Blue Silk Moth

Welcome to you all - I am so glad you call by and visit with me.

I received some new stamps from the Layers of Color new releases this week and I could not wait to go and get them inky, and this is the result!!

I was colour inspired by this photo for the inspiration challenge over at 

Southern Girls Challenge Blog

I mulled it over overnight, and decided to sponge the background with the Tsukineko Kaleidacolor Blue Breeze colours, using the Versamark resist technique. The stamp I used for this is from the Layers of Color Fleur stamp set.

I then stamped the Silk Moth directly onto the card with Tsukineko Brilliance Mediterranean Blue, and embossed using Paua embossing powder.

This is a clear powder with pink and blue highlights in it.

I then stamped the image onto some pale blue velum using versamark ink and the Blue Breeze pad, and again embossed using the paua powder.

I 'fussy cut' it, ready to layer it over the image on the card, and added Ice Blue rhinestones.

I stamped the sentiment from the Artful Endearments stamp set, again using the Blue Breeze inks, lining the letters up over the changes of colour on the pad.

I adhered the cut out butterfly with vellum adhesive and the card was complete.

I am linking this to :

Southern Girls challenge #24

The House That Stamps Built - DCC720 - glitter

Little Red Wagon Challenge #91 - heat embossing

Papercraft Star challenge #55 - Anything Goes

Paper Shelter Challenge #24 - Anything Goes

Pixie Cottage challenge #80 - Emboss it

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge # 55 - Happy Birthday

7Kids College Fund Challenge #26 - Texture

Karen's Doodles #73 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

Little Claires- Monthly Challenge #11 - Things with Wings
4 Crafty chicks - get your bling on
Pixie dust Studio challenge #84 - Monochrome in your favourite colour

Thank you for calling by - may your day be blessed.

Just because....

Welcome once again - it is good to be here and not think of the temperatures outside... 5 oC at the moment and cloud building again - I retreated to the studio this afternoon and made a card that has been brewing since I saw a certain sketch challenge last night.

I stamped the image from the Layer of Color Love Set in Graphite Black on Curious Metallics Cryogen white paper and embossed it with clear detail embossing powder, and cut and embossed it using a classic rectangle Nestablity and layered it on black cardstock.  

A quick trim of lace and ribbon, a bow and an old pearl button, and four rhinestones finished the main panel.

I mounted this on the base of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card, which made the other (white) paper look cream!  To finish I embossed a line 5mm in from the edge of the cardstock.

I am linking this to :

Simply Less is More Challenge #25 - recipe - a bow and button(s)

Stampin' Sisters In Christ - Use Black and White

Card Patterns Sketch #125

Our creative Corner - All the B's - Black, button., bow and bling

Thank you for calling by - may your day be blessed.

Simple circles

Greetings to my cyber guests, you are most welcome here - I had hoped to get this post up sooner but as many know, just sometimes life gets in the way!

I had to have another attempt at the Less is More Challenge, and the theme this week is circles, and I have been dying to ink up this stamp set that has sat languishing on my desk for some weeks without ever seeing some ink!!

The set is called Just for you and is marketed by  by The Crafts Meow.

As the challenge is for a Clean and Simple Card I simply stamped three circles down the side of the card and added the sentiment in the same Pearlescent Orchid ink, added the bow and three half pearls and it was complete.

I then used the same images and ink and altered the layout slightly, 

This time the ribbon was a different, more 'blue based' pink, and I used a mauve pearl, and the ink looked more mauve too.  Very interesting.

In this next photo you can see the pearlescent glimmer in the ink on the left.

And here is a close-up of the gorgeous bow

I was pleased with both these cards and I doubt if they took longer than 45 minutes for them both.

I am linking this to:

 Simply Less is More - challenge #24 - circles (top card)
And then I was so late posting this the challenge had closed :-(

CCEE Challenge 1129 - Encouragement

DigiDoodle Challenge #68 - Clean and Simple

Sassy Studio Challenge #82 - Clean and Simple

Aud Sentiments Challenge #33 - Encouragement

Thank you for visiting , and please keep the comments coming, I love knowing what you think.

May your day be Blessed.

Happiness is....

A card that comes together quickly and as planned!! :-)

Welcome, and thank you for visiting.

This card is needed for a birthday celebration, and I wanted it to be bold in it's colours.  I also used a current sketch pattern as my base.

The center panel is a bright gold card, and the image is from a set put out by The Crafts Meow called Happiness is.... The edges of the panel were sponged with Cantaloupe ink.

I gold embossed the main image on white card and painted it using ink from my Memento pads dandelion and cantaloupe. The leaves were stamped with Memento Bamboo leaves.  These images were popped up on foam to give some dimension. The sentiment is unknown and embossed with gold. 

The blue panel at the end has three paper flowers on it which have been smudged with Cantaloupe ink to match the rose, and then I added some half pearls.  The ribbon has gold hearts on it as the card is for a dear friend.

The final panel is some handmade paper that I bought as part of a pack at the local Warehouse (Think Michaels or K Mart in USA)

These three panels were mounted on white card which I sponged the edges of with  bamboo leaves ink before layering it onto the green base.  A few more pearls were added to the main panel as a finishing touch.

I am linking this to:

Card Patterns Sketch Challenge # 124

Thank you for visiting, and may your day be blessed.

Teddy Bear Congratulations

There is a very special wee miss being expected in our (extended) family shortly. As there is a holiday break occurring in the DT work for McMahon Five Design.com, I thought I would get a head start on some other cards.

I took my initial inspiration from the Simply Less is More Blogspot challenge for the week, which is to have a one layer card and 'something with legs'...

This teddy bear stamp is from Kiwistamping, who are responsible for my  papercraft addiction as they introduced me to stamping....

I firstly embossed the dots using a border folder by cuttlebug, then 

 stamped the teddy in graphite black and embossed him with clear detail ep, and coloured him with chalks.

The sentiment (from Layers of Color) was stamped and gold embossed, and the card finished off with a ribbon and pink rhinestone 'tummy button'.  

This was a quick card, and a real joy to make.  I am linking this to:

Simply Less Is More - Challenge #23 - one layer and something with legs.

Ai Factory Challenge Blog - Spots and Stripes

Moving Along With the Times - favourite things - chalks, embossing, teddybears

Pixie Dust Studios - Girly girly

Crafting For All Seasons Challenge #5 - Furry Friends

Diva's By Design - Pastels

Paper Pretties - Use an animal - bear :-)

Scrapalicious Challenge # 11- Use a bear

Thanks for visiting - May your day be blessed.

More Gardening

Hello - yes another garden themed card - this time with a darling image by Jessica Grundy under the label of Solocosmo, part of McMahon Five Design.com, called Betty In Her Garden

And why so many cards on one day? - because it is New Release Day over at McMahon Five Design.com

I painted Bettiy with twinkling H2Os and was very happy with the results.

In this photo you can get and idea of the depth of glimmer these paints give, particularly on the hat.  I finished by sponging a very light blue ink around the image.

Betty was double mounted on light and then dark blue cardstock, and lace and silver cord were added to the dark blue.

I used a pale blue card for the base, and added these two strips of card that I had experimented with a wax paper cuttlebug resist technique years ago. Here is a link to a 'how to' tutorial.

Before mounting the main panel onto the base, I tucked in some silver roses snuggled onto a leaf on both the left hand corners.

Thank you for visiting and I trust you have enjoyed  the cards i have posted.


Do feel free to visit the other design team members today and see how they have used the images - their names are on my side bar and linked to their blogs.


I am linking this to the following challenges;
Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #112
Pixie Dust Challenge - Girly girly

May your day be blessed

In The Garden

 Hello again. The title of this post is the name of the digi image, not where I have been today!! Oh that the weather would be so kind!

Even looking at this young gardener makes me long for some warmer weather. Hopefully all the cold is killing off the bugs.... unfortunately not the slugs and snails I discovered yesterday when I cut a cabbage.

I coloured this image from McMahon Vintage digitals with chalks, which was about the easiest part of the whole card, it turned out.

I then mounted it on some Ebony Real Wood Paper  from McMahon Five Designs.com store.

The battle came with how to mount it after that.... third time it finally worked with a simple kraft coloured card embossed with the Branches folder, and sponged with Tea Stain Distress ink.  

I paper pierced the corners before mounting the whole on some bottle green card - the second photo gives you a closer look at the real wood  paper, which is fabulous to work with - it cuts like a dream in both my cutter and in dies.

I am linking this to:

Shelly's Images T T T Challenge - Whats Cooking - use food as a theme

Crafty Purple Frog challenge - Summer

Amber's Crafts and Stuff Challenge #18 - Embossing

Crafts and Me challenge Blog #43 - summertime

Fab and Funky #81 - Food

Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

Thanks for calling by - may your day be blessed.

Eddie Elephant

Hello once again - it is still cold and stormy here, so I thought I would brighten my day with this cheerful character from McMahon Vintage Digital, who looks as though he has riden off the pages of a vintage children's book.

I thought this would be ideal for a child's birthday card, so I coloured the image with watercolour crayons.

I then mounted the image on a maroon base, added double sided sellotape and then glitter.... now I remember why I don't use this technique often, there is still glitter glittering in unexpected places!!

I also used the glitter on the corner pieces, embossed a greeting and added three gold rhinestones for added sparkle.

In this final photograph I have tried to capture (not very sucessfully) the intensity of the glitter.

I have decided to make three separate posts today, rather than one humongous one, hence the brevity of this.


I am linking this to:
Southern Girls Challenge #23 - Happy Birthday
Forever Friends Blog - Not Square & an Animal
Hanna and Friends #102 - Happy Birthday
Stampin' B's Challenge #112 - Use Bling - the glitter
Penny's Paper-crafty Challenge # 57 - Happy birthday
Ruby's Rainbow Challenges #7 - Happy birthday

May your day be blessed.

Twins and digi twins.

Evening everyone from a cold, wet, windy antipodean island, thunderstorms snow (but not here, thankfully) and all!!  

Last week I was asked to make a card for a family who have recently had twin daughters.

I started with an image from May Brit's blog (here) - she draws and shares some beautiful images.  I took the baby bear image, copied it and flipped it to give the impression of twins.  I coloured them with chalks, the one that the camera shows as blue is actually a mauve. 

I added some mauve lace and pink and mauve rhinestones, and sponged the edge of the image with plum ink. 

 I mounted it on a lemon card that I had randomly stamped pink butterflies on - the butterfly image is from The Crafts Meow Friend of Mine stamps set.

After mounting the main image I ran a glitter pink pigment pen around the edge of the panel.

The sentiment (unknown origin) was stamped in Pearlescent Orchid ink, cut out using a ribbon tags die from Spellbinders Arts, and then sponged with the Plum ink and ran the pen around the inside edge of the die before removing it.  (I tried to alter the colour of this image to make it more realistic, but didn't do it correctly.) The ribbon was a narrow stitched one I had on hand.

I am linking this to the following challenges;

One Stitch At A Time - Anything Goes

Quirky Crafts challnge #14 - No Patterned Paper

Stamping Sisters In Christ Challenge #97 - what works for you - chalks

(The Stamping Sisters In Christ challenge is based on James 2:18-19.  I commend their study to you)

Paper Creators Craft - Challenge #2 - Special occasion

Sweet Stampin' - Cute and Cuddly

Thanks for visiting, and may your day be blessed.

The Cardigan

Greetings to my guests - today is a slightly different post.

Some time ago I blogged about some clothes I had made for my grandchildren, 'Button' and 'Munchkin' as they are known in blogland.

In the last post I showed the start of Munchkin's cardigan - it is now finished.

Munchkin is just over 13 months old, but is a  tall, solid boy, so this was knitted to a 12 - 24 month old  sized pattern, with extensions as requested by his Mum!

I finished it with some rather delightful 'Smiley face' buttons

Which I hope you can see - I did a close-up photo of them, but as the flash went off they looked white...

And here is Munchkin modelling his cardigan, which the whole family is hoping he will still fit next winter.............

As you can see the cuffs are turned up and there is plenty of length in it. He was a bit tired when this photograph was taken, but over all he is a happy young man.

Thanks for calling in, and may your day be blessed.

Garden Door and Meet Me At The Rhine

Greetings to you, my visitors - it is a cold bleak day here, but I have some lovely images to share that remind me that summer will come again :-)

Both images are from McMahon Vintage Digitals and are totally different!

Firstly Garden Door

I just love this image - it reminds me of some books that once belonged to my grandparents, which were probably published circa 1900, some of which I read   in my early teens.

What fascinates me is that the lady has an envelope in her hand, as though she has just retrieved it, or is about to hid it, under the greenery by the gate...  a letter to or from her secret beau??

After colouring the image with chalks I trimmed it leaving a small white border that I sponged with Whisper Plum ink. The image and lace were mounted over a scrap strip of dp that I embossed with the Stylized Flowers folder, and then onto a maroon dp and a kraft card stock base.

The lace came from McMahon Five Designs online store, and the rhinestones are from a Zva packet - also available at McMahon Five Design.

Unfortunately due to a technicality involving incompatibility between Blogger and a new program that I used to watermark my cards, I cannot bring you any close-up views of this card.

Next is a rather whimsical image entitled Meet Me At The Rhine

Again I used chalks to colour this image. Which gives it a lovely soft, spring feel - it can't be summer as the people are wearing scarves, although one hardy soul is in short sleeves!!

The image was then mounted onto a mid green card base and I chose to use the current Card Patterns sketch to complete the card!!

The base panel  was embossed using the Retro Squares folder, and the lace was an edge cut off a crochet doily... bought from a thrift shop for only a couple of dollars.

The corner embellishment was made from a couple of cuts from the Vintage Corner Dies by Cuttlebug.

The first one was tucked behind the panel, and the second one was a square, cut on the diagonal and placed over the image.

Remember these are only two of numerous releases over at McMahon Five Design blog - do feel free to visit this home blog as well as all the Design Team members who's names are listed (and linked) on my side bar

I am linking this to:

Card Patterns Sketch #122 (2nd Card)

Bearly Mine challenge #14 - Anything Goes

Crazy Amigo challenge - Lazy Days(2nd card)

Deep Ocean Challnege #3 - Cards (both)

Anything Goes Challenge #44 - the Letter D - Garden Door

Digital Tuesday #118 - Bling it Up - (Garden Door)

Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Summer (Garden Door)

The Stamping boutique Clallenge#10 - Summer scene - Garden Door

Thank you for visiting - I hope you enjoyed your time here.

May your day be blessed.