A-Camping We Will Go

I made today's card for my son Matt's birhday (in 2016!)  He and his wife bought a camper trailer and went away in it for the first time for his birthday... we bought him a voucher from a Camping store - it was in with the card

I used a couple of digital stamps from the now sadly defunct Stamp Fairy (I bought BIG before they closed, I've got a few of these little sweeties to hand, lol) Lenny Camping 3 (which is Lenny and the camper) and Lenny Camping 4 which is Lenny with the campfire.  I cropped down two of the Lennys and added a bow to the "hair" of one before putting them in the campervan looking out... they are my twinnies, Nathan and Emily :-))... another reason I love digis so much, being so easily manipulated.  The colouring, as usual, was done with Copics and Prismacolor pencils

I made an easel card, because I love making them... the grass was cut with a die, I used it as the prop for the top of the card, and I also added a pocket "behind" or under it to put the gift card and a little tag with a jotting panel on the back

 The papers are from a 12" scrapbooking pad.  The clouds are Memory Box, mounted on foam pads.  The "Celebrate" sentiment is a digi from Create with TLC - quite possibly a freebie as Paulette is very generous :-)
I think the Happy Birthday die on the tag is from the Sizzix Tim Holtz Celebration Script Words collection, cut from black card and then coated with Glossy Accents
The little flowers are from a generic punch.  That's it.
I'd like to enter Matt's card in the following challenges

The Paper Shelter Digital Image

Aud Sentiments Summer and a Sentiment

As You Like It Flora or Fauna and Why - Fauna, I love all animals and I love using animal images because there are so many cute ones :-)

Simon Says Challenge Use More than One Stamp - Two digis used here

Allsorts Challenges Happy Birthday

Sweet Stampin' Bunnies and/or Bears

Send a Smile for Kids Anything Goes for Kids

Hiding in- my Craft Room Masculine
4 Crafty Chicks Masculine Birthday

Pile It On Sports and/or Hobbies - Camping with two little kids is more a Sport than a Hobby, lol
Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, 4 Crafty Chicks, Crafting With Friends Challenge # 67, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, A Perfect Time to Craft, Create and Inspire, Creatalicious Challenges, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Attitude and Corrosive Challenge all have Anything Goes challenges

I'll be back soon (I hope) I've made a few cards in the twist pop up style (or whatever it's called, lol) as well as the LOADS still in my drafts, so I've got plenty to share 
Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Father's Day in the Land of Oz

It's Father's Day here in Australia, I have stacks of cards in my drafts still to post but thought I'd share the cards I made for my Dad and Hubby while they're fresh, well one of them anyway.  Today is the card I made for my Dad

I made an easel card, my Dad just loves them (as do I, so that's a bit fortunate, lol)  I used an image from the Stamp Fairy - this is Lenny Father's Day 2 available here - I just visited the site to grab the link and see that they're CLOSING DOWN, gasp, better go and get some of those super cute images before they're gone!.  It wasn't until I had it all printed out and ready to go that I realised I used a Lenny image for Dad's birthday card back in May; oh well, it is a cute image and he DID really like his birthday card :-) oh, and I ran out of time (yup, again with the last minute card making scenario!) 

The image comes with both teddies "au naturel" and it didn't feel quite right, so I paper pieced a dress for the little girl (just a free hand cut shape, I made sure it had sleeves and that made it look so much more like it belonged)  I paper pieced the tie (which was already on the image) as well. Crafts 4 Eternity has a Digital challenge, Outlawz Friday Colouring Challenge and My Time to Craft have Teddy Bear challenges and Cutie Pie Challenge want us to use an image with two characters on, so I'm entering them; Hobbycutz and Corrosive Challenge want to see something for the boys so I'm entering there too.  I cut and embossed the image panel with a Crafts Too Squares die

I coloured the image with Copics and some Prismacolor pencils.  I used the sketch from Sketch and Stash this time around, I do like a nice sketch :-)  The papers are Kaisercraft, they really are beautiful IRL, with loads of gold foil, the brown cardstock is from my stash. I'll be entering Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge as my card base is (all but) covered in DP.

 The only embellishments on the card are the Kaisercraft Sparklets on the horizontal panel, they were clear - I coloured them to match the DP with one of my BG Copics, worked a dream, and they stayed nice and sparkly!  Totally Gorjuss has a Bling Challenge, so I'm entering there.

  I made the sentiment on the computer, Aud Sentiments wants to see a Sentiment Other Than Birthday, I'm in!  Clear It Out, OSAAT, Crafty Girls Challenge, Catch The Bug, Art by Miran and Papertake Weekly all have Anything Goes challenges running so I'm entering them too.

 That's it for my Dad's card.  I hope he had a lovely day - we had the family all over for BBQ breakfast, my sister is up from the bush so with her and the twins it got pretty noisy, lol. Happy Father's Day to everyone celebrating today :-)  I'll be back in a few days with my hubby's card (or one from my draft folder, gotta get into that soon!)  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Time to "Wine" Down

Well, I had my gallbladder removed  (or Cholecystectomy, if you want the posh term, lol) and am now recuperating at my favourite place; Margaret River.  It went well enough, for some reason it took a lot to come out of the anaesthetic , my hubby thoughtfully (?!!) took a pic of me at my worst... no I'm NOT going to share!  I had a bit of pain, mainly from the gas they blow you up with, and the bruising from that is pretty spectacular (two of my friends didn't have anything like this, so I don't know why I did)  As I can't drive for another week, we thought we'd come Down South for a week of R&R, involving Wine and (less than usual as my digestion is doing some adjusting) Cheese... of course!  Here's a pic taken on my ipad - as I left the recharger for my camera at home, duh.  Cheeky rosé mine, beer hubby's :-) he moved to wine and port - very relaxing

I have finally got a bit of time to blog, so I'm going to post a few cards and o some visiting, ah, lovely.  The card I have today is actually one of the more recent ones I have in my drafts, I made it for my Dad's 85th birthday (gosh that sounds old!) in May.

The fab image is from the Stamp Fairy, I have loads of Stamp Fairy images, just love 'em, this is one of the Lenny Cupcakes set and perfect for a "Dad" card - birthday or Father's Day.  Charisma Cardz, Allsorts Challenges, Bearly Mine Challenges, Sweet  Stampin', OSAAT , Delightful Challenges, Colour Me Copic and The Paper Shelter all have "guy" or Father's Day challenges, so I'm entering them.  I coloured with Prismacolor pencils, giving the textured look I was after. The papers are Kaisercraft, the Save the Date pad - which I think they're discontinuing which is a shame, great papers!

I added the gloss to the noses, flame and candle  and glitter to the icing with embossing powder (I made my own glittery embossing powder simply by adding fine glitter to clear detail embossing powder, it's so much better than just adding loose glitter and dries quicker than Stickles)  Aud Sentiments has a Bingo Challenge, I've used the Die Cut/Embossing/Two Word Sentiment line - the sentiment is stamped on one of the die cuts that came in the pad.  The "Dad" sticker is on a big brad, from Doodlebug I think.  The inside of the card is finished to match the front, more of the same paper, another big brad, more stickers!

I used a sketch from Papertake Weekly... they have a regular "Sketchie Free For All" challenge where you can use any of their sketches, so I often go there to find a sketch for a card I'm not going to blog straight away, mmm,  actually I often go there to find a sketch full stop! This is Sketch # 46, one of many to choose from :-)  I've got a few more cards in my draft that have used other Papertake sketches, I might just have to get them blogged while the free for all is on, lol.  The Simon Says Challenge has an Anything Goes theme, so I'm entering there too.

That's it for today's card, I'll be back in a day or so with another - girly one next time I think.  I'm off now to a winery for lunch, it's really cool today - about 15C - so the fire will be on... lovely!!  Might swing past the Candy Cow (homemade fudge, yum yum) on the way home, or maybe the Margaret River Providore for some dhukka and relish - ah, choices choices, lol. We had rain this morning and the kookaburras are telling me we're in for some more later, we'll be snug in our cabin by then :-)  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna 

When is a Challenge NOT a Challenge?

For me the theme of this fortnight's Challenge at Here Come The Boys was no Challenge at all... it's "Use A Digi" and I LOVE my digis :-)

As some of you may know, my son Matt is in hospital at the moment having seriously injured his foot (he has had two toes amputated last week, more surgery to follow) I thought this cute little fellow from The Stamp Fairy would cheer him up - as much as possible.  Gem of a Challenge has Teddies as their challenge theme so I'm entering there, 

I used the sketch from  Papertake Weekly, this is "this week's" sketch though they have a Sketchie Free For All so I could have chosen any one of their previous fab sketches :-)

Now, one of the reasons I LOVE digis is their flexibility. This image (Get Well Barry) actually came with the bandage on the other foot - by simply flipping the image horizontally in Word the bandage appears on the right foot, which is the right foot as in the same foot that Matt has injured.  Hobbycutz wants us to use something Beginning with H - my teddy is "Hurt" so I'm entering there with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek - and I'm entering Cards for Men Let's Get Sporty challenge on the same basis; even though Matt was hurt at work (he's self employed so, no, not Workers Compensation!) and not doing sport :-)

I thought this was very clever, exploiting the mirror image effect, until I looked at this card I made for an engagement some time back when I flipped the image simply because I liked the look of it better that way... then realized that it means the young lady now has her engagement ring on the wrong hand!! OOPS! Nobody said anything, ah well got away with that one :-)

I coloured with Copics, and made the sentiment in Word - Matt is confined to bed with his leg elevated on a James Cushion 24 hours a day and he can't put any weight on the injured foot for another seven weeks, longer if the doctors decide tomorrow he needs more surgery so I'm sure he's looking forward to getting back on his feet.

The papers are from Kaisercraft's Up Up and Away Collection, The stripy horizontal panel is one of the die cuts from the pack.  The chocolate cardstock is Bazzill, I  think. I used more of the same inside.  All the panels are cut with Nestabilities Wonky Squares, I don't know why, I just think of them as most suitable for masculine cards, lol.

Simon Says Challenge, Stampin' for the Weekend and Stamping With The Dragon all have Anything Goes challenges so I'm entering them too.

That's about it for my card... I think I spun a long enough tale about a card that has absolutely NO embellishments on it, lol.

Pop over to the Here Come The Boys Blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration - awesome as always!  Hope you get a chance to enter the challenge too, Use a Digi... what could be easier?!

On a personal note, I'd like to thank all you kind people that have been sending Cyber Hugs for Matthew and us - it means a lot.  He has lost his toes completely, including the webbing, which is a disappointment but he is handling it very well, which helps us to do the same.  

He misses his babies, (I thought I'd add the pictures I took on my phone to send to him the other day, we send pictures and videos every day, thank goodness for iPhones and the internet!) but we all met in Fremantle today so he could come out of hospital for a few hours to have a cuddle with them - the first time he's seen them in nearly two weeks, it brought a very large lump to all our throats.  With any luck, for which we are surely due, he can come home at the end of next week and hopefully get signed over to a surgeon at a hospital closer to home for any future surgery and rehab.  

I am taking my parents down tomorrow morning to see him, they haven't seen him for a week - it's just so hard to coordinate it all, then I'm bringing them back home and going to Matt and Elaine's to do the afternoon shift feed/bath/bed routine with the babies.  My hubby will have to fend for himself - he may savour the peace and quiet after the hectic three weeks we've had, lol.

Anyway until next time, Happy Crafting (and have some for me while my craft time is so restricted!) Donna