Flowers for a Friend

Welcome

I  have finally managed to get back to post a card - it's been a busy time with the gardens needing attention and visitors calling in - which I have loved.

This card was made for a dear friend, who has the most magnificent garden, so it was only 'right' that I make her a floral card!

You may just recognise another bubble background - this time multi coloured

The sentiment was stamped onto a the back of a snippet of the bubble background - it still merged a wee bit too much for my liking, so I gave it a pink ribbon to nestle on after inking the edges of the banner with the same blue ink I had stamped it in. 

The florals were on a card in a package from Altenew that was able to buy, as I won a voucher from them recently - I coloured them using some Altenew watercolor markers that were in the package.

The colours are very bright, and I wanted a more muted colour, so toned them down using a water pen.

Trimmed them out, and added a very pale blue background to them before adding them to the card base.

The colours were inspired by some peony flowers that my friend grows.

I mounted the feature panel on blue metallic paper, then the yellow card base.  

The final touch was the add some wee butterflies cut from the same blue paper.

I added a verse from a hymn to the inside, and have just managed to (unintentionally) delete the photo!😕

I am linking this to:

Pixies Snippets Playground - Challenge #442

Allsorts Challenge #704 - Wings or Tails

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Happy Birthday

A Gem of a Challenge Week #24 - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2248 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley Challenge #283 - Lots of Layers

Jan's Digi Stamps November Challenge - Anything Goes

Make My Monday Challenge #188 - Things with Wings

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #571 + 572 - Anything Goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #194 - Anything Goes

Making Multiples

Welcome

Warning - photo heavy post!!

I recently attended a function, and secreted away a napkin... I am gaining a reputation for doing that. 

Next afternoon I had fun with it... and made two cards - the third quarter went onto the card crookedly, and the fourth quarter I could not use.  I have ideas for the third quarter...

Part 1

This first card is for the organiser of the function... 

I coloured the around the edges of base white cardstock  with Versafine Clair Pinecone ink.

Popped a couple of rectangles of gold paper under opposing corners before mounting the panel featuring the napkin.

The Thanks (Simon Says Painted Thanks) was cut from card coloured with the same ink as the base,  covered with clear scotch tape for a faux embossed look once cut.  I then cut three white layers - once stacked together and slightly offset, I was not happy, laid the die on the gold paper, traced around it, and cut a  gold 'shadow' layer, and was very happy with the result.

 

A few coloured enamel dots scattered around, and the card was made.

I did put a thin strip of washi tape in the inside.

Part 2

This time I turned the panel 90 degrees to use it

The sentiment was a die cut using just one layer of the inked card

Three black half pearls and the card was done, except for

the verse I put on the inside - one that is very personal to the recipient.

I was very happy with my afternoon's crafting, and the cards have been delivered, and appreciated. 

I am linking these to:

Part 1

Bizzy Becs Store November - Anything Goes Challenge

Beyond the Blue Challenge #74 - Go For Gold

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2247 - Anything Goes

Polka Doodles Challenge Week #47 - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Challenge #237 - Thankful/thanks

Part 2

Allsorts Challenge Week #703 - Anything goes - opt Trees and Leaves

Creative Fingers Challenge #243 - Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge Week #24 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #571 + 572 - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door Challenge - Anything Goes

Mid-Month Christmas Inspiration

Welcome

 Today is the day we share our mid-month inspiration photos for The We Love Stamping November Challenge, where the theme is Christmas, and we have a very generous prize on offer.

I chose another nativity scene this time, but used it behind an aperture in the centre of a wreath.

The image (my original Christmas stamp) was stamped and silver embossed, and coloured with Alcohol pens - the background was coloured  using Polychromo  pencils

The wreath was stamped using two green inks, and then a layer of silver embossed branches - the stamp was part of a Magazine freebie set, and this panel was mounted on foam tape for added dimension.

The sentiment was green embossed onto vellum, and adhered onto the dp, another magazine freebie, and the whole was mounted onto a red card base and the red flatback rhinestones were the final detail

A piece of washi tape adorns the inside.

I am linking this to:

Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday November Challenge - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Card With An Aperture

Paper Funday Challenge #47 - Anything Goes

Digi Chooseday Challenge Week #46 - Anything Goes

The Holly and the Ivy Christmas Challenge #128- Anything Christmas Goes

Through The Craft Room Door Challenge - Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge #82 - Christmas is Coming

Dream Valley Challenge #282 - Anything Goes

Jan's Digi Stamps November Challenge - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2246 - Anything Goes

Are YOU An Udder Year Older?

Welcome

It's been a while... I have had to deal with some health issues, that culminated in an unexpected diagnosis of COPD (thanks to long term Asthma)  

Looking back, I can 'see' it now, but one never expects such news.

I was lacking in inspiration due to the issues building, and had a card to make for a friend who is involved a stud cattle farm.  I 'won' this Picket Fence stamp set  (No Need To Tip) in an IG de-stash give away by Michelle Lupton, and couldn't resist using it for this card

I stamped the image and sentiment in Versafine Claire ink - Pinecone

Some colour was added with Polychromo pencils.  I did add a couple of touches of glossy accents to the eyes and hooves - the photo makes the eyes look rather odd from the way the light caught them.

After stamping the sentiment, I doodled around the card with a fine pen

The inside was finished with part of the image stamped in Memento London Fog ink

I am linking this to:

Digi Chooseday Challenge Week #45 - Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge Week #23 -Anything Goes

Crafty Catz Challenge #614 - Anything Goes

Allie's Angels November Challenge #64 - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2246 - Anything Goes

Allsorts Challenge Week #702 - Anything Goes with Opt of Numbers

Polka Doodles Challenge Week #46 - Anything Goes

Leann's World 101 Challenge Week #56 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #569 + 570 - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Embossed Washi Tape ...

Welcome

I first saw this technique here as demonstrated by Natasha Foote - I adapted her technique and came up with this.... for the challenge in our small NZ swap group  - to use washi tape!

I randomly stamped the images from a magazine freebie set in Espresso ink, then effectively filled in the background with washi tape.  The panel was then dry embossed, and mounted onto Kraft card.

The sentiment was from another magazine freebie set, stamped on a kraft snippet in Espresso ink. The hand cut banner was mounted on foam dots, with a twist of string behind it.

A few soft brown and ecru flat back pearls were randomly added to the front panel

I finished the white writing panel with a strip of the same washi - but wrote in it before I photographed it, hence the envelope covering the rest of the inside. 

I am linking this to:

Jan's Digi Stamps November Challenge - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2245 - Anything Goes

Digi Chooseday Challenge Week #45# - Anything Goes

Crafty Calendar November Challenge - Anything Goes

Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday November Challenge - Anything Goes

Paper Funday November Challenge #47 - Anything Goes with twist of Autumn Colours

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #569 + 570 - Anything Goes

Through The Craft Room Door Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafting Happiness Challenge #136 - Thanksgiving or Anything Fall

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #556 - Anything Goes

Excitement - not Guy Fawkes Though

Welcome

I can now let you in on some news I have been waiting to share - I have been accepted onto the 

We Love Stamping DT, and this is my first card for them

The November Challenge, starting today, is Christmas. and this is  my card

Yes, another bubble background, this time with blue and purple in it.

I trimmed the piece to size, and the brushed the edges with Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks.  

The image, from Sweet 'n' Sassy's O Holy Night set was stamped in black ink and embossed, then some yellow ink sponged around it.  The embossed images resisted it beautifully.

The sentiment, from the same set, was also stamped and embossed, then die cut, brushed with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, and mounted over a gold sheer ribbon

The final details included some Inka Gold gold paint, splattered over the upper half of the image panel, some deep blue facetted 'gems' and the gold star. 

The panel was mounted over a deep blue layer and then a light blue card base.

This inside was finished with some washi tape.

I am linking this to:

Leann's World 101 Challenge #56 - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers Challenge #242 - Anything Goes

Craft Rocket Challenge #98 - Christmas/Winter

Pattie's Creations Design Challenge #200 - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers November Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

A Gem of a Challenge Week #23 - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge #619 - Anything Christmas Goes (Opt not used)

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2244 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #567 + 568 - Anything Goes

Polka Doodles Crafty Challenge Week #45 - Anything Goes

Another Bubble Background!!

Welcome

You will see a few of these backgrounds over the next few months - I made two sheets (on A4 sized paper) to start with, then I taught the technique at my card class, and ended up with three more sheets of varying colours...that equals 20 full sized backgrounds sitting in my box. Well there are a few less already, but... 

Today's background was one of the originals, and made for my small NZ swap group.

I gave it a light spray with Lindy's Magicals Mica spray, but it did not show up well in the photos

I used a sunflower stamp that was in a magazine freebie set, as was the sentiment, and stamped it onto a snippet of white card.

I watercoloured the image, than added pencil detail to the flower, and mounted it on foam pads for dimension.

A few assorted coloured 'gems', and a simple sentiment stamped in blue ink, then the main panel was layered onto dark blue then the lighter blue base.

A grey image stamped on the inside, and the white panel edged with blue ink, 

and it was ready to send...

I am linking this to:

Digi Chooseday Challenge Week 44 - Anything Goes

Wednesday's Creative Inspirations November Challenge - sparkle, sparkle, sparkle

Snippets Playground Challenge #440 - Anything Goes Using Snippets

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #441 - Mark Your Mark

I made my own background

Elliebelle's Crafty Wednesday November Challenge - Anything Goes

Fab and Funky Challenge #560 - Shades of Blue

Paper Funday November Challenge #47- Shades of Autumn

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #567 + 568 - Anything Goes

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2244 - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Autumn Colours