Louise Sharp

Be Inspired Blog Hop - Summer!

26 July 2023

Welcome to the Be Inspired Blog Hop for July! You may have hopped here from my fabulously talented friend Angela Meiritz-Reid from New Zealand. Please hop around by clicking the next button at the bottom of this post.

The theme for this months hop is 'Summer'.

In the Southern Hemisphere we are all rugged up in our Winter woollies enjoying camp fires and roasting marshmallows (no we don't call them s'mores over here) and I have to admit I had a bit of a laugh to myself while making this card in my craftroom....wearing my pink fluffy dressing gown and ugg boots while the air conditioner is set on heating and the temperature 'feels like' 1.3°C (about 34°F)! However, that being said, I truly believe that ice-cream is for any season, and so this is the direction I went with!

Circle Sayings

I created this card using the icing top from the cupcake in the Circle Sayings stamp set on page 17 of the 2023-2024 Annual Catalogue. I created the waffle cone myself by making diagonal score lines using the Simply Scored (page 145) on a piece of watercolor paper and then used a black pen to create similar outlines as the cupcake. I watercolored both using the smallest pen from Water Painters.

Next up to 'Be Inspired' by is the amazingly talented Janneke Dijkstra-deJong from the Netherlands. I just adore her and her project this week! Hit the Next Button below:

Louise Sharp

Janneke Dijkstra-de Jong

Brian King

Emma Goddard

Angela Meiritz-Reid

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Here's a snippet of some of our Winter nights here on the farm. We get the most beautiful winter sunsets and I wish I could capture the stars against the clear black skies just to share with you. In Australia our marshmallows are much smaller and it's not the same unless toasted on a stick you have carefully searched and chosen for this very purpose - and no, I don't like to share - my stick or my toasted marshmallows! 🤣

Thanks for stopping by,

Louise xo

26 June 2023

#GDP400 -
Hello friends! I am very excited to be playing along with the Global Design Project this week as the Challenge and Design Team celebrates the 400th challenge. Wow!! The Global Design Project was born back in 2015 when Kylie Bertucci and I decided to created a challenge that included Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world in an effort to showcase all the amazing global talent. Even though we have both now left the design team, we are thrilled that the GDP is still going strong and provides a great place to be inspired by exceptionally talented crafters from around the world.

What does CASE mean? Copy And Share Everything or Copy and Selectively Edit. Put simply, we take inspiration from the project and make it our own.

My CASE Inspiration: I decided to take inspiration from both of our cards.
I took my inspiration from four different aspects of Kylie's card including the card layout, a fruit stamp set, the 'thanks' sentiment and the use of Designer Series Paper for the background. Kylie also loves geographic shapes, so this is also a nod to her style. I incorporated my love of watercolour with pink. I also used the hint of yellow on the tips of the green leaves, as I did in my original card.

Apple Harvest

I haven't crafted in months *gasp* - and I really had to dig deep and find the motivation to get me into my craftroom and make a card. I actually thought all my creativity had dried up and left the building! When I was kindly asked to participate in the GDP Challenge, I panicked and wasn't going to play along...HOWEVER...I know from experience if I just start creating my enthusiasm for crafting returns and my mind buzzes with ideas. That's also why 'CASE-ing' is also such a great idea!

You can view or play along with Global Design Project by visiting the blog:
www.global-design-project.com or follow on Instgram @global_design_project

HOW TO PLAY ALONG:

Create a NEW project that reflects the current challenge
3 ways to play:
1. Post your entry to @global_design_project Instagram
2. Post your entry to Global Design Project Facebook page
3. Post to the Global Design Project Blog

Remember to and tag us with the weekly challenge hashtag and #globaldesignproject
Deadline for entries closes each Sunday at 6pm CET; 3am AEST

Happy crafting,
Louise xo

28 September 2022

Another month has passed which means it must be time for the September Be Inspired Blog Hop! You may have hopped here from my fabulously talented friend Angela Meiritz-Reid from New Zealand. Please hop around by clicking the next button at the bottom of this post.

The theme for this month is 'Stampin' Blends'.

Stampin' Blends are alcohol markers filled with an alcohol-based solution which give a rich and more saturated look. They are beautiful for shading and can give a lovely 3D dimension to your stamped images.

And...YES I finally did it - I purchased all the Stampin' Blends! (*Shock horror I know...you probably thought I owned every single SU crafting item ever...ok I do now! Lol 😆) If you know me you will know I'm a watercolor enthusiast and the alcohol markers never really took a hold of me - until now! I love the saturated colour they give and blending is so much fun. You will definitely see more creations from me using the Stampin' Blends.

Cottage Rose

Next up to 'Be Inspired' by is the amazingly talented Janneke Dijkstra-deJong from the Netherlands. I just adore her and her project this week! Hit the Next Button below:

Louise Sharp

Janneke Dijkstra-de Jong

Laura Mackie

Carolynn Sander

Brian King
Stesha Bloodhart
Angela Meiritz-Reid

Thanks for stopping by,

Louise xo

31 August 2022

Hi there! It's time for our August 2022 Be Inspired Blog Hop. You may have hopped here from my fabulously talented friend Angela Meiritz-Reid from New Zealand. Please hop around by clicking the next button at the bottom of this post.

The theme for this month is 'Pick a Season'. Christmas is a Season right? Well, I'm running with it! And being the end of August already, it feels like Christmas is just around the corner.

I hosted my forth 'Stamping by the Sea' craft retreat last weekend and it was amazing, out of this world, fantastic, filled my bucket, wow, wow, wow!!! There's actually not enough words to describe wonderful it was. (I will do a separate post about it soon.) Each year I theme it and this year it just so happened to be Christmas themed...and every year I do my own class kit - ‘Louise's Paper Paradise Card Kit’ and it includes a stamp set and kit designed by yours truly of course! 😉 The stamp set, which is appropriately called Merriest Moments is from the latest Mini Catalogue on page 23. We shared so many merry moments last weekend!

Merriest Moments

Next up to 'Be Inspired' by is my incredibly talented and fellow Aussie friend, Tanya Rees. Hit the Next Button below:

Brian King
Angela Meiritz-Reid

Thanks for stopping by,

Louise xo

27 July 2022

Welcome to the July 2022 Be Inspired Blog Hop. You may have hopped here from my fabulously talented friend Angela Meiritz-Reid from New Zealand. Please hop around by clicking the next button at the bottom of this post.

The theme for this month is 'Sale-a-Bration'.

Sale-a-Bration is Stampin’ Up!’s twice-annual sales event where you can earn free and exclusive products for every $90AUD and $180AUD you spend. There's also extras if you choose to join the Stampin’ Up! family. Earning period is 1st July - 31st August.

What does a caravan and Christmas have in common? Well, I'm glad you asked! Haha. Every year (forgetting the past two years of a pandemic) I host a craft retreat called 'Stamping By The Sea' held at East Beach Holiday Park Kiama and every year I give it a theme, the last one in 2019 was a 'Fiesta' theme and next month is set to be Festive with a traditional Christmas theme. Also, who can resist an adorable caravan...especially when it's decorated for Christmas!

I made these adorable caravans using the Tree Lot Dies from the Sale-a-Bration brochure, which you can earn for free when spending $180AUD or more. It just so happens to coordinate with the Trees for Sale Stamp Set in the new Holiday Mini Catalogue. *All current catalogues are liked on my blog you can click them to view online.

Trees for Sale