Merry & Bright

I took part in a Card Swap for my CraftMad friends :)  Now that my card has been received, I can share photos.

The theme for the month was Merry & Bright (1 card with baubles)

I stamped several Christmas Trees with a selection of rainbow colours, then stamped 'Merry Christmas' sentiment in black ink.

I then trimmed and layered cardfront onto Dark Green cardbase, and finished with kindy glitz.

For Card 2, I stamped some baubles and watercoloured with ink, then added kindy glitz.

I die cut 'merry' out 4 times and layered them together onto cardfront.  Stamped '& Bright' with black ink, then layered cardfront onto red cardbase, and finished with kindy glitz.

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy Birthday Barbara!

November is my sister's birthday

 

We both have many happy memories of our time at St Clair Roller Skating Rink at Woodville, so the card had to include roller skates!

Altenew Vintage Vibes layered stamps set & dies used to create the skates.

DP ombre background, layered cardstock.

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

now you're sixty-four!

I have been waiting years to make Mr Fixit's 64th Birthday card - I always knew I wanted to do something relating to The Beatles' song "When I'm Sixty-Four"

 

I found the full lyrics online and inserted them into a document.  I duplicated the text so that it filled the entire page, then printed it using and inkjet printer.

 

Then I created the hearts and printed them using the Brother Laser printer, and then foiled the hearts using the Mini Minc & Gold foil.

A blue border was added, then the cardfront was added to a 300gsm cardbase with foam squares.

 

 

It wasn't until I read the second verse of the song properly, that I realised it really did suit us down to the ground!

 

You see, when I first met Mr Fixit, he was an Apprentice Electrician and my main hobby at the time was knitting & crocheting LOL  And when we were first married, we would spend our weekends in the garden with the dreaded weeds!

 

So my darling Mr Fixit, the answer is YES!  I still need you and yes, will feed you!

love you heaps!

 

When I’m 64

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four

You'll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you
I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave
Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away
Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I'm sixty-four

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
When I'm Sixty-Four lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Family Birthday Time!

It's time for the usual family get together for all the September/October birthday people :)  We are doing it a little bit earlier this year, as the Sister-in-law Sharon is going overseas to work for a while.

 

Great-nephew Archie turned 7 and I chose a LOTV Number Bears '7' digistamp, sized to print on an A6 cardfront, with computer generated text.  

 

Image was hand coloured with copics and the number '7' highlighted with Dimensional Magic.  

 

Cardfront was trimmed to size, a blue border added, then layered onto 300gsm cardbase with foam squares.

 

Great-nephew Lucas will turn 9 and I chose a LOTV Candles digistamp, sized to print on an A6 cardfront, with computer generated text.  

 

The candles were hand coloured with copics, then highlighted with Dimensional Magic which seems to bring out the primary colours so beautifully (see Shopping our Stash Challenge - colour me beautiful!)

 

Cardfront was trimmed to size, a blue border added, then layered onto 300gsm cardbase with foam squares. 

 

 

Linking With the following challenges:

Inkspirational Challenge #299 Clean & Simple

Shopping our Stash SOS506 - Color me beautiful

 

 

 

The niece Lauren has a birthday on 6th October and I gave her a card I had in my stash.  You can see how I made the card HERE  You may remember I entered this card into a challenge in May and it was chosen as a Princess of Clean for Freshly Made Sketches :)  

 

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Thinking of you

Here is the last of my sympathy cards made for family members of my friend Gavin  (see my previous two posts).

 

This card is for Jenny, Gavin's partner.

 

Background was made by 'spattering' several different inks, then mounted onto cardbase.  Flowers & leaves were stamped in black & clear embossed and watercoloured.  Extra layers of die cuts were added for dimension.

 

Sentiment was heat embossed in gold on a strip of vellum.

Flowers were arranged and added to cardfront in layers.

 

I am loving playing with my Altenew stamps #Altenew

 

Linking With the following challenges:

The Flower Challenge #84 - use a die

Happy Little Stampers - September - anything goes with dies

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything goes with flowers

ITEMS USED

Altenew Stamps & Dies - Build-a-flower Anemone Coronaria, inks, Clear Embossing

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Sympathy Card

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by and reading my latest post!

I have needed a few Sympathy cards of late ...... such a sad time for some of my friends and their families.  Over the next day or so, I will be sharing some of the sympathy cards I have made.

 

One of my friends I have known since about 1975, Gavin, recently passed away.  It was a bit of a shock, as he was only 66, but he had been experiencing some health issues of late.  

 

This card will be for his brother, Stephen.  Stephen was the person who introduced my husband to me, and Gavin was the person who pushed us to go on a few dates!  Thank you Stephen & Gavin, we have now been married 42 years and counting!

 

For me, the loss of an old friend hurts, but knowing he is no longer in pain is a source of comfort.

 

 

Stampin Up Heartfelt Thanks - my fave 2-step stamp set.  I have had this set for quite a while now (since 2015!  which goes to show the quality of the stamps!)

Background flowers were stamped randomly with VersaMark, then clear embossed.  Background was trimmed then attached to cardbase.  2-step Flower images were stamped onto white card front, using a 'The Stamping Buddy' to align images, trimmed and edges were distressed.  Card front was layered onto black cardstock, ribbon wrapped around cardfront, then cardfront was attached to background.  

 

'The Stamping Buddy' is another tool I have had for many years.  I remember thinking it was a bit on the 'expensive' side when I first bought it, but it has been the perfect tool for aligning wooden stamps, especially my collection of 2-step stamps from Stampin Up.

Linking With the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps & More 'any occasion'

All Sorts Challenge #745 Anything Goes

ITEMS USED

Stampin Up Heartfelt Thanks, The Stamping Buddy, Stampin Up Ink, Stazon Ink, Clear Embossing Powder, VersaMark, Edge distressing tool

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Thinking of You ......

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by and reading my latest post!

I have needed a few Sympathy cards of late ...... such a sad time for some of my friends and their families.  Over the next day or so, I will be sharing some of the sympathy cards I have made.

 

One of my friends I have known since about 1975, Gavin, recently passed away.  It was a bit of a shock, as he was only 66, but he had been experiencing some health issues of late.  

 

This card will be for his ex-wife, Deb.  Even though they were no longer married, they remained on good terms.

 

For me, the loss of an old friend hurts, but knowing he is no longer in pain is a source of comfort.

 

Altenew Build-a-flower Coneflower images were stamped in layers, with the outline being stamped with Versafine and heat embossed with clear, then die cut with matching dies.  Using my Couture Creations Stamping Platform really helped with aligning the images.

 

Background was made by masking off the outer edge of cardfront and using a blending brush.  Water droplets were splattered to create some texture.  

Stampin Up 'Thinking of You' sentiment stamped directly onto cardfront with Versafine Onyx Black.

Cardfront was then trimmed and mounted onto cardbase using 3D foam tape.

Flowers were attached to cardfront with 3D foam squares. 

 

I am loving using these #Altenew stamps & dies

 

Linking With the following challenges:

The Flower Challenge #84 Use a Die

Creative Knockouts #502 anything goes

Cardz4Galz #207  Leaves

Tic Tac Toe #225  Diagonal top left to bottom right

ITEMS USED

Altenew Build-a-flower Coneflower Stamps & Dies, Inks, VersaFine Onyx Black, Clear Emboss Power, Stampin Up 'Thinking of You' stamp, Couture Creations Stamping Platform

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Happy 21st Birthday

The nephew Liam celebrates his 21st birthday!  Where does the time go?

 

I made a card using his favourite football team colours - black, white & teal (Port Power)

 

For the Cardfront, Bubbles were stenciled using my home-made stencil with Spellbinders Circle Dies and randomly placed & coloured using blending brushes with Blue, Grey & Black Distress Inks.  The outer border was coloured with Copics.

Sugar Pea 'Champagne bottle & glasses' were stamped & die cut, then coloured in with Copics and highlighted with Kindy Glitz & Dimensional Magic, Extra bubble blended & handrwitten '21' added to the cardfront with 3D foam dots.  

 

Honey Bee 'Bitty Buzzwords' Sentiment 'happy' stamped directly onto front of card, 'birthday' die cut from black cardstock, mounted onto white shadow, then added to the cardfront with 3D foam dots.

 

Gems added for a final touch of bling!

 

Inside the card I made a pocket for some money - stamped with VersaMark.

 

Linking With the following challenges:

 

Happy Little Stampers - July - Anything Goes with Dies

My Time to Craft! #513 Shades of Blue (not sure this REALLY fits, but will include the link anyway)

Inkspirational #295 - Use Stencils

Color My Heart Color Dare #559 (used blue, orange, yellow, green)

UPDATED:  Emerald Winner in Color My Heart Color Dare #559

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Enjoy .....

Your retirement!

 

 

 

My friend Mandy & her husband have decided to retire and I thought the occasion worthy of a card!  They ran Blue Edge Crafts for 23 years and I have been a customer for at least 20+ years.  We became friends over that time.  Apart from our love of papercrafts, we also shared an interest in quilting although, I confess, I haven't touched my sewing machine of late.  

 

I am a member of a Facebook Group, World of Creative Crafty Challenges and this month, I was asked to be a Guest Designer by Kerry, who is also a friend I made through Blue Edge Crafts :)  Knowing I wanted a retirement card, an idea was brewing ....... I knew I wanted something fun and light hearted.

 

Some NBUS .....I have had the Car & Road (unbranded) dies for quite a while now - I got them for some children's cards but never got around to using them.  The same with the stamp set 'Islandia' from Creative PL - I have had it for so long, I can't remember where I or when I got it.  The packaging says it was made for Aldi Stores, so that makes me think I got it on one of my trips to an Op Shop, as I haven't ever been to an Aldi Store.

 

The background sky was blended using Distress Inks in 2 different blues, the sun & palm trees were stamped directly onto cardbase.  Inspiration Station Challenge inspired me to use Orange for the sun.  The Road was cut twice out of grey, then the green layer was cut and strategically placed.  

 

All of the small die cut items were cut from left-over scraps (SNIPPETS) which shows that it is good to never throw away your off-cuts!

Sentiment 'enjoy' from Honey Bee 'Bitty Buzz Words' die cut & layered, then placed on front of card with foam dots.

The car was cut out of Blue cardstock 3 times and layered together.  Blue is Mandy's favourite colour!  Wheels were cut from Black 3 times & layered together, with a gel pen detail in silver for hub caps.  

I love this little car...  My first car was a 1960 VW Beetle 💗 and I love the way this card turned out!

 

Linking With the following challenges: 

 

Time Out #241
Cut it Up Challenge #281
Shopping Our Stash SOS499
Inspiration Station #50
NBUS #51
Snippets Playground #457
 

ITEMS USED

Stamps/Dies:  Creative PL 'Islandia', Honey Bee Bitty Buzzwords, Car & Road Border Dies (Unbranded)

Inks: Distress Inks, Memento Tuxedo Black

Tools:  Cuttlebug, Blending Brushes

And one more photo to finish off :)

Here we are in 2014 at our QLD Craft Mad retreat
Front Row:  Mandy, Jan, Kerry
Back Row:  Me, Therese, Ruth, Kaye, Tracey

Our Craft Mad retreat in QLD was the highlight of my year
and I loved every minute of it!

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Hello Cupcake

I made a visit to Savers this week to drop off some goods for donation and I had a wander around the store.

 

I spied this tin of  72 Prismacolor Pencils ..... wait for it .............  for A$6.99!!!  They currently retail for A$150.00 here in Officeworks ..... BARGAIN!

 

 

 

I had been stalking the Kit & Clowder website for coloring inspiration for Copics, but as soon as I got home with the pencils, I started planning which Free Pencil Class I was going to try first.

 

Cupcake won hands down!

The video was easy to follow along - I hit pause every now and then - and it was easy to resume, or even go back over a step.

I am definitely going to do another one real soon - it was definitely a great way to spend a cold & wet afternoon in my craft room.

I am happy with the dollop of cream on top, the straw and the cupcake & wrapper, but I think the pink icing & chocolate sauce could be better.  All in all, not bad for a first attempt.

I have printed off some more, but I think I will try some different cardstock for the next one.

 

Check them out on Facebook or visit their website to see what other classes they have :)

 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

just roll with it

Happy Birthday ..... LOL

 

LOVE this stamp & die set from Altenew, I stamped the skates and die cut them out

 

 

DP from Kassazz (Little Wisdom) was trimmed to suit cardfront using the sketch as a guide.

Edges were roughed up with Edge Distresser tool, then attached to cardbase with 3D foam.

Skates were attached for the front with 3D foam.

Sentiment was stamped directly onto cardfront using Stamping Tool.

Inspired by a sketch at Freshly Made Sketches

   

Linking With the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches #588

Happy Little Stampers - June Birthday Challenge

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.