Join Me For A Coffee?

Hello Everyone.

I'm back!   My computer had to go in for immediate and urgent repairs.  Fortunately all good now AND I have a new photo program......Photoshop Elements 12!!  Yaaaayyyyyy. lol

I managed to edit this photo with my new program.  There certainly is a lot to learn about it.

Anyway on to the card.  This is the first card I made with my new Maja Design papers called Coffee In The Arbour.   These papers are absolutely gorgeous.

Also on this card, I used some other new toys.   The metal corner has been embossed with Stampendous Shabby Pink Embossing Enamel.  The teacup, saucer and spoon is a new Marianne Design die set. The pretty, pretty lace is new too.  The ribbon is some I've had for years.  The frame is called Tiffany by Memory Box.

Thanks for visiting today and I'm pleased to be back with my large computer screen where I can see everything.  

 

Treasured Memories.

Do you remember going to the beach and looking for shells along the high tide mark?  I do.  I loved the beach when I was a kid and still love walking along the beach when I get a chance.

This card was inspired by this card by Primia.

I love it.  Thanks Primia.

OK, I started with a base of  Stampin' Up Naturals White.  Next layer is Night Of Navy.   The dsp is Fab Scraps which I purchased from Charlotte's Web and Daisy Chain Scrapbooks.

I used three different papers of the same range.  Love them.   The image is from the Nellie Snellen Vintage selection.

I layered the image onto Kraft card stock then Night Of Navy.  The hessian and cheesecloth are from Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  'Treasured Memories' are a Kaszazz stamp set.

I then arranged some different flourishes and flowers at the side of the image to mimic the colours of the seaweed and ocean.  Also to give a bit of a lift to the arrangement, the apricot flowers and glass spray highlighted the little girl's hair.  A cluster of pearls with some little shells and my card is finished.

The photo doesn't pick it up but there is Clear Rock Candy distress stickles on the ocean and dry Clear Rock Candy distress glitter on the sand.

The sketch I used is from Lili Of The Valley Ideas To Inspire Blog sketch #11.

The ladies will be making this card in class tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure they'll like it.

Thanks for visiting today and hope you like my card.

 

For The Bride And Groom

Goodness, I hadn't realised just how long it has been since I posted a card.  Time gets away from one.   It's Easter Saturday here today and after doing some housework jobs, I intend to get down to card making.   I do have an Apple Crumble to make this afternoon but that shouldn't take too long, especially if I do the apples this morning.

On to my card.  This card was an order for a friend of mine.   The wedding card had to be in vintage pinks and cream.   I chose to 'case' this card from an advertisement in the March issue of  Australian Simply Cards.  The advertisement was put in by Fat Cats Card Corner.  When I first saw this advertisement, I immediately rang Kaaren and asked to be sent the dies. lol

I didn't get the flower dies.  I decided that I could use my Wild Orchid Crafts flowers instead.

My base is Stampin Up Blush Blossom (retired) card stock.  I added a layer of Very Vanilla using the Spellbinders Elegant Labels 5" x 7" die set. The next layer is, once again, Blush Blossom, using the next matching die in the set.  I added an extra layer here, using a Label Four or Label Four Small die.   I can't provide a link to the Label Four Small die because they have been discontinued.

Then came the fun part, adding my roses and leaves to make an arrangement that is pleasing to the eye.

The leaves die I used is gorgeous.    It's been a worth while investment because I've used it many times since this card.  It's called Curvy Leaves Die.  

To finish off the card, I added a sumptuous silk bow using silk from Sharon's shop Stamp Simply Ribbon and a greeting on layered banners.

I do apologise for terrible background my card has photographed on but the photo I did have ready for this post wasn't right.  For some reason, the vanilla card stock was white.  So I had to edit another photo, this one.  The photo editing program I was using, has decided not to work anymore.   I'm not computer savvy enough to work out why so I had to use another program.   Methinks it's time for my computer to have an overhaul and perhaps a new photo editing program needs to be purchased.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Hope you like my card.

Happy Easter everyone.

 

Secret Garden.

I've had the Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers for some time but haven't used a lot of them. They are so pretty that really I couldn't bring myself to cut into them, but one can't hoard everything so I used them today.

This is the card the ladies will be making in class tomorrow afternoon.

These ladies just like to make cards without learning techniques and stamping so I'm pretty sure this one will go down well.

The base card is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla with the next layer being apricot Bazzill.  I love the blue with the apricot in the papers, so I felt that the blue silk threaded through the lace with a blue silk ribbon bow would be a perfect contrast to the pale peach roses.  I tucked a couple of little ivory sweetheart blossoms in amongst the roses to pick up the lace and doily ivory colour. The leaves are from my favourite leaf die at the moment, Elizabeth Craft Designs Curvy Leaves and they've been cut from Always Artichoke and Pear Pizazz.  The pretty, pretty eyelet lace is from Linda at The Funkie Junkie.

Sharon from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store has silk ribbon and seam binding kits to match the Graphic 45 Secret Garden papers.

I cut the image and Baja Breeze layer with Deckled Rectangles Nestabilities.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Keep well everyone.

 

Sweet Sorbet Case Of Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge.

Well here I am again with a couple of cards I decided to do on the spur of the moment.   I was visiting the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge blog when I saw this card by Sarah-Jane, one of the design team.  I liked it but wanted to make it a 'Leigh' card.  So I did. 

The base is Stampin' Up Whisper White with a layer of Crisp Cantaloupe. The dots are from the papers in the saleabration catalogue called Sweet Sorbet.  I didn't care for these papers at first, but they are growing on me.  I added a panel of Sahara Sand stamped with the Hardwood background stamp in Sahara Sand ink.  The burlap Sarah-Jane added looked good, so I included it on my card but trimmed the ends with a 'v'.  On to a white doiley I added Pistachio Pudding leaves with three roses which I coloured Summer Starfruit, Crisp Cantaloupe and Pool Party. I used natural string in figures of eight to make my bow and tied it on to the metal button.  The greeting banner has been given some height with dimensionals and is tucked under the button with a glue dot.  A gorgeous rhinestone flourish finishes off my card.

The second card uses the same elements but the rhinestone flourish and greeting are different.

Hope you like my cards and thanks for visiting.
 

Tuesday Morning Sketches #236

Good afternoon everyone.  Craft retreat last weekend was absolutely wonderful.  I had a fantastic time and I'm sure everyone else did too.  Thanks to Kim for organising, once again, an enjoyable weekend.

Onto the card I'm showing today.   This is one of the class cards the ladies will be making tomorrow.  I took all the ingredients to camp and assembled the card and kits down there.   I used this sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches.   I did add a few elements not on the sketch, like the doiley, seam binding bow and flowers but I'm pleased with the way the card turned out.   

The papers are two different ones, Stampin' Up Fanfare (retired) and Venetian Romance.  The image was sourced from The Graphics Fairy, which is a wonderful place for vintage images.  I stamped the greeting from Stampin' Up's hostess set, Express Yourself directly onto the image after I printed it on Very Vanilla card stock.  The fabric roses are from Stampin' Up's retired Flower Trim.  They were just right for the end of the Pistachio Pudding panel.   Pretty, pretty pink seam binding for the bow and this I purchased at a shop called Daisy Chain Scrapbooks in Nambour while I was away on the weekend.  For the finishing touches, roses and pearls were added in the corners and near the bow.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  Keep well.

 

Beautiful Memories

Good morning everyone.   This time I'm showing a vintage card I made based on this one by Mona Pendleton.  I used much the same sketch but changed the image and the embellishments.  Thank you so much Mona for sharing your original card.  My card is much smaller than Mona's because unfortunately I don't have a Grand Calibur. 

Onto what I used.....base card is Stampin' Up Very Vanilla then a layer of  So Saffron.  The next layer had me for a while until I remembered to look through some Magnolia papers that I've had for some time.   Yep, I found the perfect colour.  A vanilla which is printed with a lovely tone on tone lace pattern.  The lace is, I think, some Green Tara brand I bought online in Australia.  After cutting it into enough lengths for a class, I went looking to replace it and was very put out when I couldn't find it.  Oh well.  The ladies loved it. lol

The round Spellbinder die is from a set called Stately Circles and the gorgeous Spellbinder die layered on the back of the vintage girl image is from a set called Gold Labels Four.   My girl is one from Pion Design's vintage image sheets.  I cut into a hoarded paper by Inkido Beautiful Memories.  The pretty blue and yellow flowers seem appropriate for the image I used.

To finish off the card and tie in the vintage feel, a feather, leaves, flowers, ribbon and a greeting were added.

Each lady in the class received a different image and they were delighted with their cards.

Yesterday I took in 10 cards to the Tourist Centre.  This morning there are only four left and none of the cards had even been put out on the shelf.  It really is wonderful to know that people like the work I do.

Thanks for visiting today and take care everyone.

 

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #77

Well I'm back again posting to my poor neglected blog.  Prior to Christmas I made many cards for classes and orders which were all well received.  Unfortunately they didn't make it this far.  Maybe I'll post them here in the future.   The weeks of December flew by and all of a sudden it was Christmas.  I had wonderful plans for January too, some have been achieved, others have gone by the way.  Not to worry.

One of my card classes start today and this is the one of the cards the ladies will be making.

I used the sketch from the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #77 . 

Forgot to add the keyword....PCCCS077

The base is Very Vanilla, with a layer of Wild Wasabi.  The papers are from a very old paper pad that I've had for ages from K & Company called Spring Blossom.

 The sketch has a die cut image between two banners.  I chose to use a Tattered Angels frame for my focal image.  I painted it with Peeled Paint distress paint, then painted on White Picket Fence distress paint.  While the white as still wet, I wiped it off.  This toned down the Peeled Paint green enough to blend with the papers.   I then sprayed the frame with Pearl Tattered Angels glimmer mist and dried the whole thing with my heat gun.  

The floral arrangement was created with flowers and leaves from my stash, with a gingham ribbon and a small spray of crystals to finish off.  The greeting was stamped in Black archival ink, which is my go to ink. lol

Just for interest, I use Claudine Hellmuth Multi Media Matte glue for all my floral arrangements.  It is fantastic for this sort of work and it dries matte, not shiny.

I'm going to enter this in the challenge.  For various reasons, I haven't entered a challenge for months.  I think the card qualifies, well I hope so anyway. 

My apologies for the poor photo.  I must admit that I'm not a very good photographer.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

 

Baby Girl Baptism

A couple of months ago, one of my class ladies asked me to make her a Baptism card.  I said yep, no worries,  then got home and started to have a worry because I didn't really have anything remotely suitable.  So I decided to go through some of my favourite card designers and found this one by Tina which is the one that inspired one of my previous cards on here.  I've since edited the post to reflect this.

I really, really wanted to make this card a lot more vintagey and to use some of that wonderful Stampendous Frantage Shabby Embossing Enamel on the image but I resisted.  Some people don't like the edges distresses and inked so I left this alone.  I just added different elements to the card.  The main feature is the zipper pull which is gorgeous.   The papers are Kaisercraft and the image is from Inkido.  The hand dyed Venise Lace heart, tri bud, and dyed seam binding are from Linda at The Funkie Junkie.  The rest of the embellishments are out of my stash. The sentiment I printed out on the computer and then positioned the stamp around it.

I've since been told that the card was a great success and very well received by the parents.

Thanks once again for visiting, 

 

A Little Bird Told Me.

I have another card to show you today.  My class of ladies in Mackay did this card as a class a few weeks ago.  They absolutely loved it.   The papers are by Kazzazz and matched the bird image perfectly.  The bird image is by Crafty Secrets.  It's a digital image that I purchased.  The flourish die is by Memory Box and I added cheesecloth, fabric leaves, feathers, flowers, berries and a pearl pin to make the floral arrangement.

The butterfly charm and pearl trail added a bit of interest in the corner.  To finish off, a little greeting by Stamp It.......A little bird told me.  

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

 

Birthday Glitz

My friend Jan, has two twin sisters.  This card is one of the two Jan ordered for their birthdays.

I have followed the same sketch as previous cards I've made, it's so easy but very effective.  The bluey coloured roses match the dots in the background of the designer paper I've used and I feel really makes the bouquet pop.  Jan loved the card which was great.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for visiting my blog.

 

A Special Birthday Card

All of my school girl friends are turning 50 this year.  The first party was last night.  All four of us bought a present together and it was my job to make the card.  This is what I came up with for Lindy's birthday card.

It did the rounds at the party and everyone including Lindy loved it so I was pretty chuffed. 

The idea came from this card made by Andrea Ewen.  

I used the same series of papers but different colours and embellishments.

Thanks once again for taking the time to visit my blog.

 

Vintage Little Darlings

I saw this card on my blog surfing travels.  It was perfect for two baby cards that friend's of mine had asked me to make for them.   I've kept the basic layout but changed a few things.  What attracted me to this card was the die Astrid used.  I had just purchased this same die and thought, wow, perfect!!

That paper is Graphic 45 Little Darlings.  The 'boy' stamp is an old one by Lucy's Stamps.

The card stock is Baja Breeze and Naturals Ivory.  The little safety pins are charms with the rings removed.  I didn't add any ribbon because these are, after all, baby boy cards.  The two flourishes are from Cheery Lynn and a Doo Hickey Die.

Hope you like my two vintage baby cards and thanks for visiting my blog today.
 

                             
                             

Red And Black.

First of all, apologies for the lousy photo.  I took this picture early this morning and it has been an overcast day.

I had a request from a friend of mine for an engagement card, the stipulation....red and black.

Here is the result.

The base card is black with a layer of very vanilla.  The dp is from a pad of Kaisercraft called, I think, After Five.

I've use some cream pleated satin with a strip of black velvet ribbon along the bottom of the card.  The 'bouquet' has been arranged from the bottom up and involved lots of matte multi-medium.  Love this stuff...dries matt not shiny...excellent.  Thanks Linda for putting me on to this.

The greeting has been stamped in black with barn door distress ink sponged around it.  The frame is from Tattered Angels.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Hope everyone is well.

 

A Little Bit Of Vintage.

I finally managed to get my mitts on some of the absolutely gorgeous Pion Design papers.  These papers are just luscious.  I did start with a sketch and have followed it fairly accurately, but I'm sorry, there isn't a name on it so I don't know from where it came.  I used some wonderful LOTV edge stamps to stamp on the image and the base layer of violets.  Then with a blending tool, I sponged around the edges of all the components of the card including the punched photo corners.  The corrugated heart (gift from Linda) was swiped with a Adirondack pearl dabber and the Stempelglede greeting attached on a bit of an angle.  I think that's it re the construction, the embellishments are just bits and pieces from my flower stash.  The seam binding was dyed using Mill Lavender distress ink refill.

Thanks for visiting my blog and I hope you like my card.