This Year's Christmas Card

Welcome.

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to my latest follower - I cannot see a new photo, but the total number has gone up one.  If you would like to introduce yourself, that would be wonderful.

When Our Daily Bread Designs introduced their Christmas dies back in October I feel in love with them immediately, and bought this nativity set, and the word Peace.

I started the card by loosely painting the background with Rich Cobalt, Ocean Wave and Sunflower Twinkling H2O's, then masked the bottom of the card and sprayed it with Lindy's Blue Hawaiian Blue mica spray.

The word, star and angel were cut from gold paper and the nativity from thin black card and glued onto the base. 

This shot gives an idea of the sparkle this has. 

I made two prototype cards, and DH decided which one he would prefer.  This alternate one has just a sprayed background, which looked quite 'arty farty'. To be honest it was my favourite, but as his name is on the cards, I chose to honour his choice.

I am linking this to:

Inspiration Destination Challenge #114 - Anything Goes

Creatalicous Challenge #104 Anything Goes

The Paper Shelter Challenge #275  - Christmas Card

Crafting With An Attitude Challenge #22 - Anything Goes

CCC Digi Creations Challenge #62 - Anything Goes

Polka Doodles Challenge #48 - Anything Goes

Simply Papercraft Challenge #42 - Anything Goes

Creative Artiste Mixed Mesdia Challenge #21 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #258-258 - Anything Goes

Crafting Musketeers Challenge #44 - Anything Goes

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog - may your day be blessed

Any comments you may leave are deeply appreciated

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Update - Fledged!!

Welcome

After several days of  chatting to the wee starling in the box, and it would sit there and chat back, this morning it fledged.

I saw it several times on the back lawn, and you could see it getting stronger and stronger with each attempt at flight, although its navigation needed quite a lot of improvement, even when I took this photo a few moments before he disappeared.

We have not see it since mid-morning, but are so glad that we got to see him fledge.

Thank you for your pleasure in these 'nature' posts

May your day be blessed

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Growing up

Welcome

It is late spring here in the Antipodes and we have had a starling box in the back yard for several years now - this year the pair started early, and hatched two chicks.

Of late we have seen more and more of the chicks sitting looking out of the hole, and one chick will let me get quite close before they duck back in.

I took these photos from a distance on full zoom, to be sure the chick would not hide, and unfortunately one is a bit fuzzy.

The marks around the hole are from the parents feathers when they hold onto the edge of the hole to feed the chicks

I think it will not be long before the chicks fledge, and then the back yard will be very quiet!!

The neighbours have two boxes, but their birds were much later to breed, so we will still have some starlings around, amongst the other birds.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog - may your day be blessed.

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Folded Butterfly

Welcome

I wanted to use a background stamping technique recently, and not only did I create a reasonable background, I also used a folded butterfly shape I have recently learned.

To stamp the background you start with the darkest colour first and the boldest motive, followed by a medium colour and a more delicate motif, then the lightest colour and a background stamp.

I stamped the piece of copy paper that I was using for the butterfly with a co-ordinating colour and motif - it did not contrast enough, so I sponged the edges with the ink I used to stamp it with, then assembled the card.

The sentiment was stamped in a red ink, then embossed with a red ep, trimmed to a banner shape, then mounted over a matching red cardstock.

I was still not happy with the card as a whole so it sat on my desk for some days, then I added the red gemstones, and still not happy, picked up a sponge that had some delicata gold ink on and gently tapped it over the butterfly, putting paper under the edges to prevent smudging.  I then masked the butterfly and sprayed with perfect pearls perfect red spray, and was finally happy with it. 

I am linking this to:

Little Miss Muffet Challenge #151 - Anything Goes

Digital Delights Delightful November Challenge #16 - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Creations Challenge #30 - Anything Goes

Crafting With An Attitude Challenge #21 - Anything Goes

Aud Sentiments Challenge - Anything Goes With a Sentiment

Creative Moments Challenge #107 - Anything Goes

The Mod Squad Challenge - Sparkle it Up

The Paper shelter Challenge #274 - Bingo

First vertical line - Sentiment, flowers, gemstones.

Southern Girls Challenge - Anything Goes With Team Lou

Addicted To Stamps Challenge #221 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #258-259 - Anything Goes

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog - may your day be blessed

Any comments you may leaver are deeply appreciated

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A Question

Welcome

Can anybody tell me how to get another page header to show on my blog's home page?? 

 I do have a third page, but the tag does not show up, and I cannot figure out how to get it to show.... even less now that blogger has it's "new and improved" layout which I find totally frustrating!

Thanks in advance for all your help

Edited

Thank you all for your help - it's all fixed and functioning 😀

Water Colours and Leaves

Welcome

These past few weeks a have been very busy, and this week is shaping up to be the same...

I made this card earlier in the month as a demo for my stamp class

I started by loosely painting the background with watercolours, then when that was dry,  the branches embossing folder was inked on the raised image side of the folder using a brayer, then embossed the image on the background.

To tie the whole design together I stamped the Friends stamp (by Hastings Rubber Stamps) using the same ink, on the same card stock as the base  (a grey recycled card from a local printer). 

The final detail was to sponge all the edges with the same Espresso ink before assembling the card, and add some white flat back pearls.

I am linking this to:

Crafty Girls Creations Challenge #30 - Anything Goes

Crafting With An Attitude Challenge #21 - Anything Goes

Aud Sentiment Challenge # - Anything Goes with a Sentiment

Simply Papercraft Challenge #41 - Anything Goes

Morgan's Art World Challenge #23 - Use an Article From Your Stash

The stamp, paints and folder were all some of my early purchases, stash from way back! 

Crafting With Friends Challenge #32 - Anything Goes

PolkaDoodles Crafting Challenge #46 - Anything Goes 

Brown Sugar Challenge #225 - Anything Goes

Lil' patch pf Crafty Friends Challenge #46 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #256-257 - Anything Goes

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Spotty Thanks

Welcome

We have had the most wonderful family filled weekend - we had 19 people around the table for one meal 😃.

I made this card a few days ago for a local woman who blessed us with a gift of fudge, made by her mother and couriered up from Wellington!!  The card was loved, and is now enroute to Wellington to the fudge maker.

I started with the lemon yellow base, and embossed it with a Swiss Dots folder, and added a page from a Prima journaling page.

The sentiment panel started as an experiment - the technique I was trying did not 'work' as it was supposed to, so I dropped water onto the distress inked panel and then dried it off, then sprayed it with a silver spray.  I was still not that happy, so die cut the sentiment from a snippet of matching cardstock and inserted it into the panel.   I then embossed another part sentiment after masking off the end of the stamp to have just the part of it that I wanted.

The finishing details were the rhinestones and the washi tape.

I am linking this to:

Crafty Card Makers Challenge #177 - Embossing wet or dry

Artistic inspirations Challenge #167 - Anything Goes

The Pencil Case Challenge Week #32 - Anything Goes

Crafty Friends Challenge #44 - For Someone Special

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #45 - Anything Goes

Great Impressions November Challenge - Anything Goes

Glitter 'N' Sparkle Challenge #214 - Anything Goes

Amusing November Challenge - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create Challenge #190 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #256-257 - Anything Goes

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog - may your day be blessed.

Any comments you may leave are deeply appreciated

All comments are moderated and spam deleted.