Happy Birthday

Greetings  - it is great to be here, albeit somewhat latter than planned.

This week I have used the new release Happy Birthday image from the D'Amour Allure range of images designed by Tiffany Mills that is available  from McMahon Five Design.com

 The image was coloured using chalks and some Stickles glitter glue for accents, and then cut using a Labels 14 die.

The sentiment was stamped with orange ink and clear embossed before cut with a Lacy circle die.

The paper is from the Prima Romantique pad.  The edge was punched and Kaiser chino pearls were added for accents.

The lace was a RAK from lovely Melisa Waldorf, the ribbon some I had purchased locally and some more pearls finished the card.


The team have produced some beautiful expamples of the releases this week - feel free to visit them - the links are on my sidebar.

I am linking this to:

Card Patterns Sketch #148

Random Red Head Challenge - use your favourite papers (Prima Romantique)

Paper Pretties Wednesday Challenge #189 =- Use Glitter
Crafty Purple Frog - Anything Goes
Pixie Challenge - We're Going Dotty
Shelly's Images - Anything Goes
Some Odd Girls - Bling it up

Thank you for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Purple Happy Birthday

Welcome once more - it is so good to know you call by.

This weeks release from McMahon Five Design.com includes a wonderful Happy Birthday sentiment that I was immediately drawn to.

Once I had printed out the image I chose, I decided to keep it simple and  let the sentiment take centre stage.

The opposite corners of the sentiment panel were pierced from the back and rubbed with green chalk. 

The panel was matted on matching green card stock, and then onto purple and some metallic butterflies added - they are more purple than the camera shows.

A simple card to construct and yet quite dramatic.

I am linking this to:

Deep Ocean challenge #9 - Happy Birthday

Digital Tuesday Challenge #131 - We Like To Party

Ladybugs Craft Ink challenge #40 - No design papers

Papertake Weekly challenge - Anything goes

Sweet Stamps Challenge #35 - Anything Goes

Dancing In Pyjamas Challenge #179 - Hype the Type

Try it in Tuesday - Make it Minimal

Crafty Cardmaker Challenge #53 - Anything Goes

Heart Song Inspirations Challenge #18 - Anything Goes

Woodware USA challenge #46 - Anything Goes

Thanks for calling by - 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.

Orange Flowers

Thank you for visiting again - I am humbled by the fact that so many of you  choose to visit my blog regularly.

After a rather chaotic February, with very little crafting time for the last two weeks, I managed to have all Sunday in the studio and made five cards then and another yesterday - it is this latter that I am sharing today.

The base of he card is a creamy card stock, which was stamped with the flourish from the Nature Walk Set by Layer of Colors in Galaxy Gold ink by Tsukineko.

The feature panel was layered with a piece of music from a hymnal and cut with a Spellbinders Labes 14 die, then sponged with Tea Stain Distress ink.

It was over-stamped with a Scripture from the Scripture Collection 2 by Our Daily Bread Designs and embossed in copper.

After mounting this on the card, three flowers from the Nature Walk set were stamped in Whispers Orange ink and coloured with chalks and a blending pen.  These then had a button stitched in the centre and were mounted using glue dots.

The band at the bottom was white card sponged with the orange ink used in the flowers.  The sentiment was again embossed with copper. I then pierced two lines either side of the sentiment and stitched them with a variegated metallic thread that I had used to secure the buttons with.

The buttons were inspired by the Stamping Sisters In Christ Challenge, which was based on

 Psalm 9:10 "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."

The thought shared was that God is our unfailing security, and the challenge was to use three buttons, as representing something that holds securely.

I am linking this to the following challenges:

Stamping Sisters In Christ #70 - Use three buttons

Crazy 4 Challenges # 76 - Use Flowers 

Our Daily Bread Designs Shining the Light Challenge #50 - sketch

Bunny Zoe's Crafts Challenge #9 - Flowers Everywhere

The Crazy Challenge #56 - Here Comes Spring

Critter Challenge#54 - Use a Sentiment

Cupcake Craft Challenge#131 - Anything but Square

Incy Winsy Designs Challenge # 83 - Spring is in the Air

Lexi's Creations Challenge #34 - flowers

Polly Craft challenge #82 - three circles (the flowers or buttons)

Stamps R Us Challenge - For the Girls

WoodwareUSA #16 - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting - May your day be blessed

Valentine Blues

Greetings to you all and thank you for calling by.

I recently made a quick Valentines card for my DH, and chose an image from Cora Harkins' site Digital Two for Tuesday  for the feature.  As we are not fussy folk the total card is actually quite simple in it's construction.

I trimmed the image and then sponged the sides with  Tsukineko Brilliance Mediterranean Blue ink, mounted that on striped dp that had the edges sponged with Vivid Cobblestone ink.

Before layering this onto the base I added a couple of vintage corners that I cut in mid blue card using the cuttlebug.

The sentiment from Layers of Colour Sent with Love set was stamped in the Mediterranean Blue ink, which was also used to sponge the edge of the base card.

  Some piercing was added to complete the card

I am linking this to:

Creative Crew - For a Loved One

Creative Card World - Love Card Challenge

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge #22 - My Valentine

Sisterhood of Crafters - In Love with Valentines

A Spoonful of Sugar - Challenge #138 - Lets see some love

Bearly Mine challenge #3 - For men or boys

Digital Tuesday Challenge #97 - From the Heart

Everybody Art challenge # 128 - Valentines

AIFactory - Valentines Day, Love

C.R.A.F.T. challenge #89 - Valentines

Dutch Dare Card challenges - Love is in the air

Sugar Creek Hollow - Non-traditional Valentines.

Thank you for visiting my blog.  May your day be blessed

Sparkles and a butterfly

Greetings - yes I have been on a roll and here is another card.  I used the sketch for the Midnight Madness Challenge #78 again I liked it so much.  This time I used one of the Priscilla Styles Butterfly stamps

The pink layer was textured with the embossing folder 

Budding Vine - the folder was slightly short, so I pierced the ends of both sheets to add a focal point, distressed and sponged the edges with Pearlescent Orchid ink.

  The iridescent plastic sheet behind this is the remains of what sequins are punched from. 

The butterfly was coloured using Twinkling H20's, and highlighted with Stickles  Kindy Glitz and Dimensional Glue, then cut using a Nestabilities classic oval, and sponged with the same ink I used on the pink paper.  This was then mounted on the purple base and Stickles added for some more sparkle.

The flowers were a totally unexpected RAK from my neighbour, and worked wonderfully well on this card.  The leaves I cut and crimped and sponged with Adirondack Bottle ink.  The same ink was used to sponge the edge of the tag and stamp the greeting, a Hero Arts Stamp.

I am linking this to 

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge # 78

Digital Tuesday Challenge #83 - I've been framed

Anything Challenge - Letter B (butterfly)

Oldie But A Goodie - Distressing

Scrap-creations - Favourite technique - painting with twinkling H2O's

Thanks for calling by - I really enjoy the fact I can share my art on this forum and hope that you enjoy seeing my efforts.


May you day be blessed.

Peace montage

Greeting to all my cyber visitors - yes two posts in two days again this week!!  

I made this card, as my contribution to the Stamping Sisters In Christ Challenge #47, and then decided that it is for me, and I am going to frame it and hang it in my craft area!!

The challenge was this : 

Make a card that symbolizes what brings you rest or peace. For example, it could be flowers, an ocean, music, mountains, sitting with a friend, or just reading a book., and is based on the Scripture - Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest."

This is way off my 'normal' style - (actually I am not sure what my 'normal' style is anymore!!)  When I thought about what brings me peace, and in many instances that peace is found in God's presence, quite a few things came to mind, hence why this is a montage type of creation.

Firstly music has always played a large part in my life - not that I can sing, as I find that the tune in my head does not always come out of my mouth sounding as it ought - just ask my family!!  But I did learn the piano for years and there was always music in my home when growing up, and even now the radio is tuned to the local Christian station, and going a lot of the day.

The music is from a hymnal, a purchase from a local secondhand shop, and I sponged the edges with Tea Stain distressing Ink, and pleated it onto the corner of the card.

Secondly I find peace in reading my Bible.  The Bible scrap is actually from a second hand New Testament I picked up in an "opp shop" locally. Again the edges were sponged and some of the ink was smeared across the words. Thirdly I often find peace in my crafting, be it lace making, knitting, card making, sewing.....  

                                                Fourthly, I garden a lot and often find                  myself meditating on God while in the garden - we have a lot of birds in our area, and they are always there when I am gardening - the bird in the stamp also, to me, represents the Holy Spirit, the giver of Peace, the gold (Kindyglitz) representing God's Sovereignty.

I mounted all the elements on the white card and sponged and pierced the edges - The corners are a small element from the Layers of Colors Architectural Blocks set of stamps, stamped in Adirondack espresso ink on plain white card and then cut in half. I sponged the edge of the base card with the same ink before mounting everything on it.

As mentioned, I am entering this is the 

       Stamping Sisters In Christ challenge #47 - Peace

I trust you have enjoyed my meditations and ruminations on this card.

Thank you for calling and your comments give me much pleasure.

May your day be blessed.

Natural Flourish

Thank you for visiting - it has been a week since I wrote anything here, but I have been busy making cards!!  
Can't do everything at once.... well that is my excuse - I can multi-task, but with the computer in one room and my craft area well away, it is a little difficult :-)

I chose to feature this card this week as Stamping Sisters In Christ have a challenge to use red and/or blue in a card this week.  

The challenge is is based on  

2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 

This is a scripture that applies to all nations, as we all fall well short of what is godly, both as individuals, and those who lead us, and we as Christians need to pray for our nations, no matter where we live.

I had made this card using blue inks and the Layers of Color stencil, Natural Flourish - I have been experimenting with these stencils and love what you can do with them - before I saw the challenge, as I wanted to send a card to a family who have just welcomed a son. 

The crib stamp is one from my daughters stash, but it is unmarked.  The full stamp has a star suspended over the crib, but I masked that part of the stamp for this card.  The crib was coloured with chalks and blender pen.

The edges of the main panel were distressed and sponged and the corners pierced before it was mounted on a pale blue base.  A simple card, but quite effective, I felt.

I then went on to make this card, using the same stencil but different inks.

The anniversary it is for is a Ruby one, hence the touch of red on the butterfly (from Layers of Colors, Flutterescent set) and the pearls - one for each decade.

I stitched the main panel, as well as distressing and sponging the edges, then mounted it on a dark green base.  Not quite as quick and easy as the description may imply, but I enjoyed my time and was pleased with the outcomes.

Thank you for calling by again, and I trust your day is as lovely as our day is today, here in the middle of an antipodean winter.

Sailing away

Hello to all my cyber-friends and visitors.


I have not got into my studio for longer than I care to think, so it was wonderful to be out there this afternoon and crafting!!

I needed a masculine card (again) and this time I resorted to a sticker for the main image!!  shock horror - I prefer to stamp, but I was a bit stumped as to which image to use, and I came across this in a rummage through my 'stuff' (of which DH says I have far too much!)


I mounted it onto a white background and chalked the sky behind it.... should have done that the other way round!!, and sponged on some blue ink for the sea, and  added some white and silver pen parks for the wake of the boat.


I then mounted this onto a scrap of maroon to give it some definition against the blue background, but did not let it show across the bottom edge against the foil, which had been embossed with the d'vine swirls Cuttlebug folder.


The silver foil at the base of the embossed piece is some scraps from a punched strip - I inadvertently left some double-sided sellotape showing, so out came some silver glitter  to cover that ....  silver sand???


The mid blue card was then pierced, and the corners rounded, the sentiment embossed in silver and I then mounted it onto the dark blue.   I was not happy with the stark appearance, so turned over the template that I had used for the clouds on the white card and chalked some white clouds onto the mid-blue. Again this should have been done before adding the layers, but this craft is a journey and I am always learning.

This card 'qualifies' for two challenges : 

Our Creative Corner - sketch challenge

and

Crazy For challenges #27 - paper piercing

Thanks for calling bye - I do appreciate your visits and your comments.