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...