Enjoy life together

Hi ya all, felt I bit flat with cardmaking this afternoon and I am not sure about the card I made - I couldn't make up my mind and kept adding things then changing my mind and trying something else and again changing my mind and in the end I decided on 'less is best'!!!
I made this card following the sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches, Used patterned paper for Wee Memories and I am also submitting it for the difficult challenge of 'anything goes' at Party Time Tuesdays!!!

here is a close up of the darling little flowers which I fussy cut from pixie-licious papers.
 
materials - Bazzill jubilee, AC mint cardstock; Cosmo Cricket 'pixie-licious' papers; Bella impressions stamps, AnnaBelle Stamps squared posies stamps; Versa Color violet, olive, watermark; clear embossing powder; Card zig zag scissors; Creative Memories circle cutters; MFT flat bottom clouds, Kaiser mint green rhinestones.
Thanks for looking.

Dad happy birthday

Crikey I nearly forgot my fathers birthday next week!  I haven't been cardmaking for the past week too busy getting things packed for the bike ride - mind you there is not much that I can take on the bike - nevertheless I have to find everything from the last trip and squeeze it into what limited space we have!
While packing I suddenly remembered that it was my fathers birthday next week - we tend to have very few birthdays in our winter (they nearly all fall in spring or summer) and I tend to forget that his is the first one for the season so to speak.  So I hastily put a card together in the hope that it will arrive in time!

 
I have made this card following the sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches, the colours are from the challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays - monochromatic and brown, Southern Girls - anything and off course this fits in nicely with the weekly challenge over at AnnaBelle Stamps blog - say it with a male card.
materials - Bazzill blue cardstock; Kaiser 'offshore' papers, AnnaBelle Stamps 'party animals 1' stamps; Stazon timber brown ink; Marvy pens - blender 0, Dark brown 18, Prussian blue 29, Sky blue 75; blue ribbon, staples, Pink Paislee blue alpha stickers.
Thanks for looking.

Concentric hearts

The other day I made a clean and simple card for a challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays, well I enjoyed making it so much that I thought I would give it a go again - not that I do complicated busy cards but I liked doing this card because the end result is usually a very stylish card and it is a nice change!  So I made 2 mini cards (100mm x 100mm) for CAS-ual Fridays.  I have used felt for Paper Sundaes - the concentric hearts are made from yellow and red felt that has been layered on thin chipboard, I used the concentric heart die from Cuttlebug and run the felt through a die cutting machine and I just switched the middle heart from one to the other and so I ended up making these 2 cards concurrently with a few differences.  I am also submitting it for Crafts & Me - add a heart.

Now both cards have 'x' on them - I refound my love for staples! ... and yes I did manage to staple the card closed on one of the 'x' - how many times have you done that?! LOL ... but I managed to hide the holes on the inside!
materials - AC canary and black, Bazzill red devil cardstock; AnnaBelle Stamps squared posies; Versa Color camellia ink; Cuttlebug concentric heart die; Stapler; red and yellow felt; lightweight chipboard.
Thanks for looking.

Warm Wishes

I made a christmas card this afternoon using the new set of stamps from Jillibean Soup - christmas eve chowder.  I love this little cute set of penguins and they are perfect for cards with heaps of christmas sentiments.

here is a close up of the cute little penguins - for the eyes I used the smallest pearls in a Kaisercraft pearl pack and used a permanent black pen for the eyeballs - thinking about it now you could use coloured pearls for a different eye colours!
 
I have followed the sketch from Mojo Mondays which is back from a break and I am also submitting it for Kaboodle Doodles - many layers.
materials - AC bubblegum, aqua and white cardstock; Echo Park 'everybody loves christmas' papers; Unity Stamp Co. 'christmas eve chowder'; Stazon jet black ink; Sizzix oval die; Kaisercraft pearls; Ranger liquid pearls; Marvy pen - peacock green 58; red grossgrain.
Thanks for looking.

I may be late

And here is my second card for the day - I followed the sketch from Sweet Stop Sketches with a spin - starstruck.  I also made it a girlie and glitter card for Designed 2 Delight and made it a belated birthday card for Birthday Sundaes (now who doesn't miss a birthday card?!).

the little starts around the oval is a star ribbon that I got given a long time ago and managed to finally use it today!  The green stars are lasercut chipboard covered with crystalina kindy glitz.
 
I didn't really have a sentiment that reflected a belated birthday greeting so I managed to sort of 'fudge it' a bit by combining a combination of sentiments and with a little bit of mixing and matching I came up with the split title!
materials - Bazzill velvet cardstock; Artic Frog 'square garden and spring scarf', Deja Views 'gingham purple garden' papers; CC Designs tulip birgitta, Nostalgia born to shop and AnnaBelle Stamps party animals 1 stamps; Stazon jet black ink; Marvy pens - blender 0, orche 13, pale orange 16, dark brown 18, leaf green 48, scarlet 94, amethyst 106; Crafty Originals star chipboard; Crystalina kindy glitz; Fiskars round the bend punch; 16mm pistachio satin ribbon; star ribbon.
Thanks for looking and enjoy your week.

glad you are my friend

Hello there bloggers - I have bit of a theme with todays cards (2 of them) both are using the same colour combination of green and purple.  I like this colour combo and enjoyed making both cards.  Here is the first following the sketch from Card Positioning Systems.

Michelle from the Stamp Spot sent me these papers along with wonderful grossgrain, ribbon and lace and for this card I folded the purple grossgrain repeatedly to give it a pleated look.
materials - AC mint and purple cardstock; Paper Loft 'flowers lilac', Deja Views 'plaid purple garden' papers; MFT polka dot greetings die and stamps; Versa Color violet ink; Fiskars Round the Bend punch; Green Tara flowers, Kaisercraft green mint bling; 22mm purple grossgrain trim.
Thanks for looking.

Thanks CAS

Just got back from Colac (country Victoria) and from visiting Neils parents before we head off and I have to say they eat meat! I am not a full vegetarian but I don't eat alot of red meat but up there, oh my lordy, even Neil and Kouta come back feeling like they have consumed too much meat  ... and Kouta is a dog!  Anyway I managed to make this nice and simple card and I am really happy with the way it turned out.  I made it a mini card (95mm x 95mm) for CAS-ual Fridays, 1 layer for Secret Crafter, clean & simple for Totally Papercrafts and no patterned paper for Wee memories.

a close up of the flowers which I masked and stamped repeatedly to make a bouquet.  I then used Crayola colouring pencils to colour them in - these work well on Kraft card.
 
materials - Kraft cardstock; Inkadinkado 'mehndi borders', AnnaBelle Stamps 'squared posies' (title); Stazon timber brown ink; Crayola colouring pencils; Kaisercraft brown rhinestones.
Thanks for looking and enjoy what is left of your weekend.

Cardabilities sketch #39 Be Happy

I cannot believe it is the middle of September already!  that means it is time for the sketch from Cardabilities.  I loved this sketch by Karan - it is so fun and easy to use and open to soooooooooo much interpretation!  I also have combined it with the challenges from Secret Crafter 'inspired by a song' and Simon Says 'sing it - song or film title inspired'.  My song is by Bobby McFerrin "don't worry be happy" - does anyone remember that song? LOL now it is playing over and over in my head!  here is the sketch and my example...

 
I have used the 'be happy' stamp set from Hero Arts - love that one and adore the brightness of the yellow from Echo Park 'country drive' papers.
 
materials - Core 'dinations harborside cardstock, AC melon and yellow cardstock; Echo Park 'country drive' papers; Hero Arts 'be happy' stamps; Stazon jet black ink; Kaisercraft light blue rhinestones; Prima flowers; Inkssentials glossy accents.
Thanks for looking.

Sweetest things

Here is the 2nd one for the day and probably my favourite!  I cannot believe I actually made this very 'sweet girly card' and what is worse is that I actually love it - the image and the colours!
I made it into a criss cross card for the challenge at Birthday Sundaes with the birthday sentiment on the inside of the card and have followed the sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches which worked quite easily with this criss cross card.

the half scalloped circle is a flap so when you open up the card you can lift up the flap and lay it back down for the inside of the card! 
 
 here is a close up of little Brigitta ... isn't she gorgeous?

materials - AC bubblegum, robins egg cardstock; Jillibean Soup 'blossom soup' and 'watermelon gazpacho' papers, Francheville textured pink paper; CC Design 'cute brigitta', MFT polka dot greetings; Stazon jet black ink; Marvy pens - blender 0, pale orange 16, dark brown 18, iris purple 55, citrus yellow 69, spring green 71; Spellbinders petite scalloped circles large; Creative Memories circle cutters; MFT little open scalloped edge die.
thanks for looking.

Wonderful birthday

Well it was a very productive afternoon and I was happy with the way my 2 cards turned out.  This is the first one and it is based on the sketch from Card Positioning Systems #235.  I have made it an easel card for Paper Playtime, made it into a birthday card for Top Tip Tuesday and have incorporated a ribbon as one of the main features for Party Time Tuesdays.
 
here is a close up of this rather loud and funky ribbon from Francheville.  I have also tackled some felt roses using the MFT mini rolled roses dies - I have had these for a while and I tend to struggle when rolling them - I find that it tends to become very loose over time - I secure the bottom but I can see that as you move it about a bit it tends to loosen  - what am I doing wrong?
 
materials - AC canary cardstock; Lily Bee 'this & that' papers; MFT polka dot greetings die and stamp set; Colorbox chalk chestnut roan, Versa Color camellia ink; MFT mini rolled roses; Franchevill Natalia trim; Kaisercraft rhinestones; felt.
Thanks for your looking and your kind comments.

Bee my valentine

Hi ya all, here is another card I have made.  I had a ball making it and decided to make it a valentines card  - I know I am either far too late or far too early! but sometimes I like to make a themed card just for the joy of it even if it is either late or too early!
I have made it into a criss cross card which are fun to make and I am submitting it for the challenge at Diecut Dreams - use at least 5 flowers, Kaboodle Doodles - chipboard - the hearts are made of chipboard.  I have also decorated the inside for Paper Sundaes - 'finishing touches' decorate the inside of a card.

here is the inside...
 
materials - AC pacific cardstock; Lily Bee 'this & that' papers; Studio g 'bee' stamp; Stazon jet black ink; Sizzix heart die; MM 1/8" light blue eyelets; MFT little open scalloped edge die; prima flowers; Kaiser pearls; Inkssentials glossy accents; Pink Paisley fashion script blue alphabet stickers.
Thanks for looking.

AnnaBelle Stamps challenge #3

You know I have really enjoyed the 3 challenges for AnnaBelle Stamps birthday challenges - I thought 3 challenges in a week would be tough but the challenges weren't hard at all!  In fact there is still time to do the 3 cards! 
The final challenge is use 2 things starting with the letter 'B' - naturally because birthday starts with the letter 'b'.  So I am out cycling yesterday afternoon mulling this over in my head what do I have that starts with 'b' - balloon, blooms (nah I had already done 2 flower cards!), borders .... thinking.... thinking .... nearly riding off the bike path thinking of something different ... and then it hits me! ... Background stamps and Baubles!!! and here is my card -

as you can see I used the dot background stamp from BBD2 set and for the row that was going to the bauble I used mint ink and then highlighted some dots and circles with bling (oh a 'b'!).
a close up of a bauble from the stamp set Christmas Scene Baubles - I have stamped one of the baubles on 2 different patterned papers, fussy cut one whole and just the top and bottom of the other, layered together and stamped the bow (oh look another 'b'!), fussy cut and then secured to the bauble and applied glossy accents to it.
 
I also stamped a bauble on shrink it and then stamped the christmas trees on it, fussy cut and hole punched it, heat set to shrink it and then made it into a little charm - If you look at the top of this blog you will see a magazine link - I have a set of cards in this issue that uses both shrink it and AnnaBelle Stamps christmas scene baubles.
 
materials - White cardstock; Echo Park 'everybody loves christmas' papers; AnnaBelle Stamps 'christmas scene baubles and Background By Design 2, Stampendous 'home for xmas'; Stazon jet black, blazing red and olive green, Versa Color mint and camellia inks; Kaiser rhinestones; Aleene's shrink it; 4mm split rings; Inkssentials glossy accents, red & white twisted paper cord.
Hey thanks for looking!

AnnaBelle Stamps Challenge 2

Hello all - this is my 2nd card for the day and also the 2nd challenge from AnnaBelle Stamps blog 2nd birthday celebrations.  The challenge is to use flowers and bloom.   I used the sketch from Card Patterns and made this easel card - it is a twisted easel card I think!  I was perusing the internet and came across it and thought that looked neat.

a side view
 
I have used the ballerina rose set from AnnaBelle Stamps.  This is a gorgeous set and is one of my favourite.
 
materials - AC straw cardstock, Bazzill black cardstock; Lily Bee 'this & that' papers; AnnaBelle Stamps 'ballerina rose' stamps; Stazon jet black ink, Versa Color canary ink; Marvy pens - blender 0, leaf green 48, citrus yellow 69; Derivan crystalina kindy glitz; Kaiser black pearls; 6mm pale yellow ribbon; staples.
Unfortunately I have had to make a sympathy card as Neils cousin Judy her husbands mother is not long for this earth so the family is bracing itself.
On a cheerier note .... GO THE CATTERS! woo hoo GEELONG WON! on Friday night ... here is a photo of Judy, Neil and I at the MCG waiting for the game to start.
 
As you can see we are rugged up warm - Friday was very windy and cold and the night was even worse.  I had 6 layers on! now I don't wear silly fashionable clothes ... I wear outdoor wear clothes - I had merino, polar fleece and gortex layers and after 4 hours of just sitting there I was cold!  it would have been miserable had we lost but we didn't and so I am a happy crafter at the moment!
Thanks for looking.

monster birthday!

I finally got round to the last of the 4 sketches from Moxie Fab World.  It is a vertical sketch which I struggled with a bit.  I started off the card with one idea and completely changed direction half way through it!

As well as using the sketch from Moxie Fab World I am also using the colours from the challenge at Scrapbook Boutique - berry, pink and aqua with a splash of pearls (which are on the monsters crown!).  This is a great colour combo and when making the card, which is for a child - for the challenge from CRAFT, I thought that the colours on this card would be suitable for any boy or girl (I am sure there are girl monsters out there!).
 
materials - Bazzill juneberry and petunia cardstock, AC robins egg cardstock; Jillibean Soup 'blossom soup' papers; AnnaBelle Stamps lil monster's balloon; Stazon jet black ink; Marvy pens - blender 0, pale orange 16, dark brown 18, citrus yello 69, sky blue 75; Carl 12mm circle punch; silent setter; Kaisercraft pearls; Inkssentials glossy accents; natural twisted paper cord.
Thanks for looking.

AnnaBelle Stamps challenge #1

Here is a card I made this afternoon combining several challenges.  I enjoyed making this card and found it just flowed!  Firstly it is the first challenge from the birthday celebrations over at AnnaBelle Stamps blog and it is a 1,2,3 challenge - 1. use one of their new stamps, 2. use diecuts or punches and 3. use bling/pearls.  I also followed the sketch from Inspirational card sketches.  I made it into an Easel card for Top Tip Tuesday which is also celebrating a birthday!  I am also entering it in to Simon Says - multifold card, Crafty Creations - not a square card, Crafts & Me - bows and buttons and Southern Girls Challenge (and another birthday blog celebration!) lots of layers or birthday - this card has both!

I stamped the tulip on kraft cardstock, fussy cut the whole flower and just the front petals and coloured it in with colouring pencils. I have a TIP for TOP TIP TUESDAY -  I used a broad tip embossing tool on the back of the front petals to give it bit of a curve.  I then attached it to the main flower using silicone adhesive (like the one they use for paper tole) and when it finally cures and dries it will maintain that curvature to it so that it looks more like a real flower!  Over time I find that if I use foam tape that the curve flattens out so by using the paper tole silicone adhesive it tends to maintain its curve.
 
Since this is such a small card I used shrinky dink for the title so that it doesn't take over from the flower - here is a close up.

materials - Kraft cardstock, AC canary cardstock; Echo Park 'for the record'; AnnaBelle Stamps 'squared posies' stamps; Stazon jet black ink; colouring pencils; Shrinky dink; Provocraft  circle dies; Creative Memories circle cutters, Spellbinder petite scalloped circles large; 6mm pale yellow ribbon; natural paper cord; 7mm split ring; Kaisercraft pearls; Helmar silicone adhesive sealant.
Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend ....and....GO THE GEELONG CATS!!!

on your wedding day

Normally I don't make wedding cards but I saw the photo inspiration challenge over at The Stamp Spot blog and fell in love with the cake in the photo and decided that I would try and make a card based on the cake - especially the colours! the cake even had 2 little birds on the top and of course I just had to add that too!!!
I am also submitting it for Designed 2 Delight who has a wedding/anniversary challenge.

materials - white cardstock; Kaisercraft 'offshore' papers, Prima 'paisley road' papers; Bo Bunny 'crush clear stamps', Kaisercraft mini stamps - wedding; Versamark watermark stamp pad; Stamp World white embossing powder; Provocraft dot embossing folder; Kaisercraft rhinestones; Creative works border stamp; Ranger white opal liquid pearls.
Thanks for looking.

Christmas Greetings

I am stocking up on my christmas cards now and have started doing more (not that I have many to make!).  This one I made following the sketch from Card Positioning Systems. 

I struggled with the card at first - the baubles just wouldn't hang properly!  in the end I used twine and weighted the baubles with rhinestones so they hang better.
materials - Bazzill river reed, ivy cardstock; Cosmo Cricket 'mitten weather'; Scrappy Cat 'christmas clear stamps', Stampendous 'home for xmas'; Stazon jet black ink; Creative Memories circle cutters; Provocraft circle dies; brown twine; Kasiercraft rhinestones; Inkssentials glossy accents; ribbon.
Thanks for looking.

MERRY christmas

And this is my second card for today - I loved making this card and really enjoyed colouring in the image.  I followed the sketch from Sketch Saturday.  It was easy to use to make this christmas card.

materials - AC crimson card, Bazzill ivy card; Cosmo Cricket 'mitten weather'; Ferngully Stamps ' christmas tree and bear' stamp, Stampendous typewriter alphabet stamps, Kaisercraft 'merry christmas' stamp; Stazon jet black; Marvy pens - blender 0, dark brown 18, cherry 65, citrus yellow 69, pine green 72, sky blue 75, emerald 98, tombow grey N75; Carl scalloped scissors; Kaisercraft light blue rhinestones.
Thanks for looking.

Sending sweet wishes

Hi ya all, I made 2 cards today and this is the first - stocking up on birthday cards again!  I made it following the sketch from Paper Sundaes - I turned it on it's side and drew inspiration from Lollipop Ladies - colours and paper piecing.

I have paper pieced the Kassazz cupckae stamp using a variety of scrap papers - actually this whole card is made from scraps!
materials - Bazzill nutmeg, petunia, white cardstock; MM 'noteworthy', Pink Paislee 'enchanting', Adorn it 'dance collection' papers; Kassazz cupcake stamp, AnnaBelle stamps 'party animals 1'; Stazon timber brown ink, Versa color orchid ink, Color box chalk chestnut roan; Kaisercraft hot pink pearls; Inkssentials glossy accents; Provocraft dot embossing folder.
Thnaks for looking.

Simply wonderful birthday

I am really happy with the way this card turned out!  I followed the sketch from Card Patterns #131, used Autumn colours from the challenge over at Secret Crafter and made it into a birthday card for Birthday Sundaes.

I have bitten the bullet and used one of those paper flowers that are all the rage at the moment and I see everyone is using them so I thought I would give it a go - I didn't realise that the are quite bulky and I would hate to see what happens to it in the post - maybe I will post one to myself!  I am sure the postal machines hate envelopes marked "handmade card" LOL!!!  anyway here is a close up of the flower, butterflies and swirl.
 
materials - Core 'dinations brownie and sunflower cardstock; Bo Bunny 'flutter butter' papers; MFT dienamics and stamps - polka dot greetings, Bella inspirations butterfly stamp; Stazon timber brown ink, Color Box chalk - chestnut roan; Sizzix decorative swirl die; Provocraft circle dies and archaic writing embossing folder; Kaisercraft paper blooms - coconut.
Thanks for looking.

wish you were here this xmas

I am really into yellow at the moment so here is another card using mainly yellow!  I took inspiration from the challenge over at Jay Gees Nook blog, used the sketch from CRAFT, used 3 different dies for Crafty Creations and added a handmade charm for Crafts & Me

a close up of my handmade charm - I cut a large circle out of shrink it using my circle dies, stamped the second title on it and then punched a hole and then shrunk it using a heat tool.
 
It really is a non traditional xmas card in both colours and theme and me being me I love non traditional things!  I was complaining the other day to Neil about how the christmas stamp ranges are coming out and it is the same ole thing each year - what I really wanted was a set of stamps with the theme of 'not being together at xmas time' - my family live in NZ and every 2nd xmas we are not together so when I saw these wish you were here stamps by Hero Arts I thought they would be great for this and then I would have to somehow make up the rest of the title using alphabet stamps!  I suppose when you think about it I am not the only one that has family that can't be with each other at xmas time - so why is it so difficult to find a set of stamps with that theme?
materials - Bazzill white card, yellow cardstock, AC coffee card; Echo Park 'country road' papers; Hero Arts 'wish you were here' stamps, Stampendous typewriter alphabet stamps; Stazon timber brown ink; Shrink it; 7mm split rings; MFT little open scalloped edge die; Provocraft circle dies and dot embossing folder; Creative Memories circle cutters; Sizzix scalloped frame; 16mm yellow and white ribbon.
Thanks for looking.

Hello

Hi ya all - just a quick card here for AnnaBelle Stamps blog - they have say it with kraft, red and brown - I like these colours and I was tinkering around with vellum, my brayer and some kaleidacolor ink pads that I had.  So I teamed up with the shaped sketch from Moxie Fab and came up with the following card ... 

 
A close up of the brayered vellum - I decided to brayer first, let it dry and then emboss with watermark ink pad and emboss with clear powder (another way would be to emboss first then brayer but I wanted the color of the velum to come through so I did the brayering first.
 
 I like the simplicity of the sketch used and off course I made one hell of a mess doing this card - my hands are covered in ink and there is embossing powder everywhere!
materials - Kraft, AC crimson, Core 'dinations brownie cardstock; AnnaBelle Stamps 'daisy delight' stamps; Versamark watermark stamp pad, Kaleidacolor cappaccino delight ink pad; Speedball 4" brayer; clear and white embossing powder; Vellum; brads; Creative Memories circle cutters; Spellbinders petite scalloped circle large.
Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend.