, greyscale, but may also be used to refer to other combinations containing only tones of a single colour. So with that definition in mind, the team at Just Add Ink would love to see you have some fun and join in with this week's theme! I chose to use some new goodies that literally arrived the day I sat down to make this card. They're from the gorgeous Summer Mini Catalogue (link on my side bar). If you're a customer (or potential customer) and haven't got your own copy yet, please drop me an email and I'll pop one in the post ASAP. Here's what I used for 'Paris in the Spring' - Stamp Sets: Artisit...

A Purse with ... ... Matching Card ... made using Newsprint DSP, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and Easter Blossoms' Stamp Set. Hope you like! ~ This is the first project that I have made (apart from my own) for the latest UStamp Year End Blowout. I took inspiration from Danielle Daws' tutorial. You can visit Danielle's blog to see her lovely samples but if you want the instructions to this and 39+, brilliant, easy to follow tutorials, you'll just have to join this round of UStamp with Dawn and Friends . I'm off to start another project!! Thanks for taking a peek,

Don't miss a day of the LIVE FUN!! Opening Day Invites go out February 11, 2011 Last Project posted March 3, 2011 ***** EARLY BIRDS ARE AWESOME!! Early Birds SAVE $5 PLUS a chance to win a $100 Stampin' Up! Shopping Spree!! Early Bird Pricing ends January 14th. Join us now for only $19.99 Early Bird Shopping Spree Drawing: Everyone that registers for Early Bird Pricing will be entered into a drawing to win 1 of 2 Stampin' Up! Shopping Sprees valued at $100 each!! Winners will be announced Monday, January 17th. Join us for UStamp with Dawn & Friends!! Oh My Word!! Edition 2011!! Every project will have something to say and you will want to be there to hear all about it!! Dawn is especially excited to announce that for the very first time, UStamp with Dawn and Friends!! will be showcasing every single project with at least one word. Sometimes a single word says it all and sometimes sev...

Easter Blossoms Well ... the Easter Eggs are starting to appear in the shops already and I was dying to get this set all 'inky' as silhouettes are right 'up there' along with owls on my list of favourite stamps!! Click HERE for a tutorial on how to make one of these Scallop Circle Easel Cards. Here's the Project Recipe: Stamp Set: Easter Blossoms Ink: Early Espresso, (Blushing Bride and Sahara Sand for sponging) Card Stock: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Whisper White Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, Large Oval and XL Scallop Oval Punches, Antique Brad, 3/8" White Taffeta Ribbon, Stamping Sponges, White Gel Pen, Dimensionals, Paper-Piercing Tool This was made for an International Swap that is 'winging' its way to the USA. Thanks for stopping by,

This week there is a colour challenge at Just Add Ink . Hope you can take some time out to join in the fun! My PERSONAL CHALLENGE is to use all my owl stamps, dies, punches, paper, material etc. on some paper craft projects over the summer break! I can now tick off the owl from the Hostess L1 Set, Cute By the Inch!! Cute By the Inch Sticky Note Holder The Colour Combo One of my most popular posts for 2010 was the Woodland Walk Owl Post-it-Note Holder so I thought I'd make another 'sticky note holder' (Aussie Lingo) to suit this week's colour challenge (different design of course). Do you like the cute little square made from the Scallop Trim Corner Punch ? I watched a hilarious video tutorial by the very funny, Bonnie Thurber, entitled, 'New Punches' (Border and Corner Punches). This scalloped square project works with a 2" square. If you're a Stampin 'Up! Demonstrator in Australia or New Zealand, you can view the very entertaining tuto...

My tutorial for the Year End Blow Out has been released so I'm excited to share with you some pictures of the project that I designed using the upcoming Sale-a-bration Set, Bliss . Bliss Chocolate Heart Valentine Holders and Co-ordinating Card Bliss Vintage Card The Four Chocolate Holders Inside View of one of the Chocolate Holders (Complete with Tag) A full tutorial on how to complete the project is available from the YEBO Edition of UStamp with Dawn and Friends . Click on the blinkie below to take you there. Thanks for stopping by my blog,