Hello, Thanks so much

More time in the craft room recently :) yay!!

 

Another selection of cards for my swap group. 

 

For May, we swap 2 cards of our own choice ......   easy right?   I was happy to make a start on the cards early in the month, but things got in the way and the cards were delayed in getting to their partner.

 

Anyway, here are my cards.

 

Card#1 

This is an Altenew stamp & die set - Wild Flora (2020) - 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 made the background using a stencil 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 die cut the sentiment twice from black and layered onto the background.  

 

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

 

The flowers and leaves were then positioned on the front in a pleasing manner with foam tabs to add dimension.

 

 

Linking this card with a few challenges

Retro Rubber Challenge #257 - Stamp set from 2020 - using right column Stencil, coloring, die cut

Triple B Challenge: June 2025 - use Blooms

 

 

 

 

Card#2

 

I came across some elements set aside from a previous crafting session and thought it was perfect for the swap.  Flowers were stamped with White ink, and heat embossed with White embossing powder, then the flower & leaves were ink blended using brushes.

 

The flower element was mounted onto a gorgeous die-cut that I received in a Swap many years ago, then that was mounted onto the purple handmade paper, which in turn, has been mounted onto the white A6 300gsm white cardbase.

 

Sentiments 'thanks' (from Honey Bee Stamps Bitty Buzzwords) was die cut from black & white, layered & mounted with 3d foam dots to background.  'so much' (from Honey Bee Stamps Miss You Big time) was stamped in StazOn black onto white cardstock scrap pieces, then mounted onto front of card. 

 

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

I was in need of a Sympathy card this last week ..... my sister-in-law's father passed away.

I was lucky enough to have a background pre-prepared - it was an experiment on making some patterned paper; I wasn't happy with it at the time, but kept it anyway.  I stamped the sentiment multiple times across the background (partly to cover up an oops moment!).  I then stamped the sentiment in black to make it stand out - the sentiment is heat embossed in clear, but it doesn't show up very well in the photo.  

 

I used the 'Lavender' stamp set from Altenew and stamped & die cut more flowers which were tied together with gold twine, then mounted to front of card with foam tape.

 

The Retro Rubber Challenge Blog asks us to state how old the stamp is ..... this stamp set was originally released in 2019, but it is fairly new for me .... I got them in January 2023, so I have had them for about 18 months and I love using them!

 

 

 

My cardbase is 300gsm white cardstock from Blue Edge Crafts (A4) size, but this time, I cut the A4 in half length-wise .... making it a Top Fold card.

Linking with the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #20 - Anything Goes

Cut It Up Challenge #310 - Thinking of You

Retro Rubber Challenge #237 - Tic Tac Toe - Die Cut/Heat-Dry Emboss/Pattern Paper

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!

Long Time Friends

We had a bit of a cold snap here in Adelaide yesterday - so it was a good excuse to hunker down, put on Masterchef Australia and do a bit of crafting.

Last year, I came across some second hand stamps - they were in great condition :)   

I stamped the image on white cardstock and coloured in with chalks, layered topper on green shimmer cardstock.

Card inspired by this photo from The Card Concept

and

Stamps Used:  Stampin Up Long Time Friend (2006)
Ink:  Black, Stazon
Coloured in with:  Francheville Soft Artist Pastel Chalks & highlighted with Kindy Glitz
(Card topper finished with a quick spray of hair spray to set the chalk)
Cardstock:  White cardstock & Shimmer card from Blue Edge Crafts

Linking with:
The Card Concept #153 - Loads of Lavender
Addicted to CAS #195 - Flower
Retro Rubber Challenge #156 Pastels

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.

Have a bloomin' good day!

This stamp came with a magazine that I got some time in 2017, and it has proven to be my 'go to stamp' for so many cards.

Hand Stamped image, hand coloured with copics, highlighted with Kindy Glitz & Bling

Linking with:

Dream Valley Challenges - Hand coloured images
My Time to Craft - rubber/clear stamps only
Retro Rubber Challenge - 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.