Thinking of you today and every day

I have been a bit sidetracked in the craft room of late, but sadly, I was in need of a sympathy card to give to my sister.  Her mother-in-law, who turned 90 in February this year, passed away on Saturday night.

 

 

This is an Altenew stamp & die set - Wild Flora - flowers were stamped with Versafine Onyx Black and heat embossed with Zing Clear embossing powder.  I hand painted the flower & leaves using Altenew Inks.

 

I recently purchased some stencils and blending brushes from Amazon and was keen to have a bit of a play.

 

I made the background using one of the stencils with a blending brush and lightly blended using Altenew Ink in the centre.  When mounting the background onto the matt, I thought it got a little lost, so I ink blended the edges as well, and added a few splatters.  I then stamped the sentiment directly onto the background.  

 

The background & matting were cut using Waffle Flower A6 layer dies and layered onto an A6 300 gsm White Cardbase.  

 

I layered the background onto the purple matting, then layered the purple matting onto the white cardbase.  The flowers were then positioned on the front in a pleasing manner with foam tabs to add dimension.

 

Linking this card with a few challenges

 

TicTacToe #272 (centre column - layers /Free/ Floral/foliage

 

Just Add Ink #754 - Choose Two - DieCut-Flower-Ribbon - I chose DieCut/Flower

 

Just Us Girls #778 - Die Week - Layers - I used several dies to make up multiple layers

 

 

Cut it Up #331 - anything goes (with a die)

 

 

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.

A New Home

Some friends are moving into a new home, so I just had to make a card!

 

David is a friend I met through my camera club way back in 2011 and his wife Carol is a quilter!

 

Suffice to say, I knew what type of card I was going to make.

 

 

I found a great tutorial online to follow, and the card came together very quickly.

 

The longest and hardest part was choosing the DSP - which was from my stash of 6" DSP I have had for quite some time.

 

I made the cardfront using 210 gsm, and cut up several strips of DSP, and following the tutorial, placed the strips accordingly.

 

Picking which embossing folder to use for the 'quilt block' was fairly easy, the one I chose has some 'double wedding ring quilt' inspiration ...

 

I ink blended the edges of the cardfront to add further dimension & interest, then added a strip of DSP.  The 'quilt block' was added to cardfront with foam tape.

 

The sentiment was printed on computer, and foiled with my Mini Minc in gold foil, then mounted to the front of the card using foam tape.

 

To finish, the cardfront was added to a 300gsm A6 cardbase.  

Linking with the following Challenges

Can You Handle the Pressure - use embossing folders 

Neglected Stuff Challenge - DSP

TicTacToe #268 - middle row - Any colour/Free/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.

Card Swap June

2 new cards from me today, this time swap cards for CraftMad Swappers

 

I was extremely late with my cards for June .......

 

 

At first, I struggled with deciding which 2022 card to case, as they were all so good!  but in the end, I couldn't go past this one by fellow swapper, Tracey.

 

 

Card #1

 

I set about making my own background with sponging varying shades of purple/pink inks, then I randomly stamped my Kaisercraft butterflies and heat embossed in gold.  I also heat embossed the edges of the cardfront with gold, then attached to cardbase with double-sided tape.

 

I die cut sentiment out of white cardstock, mounted onto a black shadow then attached to the cardfront with foam squares to add dimension.

 

Card finished off with some randomly placed bling!

 

 

Card #2

This card followed the sketch, and I took the opportunity to have a play with my Penny Black Stamps - Party Time set.

Images were stamped with black Versafine ink, then clear heat embossed.  I coloured them in with Altenew Crisp Dye Ink (Dusk) using a watercolour brush, and then inked the edges of the boxes.  Waffle Flower A6 layers dies were used to cut the different sized boxes :)  

 

 

The most perfect background Scrapbook DP came from my stash ..... I don't know how long I have had it LOL.  The text 'happy' was diecut twice from white cardstock and coloured with same ink used to colour my images, then mounted with foam squares.  

 

 

The boxes were placed according to sketch and layered with foam squares to add dimension.

 

I also made a 'thank you for being my swap partner' card :)

 

 

When you open it up, the image of the die cutting machine stays on the inside :)

 

I just 'love' the die cut of the paper trimmer!!

 

'Thank You' card was made entirely with offcuts/snippets of white & silver cardstock and some leftover scrapbook DP

 

Linking 'Thank You' card with the following Challenges

Snippets Playground Challenge #485

 

Linking Card#2 with the following Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - July - Anything Goes/Food 

Cardz 4 Galz #229 - Shades of Blue  (oops!! Too late!)

TicTacToeCallenge-#252 (Middle Column - DieCut(s), Free, Any Sentiment) 

tttc#252

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.

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.

Love Ya!

Another new stamp for me.  Although, in my search to find more information on the best way to line up these particular stamps, I have discovered that they were first released in about 2019. 

 

 

 

I had fun playing with these stamps, using about 4-5 different shades of my favourite colour - purple. 

I stamped according to the layering instructions included in the set and then set about to cut them out with the co-ordinating die.  I did find that the instructions in this set were not quite as helpful as the Build-a-flower Coneflower set, hence my search on the internet for some more information. I found only a few videos out there offering hints & tips on aligning the stamps correctly so that they die cut properly.  If you are just stamping directly onto a card front, the alignment is not as crucial :)

 

 

I made up a background using some unbranded Diamond Dies (very similar to Altenew Fine Frames Diamonds).  I cut some diamonds out and inked them with Distress Ink Wilted Violet, and added them to the cardfront with glue.

Whilst laying out the flowers, I thought the background was a little stark, so I did the 'splatter' effect with some inks and a wet brush.  It was either that or I was going to emboss the background, but I thought that an embossed background would be too much!

The flowers were layered up over 3 different layers using foam dot.  I die cut the small tag from Spellbinders, stamped one of the sentiments, inked the edges, and added gold twine, positioning the tag over the stems.

 A final touch of  'bling' (it should have been enamel dots for the Tic Tac Toe challenge, but I didn't have any, so gems will have to do).

--oo0oo--

 

I have been inspired by several challenge blogs for this card.

 

TicTacToe #194 - I chose Diagonal - Die Cut, Flowers & Enamel Dots (I didn't actually have any enamel dots, so gems will have to do!

 

As You Like It  Favourite (mostly one) Colour & Why

My favourite colour is purple, and has been for as long as I can remember.  I don't know 'why' I gravitate towards purple in card making (& quilting) but I do.  With this card, I got to play with several different shades of purple, including using my fave purple cardstock.

 

 

Try Stamping on Tuesday - I used the Technique as inspiration as this card has several different layers.

 

 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Beautiful Blooms - I find I am drawn to florals for my stamping at the moment.  

Cut it Up Challenge #270 is 'Love'

 

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #503 is 'Love'  (oops, their challenges are limited to 4 other challenges) but I thought I would leave the link anyway.

I discovered a new Challenge Blog - Beautiful Blossoms - their first challenge is now live.  I don't think my card qualifies as it is not in the colours of the Mood Board, but I will include a link here anyway.  So many blogs have closed down during 2021/2022 it is nice to see a new one pop up!

ITEMS USED

Stamps/Dies:  Altenew Build-a-flower Lavender

Inks:  Distress Inks, Color Box

Tools:  Cuttlebug, Couture Creations Precision Stamp Press, Couture Creations Mini Guillotine Trimmer, Couture Creations Mini Score Board

 

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.

Riding by to say Hello

I was in the mood to play with some new stamps & dies and it felt really good to do something 'pretty' and very 'girly'  LOL.

The following challenge blogs have provided inspiration for my card.

• Happy Little Stampers May Challenge is Anything Goes with Dies 
• Tic Tac Toe challenge (Die Cut/Flowers/Gold) 
• Incy Wincy Designs Challenge is to use a die cut or punch
• Just us Girls challenge is to have some flowers

The background was handmade by swiping & smooshing Purple & Yellow inks plus a touch of Gold (sadly, the shimmer of the gold does not show up very well in this photo).  

Bicycle frame die cut from yellow, wheel & handle bars from silver and tyre from black.  

Flowers & basket were stamped & heat embossed in black, hand coloured using watercolours then die cut.  Both the basket & the flowers have been attached in different layers with 3d foam.  

Sentiment 'Riding by to say hello' stamped with Black Staz On, cardfront then mounted onto Purple card base and a touch of 'bling gems' added.

Linking with the following Challenges:

  

Happy Little Stampers Dies - Anything Goes

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #160 

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge - May 2022 - Use a die or punch

Just us Girls Challenge - #631 - Flowers

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 + Deepest Sympathy

Sympathy cards are the hardest to make ...... especially when they are for family & friends .....

It just goes to show how small the world is, Adelaide in particular!  

My Nephew married the Niece of an old school friend, Rossi, so I always maintained that it made us 'Aunties In-Laws'  LOL

We all went to Taperoo Primary School and here is a photo from our very first School Reunion in 2010 - in the Barossa

LtoR Front:  Di, Sharlene, Rossie
Back:  Anne, Diana, Me, Bronny, Kaye

and one of our School Reunions in 2012 in Victor Harbor ....

LtoR: Debbie, JulieO, Me, Rossi, DebbieC, Sharlene, Anne, Diana, Bronny

it seems like they were yesterday and forever ago .... both at the same time :(

Here we are in 2022 (those that could attend the funeral)

LtoR:  Me, DebbieC, Kaye, JulieR

RIP Roslyn Margaret Harrison - no longer in pain, reunited with loved ones.

BLUE CARD:  White cardfront, sponged/blended blue background with right side masked off.  Kaisercraft 'Flutter' and 'Thinking of You' Sentiment stamped in Black StazOn.

black hearts & silver gems added on white section.  Kindy Glitz added to butterflies and cardfront edges defined with blue ink, cardfront mounted onto white card base.

PURPLE CARD:  White cardfront, sponged/blended purple background with top & bottom masked off.  Kaisercraft 'Botanical' and 'With Sympathy' Sentiment stamped in Black StazOn.

black hearts added on white section, Kindy Glitz added to butterflies and cardfront edges defined with purple ink, cardfront mounted onto white card base.

I find I keep going back to these Kaisercraft stamps - I have had them for as long as I can remember :)

Linking with:

BLUE CARD:  

Shopping Our Stash Weekly Challenge - 466 Spread Your Wings

PURPLE CARD:  

Retro Rubber - #RRCB178 - Anything Goes (stamp older than a year)

TicTacToe Challenge #152  - shades of purple/CAS/Sympathy

Cheers everyone .... stay safe and tell your family & friends you love them!