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

BBQ in a Box

G'day from WA :-)  The project I have today is a card-in-a-box I made for my son Chris's birthday... in 2015! (Well his birthday IS at the end of November so it's not as dire as it sounds, lol)  We bought him a barbecue as his gift so I thought I'd make a card that went with it

I thought the black and silver was "manly", and the papers I used were, in fact, part of the box of goodies said son bought me for MY birthday - he likes to know what he has chosen is "useful" to me so it gives him a buzz when he sees it "in action".  The black with silver glitter on it is a tissue sort of paper, the snippet of grey and white stripe is flocked and the silver and white on top is foil; all the food groups covered there :-)  The black and white polka dot strip is also paper, though I could just as easily have used ribbon.  The stars (MFT Die-Namics Stacking Stars) on the top are attached to acetate strips, 
I made the whole box from silver card, the decorative strip around the middle is cut using a die.  Of course the real feature of a "card-in-a-box" is what's IN the box... so here it is

Obviously, all the same elements used on the inside as on the outside... plus black leathergrain card. The barbecue is made from that card, the legs are black straws with an eyelet joining them and the wheels are Card Candi I've had in my stash for years.  
The controls on the bbq are silver flat back "pearls" and the red "light" is a hole-less pearl.  I used a jewellery finding (the type that you use to have a multiple string necklace) as a handle for the bbq lid.
Having a son called Chris is handy sometimes... the "Chris" on the right-hand panel was cut from a "Christmas" die, Memory Box I think, the Happy Birthday is an Elizabeth Crafts die and the 31 are Kaisercraft
The lid of the barbie opens too: I wish the plate of MY barbecue was as clean and shiny as it is on THIS one, lol

That's about it for my bbq in a box.  I would like to enter it into the following challenges:

As You Like It: Favourite Die and Why - "Chris", from the "Christmas" die... I love it because I love Christmas, use it a lot ... and the die cuts nicely too :-))

Card Mania Challenges Monochromatic
Crazy 4 Challenges #419 "Opposites" - black and white

Fab'n'Funky Challenges With a Number

Allsorts Challenges Old Favourites - the Christmas die, and those silver "pearls"

Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets (striped paper)
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Use Patterned Paper
Tuesday Throwdown, Aud Sentiments, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Creatalicious Challenges, Paper Creator Crafts, 4 Crafty Chicks, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, Crafting With Friends Challenge 59, Corrosive Challenge, Little Miss Muffet, Create and Inspire, Crafty  Creations, Creative Fingers and Simply Papercrafts all have Anything Goes Challenges

I'll be back soon (hopefully) with another offering, quite likely from my drafts... though I have been adding to THAT recently so it may not be an "old" make.  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

Oh "Deer", More Christmas Cards

Yup, it's another simple Christmas card (or two) from me today.  I will blog something different next time... promise!  These were made for this Christmas (2017); you can tell by their simplicity, lol.  They did look pretty nice IRL, truly :-)
The first is a scene that I made using inspiration from Pinterest
 
I embossed the base of the card with a really nice snowflake embossing folder from Die'sire (I think)... unfortunately it's a bit "munted" along one edge where I forced it through my Big Shot (causing some damage to that too, sigh) in a moment best described as, umm, tantrum!  I was tired, it wasn't going through - so I made it, I'm not proud, lol... and I have to try and replace the folder!  I cut the circle out of the gold foiled card with a Stitched Circle die set from Li'l Inkers that I've had for ages and hardly used, though I LOVE it.  I sponged in some sky, with a masked off moon, with pigment ink.  The snowbanks were cut from glittery fun foam using Stitched Hillside Border dies from Lawn Fawn... again I've hardly used them despite loving them!

The deer are Cottage Cutz, I used a snippet of gold-glittery card - it really WAS a snippet; I actually didn't have enough to do a complete deer, so Mr Deer has had a foot amputated... that's why it's tucked behind the frame :-)  Pixies Snippets Playground Snippets is well covered here, as is Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge: Anything Christmas, Option- Upcycle or use something old... that glitter paper is ANCIENT :-) 
The deer are popped up on foam dots, the hills are on different layers and the whole gold piece is up higher on more foam dots.  Tuesday Throwdown has "Layer It Up" as it's challenge theme, I think this qualifies, lol.  The snowflake dies were from a set of four on eBay... they were technically "for Christmas", but as I bought "a few" dies as my Christmas gift from hubby, I was able to filter out the ones I could use BEFORE Christmas - these cut beautifully and I have found that the fun foam is SO much sturdier than card, especially glittery card; this cut cleanly and you could really tug it out of the dies, be slapdash with the glue and position them more than once - try THAT with card, lol.  A few flat back pearls in the centres helped break it up.  Jingle Belles has "Look What Santa Brought Me" as their challenge theme, Santa was busy so I brought me with these dies - so I'm in, lol, Allsorts Challenges wants to see Something New as does Cute Card Thursday and 4 Crafty Chicks has Anything Goes with a "Use Dies or Punches" twist... in there too.
The second card is even more simple: I had the scalloped-edged card in my stash, I embossed it with a Couture Creations folder "Sugarplum Ball"... what a lovely crisp finish it gives!  
The image is from the net, I used my laser printer to print on linen card and laminator to add the foil... the sentiment is from Pink Petticoat, it doesn't show in the pics but that is gold foil too.  I just tied it on to the gold cord wrapped around the flap of the card. Done.  Card Mania Challenges has a Monochromatic theme, this should do, and The Crazy Challenge has Winter Wonderland - I think either card will do there, and either will do in these "Anything Goes" or "Anything Christmas" challenges:

As You Like It, Catch The Bug, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Digi Choosday, Crafty  Creations, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, Creatalicious Challenges, Crafting With Attitude, Paper Creator Crafts, Corrosive Challenge, A Snowflakes Promise, and  12 Months of Christmas all have Anything Goes or Anything Christmas Goes themes

Like I said I'll bring something better to the table next time... or at least it won't be Christmas!  Until then, Happy Crafting, Donna

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

Koala Christmas

Well, another month has gone since I last posted, who knows where the time goes?  
This is a card I made for my Aunty in Wales; we live in Australia and the sun is blazing at Christmas time, so I usually try NOT to use "traditional" Christmas images on cards I'm sending to the UK... coals to Newcastle and all that :-) 

The truth is I've been suffering from depression for a while - it's a longstanding struggle and Mum's death and Dad's demise has knocked me.  I'm finding it hard to get enjoyment out of Blogging, anything really, even crafting - luckily this little chap "found" me and I really enjoyed making this card... leaving plenty of offerings in my Drafts Folder, some actually worth Blogging, lol.  
He is a digi stamp called, unsurprisingly, "Digistamp Koala from Lili of the Valley but he came sans hat; I added a digi hat - I DO love digis, so versatile... do you want to know HOW glad I am LOTV started doing digis?? Well, VERY :-)) He is one of their "bears" - even though koalas are NOT bears, and of course while I was there I HAD to buy the entire gorgeous Alpha Bears and NumBears collections, it seemed rude not to :-) 
I coloured with Copics and Prismacolor pencils, adding Stickles to the fur trim and Glossy Accents to his nose.  Koalas don't actually have glossy noses, so a bit of poetic license, lol, and they are not native to my state of Western Australia so MORE poetic license... still I did say "From Australia" not "From Western Australia" :-)
The latest "thing" in my life is foil embossing.  I bought a laser printer and already had a laminator so I've been "foiling" like a mad thing.  I generated the sentiment in Word then foiled it in gold.... I have discovered that foil is as hard as sparkle to capture in a pic! Doesn't show at all in this one, sigh. Looks good IRL... yeah, I know they all say that! 

The frame is cut with a Paper Roses Stitched Frames die, they cut beautifully, btw, using American Craft card - I must say this cuts SO much cleaner than the Kaisercraft card I usually use.  I kept the whole thing pretty flat for posting Air Mail. The background paper is from Wild Rose Studio, it's lovely, but it is paper, not card, so a sharp blade is a must for a clean finish.  The piece on the front actually had a square cut out of the middle that I used on another card, as did the outer mat. - love getting double duty out of supplies - AND it kept the weight down for mailing :-) I used another sheet from the Annabelle's Christmas pack for the inside.
That's it.  I am doing "Christmas" stuff today.... hubby has had to go to work, yup, on a Sunday (he is definitely too old for this cr@p, lol) so I am making hay as it were
I am entering my card in the following challenges... one thing for sure there's an embarrassment of riches at this time of year when you make a Christmas card, lol
Hiding in- my Craft Room Use a Digital Image

Simon Says Challenge Stitch It

Cute Card Thursday Festive Colours

Allsorts Challenges Cold and Frosty Colours

Pile It On Non Traditional Colours

Little Red Wagon Christmas Critters - Christmas is in summer in Australia, hope my festive koala fits the bill, please ignore my entry if not

4 Crafty Chicks Christmas/Winter Critters; again, hope my Santa Koala fits the "Christmas" part of the challenge, Christmas being a summer event here.  If not sorry for the inconvenience

Animal Friends Anything Goes using an animal image

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge Patterned Paper

My Time to Craft, Cuttlebug Mania, Winter Wonderland, Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge, Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra Challenge, Paper Creator Crafts, The Crazy Challenge, 12 Months of Christmas, Addicted to  Stamps all have "Christmas" or seasonal challenges, while

Tuesday Throwdown Is either Christmas or Anything Goes… they didn't say

Pixies Snippets Playground Use snippets - the blue card.. And the paper on the front

Cupcake Inspirations These gorgeous cupcakes with a "Holiday" theme 

Cute As A Button, Little Miss Muffet, Through the Craftroom Door, Crafty  Creations, Crafting With Friends  Challenge #57, Creative Fingers, Li'l Patch of Crafty Friends, Polkadoodles, Create and Inspire, Creatalicious Challenges, Simply Papercrafts, Corrosive Challenge, Crafting With Attitude, Card Mania Challenges are all Anything Goes challenges

I will be back before Christmas, this is my goal, and I'll probably Blog multiple cards as I HAVE "mass produced" to a certain extent and I'm embarrassed to dedicate a whole post to each foiled card.  I can slip in some of the less than stellar offerings from my Drafts while I'm at it, teehee.
Until next time, Happy Crafting, Donna