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.

Riding by to say 'hello'

A crafty friend needed some cheering up

I made my background by scoring diagonal lines with my scoreboard.  I then inkblended the edges and attached it direct to the 300gsm cardbase.

I stamped various elements from Honey Bee ‘Riding By’ – heat embossed in black and then coloured with Distress Inks/watercolour. 

Bike elements were die-cut from Red Mirror card, wheels & handle bars from silver cardstock, tyre from black and attached direct to the cardfront with Gina K Connect Glue. 

Sentiments were stamped & die-cut then attached to the cardfront with foam tape.

The basket & flowers were arranged and glued together, then placed on the cardfront with foam tape to add dimension.

Items Used:

Stamps &/or dies:  Honey Bee ‘Riding By’

Ink:  Versamark Embossing Ink, WOW Embossing powder, Distress Inks

Adhesives/Tapes:  Double sided tape, Gina K Connect Glue, 3D foam

Card stock:  Blue Edge Crafts - 300 gsm cardbase, white 210 gsm cardstock, mirror cardstock,

Tools:  Cuttlebug, Couture Creations Mini Guillotine Trimmer, Couture Creations Mini Score Board

The card has now been received, and I can share it here. 

Linking with the following challenges:

All Sorts Challenge #847 - in the garden 

Cut it Up Challenge #354 - colours of spring 

Stamping Sensations - Nature inspiration 

We Love Stamping - Spring 

 

 

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 - Hello & Thank You

Some more swap cards for my CraftMad Swap group.

 

We had to swap two cards.

 

Card #1 - using a defined colour palette 

 

I started with an embossed card front and selected some inks that were sort of close to the defined colours and went about 'colouring in' using my ink blending brushes to create a feathery soft layered effect.

 

I Trimmed the cardfront down using Waffle Flower Rectangles and inked the edges to give definition to the border.  The cardfront was mounted with foam to a 300gsm cardbase.

 

I then diecut the 'hello' out of black cardstock and placed onto the front of the card.

 

I finished off with some gems that were received as part of my Secret Santa gift.

 

Linking Card #1 with:

Allsorts Challenge #843 - embossing

Beautiful Blossoms - Anything floral goes 

 

Card #2 - using items from Secret Santa gift.

 

The following card was made with several items received in my Secret Santa gift.

 

Secret Santa Gift 2025

I used a sheet from the paper pad and several elements of ephemera layered with foam tabs. 
 

 

The background paper was inked around the edges to define the border.  The gold 'thank you' sticker is from a sheet that has been in my stash for years!

 

I am quite pleased with how the cards turned out, even though they took a while to come together.

 

PS:  I ate the choccie santas, they didn't last long!  Thank you Secret Santa! 

 

Linking Card #2 with:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything floral 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 Bestie!

It was my BFF's birthday recently.   Here is the card I made for her.

 

I recently purchased some wonderfully fun images from ETSY and I knew exactly who I was going to make a card for!

 

There was a wonderful selection of images - the hardest part was deciding which one to use.

 

Once I decided which image to use, I placed the image on one layer in Photoshop, then created another layer for the birthday sentiment.  

 

The cardfront was printed on 'glossy photo paper' using an 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 cardbase.  I then highlighted a few select parts of the cat with Kindy Glitz/Stickles and the outer edge of cardfront.

 

We eventually caught up with each other and went out for a meal with our respective partners.  Food was good and as always, the company was great!

 

 

EDITED TO ADD:

CAS Winner!  Woo Hoo

Linking with the following challenges:

CAS on Sunday #327 - Anything Goes

All Sorts Challenge #843 - Anything Goes 

Critter Crazy Challenge #107 - 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.

Monotone Christmas & Shaped Card

Another crafting session, another card swap completed.

 

Card #1 - Shaped Card

 

I struggled to make a new card - I wanted to make a 'teepee' card, but no matter what measurements I used, it would not come together, so that idea was put on the back burner.  I pulled out my Klik n Kut to use but 'old technology' got the better of me  LOL

 

Time was running out and I did not want to be late AGAIN!

 

So I reverted to a card I had made previously, using my CraftROBO (before it went to crafty heaven) and kept in my 'to use' pile waiting for the right moment to send it.

 

I designed the card using a pretty font and applying offets, the cutting from SU Cardstock and some pretty DP with just a touch of glitter!

 

I threw in an extra one to make up for not making up a new card :)

 

 

Card #2 - Monotone Christmas card with Tag 

 

I decided to utilise some 'emboss heat resist' for this card and stamped a 'Kaszazz' christmas bauble (I think - if anyone knows for sure, let me know please) with Versamark and heat embossed with White powder directly onto the front of the cardbase.  I then ink blended using green Distress Ink over the stamped image. 

 

Using the Cuttlebug, I diecut a circle out of an A6 cardfront (cut with Waffle Flowers A6 Layers) and then embossed it with Couture Creations 'Scattered Notes' folder (singing along all the way).  I swiped the same Distress Ink over the raised bits and finished with a bit of ink blending around the circle aperture.  The cardfront was then mounted to the cardbase using foam tape.

The tag followed the same embossing and colouring process, but instead of heat embossing, I diecut 'Merry' from Hero Arts Stamp & Cut several times, layered, inkblended then attached with glue.

 

Linking the above card with the following challenges:

As You Like it - Anything festive 

Can You Handle the Pressure? Anything goes with twist of 'any holiday' 

 

I also made a little 'card' for my swap partner. 

 

 

 

 

 

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, Happy Birthday & Happy 35th Anniversary

Another family gathering, another round of birthdays - this time for the November & December birthdays.

 

Brother-in-law & Sister-in-law celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary in November, so an extra special card was made.

 

It's not an original idea, but I did consult the internet on just how many days, weeks, months etc were in 35 years! 

'35 years' anniversary is Coral (Traditional) or Jade (Modern) anniversary.  I didn't have any Jade cardstock, so Coral it had to be LOL  I even searched to find the right RGB code for the font colour (MV Boli).  The Champagne bottle & glasses were purchased from ETSY back in May 2025.  The cardfront was printed with an inkjet printer on 210 gsm cardstock, trimmed down to suit the A6 Cardbase using the Waffle Flower A6 Layers die, then highlighted with just a touch of Kindy Glitz/Stickles.

 

The inside of the card says 'but who's counting?'

 

Linking the above card with the following challenge:

Word Power - December 2025 

 

Next is a card for the brother-in-law, Greg.

 

I diecut a heap of diamonds out of my stash of cardstock (snippets), printed a sentiment with the computer and cut out by hand.  I then 'splashed'  a white background with black ink and placed the diamonds in rainbow order (ROYGBIV) with foam tabs on the front.  I strategically placed the sentiment and added some black bling as a final touch.

 

The white cardfront seemed to disappear on the white cardbase, so I edged the cardfront with black Copics to give it a rough edge.

Quite happy with the way the card turned out.   I have CASED a card I saw on someone's blog a few years ago - I can't find it now, but it had 'handmade by Tasha'.  They used several dies from the Altenew Fine Fames set, but I have chosen the centre diamond, and I used bling/gems whereas I think they used sequins.  I love working with the rainbow colours, and I love any opportunity to work through my snippets stash!

 

Linking the above card with the following challenges:

Cut it Up Challenge #345 - from your stash 

Snippets Playground #521 - use up snippets 

Allsorts Challenge #838 - Anything Goes 

 

I also needed a card for the Sister-in-law, so I duplicated a card I made earlier for a swap, this time using different DP, but everything else was done the same.

 

Colorado Craft Company Sundae Funday image stamped and heat embossed, then hand coloured with Copics.  Spellbinders Circle Dies and offcuts/snippets layered on the background from my stash, and a touch of bling. 

 

This is about as CAS as I get.  I did use an old FMS sketch for the layout.

Linking the above card with the following challenges:

Critter Crazy Challenge #105 

 

 

It felt good to be in the craft room making card for my family :)

 

 

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.

White on White Christmas

more swap cards for my CraftMad swappers group

 

This Christmas Card swap was a 'white on white with a tag' swap.   I confess, I really struggled with an idea for this one.  It took several days to come up with a design that I thought fitting of a 'white on white' challenge, and it was very late getting to the recipient.

 

Cuttlebug to the rescue with some Christmas Trees die cut, and an aperture cut from the front of a card to make a window.  There is such a gorgeous amount of texture in this card. 

 

And of course, the matching tag!

I have to wonder why I am drawn to snowflakes when making Christmas Cards ..... here in South Australia, we don't have snow .... if it does snow in winter (July/August) it makes front page news!  LOL

 

And a Gift Card Holder - this was created using a prize I won from Christina, of Flowers, Ribbons and Pearls - Christina was most generous in sending it to me, even though I was in Australia and she is in the UK.  This is the second time I have used the die set - the first time was used to hold a small present, but I forgot to take photos.  So thank you Christina, I will be using my prize again very shortly.
 

Sadly, my Gift Card Holder does not fit a gift card!!  Note to self:  check measurements before committing to design.  LOL  It may not fit a gift card, but it will fit some Cash ..... everyone knows, Cash is King!  and it is perfect for holding special small presents.

 

 

Linking with the following challenges:

AAA Cards #305 - white on white (not sure if the card is CAS, but the matching Gift Tag is :) )

Crafty Calendar Challenge December - Winter/Christmas 

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Anything Christmassy 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, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday & Anniversary

Time for some more 'family' birthday celebrations.

 

We meet up in October to celebrate September & October birthdays.

 

October is niece Lauren's birthday & wedding anniversary - I usually do a combined card. 

 

Background was stamped with Couture Creations 'sunburst' and Clear Heat Embossed, then a selection of ink blended rainbow colours were added. Sentiment  'happy' was die cut 3 times - 1 from rainbow foil cardstock & 2 from white, then layered together for dimension and added to front of card with Foam strip.  Sentiment 'birthday' and 'anniversary' stamped directly onto cardfront.   Fishishing with a few stripes of Stickles.

 

Next up is a card for Great-Nephew, Lucas (11)

 

 

Background was stenciled  with Blue Distress Ink, '11' was stamped & clear heat embossed, 'birthday' was stamped - all directly onto cardfront.  'happy' was die cut from 'gold' mirror cardstock.

 

 

Next up is a card for Archie (9)  - I had some fun with this card!

 

 

 

I have had this set of Uniquely Creative Stamps & Dies (Summer) for a little while now (since August 2024), but have never used them before.  So I set about stamping out some elements and colouring in with Copics, then die cutting several times and mounting in layers to create dimension.  'happy' was die cut from Gold mirror card, layered and added to cardfront with foam.   

 

I played around with the different placements for a little while.  I decided to add a layer of DP from my stash, and a 'white' frame layer to help make the elements stand out a bit better, and once I was happy, stuck everything down. 

 

I really enjoyed the way this card came together and can see some more coming using this stamp set in the future.

 

Linking above card with the following challenges:

NBUS #79 

Cut it Up Challenge #341 - add embellishments 

Addicted to Stamps & More #504 - Any Occasion 

Seize the Birthday #316 - Anything Goes 

Neglected Stuff Challenge 10/25 

 

  

Items Used:

Stamps & dies:	Uniquely Creative – Summer, Hero Arts Stamp & Cut - Happy
Dies:	Waffle Flower A6 Layers
Ink:	Versamark Embossing Ink, Ranger Distress inks, Copic Markers
Card stock:	Blue Edge Crafts 300 gsm cardbase, Blue Edge Crafts 210 gsm cardfront, Mirror cardstock, rainbow foil cardstock
DP:
Tools:	Cuttlebug, Print Blocks Emboss It Heat Tool, Couture Creations Precision Stamp Press, Couture Creations Mini Guillotine Trimmer, Couture Creations Mini Score Board,
Embellishments:	Stickles/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.