Simple Tidings

Firstly I hope you had a lovely Christmas, we did and as all the "duty" things are now out of the way I can relax a bit - may even have time to use some of the new goodies I got from the man in the red suit :-)
I have a "Twofer" today; for those non-Australians that is "Two for the Price of One"... both are really simple cards and I didn't think they (one in particular) merited their own post so, "Twofer" it is!!
Firstly I have one I made for Christmas this year; I bought a laser printer recently (and had a laminator) to get into the foil embossing "thang" that's going around, and BOY have I got into it :-)  This is the one of 19 I made using the technique somewhere on it this year!

Of course, I have now discovered that foiling is even harder to capture in a photo than glitter!
I used background paper that has foil strips on it; it was originally a 12" piece bought years ago.. I've slowly whittled it down and now have a very small snippet left, off this snippet, so I'm entering Pixies Snippets Playground challenge to use Snippets
I have a few pics here, not to show details; just to try and capture the shiny goodness of this foil
The sentiment is a freebie I got from the generous Paulette at Create with TLC, I added a shadow using Word - sometimes that just adds a shadow around the "outside" of the whole image, sometimes (like in this case) it adds it to each word.  Printed it using my laser printer then obviously then ran it through the laminator with Gold Deco Foil.  Ribbon from stash.

The second card is one I made for Christmas 2015 (I didn't make any last year) and was a bit embarrassed to "blog", it's so straightforward - I would like to say the biggest problem with this card was the photography - it looks so much better in real life.  I used Versa Linen card, edged with Gold ink.
I can't remember the source of the embossing folder, could be Sizzix, the snowflake border is a die from Memory box, as is the Candles (named, unsurprisingly "Memory Box Candles"), I inked those up after cutting too.  "Joy" is either a Sizzix or Memory Box die, I think Sizzix, cut from gold card
The sentiment on the inside is from the now-defunct Tickled Pink Stamps, the frame is from the same set: I love this stamp set, use it soooo much :-)
So that's it!  I am entering one or other of these cards in the following challenges, you pick which one :-)) Well, Cutie Pie Challenge  has "Stars and/or Snowflakes" as their theme, so that would be the second card with the embossing folder snowflakes (as well as the snowflake border) and Pile It On has "Non-Traditional Christmas Colours" as their theme so the first one with it's pink/peach/coral colour is the one for there... with the same card being for Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge (as it's the only one using patterned paper!),but all these other challenges apply to either card:
Sweet Stampin' Last Minute/ CAS Christmas

Paper Creator Crafts, My Time to Craft, Sweet Stampin' Christmas, Winter Wonderland, Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra Challenge, Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge, 12 Months of Christmas All have "Christmas" challenges and

Tuesday Throwdown, Simon Says Challenge, Cute As A Button, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Crafty  Creations, Crafting With Friends  Challenge #57, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, Create and Inspire, Creatalicious Challenges, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Attitude and Corrosive Challenge All have "Anything Goes" themes

So that's all for today, I am going to go and get dressed now... it's 2pm and I'm still in my PJs, as is hubby; which is something we NEVER do, in fact I think this is a first - really enjoyed it tbh :-)  We have to go out in a while, we're having a few friends over to bring in the New Year and really should get the ingredients together for the promised "Pizza night".  The weather is great, not too hot but warm enough for a midnight swim if you feel like it (though as we've got older we all are less prepared to mess up our hair/makeup than we were when we were younger, lol.  One couple that are coming we've known for 25 years, we don't care with them and they us, lol, but some of the others haven't seen us at our "glorious best", so we may not want to dispel the myth, haha.

If I don't get back, enjoy your New Year Celebrations and I'll see you in 2018.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Favourite Colour Combo

The new challenge starting today at Di's Digis Challenge Blog has a really easy theme; we want to see YOUR Favourite Colour Combo... not ours, yours, too easy!  I love autumn colours, not that we get THAT much in the way of autumn here in Western Australia - though I've got three really gorgeous Japanese Maple trees in my garden that are looking glorious right now, they don't realize it's nearly mid Winter, lol.  The combo I've used today focuses on the coral/burgundy end of the spectrum.

The cute image is called "Little Mice Blooms", and you can get it here - I really am hooked on these meeces, who wouldn't be? :-)  I coloured with my usual combination of Copic Markers with Prismacolor pencil providing extra detail. 

I did do something a bit different with the vase though... I added gold leaf (well its that flaky stuff you get that has gold, silver, copper and some coloured foils in.  I rubbed it into the glue I painted the vase with so it wasn't too chunky looking, it actually looks really good in real life - hard to capture the richness in a pic; hopefully you get the idea.
The truly gorgeous chiyogami paper is from my go to speciality paper store, Starfish Lane; this was one of the papers I got for my birthday - my eldest son and his wife (and the twins of course, lol) gave me a huge bag of goodies; usually it's my youngest son that does that for me... but he gave me a lovely photograph of the twins instead this year.  He's a photographer and has just updated his camera - I'm feeling the need to upgrade mine now as I'm having problems with the clarity of my pics... which could just be user error, rofl.   The card for the matting and the embossed cream pearl card at the top are from Starfish Lane too, the embossed one matches the peal card I used as a base and the burgundy has a lovely texture.

I cut the image mat with Lifestyle Crafts Circles and the coral colour and burgundy mats are L'il Inkers Dual Stitched Dies... I cut the burgundy one as a frame and cut the outside of the coral one the same size as the inside of the frame to fit inside the burgundy one... all stuck to a piece of white card at the back to hold it together - maybe this pic explains better!
The metal and rhinestone "ribbon" across the card came from our Malaysian trip a few years ago... or Mum and Dad's this year, they got me some more :-)  The gold flatbacks around the frame are from my stash, the small flowers in the top left corner are from a punch that also came from Malaysia.

I cut the sentiment with a die (from a company called M Crafts) I got on Ebay... it cuts BRILLIANTLY and was as cheap as chips, so I'm going back to see what others they have!  I cut it in burgundy and in gold and stuck them slightly off centre (yes, on purpose, lol) so that it looks like a shadow.

As always (well, most of the time, lol) I finished the inside of the card to coordinate with the front, I didn't have any more of the coral card I used to mat the image so I used another scrap from my "Orange" folder - it's nearly the same colour and has a nice fine glitter through it, adds a little something I feel.  I've followed a sketch this time around, from Stella Says Sketch, I didn't add the gold flatbacks to the frame on the inside, but they're on the one on the outside, so I think I've been more faithful to the sketch than normal.
That's it for today.  I'll be sharing my card over at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, but as I'm on the DT I won't be going into the prize draw... just so you know, lol ... and finally I'd like to enter the following challenges: 

The Crazy Challenge Your Favourite Colour

Bunny Zoes Crafts Lovely Layers

The Paper Shelter Flowers Everywhere

OSAAT Stitching, Real or Faux

Aud Sentiments Anything Goes    + a sentiment

Create and Inspire, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Friends Challenge 22, Craft Your Passion, Through the Craftroom Door, Creative Fingers, Art by Miran, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Little Miss Muffet, Creatalicious Challenges, and Paper Creator Crafts Anything Goes

I hope you get a chance to check out the rest of the team's work, and a chance to enter the challenge too; great prize on offer as always, and don't forget there's extra opportunities if you use one of Di's Digi images or a Candibean rubber stamp.
We had the saddest news yesterday, our good friend Roger has passed away - I can't really believe it.  You may remember me talking about him previously, he had a massive stroke at 58 and I used to go up to their home in the hills to help him when he was re-learning to read/write shop etc - he struggled and triumphed in so many ways over the next 7 or 8 years, winning a State award for his efforts from the Speech Therapists Association, only to get Melanoma 3 years ago... which in turn, and against the odds he beat early this year.
He died on Wednesday from a bowel blockage, a ghastly death.  I am so sad that this was his end, he deserved better.  He was more my friend than my husband's as I got close to him during my weekly sessions volunteering with him, he had the best attitude to his adversity... he truly humbled me.  The world is a poorer place without people like him in it.  His funeral is on Wednesday, his wife is just so worn down by it all she is struggling to even grieve, sad in itself.  Tomorrow we are going to scatter my husband's nephew Brad's ashes as it would have been his birthday this weekend - I really could do with something cheerful happening - luckily my nephew and his partner had a baby boy this morning "Lucian" was born at 5.06am weighing in at 3.54 Kg or 7lbs 13oz and measuring 52cm or 20.5" so meeting him will help I'm sure.
Until next time, Happy Crafting

A Pinch and a Punch...

Yup, here we are at the first of the month... AGAIN!  Time for a new challenge to start over at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, where (as always) all you have to do to enter is make a project with some Patterned Paper on it, too easy!
I have a Christmas card to share, it's actually from my draft folder - and no, it's not the last... sigh.

I'm having a bit of a problem with my pictures looking "flat", I can't work out why but we'll just have to live with it for the time being as life is super busy and I don't have time to dedicate to sorting it!  It's lucky I'm here at all really; we were given a new modem by our ISP - nothing wrong with our old one, they're upgrading the network and old faithful wouldn't have been able to keep up, as it's their doing we get a free modem... but anyone who has ever had anything to do with computers KNOWS what I mean when I say that the "simple" and "easy" instructions, while not too bad were NOT simple or easy; or more to the point the "Troubleshooting" page had to come out and the connection's been a bit iffy - something that WASN'T a problem prior to said "upgrade", sigh
Anyway onto my card.  Simple little number (my Christmas cards generally are, lol) using the oh-so-sweet image Wrynn Angel from Tiddly Inks.  I coloured with Copics, with some Prismacolor details, and added Stickles to the halo.

The "joy" is either a Sizzix or Memory Box die, cut in green card then glittered up with Stickles.  The image panel has a gold foil mat cut using a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Rectangle die.  The papers are from Kaisercraft, I added a smudging of gold ink around the edges of all panels to soften the overall effect.  
As always I finished the inside of the card with elements from the front, the sentiment (stamped in gold, not that it looks gold in the pic!) is one - actually two, the sentiment and the frame are two stamps - of my favourite Christmas sets from the sadly now defunct Tickled Pink Stamps.
That's it for today's card, it was really quite sweet in real life, I'll have to address these photography issues!  I'll be entering my card in the following challenges

Hiding in my Craft Room: Any Holiday

Cute Card Thursday: Holidays/Vacation

A Snowflakes Promise: Anything (Christmas) Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra Challenge: Anything (Christmas) Goes

Jingle Belles: Banish the Blues… no blue

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge: Traditional Colours

Bunny Zoes Crafts: Lovely Layers

Craft Your Passion, Through the Craftroom Door, Create and Inspire, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Friends Challenge 21, Creative Fingers, Art by Miran, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Cute As A Button, Creatalicious Challenges, and Paper Creator Crafts: Anything Goes

I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge, it's such an easy theme and great prize... why wouldn't you? 

Until next time, Happy Crafting 

May Day

Here we are, first of the month again - time for a new challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, where the "challenge" is to use some patterned paper on your creation.  I made a card for our friend's 80th birthday card... it's a "flip" card, the only way I can think to describe it to the uninitiated is in photos, so expect a few :-)

Here's the front, with the cute image from Bugaboo, coloured with Copics (and some Prismacolor pencil detail) with Stickles added to the party favours and hats and - of course - Glossy Accents to the birds' eyes.

These cards are really easy to make, and to adjust to different dimensions.  For example this Splitcoast Stampers tutorial is what I used for the idea and dimensions for my first flip (also know as swing) card, but for this one I adjusted my template to suit the wider image, resulting in a bigger card overall.  You can use dies to cut out the part that "flips" for a different effect; there are a ton of videos on YouTube - check them out.  

Mine's pretty basic, but it IS in metric unlike most others I found, this pic is just a jpg, if it's not clear enough to follow here's a link to a downloadable pdf,  (it's on my Tutorials, Templates and Freebies page too)  
I used a Cottage Cutz Best Wishes die, cut in blue card then smothered in gloss to "fill" the area next to the image... you need to think about that space when you choose an image for this type of card :-)

Anyway, here's the card mid-swing, and then completely flipped over to read the sentiment, which came with one of my Birdbrain Chick images from From the Heart digital stamps.  I just typed the sentiment on the front - tried to match the font on the FTH sentiment as best I could, I think it's okay :-)

The papers are from my stash... can't remember the origin of either I'm afraid... and the wooden 8 and 0 are from my stash too; given the paint and gloss treatment to tie them in. 
That's all there is to it... easy peasy.  I hope you get a chance to pop over to the Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge to check out the rest of the DT... hope you get a chance to enter the challenge too; great prize on offer as always, and of course the theme is so EASY!
I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges: 

OSAAT Anything with Wings

A Snowflakes Promise Anything Spring

Inky Chicks Birthday

Seize the Birthday Anything Goes Birthday

Little Miss Muffet Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Challenge 19  Anything Goes (Always)

Creative Fingers Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

Simon Says Challenge Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes
Create and Inspire Anything Goes

I'll be back in a few days, I've got a few things ready to blog (finally!) so it's "just" a case of finding the time to write a post up.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Pastel Colours Challenge at Di's Digis

A new challenge started today at Di's Digi Designs Challenge Blog, the theme is Pastel Colours.  I made a Christmas card... then read the theme, duh, and THEN made this wedding card :-)  The Christmas card will wait for another day, lol.

The image I've used is called To Have and To Hold and is available here.  I decided to colour with Prismacolor pencils only this time around, I seem to be able to maintain the pastel-ness with pencils better than I can with my Copics :-)  I added lashings of Ranger's Bridal Tinsel Embossing Powder to the bride's dress, and a little pearl to the bodice.

Fl

I made a "window" card, I like the effect and it makes the inside of the card as interesting as the outside.  As I only had enough of the Kaisercraft Magic Happens paper for the front of the card I used another paper for the inside; I can't remember what pad it came from... it was in my stash of separate sheets...I think it might be from  Basic Grey's Indian Summer pad; it has the same tones at least.
For some reason this card took ages to get together (probably because I only realized my error as I was about to load my Christmas card onto the challenge blog, last minute of course, and knew I was under time pressure)  The colouring didn't take long, but cutting all those oval holes and frames (Spellbinders Oval Floral dies, as opposed to their Floral Oval dies... why did they do that? give two of  their sets such similar names... just to confuse us peasants I feel!! ) seemed to take forever!  

There's one on the inside of the aperture as well as the outside as well as around the image, all of which I embossed with the same glittery EP as the dress, of course it hardly shows in the pics :-(  I thought that sticking double sided tape on the back would make it easier and less messy to glue them on after cutting, which it possibly did... what it definitely did was make it VERY fiddly to get all the little bits out of the die cut and I'm not sure I'll bother again!  

I decided to make a jotting space on the back of the card, with another frame, but was flagging with the whole thing by then, so it got a basic pink matt, stuck down with UHU glue and a plain oval whacked on top; it serves the purpose I suppose -sorry about the over-exposed pic, few issues with my camera I think... like Operator Error!!
I used a spellbinders die for the Mr and Mrs and I think it's a Kaisercraft stamp for the "Congratulations" on the inside of the card, stamped with a Versa ink.  

The flowers I used have been in my stash for a while, coming from various places, the leaves I remember getting from Mulberry Crafts.  I finished the sprays by adding a few sticky backed pearls from my stash.  That's it.
I hope you get a chance to stop by the Challenge Blog and check out the team's work, and that you get to enter the challenge too; great prize on offer as always - from the Cutting Cafe this time around - and as always if you use one of Di's cute images (a digi or one of the Candibean rubber stamp range) there are extra opportunities to win.
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges,

Addicted to  Stamps Pastel Colours

Southern Gals Challenge Patterned Paper

Crafty Cardmakers 1 image 2 papers 3 different embellishments (flowers, die cuts, pearls)

Moving Along With The Times Spring Flowers
Cute As A Button, Crafting With Friends Challenge 19, Craft Your Passion,  Through the Craftroom Door, Creative Fingers and Art by Miran Anything Goes

 I'll be back soon - I HAVE to be... the first quarter of the year is our family birthday time and I've been making cards like a maniac, gotta get something out of my drafts folder soon or my laptop will buckle under the weight, lol.  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

April Already!!

Yup, like the title says... it's April already - eeeek!!  Whatever!!  It's time for a new challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, as always the "theme" is to use patterned paper somewhere on your creation.  I have a (pretty simple) Christmas card to share

The gorgeously cute image was from Tiddly Inks it came as a freebie with another image, though I can't find any reference to it on the site now.  I coloured with Copics and Prismacolor pencils - with the obligatory shiny nose (Glossy Accents)
The papers are from Basic Grey's Jovial collection (well the tartan is, not sure about the other one)  The image panel was cut with a Lifestyle Nesting Circle the image mat with Spellinders Lacey Circles using cream pearl card, and the "noel" was cut with a Tim Holz die, using red card from my stash with LASHINGS of Glossy Accents on it.  I added the red dots on the image mat with Stickles.  The festive looking braid is from my stash, and I've had the Kaisercraft Twinklet for ages... it looks so much better IRL, but I gave up trying to capture the sparkle and still keep the image at least reasonably in focus!
I know the rectangular tartan panel looks crooked, I have no idea why as it was definitely straight!
As usual I added a bit of detail to the inside of the card... I never add too much to the inside of Christmas cards as I'm always behind the eight ball time wise; now of course that's NOT the case this year but old habits die hard, lol.  The sentiment is a wooden stamp I've had for-eva!  I have no idea of the origins, it does stamp really well :-)  I kept the reindeer theme going with a small wooden reindeer coloured to suit with Copics
That's about it for my card, pop over to the challenge blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration... and why not join in while you're there... it really IS the easiest of themes and as always there's a fab prize on offer. 
I'll be back soon, until then here's the challenges I'd like to enter this card in ... and Happy Crafting until next time.
Challenges: 

Fab'n'funky Challenges Christmas

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge (Christmas) Use Your Stash

Jingle Belles Santa or any other "North Pole" character

Sweet Stampin' Christmas Cute Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge (Christmas) Use a Sentiment

Hiding in my Craft Room Any Holiday

Crazy 4 Challenges Use Circles

Pixies Snippets Playground Use Snippets

Crafting With Friends Challenge 17  , Little Miss Muffet, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Simon Says Challenge, Creative Fingers, 4 Crafty Chicks, Through the Craftroom Door and Craft Your Passion  Anything Goes

One For the Girls at DigiDesigns

Not even going to go to the "yet another two weeks has passed" place (or did I just go there? lol) Anyway.... it's time for a new challenge at the DigiDesigns challenge blog, this time we'd like to see you make something "For the Girls".  I made a birthday card, coz you can never have too many cute birthday cards :-)  I'm having a bit of trouble with my camera giving a slightly grey cast on my pics... I don't want to edit them too much so you'll have to believe me when I say it's a bit more 'defined' in real life.  I'll have to work out why it's happening

Once again I've gone with a large format, A5, I like this size as it  means I can print the image up nice and big (one of the many reasons I love digis!) which makes the colouring easy... and in this case add a big sentiment too... without losing all that lovely patterned paper.  This too-cute image (I LOVE Di's mice images!) is Doughnuts and Sprinkles and you can get it here at Di's Digi Stamps store.  I coloured with Prismacolor pencils, I've been practicising and it's a shame the photo isn't clear as I'm really pleased with how much detail I got with just pencils.  Polkadoodles has Cream and Sugar as it's theme, this fits the "Ivory, pink, sugar" idea so I'm in!

I added lashings of Ranger Glossy Accents to the glass cake cover, then decided to step away from the gloss/shine/glitter so it could be a focal point... again, it looks heaps better IRL.
The patterned paper is from The Paper Mill, I just bought this pad, and couldn't believe that the ribbon I've had in my stash for YEARS matched it so well!  It's nice and "girly" which means as well as "our" challenge I'll be entering Sparkles Monthly Challenge with the same theme and The Crazy Challenge which has a Floral theme
The pearl/metal embellies on the corner of the image panel are brads, the pearls were cream but my trusty Copics soon changed THAT, lol.
The fabulous sentiment is from Created with TLC, I got it as a freebie (from the ever-generous Paulette) but I have since bought the Birthday Mega Bundle from the store and it came in that too - along with loads of other great sentiments.
I finished the inside of the card very simply with elements from the front, nothing unusual in that :-)  Craft Your Passion.  Through the Craftroom Door, Simply Papercrafts,  Crafting With Friends (#17), Creative Fingers, Art by Miran, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, That Craft Place and Corrosive Challenge all have Anything Goes Challenges so I'm entering there.
All in all this is a very simple card, very reliant on the super cute image (have I said how much I love Di's meeces? lol)  
Pop over to the challenge blog and check out the rest of the team's girly inspiration... you'll see it doesn't have to be pink to be girly!  I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge this time around, great prize on offer - this time we have two sponsors: SVG Attic and Dies R Us... Woot WOOT!!  and as always if you use one of Di's images (digi or a Candibean stamp) there's an extra opportunity to win.
I'll be back.... SOON I hope!  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Layer It Up

Time for a new challenge at Di's Digis... the theme this time is "Layer It Up", no challenge at all really; I love adding a few layers even if I don't add a lot in the way of embellishments.  I thought I'd add another baby card to my collection, here it is

The image I've used is called  "Cute Cradle" and it's available here.  This is one of the images I coloured when we were "Down South" recently, as i had left my Copics at home it's coloured completely with Prismacolor pencils... I'm getting happier with the results I'm getting with my pencils - and as I've got another half a dozen ready coloured you may be seeing more in the near future.  Then again I've got LOAD of cards in my drafts so they may get an airing first.

I followed the sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches, I don't "do" asymmetrical as a rule, this is the closest I get, lol.
The theme for this challenge is "Layers", and I've got plenty on here; the cardstock is from my stash, it has a lovely texture.  The papers are all Kaisercraft, from various pads.  I love embossing - the dry variety! - I think it adds interest without the "noise" that another pattern would bring.  I used a swirls folder on the background paper and the purple feature panel... it embosses really well... a little TOO well, it practically cut through this paper, card would be better as it is sturdier!
I used my newest acquisition to cut the mats with those gorgeous borders; this was the Sue Wilson Mini Gemini "Aquila" die... actually it's a set of three dies, very clever as you can cut into the border, have the border as an "outie" (like I have for the mats on the front) or cut the whole shape out to use as a die cut... like I have on the inside of my card.
The flowers were cut with the textured card using a Joy Crafts die, the centres are from the batch of melted pony beads I made a while back.
I just found the "baby girl" embellishments in my LSS, I found "baby boy" as well so of course two packets (well four actually, pink and blue versions of each) found their way into my little basket.  These were actually much paler so I used a RV Copic to match them up with my papers... I thought I'd lose the sparkle on them by colouring them over, but they still sparkle nicely
That's it for my card today, really quite simple, layering isn't difficult - hope to see your efforts in the challenge.  Pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's work, we've got some new team members so there's a real variety of inspiration there for sure!  There's a fab prize on offer from Magnolia-licious, and don't forget if you use one of Di's cute digis, or one of the Candi-Bean rubber stamps you get to go in an extra draw with an additional prize of two digis, Woo HOO!!
I'd like to enter my card in the following challenges: 

Clear It Out Theme: Anything Goes Stash: Paper more than a year old (try more than 5 years old, lol)
As You Like It Favourite Type of Embossing and Why (Dry, less mess, more user-friendly!)
Moving Along With The Times Purple Haze
4 Crafty Chicks 7 Layers (I have 7 plus embellishments)
OSAAT Fancy Borders
Card Mania Challenges Polka Dots and/or Stripes 
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge, Hanna and Friends, Simply Papercrafts, Creative Fingers, Art by Miran, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Craft Your Passion and Through the Craftroom Door all have Anything Goes

I really hope to be back in a few days with something from my drafts; I have been adding regularly to it and not getting the opportunity to get anything OUT, it's getting a little crowded in there.  
That said, my nephew is getting married on Friday and I have to get their card made, my sister (his Mum) is up from the country for the week so we "do" stuff while she's up and hubby has got a super quiet week at work, more stuff lol... along with the twins' 3rd birthday (yup, 3... where did THAT three years go huh?) coming up in two weeks with a cake to consider, I'm not sure how much time blogging is going to get!!
Either way, until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

As We March Into March...

Yup, MARCH already, eek!!  Being the start of a new month means the start of a new challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, as always the "theme" is to use Patterned Paper somewhere on your creation.  I made a card for my hubby and my (not sure of the grammar there, lol) 38th Wedding Anniversary last week.  These colours were the colours we had for our wedding, so of course our anniversary card is always based on these :-)

I thought I'd do a cut-out card, using acetate - the photo isn't the best quality I'm afraid, I took this one in my photo tent and didn't get around to redoing it!
The cuter than cute image is from The Paper Shelter, it's called Jurassic Love (I said to my hubby that being married this long these days makes us practically dinosaurs in the marriage stakes!) it's available here.  The Paper Shelter  has "Animal Magic" as it's challenge theme this time around so I'm entering there.  Cutie Pie Challenge  has All You Need is Love, while Great Impressions has Any Celebration as their challenge theme, so I'll be entering them too.
I DID manage to re-take the picture of the inside, which shows that cute image off much better, I coloured - as usual - with Copics and Prismacolor pencils.  There's lashings of glossy accents on the eyes, toenails and hearts. 

The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View's Once Upon a Time collection, I love it - then again I would, wouldn't I? this being my favourite colour combo and all :-) Cute Card Thursday has Florals so I'm entering there. I used a textured paper to mat this time, it is really quite fibrous and has a nice glitteriness about it that is hard to pick up in photos.

I've added a detail shot of the eyes. If there's enough "room" in the image I like to finish the eyes like this, it just adds a little "something" - looks more realistic; not that I REALLY know what a dinosaur's eyes look like or whether the ladies wore ribbons in their "hair" lol.

The ribbon is from my stash, I used my Bow-Easy to tie the bow, Inky Chicks wants to see Ribbon and/or lace, The charm is from my stash too - it's quite heavy, which in this case is a good thing as it helps to keep it vertical. Creatalicious Challenge wants to see a charm and Polkadoodles has a Tic Tac Toe challenge; I've used Charms/Animal/Sentiment line.
I added the last of my self adhesive flat backed pearl "string" to the edge of the heart on the inside and outside of the card to neaten that up... these things are great, I really will have to try and source some more of them, especially in this size.

I stamped the sentiment directly onto the card, but it was very crooked.  So I stamped some squiggles on some cream card using the edge of a small floral die from Kaisercraft in different colours of Stazon; burgundy, black and Timber Brown - I took the excess ink off the stamp first so that it wasn't too strong - then I stamped the sentiment using brown pigment ink, distressing the edge with the same ink to soften the effect.  Actually considering it was to cover a botch up, I was quite happy with it.  I used my latest "tool", my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig.... and I still managed to get it a bit crooked, ah well, it's better than the version stamped on the card!! The sentiment on the inside of the card was a freebie from the ever generous Paulette at Created With TLC... one of my all time favourite places for sentiments; Aud Sentiments wants to see "Cute + a Sentiment", tick tick, and Winter Wonderland want us  to Use a Sentiment (this is the last challenge for the year where they don't have a Christmas theme too) so I'm entering there.
Whimsy Inspirations Challenge, Little Miss Muffet, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Simply Papercrafts, That Craft Place, Crafting With Friends, Creative Fingers, Art by Miran, Simon Says Challenge ,Craft Your Passion,  Through the Craftroom Door  all have Anything Goes themes so I'm in there too.

That's about it for today's card, pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration... I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge, there's a great prize on offer as always, and it's such an easy theme :-)  I'll be back very soon with something a little different.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna 

Time to Use Two or More Dies

New challenge starting today at Di's Digis Challenge Blog (yup, another fortnight has WHIZZED by, lol), the theme is "Use Two or More Dies".  I've made a card for a Christening/Baptism

The image is called "Christening Day, Girl" ("Boy" is available too, of course) and it's available here
I took my colouring with me when we went away for a few days last week and I had great plans to colour up a bunch of images... of course when we got down to Margaret River I realized  I'd left my Copics at home - I'd remembered my refills, but not the pens, duh!  I had taken my pencils and solvent so I did get a few images coloured with them, this is one of them; it's not often I use only pencils, but I'm reasonably happy with the ones I did... even this one :-)

I always use coloured card for matting, so this was a bit of a departure... I used a really nice quality paper to cover the base of the card, I think it made a nice backdrop for the patterned paper; the paper on the top half of the card is from Starfish Lane (so of course it's really lush IRL, even though it doesnt' show on the pic) and the bottom half is from Kaisercraft - could be the Vintage Timeless collection, may not be, lol.
The diecuts are all made using cream pearl cardstock - it looks nice in real life, but hard to capture in photos

Now, the all important - for a dies challenge - are; Spellbinders Floral Oval for the image mat (actually I made a frame with the image panel glued behind it), Memory Box Magic Flourish to the right of the image and MFT Crochet border for the "lace" across the centre (I think it goes really well with the Floral oval)  The rhinestone and pearl embellishment was sourced from a Wedding supplies place on the internet.
The sentiment is from Craftworks Cards, I may change it for a personalized one when I need the card, I attached it with a pearl brad from my stash.  The pearl "string" - actually it's a thread of sticky backed pearls - is also from my stash... sadly these are the last I had, I'll have to get more SOMEWHERE, they're so easy to use!
As always I've used elements and papers from the front of the card on the inside, sorry about the quality (or lack thereof!) of some of today's pics... some  were taken with my photo tent, the paper didn't like the lighting, or the lights didn't like the paper!
Well that's about it for today's card, a little different in style for me, it was a nice chance to crack out some of my favourite dies... at which point I found all my "new" dies, it's already practically March and I haven't cut one thing with the dies I got for Christmas, even though I've made a few cards over the last couple of weeks, must try harder, lol.
I will be entering the following challenges: 

Stella Says Sketch Sketch 

Addicted to  Stamps Die Cuts

Cute As A Button Shabby Chic

Inky Chicks Ribbon and/or Lace

Great Impressions Any Celebration

The Paper Shelter Animal Magic

Little Red Wagon Furry Friends

Aud Sentiments Cute + a Sentiment

Creatalicious Challenges Favourite Colour Combo

Hanna and Friends Favourite Stamp

Craft Your Passion, Simon Says Challenge, Through the Craftroom Door, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Friends, Creative Fingers,  Art by Miran, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, That Craft Place,  Little Miss Muffet and Whimsy Inspirations Challenge all Anything Goes

Hope you get a chance to enter the challenge, it'll give you a chance to dust off those dies :-)  There's a great prize on offer as always, from the fabulous Crafty Ribbons this time around, and (again as always) don't forget that if you use one of Di's awesome digis, or a Candibean rubber stamp if rubber is your thang, you get extra opportunities to win, yeehaw!!
I'll be back in a couple of days with my Crafty Hazelnut's DT card, until then Happy Crafting, Donna