It hasn't been forever ...

... since my last post. Surprised, huh? I know I am! Although, I suppose a week and a bit in blogland can seem like a long time.

I made the following card for a friend of mine in Canada. And it really has been like FOREVER since I sent her something to remind her that she is in my thoughts and heart. I was thinking how easy it has been for so much time to pass by in the whirligig of every day and, in that time, not reach out to those that I care about - especially those who may be far away. Definitely time for redress...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Always Artichoke
Chocolate Chip
Old Olive
Soft Suede
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Defining Alphabet
Vintage Vogue

Cardstock:
Always Artichoke
Naturals Ivory
Old Olive

Accessories:
Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon
Earth Elements Brads
Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon
Rich Regals Brads
Soft Suede Polka-dot Grosgrain Ribbon
Sponge Daubers
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Dimensionals

Not A-Mused

I've really struggled for a few months to get back into papercrafting. As one of the sweet people who have visited my blog, you would have noticed that the frequency of my postings has declined drastically. Initially, after Christmas, I had attributed the lack of interest in things crafty to a little burnout ... and consoled myself with gaming in the hope that the passion for creating would build up like forest litter waiting for ignition by lightning or, possibly as a worst case, a passing firebug. But, alas, no such conflagaration has eventuated and the fire danger rating is sitting on "No Great Need to Worry".

It finally dawned on me, about a month ago, that my Muse must have absconded after I overworked and neglected her during that Christmas period. I've been imagining her flitting from country to country, enjoying the sights and sounds of novel surroundings while gifting the odd local with some inspiration to add a masterful new ingredient to an existing speciality or, perhaps, injecting new life into a tired artist's caricatures of willing tourists. I imagine her ending up in Tuscany, holed up with a poor yet talented writer - sharing cheese, olives, wine and ciabatta ... and exhorting him to finishing that one manuscript that will make his career! Of course, it would be published first in Italian and I would have to wait for the English translation to really appreciate the end result. *grin*

I think that she may have paid me a little visit when I made the following card as it took several hours to complete and I didn't notice the time passing by. I'm dedicating the card to my Muse and to Muses in all their forms ... for if you do love your Muse (like life), I expect that they will love you back.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Old Olive
Orchid Opulence
Rich Razzleberry
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Cottage Garden

Paper:
Certainly Celery CS
Cottage Wall DSP
Old Olive CS
Orchid Opulence CS
Rich Razzleberry CS
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
1/16" Circle Punch
Eyelet Border Punch
Rich Razzleberry Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon
Sizzlits Buttons #5
Stampin' Dimensionals
White Embossing Powder

On bended knees

I am typing this post while kneeling at my computer. Why you may ask? OK - other than the really obvious need for forgiveness for neglecting my blog, I've just read that sitting down is the new smoking! A study has

...found that for every hour that a person spends sitting..., their individual risk of death from all causes rose 11 per cent, their risk of death from cardiovascular disease rose 18 per cent and their risk of dying from cancer, 9 per cent.

I'm really surprised that I'm still here after those statistics. Given how much I've been sitting all these years, I'm pretty sure that the risk from all causes would be pushing 100% (albeit at an ever decreasing rate). Also, given how my knees are feeling already, I'm sure that knee replacement surgery is now on the cards.

Anyway, I thought I would try making a whole card while standing up¹ just to see how tricksy it would be to avoid this sitting health hazard going forward. Here it is:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Brilliant Blue
Chocolate Chip
Old Olive
So Saffron

Stamp sets:
Good Friend
Simply Said

Paper:
So Saffron CS
Tall Tales DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Circle Scissors Plus
Rose Red Double Stitched Grograin
Sponge Dauber

After that experiment, I can honestly say, "I can't stand it!" Oh noes! Is that a varicose vein I see appearing?

---

1. Most demonstrators are probably adept at demoing cards standing up BUT who would choose to design a card doing so? Yeah .. thought so ... who's quite that crazy, hey? Doh! Me apparently.

Goodness! It's February already!

Oh no! This blog has no entries for January 2010. I can imagine in the far distant future, in a dark post-apocalyptic setting where people will be using stamp pads for make-up and wooden stamp blocks for firewood, a copy of this blog will be discovered by the accidental activation of back-up server in a mostly destroyed Google disaster recovery centre. People will only find fragments of this blog from 2010 and incorrectly deduce that there are only 11 months in a calendar year - all because of me!

Totally unlikely, hey? SIF¹ anyone would burn their stamps...

I have been very badly distracted during January (that's right, people from the future - we have 12 calendar months). After the pre-Christmas creative binge, I fell back into an old love-hate relationship that I have with a PC game called Counter-Strike: Source. Mainly played by male gamers, a CSS session is usually fuelled by huge doses of testosterone (and hence, swagger, swearing and raging) - so much so that I'm really starting to miss genteel female company! To try to get back into the crafty swing of things, I took part in this month's INKlings Cyberstamp hosted by my upline, the wonderful Jayne Mercer. Her first challenge was to create a flower using punches.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Kiwi Kiss
Riding Hood Red

Stamp sets:
Stem Sayings

Paper:
Sweet Nothings Simply Scrappin' Kit
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Butterfly Punch
Heart to Heart Punch
Trio Flower Punch







Having not made anything in a rather long while, I really struggled to appreciate the aesthetics of this card when I finished it. Is it good, bad or just ... as CSSer's would say... meh?

---

1. SIF: CSS for "as if". As in, SIF you headshot me while blinded

Last post for today I promise

... for you ... and for me! Personally, four posts in one day is completely excessive and the only reason I am posting this last one is because I promised to let my newsletter readers know the tips for using the faux metal technique with jumbo brads.

You can see the technique in action as the flower centre on the card that I made for hubby for our anniversary today. There is a close up in the bottom left of the picture. By the way, I highlighted the debossed dots with a metallic silver pen.

So, here are the tips:
1. Use only two layers of black embossing powder - any more and it becomes a gooey mess.
2. Since the brad is metal, it gets very hot when you melt the embossing powder so use tweezers or a clip with a wooden handle to hold it while applying heat.
3. The heat also takes longer to dissipate. VersaMark your rubber and wait a little bit before making the impression - also hold the brad in place for a little longer than normal too.

So, that's it! Tips over and time to spend the evening with Hubby! Have a great night.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Sahara Sand
Taken with Teal

Stamp sets:
Cheer and Wishes
En Français
Occasional Greetings
One of a Kind
Sanded
Wonderful Favourites

Cardstock:
Basic Black
Basic Gray
Taken with Teal
Whisper White

Accessories:
Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon
Black Embossing Powder
Heat Tool
Pretties Kit
Sponge Dauber
Stampin' Write Markers in Neutrals

Give 'em the new Razzle Dazzle

(To the tune of Chicago's Razzle Dazzle)

Give 'em the new razzle dazzle
Razzle Dazzle 'em
Give 'em a card with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate
Give 'em the old hocus pocus
Brad, embellish 'em
How can they see with glitter in their eyes?

What if your lines all are askew?
What if you can't stamp without a tool?

Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never catch wise!

This card is to farewell the old and welcome the new. It sports some Jumbo brads and the Birthday Wish single stamp from the Spring Mini ending today and a sneak peak of the Razzle Dazzle stamp set, Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon and Circle Scissors from the Summer Mini which is launching tomorrow.

The scalloped large circle was made using the corner rounder and if this card wasn't for someone completely utterly special, I would have had second thoughts about doing it. By the way, it isn't for my sister ... and, by the way, that is NOT saying that my sister isn't completely utterly special either!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Lovely Lilac
Orchid Opulence

Stamp sets:
Birthday Wish
Razzle Dazzle
Wonderful Favourites

Cardstock:
Lovely Lilac
Orchid Opulence
Whisper White

Accessories:
Button Latte
Circle Scissors
Corner Rounder Punch
Jumbo Brads in Neutrals
Real Red Polka Dot Grosgrain
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Markers in Gable Green, Lovely Lilac, Orchid Opulence, Real Red, So Saffron

Reflection Technique Class

I had a most enjoyable class the other night with some of my terrific customers. We used the Reflection Technique for a Christmas card and a masculine card.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Basic Black

Stamp set:
Season's Surfin'

Cardstock:
Gable Green
Kraft
Real Red
Whisper White

Accessories:
Aquapainter
Stampin' Dimensionals
Stampin' Write Markers in Brilliant Blue, Creamy Caramel, Gable Green, Green Galore, Mellow Moss, Real Red
Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Soft Subtles


It's really weird - I have been attracted to Season's Surfin' recently but couldn't really put my finger on why. The palm tree, in particular, was stirring something pleasing in me and I only realise why today. It reminds me of Queensland and the Whitsundays, where Hubby and I spent our honeymoon. Today is our sixth wedding anniversary and I think that, subliminally, Season' Surfin' was reminding me of the marvellous time that we had there and that our anniversary was coming up fast! To think, a moment's reflection would have revealed all of this beforehand...

The following card has acetate layered over the Baja Breeze cardstock. I thought it was an evocative allusion to the reflective surface of water and provided a nifty way of supporting the Thinking of You sentiment in StazOn Cotton White.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Cotton White StazOn

Stamp sets:
Lovely as a Tree
More Thoughts Simply Sent

Cardstock:
Baja Breeze
Kiwi Kiss
Whisper White

Accessories:
Aquapainter
Crop-A-Dile
Jumbo Brads in Antique Brass
Sponge Dauber
Watercolor Wonder Crayons in Earth Elements

Stampin' Up! Australia's Spring Mini ends today and with it Season's Surfin' and the Cotton White Stazon.

Where's the chocolate chip?

This is a card that I've been demonstrating in my Emerging Colour classes. Funnily enough, in each of the classes, someone has asked me at the commencement of proceedings where the chocolate chip cardstock was to be found. As it turns out, it is in the chocolate chip ink pad just busting to get out.

Another funny thing was at each event, someone brought up Boho Backgrounds as a set that piqued their interest - a stamp set that made it from last year's catalogue into this year's which practically means that it has fallen off the radar (Lovely as a Tree is an exception). And they said that before seeing my sample! Freaky, no? *plays Twilight Zone music*

I think that it is a sign that Boho Backgrounds is due for a resurgence!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Baja Breeze
Chocolate Chip
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Boho Backgrounds
Circle Circus
Oval All
Petal Pizzazz

Paper:
Baja Breeze CS
Kraft CS
Parisian Breeze Specialty
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Brayer
Button Bouquet
Clear Embossing Powder
Double-Striped Grosgrain Ribbon in Baja Breeze
Heat Tool
Large Oval Punch
Mini Glue Dot
Scallop Border Punch
Scallop Oval Punch
Sponge Dauber

PS: I know a sample size of two classes isn't anywhere close to statistically significant but it was significant to me!

Masculine card that's a breeze

One of my favourite sets from the Spring Mini is Uncharted Territory. It is a snap to make a card for men using it and I think it would be great for scrapbook pages featuring coastal destinations (especially those with lighthouses...was that a little obvious?).

Anyway, I love teaming it up with the gorgeous Parisian Breeze Specialty paper that is also only available until the end of November. The colour scheme is rugged and seaworthy and suits the images in the stamp set perfectly. The amazing thing about the Parisian Breeze paper is that every sheet has a side which is feminine with a masculine other side making it incredibly versatile.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Baja Breeze
Basic Gray
Chocolate Chip
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Best Yet
Uncharted Territory

Paper:
Baja Breeze CS
Kraft CS
Parisian Breeze Specialty
Watercolour Paper
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Aquapainter
Large Oval Punch
Small Oval Punch
Sponge Dauber

Bling it on, Brad!

I love a big Brad even more than Angelina Jolie. Rewind! Actually, I can't say for certain that Angelina loves big Brads or even which size ones she has, but I can say that I love 'em - big and small. At the moment, I'm having a ball playing with the Jumbo Brads in the Spring Mini and adding lots of colour and sparkle to them with my heat tool, heat and stick powder and fine glitter. Makes them almost red carpet worthy, imho...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Kiwi Kiss

Stamp sets:
A Great Friend

Paper:
Pink Pirouette CS
Walk in the Park DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Fine Supernova Glitter
Flower Fusion Too
Heat and Stick Powder
Heat Tool
Jumbo Brads
Round Tab Punch
Small Oval Punch

Who would have thought that these brads came in neutrals?

Gift card card

I'm posting a rather multi-function card today - firstly, it is multi-challenge card since it was made for this month's Elite sketch and colour challenges. And secondly, it hides a gift card under the Mellow Moss front panel...which makes the whole ensemble a gift card card! I've put a little tag as a hint to the recipient that there is something worth opening on Christmas Day.

It's all make-believe, however, since the hidden gift card is just an expired discount card, the card itself is a mere card front and, thankfully for the recipient, the card won't be given to anyone. The embossing, as difficult as it is to see in either of the pictures, is real though...truly it is...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Always Artichoke
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Season of Joy
Winter Post

Cardstock:
Always Artichoke
Mellow Moss
Riding Hood Red
Very Vanilla

Accessories:
1 1/4″ Circle Punch
Clear Embossing Powder
Designer Label Punch
Heat Tool
Linen Thread
Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain
Sponge
Stampin’ Dimensionals
Stampin’ Write Markers in Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Ruby Red

A belated posting of swaps

I had these cards loaded and ready for a write-up so long ago that I forgot about them! These were the two other variations of my Convention Swaps ... I imagine some of you thinking, "Convention, which Convention? No Convention around these here parts. Stampin' Up! Regionals, however ..." Embarrassingly, yes, I did mean the Stampin' Up! Australia Convention held last May.

Which reminds me that I should get a wriggle on for swaps for Sydney Regionals so that I'm not, at the last minute, trying to design swaps with just Whisper White cardstock (because that was the only colour cardstock that I had more than 10 sheets of)! Or even worse, bringing a paltry 7 swaps to Regionals like I did the year before.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Chocolate Chip

Stamp sets:
Cute And Curly
Funky Forest

Paper:
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Ruby Red

Jayne Mercer's Girls Night in Cyberstamp

My terrific upline, Jayne, is holding a Cyberstamp to raise funds for the very worthy cause of breast cancer research.

I thought I would pop in with a contribution to the evening but, as usual, I took a lot longer than anticipated to make this card! So I'm dashing off this post so that I can spend some time with my neglected Hubby. I'll post the supplies list tomorrow [ETA: posted now] but, if you do get the chance, please support Jayne's fundraising effort.

Jayne's first challenge was to CASE a layout from the Stampin' Up! 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalogue. Mine was based on the Spring Song card on page 79.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Regal Rose
Riding Hood Red

Stamp sets:
Boho Backgrounds
Fifth Avenue Floral

Paper:
Pink Pirouette CS
Pretty In Pink CS
Regal Rose CS
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Double Stitched Grograin Ribbon in Rose Red
Flower Designer Brads
Flower Fusion Too
Paper Snips
Slot Punch
Stampin' Dimensionals
Stampin' Write Markers in Pretty in Pink and Regal Rose

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day three

(To the tune of the twelfth day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the third of October
more cards were made by me:
with embossing powder,
white Taffeta ribbon,
Baja Breeze cardstock,
an Ice Rhinestone brad,
Stampin' Dimensionals,
Eyelet Border Punch,
Five stamp pads,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Whisper White,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies

Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Baja Breeze
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand
VersaMark

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings
Paper:
Baja Breeze CS
Old Olive CS
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Embossing Buddy
Eyelet Border Punch
Heat Tool
Ice Circle Rhinestone Brads
Silver Embossing Powder
Sponge Daubers
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Dimensionals
White Embossing Powder
White Taffeta Ribbon

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day two

(To the tune of the seventh day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the second of October
a card was made by me:
using oval punches
Large and new Scallop,
Five stamp pads,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Whisper White,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Chocolate Chip
Baja Breeze
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Best Yet
Tree Trimmings

Paper:
Old Olive CS
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Square Scallop Punch
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Old Olive
Stampin' Write Marker in Real Red

Papercrafts Festival demonstration cards: day one

(To the tune of the fifth day in The Twelve Days of Christmas)

On the first of October
two cards were made by me:
with Whisper White,
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig,
Three stamp pads,
Tree Trimmings set,
and some Ski Slope DSP.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Old Olive
Real Red
Sahara Sand

Stamp sets:
Occasional Greetings
Punches Three
Tree Trimmings

Paper:
Ski Slope DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Square Scallop Punch
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Old Olive
Stampin' Write Marker in Real Red

Pre-Yoga quickie

Just dashing off to yoga - first lesson in ages. But I thought I would post this card made with Certainly Celery Poly Twill Ribbon (that is available for this month only) embossed with a gold Christmas sentiment. I'll be back soon...

ETA: 8:31pm I'm back but it's time for dinner *sigh*

ETA: 9:12pm I've had dinner and except I haven't had dessert. I suppose I shouldn't throw away all the benefits of my yoga session in a fit of sugar consumption.

So, back to this Christmas card with the rather spiffy ribbon. I've always loved gold embossed ribbon and decided that I should try making my own. I initially experimented on the wide double-stitched grosgrain ribbon in Chocolate Chip by doing the responsible thing: which was to tip some embossing powder on the ribbon before using any VersaMark on it. Unfortunately, the fibres of the ribbon held the embossing powder regardless of how I tapped, flicked or hit the ribbon. So I brushed the powder back into its container and gave up on using the wide double-stitched grosgrain ribbon for this purpose.

When I followed the same procedure for testing the new poly twill ribbon, the powder dropped quite effortlessly away from the ribbon. Eureka! and I don't mean the stockade. And the rest is well ... this ribbon!

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Certainly Celery
Encore Gold
Rose Red

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings

Cardstock:
Certainly Celery
Kraft
Rose Red
Whisper White

Accessories:
Certainly Celery Poly Twill Ribbon
Eyelet Border Punch
Gold Embossing Powder
Heat Tool
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig

So Saffree

Isn't this month's free (with purchase) So Saffron grosgrain ribbon so perfect for spring and summer projects? Of course, it'd be great for other seasons too (as it is So Saffron) but I doubt that my roll will last until next Autumn. *grin*

I've teamed it up with a Summer Love Rub-On and every time I look at this combination, I want to put on a wide brimmed straw hat and a fresh floral dress then sneak into the closest corn field to run carefree through it. Since I live in the 'burbs, the only accessible farms are those that exist in my mind...most likely a good thing since this romantic notion can't end with me actually being charged for trespassing or collapsing a 100 metres into a row of corn since that's about all my real life stamina would allow. *pictures calling Hubby on my mobile phone to save me when he gets off work and then waiting and waiting* Yep! Much better left in the realms of one's imagination...

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Cameo Coral
Kiwi Kiss
So Saffron

Stamp sets:
Great Friend

Paper:
So Saffron CS
So Saffron Patterns DSP
Whisper White CS

Accessories:
Aqua Painter
Designer Brads Flower Assortment
Mat Pack
Paper Snips
So Saffron Grosgrain Ribbon
Stampin' Write Markers in Cameo Coral, Old Olive, So Saffron
Summer Love Rub-Ons
White Gel Pen

I played around with the petals of the flower brad by filling them in with a white gel pen. The flower centre features a rub-on for contrast. Many thanks to Carol for this month's Elite Challenges card sketch which I've used for this card.

Christmas Bollywood colours

What's up with the title of this post? Sounds like a rather random amalgam of nouns, doesn't it? I suppose that is to be expected since the idea behind it is rather random - but I guess you must all be used to that by now! But, please let me explain...

For the first time in what feels like a long time, I devoted an entire night to watching TV (because "Om Shanti Om" featuring Shah Rukh Khan was showing on SBS Two) by myself (because Hubby is overseas). I'm almost a Shah Rukh Khan fangirl - except that I'm too lazy to read about his life story, I have no wall space for posters, I'm too cheap to buy most of his DVDs and I forget, by the time I go to sleep, to dream about him. Well, I did say that I was "almost" a fangirl...and I had to add the last qualifier just in case Hubby reads this.

If you clicked on the IMDB link of Shah Rukh (he and I are so on a first two names basis¹), the one picture of him represents quite well how I think of him - endearing, earnest and ...um... conservatively clothed. Hey! I wasn't kidding about SRK not quite making it into my dreams. But, he is pretty spunky for someone who is in his mid-40s, don't you think? So, imagine my surprise when he appeared like this in a music sequence in the second half of the movie. "OM! Oh my Shanti oh my!" *fans self* *submerges head in a sink of cold water* *runs around the room squealing* I then had to lie down for the rest of the movie - admittedly, I was already lying on the couch for the first part of the movie but that was by choice.

So what does this have to do with anything at all? *ponders* Hmmmmmmm ... I just had to over share? *sheepish grin* That plus the fact that in one of the music sequences, Deepika Padukone was dancing around in scarves coloured just like a Christmas card I made the night before! You can see her outfit in the YouTube trailer of "Om Shanti Om" linked above (at around the 30 second mark). As expected, whilst I was excited to see the colours I had used swirling around the screen, I wasn't thinking about cards during SRK's performance. *sighs dreamily*

Oh yes! Where was I? So, here is the Christmas card:

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Green Galore
Pink Passion
Real Red
Silver Encore
Summer Sun
Taken with Teal
Tangerine Tango

Stamp sets:
Many Merry Messages
Tree Trimmings

Cardstock:
Whisper White

Accessories:
Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Stampin' Write Marker in Sahara Sand

I included a shot of the card at an angle so that the sheen of the Encore Silver is visible. I also used a matt fixative to prevent the silver from smudging. Yet another deceptively difficult card - if only I could make cards that were deceptively simple instead!

Counting down the two days until Hubby is home *claps happily*

ETA: Just entered this card into Shelli Gardner's Stamps Ink Paper challenge. I hope the link to SRK was not too racy!

---

1. It's goes something like this in my head:
LMY: Hey hey Shah Rukh! How's it shakin' my man?
SRK: Hi Lin Mei! Long time no see. How come you never return my calls?

I imagine it'd go something like this in real life:
LMY: He..hello Shah Rukh!
SRK: Uh... Who are you?
LMY: Lin Mei
SRK: Er..OK. Bye Lin Mei. *snaps fingers*
*LMY gets dragged off by minders*

See - first two names basis EVERY time.

Really bright delights

I'm gettin' old! Oh boy! was it a shock to realise that today. I treated my aunt to a Donut King buy one get one free coffee - does that technically qualify as a treat I wonder? Probably only if I nominate hers as the one that's paid for...I digress. While waiting for the milk to get hot and frothy, I had a look at the garishly iced doughnuts on offer and was struck by the thought, "How can anyone eat fluorescent blue?" I imagine a munched up portion lighting my oesophagus on its trip down to my stomach, with all and sundry privy to its illuminated descent...I have to confess to shuddering a little bit at the thought. Nothing that incandescent could be harmless to the human body - no wonder little children become hyperactive after consuming this sort of food colouring: all that excess brightness has to be converted somehow (basic case of conservation of energy). Anyway, it didn't seem too long ago when such colourful doughnuts would have been a siren song to lure me into throwing myself at the unyielding rocks of my parents' legs begging for two or three or more (in all different colours because at that age, every colour is a different flavour ... which is why hundreds and thousands are the ultimate gourmet delight for kids). Now that I am getting old, I think you'd have to be nuts to want that kind of dough. *sigh*

On the subject of brightly coloured, please dust off your favourite eclipse viewing technique for the following card. I thought that it was time to be bold and use my stash of Only Orange...I have to say that I think "Only Orange" is a bit of a misnomer - as in whatdyamean it's ONLY orange? It's an in-your-face RETINA-MELTING orange. If you ask me, it'd be more appropriately descriptive as "Over-the-top Orange" or "Outrageously Orange". *folds arms stubbornly* Anyway, I matched it up with some Bravo Burgundy because I needed a bit of bravado to use Outrageously Orange for a Spring Mini swap. In the end, I think that I liked it.

Stampin' Supplies
Ink:
Bravo Burgundy
Only Orange
Real Red
Tangerine Tango
VersaMark
Whisper White Craft

Stamp sets:
Oval All
Simply Said

Cardstock:
Bravo Burgundy Textured
Only Orange
Whisper White

Accessories:
Aqua Painter
Bravo Burgundy Grograin Ribbon
Heat Tool
Scallop Oval Punch
White Embossing Powder

A tip with stamping on Only Orange cardstock - test your dye ink on some scrap cardstock first as some colours can look surprisingly dark or dirty on it.

PS. I left the post date as the date I started this post since it does mention "today" BUT it has only just been published - two weeks later. Oh the shame!