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

Birth-Day vs Birthday at Di's Digis

So yet another fortnight has whizzed by and it's time for a new challenge at Di's Digis.  The theme this time around is "Birthdays", but I'll be honest and tell you I got distracted half way through making my card, which was going to be for my grandson's birthday in March, when my husband's great niece had a baby boy on Tuesday - I got all excited having such a cute image all coloured up ready and decided to use it for a "baby" card.... so this is stretching the theme as it's for a "Birth-Day" vs a "Birthday".

The image - told you it's CUTE, lol - is called Animal Crew and is available here.  As usual I used Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils to colour the image, quite a bit of pencil this time around - I'm really happy with the lion's mane and just couldn't get this effect without using the white pencil.  I added gloss to the balloon, think I might add some to the lion's nose, not sure yet.

This is quite a big card (21.5 x 14.5 cm or roughly 81/2" x 6"), it's one of the things I love about digis; the ability to scale them up or down to suit your card size.  Right from the outset I was determined to make this a "one layer" style card, I've been admiring Netty's work for some time and this is the look I've been trying to emulate (err, alright, copy, lol) without much success... I am definitely closer this time!!  Still a ways off though, oh well something to aspire to :-)
I used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch  it really lends itself to this style of card. 
The patterned paper is from Die Cuts With a View, the Animal Crackers pad; it's an 8x8 pad so it fit the card without matting (in fact it's cut down).  The blue cardstock is leftovers from my stash, the star punch is one my folks brought back from one of their Malaysian trips, and the star safety pin embellie is from a pack I've had for years.  
The twine is from my stash too; the day after I finished this card I found a pack of blue paper string which actually looks better, but it's too fiddly to change so I'll stick with the twine.
I used the "Congrats" die from Sizzix Celebrate Words die set, I added gloss to it: I think it looks more "finished" that way.
As always I finished the inside of the card to suit the front, I stamped the sentiment inside using Memento ink and stamps from a couple of sets (Kaisercraft both, I think) that have been gathering dust in my CD holder (that's how I store my clear stamp sets) until I bought my Stamp-a-Ma-jig... now I'm stamping all the time 'coz I can get them straight... I know this doesn't look that straight, but trust me IRL it is!!
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges;

Great Impressions Any Celebration

Simon Says Challenge One layer, can add embellishments

Hiding in my Craft Room Super Scraps Saturday

Clear It Out Theme: Anything Goes Stash: Twine

Simply Papercrafts Anything Goes

Little Miss Muffet Anything Goes

That Craft Place Anything Goes

Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes

Addicted to  Stamps Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Anything Goes

Creative Fingers Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

Well that's it for the card, loving this style; it lets the image shine, and as colouring images is my favourite part of card making I'm happy because I get to spend more time colouring and less time assembling!

I hope you get a chance to enter the challenge this time around "Birthday" is an easy theme - even if you are me and stuff it up a bit :-))  There's a great prize on offer from Craftin' Desert Diva's shop and also a prize from SVG Attic and dont' forget if you use one of Di's fab digis OR a Candibean rubber stamp you go into an extra draw with it's very own prize, yeehaw!!

I'll be back soon; my Drafts folder is burgeoning I really DO have to sort it out and get it published!  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

It's February Already

Yup, it's February ALREADY, eek.  It's the first of the month so it's time for a new challenge at Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge... where it's really no challenge at all as all you have to do is use patterned paper somewhere on your creation :-))  I made a sympathy card as they're the sort of card we all need at some point and are loathe to make "on demand" as it were - good to have one or two on hand.

I cut two of the corners with my 1" corner cutter... I rarely use this, now I see how much it cuts the card down I can see why, it looks alright when used as a feature though, in my opinion anyway.

The background paper is GORGEOUS in real life, the green foil is really lush against the charcoal background; it is from my "special" papers box... most of those come from my favourite shop Starfish Lane... either as treat-myself purchases or with the proceeds of gift vouchers from my lovely son Chris - as this was :-)  The image is from Beccy's Place, it was a freebie  called simply  "Magnolia"
I broke with tradition this time around and used only Prismacolor pencils to colour the image... well not really broke; I printed the image on Versa Linen card and I usually use pencils on the heavier textured card as I have found that gives a nicer finish than Copics... well I think so! 
I did manage to get some Copic action happening though; the pearl in the centre of the embellishment on the ribbon was cream, I coloured it to suit with a Yellow Green Copic.  The ribbon is VERY glittery (let me translate, it loses fine black glittery bits all over the place!!) and didn't look good tied in a bow, or even a knot, so all I did was gather it with a little cotton and plonk the embellishment on, as I only had a little bit left it worked out well as I ended up with (just!) enough for the inside
The sentiment is from a set I've had for years; stamped in green pigment ink and embossed with clear... not that the gloss shows.

I cut the image panel with Spellbinders Standard Ovals and the mat (which I embossed with homemade black glitter EP) with Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Ovals.
As usual I finished the inside with elements from the front of the card... instead of the rhinestone/pearl embellishment from the front I used three flat back pearl embellies... they started life cream too, lol.  I didn't gather the ribbon this time, so it needed more pearls.
That's it for today's card, pop over to the blog and check out the rest of the team's inspiration, hope you get a chance to join in the challenge this time around: great prize as always and the theme is so easy, why not??
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Hanna and Friends Die Cuts

Crafty Cardmakers Die Cuts and/or Punches

As You Like It One or Multi-Layer (I'm going for "Multi-Layer" coz they're easier, lol, but I love One layer too!)

Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets (ribbon, I have about 2cm left, sob)

Aud Sentiments Anything Goes with a Sentiment

Hiding in my Craft Room Freestyle

Little Miss Muffet Anything Goes

That Craft Place Anything Goes

Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes

Addicted to  Stamps Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts Anything Goes

Simon Says Challenge Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Anything Goes

I'll be back soon (with something from my drafts I think, or maybe the cake I did for the twin's first birthday, seems as I'm already thinking about their THIRD which is on Easter Monday)  I have been press ganged into making a cake this week for one of my son's friends; I made a cake just before Christmas, now it only seems right that her eldest daughter get the same sort of cake - Sep's a nice lady so I said yes even though I don't do cakes "commercially" any more; three years of wedding cakes for a shop cured me of THAT, lol
Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Use Lots of Red at Di's Digis

Soooo, it looks like this year is following the same pattern as last year; it's HURTLING by!!  Time (already) for a new challenge at Di's Digis, the theme this time around is to Use Lots of Red.  I decided (sticking, for the time being at least with my New Year's Resolution/promise to self to make a Christmas card, here it is!

The cutest of cute images is called Believe in the Magic (which incidentally I DO... I LOVE Christmas!!) and it's available here.  I coloured with Copics and added some highlights with Prismacolor pencils.  I used E000 and E0000 for the shading around the image, I'm finding I like the warm glow it gives pics like this where blue sky isn't really appropriate and grey just looks dull.

I added Sparkly Fluff to the fur trim and embossed the snow with white Embossing Powder mixed with Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Jewels in Iced Snow flavour (actually I did the fur trim in that first and it just didn't look right, it needed to have less shine than the snow, the Sparkly Fluff really did the trick, though it did like to spread itself around, lol, I was brushing it off for ages!)  

I embossed the trees, cut with Couture Creations dies (Intricutz Merry Little Christmas Collection), with the white EP/Glittery flakes combo too, nice and sparkly IRL.  I had the trees in front of the image panel but they were a bit overpowering, I tucked them behind and then didn't have the effect I wanted of the line the little cuties are on to be suspended between trees... so I cut the trees on their sides  and tucked most of them behind the image panel (which is elevated on foam dots) and had just one branch twisting on to the front to look like it's holding the line... it  looks better in real lie than in the pics... honest!
The papers are from Basic Grey's Jovial Collection; the pad's nearly gone now - I'll have to try and find it again, love it!  The sentiment is called 'Tis the Season and you can get it here from Pink Gem Designs, I just checked out the site to get the link... and now I'm going to have to go and grab some of the latest sentiments, me likey!!

As usual I've finished the inside of the card with elements from the front... I don't overdo the inside of Christmas cards as a rule, but that might be because I'm usually hammering them out the week before Christmas; that excuse isn't going to wash when you're on your third Christmas card and it's still January, lol, so I may just get a bit more elaborate with the inside of the next one.... maybe!
In all there's "Lots of Red" on this card, it's not crazy bright over the top but definitely fits the bill... so you can see how easy it is to make something to join in the challenge - I hope you do.  You can pop over to the Challenge blog and see plenty of red, great inspiration... and of course that special February day is coming up where red can really come into it's own... so what are you waiting for? Here's a link to make it easy for you.  
There's a great prize on offer as always, this time around it's from Your Next Stamp, and as an added bonus they're offering a 20% discount for the duration of this challenge, just use the code "DDDC20" at checkout.  Don't forget too that if you use one of Di's gorgeous images there's extra opportunities to win.
Today's card will be entered in the following challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketch

Tuesday Morning Sketches Sketch, (optional Winter Theme)

As You Like It One or Multi-Layer (I Love "One" but find them quite hard… and I also Love "Multi-Layer" so I'm going for that - coz they're easier, lol)

Moving Along With The Times Embossing

Hanna and Friends Die Cuts

Crafty Cardmakers Die Cuts and/or Punches (I've used both; the sentiment is cut using a Fiskars punch)

The Crazy Challenge Ribbon (Ho Ho Ho!)
Cuttlebug Mania Baby it's Cold Outside

Fab'n'funky Challenges Christmas

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Extra Challenge Anything Christmas Goes

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge Frame It (I did, lol)
Jingle Belles Bling on the Holidays

Aud Sentiments Anything with a Sentiment Goes

Tuesday Throwdown Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

Simon Says Challenge Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes

That Craft Place Anything Goes

Little Miss Muffet Anything Goes

I'll be back on Monday with a card for the Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge... which is monthly and just goes to show just HOW fast this year's zipping by!!  Until then Happy Crafting, Donna

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Well I thought it was time, REALLY time that I got the last of my Christmas 2014 cards out of my draft folder... so here they are!!  Very simple they are too; they were  made on the "Last" day of pre-Christmas cardmaking, err, make that Christmas Eve, so it was a case of needs-must :-))

For the first card I used one of Bugaboo's cute Fancy Sunbonnet images.... this one is "Fancy Sunbonnet Present", you can get it at here.  I coloured with Copics and added some details with Prismacolor pencils, I also added gloss to the holly berries and glitter to the dots on the parcel.

The card itself is Kraft and the papers are from Kaisercraft, the Christmas Carol collection and, mmmm, another pad I can't remember the name of. The green matting was from my stash.  The "jingle" was cut in corrugated gold foil card with one of the Sizzix Thinlits Holiday Words set by Tim Holt - or is that "one of Tim Holtz Holiday Words set by Sizzix"...? I dunno!!  I added a gold flat back as the dot on the "i"... but I forgot to add one to the "j".... in fact I didn't even think about it until I just looked at the pic :-) 

I never do much on the inside of my Christmas cards... and when you make them on Christmas Eve at about 6pm, they REALLY don't get much; just my all time favourite Christmas sentiment (from a now unavailable Tickled Pink Stamps set) stamped in green Staz On ink and backed up with a red mat (stash again)

My second card looked much nicer in real life than it does in the pics - the other thing about finishing one of your neighbour's Christmas cards about 30 seconds before you take it and their gift over is that you don't get a lot of time to take decent pictures of it, lol.

 

I used Versa Linen card as the card base and for the image... which is a digi from Doodle Pantry, The Merry Deer set (which is fabulous value; outline and coloured images of several different deer, papers and sentiments - all for $2.25); having just visited the site I see that you can get matching SVG files... might just have to go back and grab those :-)

I coloured with Copics and used a Versamark pen to go over the snowflake then embossed it with Bridal Tinsel Embossing powder... it looks white in the pic, but was very glittery in reality.  The gold card I used for matting was from my stash as was the sentiment - which were from my embarrassingly large sticker (or peel offs) collection.I used another favourite stamp for the inside, my sister gave me this stamp and all I can say about it is that it's one of the three wood mounted stamps I own, I've had it for years and Fiona had it for years before that... sorry that doesn't help if you like it and want to get one of your own, lol.

Picture Inspiration, Catch the Bug Challenge

One or other of these cards fit the following challenges: 

Hiding in my Craft Room Any Holiday

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Extra Challenge Christmas

Hanna and Friends Die Cuts

Cutie Pie Challenge Krafty Cuties

Catch The Bug Picture (reindeer)

Creatalicious Challenges Snowflakes

Simon Says Challenge Critters

Moving Along With The Times Embossing

Pixies Snippets Playground Use Snippets (polka dot strip, matting)

That Craft Place Anything Goes

Inky Chicks Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts Anything Goes

Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

That's it for today.  We've had the family over today as it is Australia Day and therefore a Public Holiday.  

We celebrate by having breakfast... which we do for a lot of family events.... we used to have a Barbecue brekkie, but for the last ten years or so since we built the pizza oven it's been Breakfast Pizzas (we still have the snaggers or sausages, though now they're cooked in the pizza oven: This tradition nearly came to an end in 2013 when the swallowing of a piece of said sausage WITH FORK ATTACHED came close to costing our little Rocky dog his life, and DID involve costing us thousands of dollars and a lot of stress... if you want to read about it here's the original post... the start of the saga at least!)  But the yumminess prevailed so we still do the brekkie pizza thing at a lot of our family get togethers... especially when we have a swim after, as we did today.

Emily's ready for the pool

Nathan and his Grandad... my hubby!!

The bigger they are.... the bigger the spash!

The kids get a lot out of the pool now, they are going to be real fish, lol.  

Glass cleaning comin' up

Here's a couple of pics of them ready to swim and of MY kids doing bombies (they're big kids now, so they got to clean the glass fence of all the KERSPLASH they managed to create, lol) also one of Emily doing her "Geronimo" into the pool... they simply have no fear!

GERONIMO

I'll be back on the weekend with a couple of DT cards, Until then Happy Crafting, Donna

S"now Challenge at all!!

Well do you like my Post title??  Corny huh? :-)  The new challenge starting today at Di's Digis has the theme.... can you guess?.... Snow or Snowflake(s). I have used the opportunity to make a TRULY early start on my 2016 Christmas cards!  This one has an acetate front; the one thing that's even harder to capture in a photograph than glitter is acetate... so it is a picture-heavy post - and loooooooong ... warned ya!!

It looks like the image (the cuter than cute The Magic of Christmas available here)is stuck to the inside of the acetate but it's not; I wanted it to "hang" from the inside of the card rather than be back on an angle, as it would be if stuck to the "inside" of the card, so I worked out a system.  I'm sure it's not original, but I haven't seen this exact way of doing it before so I'm claiming it, lol.  

Well to be honest "system" is putting it a bit strongly, all I did was fold a small tab of the (very thick) acetate I used on the front of the card and stick it behind the image; when you push the card closed it flattens the tab down and the card is perfect for posting, when you pull the tab so it's 90 degrees to the back panel it holds the image panel out from the back panel meaning it's easier to see with the card standing "open".... I think you've probably worked out from all that "verbage" why there's a lot of pics, them speaking a thousand words and all -)) 

Straight out of the envelope :-)

Flattened for posting

With the acetate "tab" opened out

Here's the  "apparatus"... alias "bit of acetate", lol, and how the card looks when ready for posting as well as what it looks like when it first comes out of the envelope!

The panels at the top and bottom of the acetate front are embossed with Darice embossing folders... they are two of a set of three in the Seasonal Theme Embossing Folders set... I made sure I used the snowflake one to fit the theme, heat embossed with Ranger Bridal Tinsel EP... I know, it doesn't show in the pic, sigh.  A sliver of gold card adds a touch of elegance, I think :-) Paper Smooches Dots and Dashes dies were used to cut the edges of the embossed panels, it just finished them off somehow.  

I used a Joycraft Snowflake die to cut a gold snowflake (just to make EXTRA sure I had the theme covered, lol) and added a rhinestone and pearl embellishment from my stash to the centre to finish it off.
The "inside" of the card (which of course you can see most of from the outside) had a strip of paper from the same pack as the background (Wild Rose Studio's Annabelle's Xmas Pack) and a Memory Box Ivy Tendril die cut in gold to add interest, and to tie in the gold mat behind the image.

I coloured the image with Copics, and used the snowy sky paper I created before Christmas as a background (it's available in two colours on my freebies page, here, if you're interested) I added some Ice Stickles to the fur trim and snow on the image, it's pleasingly sparkly IRL :-))
I was going to use the back of the image panel as a jotting space, but decided the recipient may never find it!  So I added a panel to the rear of the card for that purpose and stamped a sentiment - my favourite Christmas sentiment, from (the sadly now defunct)  Tickled Pink Stamps - using Memento ink and my stamp-a-ma-jig... I LOVE that thing, it's made the world of difference to how often I'm prepared to use a rubber stamp;

I always botched it before I got this brilliant tool, not anymore :-
That's it for today's card, it's really very simple, just difficult to describe!  I hope you get a chance to pop over to the challenge blog and have a look at all the snowy wonderfulness there... and that you get a chance to enter the challenge too; great prize on offer as always, and if you use one of Di's cute images (digi or a Candibean rubber stamp) there's extra opportunities, WooHoo!!
I am SERIOUSLY going to be back in a few days, I even have the post ready.... well almost, rofl. In the meantime I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

As You Like It Favourite: Paper or Non Paper (paper…. At the moment, I love all crafts so it IS a "movable feast", lol

Pile It On Your First Initial … D = (Di's) Digis, Darice embossing folders… and of course a Duo of Darling mice!!

Hiding in my Craft Room Embossing

Clear It Out Theme: Winter Stash: Add a Snowflake

The Crazy Challenge Celebration

Creatalicious Challenges Something Old (Snowflake die, acetate- which is recycled packaging) Something New (Image, Embossing folders, edge dies)

Winter Wonderland Glitter and Shine

Crafty Hazlenuts Christmas Challenge Cute or Anything Christmas

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Extra Challenge Anything Goes (Christmas)

ABC Christmas Challenge A for Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion Anything Goes

Through the Craftroom Door Anything Goes

Crafting With Friends Anything Goes

Art by Miran Anything Goes

That Craft Place Anything Goes

Inky Chicks Anything Goes

Little Miss Muffet Anything Goes

Despite my post title it WAS something of a challenge for me to "think snow"... in fact I thought I'd share a pic or two of the reason I have posted this a little late: it's been really hot here and as it was still over 30C at 8 pm I was having a bit of R&R and a "quick" dip in the pool that ended up involving a cheeky chardonnay and some particularly nice gorgonzola, yum yum.  

I especially love the pool in the evenings, the frangipanis we've planted have started to bloom and the fragrance in the balmy evenings is really quite gorgeous.  Now we've finally got around to putting the lighting in it's very nice out there at night. Snow wasn't really on my mind, but I DID remember to get this post out, so here it is :-))  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna