Tutti Fruity

 Challenge #270 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight it's an Inspiration Photo Challenge!

Here's a closeup!

This challenge is generously being sponsored by Graciellie Design and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design team a $25 voucher to their store.  

Our top pick will also be invited to guest design with us at a future date so I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule and come play cards with us! 

Speaking of Top Picks, we are delighted to welcome Stef Perry of Perry Papercrafts (our Top Pick of Challenge #265) as our guest this fortnight!  If you haven't already done so, please drop by and see what Stef has made just for our challenge ... and let her know how much you love it!

There's quite a lot in this pic to inspire - the colours, the fruit, the heart bowls, the timber floor - I can't wait to see what captures your imagination!

As always, I'm trying to get to the bottom of my NBUS stash - though that may well be impossible as it’s constantly growing!  I've had these strawberries (Charlie & Paulchen Waldbeeren) for well over a year now and this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to finally get them out and have a play.  This little beaver (Poppy Stamps Whittle Beaver) is another die that's been waiting patiently for a play and as his little arms allow something to be tucked into them, I've tucked the smallest of the strawberries in there!   Those little white bowls in the inspiration pic gave me the perfect opportunity to use this recently acquired heart die set (Poppy Stamps Vintage Heart)!  The vines were from another NBUS set (Joy Craft Pumpkins).

I couldn't resist this corny sentiment from Poppy Stamps Whittle Wild Animal Sentiments … and some dew drops added to the strawberries makes me think they’ve just been picked!

I’d like to enter this first card in to NBUS Challenge #65;

Crafty Animals Challenge #86;

Daring Cardmakers Challenge - this week’s theme is Summer Lovin’ and I’m lovin’ fresh strawberries in Summer;

and Allsorts Challenge 793-4 - Summers Days makes me think of yummy fresh strawberries!

Here is another card that was inspired by the pic - namely all the fruit and the timber floorboards!  And it’s given me another opportunity to use some more NBUS dies - Gummiapan Fruit and Gummiapan Swedish Fika and Platter set (just the platter);  After cutting the floorboards (Gummiapan), I masked off the area above and rubbed in some gilding wax.  I cut a few pieces of fruit from white card stock and coloured the pieces with alcohol markers.  I arranged the fruit on the gilded platter -and once I was happy with the arrangement added glossy accents so it had that waxed fruit look!  I've gone with a general HUGS sentiment (Birch Press Big Lingo Type Hugs) though a fruit platter would make a great Get Well Card don't you think!

 

I’d like to enter this card into the August inspiration Station Challenge which has the following wonderful inspiration pic;

Krafty Chicks Challenge #729 - Week 3 CAS; 

Word Power Challenge #8;

and Four Seasons August Summer Challenge - Anything Goes Summer;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

A Little Get Well Card

I made this little rocker card for a little baby girl.  It's my first rocker card and I used a Sizzix Bigz Scalloped Circle as the base.
I wanted a tartan base so I used the WMS Cabin Plaid background stamp to overstamp the front and back of the scalloped circle after it had been scored and folded, and embossed with white embossing powder.  This way I was sure the pattern would be straight.  I cut a large plain pink circle using the largest Splendid Circle from Spellbinders and cut a plain circle from another piece of plaid-stamped pink cardstock.  I was pretty chuffed when my friend Jaine (a very experienced card maker) dropped in on Tuesday as I was playing with the background pieces and asked where I got the gorgeous pink and white plaid cardstock.
I went through all my dies and found this little Sizzlit Rocking Horse (seemed appropriate for a rocker card) which I cut from a pretty pink plaid paper from DCWV.
I suppose I was still influenced by the last sketch from WMS - WMSC129, because I couldn't think where else to put the sentiment other than to the side plus this made the card a little more substantial. The sentiment and frame were stamped using WMS Fancy Phrases and cut with a Spellbinders Fancy Label.
However, I was so carried away with the aesthetics of the piece that I forgot all about physics - the card tipped to the right and wouldn't rock at all.  SO I went through all my brads and found these three spotted pink and white heart brads and attached them to the left side - the card now rocked a little but still leant to the right.  So I cut another two chipboard hearts and attached these to the left as well - phew it was more or less balanced and rocks really well.
At only 8 weeks old Sarah Jane won't be able to play with it yet but I hope it puts a smile on her mummy's face as she waits by her hospital bedside.

Get Well Josie

A Penny Spinner for Simon's Aide at school who has been sick all week.  The background was created using Pool, Sailboat Blue, Caramel, Latte and Silver Ranger alcohol inks, and overstamped with one of the  Crafty Individual stamps.  The stamp used for the centre of the flower was from Hot Picks, and the little butterfly was the freebie from April 2011's Craft Stamper Magazine.
Naturally the circles and scalloped circle were from Spellbinders.  When creating the track you need to use at least 3 size differences between inner and outer circles - 2 just isn't enough and the penny will get snagged.
I used a tiny bolt and magnet to connect the 2 pennies - I don't feel the foam pads are strong enough.