Wishing You a Special Day

As promised from yesterday, I'm back with card #2

After fiddling around with various background papers and not being happy with anything,

I did an about turn and got out my box of flowers, a piece of muslin, some printed vellum and a music note that was lying on my desk from a previous project.

Once I was happy with the arrangement, I glued everything in position with Glossy Accents.

As this was a regular square card and there were going to be six people signing it,

I created two pockets on the inside left and included three different sized tags 

for extra writing space.

As the flowers were too lumpy bumpy for an envelope,

I made a little pizza box for the card to sit in

and tied a pretty organza ribbon around it.

 Flowers - Prima; Little Birdie Flowers; Green Tara

Stamp - Stampendous 'Birthday Wish' 

Birthday Wishes to both of these good friends.

Happy Crafting!

 

We Dance and Play the Night Away

Recently, two good friends turned 60

and to celebrate, the Mother's Group girls

took them out to dinner at a lovely restaurant

overlooking the Harbour.

Of course, cards were needed to accompany the gifts

and I was delighted to make them.

So, card #1

I found this paper at my local papercraft shop while I was looking for something else

and it made me think of fairies and other woodland critters.

The card itself is quite large, it being folded A4.

I stamped the poem and the fairy, added an extra two toadstools

(which came in the co-ordinating embellishment pack)

and attached a sparkly 60 to one of the toadstools.

To make the inside just a little bit different, I used two folded A4 cards,

trimming down one side of each and adhering them together (if that makes sense).

I added a strip of paper which was left over from the front of the card to both sides of this cut down middle, stamping a sentiment on the front and extra fairies on the back.

There was plenty of room for everyone to sign the card

and the recipient was delighted.

 Stamps

Lavinia Stamps - Secret Night; Three Dancing Fairies; Dancing til Dawn

Stampendous - Birthday Wish

Paper

Kaisercraft - Enchanted Collection 'Fairytale'

Embellishment

Kaisercraft - Collectables 'Enchanted'

Cardstock

House of Paper - Earthy Recycled Oatmeal


I'll return shortly with card #2, so please come back ..... until then,

Happy Crafting!
 

Thank you

So, what have I been doing in a crafty way lately?

Probably not a lot, Mr Mojo has been conspicuous by his absence

and we've had a few bleak, dreary, winter days lately and I don't think that has helped. 

To top it off, I'm coughing up a lung and my back has gone out in sympathy.

Anyhoo ......

.... a few weeks ago, I was asked if I could make some thank you cards.

I thought I'd add a co-ordinating tag as well.

I made each of the cards in a similar style but with different stamps and colours.

All the cards were coloured using Inktense water colours.

This is a stamp I've had for many years, and it stamped just as well now as it did when it was new.

 I know the tags weren't requested, however, I thought if they weren't needed now, 
they could be used for a different occasion.

Stamps

49 and Market - Gabi's Hibiscus Stamp Set

 Stampotique - Flos

Penny Black - Fuchsia

 Stampendous - Say It Today

Thanks for visiting again today.  Until next time ....

Happy Crafting!

 

Four of Seven

I was in need of a 'thank you' card this week,

so what a good opportunity to include it in this challenge.

 This girl is such a joy to colour.

Of course, I had to use my favourite Prismacolor pencils!

While I was in the colouring mood, I stamped up a second card,

this time for an upcoming birthday.

Just a change of colour and sentiment and voila, a second card is made.

Stamps

Studio Magda Polakow - #2 Two Girls

Stampendous - Say It Today; Birthday Wish

I can't decide which is my favourite - what do you think?

Happy Crafting!

  

Not until I've had my Coffee

It's a wet, stormy and humid night in Sydney,

dinner is eaten, the dishes are still waiting to be done,

but not until I've had my coffee.

In the meantime .....

It's always good to have a couple of stamps in my stash

that are perfect for when you forget  ahem .... overlook a birthday!

The background is a combination of Distress Oxide inks, 

along with a stencil and a bit more of the same colours.

I stamped the pooch directly onto the background and again on white card.

My favourite washi tape was added, then the fussy cut pooch adhered directly 

over the first image.  A light touch of colour was added to the fur and his collar, 

then yellow Gelly Glaze pen gave the coffee mug an enamel look.

Stamps

Katzelkraft - Enervy

Stampendous - Birthday Wishes

Until next time, the pooch and I will enjoy our hot beverages!

Happy Crafting!

  

Flower Fairies

Good morning, welcome back!

 

I've always liked the flower fairies which were drawn and painted by 

Cicely Mary Barker many years ago, 

so when 49 and Market brought out some papers with these drawings,

I had to have some!

One of my aunts just celebrated her 90th birthday, and I was trying to think of suitable stamps or papers which would suit a lady of that age. 

 I looked through my paper collections and found this one, 

"Flower Fairies of Spring - In the Garden".

 

I cut it to 130mm x 130mm and added a black mat before adhering to a folded white card.

The sentiment was stamped in 'jet black' Archival Ink 

with a stamp from Stampendous - Birthday Wishes.

I had some flowers in my stash which co-ordinated with the background,

which added some dimension and height (but not too much as it needed to be mailed).

 

 I added some Wink of Stella to the flower petals on the paper

for a bit of extra shimmer.

Reaching a 90th birthday is quite an achievement

and I hope my aunt had a beautiful day celebrating her special day!

Happy Crafting!

 

 

The day we celebrate you ...

March seems to be a very popular month for birthdays,

but any excuse to make a card is fine with me!

I started by stamping and colouring this sweet little girl,

then fussy cut her and popped her onto foam dimensionals.

If you look at past blog posts, you will have noticed that I've been having fun

making backgrounds from smooshing card through Distress Oxide inks.

This background is a leftover piece of card that was sitting on my desk 

waiting for the perfect stamp (or in this case, girl),

to come along.

I stamped the quote, layered the background onto a black mat 

and attached it to a folded white card.

The sweet little girl almost looks like she is standing in front of a painting

in an art gallery - I wonder what she's thinking?

Stamps

Stampendous - Birthday Wish

Santoro - Little Heart (No. 57)

Challenges
http://craftstamper.blogspot.com.au/2018/03/take-it-make-it-challenge-march.html 

I'll be back again soon with another card from another birthday .....

Happy Crafting!

   

Wishing you a special day

I always think getting something personal in the mail

(instead of bills, and boring stuff)

makes my day so much better.

One of my friends was celebrating her birthday this week,

so I took one of my new stamps and had a play.

Using four Distress Oxide inks, I spritzed them with water and smooshed some white card through them.  After waiting a few minutes for them to dry, I again smooshed the same card through a second time followed by a third.  Allowing each smoosh to dry each time, means the colours build up without ending up a muddy puddle.  Each smoosh also allows more of the fine dots of colour to be added.  This is such a fun technique and every piece is unique.

Once the background was nice and dry, I stamped the girl directly onto it;

and again onto white card.

The hearts were coloured directly on the background while the girl was coloured,
fussy cut and glued over the first image.  

A piece of washi tape was added before gluing her into place,

along with another smaller piece in the top left corner to add balance.

A sentiment and a black mat were added before adhering to a folded white card.

Stamps

Studio Magda Polakow - #02

Stampendous - Birthday Wish SSC1115

Challenges 

http://craftstamper.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/take-it-make-it-challenge-february.html
http://watercoolerchallenges.blogspot.com.au/2018/02/wwc157-heidis-all-about-occasions.html

Wishing you a beautiful birthday, my friend!  Woohoo!!!

Happy Crafting!

  

Can you guess my favourite?

I've been on a bit of a roll the last couple of days, 

so glad that Mr Mojo returned to give me a helping hand!

As tomorrow is December, that can only mean one thing .....

Christmas Cards

I started off with some freebie stamps that were attached to magazines recently.

[Papercraft Essentials - Issue 151]

I realise she is a little too well rugged up for an Australian Christmas,

however, she is rather sweet.

[Papercraft Essentials - Issue 150]

Next we have some of Santa's little helper gnomes,

I wonder what is in the box?

[Papercraft Essentials - Issue 150] 

Another variation of Santa's helper gnomes.

[Stampendous - Holiday Expressions SSC1231]

[Stampotique - Wookie]

[Stamper's Anonymous - Crazy Things]

As Wookie didn't have his own Santa hat, he borrowed one from Mr Holtz!

I've been making six of each design as I would get bored very easily if I only had one design!

Which one do you prefer?

I'm biased .....  can you guess my favourite?

Happy Crafting!

 

Feet in the Water

Another beautiful day beckons outside,

so first up today is morning tea with my brother and our aunt

at our favourite cafe.

After that ..... it's grocery shopping - ugh!

In the meantime to cheer everyone up,

here is something I made recently for a friend's birthday.

I started with four different Distress Oxide ink colours, blending each one until I was happy with the depth of colour.  A stencil was placed over part of the background and the same colours were dabbed through creating the pattern.

The flamingo was stamped firstly onto the background and again on white cardstock.

He was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut and placed directly over the first image.

The panel was mounted onto folded white cardstock.

Stamps

Carabelle Studio - "feet in the water"

Stampendous - "birthday wish"

Stencil

Kaisercraft - Oriental (6"x6") #IT430

Happy Crafting!

 

Coffee Time

Today has been a beautiful winter's day, 

but now the sun is setting and the evening is getting colder ..... brrrrr!

I thought I should catch up with some cards today,

some for swaps, some for birthdays 

and some for orders.

 

 

This cute little chap (who is getting drunk on coffee) is for a swap,

and hopefully the recipient will like it.

 

 

The image was stamped four times, the first three onto white cardstock

and the fourth directly onto the green card, which allows for the steam from the coffee mug.

 

Each of the three images on the white card were coloured identically with a variety of prismacolor pencils.

The first image was completely cut out; on the second image, the lid, the coffee band and the mouse were cut out.  On the third image, only the mouse was cut out.

The first cut image was adhered directly onto the green card, lining up the images.

The second and third images were popped onto dimensionals for a 3D effect.

The coffee mug was given a glaze by adding a small amount of glossy accents

and allowed plenty of drying time.

A piece of rainbow washi tape was added to ground the image.

A quick little sentiment was added, the top was adhered to a white card base

 and it was all finished!

Stamps

Whipper Snapper Designs, Inc. - Colby's Caffeine #MY665

Stampendous - Life Words #SSC1213

Thank you for popping by to see what I've been up to;

Happy Crafting!

 

Such a thrill!

GUESS WHAT?

Yes!  I am thrilled to say I've been published again! Yippee!!!

This is the first time I've had a set of cards published in

Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft 

magazine, and I'm thrilled-to-bits! 

 The magazine  (Vol 23, No 7) arrived in my letterbox this morning, 

so I enjoyed flipping through it while I munched on some lunch.

Not only are my cards published (page 20), but I am also featured in

'Contributor Chat - Inspiration Board' on page 72.

For a closer look at these cards, here they are:

Stamps

Stampendous - 'Whisper Friends'; 'Travel Home'; 'Whisper Friendship'

Thanks for popping by to have a look,

you will find all the instructions in this month's issue of

Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft magazine.

Happy Crafting!!!

    

H is for Hatches, Matches & Dispatches

Last week, I was very surprised to learn that I had been crowned

Queen of Snark 

Quite an honour, indeed!

This week Edna and her friends have set a new challenge,

H is for Hatches, Matches & Dispatches

so I looked at various stamps, wondering what snarkyness I could conjure up, hehehe!!

 

What do you think?  Is is snarky enough?

I must admit to having a bit of a giggle when I realised that dear Mr Bunny 

thought the flowers were for eating - oops!!  Poor Miss Mouse!

(or perhaps, it's Miss Bunny and Mr Mouse?)

Oh well, with a bit of quirkyness and crazyness they should get on just fine!

Stamps

Impression Obsession, Inc - G17071

Stampendous - Hoppy Moments SSCM5001

   You can find all the details to join in the fun at

www.snarkystampers.blogspot.com.au

and you never know, you TOO could be crowned Queen of Snark!

Happy Crafting!

 

Woodland Dreaming

Guess what?

I've been published again!

WOOHOO!!!

 

I picked up Issue 4 of Creative Papercraft  magazine today

and there on page 49 are my two cards!

As all the instructions are in the magazine, I won't go into detail except to say which stamps were used.

Love these little bunnies!

Stamps

Crafty Individual Rubber Stamps - Crowned Bunnies

Stampendous - Life Words

Prima - Stationer's Desk; Butterfly

Happy Crafting!   

Y I P P E E !!!!

 

Sixty and a half

In my group of friends, if someone is celebrating a ZERO birthday,

we generally take them out to lunch or dinner and give them a gift.

One of the girls was overseas last year when she turned 60,

and what with one thing or another, she missed out on being fussed over.

So, on Friday night just gone,

we took her to a lovely italian restaurant

and presented her with a gift voucher for a local shop which sells beautiful things;

and as her birthday was 6 months ago,

we celebrated her 60 1/2th birthday

(try saying that quickly after a couple of glasses of bubbly)

I went with a clean & simple DL size card

blending purple and blue together on the flowers.

The sentiment was perfect for the lateness of the celebration.

We had a lovely evening together and the birthday girl was happy 

we had  s t r e t c h e d  out the celebration!

Stamps

JOFY - 33

Stampendous - Birthday Wish SSC1115

Happy Crafting!

  

 

Birthday Quilt

Birthdays always last for at least a week if not more,

so when I caught up with the birthday girl, 

not only did she receive a gift, but another card too!

Card front with belly band removed

 

This is a Twist & Pop Card which has a surprise mechanism inside.

 

Inside of opened card

 

As you close the card, the four panels concertina to close up neatly inside.

Close up of first two panels

 

The images on this card are watercoloured using Distress Inks in various colours.

Close up of last two panels

 

This is a fun card to construct and is easy to decorate.

Flannel knee quilt

 

And this is the gift I gave her, a cosy flannel quilt.

Although I chose the fabric, my BFF is a wiz with a needle and thread

and she kindly made the quilt for me - isn't it gorgeous?

Stamps

Stampendous - Whisper Friends

Stampendous - Mushrooms

Stampendous - Birthday Wish

 

Happy Crafting!