Happy Birthday, Liam

The nephew celebrated his 24th Birthday on the weekend.

 

I know I say it every year, but ....... where does the time go?  It is going by so fast!

 

Anyway......  onto the card I made for him.

 

I have been fine-tuning my foiling process and think I have got the perfect combination of settings, paper and sandwiches.

 

I designed the card in Photoshop, so that I could select which layers to print using the Laser printer (for the sentiment) and the ink jet printer (for the colour).

 

The balloons were printed first on Epson glossy photo paper, then I waited a little while to make sure the ink was completely dry.

 

The sentiment was printed using the Brother Mono Laser printer, then I ran it through the Mini Minc.

 

 

The sandwich I have got the most success with is:  the photo paper with the gold foil on top, then a layer of Reflex copy paper, all placed in a Minc carrier sheet.  Heat setting on the Minc was '3' and turned on ate least 10 minutes before it was needed.  I made sure the card was completely cool before peeling off the foil ..... hey presto... perfect foil!

 

I also foiled the inside sentiment for something different this year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Birthday Candles

Time for another card swap - CM May swap cards – Candles & Sketch (I was extremely late in making and sending these cards)

Card #1 – Candles

I knew what I wanted to do for this theme :)  

I printed some candle digital images from LOTV and foiled them on gloss card, and cut the cardfront with some A6 dies.  I then coloured the candles using Copics.  I mounted the cardfront onto some coloured cardstock, then mounted the cardfront onto a 300 gsm base.

The gold foiling worked beautifully and I was very happy on how it turned out.

 

Linking Card #1 with the following challenges:

AAA Colourful: #29  (all the blues/pinks/greens)

 

 

Card #2 – Sketch

We had a sketch provided – although I did not stick to it precisely …

I used some Kaisercraft designer paper & stamps.  I was going to stamp the cupcake, but decided to fussy cut it from the DP, then mounted to front with 3D foam.

I used the other side of the DP for the background panel and stamped 'birthday wishes' onto coloured cardstock.  

I finished the card with my usual bling!

I am quite pleased with how this card turned out.

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.

Guest Designer Post - CAS on Sunday Challenge #329

The card I submitted to a recent CAS on Friday Challenge #327 was selected as a Top Image, and I have been invited to be a Guest Designer for their next challenge - which is Challenge #329

 

We were provided with a sketch for this particular challenge and here is my take on that sketch.

 

I confess I do struggle a little with 'CAS' ...... I always wonder whether a card looks 'finished' enough LOL

 

aNYWAY .......

 

I recently purchased some new Spellbinder number dies - 'Classy Numbers' and was looking for an excuse to use them.  

 

As soon as I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to use some lovely ribbons I have had in my stash for as long as I can remember, so I pulled that out.

 

I also came across the last of some lovely 'red mirror/foil cardstock' and die cut several copies of numbers from it.  I layered those numbers three times, and mounted onto a circle die cut. 

 

I cut some 210 gsm white cardstock with Waffle Flower Nesting rectangles, then embossed using the ProvoCraft 'Number Collage' embossing folder, and smudged some Candied Apple Distress Ink along the outer edge of the cardfront and across the top of raised numbers.  I then applied the two strips of red crossgrain ribbon and glued to the back of the cardfront.  The Cardfront was attached to 300 gsm white A6 cardbase with foam tape, and the white circle with the '60' was placed on the front with foam tape as well.

 

this is the sketch we were provided:

 

I would like to thank Janneke Dijkstra - de Jong  & Team for picking my card as a winner and for the invitation to be a Guest Designer.  I look forward to seeing the other Design Team's cards.

 

Please visit the CAS on Friday blog to see their new challenge.

 

Linking with:

AAA Birthday #83 - Use Die Cuts 

Can you Handle the Pressure 2/2026 - Anything goes

Allsorts Challenge #844 - Ribbons & Bows
 

 

 

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.

Swap Cards - With Sympathy & Handmade Hug

It was time again for some more swap cards.

 

Card # 1 - Easel Card

 

I struggled to come up with an idea - but landed on a 'crafty' feel.  I actually started following the sketch before I came up with a suitable 'easel' idea.

 

I stamped, hand coloured and die cut several elements from the Stampin Up Crafting With You.

 

The various elements were added to the front of the cardbase using foam tabs to provide added dimension.

I forgot to take a photo of the easel bit ..... but the front of the card folds up, to reveal another raised element of the designer paper.

 

Card #2 - Sketch 

 

Once again, I followed the sketch, with the basic elements being added to the front of the card with foam tabs.  Spellbinders 'Little Blooms' were diecut, then ink blended with Distress Inks, leaves trimmed & glued together to form a 'bunch', then added to the square panel cut with Spellbinder Square die.

 

The background paper came from the paper pad I got from Secret Santa - it's funny, because I am not normally a fan of green, but I do like this particular shade of green.

 

The 'With Sympathy' element was printed and foiled, then die cut with Spellbinders Circle die.  Both the square and the circle were added to the cardfront with foam tabs to add dimension.

 

 Linking Card #2 with the following challenges:

Pick 3 challenge #2 - I chose Embellishments, Flower, Circle

 

Allsorts Challenge #844 - 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.

Happy Birthday Sharon

It's the Sister-in-Law's birthday, hence another birthday card - they seem to come by so very quickly of late!

 

I have been making an effort to utilise some of the thousands of images I have purchased over the years and came across some wine & cheese images that are just perfect for Sharon.

 

As with my previous cards using digital images, I utilised Photoshop to put the image & text on different layers so that they could be printed by two different printers.  The text being printed by a Laser printer so that it can be foiled, then the image printed by the ink jet.

 

I foiled the text in Red, after letting the print thoroughly dry.  Sadly, on this one, I can see a very faint line where the edge of the foil was.  I will have to investigate a better way to do this type of cardfront. 

 

As with one of the previous cards, the cardfront was mounted to some 300gsm red leathergrain cardbase.

 

As I mentioned previously, I have been making a concerted effort to use some of the many digital images purchased in the past - this lot have been sitting on my computer for about a year and have not been used before.

 

I also love the versatility of using digital images where you can resize to suit your purposes, and ofcourse the choices of so many fonts are available now!

 

AND I love the ability to print in separate layers, so that I can foil the text with my Mini Minc - win win! 

 

Linking with:

NBUS Challenge #83 

 

 

 

 

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 Anniversary

It's was our 44th Wedding Anniversary on 13th February.

 

There have been a few challenges this year, but I am happy to say we survived  LOL

 

So here is a card I made for our Anniversary.

 

I recently purchased some wonderfully fun images from ETSY.  

 

There was a wonderful selection of images - the hardest part was deciding which one to use, but when I saw these three images, and I knew that they would be perfect for our Wedding Anniversary card! 

 

I used Photoshop to place the 3 images on 3 different layers;  playing with different layouts and sizes  LOL  you have no idea on how long that took and the many minute changes I made to and fro  LOL

 

The Anniversary sentiment went on a different layer.

 

The cardfront was printed on 'glossy photo paper'.  I printed the sentiment layer separately with the Laser printer first, so that it could be foiled using my Mini Minc.  Then the images were printed using my Epson Ink Jet printer.  

 

After leaving the image to make sure it was completely dry, I trimmed the cardfront to size using Waffle Flower Nesting Rectangles and mounted to 300gsm red leathergrain cardbase.  No Kindy Glitz/Stickles on this card, as it for Mr Fixit!

 

If you've read this far, I shall explain the significance of the images.  

• We first met when I was a frequent roller skater at St Clair Roller Skating, Woodville and our first 'sort of' date, was roller skating. 
• He was in a 'band' and played guitar, and very often played for me.
• Now, it is me doing most of the driving when we go out.

And now the card I made for Valentines Day - this card is so very us lately LOL

The is essentially very simple - just the sentiment doing the talking, but what was challenging was finding a way to make only certain lines of text foiled in a different colour.  I solved my problem by placing a sheet over the area not being foiled, then cutting out 'slots' to expose only the words to be foiled.

It's a little bit smudged in some parts, as I fed it through the Minc twice, but I'm happy with how it turned out - after all, it's the thought that counts.

So another year done and dusted - next year the big 45...... which means Sapphire!  Woo Hoo!

 

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.

I Love You

It's that time of year again :)

 

Our 43rd Wedding Anniversary on 13th February and tomorrow is Valentines Day.

 

I designed the card in Word for the layout - Text sentiment & an hourglass image from pngWing - which was printed onto gloss cardstock with a laser printer.

 

I then foiled the 'I love you' in RED, and the hourglass and the remaining text in GOLD.

 

I glued down some 'GORGEOUS' sprinkles I received in my Secret Santa Swap for CraftMad Swappers as the 'sands of time' - the little hearts are just perfect!  As soon as I saw them, I knew I was going to incorporate them into a card.  The white cardfront was then attached to a Kraft cardbase with foam tape.

 

The Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge this time round is 'clean and simple' and the Allsorts Challenge calls for romance or music.

 

 

The challenge over on Inkspiration is in collaboration with Color Hues Challenge using pink & red.  Now, I never thought that I would make a card for Mr Fixit using 'pink & red' ... but I think the subtle pink & red tones work!   The red foil 'I Love You' and the light pink & dark pink hearts in the sprinkles adds just enough colour to an otherwise 'all gold' card.

 

My Time to Craft asks us to use a theme of  'hearts'.

 

Linking with the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz #365 Clean & Simple 

Allsorts Challenge #816 - Romance or Music

Color Hues Challenge #103 - pink & red

Inkspirational Challenge #334 Collaboration with Color Hues 

My time to craft #553 - theme of hearts

 

Now, this is where I get honest, the above card is the second version, you see, I had great plans to turn this into a shaker card.

 

In the first version, I cut the inside of the hourglass away, added 3d foam tabs behind to make a pocket, then added the 'sprinkles', then attached it to the cardbase.   You guessed, it ..... I forgot to add the acetate!  DOH!   I had sprinkles everywhere!

 

So then I peeled off the foam, attached the acetate, then added back the foam and the sprinkles and attached it to a white base ... but it was a bit crooked and there was a misalignment; you could see the hourglass printed underneath .... and I mangled up the edges of the foil when I cut the aperture out... AND I spied a rogue triangle piece in the shaker area..... at that point I decided to do the card again and produced the card you see above.

 

Here is the first version of the card .... complete with crooked placement and the rogue 'triangle' piece in the shaker area.

I showed Mr Fixit the first version .......... he did say he liked the idea of the 'shaker card' and wouldn't have noticed the rough edges, nor the misalignment, nor the rogue triangle .....

 

 

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 50th Wedding Anniversary

Here is a card I made for my sister for her 50th Wedding Anniversary.

 

Using the Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms die set, I cut out a number of elements in Gold and white and set about making up some flowers.  The gold cardstock is some that I have had for quite a while now (read really old) and the last of it was in my 'offcuts' tray.  Some of the white pieces were left overs from my tray too!  This is my 'old' element for the Creative Inspirations Challenge.

I am finding the Be Bold Blooms die set is excellent for using up the smaller leftovers/snippets.

 

 

For the background, I embossed a 210gsm white cardstock with ProvoCraft 'Victoria' embossing folder and cut to size using Waffle Flower A6 Layer dies, then mounted the background onto a 300gsm white cardbase.

 

I used my computer to print up the sentiment using my laser printer, then foiled it using the Mini Minc & gold foil.  I then diecut the sentiment with one of my stitched circles dies. I am kinda pleased with how the sentiment turned out!

Sentiment was mounted to cardfront using 3d foam and then I played with the layout and layering of the flowers until I was happy with them, and finally placed some gems randomly around the cardfront.

 

I must say, I am really pleased with how this card turned out - all in all, a great afternoon crafting session!

 

Linking with the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations: January challenge 'old/new' 

Snippets Playground Challenge #497

Cut it Up Challenge #320 - 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.

Happy Easter

I felt like doing some foiling and Copic colouring today.

 

 

I love this 'easter tree' digi stamp from LOTV - my Sister-in-law has an 'easter egg tree' ornament that she puts on display each year - so that is who I am going to give this card to.

 

I printed digi stamp and the sentiment 'Happy Easter' using a font called 'Tinker Toy' with the Laser Printer. The sentiment was foiled in Gold and the digi stamp was foiled in Green.

 

I then coloured the image with some lovely pastel shades using my Copic Markers.

 

 

The cardfront was trimmed down to fit on a DL sized cardbase, and a final touch of bling added.

 

I really like the simplicity of this one - nice and easy to put in the mail too!

 

I have been inspired by quite a few challenges for this card.  

 

The As You Like It challenge asks us to nominate what is our fave - People or Animals.  I think it has to be Animals .... hands down!  They are such fun to colour in!

Several other challenges have Easter as the theme and these have influenced my colour choices.

   

 

Linking With the following challenges:

Inspired by #231 - Eggs

Sweet Stampin - Easter

As You Like It - People or Animals

Double D Challenges - Easter

Just Add Ink - #646 - Photo inspiration

ITEMS USED

Stamps/Dies:  LOTV Digi Stamp 'easter tree'

Inks:  Copic Markers

Tools: Laser Printer, Mini Minc, fancy rotary blade/cutting matt

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.

Love You ......

It's that time of year for us ........ we celebrate our 41st Wedding Anniversary on 13th February, and of course, 14th February is Valentines Day  ... 

 

Here is the Anniversary/Valentines card I made for Mr Fixit

 

On the inside of the card it says "I think I will keep you!"

 

Sentiment (font: Finesse) printed with laser Printer, the heart shape was foiled in Red with the MiniMinc.  Centre panel was die cut with Spellbinders, then background was ink blended with a brush using Distress Ink (Candied Apple) while still inside the die, giving another border effect, without adding an extra layer.  

Centre panel was then layered onto red cardstock, then mounted onto black leathergrain (300 gsm) cardbase using foam dots.

Red Gems and Black Bling hearts added as a finishing touch!

There are so many challenges with a 'love' theme at the moment :) it is a real love fest out there!

 

The 'InspiredBy' challenge inspired the placement of the two overlapping heart shapes I used.

The 'Inspiration Station' challenge inspired the use of red hearts.

The 'TicTacToe' challenge, I chose Across Middle Row: Red/Free/Love Sentiment 

The 'Try it on Tuesday' challenge theme is 'all you need is love' ......

 

-oo0oo-

 

Linking With the following challenges:

Try it on Tuesday - All You Need is Love

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #196

 

Inspiration Station - Photo Inspiration (inspired by the Red & Hearts)

Cut it Up #271 - Have a Heart

Inspired by Challenge - Hearts

 

Creative Knockout - Love is in the Air

Cardz 4 Guyz - valentine for a guy

Allsorts Challenge #715 Anything goes with hearts

ITEMS USED

Stamps/Dies:  Spellbinders large rectangle Die

Inks: Distress Ink Candied Apple

Tools:  Cuttlebug, blending brush, Heidi Swapp Mini Minc

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.