Sleep suits

Welcome - where has the week gone - I was going to be more regular but I have been busy!!!

First there was a funeral, then family staying for the weekend after the funeral, then I was busy sewing for this wee girl, Button, aka my granddaughter.

Here she is lunching on spaghetti, sitting in the highchair that was renovated for her uncle 35 years ago!

Her Mum had asked me to make some sleep suits for her as she will not stay under blankets at night and is waking up through the night cold, so I have been focusing on that this week, and here are the results.

Mum wanted plenty of 'grow room' so a larger than needed pattern was used, and a tuck put in the sleeves and legs that can be let down when needed.

To ease the 'plainess' of the suits, I added a decal to one, and crocheted balloons to the other.

There was one hiccup that I did not anticipate, and that was that I needed 'Jiffy Dots' for the soles of the feet - I did not want to miss that, as the polar fleece would be very slippery on tiles. So I had to wait while this was ordered and arrived..

I am pleased with the outcome, and I trust Button will be too.

Thank you for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Floral Sympathy

Welcome - thank you for visiting.

 I have had to make a few sympathy cards recently, and here is another.

This started with the watercolour paper panel, which I had used the pounding technique to imprint the flowers onto.  This was mounted onto light violet card after adding the gold ribbon with a folded bow and flower brad.

I then embossed the sentiment onto the lemon panel, which wascut with a Label 14 die, and I ran some gold faux stitching around before removing the die.

The final touch was the flourish of champagne pearls.

I am linking this to:

Crafts and Me Challenge - Flowers

Divas By Design challenge #36 - Fabulous Flourishes

Paper Shelter Challenge #65 - Bling it on

Penny's Paper Cr4afty Challenge #80 - Anything Goes

Thanks for calling by - May your day be blessed

Recipe:

Card Stock - Lavender

Stamps: Our Daily Bread Design - Heartfelt Sympathy

Accessories: Clear Embossing ink, Gold ep, Gold Ribbon, Pearl flourish from Kaiser Craft.

                 Cuttlebug to 'pound' flowers with, Spellbinder Labels 14 .

Simple Sympathy

Welcome - I am back a bit sooner this time.

I have had to make some sympathy cards this week, and I was running low on inspiration, combined with a couple of stamping errors, when I saw a card made by Lovely Linda on Facebook.  I am hoping she may blog it soon.

This is my CASE (copy and share everything) of her card.

My colour scheme was grey rather than brown, my embossing was a Provocraft folder, and I used two stamps as well as ribbon.

I stamped both the cross (a new release from Inspired Stamps) and the sentiment before embossing the card.

I made two layers of a very pale, silver edged, mauve organza ribbon and then tied a bow and added a pearl!

Quick and easy and done in about thirty minutes!!  Thanks for the inspiration Linda.

I am linking this to:

Sweet Stamps Challenge #66 - Anything Goes

Top Tip Tuesday Challenge #77 - Dig Out The Old (Embossing folder and ribbon)

Use it Tuesdays Challenge #32 - Use Two 'old' items (pearl, ribbon)
Lawnscaping Challenge #34 - Embossing

Thanks for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

Ink:Cobblestone by Vivid

Card Stock - white

Stamps: Cross by Inspired Stamps Inspired Backgrounds, Sentiment by Kiwistamping

Accessories: Ribbon, pearl, Ironworks embossing folder

Gold Butterfly and Flowers

Welcome back - all my good intentions have not eventuated. I have not posted for too long - my apologies.

Last week I not only received some goodies from a blog candy draw at 

Mema's Crafts, I also quite unexpectedly came across some of the new spellbinders dies locally - I was very good and only bought one of the two sets I discovered.  I used them this weekend, and here is the result.

I started with the green base and stamped the leaves from the retired Layers of Color set Vintage Roses with Versamark ink. 

I cut the Floral Oval die and sponged it with Worn Lipstick distress ink before removing it from the die.  The next die cut was a Marianne Butterfly cut from gold paper.

The flowers are Prima flowers and I layered an organza one over a slightly shiny fabric layer, and added a half pearl.  This has given a fabulous effect, especially under electric light.

The final detail was the sentiment, from Kiwistamping, stamped and sponged with the same ink as I used on the main panel.

The whole was mounted on a base of pink card with the edges sponged.

I am linking this to:

Crafty Calender Challenge May - Things with Wings

Craft Your Days Away challenge #45 - All creatures Great and Small

Crazy for challenges #137 - Happy Birthday

The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #186 - In the Garden

The Corrosive Challenge #149 - Flowers Doily and Bling (2 of three)

Joanna Sheen Challenge - Happy Birthday

One Stitch At A Time Challenge #114 - Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes challenge - final Challenge - Pretty in Pink

The Hybrid Chick Card Caravan-19-flowers

Thank you for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

Card-stock - Pink and Green

Ink: Worn Lipstick Distress Ink

Stamps: Sentiment from KiwiStamping

Die: Spellbinders Floral Oval, Marianne Butterfly.

Acessories: Prima Flowers and kaiser half pearls

Accordion Flower

Welcome again - so pleased to have some time to share this card with you.

Amazingly this started with a series of discards and scraps!!

I had made this background months ago and it just would not 'work' for what I was trying to do at the time.  

I embossed the sentiment, which meant that I lost some of the detail of the stamp, but it needed the dimension.

I decided on the accordion flower after noticing one I had tried, and put aside, longer ago than I care to remember.  I used a Fiskars punch for the boarder, and the scrap from the edge of the punching, I used to decorate the edge of the card.  The centre of the flower is a couple of layers I had cut with the Floral Accents dies and stacked, that I found on my desk.

When I went to secure the flower, I threaded the centre of the pleats with some gold thread that I had on my desk - I decided not to cut the ends, rather I threaded some assorted beads onto the ends and secured them, to make another wee accent.  The green rhinestones were the finishing touch.

I am linking this to:

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge#89 - Sentiment the only stamping

Crafty Ribbons Challenge #19 - Flowers

DYSU Challenge #71 - Use a flower

Little Miss Muffet Challenge #34 - May Flowers

Thanks for visiting, may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

Card: Forest Green

DP: Prima Fairy Flora, plain lemon.

Ink: Clear Embossing

Accessories: Gold ep, Fiskars punch, asst'd beads, gold thread, rhinestones, Floral Accents spellbinders die.

Embossed Butterflies

Greetings - I am back a bit sooner this time - I have had a couple of good days in the studio and have several cards completed.

I fished in my 'experimental backgrounds' file the other day and came across this piece of chalked card that I made far too long ago to remember....

All I did was to move a straight edged of paper down the card on differing angles, rubbing on four different colours of chalk.  i 'fixed' them with hairspray.

The sentiment is from a tiny set from the Crafts Meow called Just for you, which I silver embossed.

The butterflies were cut and embossed using a cuttlebug die and folder set on a mauve/pink paper from a basic papers set - a Warehouse purchase sometime ago.  I then applied ink direct to paper to highlight the embossing and adhered them to the base with a foam dots to give some dimension.

The completed panel was adhered to the smokey blue base card, and then the pearls were placed randomly over the panel.  Quite a change for me as I am very much a straight lines/balanced sequences type of person when it comes to placing bling on cards.
P.S. - My daughter loved this card - it was my Mothers Day card for her, but i cold not say that until now.

I am linking this to:

Sundays With Chrissy - Challenge #29 - Things with Wings

Oozak Challenge #2 - Spring Colours

Lia Stamps Challenge #16 - for a special woman 

Crafty Sentiments Monthly Challenge - Spring Creations

Crafty Comp[anions Monthly Challenge - Here Comes Summer

Always Something Creative challenge #29 - Mother's Day (Pearls and Lace optional)

Thanks for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

Blue cardstock (unknown)

Stamp: Crafts Meow Just for You

Technique: Chalked background, diecut and embossed butterflies, direct to paper inking.

Ink: Brilliance Platinum Planet

Accessories: Pearls, silver embossing.

Simply Yellow

Welcome - thank you for visiting again.  I had intended to be more frequent in my postings but somehow it hasn't happened.

I decided to enter the 'Simply Less is More" challenge, which is to use the colour yellow. Not one of my go-to colours, but I enjoyed the challenge.

I made the card with a special 'girlfriend' in mind who has known some very difficult times, and who has a painful anniversary soon.

The sentiment (from the retired Layer of Color set Encouragement) was gold embossed on white card and mounted over a yellow layer, then mounted over a yellow leaf skeleton.

The ribbon and embossed border were the final touches.

I am linking this to the Stampin' sisters In Christ challenge based on this scripture - with the thought that we need to 'be real' in our faith.

“Whoever says, ‘I know him’, but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.       

But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly

perfected in him.”  1 John 2:4-6

I am very happy with the way this card turned out - but it took a lot of brain power and time, for all it's simplicity.:-).

I am linking this to:

Simply Less is More Challenge #66 - yellow

Stampin' Sisters In Christ Challenge #138 - Incorporate Something Natural 

Unique Crafters Challenge #3 - Ribbon and fibre (the leaf skeleton)

Just Tracy's Craft Challenge for May - Anything Goes

Sentimental Sundays challenge #101 - for a Special Woman

Thank you so much for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

White and yellow card stock

Yellow ribbon

Provo Craft border embossing folder

Layers of Colour (retired) Encouragement stamp set.

Embossing ink and Gold embossing powder.

Paper Pieced Roses

Welcome - I have been MIA  recently as once we got home late last week, there was a certain amount of 'catching up' to do.

Here is a card I completed yesterday.

I started with wanting to use the sentiment, so searched for a bunch of flowers.  This image is from the (retired) Layers of Color set, Vintage Roses.

I also challenged my self to stamp on design paper and use paper piecing!

I stamped on the green with green ink, then stamped on the pink using a red ink. Both papers are from the Kaiser Craft pad, Sweet Nothings. After cutting and pasting the flowers, I then added green chalk to the leaves.

I then assembled the card, adding the die cuts from Spellbinders Floral Doilies.  The background paper is from a Warehouse pack from years ago, and embossed with the Swiss Dots folder.  The edges were sponged.

The sentiment was gold embossed on a pale lemon card, and sponged before removing the die, and mounted on some ribbon I received in a RAK from  Lovely Linda.

I have chosen to enter this in Stamping Sisters In Christ, who have a challenge based on this scripture:

"[Those who trust in the Lord] shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8

This scripture is a very strong reminder to rely on the Lord in all things, and not to try to do things in our own strength, as the end results when we try to 'do things our way' are not pretty!

I am linking this to:

Craft Room Challenge - Emboss It

Crafty Sentiment challenge - Spots or Strips

Crazy Amigo Challenge - Flowers

LEJ Designs Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Paper Take Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #113 - May Flowers

Shopping Our Stash - Challenge #50 - Mother or Feminine

Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #96 - In The Garden

Stamping Sisters In Christ - Use green on your card, or something planted

Thanks for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Recipe:

Spellbinders Floral doily accents and Tag Trio dies, paper piecing, Kaiser Craft Sweet Nothings, Tsukuneko Dandelion ink, Ranger Barn Door Distress, Adirondack Bottle Green, Provocraft embossing Swiss Dots. Dark green, light green and cream cardstocks.Layers of Color Vintage Roses, chalk, gold embossing, Sentiment from Kiwistamping,ribbon.