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

Twofer

Well, AGAIN Long Time No See :-)  Today I thought I'd add the oldest cards from my Draft Folder - they are both sympathy cards for our friends on the loss of OUR friend their mother, Thelma... the second one I was too embarrassed to dedicate a post to so I've snuck it on the end of this post, hence the "Twofer" title.  I did make a nice card for Thelma's hubby, that can come another day - today we have the "runners-up", lol

Here's the first one

To be honest, this card does look SO much nicer in real life, I was happy with it.  The gorgeous embossed card is pearlised, the embossing is very heavy, I got it from my favourite "speciality" paper store Starfish Lane with my birthday voucher from Son #2 :-)  

The lace ribbon with glittery bits came from there too, the pearl and rhinestone embellishment was from eBay.  I added a very fibrous dark brown ribbon on the top edge of the lace ribbon - the whole card is very tactile and using good quality papers and embellies was essential to the finished effect

I used a sentiment I have used before for Sympathy cards, just typed out on the computer.  The small flourish at the bottom is a Memory Box die (Ivy Tendril I think).  That's it!  

The inside is finished along the same lines as the outside, as per usual

Now, the feeling of quality the first card had just didn't happen with my second card; it should have, I used great quality paper from Starfish Lane again, but to be honest I'd spent so much time on the Widower's card I was pushing it to do anything too elaborate for the other two cards - I wanted them to be different and ended up with one just looking second-rate.  In the interest of warts and all crafting, here it is...

 I used a Portacraft embossing folder (which I obviously like because I've bought it twice, lol) sponged with burgundy ink on the one half and added the floral paper, which is really very nice in real life, with a subtle glittery sheen to it, matted onto burgundy card to the other half.  The burgundy trim covering the join is also from SFL.  The sentiment is available on my freebies page, here; the matt was cut with Nestabilities and ink added to the edge to tie it all together.  A couple of burgundy pearls from my stash and that was that.  Again, as usual, I finished the inside with elements from the front.
I'd like to enter one or other of these cards to the following challenges:

Moving Along With The Times Sentiment Only

Creatalicious Challenges Anything Goes, add a Sentiment

Cute Card Thursday Flowers, embossed on the first card, printed on the second

Die Cut Divas Flowers, embossed on the first card, printed on the second

Crafty Cardmakers  No Patterned Paper (First card)

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Patterned Paper (Second card)

Pixies Snippets Playground Use snippets (the patterned paper on the second card, why there's only half on each layer! though my lovely son bought me more for my latest birthday)

Little Miss Muffet, Cardz 4 Galz, Catch The Bug, 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, Simply Papercrafts and Corrosive Challenge all have Anything Goes themes

That's it for today... at least I've got all my cards from 2015 out of my Drafts Folder at last... except for that one sympathy card!!  I'll be back - "soon", maybe with something new (I've been adding to my dies collection like a crazy woman, lol, organizing all my stash is what's been taking up my crafting time!) until then Happy Crafting, Donna

Forget Me Nots

Well, getting worse... over a month since my last blog post, sigh.  I still have over 50 projects in my Drafts folder, so here's a card I made for my Daughter in Law's birthday last year 

I used an image from Fairy Tangles called "Forget Me Nots", hence the Post Title, isn't she gorgeous?  I coloured with Copic Markers, adding shading and detail with Prismacolor pencils... my usual (and favourite) way of colouring.  I added some glitter with Stickles and Viva Liquid Pearl "pearls" to her hair.

The image was cut with a Spellbinders oval die, the gold frame cut using Spellbinders Oval Florals die.  The sentiment was computer generated, printed on my laser printer then foil-embossed using my laminator and Deco Foil.
The lovely background paper is actually left over from the wrapping paper I used to wrap my DIL's present - it is really good quality and worked well... so well I went back to the stall I bought it from and bought some more!
I finished the inside of the card along the same lines as the outside, as I usually do :-) 
I would like to enter the following challenges:

The Paper Shelter Birthday Card
Crafty Cardmakers Birthday Card

As You Like It Favourite Colouring Medium, Copics and Prismacolor pencils... love the blending properties of the Copics and the detail the pencils add

Simon Says Challenge Sparkle and Shine

Allsorts Challenges Use Pearls... hope Liquid Pearls count!

Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets- the wrapping paper DP

Hanna and Friends Bingo Flowers/Dies/Pearls

Card Mania Challenges Spring - spring colours

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Use Patterned Paper

Cutie Pie Challenge Delightful Digis

Card Mania Challenges Spring

Create and Inspire Anything Goes, option: Dies or Stencils

Creatalicious Challenges Anything Goes option: Dies or Punches

Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafting With Friends Challenge # 65, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, A Perfect Time to Craft, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Attitude, Corrosive Challenge all have Anything Goes challenges

Well, that's it for today, I hope to be back soon with another offering - wish me luck!

Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Belated Birthday

I was going through my Drafts Folder (which has still got loads of projects in, sigh) and found this "belated birthday" card I made for my hubby's brother-in-law a couple of years ago; the thing is when I found it I realized I've missed his birthday again this year (it was last week so I'll just have to get one made and sent... late - again, lol)

The image is from Mo Manning... called, appropriately enough "I Forgot".   I coloured with Copics and Prismacolor pencils - don't I always, lol, and cut it out with a Spellbinders Nestabilities Large Scalloped Square die
I used paper from Kaisercraft's Class Act pad.  I embossed some heavy black paper to match the card base with a Cuttlebug Forest Branches embossing folder for texture then cut it with one of the (Lawn Fawn I think) Stitched Border dies that I use all the time to put the panel across the top
I added some chevron ribbon from my stash - goes well with the chevron DP - and the "OOPS" which are acrylic letters I've had for a while.  I made the "I Forgot" sentiment on the computer.  The rest of the sentiment is on the inside, and Brad's name in the acrylic letters too
The inside of the card has some of the DP and ribbon from the front; it is a gift card holder as well as a card so I made a pocket on the inside front to hold the "scratch and match" tickets we get for Brad every birthday (family joke), I used embossed yellow card on the inside to brighten it up a bit.

That's about it for this card, very simple really... it's that cute image that makes it work I reckon :-)  I would like to enter my card in the following challenges: 

Aud Sentiments Has this Bingo Board, I've used either Die Cut / Embossing / Pattern Paper or Ribbon / Digi / Die Cut

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge  Use Patterned Paper

Card Mania Challenges Embossing

The following are "Anything Goes" challenges

Creatalicious Challenges (Option: Birthday, which I've used)Create and Inspire, Simply Papercrafts, Crafting With Attitude, Corrosive Challenge, Card Mania Challenges, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, 4 Crafty Chicks, Crafting With Friends Challenge #63,  Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles and A Perfect Time to Craft 

Hope I'll be back a bit sooner next time, though it is the twins' birthday next week (they're 5 already, can you believe it?!) and I haven't made their cards yet - I'm not making their cakes this year as they are helping Mummy :-)) but I still have to get their cards done and the rest of their present sorted.  Either way, until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna

Ruby Red

I thought I'd post a "current" card today instead of one from my Draft Folder... it was our - hubby and my - 40th or "Ruby" Anniversary on 18th February, I wasn't going to "do" a post on it but as I have made a card I thought... why not? especially as I enjoyed Debby's post about HER Ruby anniversary - and I enjoyed the "blast from the past" that the photos in her post brought so I've added some of ours in the hope you'll get a chuckle out of them... at how insanely YOUNG we look if nothing else, lol.  Here's the card

The image is from Lili of the Valley, it is a digistamp and I can't tell you how stoked I am that they are doing their fabulous images as digis... I've been drooling over them for years waiting and hoping that they'd come out as digis; I have to say I've gone a little bit mad in the Paypal department since they have, lol.  This one is called  "Hearts and Flowers" - you can see how I HAD to have it can't you??  I coloured, as usual, with Copic markers adding some shadow and highlights with Prismacolor pencils. 

I used paper from DCWV's "Glitter Basics" stack, it's fabulous... this actually is a snippet - it wasn't a snippet until I butchered it over and over trying to cut the wavy edge, (Lawn Fawn Stitched Borders die, I think) with the "stitches" on the right side - you know how it goes when you over think something.  I added a burgundy red heart brad that I wrote "40" on in gold gel pen, that with some fine gold twine finished the front of the card.  Incidentally "Ruby Red"... isn't, I mean turns out Rubies AREN'T that red; hubby bought me a gorgeous natural (as opposed to "created") ruby and diamond bracelet for the occassion, and the rubies are quite pink, not "Ruby Red" at all!  Who knew?, well not ME, lol
On the inside of the card I added a sentiment that I made up using Word... the blue-eyes part is a bit of an "in joke" and no, I'm NOT sharing, lol, and that was that
I'm going to enter the card in the following challenges: 

Cupcake Inspirations has these cupcakes and the theme "Pets"... these meeces look tame enough to me to qualify :-)

Cuttlebug Mania Ribbon and Bows - hope the bow in the twine is enough

Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets - yeah, like I DON'T have enough snippets already, I made some specially, lol

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Use Patterned Paper

As You Like It Single or Multiple Layers and Why - I really like multiple Layers, I think they give a  "hand made" look, but I also like the image to shine so am tending to more CAS... so I suppose "CAS with a layer or two" best describes it ;-)

Addicted to  Stamps Have a Heart - hearts on the image, heart brad

The Crazy Challenge Use Red

Cardz 4 Galz Furry Friends

Hanna and Friends Favourite Stamp - new "fave", and it's LOTV, eek!

Aud Sentiments Anything Goes Plus a Sentiment - the sentiment is on the inside
Cute Card Thursday,Catch The Bug, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations,  4 Crafty Chicks,  Creative Fingers, Crafting With Friends Challenge 62, 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

Now for "those" wedding pics

That Flower Girl is now 50!!!!!

With my lovely Mum and Dad.  Well... the carpet WAS the height of fashion in 1978, lol

... and now a kinda "Before" and "After" ;-))

.... well it IS forty years on, give us a break :-))  Oh, and that man to the right behind hubby is our son Matt, ye gods and little fishes where HAS that time gone?!


Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna xx

Wedding Wishes

G'day!  Well, as usual, it's a lot longer between drinks than I thought!  Today I have a card I made for my nephew and his wife for their wedding... in March 2016! Long post, lots of pics... you know the drill :-))

I've used an actual STAMP for this card... it's such a beauty and not available as a digi so I just HAD to, lol.  It is Stamping Bella's Brett and Brenda Get Married.  I stamped (woops, nearly said "printed" as I'm so used to using digis) on linen card, it works extra well for images that have fabric on them, I think, Brett's suit looks very swish for example :-)  I had to stamp it four or five times before I got a "good" one...NOW I remember why I love my digis - actually NOW I know why I asked Santa for a stamping platform... what a difference, I'm stamping more (and buying more stamps, lol) than ever now I have one - and not wasting anywhere near as much

I coloured, as usual, with Copics, adding shadows and highlights with Prismacolor pencils.  I embossed the glitter on Brenda's dress with Ranger's Bridal Tinsel EP.

The black and silver DP is textured... the silver is embossed - it really is gorgeous paper, bought from my most favourite "special paper" shop Starfish Lane.  I cut the top panel with (I think, from memory) with a Spellbinders Curved Borders die, matted it on silver card cut with the same die.

The "Congratulations" came in the stamp set, I made the little tags with the bride and groom's names on adding them with black and silver ribbon saved from a gift, I like to personalize cards where I can - particularly for weddings and babies... the bride and groom really liked it, so all good

I finished the inside using the same paper for the front, we gave the couple money as their gift so I switched the decorative panel that was at the top on the front to the bottom so I could use it as a pocket for the money.  More of the personal touch here;  a tag with the wedding date on it.  I didn't have enough of the black and silver paper to cover the whole inside so I cut a frame... I actually did that on the front too, using the "cut out bit" turned 90 degrees to make the shaped panel -meaning I got a LOT of coverage out of the last bit of this super paper from my collection; I'm such a lucky girl... my son bought me a "Starfish Lane" voucher for Christmas, so I'll be topping up my (already embarrassingly large) stash of "special paper" soon, I really hope they've got more of this one

That's it for my nephew's wedding card, I'd like to enter it into these challenges:

As You Like It Favourite Way to Add a Sentiment

Cardz 4 Galz Stamping (No Digis)

My Time to Craft Monochrome

Crazy 4 Challenges #420 Add a Heart

Crafty Cardmakers Love and Romance

Allsorts Challenge I Spy... Something Beginning with B  - B is for Bride

Hanna and Friends Favourite Stamp

Pixies Snippets Playground Use Snippets - Oh yeah, the black and silver is ALL scraps :-)

Cute As A Button, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, 4 Crafty Chicks, Crafting With Friends Challenge 61, Creative Fingers,Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends,  Polkadoodles, A Perfect Time to Craft, Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge, Create and Inspire, Creatalicious Challenges, Simply Papercrafts. Crafting With Attitude and Corrosive Challenge All have Anything Goes challenges

Okey Dokey... with any luck I'll be back much sooner next time: it was our Anniversary last weekend, "Ruby"... 40 YEARS!!  Let me tell ya, it's gone FAST

It was also my son's birthday last weekend... he was 37 on Saturday; it was all arranged to go to a new, very flash Mini Golf (that he was involved in landscaping) place on Saturday afternoon... long story short, we got a call at 10.30 Friday night from his wife telling us he was on his way to Joondalup Hospital in an ambulance having just had a bad reaction to an antibiotic, the first in a course of pills he's had before (when he lost his toes) without reaction... the paramedics took 20 minutes to stabilise him before they could go to the hospital.  He had a "biphasic response" (secondary reaction) sometime later, spent until the next evening in hospital - forget golf!  He came to ours instead - he still looked like a red MM even then.  He has had anaphylaxis before (guinea pigs, lol) but this time they said it was anaphylactic shock, which is different (worse?) - poor Matt

We are going to a very nice hotel (Crown Towers Perth) for a couple of days as a belated celebration of our anniversary, I'm taking Mrs McLappy so you never know, I may get some bloggin' done :-))  Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna